The Decaying World

「Mid-July.」

Lin Hui was still searching for a way to cure Liu Xiao. At the same time, a new public notice to gather large numbers of survivors had already been disseminated.

Black Cloud City had previously lost nearly half its population. This new notice immediately attracted many of the luckier survivors from the surrounding areas.

Most of them had been barely surviving, relying on the remains of houses, basements, caves, and other hidden places.

And now, this notice gave them newfound hope.

These survivors, who had yet to be polluted by the Haiming, were the cream of the crop, their constitutions and lifespans sifted from countless deaths.

But despite this, the increase in population still faced several major problems.

"First is living space. The Inner City is already quite crowded, so we’ve had to start building dense, overlapping high-rises. Then there’s the issue of food and drinking water..."

In the central courtyard of Clear Wind Daoist Academy, Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian had both come to discuss the next policy arrangements with Lin Hui.

With Xie Chang’an gone, Lin Hui had now become their backbone.

Anyone who wasn’t convinced just had to be taken to see the three members of the Three-Island Alliance still standing atop the Moon Tower, and there would be no more trouble.

The three Alliance Leaders of the Three-Island Alliance were now unable to move. Their Heart and Spirit could still send messages outward, but unfortunately, they couldn’t get out. Nor could they affect the outside world in any significant way.

"My Evil Energy is severely damaged. I can barely purify enough water to sustain our current numbers..." When it came to sustaining the populace, Black Cloud had in fact always relied mainly on his Evil Energy to purify everything. But now that his Evil Energy was damaged and his output had plummeted, the purification of water and meat fell entirely to his bloodline relatives.

But his relatives’ abilities were nowhere near enough.

After all, the gap between a Blood Ancestor and a Fog Person was already enormous, let alone the other bloodlines. Right now, the whole group of relatives was using their Evil Energy to the point of exhaustion, and they could only barely keep up with the demands of the current population.

"What about before? How did you manage?" Lin Hui was speechless.

"Before, we weren’t expanding the population, so it was much better. During a crisis, we could even release some of our reserves from time to time," Zhang Yao replied.

"Also, a large number of sea monsters have been merging together to the west recently. We suspect a new species might emerge due to the heavy pollution. We need to be extra careful," Gongsun Xinlian added.

"..." ’How can I get more people to migrate here?’ Lin Hui wondered. "We must open a safe passage that can be maintained long-term. Then, we solve the supply problem."

"That’s right. Only a passage can support the migration of people. As for supplies... if only Big Brother were here. His nourishing Evil Energy can greatly increase the yield of crops in the Inner City. It can even increase a livestock litter from one to seven or eight," Zhang Yao sighed.

"So you’re saying if we can find Big Brother Xie, half the problem will be solved?" Lin Hui asked.

"Indeed." Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian both nodded.

"Can you contact him now? Give me a heading and the means to contact him," Lin Hui said decisively.

Increasing the influx of people now had a high probability of stabilizing Liu Xiao’s condition, but a larger population required more stable supplies and a safe channel to the outside world.

In other words, finding Xie Chang’an would fulfill half of the requirements.

"I don’t know his exact location, but the direction is southwest. You can use this to contact him." Zhang Yao tossed over a palm-sized, brown wooden carving.

Lin Hui caught it. The wooden carving was of a small dragon, coiled like a snake and looking upward.

"How do I use it?"

"Squeeze it."

Lin Hui gave it a hard squeeze.

SQUEAL!

The little dragon let out a wretched cry, and a puff of green smoke shot out from its head.

The smoke slowly drifted upward, and within it, a faint trace of Xie Chang’an’s aura could be sensed.

"Big Brother? Are you there?" Zhang Yao sent his Heart and Spirit into it, asking quickly.

"I’m here... Soon... I’ll be free soon!" Xie Chang’an’s weak, intermittent voice came through.

"You said the same thing last time," Zhang Yao said helplessly.

"I just didn’t want you to worry. This place is disgusting," Xie Chang’an sighed. "They don’t fight me at all, they just delay and trap me."

"Give me a general location. I’ll come," Lin Hui interjected.

"Oh, Ah Hui is coming? That might just work!" Xie Chang’an’s spirits lifted instantly. "Fly southwest from Black Cloud City for about 170,000 li, then ascend. When you reach an altitude of 800 li, you should be able to see a stretch of city ruins. I’m in there!"

"Floating city ruins?" Lin Hui frowned.

"Yes," Xie Chang’an continued. "This place is strange and sinister. A frontal assault can’t break through. I suspect it’s connected to some other Realm. It’s like the night fog. You must be careful when you enter."

"Okay," Lin Hui responded. Just as he was about to ask for more details, he saw the green smoke slowly dissipate.

"Time’s up," Zhang Yao sighed. "That’s the downside of this thing. This relic is called Dragon Shadow Wood. After one use, you have to wait three days. It needs three days to accumulate power before it can be used again. But although the interval is long, the communication is basically immune to any interference or obstruction."

"It is very convenient," Lin Hui nodded. "There’s no time to lose. I’ll go now and see if I can bring him back."

"Be extra careful!" Gongsun Xinlian warned.

Lin Hui nodded and turned to look toward the bedroom. Liu Xiao was leaning against the window. Seeing that he had noticed her, Liu Xiao gave him a small smile.

"I’ll be back soon," Lin Hui said comfortingly.

Liu Xiao opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but it was too late. With a flash of light and shadow in the courtyard, Lin Hui was already gone.

She wanted to pursue him with her Heart and Spirit but couldn’t even make out which direction he went.

"Sister, since you’re awake, let me accompany you for a walk to clear your mind," Gongsun Xinlian said, walking over.

*

*

*

「High above Black Cloud City.」

Lin Hui tore through the sky like a white arrow, splitting apart all the fog.

ROAR!

Suddenly, a massive, twisted, and deformed amalgamation of deep-sea monsters appeared ahead. The conglomerate took up at least half of the sky, like a giant, dark-brown wall of flesh.

It squirmed and roared, the countless monster heads on its surface even tearing at and devouring each other.

"Food... HAHAHA! Another delicious morsel has arrived...!"

"Why am I trapped in this place, while he gets to come and go as he pleases!"

"I want revenge! Revenge on everything!"

Layers upon layers of chaotic, polluting Heart and Spirit radiated from this massive wall of flesh.

Lin Hui slowed slightly, narrowing his eyes to study the thing.

’So this is a monster amalgam?’ This must be what Zhang Yao was talking about, the thing he warned him to be careful of.

’It seems its power level is indeed very high.’

He could even see a few of Black Cloud’s former Blood Ancestors within it, all decayed, yet still forcibly fused into the wall of flesh.

’Since I need to clear a safe channel, I might as well start now.’

He stretched out his hand, aiming at the giant amalgam.

’This thing is chaotic and evil. It’s enormous, and if it stays here, it will definitely obstruct safe passage...’

"Seal!"

A white light suddenly flashed in his palm as he made a grasping motion forward.

In an instant, a phantom-like, translucent, glowing white giant hand materialized in the sky above the wall of flesh.

The massive hand was twice the size of the entire wall of flesh. It descended majestically, reaching for the flesh wall as a whole.

The rumbling vibrations and the humming of the air turned into a massive gale that blew away all the surrounding debris and clouds of fog.

BOOM!!

The next moment, there was a deafening crash.

The giant hand viciously seized the wall of flesh, slowly enveloping and tightening its grip.

Soon, the giant hand transformed into a translucent white crystal, completely freezing the wall of flesh within it.

Countless crystalline filaments also spread out at high speed, climbing and crawling to seal and fill every crevice.

In less than ten seconds, a massive, glowing white sealing crystal pillar was formed.

The crystal pillar began to fall, hurtling straight down toward the Jade Sea below with a tremendous whistle.

A short while later, the sound of a massive impact echoed up from below.

Lin Hui looked at the now-clear sky ahead of him and felt much better.

He sensed the consumption of his Heart and Spirit.

’Not bad. It used about half. It’ll take ten-plus minutes to recover. Not a big deal. A monster cluster this large only used half of my Heart and Spirit. At this rate, I can seal as many harmful things as possible and create the largest possible safe zone around Black Cloud City.’

Lin Hui calculated in his mind and felt that this was merely a matter of taking a casual, irregular stroll every now and then.

He made a decision on the spot.

SWOOSH!

He continued to fly forward.

Gray clouds of fog dispersed ahead, and soon, a giant three-headed bat swooped down from above, happening to pass right in front of him.

"Huh, there’s a tasty-looking living person here!?" The bat monster twisted its head to look at him.

"A man-eater. Seal it." Lin Hui didn’t hesitate and swatted down with his palm.

Amidst the roar, the giant hand perfectly demonstrated the meaning of "Celestial Father," descending from above and grabbing it like someone snatching a peanut.

It instantly gripped the bat monster, turning it into a crystal pillar and sending it crashing down.

He continued to fly forward.

About a minute or so later, two red-eyed humanoid monsters, their bodies completely rotten and their faces ferocious, were fighting and killing each other.

"ROAR!" Seeing Lin Hui approach, the two monsters simultaneously erupted with Haiming pollution waves comparable to a Fog Person’s.

"More pollutants. Seal them." Lin Hui had nothing more to say. The Heart and Spirit he had just used a minute ago had already mostly recovered. Even a portion of the half he’d spent initially had been restored.

He raised his hand and struck.

The giant hand pressed down, and the two monsters were turned into two crystal pillars without even a grunt.

After that, Lin Hui couldn’t be bothered to differentiate anymore. Anything out in the wilds that could survive for long and looked strange was fair game; swatting them with his palm couldn’t be wrong.

He increased his speed.

Ugly? Sealed.

Too loud? Sealed.

Couldn’t speak? Sealed.

Spoke unpleasantly? Sealed.

After using it more, he gradually discovered that this Celestial Father Seal could be used as a routine technique.

It was especially convenient and effortless when dealing with troublesome monsters that had extremely strong regeneration and multiple ways to resurrect.

Before, it would take him forever to kill a single Fogman-level regenerative monster with his sword. Now, all it took was a single swat.

Compared to a simple Heart and Spirit seal, directly condensing a large hand with Disaster Energy and swatting with it had a large area of effect, was fast, and the seal was impossible to dodge.

The effect was outstandingly good.

He sped along like lightning, sealing as he flew. Another ten-plus minutes passed. Lin Hui roughly calculated the distance, figured he had arrived at the agreed-upon spot, and then began to ascend.

Within the dense fog, he was like a beam of white light, piercing straight into the gloomy sea of fog-clouds.

WHOOSH.

He broke through the sea of clouds, burst out of the fog, and once again arrived in the No-Fog Zone above the clouds.

The bright sun evenly cast down its scorching gold.

It dyed the entire surface of the fog sea a pale gold.

On this pale golden sea of fog, at the center of Lin Hui’s vision, a three-story tavern of a modest size stood bizarrely.

To the side of the tavern, on a vertical flagpole, hung a cloth banner that read: Heavenly Cloud Residence.

He slowed to a stop about a hundred meters from the tavern and began to carefully examine the place.

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