Chapter 296: The Void General (12)

"What the hell is this place?!"

After three days of wandering in the Eleven Law Ring corresponding to Mei Da Xilin, Sa Jia Ka Er finally couldn't hold back and let out a curse.

The situation here is even more complicated than in the Moon Law Ring, practically like a maze.

It would be one thing if the maze were empty, but the maze is filled with people everywhere.

In the thick fog, people appear one moment, disappear the next, a huge creature dashes out at breakneck speed, and spells suddenly erupt around me.

Compared with the mortal realm three thousand years ago, this world in front of me bears almost no resemblance.

Even after three days here, he still feels completely bewildered.

Precisely because of that, he has been slow to carry out his master's orders.

His master wants him to sow fear and despair in the mortal realm, but he has no clue, constantly startled by sudden strange phenomena, and has no mind for proper work.

He also considered viewing the mortal realm from a higher angle, but the damned fog is too dense; stepping even slightly away from the Law Ring makes everything indistinct.

Only by staying close to the Tenth Law Ring can he barely grasp any situation.

At this moment, Sa Jia Ka Er is slowly drifting through a narrow, secluded alley.

He likes this place because it doesn't suddenly spawn a fast, lifeless, bull‑like beast that charges recklessly.

Although that creature can hardly harm him, when it barrels straight at him and passes through his body, it makes him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Living people in the alley are scarce; it takes a while before one appears, sometimes not a single silhouette for half an hour.

"This kind of place is actually perfect for creating misfortune."

All it takes is to find a living person, control their soul, and make them end their life in some bizarre way, which would trigger a massive wave of panic in the mortal realm.

Over three thousand years ago, when he was young, strong, and curious about everything, he loved doing exactly this.

He once had someone cut off his own legs and then swallowed the legs piece by piece into his stomach.

He also once made a mortal claw at his own belly, pull out his intestines, tie them around his neck, and suffocate himself.

Or he had two living people bite each other, gradually devouring each other's bodies until their guts burst and they died.

But none of these are his masterpieces.

His most satisfying case was making a group of men and women get lost in the mountains, let them vent on each other, and then suffocate to death in extreme ecstasy.

After they died, their faces were bizarre—both pleasure and pain—and the inhuman poses they struck before death could shatter a living person's fragile soul on the spot.

While drifting, Sa Jia Ka Er recalled his past games in the mortal realm, and a desire to mock the mortal world began to rise within him.

"When I meet the next living person, I'll think up something new and have a good mess of it."

With that thought, he grew hopeful, wishing to encounter the next living person as soon as possible.

The surrounding fog is extremely dense; Sa Jia Ka Er can only sense within a radius of less than three meters, but because he's near the Tenth Law Ring, he can faintly see the alley's condition.

Both sides are tall brick walls, and occasionally a mysterious rod can be seen; drifting upward along the rod always encounters a massive Lightning Power.

Sometimes side passages can be seen on both sides of the alley, but the dense fog cloaks them, making their destinations completely unclear.

Drifting like this, he hasn't seen a single living person.

"Strange, where are the people?"

"Shouldn't I be in an imperial capital? Why are there so few living people?"

He has been drifting for over an hour and still hasn't seen a single person.

It's quieter than a cemetery, even less lively than the Moon Law Ring.

Although the Moon Law Ring lacks living souls, it teems with countless wandering spirits drifting about, familiar yet unclear.

Since demons are life, they naturally possess the most basic instinct of danger.

Sa Jia Ka Er feels something's off about this alley; it likely hides danger, so it's best to leave immediately.

He thought so, and he did just that.

Thus, he quickened his drift forward.

He kept drifting and drifting, for over an hour, and still remained in the alley.

The alley not only lacks living people, but seems to have no end.

"What's going on?"

Sa Jia Ka Er can't figure it out: "Probably I'm heading the wrong way; I'll change direction."

The alley has many side passages; he picks one and continues drifting.

After another hour of drifting, he's still in the alley and discovers something extremely odd.

"This place feels familiar... No, I recall this wall; the window on it is huge and oddly styled!"

"I think I've passed here many times."

"Could I be lost?"

Sa Jia Ka Er is still bold; even now, he doesn't think of fleeing but of using his ability to get out of this bizarre alley.

He continues drifting.

After half an hour, he again returns to the familiar brick wall and sees the familiar large window.

"So I'm back again?"

"Have I entered a maze?"

Sa Jia Ka Er has no heart, so his pulse can't quicken, yet fear uncontrollably surfaces within him.

"I should leave this damned place first."

He still has a way: leave the Eleven Law Ring and slip into the higher‑level Huan Wai Xu Kong.

So he begins to drift upward.

Above, a thick layer of dense fog also blankets the area, and aside from the mist, no mortal reference points are visible.

Sa Jia Ka Er drifts on and on, and after an indeterminate time, he once again sees the familiar brick wall and large window.

He was still inside the Eleventh Spell Ring, and hadn't even left the alley.

!!!

Sa Jia Ka Er began to panic, the fear in his heart rising rapidly, almost overflowing: "Why is this happening?"

"Where exactly am I now?"

"Did I accidentally step into Hell?!"

There was no answer, only endless thick fog, a silent empty alley, and familiar walls and windows.

Sa Jia Ka Er's sanity nearly vanished, and he began to thrash about like a trapped beast, lurching left and right, leaping up and down.

But no matter which direction he ran, after some effort he would inevitably end up back in the familiar alley.

He had never in his life experienced something so bizarre; instinctively he emitted a scream‑like soul ripple, fleeing more desperately.

He didn't know that behind the large window, Luosen and Zhuo Ya were standing side by side, watching the great demon's spectacle. Zhuo Ya, watching the great demon spin in place, nearly collapsing, clearly sensed his fear.

"Darling, your rotating maze is truly terrifying; if it continues, it'll probably scare this great demon into madness."

Luosen multitasked.

He simultaneously wielded the maze spell, terrifying the demon to the brink of death, observed the surrounding area, and laughed as he replied to Zhuo Ya:

"Don't worry, the demon's soul is extremely resilient; it won't go mad, but it will certainly never forget this in its lifetime."

Zhuo Ya was startled: "This lifetime? Aren't you going to kill it?"

Luosen shook his head: "Demons have nothing to do with race; void beings become demons, mortals also become demons. The common cause is the lack of rule‑binding."

"Now we have a way to bind void beings, so this void being can become our servant placed in the void to guard the mortal realm, rather than a demon that harms it."

Zhuo Ya listened attentively, many thoughts turning in her mind, then gave Luosen a strange look.

"Darling, I suddenly feel you're a bit less mortal now."

"Oh~ In what way?"

"Mortal souls are far weaker than void beings. When facing a void being, one cannot remain calm. For example, I still find this great demon terrifying."

"But you are different; I feel that, in your eyes, the unlucky fool in the alley has become a toy."

Luosen considered carefully, nodded: "Your words are apt; my attitude toward the demon has indeed changed greatly."

"But I think this change isn't an exception; it's always been there."

Zhuo Ya thought for a moment, nodded: "It has always existed, only this time the magnitude of your change is larger."

When mortals encounter demons, it's roughly like ancestors meeting ferocious beasts.

At first, the weak ancestors were slaughtered by powerful beasts, but once they mastered fire, bows, steel and other forces, the situation completely reversed.

Now, Luosen wields a powerful soul artifact, essentially the same as ancestors wielding fire, so demons gradually fall into the former beasts' plight.

She grew more eager for the mighty soul artifact: "I truly don't know what it feels like when a soul becomes powerful."

Luosen smiled: "I can let you experience it a little now."

As he spoke, he built a soul bridge between himself and Zhuo Ya, then asked: "Did you feel it?"

Zhuo Ya lightly nodded: "All of a sudden, I felt like a giant overlooking the earth, while ordinary mortals became ants beneath my feet, no, even that great demon is an ant."

She fully understood Luosen's mindset shift, and thus grew concerned:

"Such great power might breed arrogance in mortals, eventually turning them into demons, right?"

Luosen nodded: "Of course it will. Like the captain of the Black Stone battleship, when he boards and commands its great power, he becomes the contemporary God of War."

"If the Empire imposes no constraints, then this 'God of War' and 'Demon of War' are synonymous."

"Then you, darling, will you become a demon?"

Luosen shook his head: "At least not now."

He pointed to himself: "My body is still mortal; if I leave this mortal vessel, my soul will instantly dissipate."

"That means my mortal body needs the Empire's sustenance, and I cannot leave the spell ring to slip into the Huan Wai Xu Kong."

"Finally, I also deeply know that I may have attained some magical achievements, but far from invincible; countless mysteries I don't know exist, as do countless forces that could easily destroy me."

Zhuo Ya listened attentively, silently exhaling: "Darling, I'm glad you have this wisdom, but honestly, I think you are now the greatest mortal."

"Greatest? No, still far, far away."

Luosen smiled and shook his head, his mind recalling the three Abyss stories told by the life goddess Adela.

He was certain that within the three great Abysses lie countless beings far stronger than him.

At this moment, Sa Jia Ka Er, trapped by the soul maze, finally ran out of strength.

He curled in a corner of the alley, like a helpless kitten backed into a corner.

"That's enough," he said, "I'll go subdue it."

After speaking, he drifted out of the window.

The moment he appeared, the demon let out a furious roar: "I knew someone was causing trouble!"

"Die!"

His body, shrouded in dim red flame, suddenly turned into a dim‑red blade, thrusting violently toward Luosen.

Luosen was already prepared.

He had developed the Supreme Crown, and naturally also devised many soul combat techniques.

These soul combat techniques were not invented out of thin air.

Some stemmed from demons he once faced in the void, some from the high‑energy Magic Method Laboratory, and some from Navat.

Facing the incoming dim‑red blade, he stood still, while Laifu rapidly formed a massive soul shield.

The giant shield appeared, blocking the blade's thrust, then swiftly morphed into a spherical soul cage, instantly imprisoning Sa Jia Ka Er inside.

Sa Jia Ka Er frantically struggled, the dim‑red blade ricocheting at high speed within the soul sphere.

"Buzz~~ buzz~~~ clang~~ clang~~~"

The momentum looks quite frightening, but it's meaningless.

The crimson red blade's attack intensity reached Legendary 7, but Luosen's focused soul technique's intensity directly reached Legendary 19.

Meanwhile, the demon's soul scale is about over 500 times that of a mortal Legendary, but Luosen's this soul technique directly consumed the power of five thousand Luosen.

It's equivalent to placing a thousand-jin iron block on a mortal body with only a hundred-jin strength.

No matter how this great demon rushes and collides inside the soul orb, the soul orb remains unmoving.

After struggling for a full ten minutes, Sajiaka'er fell into utter despair, his body curling into a ball, motionless.

Luosen asked: "Surrender, or destruction?"

"I surrender." Sajiaka'er unhesitatingly chose the latter.

Since that's the case, Luosen raised his hand and pointed at the soul orb, urging his thoughts, a stream of emerald-green power surged into Sajiaka'er's soul.

But it was the power of the Life Tree Branch, and it was more refined and deeper than De Rui Tan's power.

To avoid revealing the fact that he possessed the Life Tree Branch, Luosen did not dispel De Rui Tan's controlling power, but instead placed a deeper, stronger, and more hidden soul imprint on Sajiaka'er's soul.

Just as he did for Duola and Xixi.

The moment the imprint was applied, Sajiaka'er immediately became obedient, lying in the soul orb, calling him master.

Luosen nodded, then raised his hand and pointed at the demon, thus through the hidden soul imprint granting it the vision to penetrate soul mist.

"From now on, you are my Void Grand General."

"Your first task is to help me find De Rui Tan's other minions."

(End of chapter)