Chapter 1878 - 1877: ’Reunion

"Run! Run faster!"

Anke raised his head, looking at the blurry passage ahead, what appeared to be an upward slope he climbed with extreme difficulty every step.

Soon, blisters formed on his feet, and his body and muscles seemed to suffer some kind of strain.

But he hesitated not for a moment, still raising his head, desperately running forward.

The surroundings changed with the lights and shadows of countless cubicles, indicative of the many rooms within this building. Although he was running upward, each step was incredibly difficult.

Yet looking at the scenery around, it seemed as if he was always descending.

The surrounding space seemed folded together, his descent speed as quick as the elevator that had just brought him up.

He lowered his head, no longer looking at the scenery, grit his teeth, and continued forward.

That path ahead seemed to reach its end, and at that moment, an elegant silhouette appeared before the endpoint.

—

35th Floor

"Denos," the girl in the white dress looked at the elderly in the air, her face marked with inescapable surprise, "and you’re not dead?"

"What are you referring to," He Ao’s body landed on the ground, smiling as he looked at the girl before him, "not killed by your subordinates?"

He raised his head, glanced around, and finally fixed his gaze on the girl in the white dress, "All these years have passed, and you still like playing this game."

"We met like this back then," the girl in the white dress sat on the couch, "a girl who accidentally strayed into trouble getting raped by an elderly man, then a young hero saves the beauty from danger. Don’t you men just fall for such scenarios? The damsel in distress, embracing assistance, moments under the moonlight, a night to remember."

She raised her head, smiling as she looked at He Ao, "But you were indeed different, in that environment, you actually held back."

"Did you never consider that perhaps I was too old back then, and lacked such worldly desires?" He Ao laughed.

"After knowing you for so many years," the girl in the white dress raised her head, looking at He Ao, scanning over He Ao’s blurry body, laughed, "I can still tell how your body is."

She slightly raised her brows, glanced at the nearby space, her gaze seemingly pierced through the void, saw the world’s layers, and she asked with a smile, "So who is that young man? A new disciple of yours?"

"A quite good young man," He Ao smiled slightly, looking at the girl in the white dress, "Seems you also think he’s decent?"

"Given the current situation, indeed quite good," the girl in the white dress reclined on the sofa, slightly raised her legs, revealing her snow-white thigh through the torn dress slit, she raised her head, gazing at He Ao, "But still inferior to you, he hasn’t persisted till the end yet."

"After all, he is a young man unfamiliar with worldly matters," He Ao laughed, "cannot be compared to me back then."

"Sometimes, those who haven’t experienced anything," the girl in the white dress laughed, "might actually possess stronger self-control, yet after encountering some things, they can’t hold themselves anymore. There’s an old saying, ’Experiencing the thrill conveys the true taste,’ right? This is the phrase you taught me."

"Honored that my words have been remembered by you for so many years." He Ao smiled.

"Sometimes you’re quite annoying," the girl in the white dress propped her cheek, "each time I want to compete with you, you’d back off, making me seem like an unreasonable girl."

"When you wish to argue with me," He Ao smiled, "isn’t it for victory?"

"Heh, men." The girl in the white dress sat up, looked at He Ao’s body made of black smoke.

Then she turned her gaze, looked behind He Ao at the pitch-black coffin, and the crack within.

"What’s your current state?" She asked somewhat curiously, "A dried corpse? Honestly, I haven’t tried a millennia-old dried corpse yet."

As she spoke, she gently licked her lips.

"I don’t know my exact condition either," He Ao shook his head, "but it’s likely not as you’d wish."

"No fun." The girl in the white dress leaned back on the sofa, her gaze swept over the pitch-black coffin, "Did you know someone’s seeking the Coffin of Time right now, yet you dare run around carelessly?"

"I’ve come here," He Ao directly stated, "precisely because I want to know, who’s seeking the Coffin of Time."

The girl in the white dress lifted her gaze, glanced at He Ao, then shook her head, "Don’t know."

"With your personality, you wouldn’t so easily give up an opportunity to provoke a situation," He Ao looked at the girl in the white dress, pondering, "feed me information, let me contend with those seeking the Coffin of Time, then you sit back and reap the benefits—this aligns with your character."

He gazed at the girl in the white dress, continued, "You are quite pleased to see people contend with each other due to desires and emotions, even instigate conflict."

"You imagine me too maliciously," the girl in the white dress said somewhat helplessly, "you have a prejudice against me."

"During our first meeting, the two nearby city-states were at war because of you." He Ao sighed, gazing at the girl in the white dress, "The sole reason you restrain yourself is due to higher orders, and naturally, surviving this long means you’ve surpassed mortal status. Within the Witch Church, the only one to give such an order,"

He Ao looked at her, "is your ’Divine Being’."

"Don’t you find yourself charming sometimes?" The girl in the white dress propped her cheek, stared wide-eyed at He Ao, resembling a little girl admiring her teacher.

"Looks like you’ve felt the pressure from your Divine Being regarding this matter." He Ao didn’t even spare a glance at her expression and gestures, but pondered, "Has the Witch of Desire directly participated in this incident?"

"Alas, what can be done," the girl in the white dress clapped her hands, stood up, "working for the boss is like this, whatever the boss says, must be followed."

Saying so, she sighed, "Besides, I’m indebted to others, must accomplish some tasks."

He Ao looked towards her.

"You know how unfortunate I was recently, went to the northeast to collect rewards for my master, ended up encountering a group of unreasonable folks, encircled me, pounding me non-stop," she looked at He Ao, "even detained me, it wasn’t until recently I got released."

She looked at He Ao, "You have no idea how much grievance I’ve endured over the years you’ve disappeared."

"You speak as if you don’t want to kill me," He Ao spread his hands somewhat helplessly, "you chased me to the cliff and I barely escaped with my life."

"Did I?" The girl in the white dress was momentarily stunned, "I don’t quite remember, these years of grievances often cause my memory to blur."

He Ao glanced at her, smiled, "Will you ’suddenly remember’ who’s seeking the Coffin of Time? Then forget and tell someone else?"

"No." The girl in the white dress decisively shook her head, looked at He Ao, blinked, "Yet considering the bond of a hundred days with a partner, given you’re my ex-boyfriend, extend one more request, I might fulfill it."

"Really, any request can be made?" He Ao looked at her.

"Really." The girl in the white dress nodded, her body leaning forward slightly, a faint fragrance permeating the void.

"Then release all the ’K’ followers here." He Ao said calmly.

"So," the smile on the girl in the white dress’s face instantly vanished, "you have ties with ’K’."

She glanced at the dark coffin behind He Ao, "The people over there told me that it’s impossible for a living person to exist in the Coffin of Time,"

She looked at He Ao, "So, it was ’K’ who helped you, allowing you to survive in the Coffin of Time, giving you benefits."

She raised her elegant and delicate eyebrows, speaking with interest, "But why? To achieve this level requires a significant expenditure of power, why would they give you so much power, so much ’Grace’?"

She stepped forward, gazing at He Ao’s blurred body, "What did you sacrifice to them?"

"I don’t know." He Ao shook his head.

"You don’t want to say," the girl in the white dress sighed, "Unfortunately, I can’t release these followers either."

She leaned back, sitting on the sofa again, "How about considering my body? How can you play now? You have a spiritual state, right? I have a new plan now, it can work with just soul."

"If I remember correctly," He Ao paused slightly, "The Witch Sect has a technique that only higher beings can learn, all who engage with you will plant your seed and then both body and soul will gradually fall under your control, oh,"

He Ao looked at the girl in the white dress, "It seems like when we parted ways, you were learning this technique back then."

"Being too smart can sometimes be quite unlovable." The girl in the white dress raised her eyebrows, chuckling softly.

"So there’s nothing to discuss?" He Ao looked at the girl in the white dress in front of him, speaking slowly.

"It seems that way." The girl in the white dress replied with a smile.

And in that instant, He Ao suddenly turned around.

The dark coffin floating in the air was, unbeknownst to him, already covered in a spreading purple brilliance.

Those radiances intertwined, forming countless beautiful purple butterflies that landed on the dark coffin.

Adding a touch of eerie brightness to the gloomy coffin.

And those butterflies resting on the coffin’s surface, as soon as their touch reached it, the purple brilliance permeated the coffin’s surface.

"To be honest," the girl in the white dress looked at He Ao, "I should thank you. If not for you voluntarily bringing it, I’d still be wondering where to find the Coffin of Time."

"Then I helped you a lot?" He Ao turned his head, looking at her, smiling.

At the moment his words fell, the dark coffin suddenly quivered, invisible power accompanied by flashes of black thunder tore those purple butterflies apart, shattering them into diffuse light spots.

Seeing this scene, the girl in the white dress was slightly stunned and then smiled knowingly, "You always manage to surprise me."

In the instant her words fell, brilliance lit up on the densely packed ’shelves’ surrounding them.

Twisted light instantly spread across the entire shelves, in that instant, those lying on the shelves, sleeping figures, ’opened’ their eyes.

But in their eyes, there were no pupils, only spreading purple radiance.

"Do you want to protect them?" The girl in the white dress looked at He Ao, faint purple brilliance winding around her body.

Her body slowly floated in mid-air, some kind of invisible and terrifying pressure spreading throughout the void.

He Ao looked up, gazing at the girl in the white dress before him.

Threads of fine lines were emanating from the world’s lower layer, like conduits transmitting energy, connecting to the girl’s body.

The other ends of these lines connected to the sleeping people.

Their dreams, their desires, their souls becoming endless nourishment, flowing into the girl’s body.

"Denos," the girl in the white dress looked at He Ao, sighed softly, "All these years and you still haven’t understood one truth, in this world, some people should be masters, some should be servants and fuel,"

She raised her head, her gaze sweeping the enormous loft, "Even for the Divine Being behind you, these people are but insignificant fuel, coming for them might not be agreed on by the Divine Being heavily invested in you."

Surging purple brilliance lit up in the vast space of the loft, twisted patterns floated on the ground, it’s the Sacrificial Array already drawn, the ladder of communion with Divine Power.

He Ao raised his head, gazing at the girl in the white dress already rising into the sky, looking at that beautiful and exquisite cheek, sighed lightly, "Is there a possibility, that I act without asking the Divine Being."

He raised his hand, black ink-like smoke gathering in his palm, terrifying twisted power winding around his body, meanwhile the Crystal Ball on the table was also drawn by invisible forces flying into his hand.

"You place yourself in the position of ’master’," he raised his head, gazing at the girl in the sky, smiling, "Then is your Divine Being your master?"

"Ridiculous." The girl in the white dress sneered, "Isn’t your Divine Being your master? You’re bestowed with so much grace, completely unaffected by the Divine Being’s might, hence daring to make such bold claims here, foolish."

Her hand pressed slightly against the void, purple brilliance gathering under her palm, "I suddenly find you not so interesting anymore."

At the same time, the flying Crystal Ball toward He Ao burst into pieces, twisted purple paths floated in the deepest corners of the void, connecting to those ’sleeping’ figures.

The ground’s paths lit up with surging brilliance, some terrifying and vast will manifesting on the earth.

"Alright, if you want to save these people." The girl in the white dress looked at He Ao, "You can try now, I can give you time, see how many you can save? Or,"

She paused slightly, laughing, "Want to attack me? With your yet to fully reach Angel Tier body."

Invisible terrifying pressure surged from all directions, pressing down on He Ao’s body, pressing down on the dark coffin.

Boom—

The coffin lid, which was turned over, was suddenly pressed down, almost completely sealed shut in that instant.