Chapter 624: Disaster Erupts!

Desperation often drives people mad.

Hu Chuan had been intercepted by Lu Yibei while fleeing, struck by the Inverse-Form Evil Blossom Gu, deprived of control over his body, and nearly decapitated. He could certainly be considered desperate.

So he descended into madness, completely fused his body with the power he exercised, and abandoned his existence as a “human.”

“You know every secret, for You watch from the wind, from the water, from every molecule. Nothing can be hidden, nothing can deceive You, and none can escape. Flesh will perish, but You shall endure forever…”

“Your faithful familiar presents this body before You and offers hundreds upon hundreds more as sacrifice, calling upon You to awaken…”

Hu Chuan sealed away his consciousness and repeatedly called to that unfathomably “great” existence.

Years ago, when Zhang Shuo tortured him until death seemed preferable, Hu Chuan had begged for salvation every moment.

It did not matter what answered—human, haunting, or some more mysterious, unknown, and dangerous existence—provided it freed him from suffering.

Then he heard an ethereal voice.

That whisper, seemingly from a higher-dimensional being, was undoubtedly his final lifeline. Without hesitation, he seized it and answered loudly.

“…”

Human strength has limits. At the appropriate moment, abandoning it and embracing that great lord is the only truth… Hu Chuan thought.

That was the kind of person he was.

He did not struggle, resist, or try to change his circumstances through his own strength. Perhaps he occasionally made a symbolic effort, but only to prove to others, “See? I tried, but it truly couldn’t be done!” Then he could surrender with a clear conscience.

He was like a stagnant pool of filthy, turbid water covered in oil, rotting in a corner and emitting a stench. Wind might stir a few ripples across its surface, but the instant it passed, the pool went right back to festering in its own ugliness.

Compared to those who maliciously “slandered” objects, imposed vile meanings upon them, and thereby caused the Calamitous Corruption’s birth, the Calamitous Corruption instinctively preferred people like Hu Chuan—people so consumed by material desire and dependent upon “objects” that they could abandon their own existence.

People like him validated the Calamitous Corruption’s existence.

It was like someone who committed bloody violence happening to have watched a particular film or played a certain game, thereby seemingly validating the ugly meanings others had forcibly imposed upon those works.

Under Hu Chuan’s call, the sleeping Calamitous Corruption began to stir and shower its faithful devotee with gifts.

The Great Pure Palace, the Miao Border Gu Village, the Tulip Club, Bei City where the Bamboo Grove Society was based…

Across every region corroded by the Calamitous Corruption’s power, the light in tens of thousands of eyes gradually dimmed. Unconsciously, they murmured with Hu Chuan and called toward the dawn, the night, and a truth that did not exist in this world.

They called to the natural disaster sleeping within chaos, disturbing its dreams and slowly waking it.

Disaster erupted!

————

Deep in a neglected corner of an unknown city, inside the Liaozhai Tavern.

After seeing off the leaders of the three factions invited that day, the Commander of Armaments remained alone. He sat beside the window, swirling a wine cup and sipping slowly.

Boss Hu looked at the guest who refused to leave with visible disgust. He brought over the bill, slapped it before him, and “subtly” ordered him out.

“Here! Today’s bill. Since your business is finished, pay up and get lost. Why are you still loitering here?”

The Commander of Armaments glanced at Boss Hu and frowned slightly. “The matter isn’t finished. Relying solely on the leaders of those civilian factions may lead to mistakes. As a precaution, I must remain here.”

Those factions were all located in the Eastern Hemisphere, within the Liaozhai Tavern’s operating range. If necessary, he could use the tavern to reach any scene immediately and provide reinforcements.

“Good grief, are you exploiting a bug in my tavern?” Boss Hu demanded, hands on his hips.

“…” The Commander of Armaments considered him for several seconds, then looked down at the side dishes and unfinished wine. “I haven’t finished drinking.”

Boss Hu rolled his eyes, momentarily speechless.

He ran a business, after all. Faced with such open, well-reasoned shamelessness, there was little he could do.

Buzz—buzz—!

The jade Death Owl Emblem on the table suddenly vibrated.

Delicate ripples spread across the pale golden wine in the cup.

The Commander of Armaments brushed it with his fingers and silently listened to the message. He frowned slightly and answered calmly, “Understood. I’ll be right there.”

The message could be summarized in one sentence: Bei City had fallen. Reinforcements requested!

Then.

The Commander of Armaments drained his wine, stood, and cupped his hands toward Boss Hu, who was glaring resentfully from nearby. “Boss Hu, don’t clear away my food or wine. I’ll be back shortly.”

He strode out of the Liaozhai Tavern and down the narrow alley.

A cold iron-colored light appeared behind him.

【Hybrid-Type Spirit Pattern: Hundred Generals Illustration】—expand!

The light spread over his body, outlining iron armor before solidifying.

Iron covered his face, and his aura became razor-sharp.

A red-tasseled Fangtian halberd quietly appeared in his hand.

As he walked, deep drums and piercing suona faintly sounded, playing the Battle-Entry Song.

“…” Boss Hu watched him leave and raised a hand, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Only after the music faded from the alley did he sigh soundlessly, walk to the Commander’s table, and expertly warm the wine.

————

Bei City, Shilin Night Market.

The night market, normally as lively as Sleepless Street, had descended into chaos.

Amid piercing alarms, terror and screams rose everywhere. People pushed and trampled one another through the din.

Countless people shouted like madmen. Their overlapping voices described a terrifying haunting no one had ever heard of.

At the far end of the chaotic market, large numbers of corpses fused with objects lay scattered across the ground. Nearly every body bore a savage wound covered in thin frost.

Pale viscous liquid had sprayed everywhere, even dyeing the water in a nearby artificial fountain white.

Two figures moved at high speed, leaping between buildings, repeatedly meeting and separating while endless metallic clashes rang out.

At last, they broke apart and faced each other with blades drawn.

“Huff—huff—!” A young man with his clothes in disarray and his body drenched in blood breathed heavily.

He was the young master of the Bamboo Grove Society.

Holding a Tang-style straight saber longer than he was tall, he stared darkly at the old man opposite him.

“Father…” He panted. “I never imagined that you permitted our brothers to contact that terrifying haunting and ultimately be corrupted by it…”

The old man was his father, the current head of the Bamboo Grove Society.

After returning from the meeting earlier, the young master had immediately found his father and told him everything he had learned from the Commander of Armaments. His reward had been sudden confinement.

Only when disaster erupted did he find an opportunity to carve a bloody path out of his prison.

Then…

He saw his father leading Society members in gathering and calling to the dangerous existence the Commander had described.

“I don’t understand why you became this way.”

“You don’t understand?” the old man said darkly. “The Society’s development reached a bottleneck years ago. We could continue growing only by relying upon this power! We were so close to success…”

He held a Tang-style straight saber similar to his son’s. Pale viscous matter writhed over its hilt and gradually fused with his arm.

Inhuman, metallic patches appeared across his aged face.

“…” The young master was silent for two seconds before saying solemnly, “Yes, I don’t understand… But Father, I do know that your actions violate the creed the Bamboo Grove Society has upheld for generations.”

“I’ve already informed the Midnight Watchers Society. You won’t succeed!”

“You…” The old man froze, then asked coldly, “You betray your own people? Aren’t you afraid to die?”

The young master pondered for two seconds and answered calmly, “To know death and face it nonetheless—that is courage!”

Benevolence, righteousness, and courage were the Bamboo Grove Society’s three central principles.

“Hmph! I understand that creed better than you!” the old man sneered. “And you think the Midnight Watchers Society can be trusted? It’s already too late. The Acting Sage has issued the call. That great lord is awakening…”

A colossal explosion sounded from a distant high-rise.

Boom—!

A pillar of chaotic light shot into the sky. The roof shattered, and fragments of concrete and glass were hurled upward before raining down.

Chaotic radiance spread across the entire Shilin Night Market, accompanied by a skin-crawling hum.

In an instant, the struggling, wailing people froze like statues. Amid soft rustling, objects devoured their bodies.

Countless “objects” stirred, grinding their teeth and thirsting for blood as they prepared to hunt humanity.

“It’s a gift! The gift has descended!” Similar shouts rose from the crowd.

At that moment, a figure in iron armor carrying a red-tasseled Fangtian halberd appeared above the night market.

As a powerful psychic energy fluctuation filled with the aura of slaughter spread outward, something seemed to shatter behind him. Light and shadow rotated, twisted, separated, and recombined.

In the blur, a towering figure several dozen feet tall appeared behind him, wearing a golden crown that bound his hair, a hundred-flower battle robe, Tangni armor, and an ornate lion belt. The phantom raised a longbow and, from an immense distance, drew and fired toward the pillar of chaotic light!

Hundred Generals Illustration No. 9: Fengxian Shoots the Halberd!

The bowstring hummed, and a shrill howl erupted. Golden light streaked across the night like a meteor and seemed to tear open the sky.

The next instant, heaven and earth shook, and scorching radiance spread in every direction.

————

Within the chaotic space formed by the Calamitous Corruption’s Divine Land.

Zhang Huainan was struggling desperately and searching for a response when the entire space suddenly shook violently.

A brilliant golden beam seemed to arrive out of the void. It pierced the darkness and collided with one of the Codename F haunting’s writhing limbs, causing a tremendous disturbance.

Is that… an arrow from my young friend, the Commander of Armaments? Zhang Huainan frowned slightly.

As the heaven-shaking arrow pierced reality and the Divine Land, he briefly sensed the outside world.

Reaching this place through Zi Xiao Terrace had temporarily severed his connection to the outside. He had been worrying about how to transmit the warning that someone was trying to awaken the Codename F haunting. Now his opportunity had arrived!

With a thought, he used the brief rupture in the Calamitous Corruption’s Divine Land to send a message outward.

He contacted Wordless Book, Qingxiazi, the elders of the Great Pure Palace, and one tiny Paper Cicada Immortal…