Chapter 826: Awaken

Crunch, crunch...

The sound of bones being crushed echoed in the air. It was eerily similar to the noise the Night Fiends had made while devouring their fallen companions during evolution. But this time, it wasn’t the Night Fiends.

It was Black Emperor. The mutt was gnawing and chomping down on the flesh and bones of the fallen Night Fiends with unrestrained delight.

“You little—!” Huang Dinggou rushed over in a panic. “You dumb mutt, are you insane?! Do you want your guts to melt from the inside out?”

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The blood of the Night Fiends was so corrosive it could burn through stone slabs in the ruins without effort.

“Woof woof.” Black Emperor barked lazily, brushing him off, and continued munching away gleefully.

The supposedly indestructible bones snapped like chocolate under its sharp fangs. The caustic blood, which should have been lethal, was being licked up like a tasty treat. Black Emperor even wagged his tail in glee. Forget damaging its teeth, the corrosive blood didn’t even singe a single strand of its jet-black fur.

Huang Dinggou began to seriously question reality. Li Xiaofei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. At this point, he was starting to suspect that this damn dog could probably bite through his alchemy furnace if it tried.

“By the way,” Huang Dinggou suddenly said, as if something clicked in his mind. “Hall Master, this alchemy furnace of yours... it looks kinda familiar.”

Li Xiaofei’s expression darkened and said, “Don’t you dare say it’s one of those you accidentally lost while digging around in the manure pit.”

“How could that be?” Huang Dinggou gave a very reserved, almost gentlemanly smile.

If it were anyone else, he might’ve tried to bluff his way through. But since it was the Hall Master standing in front of him, he wasn’t foolish enough to test his luck.

“Hall Master, take a look at this.” He pulled out two iron plates from his clothes. “Don’t these look like they might be parts of your alchemy furnace?”

Before he had even finish—

Ding, ding!

Two crisp metallic chimes rang out. The iron plates, which Huang Dinggou had been using as makeshift chest armor, flew out of his hands and attached themselves perfectly to the damaged section of the alchemy furnace.

Li Xiaofei’s eyes narrowed. It was a perfect fit. They aligned exactly with two of the missing holes. Now, only four damaged spots remained. As the pieces fused into place, Li Xiaofei could distinctly feel the furnace grow lighter in his hands. It was more responsive. That feeling was difficult to put into words, yet it was unmistakable.

“See? I knew it looked familiar. I knew it had to be yours,” Huang Dinggou said with a fawning smile.

Li Xiaofei couldn’t be bothered to reply. He was now sure that the alchemy furnace must have been shattered somewhere in this very area. That explained why its fragments had scattered here, and eventually ended up in the hands of others.

“What now?” Li Xiaofei looked at Huang Dinggou and asked, “You’re full of survival wisdom. Do you have any bright ideas?”

Huang Dinggou tapped his temple, invoking what he believed to be his brilliant brainpower. After a moment, he said, “We should leave and find another place to hide out. I’ve got a bad feeling... Like more Night Fiends are gonna show up soon.”

Li Xiaofei nodded and replied, “Same here.”

He wasn’t particularly afraid with the alchemy furnace in his possession. But Huang Dinggou and the mute girl? They would be in grave danger. If he got tied down by a Night Fiend, the two of them would be killed in an instant. But then, where could they hide?

After a moment of thought, Li Xiaofei came up with a plan.

“Follow me.” He led the two humans and one dog away from the stable area.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the location where he had previously discovered the alchemy furnace.

“You two, get down there. Hide inside for now,” said Li Xiaofei, pointing toward the mouth of a well.

The mute girl didn’t hesitate at all. She jumped straight down, having been there before and knowing it was a good hiding spot.

“What about you, Hall Master?” Huang Dinggou asked, one foot already on the edge, still carrying the manure jar. Suddenly realizing something, he turned back and asked, “You’re not coming with us?”

“I have something else to take care of,” Li Xiaofei replied calmly.

Huang Dinggou didn’t argue and started climbing down. When only his head was still above ground, he said, “Brother, you better not die on me, alright? If you do, we’re gonna be stuck at the bottom of this well forever.”

“Down you go.” Li Xiaofei gave him a swift kick and sent him tumbling inside. Then, using the alchemy furnace, he toppled a wall and sealed off the well entrance.

Once everything was in place, Li Xiaofei turned and walked into the vast darkness of night, with Black Emperor trotting beside him.

With the furnace in hand, he didn’t fear the Night Fiends. Even if stronger ones showed up, he still had cards to play. Black Emperor, too, was in high spirits. It had been a long time since it had feasted so thoroughly. The taste was intense. It was numbing, spicy, and full of flavor. Exactly to its liking. It had a feeling, tonight, it would be feasting well by its master’s side.

***

Somewhere in endless darkness, endless cold and endless solitude, a crimson-gold vertical pupil slowly opened. In that instant, it was like a single streak of golden lightning pierced the void, illuminating the entire vast underground cavern.

Two tornados burst from its nostrils. The laws of nature immediately fell into chaos. Wind and water reversed their flow. In the darkness, the creature’s massive body shifted ever so slightly, and space trembled.

“They come... they come... they come...” Ancient words echoed through the hollow depths.

A glimmer of anticipation flickered within the golden eye. Its enormous jaws opened wide as it inhaled. The entire space around it cracked and shattered. The very walls of reality broke apart like shards of glass, drawn into that gaping maw and swallowed whole.

Then, the massive creature’s body squirmed. Its strange, mountain-sized tail began to contract. Then, it expelled a cluster of enormous crimson eggs, each more than twenty meters tall.

Crack. Crack.

The eggs began to hatch in under a minute. One by one, blood-red claws pierced through the shells, like demons clawing their way into the world.

“Go. Find the intruders, and retrieve the sword.”

A wave of spiritual pressure surged outward like a storm. The crimson creatures devoured their own eggshells, then swiftly exited the sealed cavern. Their hunt had already begun.

***

“What’s going on?” Li Xiaofei suddenly looked up, his gaze shifting toward the deeper reaches of the Heaven Ruins.

In that moment, a chill had crept down his spine. It was a soul-piercing sensation of dread. It felt as though some ancient and monstrous entity had just awakened from countless years of slumber... and was now ready to devour the world.

All around him, howls began to echo. In an instant, throughout numerous regions, the Night Fiends that had previously been drifting in silence suddenly became violently agitated, as if injected with a surge of madness. They began attacking one another, entering a frenzy of slaughter and devouring.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” Black Emperor barked loudly, equally excited. The food was evolving. It was going to taste even better now.

Li Xiaofei remained silent for a moment. He checked the glowing signal from Ishihara Masami in the Secret Time Pavilion, and after a moment’s thought, began moving in the direction where the light shone brightest.

He hadn’t gone far before he encountered a group of evolved Night Fiends. Without hesitation, Li Xiaofei charged forward with the alchemy furnace in hand. Black Emperor lunged as well, launching into a ferocious frenzy like a starving beast.

Half an hour later, over forty evolved Night Fiends lay slain, their corpses devoured entirely by Black Emperor. Man and dog continued onward. They hunted down many more Night Fiends along the way, cutting through the darkness like a blade.

More than three hours passed. Then, a towering wall came into view ahead. It stretched at least a thousand meters high, rising like a mountain to pierce the clouds above.

“Heaven needed walls?” Li Xiaofei murmured, eyebrows furrowing in puzzlement.

At the same time, Li Xiaofei had a strong premonition. Once he passed this wall, he would be stepping into the true interior of Heaven. He attempted to leap over it but he failed. He could only reach a height of a hundred meters at most. Some sort of restriction seemed to blanket the area within the wall’s perimeter that suppressed his strength.

He tried to climb, but it was another failure. Though the wall appeared rough and coarse at first glance, the moment he laid a hand on it, it became slick, smooth, and impossible to grip. Not even his Gecko Wall-Climbing technique had any effect whatsoever.

Left with no better option, Li Xiaofei could only hunt wild Night Fiends with Black Emperor while searching for a gate.

Four hours passed before they found the city gate. However, it was shut tight. He tried to push it open but there was no luck. Hands on his hips, Li Xiaofei let out an exasperated sigh.

“What the hell is this nonsense...” muttered Li Xiaofei.

“Woof! Woof!” Black Emperor suddenly began barking furiously at the gate.