Chapter 438: Chapter 168: Eradication
Outside Meng Manor, Old Wan and Xiaolu rushed over as soon as they received the message from the Bureau.
Due to the unique nature of the White Bird District and the need to remain concealed, they couldn’t wait too close by. Even so, they reached the location in less than fifteen minutes.
However, they were stopped by Meng Xu’s security team on their way up the mountain. Although they quickly contacted Meng Lai, the owner of the manor, and presented their pre-approved Processing Bureau execution warrants, they were still delayed for a while.
The two had no time to argue with Meng Xu. By the time they hurried into the manor and were about to enter the underground passage, they saw a burst of light erupt from below ground.
"This is..."
The two of them involuntarily froze. "A Rift?"
In the underground space, the moment the light burst from Meng Huang’s head, Chen Chuan immediately shut his eyes and shielded them with his hand.
But he soon found that the light was only blinding at first, then it drifted past him like a fast-flowing, luminous mist.
When he lowered his hand, he found that his surroundings seemed to have changed drastically.
Some areas illuminated by the light were still clear, while others seemed to have been fused with and swallowed by it, leaving the scene before him fragmented and incomplete.
It made him feel as if he were standing on floating stones. The walls on either side also appeared broken and scattered, with the visible sections seemingly suspended in mid-air.
Aunt Yu was standing not far from him. She spoke rapidly, "Mr. Chen, that thing must have used its residual power to open a Rift."
"A Rift?"
Chen Chuan nodded.
He had never seen one before, but the situation matched the information provided by the Processing Bureau. After their symbiotic bodies were destroyed, some entities from the Opposite World would sometimes forcefully use their remaining power to tear open a temporary rift to achieve a certain goal.
The scene before him was a product of the two worlds merging. While it wouldn’t create a true connection between them, it could alter some material objects.
At that moment, the spot between his eyebrows twitched slightly as he searched for the entity. Through his Spiritual Sensing, he could feel its location, and because of the Rift, he could see it even more clearly.
It was something he couldn’t see in its entirety. It seemed to be squeezing itself out of a deep void, the emerging front part constantly extending forward. It was pointing toward the large door sealed by the Esoteric Ritual.
It seemed there was indeed something in there that it desperately wanted, which was why it was trying every possible way to get inside.
’What could it be?’
’This thing no longer has a host body; it won’t exist for much longer. So, whatever it’s looking for must be something it can either take back with it or something that will allow it to continue existing.’
’Whatever it is, I can’t let it succeed.’
He raised his blade and said, "Since it doesn’t want to leave, I’ll see it off."
He glanced at the sections of the ground swallowed by light. Those were actually the areas with the most intense corruption. If he were to step into them, he would likely be submerged and become more susceptible to the influence of the Opposite World.
So, he chose not to cross through there. Instead, he leaped onto a remnant of the wall, took two steps sideways, then vaulted to another piece of surviving ground that seemed to float in the light. A few more strides brought him before the large door.
The light made it impossible to see far. Now, looking up, he saw that the round door was riddled with tiny, light-emitting holes, seemingly a result of the two worlds intertwining.
And through those countless pinpricks of light, he could see a part of the massive entity’s body already seeping through like quicksand.
He struck the door with his fist, making it tremble, but even though it seemed to have been perforated like a sieve, it remained thick and sturdy. Just then, something was thrown to him from behind. He caught it and saw it was a disc-shaped turn-key.
Aunt Yu called from behind, "Mr. Chen, be careful of the ritual inside."
Chen Chuan offered his thanks. It seemed there was another ritual obstructing the way behind the door, but for him, that was a minor detail.
He found the keyhole and pressed the turn-key against it. Upon contact, he gave it a gentle twist. With a CLICK, an embedded ritual node snapped, and all the ritual patterns around the door instantly deactivated.
He pushed with his hand, and a metal door, wide enough for one person, slid open and receded inward along a track. He quickly stepped inside.
Once inside, the etherealness of his Second Self immediately intensified. He looked up to see a round, unadorned tunnel before him. However, the walls and floor were covered in dense ritual patterns, apparently chiseled into the surface and inlaid with some kind of Ritual Material that emitted a soft green glow.
It seemed that these, along with some other indescribable elements, were what firmly anchored this place to the Material World, preventing it from being too saturated by the light.
In his Spiritual World, he could see the extended part of the entity straining to push forward.
What he saw with his own eyes, however, was a mass that looked like a clump of brain tissue and blood vessels.
This must be the last of Meng Huang’s bodily tissue, the only part left for it to inhabit. Foot-like appendages resembling flesh buds were extending from its underside, slowly squirming forward along the ground. However, likely due to the ritual’s influence, its movement became more sluggish the deeper it went.
Chen Chuan’s gaze went past it, toward the end of the tunnel. There seemed to be something resembling a wellhead there. That must be the entity’s target, but he wasn’t going to let it get any further.
He brandished his long blade and strode forward. As he walked, his Second Self flickered unstably under the ritual’s influence, but it didn’t hinder his steps.
The thing seemed to sense his approach and quickened its squirming. It was useless, however. Hindered by the ritual, its speed was far too slow in comparison.
Chen Chuan walked up behind it step by step, raised the Snow Monarch Blade high, aimed the tip at the mass, and plunged it down forcefully. The clump of tissue immediately began to convulse and struggle violently.
At this moment, the spot between his eyebrows twitched. In his Spiritual Sensing, the massive creature seemed to suddenly fixate on him. In that instant, the Ritual Materials on the surrounding walls began to fade rapidly, like dust blown away by a strong wind, and his Second Self grew so faint it was almost invisible.
He remained unmoved, keeping the blade firmly pressed down.
Just then, he felt the Snow Monarch Blade begin to vibrate slightly. Something inside it seemed desperate to get out, sending tendrils of intent toward him.
This thing had long since merged with the Mutated Organization within the blade, and that Mutated Organization could be considered a part of himself. Therefore, if he didn’t agree, it absolutely could not emerge.
He thought for a moment and released his restraint on it.
In the next instant, wisps of something like a luminous mist floated out from the blade’s body, enveloping the mass below. It seemed to be frantically absorbing something.
After just a few breaths, the mass below stopped struggling. A moment later, it turned into sand-like debris. At what seemed to be the exact same moment, all the drifting lights outside vanished without a trace.
In his Spiritual World, the connection to the massive creature snapped, and a wave of relief washed over his entire body.
Looking down, he saw only a pile of sand-like particles beneath his blade.
The luminous mist now slowly returned to the blade. He took a moment to feel it and received a sense of satiated contentment from the thing inside.
He thought for a moment but decided not to investigate what it was just yet. Pulling the blade from the ground, he strode forward until he reached the wellhead. Peering inside, he could see a metal ladder for descent running along the edge of the well wall.
He didn’t probe what lay at the bottom. After a single glance, he turned and left.
Back outside, he found that although things had returned to normal, the areas that had been saturated by the light seemed to have undergone some kind of change. A RUSTLING sound could be heard as fine debris trickled down from them.
Aunt Yu had been waiting outside. Seeing him emerge with such a composed stride, as if he hadn’t just walked through a field of ritual runes, she couldn’t help but feel a little impressed.
To ensure safety, anyone other than Meng Lai himself had to simply endure the effects while passing through that tunnel. Every time she walked through it, she had to fight against the additional ritual influences, which was by no means easy. Perhaps only a Fighter like Chen Chuan, with his formidable physical constitution, could make it look so effortless.
She said, "Mr. Chen, we need to get out of here quickly. There’s a risk of collapse."
Chen Chuan nodded. As he and Aunt Yu came out, they saw two people in Processing Bureau uniforms waiting there. It seemed their backup from the Bureau had arrived.
"Executioner Chen, are you alright?" Old Wan and Xiaolu came forward.
When they saw the Rift, they were both relieved and worried. The appearance of a Rift meant the entity from the Opposite World had given up its host, so the matter was essentially resolved.
However, this was also often the time of most severe corruption. If one’s reserves of Essence Blood and Divine Constant were insufficient, problems could arise.
Chen Chuan said, "I’m fine."
Old Wan and Xiaolu looked him up and down. Thankfully, there were no visible problems. As long as he remained rational, everything was manageable. Even if something had happened, there were ways to deal with it.
Although he had already guessed the outcome, Old Wan asked cautiously, "Executioner Chen, what happened to that thing?"
Chen Chuan said with certainty, "It’s been dealt with."
The two visibly relaxed.
Meng Huang had been eliminated, and most importantly, the fallout hadn’t spread. The situation was still under control. At the same time, they felt a mix of shame and admiration, because Chen Chuan had accomplished this almost single-handedly. They hadn’t been able to help with much besides running over.
However, due to their professional duties and procedures, they still needed to confirm it themselves.
Old Wan said to Aunt Yu solemnly, "We need to inspect the scene."
Aunt Yu replied cautiously, "I’ll lead the way."
Chen Chuan then said to Aunt Yu, "Ms. Yu, where is the safe house?"
Seeing that the Realm Token had returned to normal, Aunt Yu sent him a location and said apologetically, "It’s right here, Mr. Chen. Please forgive me for not being able to accompany you right now."
Chen Chuan said, "It’s fine. I can get there by myself."
After parting with them, he came out of the underground passage. He looked up at the golden sunlight of the approaching noon, then held out his palm to feel its warmth before closing his fist.
’The intense stimulation from directly confronting that entity just now had caused my Mutated Organization to grow continuously.’
’But this growth was a restless, chaotic sprouting that needed to be suppressed and guided with Divine Constant and Essence Blood.’
’This whole ordeal wasn’t a complete loss. After all, medicines to cultivate Divine Constant and Essence Blood are much easier to find. If special medicines become scarce in the future, this could be a viable alternative.’
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