Chapter 930: Seeing Lou Yu Again

On the empty, gloomy, and rainy street, four figures stood silently by the roadside like statues, only their clothes fluttering in the wind...

Ying Fu closed his eyes helplessly.

He had already anticipated the fate of District One. After all, a few days ago, the residents of District One had heard rumors that they were going to refine the Philosopher's Stone in District One again, and A-Qian's parents and the families of other children had joined forces with the witches to send them out of the Wu-Ji Domain at the cost of their lives.

He just didn't expect that in just a few days, District One would truly be devastated... Those children who were sent out also died in the Gray World, and only he and A-Qian survived.

The two of them were likely the last survivors of District One.

Chen Ling glanced coldly at the Silver King, not surprised at all by the tragedy in the house...

He had experienced the disaster in the Red Dust Domain. If it weren't for the Red Dust Monarch and Yao Qing, the entire Red Dust would have been refined into a Philosopher's Stone. It was likely because the Wu-Ji Monarch had suffered heavy losses in Red Dust and had nowhere else to refine a Philosopher's Stone to entrust his soul, so he had to choose District One as a sacrifice.

They say a rabbit doesn't eat the grass around its burrow. The fewer people in the Wu-Ji Domain, the less productive it was. It seems that this time, the Wu-Ji Monarch was also pushed to the limit.

"If I had known that District One was Your Majesty's hometown, we would have chosen another district as our target." The Silver King spread his hands helplessly.

"But there was really no other way. Without the Philosopher's Stone, Lou Yu wouldn't be able to recover his mobility... But this should be the last time I allow him to sacrifice the residents of the Wu-Ji Domain. After this, if he wants more Philosopher's Stones, he will have to find a way himself."

Ying Fu didn't care about the Silver King's explanation at this moment. His gaze was fixed on the petite figure standing in front of the door...

A-Qian looked at the tragedy in the house, her body shaking crazily. She staggered backward, as if she were in a nightmare, her face deathly pale.

Just as she was about to collapse and scream, a sigh came from behind, and Ying Fu patted her head gently.

A-Qian groaned and fainted into Ying Fu's arms on the spot.

"Poor child." An apologetic look appeared on the Silver King's face. "There are people in the church who specialize in making pastries. Perhaps eating a few more apple cakes will make her happier... Of course, the Portuguese egg tarts are also quite good."

Although his expression was very apologetic, his tone was casual and peaceful, not like he was expressing an apology, but rather like he was recommending the homemade desserts to Ying Fu and Chen Ling, especially when mentioning the apple cake, a hint of pride flashed in his eyes.

"...Is that so." Ying Fu held the unconscious A-Qian and replied expressionlessly, "I have to thank you."

"You're welcome."

The King of Silver smiled elegantly.

The three of them continued forward. Along the way, they frequently saw charred, carbonized figures lying in disarray around the streets, dragging long marks across the ground—the exact same way Ah Qian’s parents had died in the house.

What was eerie was that the surrounding buildings and streets showed no signs of fire, as if the flames had erupted from within the human bodies and vanished without a trace after burning them to death... Was this some kind of large-scale sorcery?

As Chen Ling pondered, the King of Silver’s voice sounded once more:

"We're here."

Chen Ling and Ying Fu looked up simultaneously. The silhouette of a massive cathedral, shrouded in shadows, loomed in the mist... There were no guards outside the cathedral, nor were there any signs related to the Fire-Tamperers, as if this were merely an abandoned church that few people visited...

Is this the King of Silver’s base of operations within the Wuji Domain?

The three stepped onto the heavy stone stairs and stopped before the cathedral gates. The floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows emitted a hazy, dreamlike glow.

But this light brought Chen Ling no sense of security; instead, it gave him an inexplicable chill, as if some dangerous behemoth were dwelling within the cathedral.

The King of Silver snapped his fingers lightly, and the cathedral gates slowly creaked open...

A magnificent, artistic corridor appeared before Chen Ling.

The resplendent corridor stretched toward the end, its walls and ceiling covered in intricate murals that bore the marks of time and history, dazzling the eyes at a single glance. Anyone arriving here for the first time would likely be shocked by the sight... In Chen Ling’s experience, the only thing comparable to this was the palace of the Floating Life Painting.

Chen Ling’s expression was somewhat strange. He glanced back at the plain exterior of the cathedral, feeling as though an entire Louvre had been stuffed inside the shell of an ordinary church!

So much for the King of Silver’s "frugal" church...

Chen Ling and Ying Fu stepped into the corridor one after another, walking toward the depths of the cathedral. After pushing open another set of doors, a figure appeared in Chen Ling’s field of vision.

It was a man draped in a black robe, with complex alchemical patterns engraved upon the fabric, emitting a faint glow. He stood in the center of the cathedral pews, with a floating mercury moon hanging above his head.

Seemingly sensing the arrival of Chen Ling and the others, the man turned his head slightly, revealing a familiar face.

Lord Wuji, Lou Yu.

The current Lou Yu was completely different from the one who had invaded the Red Dust Domain. Not only had his lab coat—a symbol of science—been replaced by a mysterious black alchemical robe, but he also had only one Philosopher’s Stone left in the center of his brow, and his expression was visibly exhausted.

"How does it feel to have a body again?" the King of Silver’s voice sounded slowly.

Lou Yu stared at him intensely. His hand beneath the robe clenched into a fist, then helplessly relaxed...

"...Average. With only one Philosopher’s Stone, it cannot bear much power."

"The Philosopher’s Stone refined in District One was just to give you a body first. If you want more, you’ll have to go to other domains to refine them... You cannot touch the Wuji Domain anymore."

"This domain was supposed to be mine."

"It was indeed yours once," the King of Silver laughed. "But now, it is our shared Wuji... isn't it?"

Lou Yu did not answer. His gaze swept over the three people before him. Upon seeing Chen Ling, his eyes narrowed slightly... Then, he shifted his gaze to Ying Fu and Ah Qian, asking in a deep voice:

"Who are they?"

"I was just about to introduce them to you." The King of Silver reached out toward Ying Fu. "This is the [Emperor] of this era, Ying Fu... Oh, 'Ying' as in Ying Zheng."

Then, he gestured toward Chen Ling. "You should have seen this one in the Red Dust Domain. The fusion-host of a World-Ending Calamity, a weapon of mass destruction capable of sweeping through both human domains and Gray Realm calamities... Mr. Chen Ling."

Ying as in Ying Zheng?

Hearing these four words, the way Lou Yu looked at Ying Fu changed instantly, filled with the surreal feeling of a figure from a history book appearing in reality.

As for Chen Ling, Lou Yu didn't need an introduction at all.

Lou Yu, Chen Ling, and Ying Fu exchanged glances, and the air fell into silence once again.

The King of Silver, Lord Wuji Lou Yu, [Emperor] Ying Fu, and the World-Ender Chen Ling... The four stood together, no one speaking, a bizarre atmosphere permeating the air.