The force of the palm strike stung his face, and Cang Mu instinctively released his grip and hurriedly retreated.

A figure suddenly emerged from the bushes, pulled Gu Liyan into his arms, and glared coldly at him. Cang Mu looked closely and realized it was Mo Chen!

What struck him as odd was that this Mo Chen was somewhat different from the Mo Chen who had just left…

Mo Chen looked down at Gu Liyan, who had fainted in his arms, and then looked up at Cang Mu with a cold gaze.

"I was really blind. I didn't expect you to be so powerful!" Cang Mu looked at Mo Chen with a cold face, still feeling lingering fear from the aura Mo Chen had just exuded.

Mo Chen glanced down at the unconscious Gu Liyan, frowned, and retreated without a word. Before leaving, he threw out a spherical object, which immediately created a cloud of mist that obscured Cang Mu's view.

As the rain and mist cleared, Mo Chen had vanished from the spot.

"Damn it, where did he learn those tricks! If he hadn't come back halfway, I would have already... Wait!"

Cang Mu suddenly realized something. "The direction this guy left from and the location he appeared in are completely opposite. Could it be..." Cang Mu looked solemn and dared not speculate further.

—On the other side, Mo Chen led Gu Liyan on a long escape, the surrounding wasteland being a stark contrast to the shrubbery they had just encountered.

Turning around and seeing that Cang Mu was not behind him, Mo Chen stopped. He threw Gu Liyan to the ground and complained, "You, you are such a troublesome guy!"

Gu Liyan was jolted awake, rubbed his head, and slowly sat up, looking around at the desolate land with a puzzled expression. "Am I not dead? Where am I?"

"Where do you think you'll be?" Mo Chen rolled his eyes at Gu Liyan and said irritably, flipping his hand to fan himself with a peach blossom fan.

Gu Liyan turned her head and stared blankly at Mo Chen beside her. When she saw the peach blossom fan in his hand, which looked very familiar, she exclaimed, "You, you are Mo Chen!"

Mo Chen rolled his eyes. "Nonsense! Who else could I be but Mo Chen?"

Gu Liyan stood up and looked Mo Chen up and down, excitedly saying, "Does your being here mean I've returned from that world? That's wonderful..."

"What do you mean, 'good'? What are you dreaming about?" Mo Chen interrupted Gu Liyan mercilessly. "What mission have you completed? You think you can just go back whenever you want? Don't forget, this is the Ancient Wilderness World, an irreversible world!"

Gu Liyan was stunned for a moment, only to hear Mo Chen continue, "If everyone were like you, taking a nap and then going back, I could have made hundreds of trips back and forth!"

"It's you. Yes, I've also seen the complexity of this world." Gu Liyan said with a wry smile, then looked at Mo Chen and asked in confusion, "By the way, how did you get here?"

Mo Chen sighed, "I'm just like you, someone sent me here! I've been searching for you in this world for a long time, knowing you were here!"

"Oh! I see." Gu Liyan nodded in understanding. It must all be Ping'er's doing!

"How long have you been here? Have you found anything?" Gu Liyan asked.

"I can't even calculate how long it's been. You know what you should know, and I don't know what you shouldn't know," Mo Chen shrugged.

“Alright.” Gu Liyan said with a wry smile, “Besides figuring out that the Demon Race and the Monster Race are now at odds, I just find the Nine Nether Land very strange.”

Mo Chen smiled wryly, "It seems we haven't gained much."

Mo Chen turned to look at Gu Liyan, whose pale face and sickly appearance made him purse his lips and say, "Tell me, who injured you this time?"

Gu Liyan pursed his lips and stammered, "It's nothing, it's... it was my own carelessness..."

"Hmph, I bet it's someone you know in this world, right?" Mo Chen interrupted Gu Liyan. "Judging from this time period, there should be many people you know. Your father? Your martial uncle? Or a woman who looks just like her?"

Mo Chen looked at Gu Liyan as if he had already guessed everything.

"You, how did you know?" Gu Liyan looked at Mo Chen in surprise, then suddenly thought of the Mo Chen from the demon race and asked, "By the way, there is also a Mo Chen in this world. You wouldn't happen to be from this world, would you?"

"Haha, you're overthinking it! It's common for people to look alike in different parallel worlds." Mo Chen said with a smile. "The reason I know so much is because these things are all recorded in the archives and library of the Nine Springs Realm."

"There are records?!" Gu Liyan asked in surprise. "Wasn't it said that records only exist where the Punisher is located?"

"Ha! You didn't know, did you? This is the first time your father and your martial uncle have carried out a Punisher mission!" Mo Chen said.

Gu Liyan's eyes widened. "No, really? Did it succeed in the end? And how has the world's格局 (geju, a concept encompassing both structure and overall situation) changed?"

"As you could have guessed, it was a success," Mo Chen said with a smile. "However, the final record reads: Darkness descended, the earth was littered with corpses and stained with blood, an unknown force stole the light, and everything ended in annihilation!"

Gu Liyan swallowed hard, trembling as she thought of the scene of corpses strewn across the field that Mo Chen had described.

Seeing Gu Liyan trembling all over, Mo Chen frowned and asked, "Gu Liyan, are you alright?"

Gu Liyan shook his head, and said wearily, "I... I'm fine, I'm just a little tired."

Seeing Gu Liyan's helpless state, Mo Chen wanted to say something but didn't.

Gu Liyan perked up and asked with a serious expression, "So our mission here is to prevent annihilation?"

Mo Chen shook his head. "The fate of the Nine Springs Realm Archives is unchangeable. I think we are not here to stop the destruction, but... to guide the destruction!"

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