Chapter 514 - 256: "Missed me?

Chapter 514: Chapter 256: "Missed me?

Damaging others and myself!

WHOOSH!

The instant he turned to flee for his life, the two arms of his Dan Demon Incarnation vanished, leaving only a single wing of inky light. Zheng Xiu shot off in the opposite direction at the fastest speed he could muster.

A piercing pain, like a drill boring into his skull, pulsed from his forehead. As Zheng Xiu fled, the chain unleashed by the Prisoner Deceitful Object pulled taut. In the void, the twisting, stick-insect-like Deceitful Object was now bound tightly by the Prisoner Deceitful Object and was being dragged closer to Zheng Xiu.

Just as Zheng Xiu had previously speculated, another layer of meaning to "Prisoner" was "Imprisoner of Deceitful Objects"—the bane of all Mystics and Deceitful Objects. After destroying Zhu’s Incarnation, the Prisoner Deceitful Object’s binding of the Orchid seemed more like an unconscious instinct—greedy and hungry, and completely beyond Zheng Xiu’s control.

*Pop~*

Zheng Xiu fled in a blind panic through the Ferryman’s Bund. As the Orchid Deceitful Object drew nearer, he vaguely saw a gap suddenly tear open in an aurora-like curtain of light to his side. Gritting his teeth, he dove through it.

’No matter whose Path lies beyond that gap, as long as I can escape the Orchid’s grasp, it can’t possibly be worse than this.’

The instant he crossed the boundary of the Bund, Zheng Xiu felt as if he had broken through a thin membrane. A soft *pop* sounded in his ear.

As he crossed out of the Bund, a faint ripple lingered in the air behind Zheng Xiu.

The chain passed through the ripple, pulled taut and vibrating faintly.

Zheng Xiu could clearly feel that the other end of the chain was still latched onto the Orchid Deceitful Object.

"I still haven’t shaken it!"

PLOP!

*Glub~*

Zheng Xiu fell into water.

The place was like a gray, deep sea.

Zheng Xiu opened his mouth, and a bubble drifted out.

There was no distinction between Heaven and Earth here. In the distance, swimming shadows could be faintly seen, like giant monsters lurking in the depths of the sea.

As Zheng Xiu descended, his feet soon touched solid ground. He was on a small, winding, endless path.

"This is... my Bund!"

Zheng Xiu was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. The familiar scenery made him realize where he was.

This wasn’t the first time Zheng Xiu had set foot in a "Path," but it was the first time he had entered his own Path, also known as the "Bund," in such a bizarre manner.

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

Amid the rattling of chains, the struggling Orchid Deceitful Object—that "withered branch"—was forcibly dragged into this place above Zheng Xiu’s head. After a momentary pause, the stick-insect-shaped Orchid Deceitful Object lunged toward him.

Zheng Xiu’s pupils shrank, and a cold sweat broke out across his skin. ’It’s over,’ he thought. Inside the Ferryman’s Path, he hadn’t been this desperate. After all, that was someone else’s territory.

But now, Zheng Xiu had crossed from the Ferryman’s Bund into his own—the Prisoner’s—returning to his home turf with the Orchid Deceitful Object invading right behind him. At this point, Zheng Xiu couldn’t even tell who was the pursuer and who was the pursued. If the Orchid Deceitful Object possessed some form of consciousness that he couldn’t comprehend, it must feel incredibly wronged, having been dragged here by force. Yet, Zheng Xiu felt even more wronged. ’This is the last thing I wanted!’

Zheng Xiu took off running wildly along the Bund. As he stepped on its wet surface, his feet got tangled in strands of a black, viscous substance, making every step a struggle. While running, he took to the air again. Normally, when he entered his Path, the various doorways were close at hand. But having entered this way, the road seemed endless. Zheng Xiu flew further and further down the small path, unable to see a single door.

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

The crisp snapping sounds made by the Orchid Deceitful Object as it struggled against its chains grew closer and closer. Zheng Xiu couldn’t help but imagine a giant tentacled monster, its suckers wide open, pouncing on him from behind.

"It’s over! There’s no escape!"

Every hair on Zheng Xiu’s body stood on end. His Intuition was telling him that this time, there was truly no escape.

It was over.

He was going to become an "Orchid"!

Zheng Xiu wanted to cry but had no tears.

He swore an oath. If he really did become an Orchid, then no matter where Zhu hid—whether at the ends of the earth or in a volcanic glacier—he would hunt him down, drag him out, and tear him to shreds with his new tentacles.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Just as Zheng Xiu was about to spread his arms and legs, resigning himself to his fate and accepting this heavy "gift," a rush of hurried footsteps echoed from the depths of the Bund.

A figure wreathed in flames of black light appeared, moving from far to near as fast as lightning. It was a mere speck at first, but in the space of a few breaths, it magnified rapidly in Zheng Xiu’s pupils.

The figure wore tight-fitting black clothes, their long hair tied back in a ponytail. Markings like rose thorns were visible on their face.

"Feng Bei?"

The moment he saw the newcomer’s face clearly, time seemed to stand still. An expression of utter disbelief appeared on Zheng Xiu’s face.

This was the Bund.

’How did Feng Bei get in here?’

Feng Bei saw the youth being chased by the "monster" from a distance and let out a soft sigh of relief. She took a single, bounding stride and launched herself into the air, authoritatively wrapping an arm around the young man’s slender waist and pulling him into an embrace.

Feng Bei’s fair skin seemed to be eroding under some unknown power, peeling away piece by piece at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But Feng Bei seemed to feel no pain. After securing the young man in her arms, she raised her gaze to the "stick insect."

"Get lost."

A towering shadow, as majestic as a mountain, appeared behind Feng Bei. With her left arm holding the man, her right hand formed a fist as if gripping an invisible blade, and she slashed toward the Orchid Deceitful Object!

FWOOSH!

Within the Bund, the deep shadows roiled like a tidal wave under Feng Bei’s slash. The distant distortions churned madly as a long, twisted gash was carved through them.

The gash collapsed in an instant. The shadows pressed back in toward the central "Void," and everything quickly returned to its original state.

The stick-insect-shaped Orchid Deceitful Object was instantly shattered into pieces. Hundreds of fragments floated in the void.