CH 168

Not long ago, Yin Ren’s head was buzzing with a sense of numbness.

He felt as if he were stuck in a “bug” in reality, surrounded by a pervasive feeling of emptiness akin to free-falling. If it weren’t for the mutterings of Dog Thing by his side, he would almost have difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality. It was worse than the pitch-black solitary confinement cell in prison—at least the prisoners in solitary confinement could still experience different levels of tactile sensations.

In comparison, the millennia-long seal felt like a vacation.

Yin Ren wandered aimlessly in the void, occasionally prodding Dog Thing with his thoughts to gain some fresh feedback. Apart from the undulating ripples in the distance, he still obtained nothing.

This couldn’t go on.

However, this kind of environment was ideal for contemplation. Since he couldn’t regain the perception of this “body”, it was better to try an alternative approach.

Yin Ren shifted his “gaze” towards the crazed and restless Dog Thing.

According to its explanation, the reason they were placed into bodies might be because of their similar “nature” and their connection to the Primordial Elementals. His own power far surpassed that of the Dog Thing, which caused it to be treated as a mere appendage.

The memory spell didn’t identify it as an individual.

Yin Ren exerted effort to decipher Shian’s memory spell. At this point, he was trapped in the spell, unable to escape. However, if he forcibly drew a clear boundary with Dog Thing, the spell currently in operation would surely detect this loophole.

Next, it would follow the existing rules to search for another body for Dog Thing.

…If he could forcibly place Dog Thing into a specific body and use it to convey a message, perhaps he could find Zhong Chengshuo. Fortunately, he had carefully studied this spell before and knew how to decrypt and modify it.

If he couldn’t go to the mountains, then when the mountains came, he could return to simplicity*.

*It’s an expression that means even if one can’t achieve one’s desired goal or go to a certain place, they can find contentment and fulfillment in embracing the circumstances that come their way. Basically, adapt to the situation.

Unexpectedly, when Yin Ren entertained this thought, Dog Thing vehemently expressed its opposition.

[Can’t find a body to accommodate you?]

After reading the thoughts of Dog Thing, Yin Ren asked with confusion.

[But cell phones can do it perfectly fine.] Could it be that the chip in a cell phone was some kind of metaphysical object he couldn’t comprehend?

[It’s not the same.] If it had a head, then Dog Thing would definitely be shaking it at high speed. [Ordinary creatures can’t handle me. Their brains would break down. It’s just a matter of how long it takes.]

Yin Ren recalled for a moment the bird whose head exploded, and let out a sigh. However, in the next instant, Lord Ghost King remembered something.

[Right now, we are in a memory. The creatures and evil things outside are not ‘living beings’. Regardless of what body you possess, what truly carries you is my brain and the brain of that Evil Spirit.]

The Evil Spirit wasn’t an ordinary evil, and Yin Ren wasn’t an ordinary Evil Spirit.

Dog Thing fell into contemplation, and after about half an hour, it finally reluctantly agreed.

[I’ll give it a try, but I can’t guarantee success.] Dog Thing reluctantly stated.

Yin Ren scratched his head in his thoughts. Everything was ready—he was just waiting for the right opportunity.

He knew which vessel to send Dog Thing into. However, the ripples were sweeping in all directions, making it nearly impossible for him to pinpoint the exact location amidst the chaos. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. There were so many disturbances that it made him want to collapse.

His memories and those of the Evil Spirit intersected. When the black dog Evil Spirit was born, there was a very distinct “ripple”. However, he couldn’t determine whether his target was exactly near it.

Yin Ren refined the spell to “throw” Dog Thing in his consciousness, calculating the required runes to guide it to a specific target.

He only needed a clue—even the slightest and most inconspicuous hint…

The turning point came in an instant.

Amidst the growing ripples of the Evil Force, another familiar ripple surged. It felt similar to an Evil Spirit, and Yin Ren was certain that it was himself.

“The Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi” was performing his spell.

As the memory of the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi resurfaced, Yin Ren was absolutely certain that his target was also present! With such commotion, Zhong Chengshuo wouldn’t miss it either.

[It has begun! …I’ve finally found them!]

In Yin Ren’s consciousness, an extremely intricate spell formed instantly. The runes wrapped around the cowering figure of Dog Thing, and in less than half a second, its consciousness soared upward like a projectile. Carrying Yin Ren’s entrusted memories, it flew far away.

Yin Ren let out a sigh of relief.

Dog Thing vanished, and he found himself surrounded by true emptiness.

…It didn’t matter; he had sent what needed to be sent.

He had allowed Dog Thing to receive his current memories. They contained his pleas for help, his concerns—

And his protection. Yin Ren had also packed the memories from a thousand years ago, serving as a patch in case of unexpected deviations in the memory environment.

In the boundless void, Yin Ren relaxed his mind.

[Zhong Ge, I’ve sent the information to you. Please reply as soon as possible.]

…..

Blood slowly dripped onto the soil, and Zhong Chengshuo remained motionless.

The purification array was still in effect, but the Evil Force continued to grow. It expanded slowly and irresistibly. Fu Xingchuan, Huang Jin, and Ge Tingting didn’t dare look at it anymore. Only Zhong Chengshuo remained, looking at it calmly.

It was starting to resemble more like the underground Evil Spirit of Shian… That dangerous Evil Spirit resembled a coral reef and emitted poisonous mist.

Now, on the surface of the Evil Spirit’s body, an undeveloped dog’s mouth had appeared. The entire Evil Spirit was enclosed within a semi-transparent black membrane, with mucus flowing along its uneven surface. The flesh of the black dog had long since ruptured, revealing the brownish-red blood and bones underneath.

Lu Xiaohe was reporting nonstop through her communication headset. The reinforcements from Huajisi had arrived, and the ancient cultivators cautiously advanced their encirclement. However, with the Evil Force active to this extent, they didn’t continue forward.

“What should we do?” Ge Tingting’s hand trembled as she held the short knife.

She didn’t know if the Evil Force in the memory would leave any aftereffects, or what would happen if the physical body in the memory was destroyed… And she had no idea what would become of them if the Evil Spirit truly went mad due to the confusion in its memories.

Just the effort of not retreating had exhausted all of her courage.

Beside her, the flesh puppet stood tall. His posture was calm and relaxed, as if he were waiting to meet someone. Fu Xingchuan also stood motionless in his place, using his small body to protect the others.

The nearby Gouluo army had been corrupted by the Evil Force, resulting in numerous casualties. In the night, only mountain mist and a light breeze remained, creating a terrifying silence.

Suddenly, the area where they were located was illuminated by a dark red radiance. The surrounding scenery appeared as if data had glitched, displaying distorted noise.

Next to Yellow Millet, who was half-paralyzed on the ground, a faint black-gray vortex suddenly appeared.

“Puff?!”

Ge Tingting couldn’t understand Yellow Millet’s language, but she could guess that it was probably an obscenity.

In fact, it was indeed a curse word.

The situation was so dire that Huang Jin had already mentally given up. During his time working in Shian, he had long since learned the mantra: “Haha, whatever”—as a spirit smith without any hands, he was now equivalent to a heavy ornament for the group.

Huang Jin had never imagined that things could get any worse for him.

As the anomaly suddenly occurred and the vortex spun, his head began to ache as if someone had stuffed a bowling ball into his brain. Some colossal entity seemed to have invaded his thoughts, and it felt as terrified as he did.

That thing also emitted a stream of thoughts similar to a curse word.

Fortunately, communication between thoughts was swift. Huang Jin was impacted by this unexpected guest and became somewhat confused, but he managed to discern the meaning of “Yin Ren’s rescue”.

In his mind, Huang Jin frantically repeated the tranquility mantra and clenched his nonexistent teeth.

[Fine.] He forced himself to convey his thoughts. [I’ll leave it to you. I’ll try my best to hold on.]

Phenomenon A-A682, Yellow Millet.

One of the extremely dangerous and rare corporeal evils. Yellow Millet was highly skilled in cognitive attacks; in other words, it excelled at creating realistic illusions.

Under the concerned gaze of Ge Tingting and Fu Xingchuan, the previously collapsed Yellow Millet gradually became full. Its originally colorful surface turned pure black, abruptly resembling a spatial wormhole.

In an instant, centered around Yellow Millet, the surrounding environment seemed to be covered and rapidly transformed.

Under the same night sky, the blood-soaked land became clean, and the burnt remains reverted to houses engulfed in flames. The corpses of people vanished, replaced by fleeing mountain villagers. The tranquil night was torn apart by hoarse and distorted barks of dogs, mixed with the shouts of “Enemy attack!” from the people.

In the realm of illusions, the illusions were just illusions within reality.

However, in the memory environment that was both illusory and real, illusions were capable of rivaling “reality”.

Contradictory memories intermingled with each other, and the world of memories descended into chaos. The Evil Spirit controlled by the enemy was affected by the environment and froze firmly in place.

Amidst the clamor of barking dogs, Fu Xingchuan also excitedly barked twice. Under the red cloth, Zhong Chengshuo closed his eyes.

“Yin Ren,” he softly called.

It was Yin Ren.

The enemy was fervently manipulating the memories of the Evil Spirit, and whatever Shian did would only intensify this chaos. The facts from a thousand years ago had long been obliterated, and the memories destroyed and overwritten, theoretically making it impossible to be restored. After all, despite Shian’s strength, they had only just sent people to investigate the details.

Sunken Society felt so confident because they believed this was merely “the Evil Spirit’s memory”.

However, what Sunken Society didn’t know was that there was still a living witness to the events from back then.

That person could still reveal the truth of what happened that year.

The Great Celestial Master who stood on the hillside all those years ago witnessed the village he was close to gradually descending into destruction. The memories of those events were so deeply ingrained that even now, the scenes projected by Yellow Millet were vivid and terrifying.

The elderly and middle-aged villagers picked up their farming tools and rushed toward the village entrance. The women guided the children to the ancestral hall, each of them holding sturdy kitchen knives in their hands.

“Hurry! Find a safe place. Hide in the deepest part of the ancestral hall. the Great Celestial Master has left protective spells!” The women repeatedly urged hoarsely. “No matter what you hear later, do not come out!”

The slightly older children took on the role of leaders and ran towards the ancestral hall, guiding the younger children.

The Divine Dog shook off the silk draped over its body and stood at the doorway, barking frantically with more urgency than the mountain villagers.

“Will the Great Master… Will the Great Master not come to save us?” a child refused to leave their mother, tightly clinging to her leg.

“Be good. Hide first.”

The child’s mother crouched down.

“The Great Master is too powerful. If he were to intervene, we would only die faster. He has already left us many protections. Be good. I will come to see you later.”

“But the ancestral hall can’t hold so many people,” the child said with a sob.

“…Mommy knows.”

She lifted her head and looked toward the distant mountains covered by fog.

“Mommy knows.”

The mountain villagers were fiercely courageous. Even in the face of death, they displayed a chilling determination. By the time they reached the ancestral hall, this group of Gouluo Army had already lost one-third of their forces, and many others were injured.

Among the soldiers, there was only one cultivator left.

The Divine Dog… or rather, the Evil Dog Spirit, was covered in wounds; its body was covered with scorch marks from spells. It bared its teeth, filled with human flesh and blood, at the remaining Gouluo cultivator.

Dragging a broken leg, it proudly stood at the entrance of the ancestral hall, with the tightly closed doors behind it.

“Go in and kill them all! Wipe out these despicable people and eradicate their lineage!”

The leader of the Gouluo soldiers roared with anger.

The black dog barked madly, surrounded by black light. The black light formed a shield, tightly guarding the doors and walls of the ancestral hall. The Gouluo soldiers switched to using long arrows made of exorcism wood, and the arrows rained down on the black dog.

“Don’t hurt the dog!”

A clear voice rang out.

It was the little girl who had clung to her mother and refused to let go earlier. She wasn’t willing to enter the ancestral hall and hadn’t waited for her own mother. The girl’s face was tear-streaked, and her eyes were swollen like peaches.

She stumbled out and embraced the black dog, whose fur was stained with blood.

Several arrows pierced through her shoulders and arms in an instant, but the child held onto the black dog tightly as if she didn’t feel any pain.

“Doggie you go… you go find the Great Master and drive away the bad people with him…”

She whispered into the dog’s ear, her voice filled with a sob.

“Don’t handle them by yourself. You’ll get hurt…”

The black dog let out a sharper bark, and another layer of shield unfolded in front of the girl. The arrows clinked against the shield and fell to the ground. The black dog itself was panting heavily, and its eyes were emitting a terrifying bloodlust in the darkness.

The remaining cultivator in the Gouluo Army had a cold expression and made a gesture, causing the arrow rain to abruptly stop.

The cultivator extended both hands and muttered incantations under his breath.

The red fabric scattered, and a metal box exuding a strong aura of Evil Force floated in the air and flew straight towards the black dog. It flew fast and steady, and upon contact, the black dog’s shield burst like a soap bubble. The girl clung tightly to the dog’s neck, looking puzzled at the intricately decorated metal box.

In the next moment, the girl began to melt.

Her features enlarged and shrank, swimming on her skin. Her limbs collapsed rapidly, and her entire body melted like wax exposed to fire, quickly turning into a horrifying pile. Bones pierced through the thin skin, haphazardly propped up by the flesh mass.

The girl seemed to feel no pain. Her deformed and displaced eyes slowly turned towards the black dog.

“Dog… dog—doggie.”

She murmured.

“Run away quickly…”

The box, filled with corruption, continued its rapid trajectory, floating towards the black dog. As long as the black dog dodged, the next thing to shatter would be the gate of the ancestral hall.

However, it didn’t dodge.

There were no screams or cries of anguish. The black dog lowered its head, sniffed the melted body of the girl, and then struggled to turn its body and made a desperate leap. It bit the metal box fiercely and clenched it in its mouth.

Crack.

Black blood overflowed from between its canine teeth, and the layers of metal shattered instantly. The source of corruption, tainted by Evil Force, fell to the ground and was devoured by the black dog.

In the next moment, it resolutely charged towards the remaining members of the Gouluo Army.

The author has something to say:

Yin Ren sent the truth.rar compressed package (×

Kinky Thoughts:

Oh no, I’m crying again. Divine Dog is a good boy!!! You deserve all the treats!