Chapter 534 - 322: Secret
Perhaps they had been imprisoned here for far too long—so long that their willpower had crumbled. As a result, every living being here had begun to seek release.
If you put yourself in their shoes, you would understand. A lifetime of imprisonment in a single place, unable to go anywhere. Their Cultivation Levels could not advance a single inch. They saw no hope and could not even die. On top of it all, they had to endure all manner of mental and physical torment.
Their only end was to wait for this world to crumble, piece by piece, until they finally vanished along with it.
The mere thought was suffocating. No one would ever want to suffer such a fate.
And so, death became the ultimate release for them—the one thing they had always craved.
In the past, no one could kill the beings imprisoned in Earth Demon Cliff. Even if they died a temporary death, they would simply spring back up from the earth like mold.
A brief death offered them a fleeting moment of peace.
This was why they never resisted when Cultivators from the outside world arrived. In fact, they hoped someone would kill them.
But now, someone had finally appeared who could kill them permanently, who could help them find true release!
In that instant, Yang An became the hope for every living being in Earth Demon Cliff.
The Demon Fiends of all sizes, including Huan, gazed at Yang An with a look of intense craving—a hunger more powerful than that of a starving man before a feast.
Originally, Yang An had come here to kill the so-called Great Demon of the Insect Dao and take his soul.
But now that he saw this Great Demon Fiend was Huan, he thought differently.
In this world, perhaps he was the only one who could bring release to the creatures here. ’But why should I help them so easily?’
As the saying goes, he who handles vermilion will be stained red. After spending so much time with the Workshop Master, Yang An had unconsciously started to think like a merchant.
’If they want me to grant them release, they have to pay a corresponding price. An equivalent exchange.’
As for his goal of saving the Bow Lady, Yang An decided to shift his target to the so-called Third Elder of the Golden Soul Sect.
After all, the man already had his sights on the Scripture Defector Association. A conflict with them was inevitable, and a battle was bound to happen sooner or later.
"If you can kill me, I’ll agree to anything you want!"
Hearing Yang An’s words, Huan responded at once.
He would stop at nothing to find release.
He had been trapped in this place for so long that everything else had lost its value. Release was his only obsession.
"Tell me about this so-called secret of yours."
Yang An slowly walked to the Stone Stele and squatted down, his gaze fixed on Huan’s withered face. It was covered in layers of dead skin, like grime that had accumulated over ages.
Filthy strands of hair hung before his face. The corners of Huan’s mouth lifted slightly, and his head trembled with a cold chuckle.
"The secret... The secret is—everyone in this world is doomed! Everyone!"
He looked like he had gone completely mad. He laughed while gasping for breath, as if he couldn’t breathe, appearing utterly deranged.
Yang An frowned.
’The Origin Realm is about to collapse, and everyone in this world will be doomed. Isn’t that already common knowledge?’
’Whether it was the Sects of the Ancient Era or the Cultivators of today, anyone who knew this secret was trying to find a way to leave this world.’
’What kind of secret is that? Unless...’
He stared at Huan, a sudden thought striking him.
"You mean, even the Central Continent is..."
"It’s useless! Everything we’ve done has been in vain! This world is a true prison, there’s no way out! The Central Continent is already gone! The day the new world arrives will be the day this world collapses!"
Bloodshot veins filled Huan’s eyes, even seeming to crawl out from his eyeballs and spread across his sockets, forming streaks of blood. He was desperate and hysterical.
’The Central Continent is already gone?!’
’The day the new world arrives is the day it all collapses?!’
These two revelations from Huan sent a jolt through Yang An.
"Explain yourself!"
As Huan spoke of these things, his state grew increasingly erratic. Yang An found it difficult to glean much from his fragmented words.
But Huan paid no heed to Yang An, continuing to laugh like a madman.
SHK!
Yang An shot out his hand and violently grabbed Huan’s neck. Instantly, crack-like patterns of light spread across Huan’s head, glowing from within.
A look of pain flashed across Huan’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a joyful laugh.
With his neck in a chokehold, his voice sounded like a broken bellows, yet his eyes were filled with hope.
"Yes! This is it! Kill me! You can kill me! Hurry, kill me!"
"Calm down first."
Yang An smashed a backhand fist into Huan’s face.
Huan’s head slammed against the Stone Stele, which was as hard as steel. His skull burst, exploding in a bloody mist like a smashed watermelon, leaving only half the skin of his face hanging there.
But just as his one remaining eyeball, still connected by sinew, was about to fall from his shattered skull, Huan’s flesh began to rapidly heal and regenerate.
His panting breath, visible as a faint mist, slowed from ragged gasps to a steadier rhythm. The pain had finally calmed him down a little.
It was as if he had acted this way deliberately, intentionally testing Yang An’s strength.
He needed a taste of near-death before the real transaction, only then would he be willing to offer something truly valuable.