Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 260: Chapter 64: Confrontation with the Lake God

(Thanks to book friend Jue He for the generous donation of 100,000, we have another Alliance Hierarch! Just one step away from a hundred members of the alliance, yes, I’m certain.)

Wu Jiu had finished dealing with the envelope.

Before coming to the Inner World, his memory was indeed of dying to protect Bai Wu.

Regrettably, it was too urgent at the time; he had wanted to say something, but in the end, he hadn’t uttered a word.

Looking at this clearly illusory world, Wu Jiu realized that what Bai Yuan had said must be true.

About the Inner World, and about himself.

That fragment Bai Wu had found, Wu Jiu never imagined it would become his tool for resurrection.

He thought it over carefully and felt increasingly that this person called Bai Yuan... was very dangerous.

But to defeat an enemy that was nearly invincible was inherently perilous.

Wu Jiu had no intention of staying long in the Inner World.

Soon, the cafe owner who looked identical to him came over to Wu Jiu:

"The previous customer asked me to tell you, if you want to leave this place, head north. You’ll see someone at the entrance of the town to guide you back."

The one to guide him back? Wu Jiu guessed it was Hong Yin; he didn’t linger.

The Inner World held too many secrets belonging to Bai Wu; some things were encrypted to a degree, but with what Bai Yuan said in the envelope, he was able to decipher some information about this world.

Therefore, he worried that staying too long might inadvertently change something, which by the butterfly effect, could greatly alter Bai Wu’s disposition.

Wu Jiu’s concerns were apparently needless; Bai Wu’s Inner World was not easily disturbed.

The only one capable of doing such a thing was Bai Yuan.

Following the direction pointed out by the cafe owner, Wu Jiu didn’t walk long before passing through a small town with an architectural style wholly different from High Tower and arrived at the town’s entrance.

If he left this place, he would be leaving the Inner World.

But life in the form of consciousness, the so-called soul, cannot stay out of the Inner World for too long.

Unless—the soul found a body. And it must be—a perfectly fitting body.

And even if it found a body, only a being with extremely powerful spiritual power could achieve the feat of smuggling a soul.

Hong Yin had never done it, but upon seeing Wu Jiu, she knew that everything Bai Yuan had predicted had come to pass.

"My current spiritual power... is not enough to take you away," Hong Yin said upon seeing Wu Jiu, but her gaze quickly shifted to the town.

Wu Jiu asked, "Why?"

"The me now... I only have a fraction of my original capabilities. I’m only a part that split off from a kind thought; the rest of my kind thoughts, and my body, are in the lake. If Brother can’t defeat the Lake God... I won’t last long before dissipating, and you will die too. Because if Brother gets devoured, the Inner World will also be destroyed."

Hong Yin’s tone was filled with self-reproach:

"To send you and Brother to the Lake God’s Inner World, I already used up all my power, now... I can only hope Brother defeats the Lake God and my powers return."

Wu Jiu probably understood. This was the last suspense, the confrontation between Bai Wu and the Lake God.

"Does Bai Wu have a good chance of winning?" he asked.

"I don’t know... That uncle seems to have a lot of confidence in Brother, but Brother is facing someone with a grudge even stronger than mine, especially in the Inner World. Those proficient in spiritual power are much stronger here."

Wu Jiu thought about it. It seemed right, as even a random encounter with a Feng Haiping brought the pressure of a level nine Evil Fallen.

This also meant that the master of the Inner World had a very strong spirit. However, the owner of the envelope—Bai Wu’s father—seemed to have a lot of confidence in Bai Wu.

The more dangerous a person is, the more reliable they are as a teammate. It wasn’t clear whether Bai Yuan was a teammate or not, but at least up until now, every move Bai Yuan had made was the most correct.

Since he couldn’t return to his own body right away, there was no use in Wu Jiu getting anxious now.

He looked at Hong Yin, recalling the first time he and Bai Wu left the tower. The more he thought about it, the more mysterious it seemed.

How did Bai Wu manage to persuade this young girl right under his nose?

It was indeed a little detail worth learning. When he saw Bai Wu again, he would have to ask.

Hong Yin looked at Wu Jiu. She had always had some opinions about the multitude of friends Bai Wu had; her brother knew too many people. The larger the number, the more members of the opposite sex there seemed to be.

However, when it came to Wu Jiu, Hong Yin found him quite agreeable. After all, he had died protecting Bai Wu.

Seeing the look in Hong Yin’s eyes, Wu Jiu said,

"Why are you waiting here for me, instead of inside?"

"That uncle told me not to enter this place lightly, otherwise it would cause my brother to lose his memory," said Hong Yin, her head bowed down. Clearly, she wanted to go in but dared not.

"???"

That wasn’t right; Wu Jiu was confused. This was different from what he had understood, and Bai Yuan apparently had not mentioned this either.

Hong Yin was very interested in the small town, but when Bai Yuan had been plotting with her, he had deceived her.

He told Hong Yin that the Inner World was very prone to collapse and could not withstand foreigners entering.

This was certainly a lie; Bai Wu’s Inner World was, of course, not that fragile.

Out of concern for Bai Wu, Hong Yin obediently stood outside the entrance of the town, merely looking in without entering.

Wu Jiu might seem slow-witted, but he quickly figured it out.

If Hong Yin entered Bai Wu’s Inner World and saw that the girl holding balloons didn’t have as many versions as herself, she would probably become hostile towards her.

Bai Wu’s Inner World... had quite a few people. If the girl found out she was not appearing where she wanted to be in the Inner World, or some other pretty woman appeared more frequently than herself, or... if she accidentally peeked at part of Bai Wu’s memories... fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

It was indeed impossible to let Hong Yin enter the Inner World.

If the Inner World represented the most authentic side of a person, then this place shouldn’t be exposed to anyone. Not even to those closest to them.

Because the distance between people should never be too close.

Having thought this through, Wu Jiu couldn’t help but admire Bai Yuan’s attention to detail in handling matters.

If he truly was Bai Wu’s father, this father and son pair... when it came to deceiving people, were definitely of the same blood.

After a moment of silence, Wu Jiu said,

"Yes, he’s right."

Hong Yin pursed her lips and asked,

"Are you and my brother very good friends?"

"Yes, he possesses many qualities worth learning from."

"Then you must continue to protect him as you always have."

"Naturally."

Wu Jiu replied decisively and affirmatively, prompting a smile from Hong Yin,

"You protect him inside the High Tower, I’ll protect him from outside."

In a certain sense, both Wu Jiu and Hong Yin were indeed ’strong legs’ that Bai Wu had once held onto.

If reality permitted, Bai Wu even wished that all the ’strong legs’ could form a committee for him to call for help at any time.

However, the subtle atmosphere between the ’strong legs’ was soon broken by Wu Jiu’s straightforwardness as he said in all seriousness,

"Even outside the Tower, I’ll protect him."

This statement shouldn’t have been a problem, but Hong Yin inexplicably felt as if the other party was trying to steal her rice bowl.

She turned her head, deciding to ignore Wu Jiu for the moment.

...

...

Inner World, Zao Lake.

Below the surface of the lake, the witch showed a look of despair. The vast, nearly infinite grudge she felt made her believe that no one in this world should be able to oppose her or the Lake God.

But no matter what means she employed, all of the Grudge Manifestations and the Evil Thought Parasites created by the Lake God could not stop Bai Wu.

At the bottom of Zao Lake, countless arms formed from a combination of resentful and malicious thoughts all stretched toward Bai Wu.

If Bai Wu cared to observe one of those arms in some corner... he would see a familiar remark.

Cain.

One thing neither Hong Yin nor Bai Yuan had calculated was that Cain could actually enter the Inner World through his own spiritual power.

Bai Wu, Wu Jiu, and Yan Zizai, all three were brought in by Hong Yin. The power systems of humans and Evil Fallen are different.

Usually, it is the Evil Fallen who drag humans into the spiritual world, but it is difficult for humans to do the same to the Evil Fallen because they lack a similar Sequence.

But Cain had it.

As he continued to sink to the bottom of the lake and as negative emotions accumulated to a certain degree, Cain used the Deceiver Sequence and entered the Inner World with the power of the Evil Fallen.

Once he entered, he spontaneously joined the witch’s side and soon sank to the bottom of the lake, turning into countless arms capable of swallowing others’ kindness, and then he also saw the true form of the Lake God.

These powerful resentful and evil thoughts made Cain feel... that he might be able to lurk here, slowly deceive these evil entities, gradually nurture himself... enhance his spiritual power, and finally escape from here.

After all, facing a monstrous god like the Lake God, even Cain, with his battered body, could only compromise, subsisting while looking for a chance to escape.

In Cain’s view, this area was too dangerous, and Wu Jiu and Bai Wu must be dead by now.

However, at this moment, Cain saw the monster above being intercepted by numerous underwater plants and resentful entities, saw that Red Lotus Spear piercing through everything, and he showed a look of astonishment.

"Is this Gu Qingyu... or Bai Wu?"

"Fantastic... whoever it is, to think an Evil Fallen form could possess such great power... this body is simply too perfect a vessel for me."

"Once he is defeated by the Lake God... I just have to gain the trust of the Lake God and claim Bai Wu’s body..."

The beautiful vision had already emerged in Cain’s mind; he was amazed that the monster in Evil Fallen form above could maintain its integrity, burn those terrifying plants, and sink all the way to the deepest part of the lake!

But could Bai Wu defeat the witch? Could he defeat the Lake God? The resentment here has been accumulating for a thousand years!

Just as Cain was thinking like this, something that made his eyes widen in disbelief happened.

The monster bathed in red flames managed to break through the witch’s defenses in the most overbearing and domineering manner.

Bai Wu, holding the red spear, dived all the way down, and no matter how powerful the resentful entities the witch summoned were, they were pierced through by Bai Wu’s utterly pure rage.

The witch cried out in panic, "Lord Lake God! Save me! Save me!"

Cain couldn’t believe it... how strong were these resentments? Could someone really defeat such a terrifying creature of spiritual power in the Inner World?

He did not stay surprised for too long, as Cain quickly thought of the reason.

"Although these resentments are all resentments, just like the evil spirits in that village, they slaughter each other, and their wills are not united."

"The fury on this monster... however, is extremely pure. But Wu Jiu and Bai Wu... they are just ordinary humans, how could they have such immense and pure rage?"

The fact that Bai Wu, or Wu Jiu, in Evil Fallen form, could suppress the witch had already exceeded Cain’s estimates of the two.

This is the Lake God’s Inner World, and even if the negative emotions are off the charts, it wouldn’t cause Bai Wu and Wu Jiu’s bodies to undergo an Evil Fallen Transformation.

On the contrary, if their emotions stabilized, in the Inner World, either Bai Wu or Wu Jiu would quickly leave the Evil Fallen form and revert back to their human form.

So at this moment, Cain actually didn’t know whether this was a good or bad thing.

The good news was that the potential of Bai Wu or Wu Jiu was greater than he had imagined.

The bad news was that he suddenly worried... that the Lake God could not defeat Bai Wu.

The flames condensed into the shape of a dragon, a fire dragon soared, and wherever it went, all filth and evil resentful and malicious thoughts vanished into nothing.

This immense and pure fury cornered the witch.

Grudge Barrier, Grudge Manifestation, Grudge Entanglement, Evil Thought Parasitism...

All of the witch’s techniques... were devoured and destroyed by the red-hued fire dragon.

Ultimately, the witch had nowhere to retreat because she was blocked by a Grudge Barrier herself.

"Die!"

The red flaming dragon, having broken through barrier after barrier, didn’t become weaker but grew even stronger.

Bai Wu’s target was not only the witch but also the Lake God behind her!

"Help! Somebody help!"

The witch’s aged voice issued a terrified cry as Cain watched with the attitude of a spectator, hidden within those grudge-filled arms.

He recognized the voice, it was Bai Wu!

"Could it be that Bai Wu... has even greater potential than Wu Jiu? Could he be the most suitable vessel for me?"

"To some degree, people like Wu Jiu could never come here... unless they can harness the power of Evil Fallen, just like me!"

"That being said, this kid must have many secrets!"

Cain’s expression was that of someone who had stumbled upon treasure. If the Lake God were to die, he would naturally be able to escape, and possibly even faster.

So now Cain was purely a bystander, with no intention of intervening in Bai Wu’s confrontation with the Lake God.

Of course... within the Inner World, faced with such an enraged Bai Wu, Cain admitted he needed to avoid his sharp edge.

Thinking about why Bai Wu was so angry made Cain suddenly feel a bit frustrated.

He guessed that the reason for Bai Wu’s anger might have to do with Wu Jiu. With Three Souls Transmigration... one could possess three bodies, so Cain wasn’t worried about wastage, he wanted both Bai Wu and Wu Jiu.

But now it seemed—Wu Jiu was probably already dead.

...

...

The witch’s life of evil finally turned to ash amidst the roar of the red flaming dragon.

Together with that powerful grudge barrier, it was also shattered by the dragon.

As the Grudge Barrier dissolved, the true form of the Lake God finally appeared.

It was a deer of such extreme beauty.

Unlike the white deer in the legends, this was a black deer whose entire body shimmered like obsidian.

The black deer was enormous, like a mountain in stature.

The deer’s antlers were rugged, adorned with black flowers, and within the middlemost flower, there was a terrifying creature.

It was impossible to see the creature’s form; it seemed to lack a fixed shape, but among its many eyes, and standing beside the girl in the red dress, Bai Wu recognized her.

Hong Yin.

It was Hong Yin, or rather a strand of her good will, who had split off and brought Bai Wu, Wu Jiu, and Yan Zizai into the Inner World.

And the rest of Hong Yin’s goodwill, along with her essence, actually resided on the Lake God’s antlers.

The Lake God had never seen an existence like Hong Yin before, goodwill and grudge were supposed to be incompatible like water and fire, and yet these grudges did not consume Hong Yin.

As a result, it was forced to separate Hong Yin and the grudge in its own way.

The process had not yet finished when Bai Wu interrupted by breaking in.

Of course, the Lake God didn’t know that, just like with absorbing grudges, Hong Yin’s grudges had been subdued by her kindness.

In the Ninth Psychiatric Hospital, the owners of these grudges hated the world at the moment of death, yet they were the only ones who did not resent Hong Yin.

This was also why Hong Yin’s goodwill, though seemingly insignificant compared to the resentment of many others, could control these grudges.

Bai Wu knew what he had to do; he absolutely could not allow the Lake God to sever the connection between the grudges and Hong Yin’s goodwill.

He was as brave as ever, raising the spear, flapping his wings, leaping into the sky, and charging at the antlers of the Lake God!

Just as Hong Yin had once rescued Bai Wu, Bai Wu also uttered the same words.

With endless fury, the roar of the red creature echoed through Zao Lake:

"She is mine!"