đź“– Chapter 1217 - Illusory Centipede Devilish Will!
This wasn’t an impossible idea!
The high officials’ autobiographies often mentioned that what seemed to be coincidences were usually the results of deeper schemes.
Why did the stele world become a chessboard? No matter how powerful the Black Earth Emperor was, he was still no match for the true Emperor. How had he been able to so accurately arrange for Little Fifth to meet Wang Baole?
As for Wang Baole himself… he was born in the stele world and reached his current realm step by step. Was all of this… really just coincidence?
Wasn’t it possible that the 100,000 worlds created by the Emperor’s 100,000 clones all had a Wang Baole? That the black wooden nail also split into 100,000 black wooden boards and followed the Emperor to each of the 100,000 worlds?
Wang Baole had originally thought that he was special, that he was a unique existence born from coincidence in the battle between the Emperor and the black wooden nail. But in reality… a version of himself existed in every single fake Never-Ending Dao Domain, and he was merely a single one out of the 100,000 Wang Baoles formed by the black wooden nail!
This speculation caused Wang Baole’s heart to shake so much that even the star domain inside his body was destabilized.
Black mist suddenly erupted from his seven orifices, escaping his body and writhing in a mass in front of him…
He seemed to hear countless voices roaring inside his mind, gathering together and forming waves that shook his very soul.
“You are just 1 in 100,000!”
“Success and failure are both meaningless for you!”
“Even if you manage to leave, you will just be absorbed by your original form. You… are nothing more than a single thought of your original self!”
“Isn’t it ridiculous? This is the truth!!”
“Yes, this is the truth. No matter how hard you try, no matter how hard you fight, all of it is useless. The battle between your original form and the Emperor has lasted countless years and spread across innumerable universes. Didn’t you see the battle between All and Ancient? When Almighties fight, it takes infinite reincarnations fighting across uncountable years!”
“What are you? Just a singular thought!”
The roaring voices surged like towering waves, crashing down on Wang Baole’s mind and even through his star domain, threatening to destroy it from its very foundation.
This was the destruction of Dao. Wang Baole’s Dao of Freedom was falling apart. If his entire existence was nothing more than a single thought of someone else, how could he call himself free? How could he possibly be at ease!?
Wang Baole’s mind rumbled again, as if heavenly thunder was exploding in his head. But at that moment, he reacted and began to think furiously. What he was thinking about wasn’t whether his speculation was true or false, but rather how he had come to his current state!
“Wrong, something’s very wrong! Why did I suddenly have such a thought…
“And how could this thought destabilize my mental state so much? Even if it’s true, it shouldn’t affect me to this degree!”
Wang Baole’s body was trembling, his expression was distorted, and the black mist streaming from his seven orifices grew thicker and thicker. Zhou Xiaoya, Zhao Yameng, Little Donkey, Second Senior Brother, and Little Fifth were all shocked by the sudden change.
“Heart devil!!” Second Senior Brother suddenly blurted. He attained the Dao through burning incense, and had his own unique understandings. Now, looking at Wang Baole, he could clearly see that his junior brother was suffering from a heart devil!
Second Senior Brother anxiously rushed over and pressed his right hand on Wang Baole’s shoulder, attempting to share the burden. But a moment later, his body trembled wildly and turned blurry as he took several steps backward.
“This is… possession!!” Little Fifth exclaimed in surprise. At the same time, the broken mask that was always on Wang Baole flashed with white light, and Little Missy suddenly appeared. Biting her lip, she lifted a hand and pressed it between Wang Baole’s brows.
But as soon as she touched him, her body jolted, and she too stumbled backward.
Neither she nor Second Senior Brother could help at all. Black mist continued streaming from Wang Baole, and the mass of mist above him grew more and more solid.
At that moment, a powerful wind blew, and the Flame Patriarch suddenly returned. First Senior Sister and the old ox also reappeared, their expressions changing drastically. Wrath appeared in the Flame Patriarch’s eyes as he raised his left hand and pressed down toward Wang Baole, roaring in fury.
“Devilish will, how bold!” As he spoke, the power of his curse art erupted. He rapidly formed hand seals before jabbing a finger at the black mist gathering above Wang Baole.
As soon as the Flame Patriarch made his move, the black mist churned, and a bloody light suddenly broke out. The color of the mist instantly turned blood red, and the illusory figure of a centipede shot out and collided with the Flame Patriarch’s finger.
The Flame Patriarch’s body shook as he was forced three steps back. However, his eyes flickered with cold light, and monstrous killing intent erupted from his body. Meanwhile, the blood-red centipede phantom had retreated back into the now-crimson mist, glaring at the Flame Patriarch viciously.
“So it was you!” The Flame Patriarch’s killing intent grew even stronger when his gaze met the centipede. Previously, Wang Baole had communicated with him via Dao aura, so he was aware of the blood-red centipede and the threat it represented. Now, seeing it with his own eyes, the Flame Patriarch readied himself to unleash his ultimate curse.
The Flame Patriarch could tell that this blood-red centipede didn’t actually exist. Instead, it had appeared in this place through some inextricable connection with Wang Baole. Only Wang Baole could sever this connection, and outsiders were unable to do anything. If the Flame Patriarch wanted to forcibly interfere and destroy it, then… he could only unleash his curse!
As far as the Flame Patriarch was concerned, it was completely worth it to bring the centipede down with him. After all, at his age, he didn’t think much of life or death. On the other hand, Wang Baole was still so young. How could he, as Wang Baole’s master, just stand by and watch as his disciple was possessed?
The rapidly strengthening aura of the Flame Patriarch’s curse caused the centipede’s face to finally show a hint of worry. But just as the old man was about to completely unleash it… a hoarse yet firm voice suddenly rang out.
“Thank you, Master. I’ll take care of this myself.” The owner of this voice was none other than Wang Baole, whose eyes had finally opened. Despite the redness in them, his gaze was clear as he looked at the blood-red centipede hovering above his head.
The centipede was visibly shaken. There was surprise and suspicion in its gaze as it turned to look at Wang Baole.
“You actually awakened by yourself? You… you understand? This is beyond my expectations…”
“Yes, I understand.” Wang Baole’s voice was calm. However, violent power welled up within him as he punched out with his right fist.
This punch seemed to drain the spiritual energy of the entire solar system, creating a black hole around Wang Baole’s fist. The blood-red centipede’s phantasmal body was instantly torn to shreds under the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering force.
Because the blood-red centipede was something that didn’t actually exist, outsiders were unable to harm it at all. However, Wang Baole was linked to the centipede by karma, so his power could damage it directly.
The power of Wang Baole’s fist was equivalent to the full force of the stele world’s Universe Realm, instantaneously destroying the phantasmal centipede and annihilating the crimson mist. However, the centipede in this place was merely a strand of divine will, and not the real thing. As it faded into nothingness, it left some parting words behind.
“Interesting. Wang Baole, next time… I will definitely succeed!”
With that, the mist disappeared completely, and the surroundings returned to normal. The Flame Patriarch and the others hurriedly crowded around Wang Baole, who repeatedly assured them that he was fine. After a while, the Flame Patriarch departed with fatigue apparent on his face. Zhao Yameng and Zhou Xiaoya also left, hearts full of worry.
In the end, only Little Fifth and Little Donkey remained in the house with Wang Baole. Sighing softly, Wang Baole looked up at the starry sky in the distance.
Indeed, he understood. He understood that it didn’t matter whether his speculation was true or not. In the end, he… was himself.
Besides, it was still possible that the stele world was a unique chessboard. After all, there were three unique events here that couldn’t have happened elsewhere.
One was the entry of Ancient, which set the trajectory of the world’s development. Another was All’s seal, which created the Underworld Sect and changed the structure of the world. And the third was when Wang Yiyi’s father sliced open a crack in the stele world and brought Wang Yiyi inside.
After that, Wang Yiyi painted all living beings and interfered with the regular development of the stele world, bringing it to its current situation. All of these things… were things that couldn’t be copied. Thus, the stele world was still unique.
“This world is my anchor. No matter what the truth is, there is only one stele world, and there is only one me!” Wang Baole’s eyes gradually became serene. Opening his mouth, he addressed Little Fifth, who was standing nervously behind him.
“Little Fifth, the flow of time around you is distorted, allowing the ethereal past to become reality in the present. Cooperate with me, and help me gain enlightenment. In return, I will do my best to send you home in the future. Is that okay?”