Chapter 494: Ritual of Placement in Darkness

"Is that Dai Wei? He's still alive?"

Fang Qiong heard the voice and turned pale.

"No, he's already dead… or rather, he survives as a malevolent spirit after death."

Fang Xing shook his head, took Fang Qiong's hand, and leapt lightly to the rooftop of a skyscraper.

From this height, they could clearly see a group of Wormwood Forest adepts besieging a malevolent spirit.

At that moment, accompanied by a roar that sounded like both fury and proclamation, the spirit swelled violently, transforming into a mud giant dozens of meters tall.

Countless black sludge coated the giant's entire body, faintly revealing twisted, grotesque faces, radiating ultimate corruption, decadence, and darkness…

"The malevolent spirit of the Dark Path Angel is indeed no ordinary foe."

"To desecrate the light of the divine and become the angel's secret… it belongs to our Wormwood Forest."

Olivier held a sacred relic in both hands; upon closer inspection, it resembled the shed skin of some insect, exuding an illusory sense of history.

Around him, adepts chanted strange incantations, even slashing their own wrists to let blood flow into several altar glyphs on the ground.

Ssssh!

The sound of giant insects crawling across the ground rose up.

At this moment, history seemed to turn into pages— a colossal worm bit through the pages of history's book, finally descending into this sacred realm!

——The Secret History Worm!

This strange giant worm was entirely dark yellow, its skin gleaming like parchment, wrinkled like papyrus, stretching dozens of meters long as it charged toward the black giant.

Boom! Boom!

The two titans collided, their shockwaves toppling nearby skyscrapers one after another.

"All of these are treasures from the Gulan era…"

Fang Qiong, witnessing this, couldn't help feeling heartbroken: "Gulan-era technology was even more advanced than ours… They're destroying ancient relics—this is a crime!"

"Don't worry about that now…"

Fang Xing looked up and saw the black mud giant retreating step by step—it was clearly no match for the Secret History Worm.

Crack!

Suddenly, the head of the Secret History Worm split open, revealing countless dense, razor-sharp fangs.

It snapped its jaws shut, biting off the black giant's head along with most of its shoulders.

Splash!

The black mud giant exploded, spraying black sludge in all directions, radiating an indescribable aura of decadence.

Several Wormwood Forest adepts who couldn't dodge in time were splashed by the sludge; their supernatural defenses shattered instantly, and they screamed in agony.

After the black mud giant collapsed, only a confused human spirit remained.

He stood about one meter seventy tall, with golden hair, crimson eyes, handsome features, and a dazed expression: "I… I am the Desecrator. I defiled the divine radiance… yet I am still dead… I am guilty…"

Across the surface of this confused spirit were strange wounds, like branded marks, permanently etched into the spirit, never healing.

"Dai Wei, surrender the secret of your desecration of the divine… or even your malevolent spirit will be utterly annihilated."

Olivier ended the ritual, dismissed the Secret History Worm, stepped forward, his eyes filled with certainty of victory.

As a malevolent spirit, he was inherently weak—certainly no match for a true angel.

Now, after being severely wounded by the Secret History Worm, even this immortal could easily overpower him.

"I…"

After death, a human may become a vengeful spirit or malevolent spirit under the influence of Aetheric force…

But becoming such a spirit is essentially the birth of a new life atop the original body, carrying only its most intense emotions and memories—strictly speaking, it is no longer the same person.

Dai Wei's malevolent spirit stared blankly; after being grievously wounded, a single deepest memory surfaced: "Wah… I'm not a desecrator. I'm just a pitiful worm… I thought I defiled the divine radiance, but in truth… it was all arranged by the Dark God… He deliberately made me an angel. My life, my fate, everything… was all planned by the divine."

"What?"

This "secret history" instantly turned Olivier's face ashen!

Hadn't he spent years searching for the tomb of the Desecrator, hoping to inherit his legacy and ascend into an unbound angel?

Now he was told his dream was shattered—that even the Desecrator had become an angel solely due to divine design!

An unbound angel simply did not exist!

The cruelty of this shattered ideal was an even greater blow to a man like him—a centuries-old immortal who had lost nearly all his loved ones and friends.

After all, immortals have nothing left but dreams—now that even their dreams were gone, what remained?

"Hah… so everything was fake?"

"All lies? Deceptions meant to corrupt the world?"

Olivier burst into wild laughter.

Cracks appeared across his body, like porcelain shattering.

Vast torrents of "History" Aether turned into a withering wind, violently sweeping through the surroundings. "Ahh!"

Amid screams, nearby Wormwood Forest adepts collapsed into desiccated corpses, as if centuries of their lifespan had been stolen away.

Worse still!

The surging History Aether rapidly darkened—as if falling into corruption.

"Rerouting Ritual!"

One of the Enlightened fled while shouting: "There's also the 'Ritual of Placement in Darkness'… Lord Olivier has gone mad—he's turning to the Dark Path!"

Once an adept chooses a Path, they cannot change it!

But this iron law of the Hidden Realm does have loopholes and room for exception.

Under extremely rare circumstances, change is still possible—but it is perilous, and even success brings grave aftereffects.

It only occurs at the most extraordinary moments.

"Hah… Dark Path God… you deceive the world, preach decadence… and used Dai Wei as bait to lure me into corruption?"

Olivier's body was shrouded in black mist; suddenly, he tore open the sacred relic—the "Wormskin": "Then… let me fall… since I cannot become a free angel, I shall become the Dark Path's angel… I offer the Secret History Worm, I offer Dai Wei's spirit, I offer all that I am…"

Splash!

The pages of Secret History unfurled, and the Secret History Worm emerged once more.

But this time, as soon as it emerged, black tentacles from the ritual wrapped around it, and it let out a shrill cry.

Dai Wei's spirit merely stared blankly at it all, showing no emotion even as he became a sacrifice.

"Ah… this is the scheme of the Dark Path God—the 'Shadow of the Raven'!"

The Enlightened one who had barely escaped realized: "He wants Lord Olivier to fall—to make us sacrifice the Secret History Worm… My lord, you must not turn to the Dark Path…"

Unfortunately, his cries fell on deaf ears.

Olivier had already become a shadow, tearing open the back of the Secret History Worm and diving inside.

The Secret History Worm shrieked, writhing… this creature most beloved by the God of History was turning pitch black; from its chaotic head emerged a face—the unmistakable features of Olivier!

This immortal of the History Path, transformed by the ritual, was about to become a Dark Path angel—the Dark Worm!

As the Enlightened fled, a flash appeared before his eyes—two figures suddenly materialized.

He looked bewildered, then a hand steaming with vapor pressed against him, and his vision went black—he knew nothing more.

Fang Xing casually dispatched a minor player, stood with his hands behind his back, and gazed at the scene before him: "You… understood, didn't you?"

"To ascend to angelhood, one must be elevated by a deity… so Olivier's fall was within the gaze of that Dark God?"

Fang Qiong thought for a moment and replied.

"Yes… and to ascend to angelhood, one needs a fragment of the deity's essence. Olivier seized the essence of the Secret History Worm. This History Angel had already been tainted by corruption after its fierce battle with the fallen Dai Wei, then was betrayed by its summoner—and crucially, it was under divine observation, making escape impossible."

Fang Xing nodded: "But… this 'Dark Worm' has excellent essence. If I take it, it could one day become the key to your ascent to angelhood."

"I never even thought about becoming an angel… besides, to ascend, you still need divine permission."

Fang Qiong shook her head.

"No problem—I grant it."

Fang Xing laughed: "The Secret History Worm was slain by the Shadow of the Raven's scheme. Through this symbolic ritual, perhaps the deity gains some advantage in its rivalry with the God of History."

A History Immortal betraying an angel is itself a form of corruption!

In divine struggles, symbolism is paramount.

Controlling this symbol of betrayal naturally gives the Dark God an edge over the God of History—after all, Darkness embodies corruption and betrayal!

But for Fang Xing, the most crucial point wasn't even this!

"Coming here on a whim was truly worth it—not just because I witnessed a major event in the Hidden Realm… but because I saw the mutual transformation among the Six Aether Elements."

Fang Xing felt a surge of excitement.

If History can transform into Darkness, then Heart, Blood, Stone, and Machine should also be able to transform into one another.

'Does this prove that above the Six Aether Elements lies a more fundamental element…?'

'In this world, that would be the rank of the Supreme Deity, the Creator… I must claim it. Then the Creator will have no chance left.'

In quiet contemplation, Fang Xing stepped forward, standing opposite the Dark Worm.

In an instant, he split into six, each form wielding a different esoteric martial art!

Turbine Steam Press Palm!

Hand Without Darkness!

Illusion Fist!

Stone Statue Art!

Vajra Staff Divine Art!

Past Palm!

……

The Six Secret Martial Arts transformed into fists, palms, and footprints, each carrying an overwhelming martial will, striking the Dark Worm.

It looked as if the long, black, worm-like creature with a human face was being besieged by six giant figures of Secret Martial Arts.

"Ah!"

With a scream from Lei Ousi, the Dark Worm was torn apart by the six giants, spilling countless streams of black fluid; amid the corrupt, muddy black sludge, a black crystal-like object glowed brightly…

(End of Chapter)