Chapter 1896 - 1895: Eight Centuries of Hatred

Bang——

Geslo kicked open the door and rushed out from the silent building.

Behind him, a crowd also quickly charged out from behind the door, following his footsteps, heading toward the secluded street.

Soon, everyone entered the street.

Their off-road vehicle was parked by the roadside at this moment.

"Captain? Where do we go next?" a special forces team member raised his head and looked at Geslo.

"Let’s find a clinic first and treat Brother Anke’s wound," Geslo took a breath, glancing at the man on his back, his face pale and his bandages soaked with blood.

"My clinic is nearby." The underground doctor beside them quickly said, "We can go together."

"Alright," Geslo nodded, raised his gaze, and checked the personnel behind, "Let’s go first."

As his voice fell, he suddenly realized something was wrong, and he looked at the crowd again behind him, "Anke? Where did Anke go?"

——

In the secluded forest, He Ao raised his head from the stone chair, looking at Sulan in front of him.

"I know what you want to ask," Sulan looked at He Ao, smiled, "Brother Denos, your son was in the city at the time. He had already grown so old and frail. I personally watched over him and your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, prioritizing them to be sacrificed to the Divine Being. It’s a pity that I didn’t find you at the time, otherwise, I would have let you watch them die with your own eyes."

He Ao’s hand on the chair suddenly tightened.

"Yes, exactly that," Sulan looked at He Ao and continued to smile, "I wanted to see this expression, this anger and helplessness, this expression of a failure."

He stood up and walked forward, "You know how lucky I am? I originally thought you were already dead, that I’d never be able to torture you again. I even went to the Netherworld to look for your undead, and yet you weren’t dead. Fate is simply too miraculous."

He turned back excitedly, looking at He Ao, "I only knew that a Coffin of Time was sealed in Kovotra by the Divine Being, waiting for the day it would be useful. I never expected that you were lying inside, alive until now."

He gazed at He Ao and opened his arms, "You know, when the Divine Being made me return from the stars to this broken place, I was somewhat reluctant. But I didn’t expect to see you again, and with such a good thing, I’m definitely not losing this time."

He Ao looked at him and suddenly spoke, "You envy me."

"I envy you?" Sulan seemed to hear something amusing. He looked at He Ao, "Why should I envy you? Envy a mortal? Eight hundred years ago, I became an Angel, stepping into the domain of immortality. And now, in the starry sky, I’ve found the path to the Usurper God."

He gazed at He Ao’s dark body, "And you now, look at your current state, merely a mortal barely maintaining a half-dead state with Extraordinary Items. You don’t even have a body and can only maintain a false human form with this power."

His voice gradually rose, with a touch of mockery, "I envy you, why should I envy you? Envy your weakness and insignificance, envy your almost dead appearance?"

He looked at He Ao, "And even in your mortal days, you never defeated me. If I wanted, I could easily drive you away and become the governor of Kovotra. But if it weren’t for an accident, there would be no opportunity for you later, and you could only be a Hunter in Xiqilelan for your entire life."

He sneered, "I envy you, why should I envy you?"

"Force cannot bring people’s love and respect," He Ao calmly gazed at the young man before him, "What you gain is only fear, it was like this eight hundred years ago, and now it is the same."

"You’re preaching to me again," Sulan took a deep breath and then exhaled long, "I’m simply fed up with your endless arrogance and preaching. Do you think you are some lofty saint?"

He Ao quietly looked at him, eventually leaving only a gentle sigh.

And upon hearing this sigh, Sulan became even more furious. His handsome face flushed slightly, eyes wide open, as he gazed at He Ao, "What do you want to say? Say I’m unteachable?"

He took a deep breath and mocked, "Look now, who among us is stronger? Look now, who among us has achieved more? Aren’t these enough to shatter your ignorance and arrogance?"

He Ao quietly listened to his words, gazing at his mockery, only gently sighed, "I actually figured it out long ago, what we pursue is different, and so are the results. I shouldn’t use my logic to define you, nor should I attempt to ’educate’ and ’change’ you."

This statement stunned Sulan, he looked at He Ao, "Again with that lofty elder tone, I call you brother, do you really think you are my brother?"

"Heh," he chuckled softly, "Indeed, I don’t need to compare my achievements to yours. Why must I seek your approval,"

He raised his hand, his young and handsome body gradually aged, transforming almost instantly into a middle-aged man looking around forty or fifty.

His appearance remained graceful, but the space between his brows carried a silent ruthlessness, like a fierce beast dwelling in the mountains, ready to devour everything around.

But soon, this fierceness quickly disappeared, hidden among the mottled wrinkles.

His brown eyes were also obscured by a murky light.

His visage appeared dignified and natural, like a Monarch long accustomed to high positions, only the murky brown pupils vaguely reflecting cold glimmers.

Like the Abyss reflected in his eyes, hiding tremendous terror.

He lowered his head to gaze at He Ao before him, softly speaking, "Your so-called morality, the path you insist on, holds no value in the face of death."

He gently raised his hand, and the surrounding forest decayed swiftly, while the distant city rapidly expanded toward this place, covering their bodies in an instant.

Figures passed between the two, the bustling urban illusion reflected in He Ao’s field of view.

He raised his head to look.

Above, the sky had somehow already been covered layer upon layer with clouds, and people in the city seemed to pause momentarily, gazing at the sky, apparently puzzled by its change.

Most people continued their original paths, as if everything was usual, like every past routine.

But at this moment, the layered clouds in the sky suddenly began to press down, and an invisible storm emerged across the land.

In the distance, a caravan outside the city was the first to notice the gale, rushing desperately toward the mountains.

People in the city remained somewhat clueless, some hiding under store awnings, others retreating to their homes.

Amidst this uproar, a small figure emerged from the clouds in the sky.

Along with the appearance of the figure, a looming high mountain slowly rose from the clouds.

Boom——

Glowing thunder and howling wind converged between heaven and earth.

Underneath the heavy clouds and the towering mountain, even the surrounding majestic mountains seemed humble like ants.

Then the scene in the sky showed some unknown distortion, something seemed to be emerging from the towering mountain.

This reflection could not show the scene at the time.

But He Ao could only see, in the city, countless people collapse into clouds of blood mist in an instant.

"Don’t you think this place looks familiar?" At this point, Sulan stood beside He Ao, smiling and asking.

He Ao was suddenly startled, turning his head to look toward his side.

A familiar tavern sign appeared in his field of view.

At this moment, the tavern’s door was wide open, and the people inside were in chaos.

He instinctively walked into the tavern and glanced towards its deepest part.

An elderly figure with a frail build and unsteady steps was quickly directing the crowd, urging children to hide in the wine cellar beneath the courtyard.

Then he closed the wine cellar door and staggered towards the back.

His phantom form passed through He Ao’s body, running towards the south of the city.

Denos’ residence was there.

But shortly after he stepped outside, an invisible cold wind swept across the sky and the earth.

He slightly opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but before the words could leave, his entire body turned into a mist of blood.

And behind him, within the entire tavern, only a dense blood mist was left.

The surging crimson mixed with a purple sheen, flowing towards the sky, towards that hazy upside-down mountain.

Brilliant light simultaneously descended from the mountain, falling towards the figure suspended in the air.

The figure’s appearance wasn’t blurred at all; it was precisely Sulan standing beside He Ao.

"To be honest, your son is quite filial," Sulan stood beside He Ao, waving his hand through the swirling blood mist between heaven and earth, a satisfied smile on his cheek, "Even as he was dying, he was worried about you being home alone."

He gently raised his hand, and the blood mist in the void outlined that old blurred figure, "He even looks a bit like the young man you chose."

With his words, the blood mist completely collapsed.

He Ao’s body froze in place, the smoky black construct of his form flickering intensely, as if a hand had gripped his heart, causing his entire body to begin to suffocate.

"See," watching this scene, Sulan finally revealed a satisfied and carefree smile on his face, "you still lost, and in the end, I won. Power is the absolute; what you believe in is insignificant against absolute power,"

He slightly raised his fingertip and gave a light flick, "With just a gentle move, I can destroy everything you care about."

The illusion of the entire city shattered instantly as if it were glass being smashed.

He Ao turned his head and looked at Sulan beside him.

With the complete disappearance of those illusions, the iron forest made up of towering buildings reappeared before He Ao.

And Sulan before He Ao still maintained a look that was both real and illusory.

Apart from Sulan, the stone chair was also in an illusory and real state.

His own body wasn’t in reality, not among these buildings, but in another dimension.

What He Ao saw now was nothing more than a simple projection.

Sulan looked at He Ao and chuckled, "Are you very angry now?"

He raised his hand, and the surrounding space shook violently, as if it was some sort of ’invitation.’

"You can come in directly," he looked at He Ao, "I give you the opportunity to attack me."

Behind him was the place he had just tried to draw Anke, Geslo, and He Ao into.

He had prepared everything there, awaiting only Denos, the ’main course.’

And as he spoke, the phantom of He Ao standing in the air merely gazed at him calmly.

"I forgot," Sulan looked at He Ao, sighed, "You’re actually no different from a mortal now, sealed in the Coffin of Time, without the ability to take revenge on me, or the courage to meet me."

He Ao merely gazed at him quietly, then slightly raised his hand. Beside them, the red-purple glow from room 1505 suddenly flashed.

And He Ao’s smoky black arm seemed to have seized some rope hidden deep in the void.

Then he gently exerted force and pulled upward.

Sulan’s entire phantom figure flickered violently for a moment.

He raised his head, looking at He Ao with some shock, "What did you do?"

"All mystical passages are two-way," He Ao gazed at him calmly.

Behind He Ao, the small black coffin floated up, and an endless stream of power surged from the coffin, flowing into He Ao’s body.

The complete fusion was almost there, but He Ao didn’t have much time left.

He was suppressing the fissures of the seal, trying to unleash the maximum power, releasing his soul and power from the seal.

The trap Sulan had just set to try to pull him into that otherworldly space was simultaneously a passage to the Otherworldly Space.

This magic wasn’t particularly profound; with the Secret Wizard’s insight, He Ao had been deciphering this passage.

Now, he already understood the principle of how this passage worked.

Since this passage could pull people in from outside, naturally it could also pull people out from inside, one only needed to slightly modify the magic’s structure.

Sulan himself was so close to this passage, it was easy for him to be captured by it.

"How can you manipulate my magic?" Sulan’s body flickered rapidly, while also beginning to solidify at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"There are some things you can still learn from me," He Ao glanced at him, continuing to pull upward with his palm, "like reading more books."

Reading more books indeed proves useful, of course, adding a bit of talent makes it even more so.

Sulan looked angrily at He Ao, but then, in that fleeting moment, his anger turned into a smile, "Are you waiting for me to retaliate, hoping I would defy you?"

He let out a soft sigh, "It’s been over eight hundred years, Denos big brother, this trick of yours is no longer effective,"

He slightly raised his hand, "Your reverse use of the passage is indeed ingenious, but as I said, you’re currently much weaker than me."

He grasped the void with his hand and sharply pulled downward.

And at that moment, He Ao felt his entire body suddenly gripped by a tremendous force, the space around him rapidly shattered, turning into dense clouds of mist.

The cold storm swiftly swept across his body.