Chapter 182: The Imminent Loss of Yumen Pass
Under the dazzling and colorful light of the sky, the semi-transparent body of the lighthouse jellyfish was also dyed in splendid hues.
It lay horizontally on the dry ground, filled with filth, struggling to move under the drive of its survival instinct, but soon turned into a glutinous mass, losing its vital essence.
“……” Fang Ji sighed silently, withdrawing his gaze from the lighthouse jellyfish and looking up at the figure enveloped in dreamlike hues of the miracle flower and radiant golden light in the sky, his expression growing serious.
He had long anticipated the situation that would arise when the First Generation Miracle Saint was awakened and the people and urban legends within Yumen Pass made wishes to Him.
Everyone and every urban legend, like that “lighthouse jellyfish,” would ultimately meet their end in some absurd manner; this could already be considered a relatively good outcome.
The worst outcome could very well be that the entire Yumen Pass and the surrounding area would be buried alongside the fall of the First Generation Miracle Saint. Even some of the inherent rules of this world might subtly change as a result.
Miracles never arise from nothing…
Fang Ji had realized this when he noticed that every time he was lucky, those around him would inexplicably be entangled in misfortune. Moreover, when the miracle flower that belonged exclusively to him shifted to calamity or Shen Baiwei, his luck would take a sharp downturn.
Once the wishes made by the people and urban legends inside Yumen Pass exceeded the range of what the First Generation Miracle Saint could fulfill, to avoid breaking His promises, He would either realize wishes through “special” means, like turning that spiritual ability user into a lighthouse jellyfish earlier, or, most likely, draw the power of “miracles” from others in the world outside Yumen Pass…
Hoping for one’s child to become the perfect “well-behaved child”?
Then simply find a suitable child to replace the “bad child.”
Hoping to possess wealth capable of rivaling nations?
Then plunder wealth from all around and bring it to you.
Hoping to instantly become a calamity?
Then bring enough core bodies of urban legends for you to devour; even if you ultimately become a distorted and confused aberration, that would still be a calamity.
……
As for the destruction caused by awakening the First Generation Miracle Saint, it depended on how insane the wishes made by the folks within Yumen Pass could become.
However, Fang Ji didn’t care about any of this; he only wanted the First Generation Miracle Saint to completely vanish.
If He could not be utterly eradicated, then for countless years ahead, the Miracle Cult would find ways to awaken Him again and again, and each time He awoke, He would, without exception, bring about disaster just as those recorded times.
It was just like that…
“Boom——!”
The sound of an explosion echoed from not far away. Looking in the direction of the sound, fierce flames erupted from the remnants of the ruins.
The unsettled spiritual energy tangled with the flames swayed as if dancing giants; the red-hot ashes splattered outward, flying toward the distance like a swarm of insects.
In the light of the flames, a man, ragged and drenched in bl**d, stood atop a small mountain of gold behind the ruins, one hand gripping a jagged battle axe, the other lifting the disfigured head of another spiritual ability user, feigning madness as he erupted into loud laughter.
“Hahaha! Everything is mine now…”
He looked just like a successful beast after a hunt, raising his head to howl.
But immediately after, the man’s laughter abruptly halted as he slowly looked down at the long sword penetrating his chest from behind, his pupils gradually dilating.
A new hunter had successfully climbed onto the table, beginning to enjoy the fruits of victory.
This was the phenomenon destined to occur whenever the First Generation Miracle Saint awakened.
When different people wished for similar things and had them granted, the one who gained the least would suffer from jealousy. At first, they would just think it was their own fault for not having planned better, but soon they would begin to blame others for making such wishes.
Thus, inevitably, someone would raise their blade, and the slaughter would commence.
The description of the First Generation Miracle Saint’s authority states that wherever He goes, gold covers the ground, yet beneath this gold often lie countless corpses. It also says that He would grant His followers fine wine and food, but once they are well-fed and sated, they would pick up the magical sword He brought, staining every inch of the blade with bl**d.
Now, such tragedies could still be contained to a certain area because of the existence of Yumen Pass, but if the First Generation Miracle Saint were to leave Yumen Pass surrounded by his loyal followers, the flames of slaughter would spread to every inch of the land He passed.
Thus, Fang Ji felt it completely worthwhile to exchange limited sacrifices for the annihilation of the First Generation Miracle Saint.
This kind of thing was like a person’s body experiencing organ abnormalities.
Choosing conservative treatment would mean being tormented by pain, even leading to a loss of life as the condition worsens…
Choosing surgery, while harming the body and causing bl**d loss, and risking surgical failure, could definitively eliminate the root cause if successful.
“Besides, as the lead surgeon, I’ll accompany him in d*ath… that counts as retribution, doesn’t it?” Fang Ji muttered.
He was well aware that with the complete annihilation of the First Generation Miracle Saint, certain “miracles” maintained only by His power would instantly disappear. At that time, those who held onto those “miracles,” whether people or urban legends, would have their dreams shattered and would surely seek crazy revenge against him, extracting from him all they could to alleviate their hatred.
If the complete annihilation of the First Generation Miracle Saint was a grand bloody ritual, then he would be the final offering…
————
“Chirp——!”
The sound of a canned beer opening echoed outside the narrow, filthy basement deep within Lime Men. The souls inside that had been partying just a moment prior dimmed instantly, leaving only a pure golden soul ball, unafraid of “d*ath,” shining as it lazily drifted towards the shelf.
As it floated, it muttered, “Look at you all! That guy is practically dying from the infection of the parasitic seed; who knows when he might drop dead! What’s there to be afraid of? When we go out, don’t tell anyone I was locked up with you! I can’t lose face!”
“That might disappoint you, Mr. Yunshen Machine; my illness is just about to heal.”
The basement door opened, and a disheveled, emaciated man walked in, one hand holding a briefcase and the other carrying a large can of chilled beer.
“Wow! Drinking beer right after recovering from illness? Aren’t you afraid of relapse?” Hunqiu Luxuming arrogantly perched at the top of the sealed crystal jar, speaking to the man as if he were peeking out of a prison cell berating the warden.
“Speaking of which, aren’t you supposed to go corrupt Xiao Bei? Why come to me instead when there’s so much going on at Yumen Pass? Or did the last time you tried to steal something backfire, leaving you with a psychological scar that makes you afraid to go now?”
Regarding why Hunqiu Luxuming was locked deep within Lime Men yet knew about Luxianbei’s movements, the man seemed unfazed; he expressionlessly pulled over a chair, wiped off the dust from it, and sat across from Hunqiu Luxuming, raising the beer can in his hand.
“Want some? Mr. Yunshen Machine?”
“No, I’m afraid this nearly expired promotional stuff will make me sick.”
“……” The man fell silent for a moment, drank a sizable gulp of beer for himself, then slowly said, “Mr. Yunshen Machine, I actually came here today to talk to you about Yumen Pass.”
“Did you know? The Miracle Cult succeeded, and Yumen Pass is about to lose control.”
“What does that have to do with Xiao Bei?” Hunqiu Luxuming replied.
“Hmm… How could it not?” The man said calmly, “Staying here, you may not know, but among her many aliases, there’s one that belongs to the Miracle Saint.”
“If Yumen Pass loses control and there’s evidence that the instigator Miracle Saint is Luxianbei, what do you think would happen?”
Hunqiu Luxuming, “……”
After a brief silence, he responded with an indifferent attitude, “If worse comes to worst, I’ll just be chased; who hasn’t had a near-homicidal experience in their youth?”
“Uh…” The man pondered for a moment and frowned, “I seem to… not have.”
“d*mn you! Being chased by loans for housing, cars, and dowries until you’re ready to jump off a building, and you still dare to say you haven’t? Shameless!” Hunqiu Luxuming retorted. “Alright, I’m tired. I’m going to sleep; please turn off the light when you leave!”
Saying that, he dove back into the crystal jar and closed the lid for himself.
The man, “……”
————
Meanwhile, in Shengjing City, Siye Association Headquarters.
Through the one-way glass, the Wordless Book looked expressionlessly into the observation room, her gaze traversing busy figures, finally halting on the map centered around Yumen Pass displayed on the light curtain, deep in thought.
The reconnaissance operation targeting Yumen Pass had begun as soon as the Siye Association received intel about the city gates of Yumen Pass being opened; she hadn’t stepped out of this command room for the past thirty-one hours, seven minutes, and forty-one seconds.
On the map, the areas surrounding Yumen Pass were marked with prominent red dots, indicating that the darkness’s erosion was rapidly increasing, and within the area closest to Yumen Pass, with a diameter of about five kilometers, the level of darkness’s erosion had even reached 18.43…
It should be noted that when Jumeng turned from d*ath to life and changed her authority, the highest darkness erosion level in the core area of the Peach Source was only 25.72, and under Jumeng’s intentional control, the area of effect was only a few dozen square kilometers.
From a certain perspective, the current Yumen Pass was like a nuclear reactor that could explode at any moment.
As for why such detailed data could be obtained nearly three thousand kilometers away at the Siye Association Headquarters… it was thanks to the “Wordless Book,” whose body had largely transformed into countless “probes” integrated into every blade of grass and tree inside Yumen Pass after “climbing over the wall” into Yumen Pass with Huaiyuan Jun.
After pausing her gaze on the map for a moment, the Wordless Book shifted her focus to the bottom right corner of the light curtain, where a dynamically changing table displayed the words [Evacuation Progress].
Seeing that the evacuation progress had reached 79.5%, she let out a slight sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the areas surrounding Yumen Pass were mostly desert and Gobi, also plagued by half-urban legends, so aside from occasional tourists, there were only a small number of herders as permanent residents, making it relatively quick to evacuate…
Once the evacuation was completed, she could begin her actions, the Wordless Book thought.
Just then, a Siye Association operative rushed over in a flustered manner, halting behind her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the burly man behind her and calmly asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Guardian, it’s a reminder for the remote meeting; level red…” the man stammered, handing her a black letter printed with a crimson mourning owl emblem.
The Wordless Book took the letter and didn’t open it but inquired, “Who initiated it?”
“It was jointly initiated by APTYA, Assassins, White God Group, and Spring Day Great Society…”
Upon hearing this, the Wordless Book rubbed her slightly throbbing temples and said irritably, “I knew it would be these guys!”
These four spiritual organizations, like the Siye Association, were also victims of the Miracle Cult…
APTYA and the Assassins’ sects already overlapped with the Miracle Cult’s active areas to some extent, and after the fall of the previous generation Miracle Saint, when the Miracle Cult temporarily withdrew from Z Country, large and small conflicts flared up between them.
The White God Group regarded this situation as their faith’s origins were similar to that of the Miracle Cult, and their deity’s authority was once eroded by followers of the Miracle Cult, making it a family feud.
As for the Spring Day Great Society, they could only blame their damned national conditions where cults thrived. Although the Miracle Cult had been active in R Country over a decade ago, ever since it took root in that fertile soil, the Spring Day Great Society had invested a great deal in manpower and resources to no avail in eradicating it.
Now that they had an opportunity to kick the Miracle Cult while it was down, it was no wonder these spiritual organizations jumped at the chance.
Moreover, if Yumen Pass really fell, they would also be one of the first spiritual organizations to be affected.
Concerning their own safety, they were eager for the Siye Association to immediately activate all superseding spiritual items and directly reduce Yumen Pass to rubble.
After a brief contemplation, the Wordless Book said blandly, “I won’t attend this remote meeting; I need to keep an eye on things here. You can please the Black Emperor to attend.”
It was about time to get that old man out of his shell and find him something to do… the Wordless Book supplemented in her heart.
“……” The Siye Association operative watched the Wordless Book’s back, struggling to find the words several times before bowing slightly and quickly leaving the room.
Saying she was going to keep an eye on it was just an excuse; she didn’t want to deal with the representatives from those organizations politically.
However, Lord Black Emperor was indeed quite skilled at “arguing”! The Siye Association operative thought.
As one of the Wordless Book’s secretaries, he had witnessed Black Emperor argue with foreign spiritual organizations, and his methods were downright simplistic and brutal—speaking at lightning speed amplified by the power of thunder, leaving no room for others to speak.
Although in terms of speed, he could not compare with those monks from APTYA who spent their days chanting in temples, if there was no way to win the argument, he could always bang the table and throw a fit!
After all, few people from major spiritual organizations worldwide could match Black Emperor in a fistfight…
After sending off the Siye Association operative, the Wordless Book repositioned her gaze back to the observation room’s light curtain, and as soon as she glanced at it, her brows furrowed.
The darkness erosion surrounding Yumen Pass had suddenly stopped spreading, and the level of darkness erosion in the core area stabilized at around 17, fluctuating back and forth.
What’s going on? The Wordless Book thought, puzzled.
