Chapter 76: Life and Death on a Thread

Life and Death on a Thread

The current was accelerating further.

Soon, the players were completely scattered, swept one after another into deeper depths.

Before them, the blue seawater was gone—replaced by torrents of bright yellow liquid.

At the very moment the two clearly demarcated liquids met, Cheng Shi felt an inexplicable force pressing in from all directions, rapidly corroding his skin.

Acid!

How is this possible?

With such vast volumes of seawater flooding in, how could there be acid this concentrated?

“The beast’s stomach fluid?”

“No! This isn’t acid! This is the pull of the Void!”

Void Tendrils Devouring Swine!

How is this possible?

They’re the favored creatures of the [Void], born at the boundary between reality and the Void—how could they appear here!?

Wrong!

How could they possibly die!!??

Hearing Gao Yu’s cry, Cheng Shi’s heart jolted.

The Void Tendrils Devouring Swine had some connection to Cheng Shi, for they were subordinate to the [Void], born at the boundary between reality and the Void—the “Reality-Void Frontier”—and existed to devour [Existence] for the [Void].

They bore two invisible tentacles atop their heads, capable of sensing where reality was weakest, then traveling through the Void to consume it, turning it into new Void.

Anything swallowed by them would gradually vanish under the Void’s pull.

As for how such a thing straddling reality and Void could die...

Sorry, don’t forget—this is the [Annihilation] trial.

For beings that blur the boundary between [Existence] and [Void], perhaps life doesn’t exist—but Annihilation certainly does...

But none of this matters now; there’s no time to think about it.

Cheng Shi had no time to ponder—he immediately cast two healing spells on every teammate visible in his dim vision.

Yet the dire situation didn’t improve because of these two spells.

The vines on the bamboo raft began rapidly decomposing; the players’ skin started to ulcerate.

The [Void] was dissolving them into new Void—in the only way they could understand.

“We can’t go further! The Void’s pull is intensifying!! Everyone, break out toward the outside!”

Zhao Qian roared, his body turning crimson and blazing hot, his hands spinning wildly like propellers as he pushed himself back the way they came.

“Cui Lao, stick close to me!”

Cui Dingtian responded instantly, clinging to Zhao Qian—but his speed was clearly slower, not just due to lower rotation, but because he dragged a dead weight behind him.

Su Yi Da!

Cheng Shi’s companion had somehow collided with Cui Dingtian and never let go.

Tao Yi and Gao Yu were also struggling, but clearly, at this moment, mages were far less effective than warriors and hunters.

Even with all their might, their spells couldn’t alter their being dragged deeper.

Everyone’s condition was now dire—not only had their clothes vanished, but their hair and skin were Damianji ulcerating.

The Void’s pull was like a razor blade, carving its marks into them with no pattern, no mercy.

“Pull me!”

Gao Yu panicked, shouted, and pulled out a piece of metal, hammering it furiously in the water.

Tao Yi was right beside him; her face unrecognizable, she gritted her teeth, grabbed him with one hand, and summoned nearby objects with the other—but these external objects corroded faster than she could cast.

“Hurry! I can’t hold on!”

Tao Yi screamed desperately; Gao Yu’s eyes turned bloodshot, his speed increasing by a third.

The small hammer was also vanishing under the Void’s pull, yet he kept striking, mixing blood with the metal until he forged it into a long-shafted spiral drill, jamming it hard into the beast’s inner wall.

“The pressure’s too great—we can’t swim up! Come on! Let’s dig our way out!

They evolved from the Void, unlike conventional life—their bodies are thin; there’s hope!”

The underwater healing effect was about to expire; the ulcers on everyone’s bodies accelerated.

The few ahead who had been pushing forward now felt overwhelming resistance and reluctantly turned back toward Gao Yu.

Cheng Shi seized the chance, grabbed Gao Yu’s foot, then snatched Tao Yi—who was being swept deeper by the current—and unleashed a healing spell with all his strength.

Seeing Gao Yu’s inefficiency, Cui Dingtian snatched the drill from him and began drilling furiously.

Zhao Qian pressed close to the beast’s inner wall, trying to tear open another path with his bare hands.

Yet neither his hands nor his tools inflicted any meaningful damage on the beast’s inner wall.

But this intense exertion made their condition deteriorate even faster.

“Healer!!!”

Zhao Qian screamed desperately, hoping Cheng Shi could give more—just enough to keep them alive until they carved through the beast’s wall.

But Cheng Shi didn’t respond.

He clenched his teeth, gave no healing spell—instead, he used his legs to clamp Tao Yi, freeing his right hand, ready to strike.

“Healer!!! Heal me!!!”

“F***, I’m busy!”

Cheng Shi roared, made up his mind, and threw a punch straight at the “wall” before his face.

He wasn’t trying to outmuscle Zhao Qian—he had a trick!

3.5S Divine Artifact:

Ring of Bone Servant Lele’er!

The instant the blood-red swirling ring on Cheng Shi’s finger touched the beast’s inner wall—

“BOOM—”

A thunderclap of apocalyptic force exploded in everyone’s ears.

Lightning roared from his hand, instantly piercing the “thin-skinned” beast and briefly illuminating its entire cavity.

Startled by the thunder, the others saw fresh seawater gushing into the breach—elation surged; they summoned their last strength and charged toward the gap.

It’s broken!

Cheng Shi silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank you, teammates, for your abundant fear.

Thank you, Fear Mother Tree Lele’er—first job, saved my life.

Seeing the gap so close, Cheng Shi didn’t move yet.

First, he cast an underwater healing spell to stabilize everyone, then struggled to summon several mana-restoring spells and poured them all into Cui Dingtian.

Why? Because he noticed that, while everyone else was nearly skeletal from ulceration, Cui Dingtian had almost no wounds.

The Void’s erosion seemed to slow on his body.

But precisely because of that, Cheng Shi knew he had to heal him first!

When everyone’s sinking in mud, the first person you save isn’t the one about to be swallowed—it’s the one most likely to reach solid ground!

Only then can that person find a way to pull everyone else out!

No matter how hard those in the mud struggle, it’s nothing compared to one strong pull from the shore!

Cui Dingtian instantly felt his condition surge—he understood Cheng Shi’s intent.

He stifled a cough, swung his right hand, and hurled a long, thin white rope beyond the bloody breach.

Then his left hand whipped out too; with rapid flicks, another white rope shot out, binding Cheng Shi and the two others.

Just before Cheng Shi’s grip would snap Gao Yu’s ankle and crush Tao Yi’s waist—before all three plunged deeper—their ropes were wrapped into a bundle by Cui Dingtian.

“Zhao Qian, grab on!”

Cui Dingtian shouted and surged outward.

Zhao Qian heard him, twisted his body, and kicked hard against the inner wall, using the recoil to rush toward the old man and clamped his arms around his waist.

But the moment his hands touched the old man’s waist...

He froze.

He felt no skin on Cui Dingtian’s abdomen—like the Void had already pulled it all away.

Yet just moments ago, he’d clearly seen Cui Dingtian unharmed!

How could this be!?

Zhao Qian looked up in shock—Cui Dingtian’s entire body was now swimming forward with nothing but exposed muscle and fascia.

Only a sliver of intact skin remained on his wrists.

As for the other end of that skin...

He stared in disbelief down at the bundled trio:

The white ropes binding them were right before his eyes—taut and straight.

Even through the murky water, if you looked closely, you could see—they weren’t ropes at all, but a long, thin...

Skin!

Cui Dingtian had peeled off his entire body’s skin, winding it into cords to wrap everyone!

Whether it was the extreme length of his skin or the rock-hard flesh beneath, he seemed able to resist some of the Void’s erosion.

"Hold on tight! The old man’s about to push!"

The leather rope thrown beyond the gap seemed to find a solid anchor; the old man’s face lit up, and every muscle in his body tightened.

With rapid muscular contraction, Cui Dingtian dragged everyone against the torrent’s crushing force, surging toward the gap’s exit.

Feeling the void’s pull gradually fade, the three bodies pressed together exchanged a bitter, near-death smile.

So Can .

The excessive void pull had torn their wounds down to the bone; rotten flesh clung together, indistinguishable whose was whose.

Cheng Shi, drained from overexertion, still forced himself to cast a healing spell on the two before him.

Skin, muscle, and hair visibly regenerated.

Seeing the wounds begin to heal, Gao Yu’s tense face finally relaxed.

But contrary to this, Tao Yi’s expression turned strange.

She pressed tightly against Cheng Shi’s back, slowly regaining sensation in her flesh.

"Cheng Shi... you..."

Cheng Shi had been under extreme mental strain, not daring to slacken for a moment; now that he finally caught his breath, his nerves relaxed instantly, and he didn’t realize what had happened.

He smiled faintly, thinking Tao Yi was concerned about his condition.

"I’m fine. I can still hold on."

"I... never mind..."

Cheng Shi paused, suddenly realizing Tao Yi might have been afraid of the [Birth]’s gaze. He let out a loud laugh.

"Relax. You won’t get pregnant."

But as soon as he said it, he realized he’d misunderstood.

Thanks to the effect of Shared Divine Grace, sensation in his own back was slowly returning—a peculiar pressure came from behind.

"..."

"..."

Gao Yu, bound in front of Cheng Shi, naturally knew nothing of what happened behind. He noticed both their expressions had turned odd and lifted his head nervously.

"What now?"

Cheng Shi curled his lips, barely holding back a laugh.

"Nothing."

"I was just thinking—some stars look great on TV, but in real life... words fail."

"Isn’t this what you’d call padding to deceive the customer?"

"Huh?"

Gao Yu seemed lost by Cheng Shi’s erratic train of thought—but behind him, Tao Yi’s tense mood dissolved completely because of this remark.

She rolled her eyes.

"You like that star?"

"I don’t follow her. Don’t know her. Can’t say I like or dislike her."

"Then there you go—if you’re not part of the audience, why care so much?"

"..."

Yeah, honestly—none of my business.

I was just whistling for the masses misled by the fanbase. If you’re not that star, then stop pinching me!

Gao Yu wasn’t stupid. When he heard these two talking nonsense, his expression turned just as strange.

"The books were right—disaster is the catalyst for love."

"..."

"..."

Damn kid, what the hell do you know?

Just as the three were awkwardly lightening their moods, the old man’s shout came again from ahead!

"Watch out—we’re breaking the surface!"