Chapter 547: Xu Generation

Chapter 547: The Generation of Void

“Bang bang bang bang～” Heavy and erratic footsteps kept echoing through the earth, penetrating Li Huowang’s ears one after another. The sheer volume of them made his expression grow increasingly grave.

He had been in Da Qi for some time now, but he had never felt such a tremendous commotion. This thing was clearly not something to be trifled with.

“No matter what this disturbance is, I must get past it first!” With his eyes closed, Li Huowang thought this, then stood up without hesitation and rushed in the complete opposite direction.

Li Sui's tentacles emerged from within his body like a blind man's cane, quickly probing all directions.

“Daoist, you may open your eyes now. There are no dirty things around.”

Hearing the monk’s words, Li Huowang slightly opened one eye. To his surprise, he found himself inexplicably standing in a desolate graveyard.

Under the calamity of nature, the entire graveyard appeared chaotic. Some things far away were crawling up, aimlessly swaying about.

Li Huowang paid no heed to this terrifying environment and immediately lay back down, listening intently once more.

Only when he sensed that the sound had faded into silence did Li Huowang finally exhale in relief.

He hadn’t come to Da Qi specifically to kill demons and spirits. Now, Da Qi was becoming increasingly dangerous. He should find the Upper Extreme Gate as soon as possible and leave this place.

Li Huowang rallied his spirit and dashed toward the direction that Zhuge Yuan had indicated earlier. In his heart, he muttered, “Brother Zhuge, how much further is the Upper Extreme Gate? We don’t have much time.”

However, after asking this question, Li Huowang realized that Zhuge Yuan didn’t respond. After repeating it three or four times, Zhuge Yuan—who was silently observing the surroundings with one hand behind his back—finally reacted.

“It’s not far now. Almost there,” Zhuge Yuan said in a low voice before falling silent again, continuing to gaze at the scattered corpses around him.

At that moment, Li Huowang seemed to understand what was going on inside Zhuge Yuan’s mind.

In the past, as a storyteller, he always wanted others to know about Da Qi—it was his world. But now, seeing Da Qi in such a ghastly state, he could only imagine how deeply troubled his heart must be.

More importantly, Li Huowang couldn’t even offer advice at this point. The situation in Da Qi looked grim, and he had no idea what terrifying consequences might lie ahead.

But matters of the world weren’t something Li Huowang needed to concern himself with—he had enough trouble dealing with his own affairs.

Just as he was about to continue walking, a cold wind blew in. Half of Li Huowang’s body instantly lost sensation.

“Again?!” Li Huowang caught the copper coin sword from Li Sui’s tentacle and swept it forcefully in the direction of the wind. The darkness was cut apart by the blade, revealing a piece of human skin suspended in midair, which suddenly appeared before him.

Seeing that Li Huowang was still alive, the skin opened wide in the air, swooping down like an eagle toward him.

Just as Li Huowang gripped the hilt tightly, preparing to slice the skin in two, it suddenly went limp and slid gently to the ground.

“Hmm?” Surprised, Li Huowang used the copper coin sword to lift the skin. “Why has it stopped moving?”

Realizing that the skin was truly dead—not just pretending—he gave a slight twist of his wrist, sending the skin flying off the sword.

The pale skin blocked his view, revealing a strange face.

It was a woman’s face with a red heart tattooed on her brow. Her eyes blinked not even once, making her appear eerie in the dark.

Yet, if that were all, she wouldn’t have frightened Li Huowang so much. What truly unnerved him was that her face, smeared with rouge, was cracked, revealing a pale white paper underneath covered in wild cursive script.

“Are you...?” The woman stared fixedly at Li Huowang, speaking in a thin voice with a meaningless phrase.

Li Huowang wasted no time arguing with such a creature. Without hesitation, he gripped the rib bone sword and slashed toward the grotesque face.

“You are! You really are! Are you alright?” The whole face shifted sharply to the left, almost brushing against the crack to avoid the attack.

A sickly green glowing stone was thrown at him. As the green light illuminated the darkness, Li Huowang saw the woman’s body clearly.

The only part of her that resembled a human was her face. Everything else was replaced by a massive, four-legged beast covered in dark brown fur.

Flaming red mane sprouted from her claws and feet, swaying along with her body as it trembled occasionally.

A rusted armor adorned with a green face and fangs hung from her chest by chains, making her appearance even more terrifying.

“What exactly is this thing!” Li Huowang’s expression turned grim. From its appearance alone, it was clear that this creature was unlike any ordinary demon he had faced before.

“What do you want?! We can talk!!” Yet, facing Li Huowang’s attempt at negotiation, the creature remained unresponsive.

“What’s wrong? Could it be that she’s just mimicking speech but doesn’t understand us?”

As Li Huowang pondered this, the creature lunged forward. Three sharp claws, whistling through the air, slashed toward him.

Li Huowang leaped backward, shifting a zhang away in an instant, avoiding the attack. The corpse beneath him took the blow instead.

Then, Li Huowang witnessed something horrifying—the half-decomposed middle-aged corpse aged rapidly before his very eyes, transforming into an old man in mere moments.

Li Huowang swung the rib bone sword across the gap, but the creature easily dodged.

“Brother Li, watch out. This creature is a Nian.”

“A Nian?”

“Yes, not the “Wan” Nian, but the “Void” Nian. Don’t make any physical contact with her. Otherwise, your lifespan will be stolen by her.”

Unable to touch her, unable to hurt her, Li Huowang found himself in a precarious position.

Originally planning to retreat to Daliang using the rift, he discovered that the Void Nian seemed to predict his every move. Every time he created a rift in front of her, she would rush in to disrupt him.

Under constant pressure, Li Huowang had no choice but to retreat repeatedly.

Just as the creature lunged at him again, Li Huowang’s expression hardened. He pulled two ribs from his navel and stabbed them into his chest, thrusting them outward.

Seeing the Void Nian’s front limbs rise in a roar, Li Huowang’s face showed a bloodthirsty killing intent. “So you know pain too!”

Taking advantage of the pause, Li Huowang quickly drew a dagger, tore open his robe, slashed and stabbed. A blood-soaked piece of skin flew into the air, covering the Void Nian’s head.

As she struggled, her blurred features were faintly visible through the skin. Despite shaking her head violently, she couldn’t shake off the skin.

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(End of Chapter)