Clatter, clatter, clatter!
Yaxiu and Weise's attacks slammed into Weixi, instantly triggering his sanctuary and defensive miracles with dozens of sharp explosions. Yet none managed to harm Weixi's true body.
Even with such airtight defenses, however, the cane in White Dove's hand pierced right through every single ward!
Even as a resurrected demigod, a reincarnator possessing countless trump cards, a spectre who had held sway over an entire era, and a prophet whom even the Divine Lords dreaded immensely, he could not resist the savage might of a god!
Perhaps in his prime, the Spectre Prophet could have held his ground against the wrath of a deity. But as a mere Sanctuary sorcerer, Weixi was hardly any stronger than Yaxiu and Weise before a god unleashing its full power!
Under their tense watch, White Dove's cane impaled Weixi's head, punching straight out the back of his skull! Yaxiu stared blankly at the sight, a rush of fierce exhilaration hitting his pituitary gland, making him want nothing more than to pop champagne and celebrate on the spot.
"No blood," Weise said abruptly.
Though his head had been run through, not a single drop of blood spilled from Weixi. Knowing something was wrong, Yaxiu reacted at once, sweeping his sword light across Weixi's form like a brush stroke!
Whoosh.
Weixi dissolved with a rush of wind, leaving only his voice echoing across the entire floor. "You really... were just an inch away from slaying the great Mr. Weixi. Looks like I'll have to take things... a bit more seriously. Forgive me, but I must take my leave."
Weise looked around, firing a flurry of bullets to blow away the mist, her expression dreadfully grim. "I can't see him—not just Weixi, I can't even see Fire Cat! How did he dodge White Dove's attack?"
"It's the mist."
Yaxiu glanced at the considerably thinned mist and said, "The mist must be linked to his true body in some way, which is how he keeps producing phantoms within it. White Dove definitely struck him just now, but his head isn't a vital point. He distributed all the damage into the mist and fled with Fire Cat!"
"He can only use that trick two or three times at most. Once the mist disperses, he won't be able to pull it off again!"
Thinking about it carefully, even Yaxiu had a lifesaver like Three-Second Cicada Lurk; it would be far stranger if Weixi lacked a trump card to preserve his own life.
"Except he's hidden himself," Weise gritted her teeth. "Speaking of which, I was the one who opened the eighteenth floor, and I can open and close its gates of mist. That was why I knew the moment you stepped in. But I have no idea when Weixi slipped through... We might never find him."
A monster in human skin like Weixi had offended countless people and made practically no friends. Failing to repay a kindness was normal for him, while failing to avenge a slight was unthinkable for such scum. The escapes recorded in the Spectre Manual alone numbered over a hundred. Even though Weixi had eventually slaughtered every faction that ever hunted him, he had lived his formative years as a desperate fugitive. His experience on the run surpassed Yaxiu and Weise combined. If he truly set his mind to hiding, it would be all but impossible for the two of them to track him down.
What was worse, as soon as Weixi completed transferring Fire Cat's ownership, he could leave the eighteenth floor entirely. Although he had hinted that Fire Cat had not yet recognized him as master, who could tell if that was truth or lie?
Yaxiu felt as though he were experiencing Tamashi's life firsthand—facing a contemptible, shameless scoundrel whom you couldn't catch, couldn't defeat, and who possessed endless means to save his own skin was truly maddening and suffocating, like punching into empty cotton.
From that perspective, Yaxiu felt he could never measure up to Tamashi. Tamashi had hunted Mercury Trojan for two years while keeping his mind as clear as a mirror. If Yaxiu were to hunt Weixi for two years, he would most likely only turn out even more despicable than Weixi.
Yet they had no room left to ponder how to hunt Weixi down in the future. With Weixi in hiding, only two mortals and two gods remained across the vast eighteenth floor of the Silent Spiral.
Yaxiu and Weise tightened their grip on their weapons, watching White Dove and Blue Bird with bated breath. The two deities had already regressed into the likenesses of an adolescent boy and girl. Without sorcery power or source crystals to sustain them, unleashing divine might forced the gods to burn away their own energy.
Earlier, in order to stem the leaking river, all three gods had burned their own bodies to project divine authority. Yaxiu guessed that gods were probably all child-sized at first—much like Mengxing, the little fox spirit they had created—and only grew over time as they were nourished, thereby gaining the energy to cast spells autonomously.
Even so, gods in the form of adolescent youths were not something legendary sorcerers could hope to withstand. After Weixi's meddling, heaven only knew whether these deities had learned the vital lesson that "sorcerers are disruptive pests who must be eradicated first," and intended to thrust a cane through their skulls as well.
Yet the two gods appeared utterly indifferent to their presence. The youthful White Dove looked toward the youthful Blue Bird. "Can we still manage it?"
The young Blue Bird shook her head. "We cannot."
The young White Dove nodded. "The mortals will surely die."
"They will surely die."
"If too many die, Lord Zhan will live. That is bad."
"Bad."
"Therefore, they cannot die."
"Indeed. They cannot die. They must become a burden to Lord Zhan."
"Yet they will surely die."
"Yes, they will surely die, yet they cannot be allowed to die."
The young White Dove glanced at the rift, then looked back at the young Blue Bird. "A second outcome for death, other than descending into Hell—can we bring it about?"
The young Blue Bird thought for a long moment before nodding. "We can."
Yaxiu and Weise had been listening nearby all along. They had thought the two deities might have another plan, but White Dove and Blue Bird were already certain: they could not seal the leaking river, and the people of Senluo were doomed. Even so, the gods had not given up; they would not allow the people of Senluo to simply die.
Upon hearing "a second outcome for death, other than descending into Hell," the two were momentarily bewildered, but sheer horror soon overtook their faces. Weise in particular raised her submachine gun almost immediately, aiming straight at the two gods. "Stop them!"
Yet while Blue Bird had been deliberating, a cyan curtain had already enveloped both deities. All the sorcerers' attacks crashed against the curtain, and aside from making Blue Bird appear another year younger, they inflicted no damage whatsoever!
Having given her consent, the young Blue Bird walked up to the young White Dove and turned around, letting him embrace her from behind, slipping his arms under hers. What looked like a gentle, tender scene was in truth the preparatory sorcery procedure for an apocalyptic divine miracle!
Under Yaxiu and Weise's near-despairing gazes, Blue Bird's cyan hue gradually spread onto White Dove. Diluted by his pure white, the cyan shifted across White Dove's body into a shade of green!
The young White Dove raised his cane and struck the ground.
In that instant, the entire world seemed to shudder.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
A wind rose.
Dark green sand and stone began to whip up into a storm centered around the two deities. Within a mere ten seconds, the dark green tempest swelled into a sky-splitting tornado, nearly choking the rift and stretching relentlessly upward!
Weise frantically emptied every magazine she had, even hurling her submachine gun into the fray. The moment the weapon tumbled into the dark green tempest, it was instantly corrupted into green crystals, then shredded into fragments. She still seemed unwilling to yield, but Yaxiu seized her in his arms and pulled her back, retreating far from the tempest's lethal core.
They looked up and saw that the rift was no longer raining people.
Instead, it was raining glittering, crystalline green stones.
These green crystals were not sucked into the chasm of the earth; they plunged straight onto the eighteenth floor. One happened to land right beside the two of them. Yaxiu leaned down, and the moment his fingertips brushed the green crystal, they trembled faintly.
He glanced at the pale Silver Lantern. Without even asking, he knew his own face was far more ghastly than hers. At this moment, Yaxiu even began praying for Igola and the others—not praying that they were still alive, but praying that they had already died before this!
Otherwise...
Yaxiu brought the green crystal to his ear, and Weise leaned in close. Holding their breath, they listened intently to the sounds within.
"It hurts..."
From inside the green crystal came a faint yet distinct, bizarre human voice.
As if all strength had drained from her, Weise slumped limply onto the ground. Yaxiu clamped a hand over his mouth, but he could no longer hold it in and vomited violently.
Yet the moment he finished, Yaxiu hauled Weise up and retreated further, for the dark green tempest was already sweeping toward them. Looking closely, he saw that the green crystal he had just held was now drawn into the storm, fueling its power even further! Even the flames conjured by Fire Cat were swept into the maelstrom, turning into a towering blaze that illuminated the entire world!
Yaxiu watched the dark green tempest swell by the second and asked, "Silver Lantern, is this the future you were willing to slaughter everyone to prevent?"
"This isn't a future," Weise said weakly. "This is a curse."
Chapter 737