Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 403: Chapter 20: The Great Demon King in the High Tower

Walking side by side along the blood-red path were Cain and Bai Wu.

"This corridor is quite interesting, a forbidden path where one might completely lose oneself as they walk. The easiest paths in the world are the straight ones, but as you walk this path, it also passes through you, bringing the most fatal terror. However, you are different, you have a kindly old father."

Prayle’s Eye provided timely remarks about this stretch of path.

The Soul Tree was at the end of the Soul-Devouring Corridor.

But Bai Wu was unable to directly observe and analyze the tree from his current location using Prayle’s Eye. He needed to get closer.

"Keep up," Bai Wu said.

Cain did not respond, still standing in place.

Bai Wu turned his head and abruptly froze.

Cain seemed trapped in some sort of illusion, his eyes vacant and unfocused, his consciousness already far away, leaving behind only his body.

"Even if it’s just an avatar... Cain’s spiritual power should be very strong. Why would he..."

"You were supposed to be trapped as well. This blood-red path seems quite sinister, and with your current level, you shouldn’t be able to cross it because the Sequence it releases is a sort of spiritual... a direct attack on the Inner World Sequence 8, Parasitic Heart Demon. But lucky for you, I am in your Inner World, aren’t I?"

Parasitic Heart Demon, ranked eighth in the Sequences.

It could create a heart demon powerful enough to collapse the opponent’s Inner World directly within it, without the creator’s consciousness having to enter.

It seemed like a common spiritual attack, but in fact, it was extremely lethal.

The blood-red path seemed to brighten a bit at this moment, and Bai Yuan suddenly appeared in front of it.

He knew that Bai Wu had many questions and continued to say,

"This little trickster isn’t bad. As a disciple of the Jack of Spades, he’s outstanding, and in some ways, he’s the proverbial ’child from another family.’ His Inner World must be interesting, and he will probably wake up soon."

Bai Wu looked puzzledly at Bai Yuan, who had suddenly appeared.

He suddenly remembered that when Nine Tails and the Lake God had touched his Inner World, Bai Yuan would also appear.

"Are you guarding my Inner World?" Bai Wu asked.

"Poor child, do you want me to have a positive image that badly? Alright, alright, I am guarding your Inner World, happy now?" Bai Yuan’s tone was like that of someone placating a child, which sent chills through Bai Wu. Bai Wu shook his head, no longer holding any expectations for Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan also explained,

"I just don’t want someone to destroy the place where I drink tea. The Parasitic Heart Demon is a terrifying Sequence, but fortunately... the one releasing the Sequence is not one of the monsters from above, but the environment. Otherwise, even the little trickster by your side would die here."

The concept of a Sequence being released by the environment confused Bai Wu. Such a tangible issue could not be explained by the eyes, only Bai Yuan knew.

Bai Yuan did not beat around the bush. If the tea-drinking place was safe but the creator of this world died, it would all be for naught.

"This place is very distorted, yet it is a reasonable distortion."

"What do you mean by a ’reasonable distortion’?" Bai Wu asked.

"The monster on top is a terrifying entity, something beyond what you should be concerned with at this stage—of course, it’s a different story if it takes notice of you."

"You’re well aware of the unreasonable distortions outside the Tower. The reasonable distortions come from the Sequences, from Spirit Possession. Some possessed objects have a certain life consciousness, and Sequences can attach to these possessed objects.

Like that tree, like this path. They all have a certain consciousness, with Sequences lurking within this environment.

I haven’t seen the one at the top of the High Tower, but if the creator of the High Tower could only seal him and not kill him, it proves his immense strength. To some extent, he is also a creator of rules."

Bai Yuan’s expression turned playful, his gaze seeming both mocking and admiring:

"Looking at it this way, you’ve actually gone further than I have, at least you’ve reached this level."

Bai Wu caught a critical point:

"Can environments also undergo spirit possession? And it’s not only in the presence of humans... objects can have spirit possession as well?"

"Yes, this is the puzzle that you need to solve, I don’t know. What I can do is to help you get through this soul-devouring corridor, and if you have a conscience, remember to find some delicious food to eat."

"..."

Bai Wu could sense that every step he took, the scenery around him would change.

This blood-red path was like a narrow bridge.

On both sides of the bridge were like huge movie screens, crafting countless scenes.

But these scenes had hardly been fully constructed when they collapsed directly due to an external force.

Bai Wu knew that he shouldn’t be able to see these things; if he did, it would mean that there were problems emerging in his Inner World.

Yet, he could remain lucid in such a situation... lost in hallucination on one hand, while rationally moving forward on the other.

He felt that this Sequence 8... now possessed the power of a legendary Mutation Entry.

Completely unable to detect when the Sequence had taken effect, and moreover, the owner of the Sequence was a scene "devoid of intelligence".

If it had been an intelligent human, this Sequence might have been even more terrifying and deadly.

Luckily, he had someone like Bai Yuan in his Inner World.

Like antivirus software, he valiantly defended that small world case with poison against poison.

Bai Wu took a total of twenty-nine steps while Cain still stood in place.

Through these twenty-nine steps, countless worlds shattered, countless worlds were created, and Bai Wu pondered how Sequence 8 could have appeared out of nowhere.

Could it mean... that the original monster on the sixth floor of the High Tower had already mastered this Sequence? It shouldn’t be human, right...

These were questions Bai Wu did not understand.

Before long, he reached the far end of the blood-red path, and the massive plant known as the Soul Tree appeared before Bai Wu’s eyes.

The second most dangerous scene, with the aid of Bai Yuan, Bai Wu surprisingly passed quite comfortably.

Upon seeing the Soul Tree, Bai Wu quickly came to understand the origin of the name "Soul Tree".

"Even a dead plant can become a vessel for spirit possession, of course, only a very few. The desire of this tree is to become human; to be human, it needs to possess a human body, a human soul.

Therefore, its spirit possession resulted in... it grew bark that resembles the human-faced trees from fairy tales. At the same time... its fruits store human souls."

Bai Yuan did not appear but only his voice sounded.

It must be that for Bai Yuan, completely isolating Sequence 8 was also a matter that had to be taken seriously. Looking at the surroundings, Bai Wu could also sense that his Inner World must be in utter chaos at the moment.

But in such a situation, still to be able to maintain autonomous consciousness, still to be able to continue making judgments, should he praise Bai Yuan’s professionalism?

Having passed through the blood-red path, Cain still stood upon it, his expression confused. His Inner World was clearly in complete disarray.

Bai Wu did not relax his vigilance towards Cain. He used Prayle’s Eye to begin observing the third scene on the sixth floor—the Soul Tree.

Though the fruits of the Soul Tree maintained a fixed shape, resembling normal melons and fruits, Bai Wu could see the blue light inside flowing like a liquid.

The numerous faces carved into the bark of the huge tree trunk, the tree once believed that having a human appearance would prevent it from being bullied by humans.

But obviously, that idea was wrong.

Of course, nowadays it indeed isn’t bullied by humans, because this tree now possesses great power.

The tree’s form very much resembled the World Tree in various stories from Bai Wu’s previous life, generally in the outline of a banyan tree.

But the vast tree canopy, the thick and twisting branches, as well as the extremely towering trunk, were quite striking.

And the various human face-like patterns on the trunk added a few hints of terror to the shock.

"A strange tree gained some consciousness after a Spirit Possession and truly believes itself to be human. As a messenger, it seems a bit ’too honest’. Let’s give it a name, how about Brother Honest Tree."

You must be wondering, with Brother Honest Tree bearing six fruits, does that mean six people have entered the sixth layer?

The answer is yes, indeed six have entered the sixth layer. However, only the little swindler is left alive. Ah ha, you are the seventh!

Next, please remember the survival rules—cherish the plants. You must really want to pick these fruits, but I advise you not to do so, at least not now. Because the plants are fierce, Sequence 14, irregular trade.

Any gift from Brother Honest Tree comes at a high price.]

Bai Wu was very calm, as long as his eyes were in his skin, it meant the situation wasn’t too dangerous. But next, he’d likely need to find some clues on this tree.

Before that, Bai Wu glanced at Cain and found that Cain was still trapped.

Bai Wu squinted, pondering whether Cain was truly trapped or had recovered from his Parasitic Heart Demon possession but was pretending to be in a soulless state.

What, after all, was Cain’s heart demon?

Bai Wu remembered that back in the Ninth Psychiatric Hospital, Cain’s number-one fanboy, Elijah, had left some messages in Ward Two.

Elijah wanted to help Cain with a tower, but it wasn’t the High Tower. And Cain’s current, greatest wish seemed to be to travel beyond the fog.

According to the current information, aside from that cruise ship, aside from Tang Jing’s God Descent, the only possible way out of the Black Fog... was probably the farm.

Could it be that as a disciple of the Jack of Spades, the place Cain was looking for was actually the farm?

All of these thoughts had to wait for later. Bai Wu turned his attention back to Brother Honest Tree.

Brother Honest Tree, as a plant that died after Spirit Possession, possessed a Sequence that surprisingly ranked so high, Bai Wu had to admit that this place was indeed very strange.

Sequence 14, irregular trade, the Sequence list did not have any descriptions about Sequence abilities, not a single word.

This Sequence might indeed be as Bai Yuan mentioned, after the original monsters of the sixth layer were gone, the tree had grown stronger.

"I don’t know what exactly ’irregular trade’ entails, but from the information given by the eyes... an irregular trade could likely mean that whoever takes something from this tree will have to give back much more to it."

Bai Wu was just guessing, it was a Sequence where "you might think you’ve made a profit, but I never lose."

"I can’t just take the fruit directly; otherwise, if I take a soul, I might have to compensate with another soul... But there must be a way to take the fruits."

Bai Wu was certain that if he could get the fruit containing Cain’s soul, he would be able to control Cain.

But the question was how to take it? This Sequence was very powerful, if used in combat, it would mean that the opponent wouldn’t even dare to touch it, for any harm caused to the opponent would result in an even greater cost to oneself.

Everything on the sixth layer was very strange; the items of Spirit Possession were even capable of implanting Sequence, a situation Bai Wu had never seen before.

It was as if the monster was trying to overturn something. If the creator of the High Tower represented Innate Force, represented Spirit Possession, represented Sequence.

Then the monster of the sixth layer represented Evil Fallen, represented Mutation Entries, represented distorted rules.

So now, does it indicate that this monster... is comprehending the power of another system?

That is, Bai Yuan’s so-called, rational distortion? It’s trying to find a loophole?

This was Bai Wu’s intuition, and his intuitions were always accurate.

Bai Wu didn’t rush to approach the enormous Soul Tree; instead, he began observing the Sequence language on its bark.

Those strange characters engraved on the stone towers were also on the trunk of this gigantic Soul Tree, but they were not easy to find, hiding at the edge of the clusters of human faces, pieced together by the crevices.

If Bai Wu’s observational skills weren’t strong enough, he would have almost ignored this Sequence language. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Sequence language itself is a type of writing that can express various meanings through different arrangements.

But Sequence language can also convey messages.

The moment Bai Wu’s gaze was about to fall upon the Sequence language, his mind suddenly jolted.

This time, there was no Bai Yuan to save the day, no hints from Prayle’s Eye.

The overbearing force directly shattered all of Bai Wu’s spiritual defenses. It seemed as if all the uniqueness stemming from his own being had been wiped clean.

At this moment, Bai Wu felt as though he was being unraveled strand by strand. It was as if his body had been completely dissected. His consciousness was under someone else’s microscope.

This was a true life-and-death moment.

The monster from the seventh floor of High Tower finally set its sight on Bai Wu, at the very moment Bai Wu glimpsed those ancient languages.

The message was conveyed to the creature of the seventh floor, and at that moment... it noticed the new visitor.

Inside the Inner World, Bai Yuan said with a smile:

"The climax of the gamble has arrived. Next, it’s time to test your son’s acting skills."

Bai Wu’s power could not possibly compare to that of the monster from the seventh floor. But High Tower is the strongest seal in this world, which prevented the creature... from truly reading Bai Wu’s thoughts.

It could kill Bai Wu, even though it was on the seventh floor, even if only a trace of its power reached the sixth floor.

But it could not fully infiltrate Bai Wu.

So Bai Yuan knew that in this grand drama involving multiple forces, this ultimate monster would also take the stage.

Standing in front of the blue house’s door in the Inner World, he said:

"How about we make a bet? If your son survives, you’ll open the door and come out to meet me?"

There was no response from within the door.

Bai Yuan was used to this, his face still adorned with a charming smile.

Outside the Inner World, Cain suddenly opened his eyes. The Parasitic Heart Demon was indeed terrifying, but Cain also had his own methods.

He finally broke free from the shackles, the giant Soul Tree that harbored his own soul, was at the end of the path.

At this moment, seeing Bai Wu motionless, he assumed that Bai Wu’s soul had been taken by the Soul Tree.

Cain was overjoyed.

"Double happiness! It’s truly double happiness."

What Cain didn’t know was that although Bai Wu had fallen into a state of Chaos, it wasn’t due to the World Tree.

It was when Bai Wu discovered the Sequence prophecy that he was noticed by the creature of the seventh layer.

Despite the cross-layer seal of High Tower, an attack infused with immense spiritual power instantly destroyed all of Bai Wu’s defenses.

An ancient voice echoed in Bai Wu’s sea of consciousness.

[You bear my scent... Who do you belong to?]

Bai Wu, who carried the scent of Well Water, was finally about to meet the truly strongest existence of the apocalyptic sequence that had lasted over seven hundred years.

The terrifying force prevented Bai Wu from moving. He initially thought his death was certain, but the moment he heard these words, he saw a glimmer of hope for life, his brain worked at lightning speed, and a multitude of information began to merge!

"It is a creature from the sixth level of High Tower, currently on the seventh floor. It possesses a power that even Jing Si fears. It’s hard to say now, but at least seven hundred years ago, Jing Si was afraid of it."

"But it hasn’t come down, which means that it might only be able to go up, not down."

"The people on the fifth level have never felt the pressure from the sixth level, which means its abilities also can’t penetrate through layers. Or if they do, they would be greatly weakened."

"It hasn’t attacked humans, perhaps because it needs humans? It’s asking who I belong to! This means it can’t pry into my memories!"

There’s a chance... not an absolutely unsurvivable situation. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

This immense pressure made Bai Wu feel as though the scythe of death was hanging over his neck, but at this instant, he suddenly realized... a massive opportunity had also arrived.