Free Web NovelChapter 433: Chapter 434: Confronting the Heavenly Dao
A cold, sinister laugh echoed around them. She was no longer hiding her true self—she was the Heavenly Dao.
Su Nian glanced around. It was still the same small, dilapidated wooden cabin, only now it looked far more decrepit. The doorframe was covered in countless spiderwebs, and everything had turned a drab, broken-down gray.
Even stranger, the cabin’s interior had inexplicably expanded by dozens of times, creating an endless space no matter which way she walked.
Su Nian knew this was the work of that ghostly Heavenly Dao. It had used its power to hide here all along, meticulously calculating human sentiment. It knew that even in death, the old woman would feel a flicker of pity for it, so it simply lay in wait, biding its time. It certainly had a few tricks up its sleeve.
It understood human nature all too well, though it held the most cynical view of people. Yet, under its disguise, even Su Nian hadn’t noticed anything suspicious. ’It’s clever, I’ll give it that,’ she thought, ’but it’s a shame that intelligence wasn’t put to good use.’
It was once human, or at least should have had a human mind, yet all it wanted was to overthrow the world. It sought to invert yin and yang, to create a world ruled by ghosts.
Unfortunately for it, it had run into Su Nian, and she would never let it have its way.
Su Nian was dragging a long chain of ghosts behind her. Many of them had already passed out since they entered the cabin.
They had been overcome with unbearable, aching pain. Some of the ghosts even had rotting flesh starting to slough off their bodies as they collapsed, one after another.
Without a chance to utter another word, they dissipated completely inside the small wooden cabin. More and more ghosts fell, until only the ones from the park managed to hold on.
But they weren’t faring well either. The female ghost in white was one of the stronger ones, yet chunks of flesh were now peeling off her face, falling away piece by piece.
In moments, the wounds on her face were so deep that bone was visible beneath. As for the skeleton, its entire body began to sway, as if it too were on the verge of death.
It felt a surge of resentment. It had only just started following a boss.
Following this boss hadn’t been its idea, but it had accepted its lot. It never imagined it would be game over before it even had a chance to make a name for itself.
It had even fantasized about being some kind of gang lord, following its boss to take on the world and carve out its own empire.
It hadn’t even had a chance to show off its strength, and now it was going to meet its end here.
The ghosts died in increasing numbers, but their demise didn’t stir a single shred of pity in Su Nian. Most of these ghosts were hardly benevolent beings to begin with.
Only those who died violent deaths could become ghosts, and many of these powerful ones had been evildoers in life. After death, their overwhelming resentment was precisely what had transformed them.
So, as she watched them fall, Su Nian felt no remorse, merely glancing around the room once more.
Just then, the cabin began to change again. The walls started closing in on Su Nian, as if to trap her inside.
Su Nian stepped forward and gave the wall a test kick. It was solid—not something she could easily break through.
’So this is the Heavenly Dao’s plan? To trap me in this cabin?’
Su Nian scoffed. She watched as the walls drew nearer and the air in the shrinking space grew thin. It seemed as if she was trapped for good, with no possibility of escape.
The ghosts continued to collapse until only three or four remained standing.
They were the strongest of the lot and were still desperately holding on, but none of this had any effect on Su Nian.
She stared fixedly in one direction. Finally, the last ghost fell. The female ghost in white collapsed and dissipated before she could even say a word.
All the flesh had sloughed off her body, revealing mottled white bone beneath. Her eye sockets were now empty, hollow voids.
Now surrounded by a pile of ghostly remains, Su Nian showed no sign of panic. She watched as the cabin grew narrower, on the verge of crushing her.
Finally, one of the walls touched Su Nian’s hand. The space abruptly shrank, transforming from a room into a tiny box.
It was just large enough to contain her, but even so, the space continued to shrink, intent on crushing her to death.
The air grew thinner, and Su Nian’s breathing became slightly ragged. But just then...
Su Nian watched the slowly advancing wall, then suddenly thrust her hand forward, plunging her fingers into a tiny, almost invisible hole.
The hole was so small that even if you spotted it after careful observation, you would lose sight of it the moment you glanced away.
But Su Nian had jabbed her fingers right into it. As she pushed them deeper, she felt not hard wood, but something soft and moist, just like a human eyeball.
Su Nian sneered and viciously ground her fingers deeper, even giving them a stir.
A piercing scream immediately erupted from the other side.
"You’re far too arrogant. Did you really think I couldn’t see you hiding there?"
Su Nian snorted, and the cabin’s interior instantly expanded, returning to its previous state.
Su Nian watched coldly as the space reverted from small to large.
Seizing the momentary opening, Su Nian lifted her foot and kicked, easily shattering the wall.
CRASH! It was as if Su Nian had found the cabin’s weakest point. The same walls that had just been impossibly solid, crushing all those ghosts...
...now crumbled like tofu at the lightest touch of her foot, shattering and scattering wood chips everywhere.
A cloud of sawdust and dust followed. And as the wooden fragments fell away, Su Nian finally saw the repulsive face she had been expecting.
The Heavenly Dao, now wearing a red dress, glared at Su Nian with pure hatred, as if Su Nian had just ruined some grand affair of hers.
"Do you believe I won’t kill you?"
She gritted her teeth, all traces of elegance gone, her face twisted with resentment. She looked like she wanted to murder Su Nian—and indeed, she had just tried, but simply lacked the power to succeed.
Su Nian snorted and promptly grabbed her by the neck. This was the first time Su Nian had observed this so-called Heavenly Dao from such a close distance.
She was small, but the savagery blazing in her eyes was enough to scorch anyone who met her gaze.
She glared viciously at Su Nian.
"Go on, then! If you’ve got the guts, do something! Kill me! Just kill me! The moment you do, this whole world will vanish along with me! Do you dare?"
she taunted. But Su Nian only gave a cold smile and tightened her grip.
CRACK... CRACKLE...
Su Nian’s grip tightened progressively. A red mark appeared clearly on the girl’s neck. Her breathing grew labored, her face flushed crimson, and she stared at Su Nian in utter disbelief.
