Chapter 349: Divine Fire Burns, Hunting the Void Lord
ㄴ At the very moment he pulled out the bottle, Lufas smashed it toward Bai Fu without hesitation.
Bai Fu sensed something ominous. In the first instant, she twisted the space before her completely with her Void ability, while rapidly raising her Psionic Shield and Dark Energy Shield to protect herself.
But unfortunately, compared to Lufas, who was a Void Lord, her Void ability was still too immature.
No matter how she dodged, how she twisted space, or how she deployed illusions and escape techniques, that bottle still locked onto her firmly—then paji—it crashed against her Psionic Shield.
哗——
The bottle shattered, and a hazy gray light drilled its way out.
The Psionic Shield, which even the Oathmaster would have to spend effort breaking in the past, at this moment boiled like hot oil meeting water.
In less than a second, the Psionic Shield exploded with a bang.
Immediately after, the Dark Energy Shield attached inside the Psionic Shield was also shattered.
When all protection was destroyed, Bai Fu could only use her own body to take the impact of the gray light.
Yet, to her surprise, when the gray light burst upon her body, she did not feel any pain.
However, a new status appeared after her name.
【Old Era Assimilation (Weakened)】
“What the hell is this?”
Bai Fu quickly opened the item description for 【Old Era Corruption Poison】, which she had scouted earlier but had no time to read.
【Old Era Corruption Poison】
【Quality】: Rainbow
【Description】: A special toxin extracted by Void Lords from the Old Era that was stripped away. Although named poison, its essence is more like a “rule” with an extremely limited range of influence.
【Additional Effect】: Any object or lifeform corroded by Old Era Corruption Poison, if not cleared in time, would be gradually assimilated into the Old Era, eternally sealed in the “past.”
【Note 1】: This item is limited in quantity.
【Note 2】: This item has no effect on objects or lifeforms originating from the Void Old Era.
【Note 3】: This item’s effect on objects or lifeforms originating from the Ethereal Old Era will be weakened.
【Note 4】: To remove the effects brought by this item, one must completely remake their body through Ascension.
Thanks to the 【Treasure Collector】 title’s passive skill 【Extraordinary Vision】, the item description was far more complete and detailed than what could be seen with Apostle’s Psionic Vision, even revealing 【Old Era Corruption Poison】’s weaknesses.
“I carry Void Blood. After fusing True Spirit Marrow and activating the 【Twelfth Apostle】 talent, I became a true Apostle. So this poison’s effect on me is weakened. But…”
Bai Fu furrowed her brows.
This was still just weakened—not nullified.
As long as the poisoned state lasted long enough, she would still be assimilated by the Old Era Corruption Poison.
And assimilation meant she would become part of the Void Dimension, unable to leave, perhaps even unable to move.
If it truly came to that, it would be the same as some people still being alive, but in reality already dead!
“Damn it, this bastard Lufas actually pulled out something like this just to deal with me?”
Bai Fu’s expression turned extremely grim.
She immediately looked further down at the notes. Only when she saw Note 4 did she let out a sigh of relief.
To complete one racial Ascension would remove the poison’s influence. For other NPCs at her level, this might be nearly impossible. But for her, it was not as hopeless.
As long as she discovered the true identity of the Original Pact’s leader, obtained that Divine Blood, or completed her fourth Divine Metamorphosis, she would naturally accumulate the capital for Ascension…
Well, both of those goals were not simple.
But—
Bai Fu’s gaze shifted past the triumphant Lufas and landed on the Void Lord behind him.
Who said Ascension must come from Divine Blood? What if it was the Void Lord’s Core instead?
Bai Fu felt fortunate.
Had she not obtained the Cosmic Treasure early and unlocked the 【Treasure Collector】 title to gain 【Extraordinary Vision】, this time she would truly have been in dire straits.
Her heart was already calculating, yet on her face, disbelief bloomed, which then turned into blazing fury.
“Lufas, what did you do to me?”
“You don’t need to know. You only need to know that no matter what tricks you have, this time your story ends here.”
Lufas drew a black blade from the Void.
Although Bai Fu was already poisoned by Old Era Corruption, to be safe, he still intended to kill this body of hers here.
Bai Fu glanced around. “One, two, three—three whole Void Lords. Lufas, is this the source of your confidence?”
“This is just insurance for today’s action. I was worried you might have some special method to avoid my poison. But now, it seems I overestimated you. At this point, I alone am enough to send you on your way!”
Lufas flicked his black blade. From beneath his feet suddenly roared out blue-white divine flames, burning so fiercely that even space twisted into tangled knots.
Just as he was about to act, a voice sounded in his mind.
“Lufas, you seem to have forgotten our existence.”
“Hm?”
Lufas turned and saw it was the members of the Original Pact summoned by the leader.
“I have no interest in paying attention to a few corpses, even if those corpses are speaking.”
Such words were pure arrogance, utterly dismissing the Original Pact members.
Of course, Lufas had the capital for such arrogance.
But what he had not expected was that those mocked did not grow angry, nor fearful.
“How do you find this graveyard?”
The reply came from Hick, the Ferryman of Entropy Sea of the Original Pact. He gazed at the starry night behind the Void Lords, looking very pleased.
“……”
Lufas frowned.
He realized Hick was not simply provoking him.
This was unreasonable.
Their leader had clearly died, yet they showed no panic, as if the one dead was just a stranger.
Could it be…
A terrifying thought rose in his mind, but at that instant, he felt the surrounding space tremble.
“Not good!”
He quickly shouted to the three Void Lords behind him.
In the blink of an eye, the extra-dimensional space tore apart. From the crack, a colossal beast lunged out like a whale leaping from the sea.
Only, this time, it leapt from the Cosmic Sea, and what emerged was an eight-armed monster bristling with countless spikes.
The beast was so massive that with a single snap of its maw, it could swallow all three gigantic Void Lords whole.
At this moment, the Void Lords standing behind Lufas to posture finally could not hold.
Like any ordinary creature facing danger, they scattered to flee. But the monster appeared too suddenly, too swiftly, and the closest Void Lord was swallowed along with a rift before it could escape.
“What the hell is this?!”
Lufas’s expression changed drastically. He quickly joined the other two Void Lords to attack the monster.
Surrounded and besieged, the beast still failed to swallow the Void Lord whole, and had to spit it back out prematurely.
“Bleh, disgusting～”
With a curse, the beast’s massive body shrank rapidly, turning into a towering giant like a living mountain.
This was the Fate Weaver of the Original Pact.
And he was not alone.
For when he appeared, another figure stood by his side—the very leader of the Original Pact whom Bai Fu and Lufas had “killed” earlier.
“You’re alive? Impossible!”
Lufas’s eyes widened.
He was certain that the instant the leader was shattered, his Strings of Fate had been severed. Yet now…
The leader smiled.
His Strings of Fate had indeed snapped at that moment, but the Fate Weaver had reattached them.
And what was the highest form of playing dead?
It was to truly die!
Of course, one must never forget to resurrect afterward.
“‘If I hadn’t survived, how would you have revealed your true trump card, Lufas? I’ve been searching for the Void Lords’ hiding place, and thanks to you, Lufas, I’ve finally found it!’”
Lufas’s face turned ashen.
He remembered—those were almost the same words he had spoken to Bai Fu earlier.
Now… retreat!
Judging by this stance, the Original Pact’s leader had seen through everything long ago. Now that he suddenly appeared, his goal was surely to kill them. If they stayed entangled here, they would surely fall into disadvantage.
Without needing Lufas to call out, the other three Void Lords already began fleeing on their own. They didn’t even spare a thought for the Void Lifeforms they had brought with them earlier.
Their own lives were uncertain—who would care about underlings?
Seeing their lords abandon them and flee, the Void Lifeforms present all panicked.
In an instant, the entire extra-dimensional space turned into a chaotic marketplace of jumbled sound waves.
“‘Block them!’”
The leader, who had prepared for so long—even faking his death once—couldn’t possibly let Lufas and the others escape so easily. He immediately led the charge.
At the same time, he didn’t forget to order his people to surround Bai Fu.
“‘Seriously?’”
Bai Fu couldn’t help but complain.
Both Lufas and the leader wanted to kill each other first, then send her off afterward.
Was this really appropriate for dealing with a harmless, innocent young maiden?
How excessive.
Fortunately, she had already known they were no good and had made thorough preparations.
The moment the Original Pact’s people closed in, she pulled out the 【Void Unification】 skill card she had just copied from Lufas.
Activate!
嗡.
In an instant, Bai Fu found herself transformed into the darling of space. The world before her was no longer flat—it was a world filled with countless lines, converging together in order.
She chose one of those lines and gave it a strong pull.
“‘Goodbye!’”
嗖.
“‘Huh? Where did she go?’”
Hick, the Ferryman of Entropy Sea, stared in shock at the now-empty extra-dimensional space. He couldn’t understand how Bai Fu had left.
Could it be an illusion?
But after searching for quite some time, he found no trace of illusion. In the end, he vented all his frustration on Lufas and the remaining three Void Lords.
Lufas was the fastest to flee. Since he hadn’t been attacked at first, he escaped after paying only a small price.
But the other three Void Lords weren’t so fortunate.
One escaped heavily injured.
One was left behind forever.
And one only managed to break free after being chased for quite some time.
“‘Something’s wrong, something’s wrong, there’s definitely something wrong!’”
The gravely wounded Void Lord Guiji drifted through the depths of the Void, cursing nonstop.
Judging by the Original Pact’s reactions, they had clearly known in advance that an attack was coming.
So who was the leaker?
Was it intentional, or an accident?
“‘It can’t be me. The other two… don’t seem likely either. So, was it Bai Fu—or Lufas?’”
The reason Guiji suspected Lufas was partly because Lufas had once been human before becoming a Void Lord, not truly one of them. Another reason was that in the earlier battle, only Lufas hadn’t been injured.
Was that coincidence?
“‘Lufas, if I find out it was you who leaked the secret, you’re dead—’”
“‘You won’t have that chance.’”
A voice suddenly rang out, cutting him off.
“‘Who?’”
Guiji turned his head, and saw Bai Fu step out from the Void.
No.
There was a difference—her hair was black. This was Bai Fu’s clone, Hei Fu.
“‘How are you here?’”
Guiji was shocked.
“‘Of course I followed you all the way.’” Bai Fu smiled. “‘Don’t worry. For the sake of your relationship with Lord Lufas, I’ll let you die more easily.’”
Lord Lufas?
“‘So Lufas sent you?’”
“‘That’s right. But don’t even think about revenge. You’ll die today, and your companion will be dealt with personally by Lord Lufas.’”
Even at this time, Bai Fu hadn’t forgotten to employ her skill of sowing discord.
“‘I knew he was the problem!’” Guiji roared in fury. “‘You can’t kill me. Your strength is indeed impressive, but far from enough. You have no idea how terrifying a Void Lord’s true power is!’”
“‘Is that so?’”
With neither Lufas nor the leader nearby, Bai Fu had no need to conceal her true strength anymore.
“‘Then I’ll show you my real power!’”
Bai Fu locked onto her Third Metamorphosis Quest with her will.
【Settle quest?】
【Yes!】
【Increase level?】
【Yes!】
As the Third Metamorphosis Quest was submitted, and the + signs behind her Dark Emperor class were tapped again and again, Bai Fu underwent a complete rebirth.
【Divine Metamorphosis Progress 60.0%… 61.1%… 62.5%… 79.9%!】
【Class Dark Emperor Level increased to Lv16… Lv20… Lv30!】
When the two figures finally stopped climbing, a power as vast as the birth of the universe erupted from deep within Bai Fu’s body.
It was Psionic and Dark Energy dancing together.
It was the Ethereal Realm cheering.
It was a symphony of evolution for life.
It was an ascension that even Guiji, a Void Lord, felt awe before.
“‘You… you… you…’”
Guiji was so shocked he couldn’t form a complete sentence.
At the same time, billions of light-years away, Élisée suddenly felt her heartbeat quicken.
“‘This… feels like an extra string has been added to my heart. Could it be that an Apostle has awakened from slumber?’”