48: Chapter 48 Weighing Carrier

Everyone looked back and saw a tall figure approaching with an extremely uncoordinated, staggering gait, its limbs twitching in an incredibly bizarre manner.

From its silhouette, it was clearly the Night Demon, but it no longer possessed its previous terrifying speed, only moving at a pace equivalent to an ordinary person's jog.

But speed is relative.

At this moment, Chu Xuan and the others were already exerting all their strength, yet the distance was being closed bit by bit.

The closer it got, the stronger the sense of restriction became.

The person trailing at the back was clearly using every ounce of their strength to run, judging by their expression, but their limbs seemed to move in slow motion—no faster than a snail. A broad, thick wolf claw slowly rose and came to rest on their shoulder.

The person turned back in utter terror, only to see a face twisted in agony, a mangled mess of flesh riddled with dense bullet holes.

"Ah!!"

The person's eyes widened, nearly having their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering from fright.

However, the scream had barely left their mouth when their neck was bitten through.

Chomp, chomp...

Chomp, chomp...

The sound of chewing and swallowing rang out like a death knell, making the others dare not stop for even a second.

Fortunately, after moving out of a certain range, although the sense of restriction remained, it eased slightly. Everyone held their breath, forcibly dragging their exhausted bodies forward with everything they had.

However, in less than ten seconds, heavy footsteps rang out once more.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Don't go..."

"Give your bodies to me!"

"I want... your bodies!!"

A low, magnetic voice, sounding as if it came from an ancient abyss and carrying an inexplicable Heart Bewitchment, drifted into everyone's ears.

Chu Xuan immediately realized that this voice was completely different from the Night Demon's previous raspy tone.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look. In the darkness, a tall figure was slowly approaching from behind, staggering as it stepped into the oil lamp's circle of light once more.

Shiny black fur, sharp claws.

A mangled face full of bullet holes, barely recognizable as a wolf's head.

And the faint black Qi swirling around its body.

This was clearly the Night Demon.

But this voice...

"The Night Demon is being controlled!"

Qin Qing turned back, looking with her blood-filled eye sockets, her voice trembling:

"As expected, an even more terrifying Specter has appeared! To be able to control the Night Demon, this must be an S-rank Strange Creatures! For such a terrifying existence to come directly from the Dark Place... this world is truly doomed!"

Another person was caught in terror.

"You... won't do!"

The tall figure shook its head, its voice still full of gentle magnetism, but its next action was extremely brutal and bloody.

Rip!

The person was lifted and torn in half.

As a rain of blood fell, the tall figure buried its head into the person's chest and abdomen to feast, crimson fluid flowing wildly down its chin.

Like it was eating a watermelon.

Everyone nearly had their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering; their legs were weak, but they continued to struggle forward through the crushing restriction, driven by pure survival instinct.

"What should we do? Are we all going to die here? Is there any way out?!"

"Don't give up, keep going forward, there must be hope!"

The remaining survivors, though still alive, were on the verge of madness from the mental toll. Amidst their fear, they even began to think about giving up the flight.

Just then, the range of the light suddenly expanded.

This wasn't because the oil lamp got brighter, but because the thick fog around them had thinned.

Even the black Qi swirling around the tall figure had almost completely dissipated.

Everyone felt a weight lift from their bodies as the intense sense of restriction mostly vanished.

"Hold on, the power of The Gloom is starting to dissipate; we'll be out of here soon!" The corners of Qin Qing's blood-stained mouth curled up slightly.

Everyone's motivation surged instantly.

"Don't go!"

"How fortunate you are to have the chance to serve as my vessel, to become my Container. This is the path to honoring the gods..."

"Don't go, let me choose one lucky child from among you, while the rest shall be lambs!"

"Stay... all of you, stay!"

The ethereal voice drifted into their ears like a spring breeze, causing Chu Xuan's already blurred consciousness to momentarily falter. He felt a desire to stop and let his exhausted body bask in a warm embrace.

"Wake up!"

Qin Qing's voice had become hoarse.

Chu Xuan's body jolted. He looked back at Qin Qing and was shocked to see that besides the blood flowing from her seven orifices, her face was covered in bloodshot veins.

What amazed him was that Qin Qing's eyes were now emitting a faint silver glow.

"We can't let it catch us, especially Chu Xuan and Tang Zheng. Those of you who have achieved self-Awakening of your talents are one in ten thousand, the favored ones of the world. You must never become a vessel for a Specter of this level, or it will be a disaster!"

With Qin Qing's words, the others also snapped back to their senses and quickened their pace again, avoiding being caught by the tall figure behind them.

"How fortunate to witness the miracle of [Heart Bewitchment] in this world! You have good eyes to have chosen the path of the only True God, however..."

The tall figure staggered forward. Its words first expressed admiration, then became extremely high-pitched:

"You insect who stole the authority of the gods shall surely suffer divine punishment! Your only path is to let me weigh you—to weigh whether you are qualified to be my vessel! If you are, you shall walk the Path to Godhood with me; if not, you shall turn into Spirituality and become a cornerstone for my triumphant advance. Regardless, it will be your glory."

"Come! The great Final Phantom God awaits us both!"

"Come! The Divine Light World is our final destination!"

"Come! Let me weigh you..."

Amidst these high-pitched, excited, and ecstatic words, Chu Xuan felt his brain being assaulted once again. However, it was much better than before; he could at least manage to stay conscious.

The pitch-black fog gradually thinned.

But the oil lamp's light was fading even faster.

As the tall figure continued its chanting, the sense of restriction suddenly intensified several times over. It was like walking through deep water, or as if an invisible force was pulling at every inch of their flesh.

There was an unimaginable resistance ahead, and everyone's movements turned into slow motion.

Chu Xuan looked back; everyone's faces were filled with despair. Soon, another person was dragged into the darkness amidst terrified screams.

"We can't escape, there's something strange about that guy's voice!"

"We're all going to die here!"

"What can we do? Who can save us?!"

"I can't do it anymore, I can't hold on. Just let me be eaten..."

Just as everyone was losing heart, Xu Zhiyou suddenly shouted, "No one can save us! Instead of being eaten one by one, we might as well fight that monster together!"

Everyone was stunned.

Xu Zhiyou's eyes were full of tears as he roared again, "We don't have the strength to run anymore, we're doomed. But I'm not willing to accept this! We've struggled so hard to get here, how can we all just die? At least one of us must survive!"

"Chu Xuan, please live on for us!"

Hearing everyone's roars, Chu Xuan didn't feel moved or passionate; instead, he felt a wave of hair-raising horror.