The Decaying World

"Frankly, you needn’t worry. We are a prestigious, righteous sect. We would never indiscriminately destroy everything good and just. Instead, we choose unjust worlds as our sustenance. By destroying the bad seeds and leaving the good, all things will eventually become better. So, while our actions may look like brutal destruction, we are, in fact, the very enforcers of cosmic justice!"

As he said this, a hint of solemn intensity touched Qimei’s expression.

Lady Hei Yin, who was standing to the side, nodded slightly at his words, clearly in agreement with his philosophy.

"In that case, a preliminary investigation of the Realm you intend to destroy would be essential," Lin Hui said.

"Correct. But we needn’t be too meticulous. As long as we go deep into a place and destroy all the evil we encounter, over time, the good will naturally flourish. It’s not always necessary to destroy an entire Realm. This method is called a ’local excision,’" Qimei said with a smile. "So, my disciple, don’t think too poorly of us. Even within the Fusion Sect, there are distinctions between the righteous and the wicked..."

"I see. This disciple has learned much," Lin Hui said earnestly, bowing once again.

’On second thought, it seemed the onset of my problems began right after I started using the Celestial Father Seal and adhering to its no-kill policy.’

’Because I wasn’t killing, I couldn’t get the feedback reward from the Wind Calamity that would have counteracted the loss of my reason. That, combined with the side effects of practicing the Great Yin Yang Time Reversal Sword Technique, caused the premature onset of this listless apathy.’

"You must understand, for the situation you described to occur, it normally takes at least several thousand years after one has fused with a Calamity. Yet you’re only a few hundred years old, and you’re already deteriorating this badly. If this isn’t resolved, I’m afraid your condition will worsen even further in two or three hundred years, at most," Qimei said gravely.

Lin Hui was silent.

After running through the entire situation in his mind, he finally spoke again after a long moment.

"Then, Master, how does the Calamity determine who receives the feedback reward?"

"By killing it with your own hands," Qimei answered. "If you kill it, the reward is yours... Understand?"

"But Master, didn’t you take a great vow not to kill?" Lin Hui said in a low voice.

"I did. That’s why I never kill directly. I just find an empty spot and smash it. I smash through the floor, through the soil and rock beneath, through the very core, until I’ve smashed through the entire planet. Then the whole world is naturally gone, and along with it, everything else is gone too...." Qimei chuckled.

"..." Lin Hui was at a loss for words.

’So that’s how Master destroys worlds?’

He thought again of the Celestial Father Seal and its no-kill restriction. It seemed the path of the Celestial Father and the path of a Calamity Fusionist were diametrically opposed.

’And Qimei... he had probably tried to resist once, too. But sadly, he had failed to find a new way and could only return to the old path of a Calamity Fusionist.’

’He could only try, to the best of his ability, to keep the destruction within the bounds of his own morality.’

"Go back and think it over.... As for that Celestial Realm. If I help you this time, don’t come crying to me later if I snatch your prize," Qimei added.

"You jest, Master. I will be far too grateful to you. How could I possibly blame you?" Lin Hui said quickly.

"Good...." Qimei nodded. "In that case, my disciple, you go and open the gate. Once the target is acquired, I shall act."

"I thank you for your help, Master." Lin Hui hurriedly bowed once more.

*

*

*

「Two days later.」

In the Black Domain, between the two great worlds of the Human Realm and the Celestial Realm.

On the surface of the Celestial Realm, a withered-yellow vortex was gradually expanding, stabilizing, and taking shape.

Within the vortex, its substance shifted erratically. At times it was gelatinous, then it would dissolve into a sandstorm, then liquefy, and even occasionally solidify and freeze in place. It seemed to have no fixed form.

At the center of the vortex stood a massive archway woven from withered, yellowed roots.

The surface of the gate was pocked with innumerable small holes, like a honeycomb, constantly spewing forth a dense torrent of withered-yellow sand.

Xue Shi stood before the great gate. At two meters tall, he was as insignificant as a speck of dust compared to it.

Yet his expression was impossibly cold.

’The scale is still a little lacking. To completely destroy the other side, I need to expand its scope a bit more...’

His sanity had recovered slightly after killing the gods, and he knew perfectly well that this was not enough to crush that "Qing Fei" with overwhelming force...

"Xue Shi... still not enough... not enough... It’s far from enough...!" a low voice boomed, piercing through from within the vast, sandy gate.

"Mother... please be patient. Soon there will be enough blood food for you to manifest in the world again. Soon... the world on the other side is the grand meal your child has prepared for you," Xue Shi said, hurrying forward and bowing his head.

"Not enough! If our Withered Wood Divine Sect is to re-emerge in the myriad realms, this meager offering is far, far from enough!" The voice from behind the gate grew frenzied.

"Please, be patient for now. Worlds vary in strength. Your son must first probe it carefully before daring to accelerate the process. Otherwise, if we encounter a powerful backlash, it will only slow us down even more," Xue Shi hurriedly soothed.

"Hurry.... Soon, we may be forced back into slumber. By the time we awaken again... it might be too late for everything..."

The voice from behind the gate gradually faded away.

Leaving Xue Shi with a dark expression. The emptiness that had once filled his heart had temporarily vanished after his fight with Qing Fei. Because his plans had been thrown into complete disarray, he had been forced to deploy the Gate of Desolation prematurely, beginning before his preparations were even finished.

"Your son... understands...."

Once the voice had completely fallen silent, he turned and floated up. This was the outer layer of the Celestial Realm, outside its barrier.

The massive Gate of Desolation had punched a hole straight through the Celestial Realm’s barrier, devouring all matter inside it. It converted that matter into power, using it to prepare a new gate aimed at the distant Human Realm. Once the preparations were complete, it would officially open, firing everything within it like a cannonball straight into the Human Realm.

’Soon... soon, just one last day....’ Xue Shi thought, gazing at the Human Realm across the Black Domain.

The massive sphere glowed with a faint, colorful light—the unique, special glow of a world.

Only healthy, whole worlds displayed such a prismatic radiance. Decaying worlds, on the verge of destruction, mostly showed no color at all, emitting only a monochromatic light.

Many didn’t even maintain a spherical shape.

But just then, Xue Shi suddenly noticed something on the outer edge of the Human Realm opposite him.

There seemed to be a faint blue dot that was constantly getting brighter and larger.

’Wait... what is that...’ His expression suddenly changed. He flew forward a short distance, trying to get a clearer sense of it.

But in the time it took him to make that simple forward dash, the distant blue light expanded with incredible speed, swelling to the size of a bathtub in the blink of an eye.

Immediately after, a strange, immense, and terrifying vibration spread out from it in concentric blue ripples, propagating through the surrounding Black Domain.

At the center of that blue light, Xue Shi could finally see clearly.

It was also a gate.

A vertical rift, shaped like an eye.

Endless blue light poured from behind the rift. A blue gale howled forth, forming ripples that blasted outward in all directions.

Accompanying the gale were countless hideous, twisted, giant heads. They trailed long, comet-like tails, resembling innumerable tadpoles swimming in the ripples as they pounced on anything nearby that seemed remotely decomposable.

But that wasn’t what truly shattered Xue Shi’s composure. What made his face twist in fury was the other figure standing by the rift, just as he was.

"Qing Fei!!!" he roared through clenched teeth.

"Apologies. I beat you to the punch this time."

Lin Hui gazed at him from afar, still clad in white robes with a Longsword at his waist, his expression impassive.

CRACK.

From within the rift behind him, a massive, translucent whale’s head slowly began to emerge.

The whale’s head was covered in thick, striped armor. Where its eyes should have been, innumerable giant, pure-white snakes grew from the sockets.

It had no eyes; these giant snakes were the sensory system it used to explore its surroundings.

"ROOOOAR!!!"

The moment its head was free, the great whale unleashed a terrifying, invisible, concussive roar.

With a thunderous crash, it tore free of the rift, squeezed its massive body through, and began to accelerate toward the opposing Celestial Realm.

Countless other Wind Calamity monsters followed in its wake, heralding the first wave of the realm-destroying storm.

"This creature is called a Dissolving Whale. It will annihilate you and everything you stand for. This is the best ending you could hope for," Lin Hui said, calmly watching as the mighty army of the Wind Calamity streamed past him.

BOOM!

Immediately after, another Dissolving Whale, its size comparable to a city, charged out again.

One after another, in just half a minute, over a hundred of them charged out.

Outside the Celestial Realm, Xue Shi watched, his scalp tingling with dread. The Gate of Desolation still needed time to open; for now, he had to face this all by himself. ’So many Calamity monsters...’

There was no time!

"KILL!!"

There was nothing more to be said.

A large number of withered-yellow roots suddenly shot out from behind him. All alone, he shot up like a rocket, charging straight toward the vast army of the Wind Calamity.

BOOM!!

The first Dissolving Whale exploded on impact.

But this wasn’t the end. After the Dissolving Whale exploded, its body fragments actually re-condensed into tens of thousands of smaller Dissolving Whales, which continued to pounce on him from all directions.

A single touch from them would disintegrate all matter and energy.

The Dissolving Whales’ disintegrating ability was several orders of magnitude stronger than typical Disaster Power from a Wind Calamity. They were pure beasts of destruction, spawned from Disaster Energy itself.

Fortunately, Xue Shi’s own Desolate Power was also Infinite, and he quickly weathered the first wave of the assault.

But a dense swarm of Dissolving Whales continued to pounce on him.

BOOM!!

Another giant Dissolving Whale crashed into him, causing a massive explosion.

Meanwhile, the remaining Dissolving Whales had already bypassed him, charging toward the Gate of Desolation that was not yet fully prepared.

"NO!!!" Xue Shi saw this, but he was completely unable to stop them in time.

There were too many...

Each one of these terrifying monsters had a physical toughness at least comparable to a Celestial Father Seal crystal. They were high-level Wind Calamity monsters that Lin Hui had specifically requested from his master, Qimei. There were far too many of them. Normally, they would only appear in the middle or late stages of a Wind Calamity.

And when they did appear, it was in the tens of millions....

RUMBLE!!

Finally, the first Dissolving Whale slammed viciously into the massive Gate of Desolation, causing a colossal tremor.

Then the second, the tenth, the hundredth....

The entire Celestial Realm began to tremble slightly as a result.

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