Chapter 1338: Finally Come Back

At the same time, the same conversation happened elsewhere.

There was a green lake in the fourth realm which the local aliens stayed far away from.

The vast majority of lifeforms that drew near to it would keel over. The nearby trees had turned black, all having wilted.

No one could imagine that this idyllic jade-green lake would be so frightening, like a god of death continuously reaping the lives of lifeforms nearby.

The lake was so acidic that an ordinary hunter who touched it would have the skin melt from their bones. The air itself was saturated with formless poison, and even a bird flying overhead would drop dead.

What the aliens didn't know was that a special lifeform existed at the heart of the lake.

The sky spun and the air distorted, forming a huge, swirling whirlpool in the air. In the center of the whirlpool, waves roared through the skies like galloping steeds, like thundering dragons.

The waves crested in mid-air. The whirlpool was like a mirror into the far end of the sea. The near end continued to seethe and roil.

As the sky shifted, the surface of the lake transformed into a human face.

"What's the matter, Father?"

If the aliens around could see this sight, they would have been shocked that the lake was alive and possessed of will. The lake was none other than one of Cthaat's children. To be precise, Cthaat's son wasn't the lake itself, only an entity that had merged with the lake to form a terribly potent acid.

"Black Swamp is dead."

The lake's face gaped. "Who would be so bold as to kill Black Swamp? Do they not respect Eternal Sun? Is this a provocation? Are they intending to wage war against us?"

The whirlpool in the air transformed into a human face, that of Zhang Lie.

The lake replied, "I've never seen this face, nor this species of lifeform. Do you know what lifeform this is, Father?"

"A foreign invader."

The lake's face turned fierce. "We haven't had the time to deal with these cockroaches. Perhaps it's past time we did something about them."

Cthaat continued, "The Ancient Gods' Abode and the new Halls of Chaos have been keeping tabs on me, and I cannot easily make a move. If I do so, so will the Ancient Gods' Abode, and I don't know what havoc the Halls of Chaos will cause. I will leave Black Swamp's revenge to you. I want the culprit's entire race to suffer alongside him."

The lake's face snorted. "They're nothing more than a group of cockroaches living on borrowed time, surviving in nooks and crannies all over the realm. I'll clear them out."

As the whirlpool winked out, the jade-green lake began to froth, transforming into the form of a large humanoid figure. "It's been centuries since I last traveled..."

At the same time, the same conversation happened elsewhere.

One of the more unusual locations of the fourth realm was at the site of a perennial thunderstorm. So concentrated was the lightning in the area that it had formed a lake of electric plasma.

Thunderclouds swirled in the air, transforming into a huge sea. Electric serpents sparked amidst the clouds.

The sky spun and the air distorted, forming a huge, swirling whirlpool in the air. In the center of the whirlpool, waves roared through the skies like galloping steeds, like thundering dragons. The whirlpool was like a mirror into the far end of the sea. The near end continued to seethe and roil.

As the sky shifted, the surface of the lake transformed into a human face.

The lake of electric plasma exploded as pillars of lightning soared into the air, causing a forest of lightning to manifest out of thin air. The lightning sketched out a humanoid face. "Why the sudden appearance, Father?"

"Black Swamp is dead."

"So?" the figure of lightning asked.

"Seek revenge for him."

The whirlpool in the air transformed into a human face, that of Zhang Lie.

"I have never seen this lifeform before."

"It's a member of a foreign race, an invader."

"How should I find it?"

Cthaat replied, "I can track him with a karmic link, but that's not enough to quell my rage. His entire race must die with him.

"As you will."

The lightning transformed into a giant that began trudging toward civilization.

At the same time, the same conversation happened elsewhere.

In the fourth realm, there was a region in which cloudy mist drifted in the manner of a sea.

It was a rather famous location in the realm, and known appropriately as the Cloudy Sea.

The sea of clouds was harmless. Unlike the acidic lake, it was free of danger, but all the lifeforms that entered the sea had never left again. It grew larger bit by bit with each passing year, as though intending on devouring everything in sight.

That day, a strange scene could be seen among the sea of clouds. The sky spun and the air distorted, forming a huge, swirling whirlpool in the air.

The waves crested in mid-air. The sea roared in anger and frustration.

"Black Swamp is dead."

The clouds formed a humanoid face. "Who did it? The Ancient Gods' Abode, or the new Halls of Chaos?"

No one else had the capacity to cause such damage except for the two premier organizations of the fourth realm.

"Neither."

The whirlpool in the air transformed into a human face, that of Zhang Lie.

The face of clouds asserted, "I'll find this lifeform."

The sea of clouds, which had formed over the course of tens of thousands of years, moved for the first time.

Within the disaster-grade dragonwhale soulshard, Li Qianlin frowned as she folded her arms. "So you've finally come back? I thought you had forgotten all about me."

Zhang Lie smiled. "What's the matter? Do you miss me after just a few days?"

Li Qianlin blushed. "Who cares about you? I'm just worried that you suffered an accident outside, trapping me in here!"

Zhang Lie's smile deepened. "So you do care about me!"

Li Qianlin's face turned redder. She hurriedly waved a hand. "Well? Give me the lifeform meat, then."

Zhang Lie shrugged. "I don't have any today."

"What's the matter?" Li Qianlin asked in worry.

"I've already maxed out my peak gene fragments, so I don't have to specially hunt down genetic lifeforms anymore."

Li Qianlin seemed doubtful. "So you're here just to visit me?"