Chapter 184: Zhang Daoan

Chapter 184: Zhang Daoan

In the sky, thunderclouds churned like a quagmire. Thunder roared across the landscape, and lightning flashed; the majestic Dongyue Temple seemed like an insignificant boat amidst this heavenly might. Sensing lights turned on, but their dim glow, as small as soybeans, failed to illuminate even their immediate surroundings.

It was as if the sky held nothing but this sheet of storm clouds and the tribulation lightning within it—apocalyptic in its dread.

Those in the temple already felt a primal fear. Jie Fangcheng, directly confronting the tribulation lightning, had even changed into his black robe mid-air.

This wasn't ordinary attire; it was a uniform of the Underworld, designed with some defensive capabilities.

Of course, Jie Fangcheng's main reason for changing was the robe's resilience to lightning. The colorful gadgets he usually wore were mere constructs of dark energy; not only had they lost their practical value in the mortal world, but they were also as fragile as paper.

At this moment, Jie Fangcheng's robes billowed as his white hair danced in the wind.

He opened his eyes—pupils one black and one white—fixated on the descending purple light. His lack of a handy weapon didn't matter; the "Manager Jie's Exclusive" sword wasn't his most potent weapon, anyway.

Jie Fangcheng flew directly into the path of the purple tribulation lightning.

Boom—

The tremendous shockwave seemed to shatter the air itself, rippling away in waves through the sky.

Jie Fangcheng, after all, couldn't actually fly. His ascent was the result of the reactive force from his leg push, and now, neutralized by the lightning, he plummeted toward Dongyue Temple at an even faster speed.

He was a ghost agent, invisible to the living. The regular temple-goers remained oblivious, still asking, "What's happening?" "What level of storm is this?" and "Can we get a ticket refund?"

The players could see, however.

Jie Fangcheng's collision and subsequent fall might look dashing, but the impact crater he left looked as if it had been hit by a cannonball.

Keep in mind, he was currently in a soul form and could still have such a profound impact on reality. If he still had a corporeal body, that impact would likely penetrate the mountain itself.

Amidst a cloud of dust, Jie Fangcheng crawled out of the pit, coughing and spitting. Zhang Daoan hadn't even had the chance to return the "Manager Jie's Exclusive" sword before Jie Fangcheng surged upward once more.

"Brother Jie, what...what is this...?"

Nie Shuangshuang and the others were dumbstruck.

This is too powerful, isn't it?!

Only Zhang Daoan had a furrowed brow.

He noticed that each time Jie Fangcheng collided with the lightning, the golden light surrounding him seemed to dim just a bit.

It wasn't Jie Fangcheng himself who was resisting the heavenly lightning but the golden light around him.

For him, the King of Malevolent Spirits, this golden light was crucial for his survival. Once the golden light dissipated, the heavenly lightning would be the next thing to strike Jie Fangcheng.

At that point, without the protection of the golden light, Jie Fangcheng would face certain death.

Yet Jie Fangcheng himself seemed unfazed.

His combat style had never been apparent in the game before; most NPCs he could catch were quickly dispatched with a simple swing or two of his weapon, leaving no need for complicated techniques.

But now, facing the heavenly lightning, Jie Fangcheng's audacious and unrestrained combat style was fully on display. Each fall seemed deeper than the last, and even the ordinary tourists far away seemed to sense something.

"Is the rain really that bad this time? Why do I feel like the whole mountain is shaking?"

Jie Fangcheng was counting in his mind.

The eighth strike.

Although he didn't show it, he was already near the point of soul-disintegration due to the successive lightning strikes.

Nine strikes were his limit. After all, it wasn't his main body that was here; his recovery speed wasn't that fast.

The heavenly lightning grew more ferocious with each strike. When the eighth bolt descended, the earth trembled, and wild winds blew, making Dongyue Temple unstable amidst this apocalyptic setting.

After enduring this lightning strike, the dark clouds in the sky rolled, and what seemed like a comparatively feeble, black-purple bolt of tribulation lightning struck down.

Compared to the previous eight strikes, the ninth seemed almost gentle, like a drizzle.

But Jie Fangcheng, who had faced similar tribulation lightning long ago, knew very well that the last bolt was the most dangerous.

Holding his breath and concentrating, he stood far from everyone else.

The final strike was a mental tribulation. With his current strength, there was absolutely no way he could endure this bolt in mid-air.

Jie Fangcheng had failed to fully survive this last tribulation years ago, causing his golden light to be shattered.

Fortunately, the last bolt was a mental one. Only those who faced it directly would know its terror. By keeping his distance, he would minimize the damage to this famous tourist site.

Although he might end up severely struck, his main body was currently suppressed, and this fragment of his soul didn't carry as much karmic debt, making it somewhat easier to endure the mental tribulation.

After all these years, Jie Fangcheng had had enough dealings with heavenly lightning to have a decent understanding of his own limits.

He was like a college student confident in scoring just above sixty percent: the goal was not excellence but mere survival, to avoid being completely shattered by the lightning.

Anyway, since I'm out of the game now, I'll likely need a good period of recuperation after this.

The black patterns on Jie Fangcheng's forehead became increasingly pronounced, spreading all the way down to the backs of his hands, revealing intricate designs of thorns and swords in black.

This was evidence of his sealing. At this moment, Jie Fangcheng was channeling the power of his soul through the cracks in the seal. He looked up, focusing intently on the unfolding of the ninth lightning strike.

And just as the black tribulation lightning descended, he heard a frantic scream.

"Jie, watch out!"

Before Jie Fangcheng could comprehend where this warning came from, a flash of white light caught the corner of his eye.

He whipped his head around.

A beam of light, similar to the teleporting white light in the game, shot straight towards him, carrying with it an overwhelming divine force.

Must dodge!

But as the white light targeted him, the tribulation lightning had also locked onto his position.

Under the terrifying pressure, Jie Fangcheng could only shift half a step, no more, no less.

Black-purple tribulation lightning and white light intertwined, making the whole world as bright as daylight in one moment and as dark as the abyss in the next.

No time left...

Who was behind this white light? Whoever ambushed him knew him well, aware that he could only withstand nine lightning strikes, and that the last was a struggle.

Although his main body still existed, the loss of this fragment of his soul would lead to the shattering of his golden light and immediate dispersal of his spirit.

Who was his enemy? How could they know him so well?

To die without even knowing the answer would be such a disgrace!

Though he thought as much, waiting for death was not in Jie Fangcheng's style.

He concentrated his golden light once more, his ghostly energy surging. The black patterns that bound him sensed the increase in his power and tightened accordingly.

Under the apocalyptic darkness, Jie Fangcheng's white hair billowed wildly. With a thunderous roar, a faint tolling of a bell seemed to echo between heaven and earth.

And behind him, a phantom slowly emerged.

It was a black palace, square and solemn, resembling a massive coffin yet exuding an austere grandeur. Despite its coffin-like form, the eaves were adorned with sacred dragons, and the pillars were carved with mythical beasts from the four corners of the world.

Above the palace, a large bell hung in the void, its soul-calling banners flapping without wind.

At the very center of the palace, a single deity was enshrined, making the palace resemble both a coffin and a temple.

The deity had eyes closed, wore royal garments, and held both hands level, upon which rested a massive sword.

At his feet, the ground where people knelt in worship had worn into two shallow pits over the years. It was hard to imagine how this temple, resembling a coffin, could have once been bustling with the scent of incense. How many devout worshippers would it have taken to wear these pits into the ground? And with what sort of pious heart had the creators built this sacred temple?

The illusion of the temple flashed before Jie Fangcheng's eyes as he enveloped himself in a full layer of golden light.

Just as he prepared to face the impending forces head-on, a figure, still clad in a white robe from the game, hastily and resolutely positioned itself in front of him.

Boom———

The white light struck Zhang Dao'an, engulfing him completely with a blend of tremendous divine power and some strange additional forces.

Within the white light, Zhang Dao'an seemed to realize something.

He turned his head to look back at Jie Fangcheng.

Everything happened so suddenly. Jie Fangcheng's mind went blank. Although the tribulation lightning was already pouring down upon him, he seemed completely unaware, reaching out in a daze, attempting to grasp Zhang Dao'an who had shielded him from the white light.

"You—"

Under the immense force, Zhang Dao'an shattered like a broken mirror.

In Jie Fangcheng's eyes, everything played out like slow-motion footage, each frame piercing sharply into his vision.

Zhang Dao'an seemed to say something to Jie Fangcheng, but only managed to offer a comforting smile. The next second, within the white light, Zhang Dao'an's soul fragmented, scattering like a dissipating nebula in the dark void of space.

Zhang Dao'an…!

Whoom——

The tribulation lightning descended.

"Jie, watch out!"

Everything happened so quickly and urgently. Nie Shuangshuang and the others had intentionally kept their distance, partly because ghosts inherently feared thunder and lightning, and partly not to interfere with Jie Fangcheng’s confrontation with the tribulation.

Only Zhang Dao'an had been vigilantly observing the surroundings.

Even though he had lost his memories, Jie Fangcheng had briefed him with quite a bit of information about this dungeon along the way.

Another Zhang Dao'an had appeared in Jie Fangcheng's "dreamscape," warning him to "Beware of Ji Ge."

Although the subsequent appearance of Ji Chaoyang seemed to prove that this warning was merely a distraction, a trick to deceive Jie Fangcheng... something was off.

Because that warning had no substantial impact; the later experiences, full of illusions and realities, were what could confuse him.

This early stage hadn’t even entered the temple yet; why was there a need for such a convoluted setup?

It was too disjointed, too strange.

Zhang Dao'an had a suspicion that perhaps this warning to "Beware of Ji Ge" was indeed someone sending a warning, only to be discovered and co-opted by Ji Chaoyang.

But from the time they entered the dungeon to the moment they exited, they had never encountered Ji Ge.

"Beware of Ji Ge," "Insufficient Permissions"...

Permissions? That sounds more like a term from a game.

Could the "Zhang Dao'an" who once appeared in Jie Fangcheng's dreamscape be a player?

With so little information available, Zhang Dao'an couldn't make any conjectures.

But one thing was clear: until they found the mastermind behind the game, every second was perilous.

From the moment Lang Gu suddenly betrayed them, forcing Jie Fangcheng to disperse his golden light, Zhang Dao'an's sense of caution had been on high alert.

All these machinations were targeting him and Jie Fangcheng.

Zhang Dao'an wasn't sure of Jie Fangcheng's full capabilities, but the meticulous planning and the willingness to sacrifice even high-ranking pieces like Lang Gu made him suspect the endgame wasn't simply injuring Jie Fangcheng with celestial lightning.

They must have found a way to deal with Jie Fangcheng.

The moment the white light appeared, Zhang Dao'an neither dared nor wanted to gamble.

He knew he probably couldn't withstand much either... but surely he had to do something?

With the most agile mind and the least talent for combat, the best he could do at the final moment was to activate the giant sword Jie Fangcheng had given him and strain every sinew to place it before him.

Not for himself, but to at least shield the person behind him a little more.

He didn't know if his action would prove futile, or perhaps Jie Fangcheng was so powerful he didn't need him as a fragile shield.

Maybe his sacrifice would prove pointless and have no effect on the outcome.

But in that moment, the one most adept at scheming had neither the time nor the mental capacity to weigh the pros and cons, or to calculate if his intervention would have the greatest impact.

His leap forward was more instinctual than anything else.

He only wondered if he could be of any help at all.

Dust was in the air.

The tribulation lightning descended, raising dust that obscured everything.

Unable to see through the dust, Nie Shuangshuang and the others wanted to rush forward, but a menacing aura emanating from the dust held them in place.

Yu Yizhou, the most powerful among them, could barely discern shadows within the dust.

"Jie...?"

Clouds roiled, yet the lightning ceased to flash.

But around them, a violent wind arose, causing the bean-sized streetlights to shatter, snapping dry trees, as if something terrifying was about to manifest.

Amidst the swirling dust, a figure gradually emerged.

It appeared to be Jie Fangcheng, yet it also didn't.

He was still dressed in the black uniform of the underworld, his white hair held back by a black hairband, and his eyes—one black, one white—focused ahead. His greatsword lay at his feet, unnoticed.

Fresh from the tribulation of thunder, blood tinged the corner of Jie Fangcheng's mouth; his condition was less than ideal.

His chilling gaze turned toward the source of the white light.

The next second, Jie Fangcheng extended his hand—

Thump—

The chime of a bell echoed. All the ghosts in the realm lifted their heads and knelt, facing Dongyue in veneration.

Behind Jie Fangcheng, in the dark palace, the eyes of the statue of the deity seemed about to open.

Just then, previously concealed chains around the statue became faintly visible. Two white chains extended from the heavens and anchored firmly onto the statue's scapulae, while two black chains, as if reaching into the abyss, tightly bound its ankles.

Jie Fangcheng himself seemed shackled, as if wearing ankle cuffs. The sound of dragging chains mingled with the rumbling of the mountain as he walked forward.

Above, the dissipating thunderclouds reconverged. Below, in the underworld, ten thousand ghosts wailed.

Jie Fangcheng, heedless of all else, remained focused on the direction of the white light.

The next second, he pulled the enormous sword—formerly held by the statue—out of thin air.

The dark tattoos and chains tried to confine him but produced only a futile buzzing sound.

Yet, within the palace behind Jie Fangcheng, the deity's statue opened its eyes.

"Jie... "

Without a word, Jie Fangcheng moved forward, greatsword in hand, aimed directly at the source of the white light.