Hell and Tianyuan

"Have you made up your mind, Lord Tao?" On an afternoon of days past, an artisan leaning on a cane sighed softly. "Once you take this step, there will be no room for regret." "Regret?" The aging Celestial-Human sighed with a faint, self-deprecating smile. "It has been a very long time since I felt such a thing." The artisan fell silent. Tao Cheng stared blankly at the sunlight outside the window. After a long pause, he said, "Tell me... if Quancheng can be redeemed, can it truly make amends for the mistakes once made?" "Right and wrong matter little to an artisan." "They matter greatly to me." Tao Cheng turned back to look at him. "I cannot keep compounding one mistake after another." "I will do my utmost." Leaning on his cane, the artisan nodded and stepped aside. "You must understand that whether you succeed or fail, from this day forth, you will likely serve as a vessel for Tianyuan, enduring torment and living in hell." "Hell?" Tao Cheng turned back in sudden clarity, gazing at the flames rising in the furnace. Ceaseless burning, dancing fire. It lit up his eyes. When he came back to his senses, he had already straightened his withered frame. He could no longer hold it back, bursting into a joyful laugh. "Why, that could not be better!" And so, with head held high and strides unbroken, he walked into the blazing flames and into hell. Never to be seen again. * The flames of memory dispersed. In the wind rushing against his face, the world seemed to spin. Everything was rushing upward. Blowing toward him. The breeze was so pleasant. He had never imagined that the view while falling could be so delightful. In his daze, he seemed to see neon lights flickering on beneath the night sky. The wind howled, yet it sounded as though the streets were bustling just as before, with distant voices and shouts drifting in. A bustling tide of traffic and pedestrians. Just like so many years ago... "A lifetime of wandering, only to end up right back here." He murmured softly, a smile surfacing on his wrinkle-strewn face. "How have you all been?" No one answered. Quancheng lay dead and silent, like a corpse, silently bathed in black rain. The gentle lights of the past were gone. So cold. How had he ever gotten tangled up with this place? Even he could not understand. He had simply grown tired of dealing with those people in Midtown and set off on a whim for a long journey, wandering aimlessly with neither purpose nor destination. He liked the coastal climate yet could not stand the dampness, so he settled in Quancheng. He had only intended to stay for a few days. No friends or family, no unforgettable stories. He could hardly even say he loved or longed for it; everything had been ordinary, unremarkable... Until the days he had thought would last until the end of time collapsed into sudden, unforeseen ruin. Should he leave? He should have walked away. He should have steeled his resolve and severed ties decisively. He had hesitated over it. And by the time heartbreak pierced him, it was already too late. One minute. A single minute. And so, everything that might have been saved slipped away entirely in his hesitation. They all died. The banyan trees baking beneath the scorching sun, the quiet and deep alleys, the honking horns on the roads, the broadcasts from the schools, the bustling crowds in the streets, the shop clerk nodding off behind the counter, and the angler squatting by the river in the dead of night, waiting in vain—all of them vanished, along with the entire city. Everything so peaceful and ordinary it bordered on tedious had disappeared. Those bland, unexceptional lives—which back then had meant more to every single person than all the treasures in the world—had come to an end. All that remained were wails and screams, echoing forever in his ears from that moment on... *Save me. Please save me.* Those voices, carrying unanswered tears, were buried in darkness. *I am sorry.* Even repentance and supplication had lost all meaning. From that day forth, he lived in a hell named guilt. The so-called sacrifices and grand deeds, the so-called Perseverance and Mercy—compared to such agony, they were hardly worth mentioning. From the moment he awoke until today, across all those years, he had never dared to return here. He was afraid he would recognize his own unrecognizable self among the countless weathered bones. Yet now, as the lofty Celestial-Human fell from the sky, he felt an uncanny peace. The weight of the earth was calling to him, and everything he had once failed to redeem seemed to return once more. Torment and guilt were no more. Only stillness. Amidst his shattering, disintegrating fall, he bathed in the rushing wind and spread his arms one last time. For a single moment, everything seemed different. The cicadas of a summer afternoon seemed to buzz once more; the streets teemed with surging crowds, and a warm, damp breeze blew against him, carrying the scent of foliage and the sea. Among the throngs, a traveler who had departed years ago carried his pack, looking left and right in bewilderment. He raised his head, looking at everything before him. Gradually, realization dawned. "Heh. Such wonderful times..." Tao Cheng smiled and closed his eyes. He let the tide rise. Washing away the bygone days. * *Drip. Drop.* A crisp sound echoed. As the dazzling tide of the Celestial-Human's disintegration rippled outward, fluttering down in myriad drifting strands, it illuminated everything that had been buried in darkness for so long. Color seemed to be restored once more. Cyan bricks, collapsed gray commercial towers, dust-laden yellow signboards, black ruins strewn with cobwebs, pale skeletal remains, and the rain of wicked abominations winding like blood. At last, as the glorious radiance dispersed, the final remnant plummeted toward the earth. Like clear, translucent drops of dew. So light and weightless. A brilliant streak traced across the night and sank into the ground. In the dead silence of the dark, what surged forth was wave upon wave of swaying, tempestuous tsunamis! From that light sound of dripping water, a brilliant golden torrent surged from the earth, expanding in every direction. A magnificent, vast surge erupted, rolling outward and engulfing all! In that instant, the final counterweight fell upon the scales. Lu Changsheng tried to intervene, but it was already too late. Even for an abomination walking the mortal realm, what power could undo the final sacrifice of a Celestial-Human? *Boom!* Lu Changsheng's massive frame shuddered violently. A grating, teeth-aching fracture resonated across the heavens. As if a burden of ten thousand jun had materialized out of thin air, the abomination of the mortal realm towering between heaven and earth had its spine bent under the strain, barely able to hold on. Radiance surged and washed over him like a tide. *Boom!* Among his four heads, fissures abruptly spread across an eyeless face. He opened his maw, roaring in fury. He had no way to shed this terrifying weight that had appeared from nowhere, yet he could not afford to let go in the slightest... The death of merely one man, a meager chip bought with a burned-out soul, had instantly overturned the scales, completely reversing the situation! Like the final straw that broke the camel's back. Now, the last embers of Tao Cheng's soul were thoroughly consumed, and everything that remained jammed into corrupted Quancheng like a wedge, fusing into the city. And then, from the moment Tao Cheng had hastily ascended to Celestial-Human, the assimilation stemming from Tianyuan spread in all directions through the creations of Embers that had been prepared for untold years! Even in the purest elixir of supreme virtue, a single drop of venom would ruin the whole batch. And now, amidst rolling torrents of poison, the moment the medicine of Sovereign Virtue surfaced, nothing could ever be pure again. This was Lord Tao's final contingency. From the very beginning, he had prepared—even if he were the only one left, even if he had to sacrifice everything, even if he ceased to exist in this world, he would see the unfinished work through to the end! To that end, he had not even hesitated to harness Tianyuan's assimilation, fashioning himself a step further into a vessel of Sovereign Virtue... Now, through days of ceaseless probing and unreserved, fierce struggle, the fire of Tao Cheng's humanity had burned down to ash. His soul, his matrix, everything he was had become a part of Sovereign Virtue through Tianyuan's assimilation! And along with him, the entirety of corrupted Quancheng! Now, with Tao Cheng's passing, the ordinance of Tianyuan showed no sign of crumbling or slacking. Accompanied by grand, blazing light, it grew ever more stable and immense. It poured into Quancheng in full measure. Sweeping away all corruption, suppressing every aberration. It left Lu Changsheng—who was anchoring Quancheng to the Vortex—with no attention to spare for anything else. The only thing he could do was strain with every ounce of his power to bear this sudden, horrifying pressure. Just like the weight Tao Cheng had borne all those years ago when Quancheng fell! This was the weight of the mortal world! *With my broken frame, I dedicate myself to Tianyuan!* *All that follows, I bestow upon you...* Amidst the howling gales, the mocking laughter of the deceased seemed to echo. *Is the mere weight of all evils in this world really so difficult to bear, Lu Changsheng?* *Now, it is your turn to experience what it feels like to hold up the heavens!* "Lord Tao to the end... even in death, you never deigned to look at a heretic like me..." Lu Changsheng held up the descending blaze of light with desperate fury, roaring into the void to interrogate the old man who had already passed: "Did you think a mere burden like this could stop me?!" The dead offered no reply. The abomination of the mortal realm bellowed. Arm after arm manifested from the gathering and scattering prismatic radiance, forcibly gripping the rushing torrent of fierce light, locking it all above the storm clouds. Meeting force with force, he propped up Tianyuan's light of assimilation! Yet in that moment, accompanied by the sound of collapse in the distance, the great abomination's body shuddered. His spine bent downward... another fraction! Lu Changsheng looked back. Amidst his rage, realization dawned. Just moments ago, within Quancheng, one of the pillars formed by the newly integrated and reinforced high-tier abominations had collapsed... and then, another! * "In accordance with Lord Tao's final bequest: the liberation of Quancheng begins today!" As streaks of light rained down across the sky like tears, Lyu Yingyue expressionlessly tore her gaze away from the heavens and raised her communicator. "All units, advance! Slay every vile abomination in your path! "Kill any who retreat! Kill any who hesitate! Kill any who hold back!" Her cold, solemn voice carried on waves of spiritus, echoing in the ears of every Celestial Chosen, delivering a bloodstained obituary alongside ruthless orders: "Should I fall, Tong Ting of Yacheng will succeed me. Should Tong Ting fall, Jiang Fei of Chuancheng will take command... All units advance without retreat! "—Offer the blood of Vile Folly as a sacrifice for Lord Tao!" No one answered. Dead silence filled the channel. What answered instead, echoing through Quancheng, were countless roars and howls. The fierce light surged like a tide, illuminating bloodstained faces. From grief and fury, nothing rose but murderous intent and ferocity. The blade of Tianyuan unsheathed once more from blood, and the parting radiance of a Celestial-Human shone over all! Inside the temporary command tent, silence reigned. Even after Lyu Yingyue switched off her communicator, not a sound broke the quiet. Amidst the distant rumbles and shockwaves, faint, trembling breaths rose from a corner. Several times, the special envoy from Midtown opened his mouth, wanting to speak. Yet no words came out. First was Tao Cheng's death, and then Lyu Yingyue producing Lord Tao's final bequest, taking control of the entire situation on her own authority. Everything had happened so fast, so seamlessly, as if it had all been orchestrated in advance. Yet for the authority of the Haizhou Warden to be transferred privately like this—even if he were killed on the spot, he could not simply pretend not to notice. Before he could speak, Lyu Yingyue cast a cold glance his way. "Rest assured. The authorization? I have it," she said. "According to Federation precedent, when a Warden falls and a crisis is at hand, the cities of the state may hold an election on their own. The signatures are all here." With that, she tossed a thin sheet of paper over. "If the format isn't to your liking, I can have Xu Chaoxian write you another one!" The envoy scrambled to catch it, his hands shaking as he examined it closely. Looking at the signatures that had clearly been gathered in advance, his vision went black. When he saw the final signatures and official seals, he nearly coughed up blood. "I-is this... perhaps a bit lacking in... prudence..." "Is it?" Lyu Yingyue glanced back at him with feigned puzzlement. Under her boot lay a severed head chopped off only moments ago. The mud-streaked face still bore the faint traces of a young girl, but the bizarre charm that had once bewitched minds and twisted reality was gone. "At this stage, does Midtown still have any insights to offer on the situation in Haizhou?" Lyu Yingyue asked. "Please, Envoy, speak your mind." The envoy fell silent, quiet as a cicada in winter. "That's more like it." Lyu Yingyue nodded and waved her hand dismissively. "Since you have nothing to say, I won't trouble the esteemed gentlemen to worry over our remote backwater." *Crack!* Under her boot, the abomination's skull was crushed to pieces. Lyu Yingyue pushed the door open and strode toward the blood-drenched battlefield, leaving behind only her parting words: "—The affairs of Haizhou will be handled by Haizhou!" "Haha, hahahahaha... Die, die, die, die, die! Die for me!" Blood mist and vile sludge squirmed, cracked, and detonated! Her frantic laughter echoed incessantly. Amidst the collapsing buildings, a massive sacrificial altar broke apart. The mangled figure raised a hand toward the void. Immediately, vast swathes of lightning coalesced, molded into shape through spiritus transmutation, and tore through the air! Amidst the swirling dust, icons shattered. The corrupted standing in the way were reduced to ash in the torrent of lightning, while the blessings and pillars left behind by the high-tier abominations completely crumbled under relentless, explosive bombardment! Yet her manic laughter never ceased. Countless crystalline bolts of thunder leaped from her grasp until everything within sight was reduced to ruins, vaporized into ash and dust! As footsteps drew near, a shrill, terrified shriek came from beneath a collapsed wall: "Lou... Lou Yanyue!!!" "Oh? You recognize me?" Lou Yanyue's 'footsteps' halted in place. She looked down contemptuously at the dying corrupted wretch, studying the terror, despair, and shock in his eyes. She could not help but grin. "What? Just because I had a bit of work done to my face doesn't mean you can't tell it's me, right?" Both legs and her left arm had originally been severed clean at the joints. Now, they had been miraculously remade. Reshaped from her own spiritus, they resembled pure white crystal, the faint rush of blood visible within. And across her face—which still bore a trace of youthfulness—the scar running across remained grotesque. Yet her eyes, the most vital component for spiritus shaping, had returned to their rightful sockets! Even if there was a lingering discordance to them... Tears of blood, caused by the crude transplantation, slowly trickled from the corners of her eyes, making her youthful smile look even more savage, like that of a beast. "Ugly as it may be, that useless nephew of mine spent twenty-odd years blubbering like a baby, only to finally act like a man for once. As his aunt, I couldn't let his efforts go to waste..." She tapped the borrowed pair of eyes with a finger, then asked abruptly: "Where is Kanemoto? Where is Ji Jue?" Beneath the rubble, the buried face froze for an instant before lighting up in wild joy: "I—" *Boom!* Lightning gathered into a blade and slashed down. In an instant, not a trace of bone remained. "A lie." Lou Yanyue indifferently retracted her gaze and looked around. Not here... No matter. There were still so many places left in the city. Slaying her way through one by one, she was bound to slaughter the right bastards; searching one by one, she was bound to find the person she wanted to find. Amidst the dancing dust, she looked up and strode toward the expanding war and unrest in the distance. Wherever she passed, only crimson remained. "Brother Shan, what do you think we should do after we get back?" In the quiet corridor, the sound of dripping water echoed. Tong Shan's footsteps paused for a moment. He wanted so badly to say: *Use official titles during work hours, call me Captain on duty, call signs work too—I've emphasized this so many times, why do you guys never listen?* Yet right now, he didn't dare lift his head to look. In a muffled voice, he said, "Anything is fine." Jiang Xuan chuckled. "When the time comes, let's all have a few drinks together." "Yeah," Tong Shan replied sluggishly. "Give the flowers on the balcony to Xu Guan. If you get the chance, thank Little Ji for me. I managed to save some money too—donate it to the orphanage, or give it to Da Liu, consider it poverty relief..." Jiang Xuan rambled incoherently, propping himself up against the wall. Blood seeped slowly from the gaping hole piercing his chest, splashing onto the floor and gathering into a shallow puddle that snaked outward... "I can't walk anymore." The corner of Jiang Xuan's mouth twitched, and he said softly, "The rest... I'll leave to you guys." Tong Shan did not speak. He only listened to his friend's final farewell. "You should go, Brother Shan," he said. "There's still a road ahead." As he turned, Tong Shan could not help but look back after all. But on that fractured face, there was only a radiant smile, completely devoid of gloom. Just like saying goodbye by the punch clock after a shift. Relaxed and relieved. Tong Shan froze for a moment, then gave a slow nod. "Goodbye." Jiang Xuan smiled soundlessly, listening to the footsteps gradually fade into the distance. Closing his eyes, he waited in silence. Until hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed from the other end of the corridor, rushing like a downpour in hot pursuit. When the corrupted burst into the hallway, what met their eyes was that bold, cheerful face, giving them one last wave. *Today, I am a boulder.* *Pardon me, gentlemen, but do stumble over me here!* In that instant, a ferocious roar erupted into the sky. Countless beams of steel-hued light burst like a torrential storm, fanning out in all directions, piercing through everything and tearing all to shreds. The massive detonation echoed, carried far into the distance by the howling wind. The sound of shattering bones and flesh rang out. "Die!" Old Tom roared, ripping his axe free from a mangled skull. He spun and swept it outward, bisecting an enemy at the waist, before clamping a vice-like grip around a blade thrust through him. Of his mangled six arms, none held weapons anymore. He had even lost a leg. But it didn't matter... A grin cracked across his bloodstained face, and then he opened his mouth! Straight toward the unprotected throat. He tore in with his teeth! The Swarm roared and drank blood as he snapped the neck of his final foe between his teeth. A shower of blood sprayed, dyeing his pale face crimson. "Boss, it's all fucking ambushes ahead," he panted, clutching a crudely counterfeited gold coin in his hand. "Let's fall back. I can still summon two of my ancestors to keep you safe!" Tong Shan did not speak. He merely staggered forward, supporting himself on a fractured flagpole. Pressing a bloody fingerprint onto an IOU written long ago, he placed it into Old Tom's hands with both of his own: "Da Liu and A'xue... I leave them to you." Old Tom fell silent. Glancing back at the dying brother and sister behind him, he gritted his teeth and nodded. At that, Tong Shan smiled. "Protect them well." He turned back to look at the cathedral shrouded in shadows. "I'll be right back." Within the massive cathedral, a violent aura surged... Summoned by alarms, standing at full readiness, Celestial Chosen from all over converged one after another to defend the pillar of Quancheng's Great Abomination. Closing his eyes, he could sense them: Abomination of Heart Pivot: Weiyang; Abomination of Entropy: Youshuang; Abomination of Aether: Ranhui... Three Regenerations, seven Metamorphoses, and twenty-nine Callings! Very good. Perfectly fair. One on one. One from Tianyuan against a whole nest of rats and snakes! He laughed soundlessly, dragging his flagpole as he strode boldly toward that gaping expanse of gloom. The darkness swallowed his figure. Never to be seen again. The earth shook violently. Above the heavens, the Burning Star Manifestation incinerated the gloom and hung aloft once more! An instant later, the crimson astral wheel shuddered violently. Droplets of thick ink materialized out of thin air, rapidly spreading, sowing contamination, twisting, and rewriting until the vast manifestation disintegrated. Resonating with the divine quintessence of the high-tier abominations, a viscous rain of corruption showered down from the sky, soaking everything. Myriad strands, drawn into continuous lines. Like a curtain cloaking all. Yet immediately after, that curtain violently shuddered amidst a silent surge, practically boiling as it roiled, warped, and scattered in all directions, unable to hold its form. "The first one? So fast?" Old Tom turned back in surprise, but soon his expression shifted to shock. *The second...* *Boom!* The cathedral ruptured as a blood-red whirlwind shot forth, spreading into an immense swath of crimson. Countless bone shards and minced flesh sprayed and rained down. And beneath the suppression of the high-tier abominations, his previously depleted telekinesis surged forth again like a raging tide. No longer demanding precision or subtlety, he squandered it violently, caring nothing if he was caught in the meat grinder himself... Even if his bones shattered and his flesh was pulverized, he would not hesitate! The world paused. The torrential rain of corruption froze in place, unable to shift. Then, a crisp sound of shattering rang out. —The third! In the gloom of the cathedral, the vaulted ceiling caved in with a roar, countless fragments tumbling down like a torrential rain. Flickering lights illuminated this hellish sea of blood. Everywhere was crimson. Every sight within view was reduced to severed limbs, splattered blood, and collapsed rubble. As if a tempest had swept through, everything belonging to Vile Folly had been ground to pulp wherever it passed! Now, the sole surviving Hierophant sat frozen on the floor, scrambling backward on all fours, ignoring the blood pouring from his severe wounds. He retreated until his back hit the holy statue, with nowhere left to run! No matter how he pleaded, the divine power of the high-tier abominations never manifested again. It was as though they had been utterly abandoned. Cast into true hell by the very gods they worshipped! All he could hear was a cracking sound that seemed to come from the depths of a nightmare. Meticulously, earnestly, rigorously grinding all who resisted into dust, one by one, piece by piece, thread by thread... "Hmm? There's... one more..." In the dark, that stooped figure stumbled forward. Carrying the two broken blades that pierced clean through his torso, he stepped across the bones step by step. Riddled with wounds, his gait faltered. Almost like crawling, he waded through blood, stepping over corpses. Walking toward him, step by step. Until that gruesome sight was illuminated by the lingering light... It looked as though a shattered corpse had been forcefully stitched together with telekinesis to maintain its shape and function. Who knew how many times it had been broken down, and how many times pieced back together? Beneath crisscrossing cracks, shattered viscera were hopelessly displaced, and his twisted, broken legs were propped up by rebar pulled from the rubble. Under the corruption's taint, pitch-black blood seeped slowly from a gash on his neck, dripping to the ground with a sizzle. Only on that face where bare bone showed did a pair of eyes burn with a fire fiercer than purgatory. Gazing fixedly at his final enemy. "One... more." "Hrk... hrk..." The Hierophant struggled frantically, eyes wide with horror, but his neck seemed clamped by invisible iron tongs, tightening inch by inch. His wails and gasps gradually choked out. *Snap.* A soft crack. Silence. *Boom!* As the corpse burst apart, the cathedral groaned, its final pillar disintegrating. Countless debris collapsed, piled up, and rained down past Tong Shan, yet his footsteps never ceased. Using both hands and feet, he climbed the mountain formed of piled corpses and ruins. Until he stepped on the broken holy statue beneath his feet! He had reached the highest point of the cathedral... He turned, looking out at the swaying world behind him. Beneath the looming projection of the Vortex, corruption rained down, churning and splashing, drowning everything. The silent, ruined city was once more shrouded in turmoil. Wailing and weeping surged like a tide, as though the doomsday of the past were replaying itself. Everything was slowly sinking. Falling toward a hell where light would never be seen again. For a moment, his lips twitched, wanting to roar with all his might. Yet even a shout at the top of his lungs would find no echo. And so, he held his breath. Mustering his final strength, he raised the banner once more toward the gloom before him, toward the turbulent world. The tattered flag slammed into the holy statue like a spike. Let the wild winds howl; let the rain of corruption splash. The cloth, dyed crimson with abomination blood, snapped and billowed in the wind once more, glowing with brilliant radiance like fire. Proclaiming here and now to all: —The banner of Tianyuan still stands upon the mortal realm!