AZI Volume 4 Chapter 15

Cavernous walls and ceils form a rather spacious area around Long Hua and Tian Cheng.

On the north and south sides of this area is a pathway, each going off to places unknown.

Normally, they would be deciding on which pathway to take, however—

"…"

Dodging the odd creature's scythe-like arms that are lunged at him, Long Hua draws out Bai Zhe—while keeping his divine senses active, to look for anyone who might intrude upon this exchange.

Despite how dark this cavernous area is, neither Long Hua nor Tian Cheng experienced any drops in their combat capabilities—being able to see perfectly in this darkness.

Not having seen everything that went on within the tent, the Tai Xuan Emperor asks—

(So, what exactly is this thing?)

*Klang!* brushing a scythe aside with his sword, prior to cutting it off completely, Long Hua answers—

"I pulled out the serpents, and they ended up taking this form."

(That's…)

"Be cruel to your enemies, and be crueler to yourself; that's all there is to it."

(…)

Controlling her vessel in silence, the Tai Xuan Emperor summons the four dummy units.

Simultaneously, each dummy unit—along with the main unit, throws out a thread-attached knife.

In the same instance, these threads wrap around the odd creature's remaining arms, and necks to restrict its movement.

"…"

Exploiting this opportunity, Long Hua closes in on the odd creature, and lunges Bai Zhe through its chest.

*Grrrooooo!* as the odd creature raises a painful cry, it continues to glare at Long Hua with hostile intent, and—

"…"

Detecting the scythe-like limb—that was cut off previously, giving off a bit of movement, Long Hua releases his grip on Bai Zhe, and steps to the side, just barely managing to avoid the severed limb that came from behind.

Raising his right foot, Long Hua kicks the sharp limb's base—driving it through the odd creature's abdomen.

"Uh…?"

As the odd creature's body gives off a white glow, Long Hua immediately chooses to distance himself from it.

In the next instance—

*Boom!!!* the self-destruction of the odd creature—manages to cause the entirety of the cavernous area to tremble, while also hurling Long Hua, Tian Cheng, and the dummy units onto the walls.

"…"

Peeling himself off the wall, and falling onto his rear, Long Hua continues to maintain a sense of vigilance towards the epicenter of the blast.

"…"

As the smoke clears, a silver sphere—surrounded by tendrils of mercurous liquid, is revealed.

Raising his hand, Long Hua gestures for the object to approach him.

"…"

Examining the object through his divine senses as it lands into his grip, Long Hua frowns.

For the time being, it's impossible to say if this odd creature is actually a living thing, or just a weapon in the form of a monster.

As the sphere finishes gathering up the mercurous liquids, it presses itself onto the faint scale patterns on Long Hua's shoulder—merging with them, resulting in the patterns becoming more defined.

While having her vessel collect the dummy units, the Tai Xuan Emperor asks—

(In the end, were you successful in devouring the curse?)

"Not really. It's going to have to be a gradual process. For the time being… The byproduct is out of my body at least."

(But there's no telling when it might merge with your body again, is there?)

"I'll pry it out again then."

...…

Detecting how dry, Long Hua's tone, and mood seems to be, the Tai Xuan Emperor frowns within the dreamscape.

"Is this also caused by that incantation's breakthrough?"

...…

(In any case, how about taking some time to rest?)

"No time."

Picking up Bai Zhe, and having her vessel walk over, the Tai Xuan Emperor returns the weapon to Long Hua, who stores it away into his storage pouch.

"Hm?"

Just as Long Hua is about to get up, Tian Cheng presses down on his shoulders, and says—

"Rest."

As it is unlikely for Long Hua to listen to her under the guise of Qie, the Tai Xuan Emperor figured that using her vessel would be much more effective.

(If you're not going to listen to me, at least listen to your doll. Heading off in your current state, are you that eager to get reincarnated again? Keep in mind, dying here in this realm will make things much more complicated.)

Despite wanting Long Hua to die as soon as possible, so that she may take over his body, the Tai Xuan Emperor would still prefer to do so after the former has exhausted all his fated opportunities. At the same time, it would be most ideal if it is after he has escaped from the Leng Bing Realm, as it would save her the hassle of having to deal with the Ling Yuan family.

"…"

Facing the magenta-colored eyes of the Tai Xuan Emperor's vessel, Long Hua eventually shuts his eyes, and answers—

"…Fine."

With Long Hua having settled down, the Tai Xuan Emperor has her vessel release its grip over his shoulders, and sits down beside him.