233: hunting

That final, pure Origin from the Child of Ash acted like a key, opening a brand-new door within Li Dong.

The Eternal Prison was no longer just a black hole for devouring and purifying.

Li Dong could feel that its essence was undergoing a miraculous transformation. If the Law of the 'True Lord' was to devour, then the current Eternal Prison was a mirror—a mirror that could perfectly replicate and even perform reverse operations.

With a thought, a faint wisp of residual aura belonging to the 'True Lord' appeared in his palm. The next moment, the space around this aura began to distort, and a smaller, more precise vortex appeared out of thin air. Instead of devouring this aura, it used an entirely opposite logic to peel away and analyze the Law constituting it, layer by layer, before reassembling it exactly as it was.

The entire process was like a top-tier surgeon dissecting and reassembling a cell under a microscope.

'So that's it... This is the true Law Scalpel,' Li Dong muttered to himself.

Before, it was like smashing walnuts; now, it was like peeling them. The Realm was completely different.

Just as he was immersed in this brand-new sense of control, the background 'sound' of the entire Universe seemed to change.

That omnipresent, cold, and greedy will showed a clear contraction for the first time. It was like an octopus feeling pain, busily retracting the tentacles it had extended in all directions.

Through the resonance of the ancient stone slab, Li Dong could clearly 'see' that in the deep, distant Void Realm, hundreds of relatively weak world passages were closing, and energy was being rapidly extracted and concentrated toward a few larger, more stable coordinates.

'Hurt it, and now it knows fear? You want to cut off your tail to survive now, concentrating your power to deal with me?'

Li Dong's face remained expressionless; he just found it somewhat laughable.

This guy, rather than a god, was more like a calculating merchant who, upon discovering a loss in an investment, immediately cut losses and transferred funds to a more promising project.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

In his mind, the star map branded by the three thousand years of obsession of the Child of Ash shone in tandem with the power of the Eternal Prison, becoming incredibly clear.

Coordinates lit up one by one, each representing a world deeply eroded by the 'True Lord'.

These coordinates were no longer cold data, but a living 'prey list'.

Li Dong's gaze finally locked onto one of the coordinates where the light was brightest and the energy was most concentrated.

That was one of the core nodes where the 'True Lord's' power had retreated, an 'experimental field' marked as 'high risk'.

'Let's start with you.'

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand and slashed; the space in front of him was torn open like a curtain.

Stepping inside, the scene before him was not the expected desolation and dead silence.

This place... was too beautiful.

A strange, twisted, and sickening beauty.

The sky was a brilliant purple, with cotton-candy-like colorful clouds floating by. Above the ground, there was no soil, but a fungal mat as soft as velvet. Countless unheard-of and unseen plants grew wantonly here.

When some flowers bloomed, they would emit singing as pleasant as wind chimes, but what flowed within their pistils were solidified Soul crystals carrying wails.

On some vines hung crystal-like fruits, and inside each fruit was imprisoned the distorted, struggling phantom of a living being.

The entire world was like a massive garden carefully watered with pain and despair.

All life, under a strange order, went through a cycle from blooming to withering, providing the high-and-mighty 'True Lord' with a steady stream of negative energy carrying 'divine pollution'.

'What a... Genius concept.' Li Dong looked around, his tone impossible to distinguish between admiration and sarcasm. 'Dressing up Hell to look like Heaven, letting the sacrifices complete the offering in self-intoxication. It's much more efficient than simple extraction.'

Just then, three figures walked slowly from a distance.

They wore pristine white robes, had handsome faces, and expressions of compassion. As they walked, halos even spread out from under their feet, and the wailing plants around them seemed to become much calmer when they approached.

They didn't look like demons; instead, they looked like saints in this twisted world.

'Outsider.' The leader spoke, their voice gentle, carrying a power that soothed the heart. 'Welcome to the 'Supreme Garden'. I am the 'Shepherd' here, number seven.'

'Shepherd?' Li Dong repeated the word.

'Yes, we are responsible for guiding lost lambs, pruning disorderly branches, ensuring the harmony and beauty of the garden, and ultimately returning all glory to the 'True Lord'.' The seventh Shepherd bowed slightly, their posture elegant and proper. 'We sensed your power, a power that is of the same Origin as ours, yet full of... wildness.'

A Shepherd beside him, a female numbered thirteen, also spoke, her voice equally soft: 'Your existence is a Variable, a mistake. But the 'True Lord' is merciful; mistakes can also be corrected and guided in the right direction.'

'Oh? How do you guide?' Li Dong became interested.

'Give up your meaningless resistance.' The seventh Shepherd spread their hands, and a miniature of this world appeared in their palm, with countless light spots appearing and disappearing within it. 'Individual emotions and will are tiny and unworthy of mention before the magnificent order of the Universe. Look, how harmonious this world is; all life has its meaning for existence, and all pain is transformed into higher-level energy. This is the ultimate evolution, the final destination.'

He coaxed, 'You are very powerful, stronger than any 'dregs' we have ever seen. You are already qualified to escape the fate of 'being pruned' and become one of us. Join us, become a shepherd for the 'True Lord', and you will gain the authority to manage several worlds; you will possess near-eternal life; you will become a part of the 'Order', rather than dust crushed by the 'Order'.'

These words were full of temptation.

For any resistor struggling to survive, this was an almost irresistible condition. To leap from prey to hunter.

Li Dong was silent for a moment, appearing to be thinking seriously.

The three Shepherds all showed confident smiles; in their view, it was just a matter of time.

'Sounds good.' Li Dong finally spoke. 'Managing worlds, eternal life... there's just one small problem.'

'Please speak.' The seventh Shepherd made a gesture of listening attentively.

Li Dong raised his head, looked at them, and asked an irrelevant question: 'Do you... still remember what your names were before you wore these robes?'

The smiles on the three Shepherds' faces froze for the first time.

'Names... are just code names; they haven't been important for a long time.' The thirteenth Shepherd answered reluctantly.

'Is that so?' Li Dong laughed. 'I actually think they're quite important. At least it would let you remember that you were once a person, not a nicely packaged straw.'

'Presumptuous!' Another Shepherd who hadn't spoken until now shouted sternly, 'How dare you insult the messenger of the 'True Lord'!'

'Insult?' Li Dong shook his head. 'I'm just stating facts. Your so-called independent thinking, your so-called free will, are nothing more than a few lines of code written by the 'True Lord' in your core. The only meaning of your existence is to manage these 'pastures' for him more efficiently, and by the way... engage in entrapment.'

The seventh Shepherd's face darkened completely; that compassionate demeanor disappeared, replaced by an inorganic coldness.

'It seems the guidance has failed.' He pronounced, 'Errors must be cleared.'

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire world came alive!

Countless vines burst from the ground like venomous snakes, and those singing flowers opened suddenly, spraying sound waves that corroded the mind. The fungal mat on the ground rolled, turning into giant hands that grabbed toward Li Dong.

The three Shepherds raised their hands, and under their control, the Law of the entire world pressed in on Li Dong.

They didn't use their own power; instead, they directly mobilized the power of the entire world to obliterate Li Dong.

In this 'garden', they were gods.

However, Li Dong just stood there quietly, letting the world-destroying attacks submerge him.

'Useless.'

His voice came clearly from the center of the energy storm.

'In front of a real 'doctor', your shallow application of the Law is like children playing house.'

The next moment, streaks of black and white light, so fine as to be invisible to the naked eye, erupted with Li Dong as the center.

It was not an explosion, nor was it an impact.

Those rays of light were the manifestation of the Law Scalpel.

Wherever the rays passed, all the violent vines withered instantly, all the deadly sound waves ceased abruptly, and all the rolling fungal mats returned to silence.

The three Shepherds discovered with horror that their connection to the Law of this world had been... cut by something!

They were like computers that had suddenly had their network cables unplugged; they had powerful configurations but could do nothing.

'How... is this possible...'

'Don't rush, it's not over yet.'

Li Dong's figure walked out of the dissipating energy, unscathed. He extended his right hand, and the vortex of the Eternal Prison quietly emerged in his palm.

An irresistible suction force enveloped the three Shepherds.

The power within them, the 'divinity' bestowed upon them by the 'True Lord', along with their fake 'selves', were all forcibly extracted from their shells, turning into three streams of pure energy that flowed into Li Dong's palm.

'No—!'

They let out their final wails, their pristine white robes quickly turning gray and decayed, their handsome faces withering along with them, and finally, they turned into three shriveled empty shells, dissipating with the wind.

The Eternal Prison quickly analyzed and purified these three streams of energy.

Li Dong could feel that his understanding of the Law of the 'True Lord' had deepened by another layer.

And at this very moment, the sky of the entire 'Supreme Garden', that brilliant purple, suddenly turned into a pure, heart-palpitating black.

A will, far more terrifying, vast, and furious than any before, crossed the endless Void Realm and descended directly!

This time, it was no longer testing, no longer a Clone, no longer a programmed clearing.

That was the 'True Lord' in its true form, a strike filled with fury!

The Law of the entire world moaned and distorted under this will, as if it would collapse completely in the next second.

Li Dong raised his head, looked at that deep darkness, and finally, a trace of excited Battle Intent appeared on his face.

'So you're finally willing to enter the field yourself?'