Chapter 306
Bella's voice shattered and her defense was severely broken. Her poor vocabulary was only enough for her to repeatedly curse: "Olivia———bastard———shameless———you value women over friends———"
It is so sad and miserable, and the lingering sound lingers in the beams.
Robert looked down at the angry Bella. The desert rose turned into white petals and fell down, making the man and the crow look miserable, pitiful and helpless.
Robert: “…”
Faced with the double standards of Olivia Godfather, he was actually a little broken QAQ.
Here, the man and the crow looked at Olivia with tears in her eyes and both broke down. Yu Tu breathed a sigh of relief - after teacher Olivia stopped attacking them, he finally had time to study what the white mist was.
After settling the three friends on flat ground, Yu Tu tried to continue to control the white mist with his consciousness, but found that someone was trying to snatch control of the white mist from him, and the snatcher was even very close to him.
Yu Tu had a bad feeling. He raised his head and met the eyes of Di Changqing, who was dozens of meters away and covered in blood. Although Di Changqing was injured, the words "Huh? Interesting" were clearly written in his eyes.
Yu Tu: “…”
It's like a bolt from the blue!
Di Changqing smiled at him, and took advantage of Yu Tu's stunned moment to quickly snatch control from Yu Tu. Although Yu Tu was shocked, Ma Jia's frequent encounters with danger and cleaning up messes had trained his reaction ability early on, so he immediately fought back without showing any weakness - no matter what the white mist was, he had to get control first!
Because of their fight, the white mist covering the entire Chongming City began to shake. Yu Tu "saw" many familiar people, most of whom were members of the Alien Bureau, but like Teacher Olivia, their eyes were unfocused, and it was obvious that they were immersed in an illusion and had not woken up.
Under the control of the white mist, some of these people who had not yet awakened gathered in strange directions, while others took up weapons face to face, either committing suicide or killing each other.
"Very powerful." Yu Tu heard Di Changqing's voice coming over. He had new wounds on his body, staining the stone he was sitting on red. The fragments of the black gold bell were scattered all over the ground, and the irregular cuts reflected cold light. "Bu Ye Hou actually transferred the control to you?"
Yu Tu: “…what?”
"He didn't tell you?" Di Changqing tilted his head, with a hint of malice in his eyes, "This is 'obsession'."
Powerful creatures are bound to a fixed place and consumed there. The power that overflows after death lingers here, forming a visible mist called "attachment".
The "obedience" of [the barren mountain] is mostly made up of the overflowing power of the Black Tortoise. The Phoenix fell nearby, and part of his power was also integrated with the "obedience" of the barren mountain.
After Di Changqing pointed out the nature of the white mist, Yu Tu suddenly understood that the "obsession" of [Wild Mountain] was mostly composed of the overflowing power of Xuanwu. Although Xuanwu had never seen Buyehou, he was very familiar with him, so the power without consciousness and attributes formed by it would not harm Yu Tu itself.
After walking through [Desolate Mountain], the power that Xuanwu finally exuded contained his soul energy. These soul energies instinctively approached Yu Tu, and Yu Tu's original body and vest shared the same consciousness, so the white mist could naturally be controlled by him.
In the eyes of outsiders, Hou Buye can control "Sheng", and Yu Tu can also control it. The only explanation is that Hou Buye used some unknown method to transfer the control of "Sheng" to Yu Tu.
"Tsk, Zhi is very difficult to control. If you are not careful, it will backfire." Di Zhangqing lightly tried to sow discord. "Senior Buyehou is really willing to do that."
If she didn't care, why would she let him control such a dangerous thing?
"If you can't speak, just shut up." Before Yu Tu could respond, Xie Jianwei instantly cast a wind spell, "My students don't need you to point fingers at them."
The experience of this little tea tree seedling from the Plant Clan is already bizarre, and his personality is shy and sensitive. If someone accidentally listens to him and thinks that Senior Marquis Buye doesn't care about him, wouldn't that be pure trouble?
"You're so angry because I said it right, right?" Di Changqing had a strand of hair cut off by the wind curse. He looked disdainful, "You're just trying to hide it."
Xie Jianwei: "..."
Why do some people have such an annoying mouth!
Yu Tu had heard a lot of unpleasant words while growing up, so he didn't care much about Di Changqing's subtle provocations, not to mention that his provocations were all nonsense - both the pseudonym and the real body were himself, would he dig his own grave?
Yu Tu simply chose to ignore him and concentrate on seizing control of "Execution". Previously, he was so busy escaping from teacher Olivia's pursuit that he had no time to do anything else. Now, after controlling "Execution" and gaining a deeper understanding, he realized that the nightmare array set up by Di Changqing would not make people lose their minds and attack randomly. They should fall into a coma like his little companions, until they wake up by breaking the array with their own strength.
Di Changqing only used the Nightmare Array as a basis and modified part of their perception through the bell as a medium. People in the Nightmare Array illusion saw enemies instead of colleagues. Going to a place where monsters gathered was not seeking death, but in the illusion, that was probably the only chance of survival.
While Yu Tu was trying to seize control, he was also trying to forcibly cut off the connection between Di Changqing and the Nightmare Array Illusion. This was a very difficult task, but thanks to Xie Jianwei's previous tough attack, Di Changqing was unable to split himself, and victory was actually tilting towards Yu Tu. As long as Yu Tu was given enough time...
The seriously injured Di Changqing suddenly smiled.
The corners of his eyes and pupils were a gorgeous red, like burning fireworks, and the scars all over his face were bleeding, giving him a weird and decadent beauty.
His chest was a mess of blood and flesh. That was the result of Xie Jianwei's actions when Olivia was restraining him. Xie Jianwei paid the price of a broken staff and a comminuted fracture of his right arm.
Di Changqing spat out a mouthful of blood. Due to the special nature of the Nightmare Array that covered the entire Chongming City, he was unable to move, so the blood flowing from his body had completely dyed the stone beneath him red.
"You didn't win." Di Zhangqing's fingertips touched the most exquisite and complex black gold bell hanging between his eyebrows. The color of the corners of his eyes became more vivid, but his skin was pale. "I never lose."
Yu Tu, who had taken over the control smoothly, suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. A strong wind came from behind him. Yu Tu subconsciously rolled to the side to avoid it, but was still blown far away———
The three little friends who were quietly unconscious opened their unfocused eyes at this moment.
Yu Tu tried to awaken their consciousness:
"Chi-Chi! Eric! Lily!"
No one answered.
The three of them surrounded Yu Tu in the middle in a triangle formation. This was the way of hunting monsters they had recently trained. On the other side, Olivia, who had been vaguely awake, had cloudy blue eyes, like the deep sea before a storm. He aimed his staff at Xie Jianwei, who had scars on half of his body. At the top of the staff, the water-attributed spiritual power was constantly compressed, and gradually there was a roaring sound.
Di Changqing made a last-ditch effort to change the nightmare formation. His breath almost immediately weakened, but he looked very happy, happier than ever before: "It's really... a good show."
The connection between the Nightmare Array and Di Changqing was strengthened at this moment. Yu Tu, who was fighting with him, was the first to bear the brunt of it. He felt a sharp pain in his consciousness and his head was dizzy. He almost fell to the ground. The whole picture of Chongming City was transmitted into his mind in a chaotic manner. The amount of information was so huge that it was frightening.
He saw Meng Ziqiu's sword on Lu Yayin's neck, with Qin Fei attacking from behind; Bai Shuang of the snake clan turned into a giant python, almost strangling the leopard and tiger; Gu Xingzhu had blood oozing from the wound on his abdomen, and was alone facing a gregarious C-level monster... All the monsters in the circle outside Chongming City rioted, blocking Director Jiang's rescue efforts.
"Zhi" clearly fed back to Yu Tu a terrible inference fact—everyone would die here, including Yu Tu himself.
Di Changqing is a madman who plays with the world. From the moment he took over the Nightmare Array, he had no intention of surviving, nor did he intend to let others survive.
Destruction is always easier than protection.
Yu Tu had never wished so much as he did now that he was the vest itself, the omnipotent Marquis of Buye in everyone's eyes.
The pain in his brain spread to his body. Yu Tu felt dizzy and nauseous. He couldn't even see the trajectory of the attack, but he was more awake than ever.
He never expected himself to be a hero who saves the world, but he hoped that everyone could survive, just as Director Jiang had hoped, that everyone would have a bright and beautiful future.
After reverse deduction of the sacrificial array method he had studied before, Yu Tu did not gain nothing. He happened to have researched a method to increase strength in a short period of time.
The souls of all living beings in the world are a special kind of energy, just like kneaded dough. As long as the person kneading the dough is skillful enough, he can spread the dough into a thin and fine shape, and stretch it to a large enough area, as long as the "dough" can withstand the incomparable pain during the stretching.
The feeling of having his consciousness completely torn apart was extremely painful. Yu Tu gritted his teeth and tasted blood in his mouth. His eyes were blood red. Perhaps the skin somewhere was broken and the blood flowed into his eyes, or perhaps there was something wrong with his eyes.
It seemed as if he couldn't breathe into his chest, and his body was as heavy as a stone, but his consciousness was light and boundless. The surging power allowed Yu Tu to seize full control of "execution" in a short period of time. Although it was only for a brief moment, it was completely enough.
Yu Tu simply and roughly cut off all the living, dead, and seriously injured people - regardless of friend or foe. At this moment, everyone was temporarily disconnected from the Nightmare Array and pushed out of the coverage of Yu Tu's "Execution".
這一刻，身體承受不住意識那暴漲的力量，虞荼成了一個血人。
谛長卿作為魇陣的核心，是除虞荼外，唯一一個沒有走脫的存在，兩個血乎乎的人隔空相望着，被眉心黑金鈴铛抽去所有力量的谛長卿癱倒在石頭上，笑得渾身顫抖：“原來、是個和我一樣的瘋子……有意思……”
虞荼聽不清他在說什麽，他已經感覺不到身體的存在了，托着他向前走的似乎不是身體，而是環繞在他周圍的近乎凝實的“執”。
這世間一切陣法，最簡單粗暴的破解方式都一樣，布陣者死亡，陣法即解。
虞荼渾渾噩噩的腦海裏只剩下了唯一一個念頭———殺了谛長卿。
殺了谛長卿，終結掉這一切。
虞荼不知道自己是怎麽過去的，只是感覺溫熱的血濺了滿臉，分不清是谛長卿的，還是他的。
谛長卿身下那塊已經被血浸透的石頭發出白色的光，“執”盡數湧入光裏，天空中的白霧一寸寸消解。
恍恍惚惚的，所有人耳邊都聽到一聲很輕的震動，像是石頭滾落山崖，像是夜間滴下露珠，像是晨起時胸腔的一聲嘆息，最後都盡數湮滅在天地裏。
石頭亮起了像太陽一樣耀眼的光亮。
那場盛況空前的拍賣會裏曾有一樣壓軸的拍品，看起來似乎是塊平平無奇的大石頭，拍賣會曾這樣介紹它———
【［命運之石］
或許某一日有人踏足其上，它會發出轟鳴，這或許是認可，也或許不是。
注：命運的洪流中，它只是一塊石頭。】
*
虞荼在白光裏醒來。
意識延展的劇痛減輕了一些，虞荼慢慢睜開眼睛，擋在眼前的手白皙修長，這是屬于馬甲的手。
虞荼沒有看到谛長卿，也沒有看到本體，只看到一片黑沉的虛無，虛無中偶爾有幾道光亮閃過，像是抓不住的流星。
虞荼确定自己從未來過這裏，但他的腦海中卻能準确知曉此地的名字———
【時空罅隙】。
進入此地的人非生非死，就如進入沒有盡頭的牢獄。
虞荼現在感應不到本體的情況了，因為他所有的意識都完整地聚集到了馬甲內，準确一點說，是一半完好的意識和一半扯得如漁網似的意識，這兩半勉強縫合在了一起。
虛無之中沒有落腳處，人在其中無法行走，只能随波逐流，虞荼在虛無之中，短暫地捕捉到了一顆流星，他将自己擠入到了這顆流星中。
流星似乎是某段時間的碎片，只是碎片之上布滿裂痕，虞荼只在其中看到一大一小的兩個背影，便立刻被排斥了出去。
意識的劇痛時時刻刻挑戰着虞荼的忍耐力，他扶着額頭，意識到了一個極為嚴重的問題———已知馬甲之前和蒼龍及顧鴻影兩人一起在無盡之海，那麽他們三個應該是一同進入了【時空罅隙】，要在沒有盡頭、沒有邊界的虛無之中找到他們兩個，難度恐怕不會比大海中分辨出一滴成分不同的水更低。
虞荼被困在此處束手無措，于是他被迫嘗試着修複被折騰得亂七八糟的那一半意識，修複途中，他總是做夢，但夢見了什麽，虞荼又昏昏沉沉想不起來。
虛無之中，沒有時間與空間的概念。
随着修複進度的推動，虞荼做夢愈發頻繁，光怪陸離的，像匆匆而過的流水，虞荼一會兒夢到年幼時雪地裏拍不開的那扇門，一會兒夢到茶館裏那盞熄滅的燈，一會兒夢到他走在滿是行人的街巷裏找不到回家的路，一會兒又夢到他打開門看到門外的顧鴻影和三青……
虞荼夢到很多過去，這些過去充滿了跳躍性，沒有一點邏輯，他甚至會夢到很少接觸的人事物，比如昆侖禁地裏的“麒麟”。
他夢到那燦若驕陽的眼睛，夢到他那時的提問———
【為什麽選中我？】
［未來、現在、過去。］虞荼又一次聽到祂的回答，［是你選中了你自己。］
……
“先生？先生？”
虞荼聽到呼喚，像是隔了很遠很遠，眼皮如同灌了鉛般沉重，緩緩有了焦距的視線裏，虞荼看到了一個髒兮兮的小孩。
小孩兒頭頂有對小小的青色鹿角，身後有條短短的胖尾巴，尾巴上糊滿了幹得結塊的泥土，剝落的泥土裏，能看到淺青色的、帶着流光的鱗片。
虞荼低下頭，那個髒兮兮的小孩蹲在地上拽着他的衣擺，有點微不可計的拉扯力。
“先生。”髒兮兮的小孩慢慢仰起頭，他有一雙很漂亮的眼睛，只是盯着那雙眼睛看久了，竟然會生出點幽微的恐懼來，“你曾經的承諾……作數嗎？”
哪怕臉上糊着泥巴也不能掩蓋住他的好看，只要見過就絕不會忘記，但虞荼看着他的臉，只覺陌生，甚至有些厭惡。
“我不知道你在說什麽。”虞荼将自己的衣擺從他手裏慢慢扯出來，“我并不認識你。”
虞荼看到小孩身後那條胖尾巴顫了一下，尾巴悄悄伸過來想要圈住虞荼的腳踝，卻最終只是在空中停滞後又慢慢縮回去，看着有幾分可憐。
這樣冷漠地對待一個孩子不太禮貌，但生起這個念頭時，虞荼又會覺得心中煩悶。
好奇怪啊。他想。
“您是在生我的氣？”髒兮兮的小孩繼續揚頭問，他再次重複，“真的不作數嗎？”
虞荼沒有再說話，他只是後退了一步。
他并不認識這個小孩，又哪來的承諾？
或許是他後退一步的動作意思表露的太明顯，那個髒兮兮的孩子眨了眨眼，也向後退了一步。
“我知道了。”他笑着嘆息，聲音又輕又冷，“您已經做出了選擇。”
他用力地拍了拍自己的衣擺，好像這樣就能将幹枯在上面的泥土全部拍掉，變得幹幹淨淨，沒有印痕。
“我其實早就知道了，卻還是心有奢望。”他身上泛起詭異的黑色光芒，“一萬年了，我依舊學不乖。”
黑色的光芒裏，髒兮兮的小孩漸漸模糊了面目，他的身形迅速抽條，變得高大修長，有點肉乎乎的臉頰也漸漸有了成年人的輪廓，他頭頂依舊頂着鹿角，身後胖尾巴倒是瘦了不少，線條流暢自然，只是都從青色變成了墨黑。
虞荼說：“蒼龍。”
“是我啊……”蒼龍的掌中出現了一把劍，劍上缭繞着火光，看起來像造型奇特的、熊熊燃燒的火炬，“先生。”
他将手中的劍指向虞荼的方向，燃燒的火光倒映在他黑沉的眼眸裏，如同永不熄滅的野心：“我不會再對您手下留情了。”
周圍的景物旋轉扭曲，像被打翻的顏料在流動，各色的斑斓最後都歸于純然的黑，他們又回到了虛無。
只是這一次的虛無好像和之前不同，虞荼隐隐約約感受到了天地意識的氣息，在虛無之間的裂隙裏一閃而過。
“虛無之中無法行走”這條像被刻在意識裏的鐵律此時似乎徹底失了效，虞荼在短短幾個呼吸之間，已經和蒼龍交手了數次。
柔軟的綠藤纏繞在虞荼掌心，化成一柄淺青色的仍有枝葉的劍，劍上有着些許焦黑痕跡，是蒼龍之前的攻擊留下的印痕。
“您的劍術還是一如既往。”蒼龍壓低的聲音裏似乎有着懷念，“從不改變。”
虞荼面上的神色依舊淡淡的，叫人揣摩不出他心裏真實的想法，他在劍術上并未有太大天賦，使用的不過是最普通的劍招，能夠及時閃避，全靠他那一半破破爛爛還沒補好的意識。
虞荼對蒼龍所說的過去不感興趣，他只知道他不能死在這片虛無裏，如果一定要在虛無裏消亡，他至少得把蒼龍這個禍害帶走，他要是活着走出時空罅隙，必然再次為禍世間。
在吸收了大量能量，後續一直有源源不絕的能量補充己身後，虞荼馬甲的實力被短暫地拉到了一個極高的水平，所以他和蒼龍的打鬥竟然能引動時空罅隙出現虛空波瀾，生出一道又一道裂隙，虞荼在裂隙裏，越來越明顯地感應到天地意識的存在。
祂在“注視”着他們。
蒼龍的力量節節攀升，他在利用虛空波瀾竊取屬于天道的力量，他的意識能壓制住被竊取的力量暫時化為己用，但虞荼收到的能量補充，憑他現在的意識強度已經很難駕馭了———他并沒有萬年的沉澱與磨砺，他的意識年輕鮮活，甚至不足蒼龍年齡的零頭。
虞荼很輕地嘆了一口氣，極快地做出了決定。他另一半完好的意識像面團一樣延展，細細地撕扯開，能量補充的越多，他的意識便撕扯的越細碎。
之前獻祭法陣反噬所帶來的痛苦，與如今比起來不過九牛一毛，不值一提。
蒼龍在又一次攻擊結束後終于驚覺，先生不再是萬年前的先生，他也不再是萬年前的他了，滄海桑田，日月輪轉，世間根本就沒有什麽永恒不變。
The mountain that seemed like it would never be surmountable, the mountain that he would always have to look up at and chase, might not be as tall as he had imagined. It was time that blocked the way to climb and blinded his eyes time and time again.
Canglong felt a little regretful, although he didn't know what this fleeting regret represented.
Time is the sharpest and most ruthless weapon in the world.
"Why don't you admit defeat?" he wondered. "Isn't it a good thing for me to take His place?"
He wanted to replace the Way of Heaven, and he had been preparing for this moment for many years.
"Heaven's Way becomes a 'human'..." Yu Tu's face turned pale, and he looked like he was about to fall down at any moment. "It's not a good thing."
"You can't stop me." Canglong suddenly realized something. He swung his sword to the side. Amid the clanging of the fine iron, Gu Hongying fell out of the crack in a wolfish manner. "...Gu Hongying?"
Gu Hongying's arm was numbed by the blow. When he woke up, he was in nothingness. A voice from the dark guided him from the crack to here and launched this attack.
There was a slanted bloody wound on the back of Canglong's hand. Blood flowed out and dyed the back of his hand red. The Kunwu Sword, which was tempered with the blood of the fox, was the only weapon in the world that could hurt him.
Gu Hongying clenched the sword in his hand. He was actually unsure in his heart, but he knew that he could not let Canglong walk out of the crack in time and space, whether for himself, for his relatives and friends, or for the millions of ordinary people in this world.
The clanging sounds of the clash echoed almost thousands of times in the void. Canglong's swordsmanship was only average compared to Gu Hongying's, but the gap in strength caused by a long period of time could not be made up by the top swordsmanship.
After being injured again, when the sword in Gu Hongying's hand was about to slip out, a hand held his back, and someone helped him to withstand the subsequent attacks like a storm.
Gu Hongying turned his head to the side, and in the dangerous nothingness, he saw the stern expression of Buyehou. He held Gu Hongying's hand, which was shaking constantly due to using the sword. The base of Gu Hongying's hand had been cracked a long time ago, and the sticky blood covered the sword.
Buyehou whispered, "Give me the sword."
The natal sword is equivalent to half of a sword practitioner's body. A sword practitioner will never abandon the sword at any time. But at this moment, Gu Hongying was in a trance and actually let go of his hand.
Everything happened in a flash, and Buyehou replaced Gu Hongying.
Gu Hongying heard a light "puff" sound, as if a sharp object had pierced into a soft human body, and hot blood splashed onto him—it was not his.
The strange, torch-like sword in Canglong's hand pierced into Buyehou's chest, while the Kunwu sword held in Buyehou's hand steadily pierced into Canglong's heart.
In such great pain, Buyehou's hands were terrifyingly steady. He held the blood-stained sword and pressed it back little by little. The only weapon in the world that could hurt Canglong made a teeth-grinding creaking sound at this moment. The Kunwu sword trembled as if it would break at any time.
Yu Tu stretched out his other hand and grasped the torch-shaped sword that pierced his chest. In the overwhelming pain that could not be described in words, Yu Tu suddenly felt that fate was indeed a mysterious thing.
The flames on the Canglong Sword burned his chest, passed through his beating heart and came out from his back, like a fire that ignited his flesh and blood.
In the Western legend of the inner world, once the Sword of Light is unsheathed, no one can escape, but the one who uses the sword will surely die under the sword.
Life for life, both sides suffer losses.
The void began to shake, as if making some kind of judgment. Terrifying cracks were created in the void waves. Different scenes of time and space could be vaguely seen in these terrifying cracks.
If death was inevitable, Yu Tu hoped that Gu Hongying could survive. He seized the opportunity and pushed Gu Hongying with his last bit of energy in great pain.
Gu Hongying, who was shocked by the sudden change, had no power to resist. Wrapped in energy, he fell into the crack caused by the void waves. The last thing he saw was the blood-stained back of Buyehou.
Just like that day in the depths of the endless sea, a gentle and familiar voice passed through the chaotic time and awakened him from his nightmare—
"Survive, Gu Hongying."