Chapter 315

Chapter 315

Amidst the shock of the Snake Woman, all living beings, whether they had raised their heads or not, trembled and their bodies went limp.

The concentration of magic in the Shadow Realm rapidly increased. Many ordinary followers of the evil gods who had fled into the Shadow Realm with professionals were swallowed by the surrounding darkness within a few breaths, turning into pools of shadow demons that resembled flowing black water.

Foming Brule was no exception. Originally, he was a middle-aged Whaleman with gray-blue skin and metallic white short hair, but after the dark sun appeared above his head, his hair and skin were coated with a thin layer of black ash.

If it weren't for the constant desire perception on his body, which possessed a trace of desire magic, this clean desire magic would have helped him resist the pollution of shadow magic, and he would have turned into a shadow demon like the others.

Now, although he hadn't immediately become a shadow demon, the pollution initially affected one's personality.

The Snake Woman barely regained her strength and, once she could move, the first thing she did was observe Foming.

She could see Foming—thanks to an alchemical device made from Shadow Walkers—but Foming couldn't see her, so her observation was straightforward.

She observed Foming's eyes and noticed that the middle-aged man's micro-expressions hadn't become cold or bloodthirsty, even in a situation where she herself felt a bit of a killing urge. Foming Brule's gaze remained distant, as if half of his mind wasn't focused on reality, looking at something that didn't exist in the real world.

The Snake Woman didn't know if this was good or bad, but she did breathe a sigh of relief.

Then she began to think hard about what to do next.

The Shadow Realm... The Black Sun had carved out a Shadow Realm from His divine domain and sent it beneath the dome.

This was not at all what one would expect a great evil god to do. After all, great evil gods, like their followers, were skilled at sacrificing others but unwilling to sacrifice themselves.

Splitting a divine domain would result in severe injuries at the very least, and there was a possibility of death. Even if it could help His followers, the Silver Moon Maiden would not do such a thing. Before the Black Sun took this action, neither the Pillar Gods nor the Tribunal Headquarters believed He would do so.

But He did.

His foresight was unlike that of a great evil god.

The Shadow Realm provided a solid backing for the Black Sun's followers. After the birth of the Mirror Eye, the evil god followers were not completely eradicated, thanks to the Shadow Realm providing them a place to hide.

For the Snake Woman, the Shadow Realm, along with the snowfield representing the afterlife and the recently heard-of Mirror World, were all parts of this world, making it difficult for her to imagine what would happen if the Black Sun reclaimed the Shadow Realm.

More importantly, her mission was to monitor and protect Foming Brule, who was disguised as a demon, and to gather information on the movements of the evil god followers in the Shadow Realm. Now that the Black Sun was about to reclaim the Shadow Realm, what should she do?

Should she retreat with Foming Brule?

Or stay and continue observing?

Jin Li, actually an intelligence officer of the Tribunal Headquarters and a high-level shapeshifter, wanted to stay and observe, but after glancing down at Foming Brule and hesitating for a moment, she decided to retreat first.

As soon as she made this decision, she heard Foming Brule let out a slight sigh of relief.

It was as if he could hear her thoughts.

According to the intelligence, Foming Brule was not a professional and had never believed in the Silver Moon Maiden... Although she knew this, Jin Li still felt a bit uneasy.

Her unease somehow seemed to be sensed, and the distracted Foming Brule lowered his head to avoid making Jin Li uncomfortable.

"Don't lower your head," Jin Li said, "Come up."

The snake-like woman instantly changed shape, transforming from a reptile to a mammal, which seemed easier for her... or him than breathing.

The gender-changed shapeshifter waited until some high-level professionals gradually recovered from the pressure of the Black Sun's descent and fled without hesitation.

To ask why they ran, of course, it was because they didn't want to die. Killing is what deities excel at, regardless of whether they are Pillar Gods or evil gods. Those who believed in the Black Sun dared not move, but since they didn't believe in the Black Sun, staying in the Shadow Realm meant either being cannon fodder or more cannon fodder.

The shapeshifter seized the chaos, transformed into a giant horse, leaped over the wall, and carried Foming away without hesitation, galloping out of the gathering place.

Most of the other fleeing evil god professionals ignored them, even though he looked like a berserk anthropomorphic beast.

A small number tried to attack them, including other fleeing members of the Mutated Sect: some berserk anthropomorphic beasts who couldn't distinguish friend from foe, some madmen who couldn't escape and wanted to drag others down with them, and some demons who wanted to seize control of the horse from Foming.

Internal strife began before they even escaped, which seemed to be the norm for the now leaderless Mutated Sect, making the situation even more chaotic. Those who were truly determined to escape took advantage of this opportunity to run faster.

Jin Li lagged behind the fastest group, growing two hands from his shoulders and fiddling with a small object extracted from his body.

It was an alchemical locator that could send a distress signal to waiting teleportation masters.

But after fiddling with it a couple of times, Jin Li found no response.

Jin Li: "..."

He numbly continued fiddling for a few seconds before realizing something.

The Shadow Realm separated from the Black Sun and the current Shadow Realm with the Black Sun's projection were two different things.

If a deity was asleep or, for some other reason, relaxed management of the divine domain, high-level teleportation masters might, with multiple attempts, establish a passage in and out.

But if the deity was awake and regained direct control, even a Gelcrafter would find it exceedingly difficult to open a passage!

Jin Li was momentarily at a loss, so he put the alchemical locator back inside his body, wrapped it in a ball of fat, and continued running forward.

Foming, who was bouncing around on his back, kept looking back.

Although he couldn't see much, only countless "stars" flickering in the darkness.

Including the dark sun overhead, whose desires burned fiercely like a massive fireball hanging in the sky of the Shadow Realm.

The Shadow Realm was not illuminated by this; instead, it became darker under the fireball's light, and most of the "stars" dimmed, with only a few remaining bright.

The Black Sun, who could not see desires, used His method to find these few bright "stars." He pointed them out and coldly commanded, "Fight."

Why fight? An ordinary person hearing this would first be puzzled.

But the few chosen by the Black Sun were clearly extraordinary. As soon as the Black Sun finished speaking, the Shadow Walker drew a weapon from the darkness, and the Plague Mage released a cloud of viral mist.

Life and death were determined swiftly, in just a few exchanges, only one person remained standing.

"Very well," Black Sun said, "from this day forward, you are an Apostle."

The victorious Shadow Walker showed an excited expression, and in the next second, the increasing magic from the Shadow Realm converged upon him.

Just as the other believers of Black Sun were about to show envy, they heard a scream of agony from the lucky one who had suddenly received divine favor, as if he was being torn apart bit by bit by the vortex.

The believers who had envied him earlier now felt a twinge of empathy. But Fuming, from a distance, saw the "star" of this lucky one emit a brilliant light, piercing through the vortex of shadow magic, brighter than ever before.

Even the great fireball in the sky could not overshadow the light of this aspiring "star." The only one who could compare was Fuming, who at first was surprised but then realized that perhaps such desire was necessary to become an Apostle, to withstand the direct transformation by a deity.

Now, as the vortex gradually shrank, the newly transformed Apostle of Black Sun turned his head in the darkness.

His eyes had undergone surgery by a necromancer, with parts of skeletal remains from the undead used as replacements.

These artificially created visual receptors, possessing the life vision of the undead, were now enhanced, making them even more acute.

The Apostle of Black Sun immediately saw Junli carrying Fuming at a frantic pace. The unique life form and vigorous vitality of this high-level Shapeshifter made him stand out even after running so far.

The Apostle of Black Sun raised his hand toward the distance, opened his palm, and then clenched it tightly.

Swish! Darkness surged like a hand from all directions, enveloping Junli.

First to be entangled were Junli's hooves, causing the giant horse to fall. As Junli tumbled, he managed to change the direction of his fall to avoid crushing Fuming.

Fuming was flung aside, and in the next moment, the entangled hooves shrank, transforming the giant horse, capable of carrying a Whaleman over two meters tall, into a mosquito no bigger than a fist.

The mosquito tried to fly higher, but its enemy was darkness, which offered no gaps for escape.

Junli had no chance of survival, yet his resistance still made the distant Apostle of Black Sun frown.

Thinking he could kill this spy with one strike, the Apostle of Black Sun increased his force. No one paid attention to Fuming, who had been thrown aside.

But Fuming shouted, "Sir Apostle! You should go after Solomon Lane!"

The clenching shadow paused, and the Apostle of Black Sun, along with many other followers of Black Sun, turned their gaze to him.

Fuming trembled, feeling many "stars" of desire shine upon him, but a sudden thought brought back memories of many bedtime stories... many stories whose prototypes might have been Black Sun, and somehow, he wasn't nervous anymore.

He knew Black Sun was above him, but he still shouted loudly.

"Do you not know? In fact, Black Sun is unrequitedly in love with the Dragon of Light!"

The Apostle of Black Sun fell silent.

The followers of Black Sun fell silent.

A group of fleeing believers of other evil gods nearly stumbled.

Even Junli staggered in mid-air.

In this moment of silence, Fuming got up, clenched his fists, and looked resolute.

He continued shouting, "Do you not believe me? I am Fuming Brue, the 'Boneshadow Revelation' who wrote 'Standing in the Shadows' and 'Who Chases the Light.' In my most famous work, 'Crimson and Pale,' Black Sun and the Dragon of Light also appear—"

As he spoke, Fuming couldn't see it, but in his slightly larger eyes, silver stars seemed to shimmer.

Lin, however, saw it. The deepest part of his consciousness felt another light thread vibrate.

In the Shadow Realm, Lin's avatar, existing in the form of a mental blade within Fuming, covered his face in speechless frustration.

To think that the hope would be, "This person is the one who wrote 'Crimson and Pale,' the author of toxic tales where the Mother of Sourceblood and the Maiden of Silver Moon vie for the same man, using all sorts of methods to roll together?"

That wasn't even something he said to Fuming; Fuming just happened to overhear it!

Lin's hand moved from covering his face to rubbing his forehead, but that didn't stop him from speaking to Fuming:

"It's not because the 'star' is high that you want to reach for it, but because you want to reach for it, it becomes your 'star.'

"Clarify your desires to return to your original intention. The original intention is what you truly seek.

"Once it brought you joy, now it brings you power.

"I believe you understand this very well... O new Starshaper."