Chapter 210: Saving Someone

He Yun didn't react for a moment; she thought she was hearing things, and she looked at Wu Chang and asked:

"What did you just say?"

Wu Chang shrugged and said, "I said I have a way to save your brother right now. Do you want to come along?"

If anyone else had said those words, He Yun would probably have assumed they were joking, or using something else as a stand-in for her brother.

But when Wu Chang said it, a feeling rose in her heart that he might actually be able to do it—an illusion, perhaps.

After all, from the moment he appeared, he had already brought many miracles into her life, making her believe that if everyone in life meets the one who is destined for them, then the one destined for her must be Wu Chang.

"What method are you talking about?" He Yun's voice carried fear—fear that her unrealistic expectations would come to nothing.

Wu Chang said with a smile, "I'm a diviner who can communicate with spirits, enter the soul world of the dead, and know a little about reincarnation. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Earlier, when he heard He Yun say that part of her memory was missing and that she needed a stronger stimulus, the thought suddenly struck him—what stimulus could be more intense than He Yi himself?

Once this idea appeared, it got out of hand, and he couldn't help but follow it further.

Logically speaking, the fact that he could see He Yi's lingering resentment meant that He Yi was already dead.

But he also remembered that in He Yi's memories, the Mother God had once threatened him, saying she would brutally torment his soul—which meant He Yi's soul had not dispersed.

At the same time, the scenes recorded in He Yi's lingering resentment only showed the moments before the wish was made, and did not include any scenes of his soul being tormented after death.

Either the scenes were too explicit and, due to relevant laws and regulations, could not pass review and were not displayed by the platform.

Or He Yi being judged dead was a special case—or rather, a bug that had jammed the system's judgment.

When he became a human stake, his body died, and he lost ownership of his soul. A person without a body and without a soul—isn't that dead?

So, is there a possibility that He Yi's soul still exists?

Not only exists, but even exists somewhere in this temple?

If he exists, then Wu Chang and he belong to the same plane.

By entering He Yi's lingering resentment, Wu Chang also learned He Yi's phone number and the password for his communication interface.

And the communication skill of the Unlimited Portable Livestream Room, as long as it's in the same plane and a specific connected device can be selected, can cross any restriction and connect the two sides.

So is the restriction between the living and the soul among those that can be crossed?

Inside the Stone Temple, He Yi, wearing a damaged mecha, numbly cut down the mecha warriors that kept emerging from the Calamity Fog.

He couldn't remember how many times this scene had repeated—hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?

It didn't matter; in any case, time and repetition had lost all meaning in this space.

He walked forward with an expressionless face. His ear twitched slightly; without needing to turn his head, he shifted his about-to-fall left foot a little, and calmly dodged the shot from behind.

The mecha warriors in the fog were already old friends of his; his understanding of their action patterns was more thorough than their own.

Even though that woman kept raising the difficulty, strengthening them more than a dozen times, the damage they could inflict on him grew less and less.

Lately he had been having an urge—should he take off the mecha and try fighting these guys barehanded?

But no, he couldn't afford to lose.

Like the most skilled assembly-line worker, He Yi followed the set route, cut through everything, and arrived at the main hall of the temple.

In the main hall of the temple, he saw He Yun floating in the air. As usual, he greeted the floating He Yun, then sat down on the ground leaning against the Wishing Stone Tablet.

Before long, light exploded, and He Yun fell from the air to the ground.

Everything inside the temple began to collapse, as if the end of the world were coming. He Yun's face was full of despair; she struggled to leave the main hall, but her escape was futile.

Countless monsters crawled out from the cracks in the temple, catching up to He Yun in the blink of an eye.

He Yun, besieged by the monsters, fell into a bitter fight. Every time the monsters got the better of her, they would gnaw off a chunk of flesh from her body. The wounds on her body increased little by little, until she completely lost the ability to resist and was torn apart and devoured by the monsters in front of He Yi.

During this, He Yun kept calling out things like "Brother, save me!" and "It hurts so much!" He Yi watched everything happen from start to finish without a single change in expression.

Boom.

Accompanied by a sound like a drumbeat, the monsters in the great hall vanished.

He Yun, who had been eaten down to just a single head, suddenly began rolling, rolling all the way to He Yi's feet.

The mangled He Yun, face-up toward He Yi, murmured, "It hurts, it hurts so much."

Not a single trace of change appeared on He Yi's face; he simply stared at the head at his feet in silence, giving no reaction at all.

He Yun quickly grew tired of performing this one-head solo act. From within her skull, a spine rapidly extended; limbs, bones, and ribs grew from the spine; muscles, blood vessels, fascia, and fat emerged from the gaps in the skeleton, filling out the frame.

Finally, fair skin and a head of long hair grew over the body.

In just a few seconds, a single head had transformed into a complete Mother God.

The Mother God did not manifest any clothing; she stood stark naked before He Yi, condensed a Wang Zuo, and simply sat down opposite He Yi.

The Mother God's charm was so overwhelming that even a stone would have been moved, yet He Yi was as if his facial expressions had been paused, still maintaining his cold face.

"Sometimes, I really wonder if you're human, or some kind of robot wearing a human skin."

The Mother God was a little annoyed.

"How can your heart not have a single ripple after watching the scene just now?"

He Yi, who rarely spoke, said, "Because I know it's fake. Why would I be sad over a counterfeit?"

The Mother God had originally imprisoned He Yi's soul, thinking she could brutally torment He Yi—only to find that she herself was the one who felt tormented.

Generally speaking, when facing an unruly fellow, She would first crack open the opponent's soul protection layer and make some modifications to their soul.

For example, adjusting sensitivity, tampering with memories, adding weaknesses, adjusting sensitivity to time...

As long as She got to manipulate the soul, the ways to play were practically endless.

But the soul protection layer of the man before her was too impregnable.

With the power She had left in the temple, She could not open his soul protection layer without damaging the soul core.

If She forced it open, it would only cause the soul core to be destroyed along with it, and the soul would shatter completely.

That was really a mood-killer for a god.

Unable to manipulate the soul, She could only search for He Yi's psychological weaknesses by reading his memories.

But soon He realized that He Yi's life had been far too smooth—he had not a single psychological scar, not even a hint of fear.

He Yi and He Yun, the two siblings, were born into great wealth, and with their outstanding character, academic excellence, and striking looks, they had been "other people's children" since birth.

But after all, who lives without encountering some troubles?

He Yi had certainly faced them too—except he had a solution: his fists.

Wherever things went wrong, he punched it.

Someone provoked him? Punch.

Someone slandered him behind his back? He'd march straight to the liar's door, drag them out, and punch them.

Someone misunderstood him? First punch—then explain once the other side had calmed down.

Someone blocked his way? Then punch them all together!

What, you're asking what if he couldn't win?

Don't you dare say it—whether in powered armor or without, He Yi had never met an opponent he couldn't beat.

In short, under the combined force of He Yi's fists and his father's authority, he had spent his entire life barely enduring a single injustice.

The Mother Goddess combed through his memories three times and found not a single weakness.

He Yi had no weakness—what about He Yun?

In He Yi's memories, from childhood onward, whenever he faced an unsolvable problem, He Yun always had an answer for him.

He Yi trusted He Yun more than he trusted himself, so in his memories, she had no weakness either.

Scanning He Yi's memories, success had defined his entire life; the one and only failure was his final exploration of the Stone Temple.

The Mother Goddess could only target this moment—repeatedly trapping He Yi in that day, forcing him to relive it thousands upon thousands of times, experiencing the agony of giving everything yet saving nothing, helplessly watching his sister die before his eyes.

Unfortunately, the Mother Goddess could not alter He Yi's soul, depriving him of true immersion. At first, He Yi showed slight disturbance—but after seeing it three or four times, he treated the place like a training hall, focused solely on killing more armored warriors, utterly indifferent to He Yun's death in ten thousand different ways.

If this continued, the Mother Goddess would run out of ways to make her die.

She glared at He Yi, snarling: "Do you think I've run out of tricks? That I can't touch you?"

He Yi said nothing, only stared at the Mother Goddess.

That attitude. That damned attitude!

The Mother Goddess was cracking—He Yi's cold silence hurt her more than her own inability to punish him.

She rose from her chair, stepped before He Yi, and looked down.

"Fine. Keep that attitude. Do you know? The temple's seal is weakening. With my followers outside working hard, it won't be long—maybe half a day, maybe a day—I'll walk out of here."

"As soon as I step out, I'll find that little girl, rip out her soul, bring her here, and torture her right before your eyes. Then you'll see the real thing."

Hearing her threat, He Yi's expression shifted slightly; his lips twitched, as if he wanted to speak.

The Mother Goddess, thrilled, cried: "Finally! You're reacting! Want to beg me for mercy? Too late."

He Yi spoke: "You'll lose."

Then he fell silent again. The Mother Goddess: "..."

At that moment, the Mother Goddess burned red. In her long life, she had never before felt such a desperate craving to punish a mortal.

She sneered: "Then wait."

Her body vanished. Thick fog filled the temple. When the mist cleared, He Yi stood at the temple's entrance.

Another cycle began.

He glanced into the temple's depths—but did not launch forward as before.

He could feel she wasn't lying—she truly was about to leave. He knew her power better than anyone. To say he wasn't worried was a lie.

But he also believed He Yun would find a way—because since childhood, nothing had ever stumped her.

I wonder how she is now.

As He Yi thought of He Yun, a voice crackled through his earpiece—not the sterile screams of fallen comrades, but a stranger's voice, with a stranger's question.

"You there?"

!

The Mother Goddess's new trick?

He Yi frowned slightly, uninterested in replying, and prepared to shut off the earpiece.

"Buddy, if you're not broken yet, answer me. If you are, I'll tell He Yun you're dead—no point rescuing you if you're drooling and useless. Don't make us carry extra weight."

He Yi's hand froze mid-motion. What the hell is this?

The man who always made the Mother Goddess burn red was now slightly red himself from two sentences in his earpiece.

What do you mean "rescuing you means drooling"? And who the hell are "you two"? First explain that.

He Yi's instinct told him this voice wasn't the Mother Goddess's doing—she'd never used anything like this before.

After a moment's thought, he cautiously replied: "Who are you?"

The other side burst with excitement: "You actually answered! Brother, are you still mentally stable?"

He Yi clenched his fists: "Who's your brother? You haven't even told me who you are."

The voice replied: "I'm He Yun's friend—her life-or-death friend. Her brother is my brother. Don't be formal. Back to the question: answer a few things first. I'll decide whether to pull you out based on your mental state."

He Yi's short temper couldn't take this—he'd have punched the guy in the face if he were standing there.

He was about to explode—when the next words from the other side froze him.

"Brother, I'm doing this for He Yun. She misses you. She wants to see you. But if you're already a self-destructive lunatic—or brainwashed into the Mother Goddess's pet—rescuing you would only hurt her, maybe even put her in danger."

"No room for negotiation."

He Yi fell silent for a moment, then replied: "You're right. Ask what you need to."

After completing the full questionnaire and receiving a final psychological health evaluation, both He Yi and the voice on the other end exhaled in relief.

Then the voice said:

"There are still some preparatory tasks for you to complete—I've already sent you the blueprints. You said you got trapped on the day you explored the Stone Temple, right? I've marked the exact room locations for all the materials you need in the blueprint."

"Now it's up to you. Once you finish the ritual, call me. He and I have things to attend to—we can't keep the line open. I'm hanging up."

What the hell are you busy with that you can't talk?

He forced down the urge to curse, gripped his mech blade tightly, and charged forward, slashing straight into the growing tide of mech soldiers emerging from the temple.

"I don't have time to play with you—don't get in my way!"

In the real world, inside the main hall of the temple, Wu Chang explained the current situation to He Yun while waiting for news from He Yi.

"Cheer up—we've already spoken. His mental state is actually great. I gave him a survey questionnaire; his score was even higher than mine."

"You're asking about spirit communication? What's strange about that? You're from a high-tech dimension, yet you still don't get it? Everything's modernized now—even spirit communication has evolved with the times."

Even though Wu Chang recounted the entire process and even demonstrated it on the spot, He Yun still found it hard to believe.

She stared at Wu Chang's phone, unable to understand how opening a strange app icon could directly call her brother.

As the two spoke, Wu Chang's phone rang. He answered, and He Yi's voice came through.

"The ritual setup is complete. It won't last long—you'd better hurry."

"Got it!"

Wu Chang hung up and turned to He Yun. "Ready to meet him?"

He Yun was nervous, but she nodded. "This time, no matter what happens, I won't run away."

Wu Chang said, "It's fine—no matter what happens, I'll be right beside you. Hold tight. We're going."

At first, she gripped Wu Chang with her mechanical gauntlets, but worried the armor would block their contact, she removed them and clasped his hand directly.

Through the touch of their palms, Wu Chang felt He Yun was extremely tense.

"It'll be a bit dizzy on the way—bear with it."

Wu Chang activated his Mystical Control talent, and the mystical array he could construct instantly appeared beneath their feet.

The next instant, they teleported from one temple's main hall to another.

Standing before them was He Yi.

The siblings met suddenly, emotions surging—they immediately moved to embrace.

But as they touched, He Yun passed right through He Yi's body, embracing only air.

"What's going on?" He Yun asked, panicked.

Wu Chang glanced at He Yi. "It's normal. Your brother is only a soul now, while we're physical beings. Physical forms can't touch souls."

"Now we must find a way to get him out."

No sooner had Wu Chang spoken than the space around them shook violently—the Desire Steles within the main hall began to glow.

Wu Chang clicked his tongue. "Looks like the owner of this space noticed intruders and is on the way."

He Yi ignored everything else, cast one final look at He Yun, and urged:

"Your method won't work—take He Yun away quickly. Don't let the Mother Goddess catch you. This is her domain—she can do anything here. Even I can't resist her."

Wu Chang ignored He Yi and looked only at He Yun.

"Before we came in, I asked you—if we end the Mother Goddess's seal, do you have the confidence to resolve everything? What was your answer?"

He Yun first looked at He Yi, then met Wu Chang's gaze.

"I want to try. Can you help me?"

"Delighted to serve you, my lady." Wu Chang bowed in a knight's salute, then seized He Yi and charged toward the Desire Stele.

The Mother Goddess sensed Wu Chang's intent and radiated light to stop him—but Wu Chang stood before He Yun, and her divine power had no effect on this blasphemer.

Thus, he dragged He Yi to the Desire Stele and pointed to his wish.

"Only the one who made the wish can erase it."

The Desire Stone was bound to the soul. He Yi pulled from a hidden compartment in his blade the Desire Stone that belonged to him.

"Are you sure? Once I erase it, everything will spiral out of control."

Wu Chang smiled. "Trust He Yun. Trust me."

He Yi: "Alright."

He Yi swept his hand, drawing a horizontal line that erased his former wish.

As the wish vanished, He Yi's Desire Stone shattered—and with it, his soul.

To abandon a wish carries a price.

The price is the soul of the wisher.

Sensing the shattering of He Yi's soul, the Mother Goddess, barely arriving, broke down.

"No! I absolutely will not let you, you bad child, escape!"

She could not accept that He Yi had freed himself just before she could make him regret it.

It was like a protagonist, seeking vengeance for his father's murder, enduring hardship, training day and night, finally mastering his art, then arriving at his enemy's door—only to find the enemy had just died in bed.

All those years of accumulated Crescent Moon Sky Slash—gone in an instant. Who could bear it?

Even a god couldn't bear it!

The Mother Goddess screamed hysterically: "No! I won't let you die! You must live—to watch me torture them!"

But before the Mother Goddess could act, Wu Chang moved first.

He hadn't brought He Yun here just to see He Yi's final moment—he came to save him.

In his hand now appeared a red, square lantern—the Four Directions Eternal Flame Lantern. He waved his hand, drawing the slowly shattering soul of He Yi into it.

The lantern's original flame extinguished—but He Yi's soul ceased its fragmentation and restored itself fully.

The Eternal Flame's immunity to death had activated.

Having seized He Yi's soul, Wu Chang turned, grabbed He Yun, shielded her with his body, and charged into the Desire Stele, now glowing brightly from the Mother Goddess's arrival.

(End of this chapter)