Chapter 127: Station 24: Hunting the Cicada

Chapter 127: Station 24: Hunting the Cicada

The youth's body collapsed limply to the ground.

The mercilessly broken neck was askew, the face looking up at the sky resembling a delicate doll that had lost its soul.

Yan Qiling raised his hand, casting the young man's body towards the entangling vines adorned with a whirring circular saw.

The cacophony of buzzing saws and entangled green vines wove a dense web of despair, from which splattered streams of tomato juice.

A man with a white umbrella emerged from the remnants of an illusion, delicately perched on the vines like a butterfly. The brim of his umbrella lifted slightly, revealing a pair of sapphire eyes as deep as a serene lake.

That blue was like a sky that had toppled over, spilling into an endless ocean of azure.

Before he could do anything more, the vines vanished abruptly, along with the scattered, ruined metal floor, plunging everything into an obscure abyss.

An irresistible force immersed the man in an inky black sea, with liquid surging from all directions, almost impenetrable to defense.

At the bottom of the abyss, there were no extra sounds, only the soft gurgling of water echoing faintly.

The man in the water closed his plain umbrella and attempted to reach out towards the surface above the abyss.

Yet, as soon as he stretched out his hand, he realized that his limbs were bound by something.

Endless crimson threads spilled out from within him, illuminated by the light, casting a weak red glow upon a small portion of the dark ocean.

Amidst this radiance, he saw...

The golden-haired youth, whose neck had been twisted and whose form had been rendered into a pulpy juice, remained miraculously intact and suspended before him.

Subsequently, the youth moved bit by bit, producing a crisp, repetitive sound—click, click, click.

Restored the perpendicularity of his neck.

The once-unfocused blue irises gradually lost their captivating hue, revealing large patches of lifeless gray-white sclera.

His irises shrank to an incredibly minute size during this transformation, resembling two tiny black dots embedded at the centers of his eyes, swiftly spinning in accordance with the focal point of his pupils.

In the manner of someone just awakening, Patland touched his unscathed neck and beamed a radiant, carefree smile at the man before him.

"Mr. Yan, your new eyes are truly beautiful. But should I say you're perceptive or simply fearless? You must be aware of the consequences of killing in the Realm of No Return, don't you?"

Holding the white umbrella in his arm, the man's lake-blue eyes held a peculiar detachment.

"I am well aware, which is precisely why I'm killing you."

Patland was slightly taken aback; it seemed the man thought he had done quite well.

"When did you figure it out?"

"At the hotel."

This time, the surprise on Patland's face was more genuine, and his shifting eyes returned to their original state.

He had never anticipated being discovered so early on.

"How could that be? We had just met for the first time, and I believed I had concealed my aura rather well."

His brows lifted slightly as if he'd had an idea,

"Could it be that troublesome seer told you?"

He was referring to Ada.

But the man chuckled, resting one hand casually on the umbrella handle with an air of leisure and ease,

"It's your own arrogance speaking."

He moved like a drifting piece of paper, appearing to descend gently but in reality reaching his target in the blink of an eye.

His petal-like lips curled into a cruel smile.

"How could you have overlooked Simon? Do you believe that a seer would be aware of something that a priest, who lives and works by your side, would fail to notice?"

The man swung his white umbrella horizontally; Patland deftly dodged to the right. However, the man pivoted on his feet, discarding the umbrella, and delivered a direct punch!

This punch pierced straight through the slender frame of the young man, yet Yan Qiling's countenance did not ease in the slightest.

With that fatal wound on his chest, Patland wore a tolerant smile:

"It turns out it was him. If I had known earlier, I should have reduced him to dust before boarding the train."

"At the time, his sudden sealing of the picture frame gave me quite a headache. Besides, with him around, I couldn't get close to you... He's really been an obstacle."

Yan Qiling frowned slightly, attempting to pull his arm free, but the immense suction held his arm tightly, preventing him from escaping easily.

Patland spread his hands, as if victory was assured.

"Mr. Yan, aren't you fond of surprises? Well then, how's this? Is my body warm enough? My interest in you is just as fiery as this body, melting me from within with its intensity."

When searing heat touched his fingertips, Yan Qiling's first reaction was not panic but astonishment.

After severing his connection to his physical form, an Incarnation could selectively perceive pain from their surroundings.

To resist the pain forcefully transmitted by another Incarnation, one had to be at least on the same level as them.

Yet, Patland was two full ranks below him, and yet he could make him feel such burning agony? It was utterly inconceivable.

The instant this sensation was transmitted, Yan Qiling made a choice.

He swung the umbrella, aiming for Patland's upper body!

The umbrella slashed through the air like a steel blade, tracing a perfect crescent moon arc. It was an impeccable strike, imbued with the terrifying, unyielding power of a Heaven Rank Seamless Master.

Should the Profound Ranks' Unbound Master fall victim to this move, they would either be utterly annihilated or left severely crippled at the very least!

The youth's body suddenly stretched upward and outward, like an abruptly swelling bubble that blots out the sky, completely engulfing the attack and the white umbrella alike, swallowing them whole into his very being!!!

Yan Qiling: !

Rumbling sounds emerged from within Patland's body, his pancake-like face contorting into an unnaturally wide grin, distorting his voice into an echoing vagueness.

"Mr. Yan, aren't you quite fond of eating... Now... It's our turn... to savor you..."

Upon finishing his words, his body instantly recoiled back to its original form. His sapphire eyes reflected the astonishment on the man's pale face.

Malice crept up the corners of the youth's lips, his sharp canines gleaming brilliantly in that moment.

"Come, Mr. Yan, become part of us."

A surge of black froth erupted from his chest, forming a crocodile-like maw that devoured half of Yan Qiling's body!

He held onto this cold man tightly, as if embracing an endless treasure to be devoured, unwilling to let go even at the risk of being choked.

He greedily sought to merge with this person:

"I know you wish to hunt me down up close, and Master is also concerned that the other kin might not accomplish this task. That's why I must step in."

"Your Crimson Lotus is fire, while my Black Sea is water. In my realm, no flame can burn unless I allow it."

"Of course, the melting sensation you're experiencing has nothing to do with fire. It's an 'Acid' potent enough to dissolve a Heaven Rank Abyssal Lord, which we call 'Eitr.' It originates from the Realm of Fog..."

As he delved deeper into his words, the man's body was almost irreversibly swallowed, with his original head fully entering the fissure in Patland's body.

The black froth oozed out, flowing through the black aqueous space and absorbed swiftly. A blissful expression adorned Patland's face.

He genuinely felt the power of the Heaven Rank Abyssal Lord coursing through his entire being.

Merely a few drops of the corrosive digestive fluid invigorated him more than devouring a hundred fleshly bodies!

The immense, unstoppable power was something anyone would crave to monopolize.

Lost in the thrill of this surging pleasure, he suddenly found himself entangled by a profusion of crimson threads that emerged from the man's back!

This posed a challenge to his devouring process.

Not only were his movements restricted, but the man on the verge of being swallowed also showed signs of breaking free from the fissure!

Risking the shredding of his skin by the red threads, Patland strained to lift his arms.

The sharp lines pierced through flesh and bone like a meat grinder. Gazing at the swaying black water above, Patland opened his mouth and whispered an obscure, mystical incantation.

His cerulean eyes filled with pure black, which soon transformed into a torrent of tears. It was as if black paint was dripping all over his face. The cubic space of black water collapsed, forming a massive vortex within his mouth!

This vortex penetrated every crevice, swiftly pushing aside the sharp crimson threads. Amidst the tension, the man, who had shown signs of escape, was forced back into the fissure. At the same time, several taut threads were severed by the vortex.

Then, like a chain of falling dominoes, the red lines collapsed entirely within the encompassing black pressure!

They transformed into sinuously seductive strands, each swaying and descending in the water, while the youth, amidst contorted bodily metamorphosis, completely engulfed the man within his own abdomen.

An unprecedented sense of fulfillment filled Patland's heart with absolute bliss.

His eyes, filled with such pure bliss, even brimmed with gentle tears, restoring the vibrant blue in his irises that shimmered with joyful radiance.

He felt an unprecedented sense of tranquility.

It was as if all other negative emotions in the world no longer concerned him. He could eternally preserve this passionate feeling until the end of time.

Nothing could be better than this. This was the best possible ending.

"Mr. Yan."

Patland's sigh was genuine:

"I will make excellent use of your vessel and become the world's most perfect Incubus. Please don't hate me. 'Eitr' comes from the land of mist, provided by that gentleman. It's the conclusion he wishes for you."

He clutched his flat abdomen, then wrapped his arms around it protectively, as if cradling an infant, and whispered to himself:

"In his grasp, you might not even be able to die. But in my embrace, I promise... you will pass away with the utmost comfort, sweet even in your eternal rest."

No sooner had he made this vow than a vague figure appeared beyond the ripples of the water.

Gray crane feathers defied the laws of physics, floating down as if in air despite being immersed in the water.

Patland's previously blissful eyes were instantly filled with wariness. He covered his abdomen with one hand, while his right hand, surprisingly, held a white umbrella - precisely the one Yan Qiling had just been carrying!

In his possession, the black patterns on the umbrella spread across its entire surface like ink diffusing in water, creating an unconventional beauty.

The newcomer spoke with a refined tone, an elegant lassitude.

"Mr. Patland, it seems your mission was executed flawlessly."

The figure emerged from the water, and the watery world that had tightly enclosed him seemed to part like tofu sliced by a blade, offering no resistance to this person's intrusion.

With a black-red bat fan, the newcomer gracefully swept aside the bothersome black water and strolled elegantly into the darkness.

His eyes were narrow and almond-shaped, with small pupils that left ample space for the whites of his eyes to be visible.

A touch of red was painted at the corners of his eyes, and he wore the distinctive high black hat of an onmyoji. His black hair was tucked into the hat, but the ends were tinged with a deep blue gradient. Adorned with intricate red cord ornaments, his wide sorcerer's robe exuded a redundant opulence characteristic of Japanese nobility.

Wherever he went, gray feathers filled the air, yet not a single one clung to his person.

The immense aura made Patland's legs tremble.

The man before me held a fan against his chin, his slender eyes curved into two playful black crescents when he smiled, exuding a fox-like pretense of amiability:

"Congratulations, congratulations."

"Since Yan Jun has already been devoured by you, you should surrender his power."