Chapter 237: Choice
Luxianbei landed silently, stepping forward on the rough gravel stone, one step at a time.
On the battlefield, scarred and broken, thick smoke rose and flames swayed as if making way for the ominous presence that sparked the calamity, creating a path before her. Furious tribal warriors rushed toward her, wielding deformed weapons, shouting and roaring.
Out of the corner of her eye, she picked up an abandoned long kn*fe at her feet, gripping it tightly. With the surging and cold spirit energy flowing from the trembling core of the witch-type urban legend, it poured into her palm, then infused into the broken long kn*fe, causing the blade to emit a low, rumbling hum.
That humming sound was like a calling that humans could not comprehend, beckoning to bl**d…
Following the guidance of the call, the bl**d spilled onto the earth, accumulating among the broken limbs and flesh, suddenly began to boil. Strands of bright red shot up, forming a crimson mist in midair, which, under the pull of spirit energy, spiraled into a vortex.
At the center of the vortex, on the damaged long kn*fe, dark red patterns gradually emerged, interlacing like a dense network of capillaries in the human body, swiftly outlining intricate incantations.
That was the spirit energy circuitry and incantations forged from Dachunyang Palace’s spirit energy items…
A spirit energy item, enhanced by spirit energy and bl**d, was shaped at an astonishing speed.
Moments later, the broken long kn*fe in Luxianbei’s hand disappeared, replaced by a bl**d-red blade exuding an ominous aura and inhaling faint light, with shattered steel and bl**d mist swirling around its edges due to intensive spirit energy erosion.
Although limited by the kn*fe’s material, this spirit energy item could not last long, but even as a disposable item, it was enough to deal with those detestable obstacles.
Thus, as Luxianbei turned around, the long kn*fe swept horizontally, roaring forth, and with a booming sound, sliced through the incoming curved kn*fe as easily as severing a willow branch, slicing cleanly forward, drawing a crimson arc that effortlessly took off a head.
“Pshew—!”
bl**d splattered, and the warrior’s body toppled backward, severed in two.
Light and delicate, like a piece of silk lifted by the wind.
A grotesque wound emerged from his burned chest.
The flash of bl**d.
Amidst the lamentations, the tribal warrior landed, struggled a few times, then fell apart, breathless.
The next moment, before Luxianbei could wipe the bl**d from her blade, a heavy hammer came whistling toward her.
“Bang—!”
With a twist of her wrist, the long kn*fe swept, halting the heavy hammer’s momentum just half a meter before her.
Stepping forward, the blade glided along the side of the hammer, sparking against it, and before the horned tribal warrior could regain his senses, bl**d had already spread at his throat.
Before he could fall, Luxianbei had already sprung into the air, lightly tapping his shoulder with her toes, using the force to soar ahead.
Upon landing, a dozen figures had already surrounded her closely.
Long knives, battle axes, heavy hammers… all manner of weapons intertwined to form a net, instantly enveloping Luxianbei, striking ruthlessly and without hesitation, like a tightly sealed trap.
The instinct to predict activated, accompanied by a torrent of information flashing through her mind, every attack was discerned.
Flaws everywhere!
As weak and laughable as child’s play!
Then, after a flicker, her figure seemed to teleport, appearing behind those dozen figures.
Striking out, clean and decisive, every blow aimed at vital points.
“Pshew—pshew—pshew—!”
Sounds of bl**d splattering rang out in succession, and one after another, the figures fell to the ground, unable to rise again.
Stabilizing her form, looking at the many figures gathering in front of her, Luxianbei slightly frowned and raised her hand, beckoning with her finger.
Thus, outside the battle circle, more than twenty trucks, long ignored by others, roared to life, speeding past her with the rumble of engines, stirring the silver-white hair and the hem of her long dress in the wind…
———
In the distance.
Alatan, gripping his crescent twin blades, dragged his wounded body forward with those citizens favored by the great Shaman Queen, advancing.
By his side, figures surged forward as if they were blind to the deaths of their companions.
Under the blessing of the Shaman Queen’s power, the pain of their physical wounds had vanished, d*ath brought no sorrow or fear, even bringing excitement and glory from dying on the battlefield.
After all, their souls would return to the great Shaman Queen, resting in the temple of true warriors.
“k*ll!”
“k*ll her!”
“For the Shaman Queen!”
“……”
Amidst the shouts and roars, a sudden high-pitched voice pierced through, drowning out all other noise.
“Woo——!”
The roaring winds surged, and two “steel behemoths” sped in.
One in front, one behind, surging past Alatan, scalding bl**d staining his body, and high-speed flying chunks of flesh and bone struck him painfully.
In that moment, he seemed to fall into a world filled only with bl**d and d*ath, a strange whispering that led to despair echoed in his ears.
“Don’t struggle anymore…”
“All resistance is futile in front of her…”
“It is still not too late to give up now…”
Listening to those whispers, Alatan’s bloodlight ignited eyes briefly dimmed, his mind wavering slightly as he looked towards the figure of the girl shrouded in bl**d mist ahead, fear surfaced in his gaze.
The power granted by the great Shaman Queen seemed to wane under the girl’s influence.
———
While Luxianbei was on a rampage, several kilometers away from Yumen Pass, the Shaman Queen lifted her head, gazing towards the direction of Yumen Pass.
Beneath the brim of a divine hat made from various urban legend furs and bl**d, her double-pupiled, deep as the night sky eyes reflected the bl**d and fire of the devastated battlefield seemingly crossing spatial distance.
The tribal warriors influenced by her power seemed in that moment to become part of her body; she could feel their anger, see their visions, and share their pain.
Then.
The face adorned with a menacing tattoo twitched slightly, revealing a smile.
“I did not misjudge…” she murmured.
All this time, she had been lonely, longing for connection.
Even though she had countless subjects and followers in this vast desert, they could only see her as a godlike being, unable to understand everything she had glimpsed.
In fact, when she led the ambush on the Longxiang Army’s camp, she was delighted to discover that not far from the camp, a “kindred” presence lurked, and not just one!
Since that moment, she had eagerly anticipated meeting those two kindred spirits again.
Thus, as the Longxiang Army began to retreat, she unhesitatingly commanded her forces to pursue.
She did not particularly care about the deaths of those tribal warriors, nor did she mind that ahead lay Longxiang and Hong Bian’s trap; she had long anticipated what would happen when she reached Yumen Pass, but she firmly believed she would emerge victorious in the end.
At this moment, through the eyes of those tribal warriors, seeing the raised blades, she felt no reproach, only joy.
The joy of finding kindred!
It just seemed that this kindred was still lost, not truly stepping onto that path…
“Perhaps… I should give her a little help?” the Shaman Queen murmured.
———
Not enough, still not enough, still unclear!
Luxianbei thought to herself, letting her body follow the instincts driven by the core of the witch-type urban legend, raising her blade once more against the incoming tribal warriors.
From the beginning, she had followed the core’s instincts to create chaos and slaughter, d*ath and fear, hoping to glimpse the guidance from the ominous presence watching over her, leading her to where.
However, as she mustered all her courage, risking immediate d*ath, spreading bl**d and fire, catalyzing the war to its conclusion, she still could not see the path ahead.
It felt as though some mysterious force had blinded her eyes, blocked her ears, and obscured her mind.
Isn’t this a real pain in the a**?
Do you not know how great the risk is in doing this? Do you understand the principle of being outnumbered?
Moreover, that was thousands of hands… One misstep could lead to a kn*fe coming from who-knows-where, right? Luxianbei thought.
Her current feeling was as though she had sold her soul to the devil, letting her existence plunge into the abyss in exchange for a chance to glimpse the future, only to encounter a scam syndicate from the abyss.
Wanting to withdraw, yet unwilling.
Like most victims of scams, the turmoil in her chest surged.
Having already lost so much, losing a little more seemed inconsequential!
What if?
What if she gave them a little more, and they really delivered?
Then.
Suddenly, a low voice echoed in Luxianbei’s mind.
Someone was attempting to communicate with her, speaking in incomprehensible language.
Perhaps it was Huihu or Tibetan, sounding similar to the words spoken by those tribal warriors.
However, even though Luxianbei could not understand those words, the rhythmic syllables echoing in her mind seemed to possess a strange power, pulling her consciousness toward the unknown, piecing together a hazy image before her eyes.
For a brief moment, her soul seemed to break through the mysterious force blocking her vision, letting her glimpse some scattered scenes.
It seemed like images from the dawn of the world, with a boiling primordial soup of astounding temperature, scorching sunlight pouring unobstructed onto the earth.
Then, as if only a second had passed, yet also as if experiencing a long era, a massive shadow surged from the depths of the boundless starry sky, obscuring the scorching sun, the night slowly lengthening, allowing the parched lands to cool for a brief moment.
That scene made Luxianbei think of the increasingly prolonged nights leading to the surge in urban legends.
Eventually, the long night descended, and everything fell into prolonged darkness.
In the darkness, countless enormous figures resembling illusions appeared and vanished, glimpsed in a hurried glance.
Suddenly, a violent roar erupted, as if the entire world trembled with that sound, then the scorching sun reappeared, and the whole world began to awaken.
Figures, some ferocious, some twisted, some small, some enormous, emerged from the darkness, proliferating and occupying their territories, then expanding, fighting and killing each other, leaving horrifying battlefields scattered throughout the world.
The entire world radiated a decrepit and decaying aura amidst that seemingly endless grinding and struggle, as if it were sick and urgently needed healing.
Thus, as if guided by some force, several terrifying figures descended.
They spread plague, caused slaughter, and summoned lava, igniting flames across the land and stirring tsunamis thousands of meters high…
Was that… the factor that could destroy the world? Such a thought flashed through Luxianbei’s mind.
Soon, chaos ceased amidst destruction, dust returned to dust, earth returned to earth.
Only colossal beasts lurking in the deep sea waved their tentacles, while bones engulfed in flames sat on thrones, gazing at the sky with heads larger than mountains, their eyes wide open.
Then, darkness descended again, obscuring sunlight, plunging the entire world into a long night, waiting, waiting for the light to return.
The Shaman Queen guided Luxianbei, allowing her to witness everything she saw when advancing the calamity!
When darkness descended once more, Luxianbei suddenly awakened from her confusion, clarity dawning on her of that invisible guiding endpoint.
“The factor that destroys the world, calamity!”
As if having a vision, she heard a voice imbued with terrifying authority speak to her.
Accompanied by that voice, she saw a figure enveloped in destructive flames gradually clarifying within her field of vision, appearing to beckon her closer, extending its arm, inciting an impulsive desire within her to step forward and embrace it.
Her intuition told her that if she embraced that figure, she would gain unique, supreme power, one that almost no living being or urban legend could refuse.
Alongside that figure were six massive presences emanating a chilling aura, only their gigantic outlines visible, their true appearances obscured, and behind them, countless faintly discernible figures appeared.
Luxianbei, “……”
Is that the direction that power indicates?
Thank you! I see it now; it’s so enticing…
Can you let me get a little closer to see more clearly?
As Luxianbei thought, immediately as if responding to her thoughts, the figure wrapped in flames and the six shadows beside it seemed to grow clearer, their general shapes becoming discernible.
“Wow! This is amazing; thank you for your grace, but… I refuse!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly unleashed all her spirit energy toward the six figures and the countless faint shadows behind them, issuing a soul-deep scream.
In an instant, all authority within her trembled violently as if it would collapse at any moment.
She said, “Everyone! Did you hear that? This is my choice; you… ahhhh—!”
Before she could finish her sentence, her words turned into a painful wail.
An overwhelming force descended upon Luxianbei’s body as if to crush her.
The pain exceeding the strength of a hundred-armed giant made her doubt whether she could continue to speak or even think “refusal” after saying the remaining incitements; it was completely due to the bestowal.
Then, a great fear quietly crept into her heart.
She horrifiedly realized she could no longer retreat, an unstoppable momentum drawing her toward that figure cloaked in flames.
As if telling her, she had no right to choose, let alone refuse?
