Chapitre 248: Chapter 244-II: Illusory Dream
Three ferocious bat heads were instantly sliced in half.
Golden blood splattered everywhere as Zhu Zhuqing's figure flickered and she returned to her original position.
With the giant bat instantly killed, the hundreds of blood bats in the air lost their leader, screeching wildly as they scattered in all directions.
"Let's go."
Su Cheng glanced upwards without much concern. He nodded at Zhu Zhuqing, signaling to continue forward.
After dealing with the dark gold three-headed bat king, their journey became almost completely unobstructed.
Aside from the ever-spreading and intensifying red fog, there were no other hindrances.
They walked for a long time, and it was evident they had descended significantly compared to their initial position, seemingly having traveled more than half the distance.
"Strange..."
Su Cheng felt puzzled.
If he remembered correctly, there should have been a Ten-Headed Sun Serpent along the way.
Was it not here at the moment by coincidence, or was that beast reserved for a specific challenger?
Or perhaps, encountering that strong malice at the beginning had already counted as a challenge?
This guess was quite reasonable.
The Hell Road's trials consisted of three stages, and such a place, designed by a deity to select those qualified to inherit divine tests, often had mechanical judgment rules.
Just like the Seven Sacred Pillars, the initial tests were extremely mechanical.
Unless the true inheritor of the divine test was determined, everything followed the rules.
Therefore, it's entirely possible that the Hell Road considered the initial dangerous situation aimed at Bibi Dong as a challenge.
Thus, killing that bat king counted as passing two stages.
Plus, with the intense killing intent and malice at the final exit, passing the Hell Road's test would be achieved.
Another possibility was that having Bibi Dong, who had previously passed the Hell Road, in their team caused the place to ignore them.
Su Cheng quickly dismissed the issue.
Whether they encountered the Ten-Headed Sun Serpent or not didn't really matter; he didn't need its inner core.
Coming to this place was partly to observe the situation of the Rakshasa God's power and find a way to resolve Bibi Dong's soul problem, and partly to temper Zhu Zhuqing and enhance her insights.
One less obstacle would save a lot of trouble, which wasn't a bad thing.
As they approached the bottom of the abyss, the surrounding temperature began to rise.
The killing intent and hostility around them also increased rapidly, becoming more domineering and violent.
"Su Cheng..."
At this moment, Bibi Dong, nestled in Su Cheng's arms, suddenly started breathing heavily.
Su Cheng looked down at her.
By now, Bibi Dong was already drenched in fragrant sweat, her hair sticking to her fair neck, appearing a bit messy, and even her clothes were clinging to her white skin.
Her Pope's robe, originally luxurious and delicate, now looked nearly transparent, revealing her snow-white skin underneath.
Holding her felt almost like direct skin contact.
"Is she... is she alright?"
Finally, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't hold back anymore.
She looked at Bibi Dong with a strange expression, then turned to Su Cheng, who was holding her.
Her face showed hesitation and she seemed like she wanted to say something but didn't.
"Hmm?" Su Cheng snapped out of his thoughts and said calmly, "Oh, she's fine. Let's keep moving; we'll deal with it later. She has some issues, which I'll explain to you afterward."
He then looked into Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, which were glowing red, and said in a deep voice, "And you, can you still hold on?"
"No problem." Zhu Zhuqing nodded.
Although her eyes were starting to show a strong red glow, influenced by the killing intent, her mind wasn't disturbed, and her soul power was circulating normally.
Su Cheng could see her condition and knew she wasn't pushing herself too hard, but he still reminded her, "Keep your limits in mind. Don't be too hasty. Power that you can control is the only power that truly belongs to you. Forcing external forces has no meaning."
"I understand."
After nearly an hour of walking, they finally neared the exit.
On either side of the narrow path, dark red liquid was flowing and bubbling, resembling magma despite being blood.
At this point, the dark red liquid, exuding a strong bloody smell, was only tens of meters below the narrow path, and the heat in the air was causing Zhu Zhuqing's clothes to emit a faint scorched smell.
However, this temperature didn't affect them much.
Su Cheng and Bibi Dong's physical conditions didn't need further explanation. Bibi Dong's sweat wasn't caused by the heat but by her chaotic mental state.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, due to having consumed immortal herbs and being immune to heat and cold, wasn't afraid of the temperature.
About a kilometer away, the exit was very conspicuous.
A white light formed an oval light curtain, marking the end of their journey.
But before the exit, a lake of blood blocked their way.
The lake, with a diameter of a thousand meters, was filled with bubbling blood plasma.
Dense malice and killing intent hovered above it, and an even stronger killing will soared into the sky.
Cold, dark, filthy, evil...
All kinds of malicious killing intent were tens of times stronger than the red fog they encountered when they first entered the Hell Road.
At this point, not only was Bibi Dong in a state of madness with a purple face.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, surrounded by blood energy, couldn't suppress the killing intent and hostility that emanated from her body. Her eyes shone with a fierce red light, and the Wind God Domain around her almost completely turned dark red.
At this point, Su Cheng had to step in.
Even if Zhu Zhuqing could fly over the lake with her Wind God Wings, she couldn't continue.
It wasn't just about whether she could cross the lake despite the accumulated killing intent; even if she could withstand the assault of malice and killing intent, she would end up being tainted with the Killing God Domain, which Su Cheng didn't want.
He hoped to use the battles in the Slaughter City and the killing will in the Hell Road to fully unleash the combat potential of the Hell White Tiger Martial Spirit, but he didn't want Zhu Zhuqing's innate domain to change nature.
Honestly, if not inheriting the Asura God position, he believed the Killing God Domain was far inferior to Zhu Zhuqing's own Wind God Domain.
"Zhuqing, follow behind me."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, silently walking over.
It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but she needed to fully resist the strong killing intent here.
"Hug me."
As he finished speaking, a pair of arms silently wrapped around his waist.
The next moment, he felt an extremely soft sensation against his back.
Su Cheng let out a light sigh of enjoyment, praising, "Zhuqing, your figure has improved a lot."
As soon as he said this, he felt a surge of aura behind him, his clothes at his waist torn, and five claws pressed against his skin, cold killing intent faintly present.
Su Cheng immediately shut his mouth.
Then, his expression turned serious, and he activated his Five Elements Domain along with his Eternal Sword Domain.
Dense innate energy rose around him, colliding with the divine power in the area, producing a "sizzling" sound.
After summoning his innate energy, not daring to delay, Su Cheng swiftly acted.
Encased in transparent sword energy, he transformed into a beam of sword light, rushing forward.
As the sharp sword energy sliced through the air, the blood-colored lake below surged, waves rising with intense killing intent boiling.
However, as he departed, the dark red Asura divine power seemed to lose its target, not converging on him to form the Killing God Domain as it typically did for those passing the Hell Road.
Instead, it gradually calmed down, returning to its usual state.
At the same time, another substantial amount of dark purple-black malice and evil aura, seemingly unwilling, followed them.
In the next moment, sword light and purple mist simultaneously penetrated the white light curtain at the exit.
Bibi Dong stood alone in a muddy swamp, surrounded by decaying flowers and fallen branches.
No matter how colorful those flowers once were, they had long since become corpses, their original appearances indistinguishable.
A dense cloud covered the sky, endless and dark, blocking out the sun.
Thick fog enveloped the surroundings, and the stench of rot was overwhelming.
Bibi Dong looked around in confusion.
Snakes hissed joyfully, flicking red tongues, their black eyes gleaming with sinister cunning.
Spiders crawled stealthily, their vivid patterns the only color in this dead land.
In this swamp filled with foul gases and decaying branches, only by becoming one of them could she continue to survive.
The filthier the environment, the more beautifully they thrived. The more life withered, the more joyous they became.
Bibi Dong raised her arm, looking at her body.
Her luxurious Pope's robe was now tattered and worn.
On her white arm, black and purple patches began to appear, looking hideously ugly.
Yet she seemed unaware, putting her hand down and stepping forward, her mind slowly sinking into stillness.
This place probably used to be a vast flower field.
The occasional standing withered branches hinted at past prosperity.
But spring and summer are short, autumn and winter long. Once the flowers and leaves withered, they never bloomed again.
Over time, it became this lifeless, foul swamp, turning into a paradise for poisonous insects and snakes.
Gradually, the deathly silence seemed to permeate her body.
Even the deep-seated pains seemed to become numb.
Not just those painful memories.
Even jealousy, hatred, desires, and obsessions seemed to calm down.
Occasionally, slight pains would surface, causing faint ripples in the calm water.
But it didn't matter.
Life and death were intertwined, pain and suffering coexisted.
In this silent yet rotten, filthy yet still...
There was also a hidden beauty.
She stood in the middle of the swamp at a loss, and the hissing of snakes and insects had gradually faded away.
She herself seemed to be like those once gorgeous flowers, withering and sinking little by little.
Then she fell into the swamp and became smelly and corrupt...
"Hey, is this your thing?"
At this time, a warm male voice, with bursts of warmth, came into her ears.
This voice was so familiar...
Memories of the past came one after another.
In the desperate darkness of the underground secret room, someone once stepped forward to wield a sword for her...
In the beautiful valley full of rare and precious herbs, she once happily picked a flower soaked in blood with her own hands...
Who was that person?
Why was she desperate, and why was she happy at that time?
Did anything happen between her and him?
But why did she forget everything?
Bibi Dong looked up blankly and saw a young man standing in front of her, holding out a palm to her.
On the palm, a round light spot with starlight shone like a lotus seed.
The lotus seed was clear and pure, which was incompatible with the dead and dilapidated scene here.
"…"
Bibi Dong's eyes were a little confused and a little eager.
She stretched out her palm hesitantly.
But when she saw the mud and dirt on her arm, she felt a little ashamed and shrank back, not daring to look up.
The man standing in front of her did not speak, but looked at her with a smile on his lips and encouragement.
Escaping from suffering and sorrow and pursuing happiness and joy are the instincts of all life.
Even in the dark, there is always a desire for hope and light.
Biting her lip, Bibi Dong mustered up the courage, tremblingly stretched out her palm, and touched the lotus seed.
At the moment they touched each other, she suddenly trembled all over, and her pupils suddenly dilated.
At the same time, the lotus-like starlight also shone brightly, illuminating the entire swamp.
The next moment, flower stems emerged from the mud, then stretched and grew rapidly, and lotus flowers bloomed.
The filthy mud faded away little by little, turning into a large lake.
The fragrance of flowers filled her lungs.
Soon, the lotus flowers withered again, turned into lotus pods, and fell into the clear and deep lake water.
Then the starlight flickered, and new lotus flowers grew on the water's surface, stretching and blooming.
The lotus flowers and lotus seeds alternated back and forth, from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, layer by layer covering the entire clear water surface, completely submerging Su Cheng and Bibi Dong.
In the sea of flowers, a low and hoarse sob was faintly heard, and then gradually turned into hysterical crying.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone