Chapter 1451: When Human Stars Shine (Part 10) (Two-in-one, expanded)

Clang————

A dull bell toll echoed in the rainy night. In the dim main hall, the candles on the table swayed slightly.

Pale thunder light flickered among the dark clouds outside the hall. A graceful figure wearing a white martial arts uniform stepped slowly over the threshold of the main hall. Her gaze swept across the surroundings, and a trace of confusion appeared in her hollow eyes...

"Benefactor... you have finally come."

At the edge of the dim hall door, the silhouette of a person wearing a kasaya stood up from a kneeling cushion.

He pressed his palms together in the shadows and bowed slightly:

"My Buddha is merciful..."

"He has been waiting for you for a long time."

Su Zhiwei’s eyes remained hollow, as if she were in a dream, and she asked in a daze: "...What?"

"Benefactor, you have forgotten... your heart is too deeply obsessed, as if you have a knot in your heart. You begged for a long time at the foot of the mountain before you were granted the opportunity to petition my Buddha..." The monk brushed his sleeves and made a gesture of invitation toward the front,

"Now, my Buddha has agreed to see you..."

"Go."

"Petition my Buddha with sincerity. My Buddha is merciful and saves the world; He will surely let you... get what you wish."

Su Zhiwei slowly looked up toward the depths of the main hall. In the abyss-like black shadows, the silhouette of a massive Buddha sat on the altar. But perhaps because of the drizzling rain outside, the light in the hall was extremely poor, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see it clearly.

Su Zhiwei stepped forward as if possessed, walking step by step toward the Buddha statue in the shadows. Her figure was gradually swallowed by the darkness, with only the flickering candlelight in front illuminating her face.

"Buddha says... He has heard it." The monk’s voice came from the side. "In your heart... you have lost someone very important."

Su Zhiwei lowered her head to look at her hands, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes.

She could indeed feel that her heart was empty, as if she had lost someone important, but she couldn't remember for a moment... She always felt that something was not quite right.

In the next second, the Buddha statue standing in the darkness actually began to twist slowly. A vortex-like portal opened in front of Su Zhiwei, and some kind of indescribable aura was spreading crazily.

"Go, my Buddha has already found him for you... He is right there." The monk’s voice sounded like a ghost, ringing in Su Zhiwei’s ear.

Su Zhiwei stared blankly at the vortex beneath the Buddha’s feet. Deep in her mind, a voice seemed to be constantly urging her to move forward, as if there was something in that vortex that she had been searching for bitterly...

Su Zhiwei stepped toward the vortex.

Snap—!!

Just as she was about to step into the vortex, a pale thunderbolt suddenly roared across the sky, and a thunderclap exploded in Su Zhiwei’s ear!

Her body suddenly stopped uncontrollably...

A hand,

gently grabbed her wrist from behind.

"Sister Zhiwei, that is not me." A very familiar voice rang out.

Su Zhiwei turned her head and saw a young man wearing a black shirt with embroidered patterns standing behind her. His eyebrows were like swords, his eyes like stars, and he was staring fixedly at the dark Buddha statue in front of him. Threads of embroidery extended from his body, and at some point, they had already bound themselves to Su Zhiwei’s body, making it difficult for her to move forward even an inch.

The moment she saw that face, Su Zhiwei’s hollow eyes began to regain their luster, as if the self hidden deep in her heart began to struggle and awaken!

"Benefactor, what are you still waiting for?" The monk’s somewhat urgent voice sounded low,

"My Buddha has shown great mercy to give you this opportunity. If you drag this out any longer, that door will close in a moment. Don't you really want to see him!"

Snap—!!

Another pale thunderbolt flashed across the sky.

A figure wearing a black-bottomed, red-patterned opera robe crossed the threshold and entered the main hall under the illumination of the thunder.

"Finally got in..." Chen Ling’s gaze swept across the surroundings, his eyes narrowing slightly. "No, this is not Su Zhiwei’s world of thoughts... This familiar aura... is the Turbid Disaster?"

Chen Ling had waited outside for a long time and finally sensed a loophole in Su Zhiwei’s originally sealed mental world. He immediately intervened with a thought storm without hesitation, but he really didn't expect that he would come to this inexplicable place...

Now it seemed that it was no wonder Su Zhiwei’s mental world had a loophole... It turned out she had fallen into the trap of the Turbid Disaster?

"It’s you?! How did you get in again!!!"

Seeing Chen Ling step into the main hall, the monk’s voice rang out sharply and in terror.

Seeing Chen Ling, Su Zhiwei also felt a sense of familiarity. Her consciousness, which was between chaos and sobriety, struggled constantly. Although there was no wind in the hall, the candles on the table swayed violently as if swept by a strong wind!

And the black-shirted young man beside Su Zhiwei smiled gently when he saw Chen Ling.

"...Yao Qing?"

A trace of surprise flashed in Chen Ling’s eyes, and then he figured something out and nodded.

Su Zhiwei’s mental defense was lost, most likely because of the Turbid Disaster, which was already attempting to fuse with Su Zhiwei... But it didn't expect that Su Zhiwei was not a simple Nine Sovereign; within her body, there was also the human embroidery map drawn for her by Yao Qing, a demigod of the Green God Path, with his life.

For the Turbid Disaster to fuse with Su Zhiwei was equivalent to attempting to fuse with two demigods at the same time. Even if Su Zhiwei’s mind was lost, the embroidery map in her body could block the Turbid Disaster.

If it weren't for Yao Qing, I’m afraid the Red Dust Sovereign would have really been fused by the Turbid Disaster...

"Dr. Su, you should wake up!"

Chen Ling’s voice exploded like thunder. The thought storm and the word [Truth] were merged into this sentence, directly extinguishing the remaining candles on the table!

At the same time, Su Zhiwei, who was between chaos and sobriety, woke up with a start!

"Chao!! You ruined my good deed!!"

The monk on the side let out a sharp, explosive cry in anger.

In the next second, Su Zhiwei’s Nine Sovereign aura began to permeate the main hall. There was no longer any confusion in those eyes, only awe-inspiring killing intent and endless anger!

Su Zhiwei remembered everything. She hadn't expected at all that the seed she was preparing to destroy was actually a trap prepared by the Turbid Disaster in advance... She hadn't expected even more that these disasters were actually arrogant enough to want to fuse with a Nine Sovereign??

"Turbid Disaster... you are courting death!!"

Boom—!!

A terrifying storm swept from within the main hall, and even the darkness seemed to be suppressed and retreated by Su Zhiwei’s aura. On the altar in the depths of the main hall, the Buddha statue, which had been impossible to see clearly, gradually outlined a clear silhouette.

A strange Buddha, woven from flesh-and-blood roots, was sitting in front of the three of them like a wriggling mountain of meat. At the very top of the Buddha statue, the massive fruit-like Buddha head had opened a pair of tiny eyes at some point, looking down at everything in the main hall...

Its expression was somewhat ugly.

A black-shirted young man, a white-clad woman, and a red-clad opera singer stood side by side in the main hall. The three auras of a human demigod, a human Nine Sovereign, and a world-ending disaster were mixed together, shattering the aura of the entire hall.

Just as Su Zhiwei was preparing to close her eyes, let her consciousness return to her body, and continue to fight the Turbid Disaster, Yao Qing on the side suddenly spoke:

"Since it wants to fuse... then let it try."

Su Zhiwei was startled.

She turned to look at the face she didn't know how many times she had seen in her dreams, her lips pursed.

Of course, she knew that Yao Qing was already dead. What appeared here now was nothing more than an illusion triggered by the human embroidery map entering her brain... Her subconscious had constructed a "Yao Qing" in the main hall to protect her.

But even so, when she really saw Yao Qing standing in front of her as if he were alive, she couldn't help but have a moment of trance.

"That makes sense..."

Chen Ling rubbed his chin with one hand, as if thinking of something interesting. "Then, let it try to fuse?"

【Audience expectation +4】

【Current expectation: 28%】

Su Zhiwei’s brows furrowed slightly, but then smoothed out, a flash of coldness crossing her spirited eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, the embroidered threads wrapped around her body uncoiled simultaneously, and then, with a sudden step forward, she plunged her right hand into the churning vortex!

She looked up at the towering Buddha of flesh and blood, her expression as if to say:

You want to assimilate me, don't you?

Come on,

I’ll give you that chance!

As Su Zhiwei’s arm entered the vortex, Yao Qing, standing beside her, transformed directly into threads of embroidery that filled the sky. These threads wrapped around Su Zhiwei’s body, as if merging into one with her, and together they probed deep into the body of the flesh-and-blood Buddha along her arm!

The Tian-Shu Domain did not have powerful reinforcements like Lord Lingxu,

But Su Zhiwei had Yao Qing.

Under the combined power of Su Zhiwei and Yao Qing—two demigods—the body of the flesh-and-blood Buddha began to tremble slightly, as if it were exerting all its strength to resist their joint effort!

The assimilation studied by the Calamity of Thought was only a one-on-one process. Both the Calamity of Thought and the Assimilation Faction knew that assimilation was a one-way street... Since ancient times, any assimilator who attempted to assimilate two calamities at once had only one end...

That is, to be completely blown apart from within.

Fine cracks began to spread across the surface of the flesh-and-blood Buddha, but they slowed and stalled once they reached the waist.

The Calamity of Turbidity was, after all, a Calamity of Turbidity. As a world-ending calamity, it had actually managed to withstand the power of two demigods. But assimilation was no longer possible; it now only wanted to withdraw its power from Su Zhiwei, and the tremors of the entire Buddha statue grew increasingly violent!

Immediately after,

A figure draped in a black-based, red-patterned theatrical robe slowly walked beneath the Buddha statue...

Seeing this, the flesh-and-blood Buddha shook even more violently. Its tiny eyes widened like copper bells, staring fixedly at the smiling, silent Chen Ling, the gaze as if to say:

Brother...

Can we please not do this???

"Since you're already assimilating, why not assimilate some of mine too?" Chen Ling said with a soft laugh. "Good luck."

With that, he also plunged his hand into the vortex.

Chen Ling’s physical body was not here, but even his thoughts carried a trace of the world-ending aura...

When this trace of world-ending aura was drawn into the stalemate between the Calamity of Turbidity and the two human demigods, the balance the Calamity of Turbidity had struggled to maintain collapsed instantly. No matter how strong it was, it could handle 1v2, but it couldn't handle 1v1v2... The aura of the Calamity of Mockery was like the final straw that broke the camel's back—a true disruptor!

The fine cracks that had only reached the Buddha’s waist began to spread crazily, splitting the statue directly in half like a tree struck by lightning, and massive amounts of blood gushed out from the fracture!

The great hall began to collapse;

The monks began to scream.

The next second, the consciousnesses of Su Zhiwei and Chen Ling plummeted!

……

BOOM—!!!

With a deafening roar, everyone still fighting bitterly within the Tian-Shu Domain froze and looked back simultaneously.

They saw the massive flesh-and-blood Buddha towering in the center of the domain suddenly explode into thin air. Large swaths of plant roots fell from the sky with mournful cries, and the "Buddha head," which had been radiating the turbid light of the Buddha, split into three pieces, the gushing blood blotting out the sky.

The human-flesh lotus beneath the Buddha began to wither, the spreading flesh-and-blood earth dried up and vanished, and the world-ending aura that had nearly enveloped the entire domain dissolved into dust at this moment, drifting away without a trace...

"...Did Lady Hongchen win???" Lu Liangren asked, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"She took care of the Calamity of Turbidity all by herself?!"

At this moment, the people of the Tian-Shu Domain, who had been on the verge of despair, felt a surge of wild joy at their narrow escape, and cheers rang out across the sky!!

Inside the moving building block, Mr. Han, who had been sliced so many times he was little more than flesh and bone, opened his eyes with great difficulty:

"Cui Ran... what is... that sound outside..."

"Sir, Lady Hongchen won!!" Cui Ran shouted, his eyes red. "The aura of the Calamity of Turbidity has vanished, and the calamities from the Sighing Wilderness outside seem to be retreating too... We survived, Sir!!"

Mr. Han’s body began to tremble slightly, and a glimmer of light finally returned to his murky eyes.

"As long as we won... as long as we won..."

"Sir!! Just hold on a little longer, I’ll heal you right now! Then you can get some good sleep!!" Cui Ran threw away the dagger in his hand and scrambled to prepare treatment for Mr. Han.

But just as he picked up the bandages and medicine, he froze in place, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

There was almost no flesh left on Mr. Han’s body.

Even with the bandages and medicine, he didn't know where to begin. The flowing blood had soaked the ground, and what left Cui Ran most helpless was Mr. Han’s gradually fading spiritual aura.

The prolonged overdrawing of his spiritual power to maintain the domain had caused irreversible damage to Mr. Han’s mind. Even if the top-tier Medical God Path could heal the wounds on his body, how could it address the collapse of his mind?

Mr. Han’s blood-stained head lifted slightly, and his blood-colored pupils looked through the open ceiling of the building at the sky where the dust was clearing.

"No need..."

"My mission... is already complete..."

"The Tian-Shu Domain won... although we lost the Tongtian Tower, we won't lose anyone else..."

"...Except for me."

The corners of Mr. Han’s mangled mouth curled up slightly. When he said the last three words, there was not a hint of regret on his face, only relief and joy... His eyes slowly closed, and as the last string in his heart relaxed, his already shattered mind collapsed completely.

The souls that had been frozen in a near-death state returned to their bodies one by one, and the Medical God Path domain that had shrouded the entire Tian-Shu Domain dissipated silently...

"Mr. Han..."

"Mr. Han!!!!" Cui Ran’s heart-wrenching cry was swallowed by the wind.

……

Two figures slowly walked out from the depths of the shattered earth.

"...Its seed still managed to escape." Chen Ling sighed with some regret. "I thought I could kill it outright."

Su Zhiwei watched the embroidered threads on her skin burrow back into her flesh, a flash of reminiscence in her eyes... She looked up and replied calmly:

"A world-ending calamity isn't that easy to kill."

"That’s true."

"Thank you for this time... Chen Ling."

Hearing these two words, Chen Ling’s heart suddenly trembled. He looked back at Su Zhiwei, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Come to think of it, this was his first time meeting Su Zhiwei in this era. The Su Zhiwei of this era was no different from the one in his memory, only her temperament was colder and she was even more powerful.

"But, why did you appear in my thoughts?" Su Zhiwei asked again.

"Oh... speaking of which, there’s something I need your help with." Chen Ling said truthfully. "My body has been sealed by the Calamity of Thought, and I can't open it myself, so I had to use my thoughts to escape and ask for help... In this era, you are the demigod I trust the most."

Su Zhiwei glanced at him, seemingly puzzled, but ultimately didn't ask further and simply agreed:

"I can't leave the Tian-Shu Domain right now. Where is the place you’re sealed? Give me a direction."

"Over there, the Ruoshui Domain."

Chen Ling pointed toward the direction of the Ruoshui Domain.

Su Zhiwei nodded. She reached out and grasped the void, the aura of the Nine Lords surging. The "strings" drifting in the air began to reconstruct, and a spear radiating a terrifying aura condensed out of thin air!

"Take it easy, don't kill me along with it." Chen Ling couldn't help but remind her, feeling the terrifying fluctuations of the spear.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

The brilliance in Su Zhiwei’s eyes reached its peak, and the next second, she violently hurled the energy spear!!

WHOOSH—!!!

The energy spear tore through the air like a meteor streaking across the sky, racing toward the Ruoshui Domain!

"Is the Calamity of Thought still nearby?"

"I don't know... I’ve been sealed for a long time, it should have left by now."

"It had better have left... otherwise, no one can save you now." Su Zhiwei gave him a complicated look. "This spear will reach your location in about ten seconds. Once the seal is broken, you’ll have to fend for yourself."

"...Mm."

Chen Ling counted down the time for the seal to break in his heart. For some reason, whenever he saw Su Zhiwei’s eyes, he felt a kind of... inexplicable distance.

Could it be that after more than three hundred years, Su Zhiwei’s emotions had faded? But hadn't she been in a deep sleep for most of that time?

Just then, Chen Ling seemed to remember something.

"Dr. Su."

Chen Ling called out to Su Zhiwei, who was about to turn and leave.

Su Zhiwei turned back, puzzled. "What is it? Is there something else?"

Chen Ling took a deep breath and spoke, enunciating every word:

"...Meeting in the mortal world."

Meeting in the mortal world, a faint smile through the long years.

This was the secret code Chen Ling had agreed upon with Su Zhiwei in the Era Archive. They had promised that if they met in the future, they would use this code to verify each other’s identity, proving that everything they experienced in the Era Archive was real.

Before this, Chen Ling had never had the chance to see the Su Zhiwei of this era, and he had almost forgotten about the existence of this code...

Now was the perfect time to verify his theory.

Under Chen Ling’s expectant gaze,

Su Zhiwei frowned:

"...What are you talking about?"