264: Chapter 264 The Experimental Subject Awakens

On the third morning, Shen Zhao finally opened his eyes.

His complexion remained pale, his hair had not grown back, and the wrinkles on his face had not disappeared, but his eyes remained clear and resolute.

"Xing Lan, how long has this Disciple slept?"

"Three days."

Shen Zhao struggled to stand up, his legs somewhat weak, but he did not fall.

He looked around and saw that rift—the rift in the Wall of Eternity, the pillar of the Higher Space, the weakness of the Tribunal.

The rift was slowly expanding, and with every fraction it widened, silver-white points of light surged out from the rift, drifting into the Void Realm.

That was the Origin Power of the Higher Space, the source of the Tribunal's power.

"This Disciple wants to go in and take a look." Shen Zhao's voice was very soft.

Xing Lan's brows furrowed.

"With your current body, how can you go in? The energy fluctuations inside that rift are very strong, and you might be torn apart."

Shen Zhao shook his head.

"This Disciple is not alone. This Disciple has the Fourteen-Color Power, the Origin Power, and the Teleportation Power. This Disciple will be fine."

Xing Lan looked at him, was silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"I will accompany you inside."

Shen Zhao wanted to refuse, but Xing Lan had already walked to his side and grasped his hand.

"You said you were not alone. Then you cannot go alone."

Shen Zhao looked at her, and a warmth surged in his heart.

"Alright. Let's go together."

The two walked side by side toward that rift.

The rift was wide enough to accommodate ten people entering side by side.

Inside the rift was endless darkness and faint, ethereal light.

Those lights were so faint they were almost imperceptible, yet they stood out remarkably in the darkness, like countless fireflies dancing in the night sky.

Shen Zhao took a deep breath and stepped into the rift.

Xing Lan followed closely behind.

The world inside the rift was completely different from what he had imagined.

There was no darkness, no light, only a hazy, gray space.

Floating in the space were countless huge containers, each ten zhang high, completely transparent, and filled with light green liquid inside.

Soaking in the liquid were all sorts of bizarrely shaped creatures.

Some resembled humans, some resembled Yao Beasts, and some resembled some indescribable existence.

Their eyes were all closed, as if they were in a deep slumber.

But on their bodies, countless fine tubes were connected, with the other end connected to the depths of the space, leading to unknown places.

"What is this?" Xing Lan's voice carried a trace of trembling.

Shen Zhao walked to the nearest container and raised his hand to gently touch it.

The runes on the surface of the container lit up, and a piece of information surged into his Sea of Consciousness— "Test Subject Number Zero Zero One, Origin: First District, Status: Slumbering. Harvest Count: Seven times."

Shen Zhao's hand paused slightly.

Test subject.

Living beings modified by The Designers.

They came from different cycles and different Universes; after being captured by The Designers, various experiments were conducted on them in an attempt to find a more efficient harvesting method.

"These... were all captured by The Designers?" Xing Lan's voice was trembling.

Shen Zhao nodded, walked to the second container, and touched it.

"Test Subject Number Zero Zero Two, Origin: Second District, Status: Slumbering. Harvest Count: Five times."

The third one.

"Test Subject Number Zero Zero Three, Origin: Third District, Status: Awakening. Warning: Dangerous."

Shen Zhao's hand suddenly stopped.

Awakening?

He looked up at that container; the liquid inside was churning violently, and the light-green liquid was beginning to turn red, like blood.

The creature inside the container opened its eyes.

Those eyes were crimson, devoid of pupils, filled only with endless madness and murderous intent.

It opened its mouth and let out a piercing hiss.

That sound penetrated the container and echoed in the hazy space.

The container began to tremble, and the runes on its surface flickered crazily.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the container, and liquid gushed out from the cracks, spilling all over the ground.

Shen Zhao took a step back, the Fourteen-Color Power circulating across the surface of his body.

"Xing Lan, fall back!"

Xing Lan quickly retreated, holding that silver-white Jade Slip in her hand, the runes on the Jade Slip glowing faintly.

The container shattered with a bang, and liquid splashed everywhere.

That figure walked out from the shattered container, standing a full three zhang tall, its entire body covered in black scales, the scales covered in eerie blood-red patterns.

Its head resembled a lizard, with a large mouth revealing two rows of sharp teeth.

Its limbs were long, and its fingers and toes possessed sharp claws that glinted coldly in the grayish-white light.

Hanging from its body were still broken tubes, and the liquid inside the tubes was still dripping.

Test Subject Number Zero Zero Three.

Shen Zhao clenched his fists, the Fourteen-Color Power gathering in his palms.

That test subject lowered its head, looking at Shen Zhao, its crimson eyes filled with murderous intent.

It opened its mouth, let out a low roar, and then lunged fiercely at him.

The speed was extreme to the limit; Shen Zhao only had time to dodge sideways.

The sharp claws grazed past his cheek, leaving a bloody streak.

Shen Zhao did not retreat; a Fourteen-Color sword of light condensed in his hand, and he slashed with a single strike toward the test subject's back.

The blade struck the test subject's scales, sparking dazzlingly bright sparks.

A crack appeared on the scales, and black blood gushed out.

The test subject let out a miserable hiss, turned around, and lunged again.

This time, its speed was even faster, and its strength even greater.

Shen Zhao was sent flying by the impact, heavily crashing into another container.

The container shattered, liquid gushed out, and another test subject crawled out from the broken container.

Those eyes were also crimson, filled with madness and murderous intent.

"Not good! They are awakening each other!" Xing Lan's voice carried fear.

Shen Zhao struggled to stand up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

More containers began to tremble and shatter, and test subjects crawled out from the broken containers one after another.

Their forms varied; some resembled giant beasts, some humans, and some some indescribable existence.

But their eyes were all crimson, carrying the same madness and murderous intent.

They looked at Shen Zhao, looking at Xing Lan, as if looking at prey.

Shen Zhao gripped his sword of light tightly, operating the Fourteen-Color Power at full capacity.

He could not retreat, because behind him was Xing Lan, and countless people who needed to be protected.

"Xing Lan, find an opportunity to leave here. This Disciple will hold them back."

Xing Lan shook her head, silver-white light gathering in her palm.

"I am not leaving. I will fight together with you."

Shen Zhao looked at her, and a warm current surged in his heart.

"Alright. Let's fight together."

The test subjects lunged simultaneously, surging toward them like a tidal wave.

Shen Zhao's light sword swept horizontally, chopping the three closest test subjects into two halves.

Xing Lan's silver-white light transformed into countless fine threads, entangling several test subjects and strangling them into fragments.

But there were too many test subjects; they were endless to kill.

Their numbers were rapidly increasing, and at every moment, new containers shattered and new test subjects crawled out.

Shen Zhao's power was rapidly depleting, and his complexion grew paler and paler.

His body was trembling slightly, but he did not stop.

Because he knew that stopping meant death.

"Shen Zhao, let's retreat! There are too many, we can't beat them!" Xing Lan's voice carried a hint of despair.

Shen Zhao gritted his teeth, infusing his remaining power into the light sword.

"Hold on a little longer. This Disciple is finding their weaknesses."

He stared at those test subjects, observing the patterns of their movements.

Although they were crazy, their movements were not entirely without rules.

On every test subject's body, there was a faint blood-red pattern extending from the top of the head all the way to the tail.

That was their weakness.

"Xing Lan, attack the blood-red patterns on their bodies!"

Xing Lan nodded, and the silver-white threads transformed into countless fine needles, piercing toward the blood-red patterns on the test subjects.

The fine needles pierced into the patterns, and the test subjects let out miserable hisses as their bodies began to disintegrate, dissolving into black points of light and scattering.

Shen Zhao also changed his strategy; the light sword no longer swept horizontally, but instead precisely pierced the blood-red pattern of every test subject.

One, two, three.

Ten, twenty, thirty.

The number of test subjects was rapidly decreasing, but their madness did not weaken in the slightest.

They rushed forward wave after wave, hurling themselves at them regardless of everything.

Shen Zhao's spiritual power had already been exhausted, entirely relying on the Origin Power to support him.

His complexion was as pale as paper, and his body was tottering.

But he did not fall, because he knew that falling meant death.

"Shen Zhao!" Xing Lan's voice came over.

Shen Zhao turned back and saw Xing Lan surrounded by three test subjects.

Her silver-white threads had already snapped, and only that Jade Slip in her hand was still glowing.

Shen Zhao rushed over, his light sword sweeping horizontally to chop the three test subjects into two halves.

He supported Xing Lan, panting heavily.

"Are you alright?"

Xing Lan shook her head, her complexion pale.

"I'm fine. But this Disciple cannot hold on much longer."

Shen Zhao looked around; there were still dozens of test subjects, endlessly crawling out from the broken containers.

If this continued, sooner or later they would be worn to death.

"This Disciple has a method."

"What method?"

"This Disciple will detonate the Origin Power to purify them all. But the price is that this Disciple's lifespan... will probably have less than a thousand years remaining."

Xing Lan's tears welled up and spilled from her eyes.

"No! You don't have much lifespan left!"

Shen Zhao looked at her, his gaze calm.

"If we don't do this, everyone will die. It doesn't matter if this Disciple dies, but you must stay alive. You must tell Guardian Ancestor Ling Xi about the situation here, and tell everyone. The Tribunal's weakness has been found, and the rift in the Wall of Eternity has also been found. Next, it will depend on those who come after."

Xing Lan shook her head, tightly grasping his hand.

"No! You cannot always sacrifice yourself! You must live too!"

Shen Zhao smiled, smiling with nonchalant ease.

"This Disciple will. This Disciple just... needs to sleep for a while."

He released Xing Lan's hand and turned to face those test subjects.

The Fourteen-Color Power burned within his body, and colorless light surged out from within him, transforming into a huge pillar of light that soared straight toward the dome of the space.

Within the pillar of light, those test subjects began to disintegrate, dissolving into black points of light and scattering.

Their hisses rose one after another, miserable and despairing.

When the last test subject dissipated, the pillar of light also extinguished.

Shen Zhao collapsed sitting on the ground, panting heavily.

His hair was completely white—no, he no longer had hair.

His face was covered in dense wrinkles, like parched earth.

His body was trembling slightly, but his gaze remained resolute.

"Xing Lan, this Disciple has done it."

Xing Lan rushed forward, hugging him, tears dripping onto his shoulder.

"You did it... You did it..."

Shen Zhao leaned against her shoulder and closed his eyes.

"This Disciple is tired. This Disciple wants to sleep for a while."

Xing Lan held him, tears flowing uncontrollably.

"Sleep. I will guard you."

Shen Zhao smiled, smiling with nonchalant ease.

He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Xing Lan held him, sitting amidst the ruins, gazing at those shattered containers.

Those test subjects had already dissipated, but their hisses still echoed in her ears.

They were once living beings as well, once having their own homeland, their own loved ones, their own dreams.

But The Designers turned them into monsters, into tools for slaughter.

She said softly.

"Rest in peace. Your vengeance, Shen Zhao will exact it for you."

Amidst the ruins, there was only the sound of the wind and her low, sobbing cries.