Chapter 466: The Mouse and the Butterfly

At the top of the Great Sage's Tower, Duoliuke, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open, an expression of astonishment appearing in his murky pupils.

What surprised him was clearly not the "Angel's Descent," but the fact that the "Claw of Eternal Hunger," which had descended into the mortal realm to manifest an avatar, had actually retreated so easily.

What on earth had happened?

Duoliuke could not comprehend the drastic change unfolding before his eyes.

And the entity hiding within his shadow was equally unable to understand the trace of remorse and cowardice revealed by the "Claw of Eternal Hunger" before it departed.

A mist-like black snake slithered out from Duoliuke's wrist, flicking its flickering tongue toward the crystal ball before him.

A whisper from the void emerged in his mind, its nonchalant arrogance tinged with a hint of imperceptible vigilance: "This is highly unusual."

"We have prepared for this ritual for a long time, even utilizing the expedition of the Flames of Destruction; there is no reason for it to just withdraw like this."

"Unless—"

"Unless?" Duoliuke raised his eyebrows slightly, casting an inquiring gaze toward the voice that had stopped mid-sentence.

The voice from the void pondered for a moment, not answering his question directly, but instead leaving behind a cryptic riddle.

"You are ants scurrying through the material world; in your world, there are only things that have already happened and things that are currently happening."

"But we who exist in the void are different; we are fish swimming outside the fishbowl, ghosts outside the bottle, phantoms reflected upon the wall."

"From our perspective, there are only things destined to happen, and—things that might not necessarily happen."

If this place were the "past of Nuoweier," then Urgos choosing to retreat would make sense.

In his view, the future of this universe was already set in stone.

Wasting even a fraction of power here would be superfluous.

However, Awano held a different view; he did not believe that what "Urgos" had realized was necessarily the truth—that fellow was an evil spirit furthest from the truth, whose power often came from the resonance of fools; making mistakes was the most normal thing in the world.

Therefore, there was another possibility—

—

He had simply been deceived by Nuoweier's "Mad Speaker."

Considering that Kelin's acting, this possibility was extremely high.

The black shadow coiled around the Great Sage's wrist let out a dry laugh, like a phantom reflected on a wall mocking another chaotic phantom.

Duoliuke fell into deep thought, and after a moment, he spoke.

"Could there be a third scenario?"

The voice from the void paused for a while.

"—A third scenario?"

Duoliuke nodded slowly, speaking in a contemplative tone.

"He is neither the 'Mad Speaker' nor the past of Nuoweier, but—something else entirely."

"What is that, a Chosen of Saint Xisi? Or one of the Demon Gods?" The voice from the void carried a hint of mockery.

"I don't know."

Duoliuke shook his head gently.

"It is just a conjecture."

Extreme light inevitably gives birth to an equal shadow; they are like two sides of a coin, setting each other off while being each other's natural enemy.

The opposite of Saint Xisi is the Demon God.

He couldn't help but wonder, might Chaos also have its own "natural enemy"?

Of course.

All of this was merely his own conjecture.

Even if such a thing existed, he figured the Crown of Pride would never tell him—

The black clouds hovering over Dusk City vanished completely, and along with them, an inconspicuous butterfly disappeared as well.

At first, what entered Luo Yan's vision was a dazzling white radiance, followed immediately by a scarlet desolation.

He seemed to have passed through a barrier, only to be thrown out by a massive suction force—along with those evil spirits returning home.

"I am Geluofu! Let me see my parent—! I have performed meritorious service for him! Let me see him one more time! I beg you!" A pitch-black shadow shrieked miserably.

It had finally returned!

It had left that damned place!

Luo Yan did not recognize that evil spirit, but he guessed it must be one of the Chosen Rats he had seen earlier. As the nest city outside Dusk City collapsed, Urgos had reclaimed their souls.

It was like a sardine stuffed into a tin, forcibly pressed by an invisible giant hand into an infant abandoned by the roadside.

"No—" It screamed in terror, wanting to escape, but where it went was not up to it.

The poor little thing lay there without crying or making a fuss; it had already lost its breath, its soul having gone elsewhere, or perhaps it had never come here to suffer at all, leaving only an empty shell on the ground.

Yet, the moment the evil spirit possessed it, it suddenly opened its hazy eyes and let out a wailing cry.

That cry seemed to be more than just biological instinct; it was as if it wanted to vent the sorrow that hadn't been fully released in its previous life, along with the pain of this one.

Poor child.

Luo Yan mourned for it for a second, but since he truly couldn't help, he cast his gaze elsewhere, observing this brand-new and desolate world.

The sky here was a solidified blood-red, the earth was cracked red soil, and there wasn't a whisper of wind to be heard, only the silent blowing of death.

Is this another universe?

The divine sense attached to the "Butterfly of All Things" emitted a strange ripple; Luo Yan's curiosity at this moment was no less than when he had been pulled into the No. 440 Void Realm.

This place was very similar to Planet Kao, yet it had fundamental differences. Only "fungi" could survive on Planet Kao, but here, there were traces of human activity.

And the number was not small.

In the distant wasteland, a group of emaciated people were stiffly swinging hoes like walking corpses.

At first, Luo Yan thought they were farming, but he saw them turning ripe crops into the soil—crops that could have kept them alive.

What puzzled him even more was that a man, starved to his last breath, seemed unable to endure any longer and tried to dig up the buried food, only to be beaten to death by a group of fanatical believers.

Food cannot be eaten.

But people, it seems, can.

Luo Yan speculated that these cultists seemed to be performing some kind of evil ritual.

Only this could explain why they were doing something that was neither logical nor reasonable.

"Geluofu's" wailing finally attracted someone's attention; a sallow-faced woman discovered it with joy and quietly carried it away.

Seeming to realize that this was not its mother, "Geluofu" struggled even more violently, its crying filled with a trace of fear—and remorse.

He wondered if it regretted not being braver during the earlier slaughter, not charging ahead of the other little rats.

Such an ending might not necessarily be any more dignified than dying on the battlefield.

Of course, there might be no difference at all.

Urgos's nest city had no exit mechanism; once a soul was offered to Chaos, it was basically impossible to be freed from the nest city.

Death was not a clean slate; it was merely the beginning of reincarnation.

Luo Yan, attached to the Butterfly of All Things, felt weary of the folly before him, and even a bit disgusted, so he flew forward for a while longer.

Soon, he arrived at a massive settlement, where a huge steel structure sat—it appeared to be the wreckage of a starship.

And near that starship, gray, silent concrete buildings stood on the ground like moss growing in the corner of a wall.

This place was likely a "Wasteland."

And it was a wasteland similar to the past of the No. 178 Void Realm, yet completely different.

There was no "Wraith Charcoal" here; the people likely used nuclear energy, or perhaps relatively primitive fossil fuels.

Luo Yan did not sense any fluctuations of transcendent power; he figured the transcendent power here must be even weaker than in the No. 178 Void Realm.

At least on this planet, that was the case.

Just as Luo Yan was observing with interest, a long, resentful sigh suddenly reached his ears.

"Sigh—I'm not clean anymore."

Luo Yan, controlling the Butterfly of All Things, looked to the side and saw a mouse skulking in the withered yellow bushes.

That was Urgos's voice.

It seemed to have possessed this mouse.

And this mouse was only of normal size, far from as massive as it had been outside Dusk City; let alone harming people, it probably couldn't even beat a wild cat.

"I haven't even looked down on you, yet you're looking down on me." Luo Yan stopped not far from it, looking down at it with an intriguing gaze.

Although this world lacked transcendent power, it did not hinder two gods from beyond the realm from communicating without barriers through the touch of the "Sea of Consciousness."

Perhaps it was because its power was restricted, but the mouse didn't throw a tantrum like it had outside Dusk City; it just curled its lip at him.

"Pfft, what do you know? You're just a bug that happened to fly outside the window; if you hadn't stuck to my hand, you would never have flown this far in your life."

That's hard to say.

Luo Yan smiled faintly.

"I do have many things I don't understand, but even with my short-sightedness—weren't you still deceived by me?"

"..." Urgos fell silent.

From the change in its attitude, Luo Yan could clearly detect a trace of dejection, as well as suppressed annoyance.

Although it was unwilling to admit it, and even tried hard to avoid it, it clearly realized that it had been played earlier.

And not by Nuoweier of the "Mist of Deception."

But by a bluffing native.

A moment later, the mouse hiding in the bushes spoke slowly.

"... —What an annoying brat. Can't you just keep pretending to be Nuoweier? I didn't ask you."

The butterfly perched on the leaf gently flapped its wings.

"Is it fun to lie to yourself?"

"Don't get cocky—we will meet again! Next time we meet, I won't let you off so easily."

"Then let's try it." Luo Yan smiled indifferently and continued, "However, there is one thing I didn't lie to you about: I really am one of Nuoweier's—"

The mouse let out a squeak, interrupting his words.

"Enough! I don't want to hear you talk! There's hardly a word of truth in your mouth!"

"That's where you're wrong," Luo Yan smiled. "Every word I said was true; it's just that I usually only say half, and you only pick the parts you love to hear."

Urgos seemed not to want to continue this topic; this guy's ability to argue was probably equivalent to two Tafus, no more.

"Is this your nest city?" Luo Yan's voice, through the vibration of the butterfly's wings, turned into a spiritual whisper, asking about something Urgos might be interested in.

He could somewhat feel that this guy's personality was like a giant infant, and this might be related to the source of its power; most believers who prostrate themselves in worship are like this.

And just as Luo Yan expected, when asked about its treasure vault, those two mung-bean-sized eyes immediately emitted a boastful glow.

"To be exact—it isn't yet, but it soon will be, hehe."

Luo Yan glanced at it with surprise.

"Same as Dusk City? Got kicked out?"

The mouse flicked its tongue.

"Hah! The one who got kicked out was Awano, not me!"

"Pride?"

"That's right, this place used to be that guy's territory, but that guy who looked down on everyone got careless, played himself, and it was picked up by me."

"Lost? Lost to whom?"

"A materialist I'd never seen before, yet who completely defeated him. The latter didn't even notice his existence, yet thwarted his plans time and time again—that ashen-faced look was truly delightful."

Urgos's voice seemed to carry a trace of schadenfreude.

But it soon grew tired of this topic, and a trace of cunning flashed in those mung-bean-like eyes.

"Since you're here, I'll take you to see something fun."

"What fun thing?"

"You'll know when you follow me!"

Watching the mouse scurrying toward the distant city, Luo Yan pondered for a while and ultimately decided to follow.

Besides, looking wouldn't cost him a piece of flesh.

He was also very curious about what medicine this guy was selling in its gourd.

Urgos led the way in front, and Luo Yan flew behind, while comparing this bustling settlement with the outside.

The situation in the city was slightly better than outside; those living here were likely "Yearners," people lining up for bread—although they were starved to the point of being half-dead, they wouldn't necessarily starve to death.

Luo Yan didn't understand the situation here, but unlike the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng of the Laine Kingdom, this place likely practiced a similar serfdom.

That is, serfs were forbidden from leaving their own land and were the private property of the master. As for the citizens of Dusk City, they lived on the King's land, could exchange taxes for relative freedom, and were to a certain extent protected by the laws promulgated by the King.

However, they were not entirely similar.

Formally, there were still many differences.

A mouse and a butterfly passed through the bustling settlement just like that; no one noticed the gods passing by them. During this time, Urgos almost got caught by starving people several times, but it was dodged by this cunning guy.

Looking at the desperate expressions of those people, this sleazy little mouse seemed to feel genuine pleasure; what a twisted guy.

Luo Yan followed it to the starship that looked like a palace, and next to that starship sat an even more luxurious palace.

Urgos led him in through the back door, dodging the heavily guarded sentries, and arrived at the most luxurious room among them.

An aging king was lying on the bed, the table beside him filled with delicacies, but his withered arms could no longer hold a knife and fork.

Having already possessed everything, he seemed to have lost interest in everything.

Not until a servant approached his side and whispered a few words in his ear did an excited expression appear on that wrinkled face.

"Parent-seeker—Sawa, has breathed his last!"

Hearing that his lifelong rival had died, a sickly flush appeared on the King's face, and he propped up his decaying body from the bed. "Hahahaha! Good riddance! That traitor has finally died! Pass my order, fire a salute to mourn him!"

The servant didn't dare to speak, retreating tremblingly, while worrying in his heart about how to round out this "fine story."

The room fell silent once again.

Looking at the empty room, the elderly king suddenly felt a bit lonely, unable to help but recall his high spirits back at Jinjialing Port.

At that time, he had told Sawa personally that the most brilliant business was religion, and had rarely told that child many truths—at that time, he didn't have his own children and truly regarded that kid as the Crown Prince; no one expected the "love-hate relationship" of the following decades.

The air was terrifyingly still.

He seemed to have returned to that stormy night, waiting anxiously for the result of the plot, always feeling that a pair of eyes was watching him from the void.

He wanted to crawl under the bed to take a look.

However, at his age, he really couldn't bend his waist; without anyone to support him, he couldn't even walk two steps after getting out of bed.

"You brought me here just to let me see a dying old man?" Luo Yan looked speechlessly at the mouse on the windowsill that was full of zest.

Urgos chuckled.

"Of course not, guess where he will go next?"

"Your Chosen one will go to your nest city, is that even a question?"

"That statement is of course correct, but too general. Alright, I'll give you another hint! You've already seen him!"

Looking at the little mouse that was full of expectation and showing off, Luo Yan pondered for a while and answered in an uncertain voice.

"Silas?"

A trace of surprise flashed across Urgos's face; it seemed not to expect him to guess correctly so quickly, and then it approvingly raised a mouse paw.

"Smart!"

This time, the surprised one was Luo Yan.

Wait—

Isn't this guy not dead yet?

How could—

Just as this confusion arose in Luo Yan's heart, he suddenly remembered the sentence he had just said to Urgos.

"Time does not exist—you actually don't truly understand this sentence, am I right? You bluffing little brat." Seeming proud of winning back a round, Urgos laughed slyly.

However, Luo Yan only felt that this guy with such bad taste was extremely boring; going around in such a big circle just to prove to himself that he hadn't lost.

Is it interesting?

"Understand or not—that's not necessarily true."

Luo Yan thought for a while and said in a voice with a hint of a smile, "If I really didn't understand at all, guess how this butterfly got into my hands?"

Hearing this sentence, a trace of jealousy clearly flashed in Urgos's eyes, and besides that, there was a trace of greed and longing.

Its believers far exceeded the Mist of Deception by more than an order of magnitude, spanning countless universes, yet the lack of knowledge was its eternal pain.

Anyone with a bit of knowledge was either snatched away by the Crown of Pride or deceived by the Mist of Deception; they would never choose it.

It also wanted to take its children to conquer countless planets, deeply cultivate the universe it was in, and expand the map of faith, but helplessly, it simply couldn't do it.

And it wasn't just the Mist of Deception's secret treasure; this man before it also wanted it.

He had ability, ambition, and desire!

If it could convert this guy into its own Chosen, maybe its map of faith could expand by another order of magnitude!

Letting him be a native god was truly a waste of talent!

"Brat, let's make a deal."

"Oh?"

"That butterfly is useless to you; you can't even fly out of your own planet, nor can you travel between universes. How about you let it go to me, and I'll give you the nest city of this world—no, I'll even throw in a better one!"

Facing that seductive whisper, Luo Yan smiled faintly and cast his gaze toward the king who was hanging on by his last breath.

"And then when I die, I return to your hands, right? Just like those wild dogs we saw earlier, reincarnating in your nest city."

Doing business with a demon is at most selling the soul of this life, and trading with Chaos is cashing in all the blessings of eternity—and, it wasn't that he intended to mock this guy, but who poaches like this?

Selling the soul to the "Crown of Pride" might at least get you a Sage title; selling the soul to the "Claw of Eternal Hunger"—he hadn't seen a single one end well.

Clearly having had its intentions poked, Urgos, possessing the mouse, froze on the spot, unable to say a word.

It really had thought that way.

Just didn't expect to be seen through at a glance.

Just then, the dying old man suddenly looked toward the windowsill, saw the mouse and the butterfly standing there, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

The butterfly was one thing.

How could a filthy thing like a mouse appear in his palace?!

Zayide was about to throw a fit when he suddenly noticed something, and a drop of cold sweat unconsciously fell down his face, which was covered in age spots.

He vaguely remembered some witch doctor saying that mice and butterflies were psychic things; although he always told those around him that he didn't believe in such things, he was actually the most superstitious of all.

Especially recently, he often dreamed of "Geluofu" and "Gopaer," the old friends he had killed—he didn't know how many years ago—and he always felt they weren't doing very well down below.

He finally realized where that gaze from the void came from; it was at his window, not under his bed.

He took a breath and said in an aged voice.

"Two honored guests—where do you come from?"

Urgos was feeling annoyed and really had no mood to deal with him, so it just gave a perfunctory reply.

"None of your business, you go to sleep."

Clearly not expecting the mouse to talk, Zayide was truly startled, his face turning pale, but he still forced himself to calm down.

"Are you from below? Or from above?"

He asked tentatively, yet the two gods ignored him, just chatting among themselves, treating him like air.

Zayide couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed, wanting to throw a fit, but fearing that these two were here to take his life, and rashly making an enemy was never a good idea.

Moreover, he also felt that his time was running out; perhaps he should arrange his affairs.

Switching to a softer tone, he looked at the mouse that had previously responded to him, and for the first time in a long while, showed a sense of awe, saying.

"Honored—well, High Gods, I won't trouble you with anything else, I only beg you to satisfy one small wish of mine, and I will surely repay you in the future!"

Urgos didn't speak, but Luo Yan felt curious about this king who had awakened spiritual power, and said with interest.

"Oh? What wish?"

Zayide coughed.

"I have thirty children, but I haven't decided who will be the Crown Prince. I need someone to help me—can you—"

"Give me a suggestion?"

Before the butterfly beside him could answer, Urgos replied impatiently.

"What's the difference? Anyway, none of them are yours."

None of them are...

Zayide's face turned completely pale.

His despair was just like Silas standing outside Dusk City, like a gambler who had won everything, only to lose all his chips in the final round.

Thinking that this guy would soon breathe his last, go to the Aosi Continent twenty years ago, and experience the despair he had just experienced again—until the "nest city" of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng collapsed, Luo Yan didn't even know if he should feel sorry for this strange old man.

What kind of sin is this.

And just at this moment, the originally continuous space suddenly rippled with transparent waves, pressing the pause button on everything in this world.

Or perhaps, it was only the mouse and the butterfly standing on the windowsill that were frozen.

"Since you refused me, then we have nothing more to say. You can get out of my room—"

"I hope next time we meet, you won't regret today's choice! I will let you know what it means to be unable to live, and unable to die!"

Fierce light burned in the little mouse's eyes, and it chose to leave a harsh threat in a venomous voice; that monstrous hatred was as if it couldn't wait to swallow him alive.

Luo Yan knew it wasn't that magnanimous; that indifferent look earlier was all an act, and now it had truly torn off its mask.

However, he wasn't that unprofessional.

Before being swept into the ripples, the butterfly perched on the windowsill gently flapped its wings, just like that elegant smile as always.

"I'll say it again, then let's try it."

"I'll be waiting for you in the 'future'."

The Rotten Flesh Clan, right.

Luo Yan remembered this name, and he believed the people of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng remembered it too.

Once he finished dealing with the Chaos raging outside Dusk City, he would turn back and wipe out these rat-men hiding in the Wan Ren Mountains!

The scarlet sky retreated like a tide, replaced by a blue hue. Warm sunlight was spilling through the cotton-white clouds, and the sky was clearer than ever before.

When Luo Yan opened his eyes again, he was standing under a decaying oak tree.

Nearby were mottled tree shadows, and in the distance were cheers of victory; the earlier hunger and death were like a distant dream.

Thanks to the "Claw of Eternal Hunger," he had seen another "Void Realm," it was just a pity he didn't have time to take a closer look.

To be honest, Luo Yan was truly curious about how the materialist mentioned by the "Claw of Eternal Hunger" had managed to defeat that evil spirit from the void without even realizing the existence of the "Crown of Pride."

If there was no exaggeration, that guy was truly not ordinary.

Of course, it might also be related to the extreme scarcity of transcendent power in that world.

After all, even the "Claw of Eternal Hunger" could only be a mouse when it went there; he figured the "Crown of Pride" had no better way either.

By the way, besides gaining more revelations about the void from that free Void Realm, Luo Yan also gained a tangible benefit.

Just as the avatar of the "Claw of Eternal Hunger" perished, a portion of "experience" seemed to have been channeled onto him by his Butterfly of All Things.

Whether it was because he was close to the water and got the moon first, or because he had drawn too much hatred from Urgos, this was undoubtedly an unexpected joy for him.

Counting the "experience" he had previously siphoned from Kailan, Luo Yan could clearly feel that his strength had grown quite a bit.

Although it wasn't enough to break through a new bottleneck, he could feel that he had taken another step toward the threshold of a Grandmaster!

【

ID: Luo Yan | Race: Human | Soul Level: Grandmaster (Level Cap LV170)

Level: LV. 141 (+10)

Constitution: 207 (+20)

Strength: 154 (+20)

Agility: 161 (+20)

Intelligence: 1061 (+120)

Spirit: 1041 (+120)

After confirming the changes in attributes and level through his divinity, Luo Yan closed the semi-transparent attribute interface and looked up at the sky.

He saw that the angel flickering with golden light had already disappeared, turning into light feathers filling the sky and falling onto the soldiers' armor.

After everything ended, he returned the sky to the people looking up at it, even if the people at this moment might be more grateful to someone else.

At this moment, familiar shouts came from afar.

"Kelin—!"

Luo Yan looked up and saw Ailin, with her silver hair, riding a horse toward him, her face full of worry and urgency.

He was just about to smile and greet her, when he saw another fast horse galloping from the west, ridden by a girl wearing an olive branch wreath.

Luo Yan's smile gradually became a bit subtle.

This...

It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it? ===== CHAPTER 467 =====