"Hey, wait a second, when you guys were chatting, did you forget I'm still here?" Bai Ye said with a chuckle, "I'm with the Evil God's side, and you're just telling me the location of the realm gate so openly. You don't consider me an outsider at all."
Wu Suowei glanced at him, as if saying, you're already a dead man, what is there to be wary of.
"I'm muting myself."
Bai Ye retreated lightly, his eyes however were fixed on the abyss below, his mind pondering something.
"If this is the true altar, then breaking it will increase the progress."
Duan Chen surveyed the 'isolated island' suspended over the abyss.
The three of them arrived at the bronze door at the entrance.
"Go ahead." Duan Chen patted Bai Ye's shoulder.
"?? Huh? Why me?" Bai Ye pointed at his own nose tip.
"Seeing as it's about to end, I'll give you another chance to live," Duan Chen said with a serious look at Wu Suowei.
"Hey, Wu Suowei, Comrade Bai Ye has contributed to the Spirit Hunter Guild's conquest of the Abyss Domain. Can he be granted a suspended death sentence?"
Wu Suowei nodded: "Reasonable, approved."
Duan Chen spread his hands and said with a cunning smile, "See, brother, I'm doing this for your own good."
Bai Ye twitched the corners of his eyes. These two demons from the Divine Side were trying to squeeze out his last remaining value!
He sighed and took a step forward, "Alright, I'll see this transaction with the gods through to the end."
Dark ravens flew, almost filling the entire space, and the heaving air was full of falling black feathers.
Duan Chen impatiently waved away the stray feathers in front of him, "...Bai Ye, your crow is shedding terribly, you'd better get it checked."
"!!"
Bai Ye rolled his eyes and ignored him, "I still have to be careful when using moves in front of you."
"Don't be so stingy."
A round, dark 'sun' suddenly rose, Bai Ye's clothes fluttered, and his demeanor was light.
He waved his hand, and the 'sun' fell towards the altar.
Boom—!
A massive explosion erupted, causing the entire Yin Mountain to shake violently.
Large chunks of rubble fell downwards but made no sound of impact.
The entire tunnel began to collapse, the ground became unstable, and the world swayed.
"...Did you overdo it?" Duan Chen roared.
"Just a little slip~ I didn't quite control the force," Bai Ye playfully stuck out his tongue.
In fact, Bai Ye had done it on purpose. He intended to use the mountain collapse to break open the realm gate beneath the abyss.
However, it seemed he had failed.
And the realm gate was buried within the rocks, seeming to be hidden even deeper.
The three of them quickly left the tunnel.
When they emerged, they were below Wawa Village at the foot of Yin Mountain.
The mountain collapse had caused a cascade of rocks, burying the three villages of Xitu, Wa, and three others under rocks and mudflows.
However, there were no screams of agony or cries of sorrow from the villages.
It seemed that after Zhen Youdu's departure, the three villages had long since become ghost towns. As the energy that sustained the walking dead was withdrawn, the people of Zhen Village could finally find peace.
Duan Chen stood on a pile of rocks, looking down. The dilapidated temple in Wawa Village had been destroyed, and the stalls at the village entrance were also buried.
The old man who had insisted on giving him cabbage must have been buried here too.
A gentle breeze blew, and amidst the roaring rocks, it seemed as if someone was laughing.
A laugh of release.
"There will be no more intruders..." Duan Chen murmured softly.
Wu Suowei turned his head and calmly looked at Duan Chen.
"Before the Evil God's black pieces collect all the souls, I must destroy all the black pieces for this game to be considered my win."
"Will you help me, Duan Chen?"
A deep, low humming sound echoed from within Yin Mountain.
It seemed to be the young man behind the gate speaking to Duan Chen—
[Trust no one, not even gods.]
............
In the Divine Palace.
Wu Suowei came again to observe the changes in the chess game. He removed a white piece, allowing the suppressed black pieces to instantly come alive.
"You actually moved this piece. I've been watching for a long time and still can't understand your intention," the silhouette on the opposite side of the chessboard mused.
"It's good that you don't understand," Wu Suowei snorted coldly.
"Tsk, you game-idiot god, you really are a case of the novice beating the master with random moves."
The silhouette analyzed with great interest.
"Are you perhaps planning to deploy this white pawn to Duan Chen? After cultivating him for so long, he's just a pawn? It's a waste of resources, you might as well give him back to me."
"No, that's not right. You must be planning to gather forces and head to the Wind Altar, as I've committed all of Mirror City's forces there."
"It doesn't seem like it either... Are you trying to take advantage of the insufficient forces here to annihilate my souls in the abyss? Then you are too naive. If you really dare to go, other areas will surely collapse."
In a short period, the silhouette had repeatedly simulated countless possible futures.
"You've gone through over 900 world-lines to capture Duan Chen.
Orphanage, school, Spirit Hunter assessment...
Mirror City, Third Middle School, Sacred Heart Hospital...
This time, you didn't even hesitate to abandon Gao Tiankai, a piece you once trusted most. You sent him away with a flimsy excuse and then, under the guise of a temporary worker, infiltrated Duan Chen's side.
You personally taught him divine skills to replicate, and you appeared multiple times at critical nodes of Duan Chen's darkening, interfering and obstructing...
For a single piece like Duan Chen, you've invested so much. Aren't you afraid of flipping the board?"
"..."
"Hehehe, I get it. You game-idiot, you don't think that I won the previous 999 games because of Duan Chen, do you?"
The silhouette burst into arrogant laughter. "That's right, he is indeed my most crucial link. When he puts on that mask, the whole world trembles for him. Those eyes of his are simply a cheat; he can replicate any divine skill and can extract soul pieces with his bare hands...
But he is not a necessary condition for my victory.
Oh, and by the way, didn't you kill him at the very beginning in a few world-lines? Didn't you still lose in the end?"
Wu Suowei didn't pay him any mind.
Instead, he looked with interest at the black piece with black feathered wings and a dark raven at the top.
"Last time, your act of digging up Gu Sang gave me inspiration. Perhaps I don't need to cultivate myself... Poaching is also an interesting option."
The silhouette was startled. It twisted its ethereal body, appearing furious.
"You, you are a god! The embodiment of light and justice, how can you use such despicable tactics? I warn you, do not lay your hands on my people!"
"I'm just applying what I've learned." Wu Suowei revealed a foxy smile.
"Wu Suowei! Are you a sore loser?!"
The silhouette suddenly froze and shouted in alarm, "You, you're not thinking of deploying the retrieved white piece to Bai Ye, are you?!"
"He's been to Paradise and has already given me all his faith, body, mind, and soul. You'll only be wasting your effort!"
"Guess all you want, you have plenty of time anyway."
Wu Suowei turned and left.
"Hey—hey hey—!!" The silhouette yelled from behind.
"If that's the case, then you're forcing me to use my killer move."
The silhouette's gaze fell upon Mirror City's Wind Altar. Gu Sang, representing the black pieces, was about to unleash a bloodbath.
"Go ahead. While you're focusing on the abyss of the Ze Altar, the six corresponding spell convergences on land are nearing completion. Once the magic circle is formed, that Leviathan fellow can be revived...
Then the entire Su City will fall, becoming the second underwater city.
Just like Mirror City thousands of years ago.
Hehehe~ This feint has been brewing in my mind for a long time."
The silhouette's sinister laughter echoed in the empty Divine Palace.