Eldritch Horror Theatre

Sha Ming's Rank was far beyond what appeared on the surface.

It wasn't a difficult conclusion to draw; after all, his own stated logic was flawless.

Followers would only appear before targets possessing divinity. Since he could verify a Follower's authenticity, the simplest explanation was that he was also a divine target.

What was far more important, however, was the other point this revealed: as someone at Tier 2, Fu Qian actually couldn't sense it at all.

From their first meeting until now, despite being in such close contact, Sha Ming hadn't shown a single abnormality in the face of his ninety-nine inspiration.

One explanation for such a feat was naturally that his Rank was outrageously high, to the point of completely suppressing even Fu Qian.

Aside from that horrifying possibility, there was another explanation: he possessed a tool similar to Fu Qian's own Dazzling Visage, specifically designed to conceal this very aspect.

It might sound exaggerated, but it was absolutely possible.

After all, their current location housed numerous rule-level entities.

And judging solely from his performance so far, Sha Ming's knowledge of this place ran far deeper than a passing familiarity.

That included the patterns he had been sketching earlier. Fu Qian easily recognized them as the route they had taken after descending; now casually outlined by Sha Ming, that bizarre, abstract feeling had grown even heavier.

Of course, regardless of which theory was correct, it meant dealing with him would not be easy.

But as the saying went, one should always look on the bright side. Brother Sanxun, who had just reappeared before him, also looked quite hostile; perhaps he could help provide a little warm-up exercise.

"SAN Value -1."

[SAN Value -5]

Sure enough, he delivered a surprise right from the start.

Even though they were face-to-face, he had successfully launched a backstab.

...

"Do you see it?"

While Fu Qian was still marveling inwardly, Brother Sanxun spoke once more.

Not only was his method of appearance different, but his voice also carried a domineering edge that hadn't been there before, revealing the dagger as the map unrolled.

"See what?"

"Truth."

Faced with Fu Qian's confusion, he provided an incredibly pretentious answer while simultaneously taking a step into the void.

With that step, more illusory beams of light interweaved and trailed behind him, allowing him to complete a bizarre kind of traversal.

At a glance, it seemed the surroundings were filled with these beams, only made visible by his movements.

"Are you trying to tell me that this place, which appears empty, is actually shrouded in Truth, and that you are the incarnation of Truth?"

Fu Qian didn't feign ignorance. He played along nicely, experiencing a sudden epiphany without caring in the slightest if anyone else heard him.

"Not shrouded. Sublimation."

However, Sanxun still looked rather dissatisfied.

"The definition of Truth is enough to alter essence, turning this place—which cannot even be considered reality—into something pure and immortal."

Pure by definition.

Fu Qian didn't mind this attitude at all; instead, he listened with keen interest.

Truth, needless to say, referred to the various bizarre laws he had been experiencing along the way.

As they ventured deeper, it was only normal for those laws to become denser and stricter.

But to say that the place had become purer simply because of all these inviolable restrictions was highly intriguing.

Formatting?

"So your title of Follower should actually be Reason Follower?"

While brainstorming, Fu Qian casually voiced his interpretation, causing Huang Leji and his group to listen with mounting dread.

They clearly couldn't see the sights unfolding before Fu Qian's eyes.

Even Sha Ming—who was staying true to his word and hadn't made a single sound since Sanxun appeared—was merely standing to the side, silently watching Fu Qian's one-man show.

"I know what you are thinking, because I was once just as arrogant as you."

Without stopping his steps, Sanxun strolled through the space before them along a bizarre path.

"Backed by supreme protection, you believe you can use Insight to perceive and handle everything. What a pity..."

"I can tell you clearly: my existence does not rely on these lights you see. They merely illuminate me."

"My existence is immortality in the truest sense."

"And the reason I abandoned that protection of yours is because, in the face of this immortality, it was exposed as nothing but an illusion."

"You certainly want to argue, but before you do, don't forget one fact—I am here, and my will has not been annihilated, has it?"

...

There was indeed a reason why pretentious charlatans were so annoying.

After Brother Sanxun had suddenly elevated his posture, his speeches had become far more exhausting to parse.

A bizarre location, a bizarre opponent, and a bizarre format of conversation—yet the very first thing it successfully provoked was Fu Qian's internal mockery.

However, while he secretly decided to give his customers a discount the next time he opened for business, it didn't delay him from rapidly deducing the underlying meaning.

First of all, one thing was very clear: Brother Sanxun had practically laid his cards on the table, admitting he was a former colleague.

The so-called "backed by a supreme existence" was clearly referring to the Warehouse.

From this description alone, one could even sense that when he held his post, the Warehouse was likely still at the absolute peak of its prime.

Fu Qian himself had never harbored such irrelevant delusions.

And judging by the latter half of his words, it seemed that after witnessing the immortality of the "Law," he had decisively forsaken the darkness for the light, without doubting his choice in the slightest.

His reasoning was that he was still alive and well to this day, and the Warehouse couldn't do a thing about a traitor like him.

The logic was actually quite fluid; Fu Qian could even perfectly imagine his mental journey throughout the process.

The only problem now was: what was Brother Sanxun's goal in saying all this?

It couldn't possibly be to offer guidance and try to recruit him into their ranks, right?

"That sounds somewhat reasonable, but to be honest, rather than calling this a place of ultimate purity and perfection, I still feel it resembles a cage more."

With his gaze following Sanxun's steps and watching the light of "Truth" that seemed to manifest just to illuminate him, Fu Qian still chose to express his feelings matter-of-factly.

"Heh, when you have no desire to step outside, the word 'cage' loses all meaning."

Unfortunately, in just a few sentences, the punchability of Brother Sanxun's remarks had increased yet again.

"Of course, it's obvious that you find it difficult to let go of this... Actually, that is also the purpose of this conversation."

Fortunately, in the very next moment, he finally emphasized his tone and arrived at the main point.

"Having reached this Depth, you are indeed deeply trapped in a cage, and it is impossible to break free, no matter what method you use."

"The Myriad Truths have defined this place, and that includes defining you at this very moment."

"I know you have a way to jump out of this world, and I can even tell you clearly that you can still do so right now, but that won't change anything."

"From this moment forward, your state of existence in this world will only be the one currently before you, and I know that you will inevitably return."

"The purpose of this conversation is to tell you of this despair, and that continuing to wait will only lead to even greater despair."

"Now... it is time to move. Struggle for freedom, and smear your blood upon the cage."

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