Chapter 218: Chapter 191: Reincarnation_2
"So after all this time fighting, you really haven’t learned anything?"
With a sword piercing through the opponent’s throat, Du Chengfeng shook his head once more.
"Can you fight a bit more stylishly, or should we swap weapons so I can teach you how to fight?"
This time, he received no response at all.
The figure holding the great halberd vanished and did not appear again. The battlefield, once somewhat noisy, was now shrouded in dead silence.
"Hey? Are you there?"
Du Chengfeng tried asking a couple of times, but no answer came.
It seemed that he had indeed won.
Everything within sight had been annihilated by him.
It was only then that he got the opportunity to survey the battlefield he had fought on for who knows how long. The desolation was now so vast, the blood-red sky casting over this barren land, devoid of sun, moon, and human presence.
This was what came after victory.
After victory, there was nothing.
Originally, Du Chengfeng thought that as long as he killed all these Evil Qi entities, he could leave and return to reality. Yet, even though he had indeed killed everything by now, he was still trapped in this emptiness.
"Where should I go?"
Du Chengfeng fell into confusion.
Without sun and moon, there was no night or day. Staying put, Du Chengfeng couldn’t tell how long he remained there—so after thinking it over, he chose a direction and started walking, hoping that if he found the edge of this world, everything would end.
But unfortunately, in this world, there was no edge.
The barren land extended endlessly, and the sky remained the same blood-red color. No matter how far Du Chengfeng walked, the scenery did not change at all.
This made Du Chengfeng increasingly bewildered.
He didn’t know if this was some unforeseen circumstance or another form of attack by the enemy. If it was an attack, he could only say it was extremely effective, far more so than any direct assault.
Although there were no physical injuries or bloody battles, the endless solitude and confusion were far more dangerous and terrifying than any enemy.
"How long can you hold on?"
Above the ruins of the imperial tomb, the fiery phoenix, wielding the great halberd, casually fended off attacks while observing this battlefield existing solely in the mind.
Yes, throughout its long research, it realized that the most cruel torture was not physical torment, but mental, and the most brutal mental torture was to throw someone into endless solitude.
Just like now, after realizing it couldn’t invade Du Chengfeng’s remaining consciousness through direct battle, it opted for a different approach.
Since it couldn’t invade, it decided not to; even if this sliver of consciousness went insane from suffering, it was no longer concerned, as it had already acquired this body, having gained the chance to live again.
And with all its energy focused on the body, its evolution indeed quickened.
Yes, evolution, perhaps the most appropriate term; it was further transforming, further advancing toward the form of a True Immortal—it had a monstrously strong body, but it was not a monster. It had the shape and appearance of a human, but possessed power far beyond that of ordinary mortals.
With the refining and consolidation of Evil Qi, its body was being reshaped over and over again, each silent reshaping making its strength more solid and stable.
Just like a stubborn piece of iron, being forged into hardened steel.
Meanwhile, in that same mental world, Du Chengfeng was already tortured beyond recognition.
The once valiant and combative Du Chengfeng had become disheveled, the endless aimlessness making him increasingly lost. This might have been the most fitting punishment for him because it targeted his weakest point.
"Didn’t you want peace and quiet? Then I’ll grant you that."
The immortal fiery phoenix relaxed increasingly, knowing that it would ultimately win.
Whether in the real world or the mental one.
Manipulating the fates of others, that was true tyranny.
Just as it was doing now, even the Immortal body it once dreamed of was trampled underfoot and wantonly tormented.
"It’s all supposed to end."
With that, it swung its great halberd at the enormous giant at its feet, the traitor of the Chu people.
But at that moment, it saw Du Chengfeng’s eyes.
In that desolate mental world, Du Chengfeng’s remaining consciousness suddenly looked up to the sky, his eyes filled with something that inexplicably made it panic.
"Wha..."
It vaguely felt something wasn’t right.
Just then, Du Chengfeng’s remaining consciousness thrust a sword at the sky.
The sharp blade pierced the sky, piercing through the immortal fiery phoenix’s chest and abdomen. Following immediately, a blazing blade sliced in, cleaving the blood-red sky and its body apart.
The tempered body was cut from inside, and Du Chengfeng emerged from it.
It was then that it realized that the hatchling process perhaps had never ended.
Indeed, borrowing Du Chengfeng’s previous body as an egg, it had brought forth a shell far stronger than the Immortal body, yet it could never have imagined that this peerless body was still an unhatched egg.
And now, this new life finally hatched and emerged.
It birthed something it could not comprehend at all.
"Oh, is the battle over?"
In midair, Du Chengfeng turned his head, looking at the familiar devastation.
It’s not over yet.
Within the falling husk of skin, its remaining consciousness roared in desperation.
Not over, impossible to be over, how can it be over!
It was unwilling! Why! Why had it worked so hard for so long, only to hatch out Du Chengfeng! Why had it endured for long, only to let that weak defeated foe pluck the fruits! This powerful body, this great strength, everything in this world, should have been its! It was its!
"Not over yet..."
From the mouth cut into two halves, it uttered a venomous murmur.
"We are not over!"
Bang—
The falling husk hit the enormous giant, smashing with a dull thud.
Like a mud ox plunging into the sea.
The bisected skin now melted like rotten mud, merging into the massive giant, soaking into its bloody wounds—immediately, the giant that seemed about to say something had its expression suddenly frozen.
"Hmm?"
Du Chengfeng midair also noticed the situation here.
Next, he tumbled from the air headfirst.
He wasn’t some bird-man, nor did he have wings, so how could he fly in the sky; it was too unrealistic—fortunately, he was trained, and long years of practice allowed him to tuck himself before landing, rolling over to dispel the immense force from his fall, escaping the fate of being smashed to death.
But while Du Chengfeng was still rolling on the ground, that enormous giant stood up once more.
The massive shadow cast over the ground, but this time, the giant’s face had lost its previous forthrightness and stability.
On that enormous face, only boundless hatred and venom remained.
"Thoughts are undying! Can do it again! I can do it again!"
The massive giant let out a thunderous roar.
"I will kill you!!!"
"Hmm?"
Standing up, Du Chengfeng raised his head.
This voice and these words, which he had heard countless times, were all too familiar to him.
"Have you switched bodies again?"
Shaking his head, Du Chengfeng raised his sword and blade.
"Didn’t I say, if I can kill you once, I can kill you twice."
