Chapter 632 - 405: Hua Manzhu (2)

Chapter 632: Chapter 405: Hua Manzhu (2)

Just then, a baby’s wail shattered the silence.

Even Zhou Chen, in his Spirit of the End state, was so shaken by the sound that his vision went black, and he nearly lost control of the Abyssal Power within him.

His arms and legs uncontrollably transformed into slimy, writhing, pale tentacles. The surrounding soil and the dust in the air warped under the corrupting influence, twisting into chunks of flesh from which pairs of venomous, hateful eyes opened.

The Sin Beast began to cry out in hunger. By now, it had grown to the size of a three-year-old child, its power continuously increasing. As its body grew, the hunger in its stomach intensified until it was unbearable.

The orb of light, formed from the converged spirits and flesh of good and evil people, had transformed into a crystalline, jet-black sphere. The Sin Beast reached out, straining to grab the black orb. Anyone could sense its desperate hunger and endless greed.

"Here you go." Dupe guided the black orb closer. Once it was within reach, the Sin Beast snatched it impatiently and began to devour it in great bites, a hair-raising chewing sound echoing out.

With every bite, the Sin Beast grew larger. Soon, it had the body of a seven- or eight-year-old child, and its young face was identical to Dupe’s!

Zhou Chen stared at the crazed smile on Dupe’s face. The details of the awakening ritual flashed through his mind, and after a moment of deduction, an utterly insane plan surfaced.

"You want to replace that Evil God?" Zhou Chen demanded.

Dupe watched the rapidly growing Sin Beast, his expression growing more fanatical and joyous. His eyes seemed to burn with a fiery heat, filled with arrogant ambition. "Since this World can’t contain my ambition, then I’ll find a new one! Being a mere Divine Favored was never what I wanted. I, Dupe, will never be anyone’s servant, and I’ll never bow down and serve anything!"

Divine Favored?

Dupe had always scoffed at such a status.

He never intended to obediently serve as some Evil God’s Divine Favored. Since he was already prepared to descend into Hell, why not play for bigger stakes and replace that Evil God?!

Then, he would be a God!

Years ago, after learning of this ritual from Ghost, he had begun preparing in secret, creating an escape route for himself. He actually had many such routes, but this was the one he cherished most.

To usurp an Abyssal Demigod—what unimaginable arrogance, what blasphemy!

Once he obtained that kind of Power, what great feats could he achieve in the Abyss?

No other escape route could compare to this one. If the plan succeeded, he could replace that Abyssal Demigod and ascend to godhood in a single leap.

"You’re delusional. A Demigod isn’t someone a mere Tier Four like you can trifle with." Zhou Chen sneered, slashing out with the Sword of the End.

"I, Dupe, never do anything I’m not confident about. Altering a ritual to usurp the target... it’s not like no one has done it before. Many have succeeded, so there’s no reason for me to fail!"

Dupe raised a hand, crushing the deathly cold sword light with his bare palm. The flesh on his palm began to wither and decay rapidly, but his powerful self-healing ability restored it in an instant.

He looked at his healed palm, slightly surprised, and narrowed his eyes. "What an impressive Spirit of the End... If I kill you and get that Book of the Dead, perhaps I can step into the Divine Spirit Forbidden Area..."

"You’re welcome to try." Zhou Chen began to chant a wicked Abyss Curse. A power of death and decay rapidly spread out from him, leaving nothing but rot and barren earth in its wake.

—End Realm!

In this lifeless domain, all Skills related to the End, death, and destruction were greatly enhanced. The price was that for the next fifty years, this place would be completely barren, unable to support any form of life.

"Yue Xiao, stop him."

Dupe gave the order to his Secretary, but that very sentence made both him and Zhou Chen realize something was wrong.

Yue Xiao, who had been right there a moment ago, had vanished!

’Where did she go?’ Zhou Chen suddenly realized that if Dupe hadn’t mentioned her, he wouldn’t have even noticed Yue Xiao had disappeared.

Dupe had few subordinates left, and Yue Xiao had been standing right beside him. It should have been impossible for Zhou Chen not to notice her, yet for some reason, her disappearance had completely escaped his perception.

It wasn’t just Zhou Chen; even Dupe himself hadn’t noticed Yue Xiao’s disappearance. And just as his confusion mounted, a cold dagger pierced his heart from behind, a vicious Curse coiling around the blade like a venomous snake.

Dupe whipped his head around and saw "Yue Xiao’s" face melting away, reforming into that of another woman!

’This isn’t Yue Xiao!’

A torrent of thoughts flooded Dupe’s mind. ’Where is the real Yue Xiao? When was she replaced? In Sinful City? Before this operation? Or was it even earlier?’

Dupe’s eyes widened in shock and fury as he glared at her. Then, a long-erased memory resurfaced in his mind.

"You..."

"It’s you!"

The woman was beautiful—exceedingly so. Her features, whether taken individually or as a whole, were like a perfect masterpiece from God. She exuded an aura that was at once pure, pristine, and full of Charm, yet her eyes were utterly cold, as if she were gazing at an ant on the ground.

From a distance, Zhou Chen also saw the woman’s face, and his heart sank.

He didn’t recognize this woman, but he could clearly see her resemblance to Sasha. She was unmistakably a grown-up Sasha!

At that very moment, with her true face observed, the Secret memetic effect shrouding the woman was broken. News reports, archives, memories... Personal information she had hidden and erased from the entire World decades ago suddenly reappeared.

Life Church.

The higher-ups of the Church felt the memories resurfacing in their minds, their expressions becoming extremely complicated.

"So she was Ghost."

·

"Hua Manzhu!!!"

Dupe roared.

The woman, Hua Manzhu, didn’t waste time on him. She didn’t even kill him, instead throwing him out of the Ritual Array.

Hua Manzhu took out a pure white gemstone and placed it on the Sin Beast’s head. Wisps of blood were drawn up into it, and the pure white gem gradually turned scarlet. The Sin Beast’s face, which had resembled Dupe’s, blurred and became indistinct. The connection had been severed.

She then casually tossed that gem aside and took out another, a scarlet one filled with her own blood, placing it on the Sin Beast’s head. The scarlet color within the gem vanished at a rate visible to the naked eye, pouring into the Sin Beast’s body. The Sin Beast’s appearance and form began to change, transforming into a young girl.

Zhou Chen could clearly see that it was Sasha’s face. As the Sin Beast continued its rapid growth, the face matured along with it.

The Sin Beast quickly devoured the rest of the offering. Its appearance was no longer childish; it had grown into an adult form identical to Hua Manzhu. The two of them looked as if they had been cast from the same mold.

"You’ve been plotting against me all along!" Dupe, thrown clear of the Ritual Array, roared in a frenzy. The curse-wreathed blade piercing his heart made it impossible for him to move as his life force rapidly drained away.

At this moment, he felt like a complete Joker. Not only had he been ruthlessly played, but he had also done all the hard work just to pave the way for someone else.

’Ghost had probably been scheming against me since our very first meeting!’

In the past, it was always him, Dupe, who schemed against others; no one had ever dared to scheme against him. Yet now, he had been outmaneuvered at the most critical moment. All his efforts had been for nothing, and the escape route he had so carefully prepared was stolen from him. He was so furious he could barely breathe, his rage uncontrollable.

"Sasha," Zhou Chen said, his voice heavy.

Hua Manzhu looked over at him, her lips curving into an innocent, sweet smile.

"Why, hello there, Zhou Chen."

Zhou Chen remained expressionless, but his heart sank.

Seeing his grim expression, Hua Manzhu’s smile widened with pleasure. The sight of other people’s suffering was a source of great joy for her.