99: Chapter 99 Absolute Death
The moon descended upon the horizon once more, its bright, silvery disk casting a gentle radiance.
Accompanying it was the boundless twilight.
At this moment, a subtle ripple gradually emerged in the pitch-black sky.
Shortly after, a white-haired man wearing a tattered mask slowly materialized.
The eyes revealed beneath his mask were as cold as ice that had not melted for a thousand years, looking down upon Great Zhou without a trace of emotion.
"Humans... you really have given me quite a surprise."
"However, I am looking forward more and more to those desperate wails when your hopes are shattered."
"Surely, that must be very spectacular."
The corners of his mouth curled slightly, forming a cruel arc, his words filled with mockery.
The moonlight shone like water onto the man's mask, and on the top of the mask, a sinister character for "Emperor" was clearly carved.
The character seemed to be forged in fresh blood, emitting an eerie red glow under the reflection of the moonlight.
The wind blew quietly, and the man's white hair fluttered with it, adding to the sense of eeriness.
Great Zhou, Imperial City.
A middle-aged man with a numb expression stood alone in the inner hall of the Imperial City.
In his hand, he tightly clutched a round stone emitting a faint purple light, which appeared exceptionally glaring in the dim environment.
His eyes were hollow and lifeless, the exhaustion in his heart revealed clearly on his expressionless face.
This round stone seemed to carry some kind of opportunity; his fingers were white at the knuckles from the force.
Zhong Chusheng stared fixedly at the round stone in his hand, then squeezed it hard.
[Executioner — Soul Alteration]
"Click!"
Accompanied by a crisp and piercing sound.
The round stone in Zhong Chusheng's hand shattered upon impact. Immediately, waves of rich purple light spread rapidly outward.
The purple light was initially just a faint shade of indigo on the horizon.
But as time passed, this indigo light continued to spread and diffuse, like an overturned ink bottle, permeating the surrounding sky bit by bit.
With Great Zhou as the center, the indigo light spread rapidly, its influence expanding until it eventually enveloped the entire world.
A trace of fluctuation finally appeared on Zhong Chusheng's originally numb face.
Zhong Chusheng's slightly pale lips trembled slightly as he murmured to himself.
"Everything is for Great Zhou, for the Realm of the Living!"
Having said this.
Zhong Chusheng's eyes seemed to traverse the long passage of time, seeing The Old Monk dressed in a tattered kasaya.
The Old Monk was slowly swallowing the chicken he had just finished eating, his throat visibly moving a few times, before grinning at Zhong Chusheng.
"Amitabha, how virtuous, how virtuous."
"Little beast, you are an outstanding Executioner."
"You have accomplished the greatest feat in human history — killing the Emperor completely."
"The Emperor is immortal and indestructible; no matter what period the Emperor is in, we cannot kill him."
"Through the research of Executioners from various eras, they discovered a special kind of death, a death that might allow the Emperor to never wake up again."
"That is — Absolute Death!"
The illusory figure of The Old Monk reached out from who knows where and pulled out a chicken leg.
Without a word, he took two fierce bites, his eating manner suggesting he had been starving for a long time, as he continued to speak indistinctly.
"Death... is divided into three stages."
"The first stage is physiological death, where breathing and heartbeat stop."
"The second stage is biological death, where the body and soul return to the ultimate bliss."
"The third stage, which is also the Absolute Death stage, is when no one in this world remembers you anymore, and you have completely disappeared from this world."
"Humans have prepared for thousands of years just to wait for this moment; that round stone is the crystallization of human wisdom and the proof of resisting the Emperor."
"Soul Alteration can make us quickly forget the Emperor. In just ten years, no one will remember him anymore! Including us."
Having said this.
The phantom of The Old Monk slowly faded, like mist dispersed by a gentle breeze, gradually becoming indistinct.
However, just as he was about to disappear, he revealed an incredibly compassionate smile toward Zhong Chusheng.
That smile carried compassion for all things in the world.
"Amitabha, how virtuous, how virtuous."
The Old Monk's voice resonated leisurely, as if it were a Sanskrit chant coming from the distant horizon, ethereal and profound.
Zhong Chusheng seemed to want to grasp that fading figure, stretching out his hand desperately.
However, his hand could only wave futilely in the air, grasping nothing.
---
Dead Realm. Western Nether Lands.
A gloomy palace stood quietly in this eerie territory.
The palace walls were built of dark black stone, emitting wisps of cold air that seemed capable of devouring any vitality that approached.
"The Gate of the Dead World has opened!?"
A tall and burly man wearing black battle armor spoke to a skeleton kneeling on the ground.
His voice exploded like thunder in this dark space, making the surrounding air currents tremble slightly.
The skeleton seemed to be shivering, with an eerie faint light flickering in its hollow eye sockets.
The man took a step forward, his heavy war boots making a dull sound on the ground.
He lifted the skeleton's chin with the giant sword that was flashing with cold light in his hand.
"Notify everyone, leave immediately!"
The skeleton let out a hair-raising "clatter" sound, as if answering in obedience.
Immediately after, a layer of eerie faint light emerged on its pale skeleton, and then it turned into a wisp of black smoke, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
The man looked in the direction where the skeleton disappeared, his eyes becoming increasingly solemn.
"Your Majesty, you have finally returned."
...
Dead Realm. Northern Prison Lands.
A figure wreathed in death energy lay carelessly on the barren land of the Northern Prison.
The surrounding atmosphere seemed to become more heavy and oppressive because of his presence.
Just at this moment, a phantom floated over slowly. The phantom's form was ethereal, like a wisp of light smoke, seemingly whispering something to this person.
"The Gate of the Dead World has opened? What!? The God of Death has already gone?"
The man sat up abruptly, his face full of astonishment, the light in his eyes appearing especially eerie amidst the death energy.
"Damn it, this major event of meeting the Emperor cannot be snatched away by him first."
"Go, go, go!" Saying this, the man scrambled up from the ground, his movements hurried and flustered.
The death energy on his body surged instantly, turning into a beam of faint light that shot into the sky, the light tracing a breathtaking trajectory in the darkness.
Behind him, there was a vast, dark mass of phantoms.
These phantoms surged like a tide, emitting chilling whistling sounds. Wherever they passed, the aura of death grew stronger, as if they wanted to swallow the entire world into this boundless darkness.
...
Dead Realm. Central Abyss Imperial Palace.
A swordsman in white stood proudly atop the Imperial Palace, his posture as straight as a pine, his robes rustling in the wind.
He gazed at the vast, dark souls before him, his two fingers bending slightly to tap gently on the divine sword in his hand.
"Hum!"
In an instant, a sword hum that resounded throughout the Dead Realm suddenly rang out.
This sound was crisp and impassioned, like the roar of a dragon or the cry of a tiger.
Wherever the sound passed, the dark souls were like fragile balloons, bursting in the blink of an eye.
Fragments of the residual souls splattered everywhere, turning into specks of faint light and dissipating into the darkness.
The lingering sound of the sword hum had not yet faded, still echoing over the Dead Realm, continuing for a long time.
Subsequently, the swordsman in white tilted his head slightly, a flash of sharpness passing through his star-like eyes, as he glanced at a gentle-faced bald uncle in the distance and spoke slowly.
"I have a sword that can sever a realm."
On this day, above the Dead Realm, it was as if a divine sword hung in the sky.
Afterward, one could only see sword light filling the sky and boundless sword energy.