National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

His existence was completely cut off from the life of this world, utterly out of place.

His complexion was so pale it was almost transparent, as if all blood and vitality had been drained from him.

A single glance was enough to stir an involuntary sense of death from the depths of one’s soul,

as if he were a phantom who had snuck out of the Netherworld.

He wore a tight, black outfit that clung to his gaunt frame like a second skin,

outlining a silhouette that was chilling to the core.

His feet dangled limply,

the tips of his toes pointing toward the ground at an extremely unnatural angle, as if their sinews had been removed.

It was as though he was being pulled by some invisible force,

yet could plummet at any moment like a kite with a snapped string.

His arms hung limply at his sides, fingers slightly curled,

as if making one last struggle,

but they were bound tight by a powerful, formless force.

All he could do was let them hang, having lost all control over his own body.

His eyes were the only part of him that showed any sign of life,

yet they were also the most terrifying.

They were wide and round, as if trying to drink in every last detail of the world.

The surface of his eyeballs was covered in a dense web of long, thin, blood-red veins.

These veins were like tiny red rivers,

meandering across his pale, dead-fish-like eyes,

silently speaking of the endless pain and fear in the depths of his soul.

"So this must be the source Evil Spirit for that tree."

Chu He tilted his chin up slightly, his gaze like a torch as he stared intently at the pale youth hanging in the air. His eyes held a hint of inquiry and certainty.

The dense, sinister aura radiating from this pale youth

was identical to that of the bizarre tree from earlier, which had been hung with countless hanged figures.

However, upon closer inspection, he could tell that the sinister aura on this pale youth

was far more potent than that of the bizarre tree.

Thus, Chu He had deduced the connection between the two with ease,

as if he had found the main thread connecting the terrifying events in the dark.

The pale youth simply stared fixedly at Chu He with a venomous glare,

as if he wanted to kill him by a thousand cuts with his eyes alone. He showed no intention of replying.

The hatred in his gaze was like a physical blade, so palpable one could truly feel it.

The bloated man with a giant hand for a head suddenly let out two strange laughs.

The sound echoed in the silent night sky like the cry of an owl, sending a chill down the spine.

He said, "Mr. Chu, don’t lower yourself to his level. This fellow is no different from an Evil Spirit, and his mind isn’t always clear."

"You can actually merge with Evil Spirits to such an extent? You’re almost indistinguishable."

Chu He slowly retracted his gaze, a look of surprise on his face.

For a moment there, he hadn’t even been able to tell if these two were human or Evil Spirit.

If not for his vast and powerful Spiritual Power,

he might have truly mistaken them for the purest of Evil Spirits from the depths of Hell.

"If Mr. Chu hadn’t stopped us this time,

our research into Evil Spirits would have progressed even further.

Perhaps Evil Spirits could even become a stepping stone for human evolution."

The mouth in the palm of the hand curled its lips up slightly at the corners.

It was probably a smile, but in this bizarre scene, it looked exceptionally grotesque and terrifying,

as if hiding countless ulterior motives and ambitions.

"Not stop you? That’s impossible."

Chu He shook his head gently, his tone firm and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Why?" The palm-hand wobbled, as if expressing confusion.

The movement was indescribably strange and awkward, making one feel as if they were watching a distorted puppet show.

"Don’t you know the reason yourselves? Look at this one hanging in the air.

His degree of fusion with the Evil Spirit has already surpassed yours,

but the price he paid was losing his sanity.

In his current state, how is he any different from a pure Evil Spirit?

If this continues, in just a short time, this guy will be completely devoured by the hanged Evil Spirit,

reduced to a walking corpse.

And look at yourself, neither human nor ghost.

Do you dare say there’s nothing wrong with your own personality and mind?

I’m sure you’re perfectly aware of that deep down.

Besides, this method of yours, merging yourselves with Evil Spirits... it displeases me greatly."

As Chu He finished speaking, his face was like a mask of frost, devoid of any smile. His cold expression could have frozen the air around him.

This caused the hand-headed man’s heart to sink into a bottomless abyss as a sense of foreboding washed over him.

’Are these two the real Mountain Gods?’

Chang Zimo was already completely bewildered by the convoluted situation, unable to make sense of it at all.

He hurriedly moved closer to his father, Chang Bailin, and asked cautiously in a hushed voice, his eyes filled with confusion and unease.

"I... I don’t know either."

Chang Bailin was just as clueless, his brow tightly furrowed. His eyes revealed a deep confusion and helplessness, like a traveler lost in a strange mist.

"Must you oppose us?"

The hand-headed man hadn’t given up. He continued trying to persuade Chu He, his voice tinged with threat and unwillingness.

"You? Who are you?"

Chu He’s gaze was like a torch, fixed on the hand-headed man. His voice was as chilling as a winter wind, capable of piercing to the bone.