Chapter 23: Desperate Struggle
Hu Lao once again felt the immense power as his injuries were suppressed. A year ago, when facing a half-descended evil god, his entire task force was annihilated. The then-director sacrificed everything, using some secret treasure to stabilize the situation, turning Leping City into a special area, but Hu Lao's body was completely ruined in the process.
With no support and no one daring to approach the periphery of Leping City, Hu Lao's body underwent severe changes. Those lightly touched by the evil god couldn't see him, and his mind was severely damaged, retaining only the command from the old director to take the item out, which kept him going.
Dragging his nearly crippled body, he walked step by step out of Leping City, eventually meeting the one who had rushed to the outskirts—the son of the director, who was expected to be even more outstanding.
Since he walked out of Leping City himself, without timely treatment, his body was completely destroyed. Though he used many tools and secret methods afterward, he could only suppress his injuries by sacrificing the use of most of his abilities. His once-chaotic mind became clear thanks to a certain tool.
The crimson stone in his hand was a special limited item of the task force, called the Blood of the God. It's said to be the blood of a certain god, though which god was unclear. Its effect was to grant the user a crimson power, restoring the body to its peak state. This state only lasted for a short period; once the crimson power faded, so did the state, with a noticeable side effect of decreased sanity.
Users of the Blood of the God would see indescribable visions, their mental will greatly impacted. This impact was irreversible, causing lasting damage, and users had to be strictly monitored for life. Although Hu Lao was already under strict surveillance, the item was tightly controlled by the task force.
As the crimson energy entered Hu Lao's body, waves of malice emerged. Hunched over, Hu Lao vomited, expelling a toad-like creature. This creature had absorbed most of his abilities, forcibly ensuring Hu Lao's survival.
With the toad expelled, the crimson energy temporarily restored Hu Lao to peak condition. The toad, now full of vigor, croaked, "You young ones never listen to the old. Insisting on using such unhealthy stuff, turning yourself into neither human nor ghost. But you better act fast. Put me back in time and you might still be saved."
"No need for your reminder. Just take care of yourself!" Hu Lao's eyes reddened, showing the immediate side effects of the Blood of the God. Fighting the overwhelming urge to explode, he used his restored telepathy ability, silently activating his skills, knowing his time was short.
Meanwhile, Fu Bin opened the bottle Hu Lao threw at him, revealing a white light. Feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity, he recalled Hu Lao's telepathic message and swallowed the white light without hesitation.
The white light seemed to be a source of energy, continuously filling his virtuous structure mutated from the original sin structure. White flames reignited around him, and his white wings unfolded once again.
Seeing Fu Bin regain his energy, Hu Lao led the charge towards the trio of Dark River, followed hesitantly by the masked hosts. Since Dark River had already indicated they wouldn't let them go, it was better to defeat them first.
The battle reignited. The black mist behind Dark River solidified into various weapons, launching like cannonballs with immense kinetic energy. Sloth produced numerous floating creatures resembling black smoke, spreading them across the battlefield like a net, trapping the attackers. Dark River's weapons then targeted Hu Lao for a killing blow.
But as the weapons pierced Fu Bin, instead of shattering his body with immense force, they passed through like bursting a bubble, leaving only an illusion.
"An illusion?" Before Dark River could react, a hand engulfed in white flames pierced through his body. Fu Bin's distant figure dissipated into an illusion, revealing his true form close by. Grasping Dark River tightly, white flames erupted, burning his body and dissipating the black mist.
Dark River screamed in fear, "Burning like this will harm you too! As long as I absorb the black mist, I can recover. You can't kill me."
A mass of flesh surged from Dark River's back, ejected as he controlled it to escape. The remaining body was held by Fu Bin, disintegrating into bright white flames and light.
Just as the flesh mass began to reabsorb the black mist to recover, a massive mouth appeared behind it, swallowing it whole. Meng Xi emerged, clutching his belly as he digested the mass. The surrounding black mist, losing control, turned into a black rain.
Hu Lao's initial strike was a killing move, his illusion creating an opening for Fu Bin to exploit, severely injuring Dark River before he could fully exert his strength, leaving only a flesh mass that Meng Xi easily finished off.
"You actually deceived our senses. My floating creatures covering the entire bridge didn't detect your true forms." Sloth appeared surprised. However, the illusion had already dissipated, revealing Hu Lao.
Now drenched in sweat, his eyes bloodshot as if he had watched ten domestic horror movies overnight, his rationality shattered. The crimson energy within him dissipated again, and wounds reappeared on his body. The toad, seeing this, quickly jumped into his mouth, urging, "Stay clear-headed, young man! Those are all fake!"
As the toad entered, Hu Lao's condition stabilized, despite the injuries, preserving his life. He lay on the ground, red-eyed and immobile.
Meanwhile, Fu Bin was also in poor condition. His full-blown white flame attack had severely harmed his body, leaving him almost crippled and slumped nearby.
"Good strategy. You attacked together and took down the strongest, Dark River. You still have four or five combatants on your side, while we have only two left," Sloth said. "But are you sure you really killed Dark River?"
From Wujiang River, Dark River's black mask floated up. Black mist began to rise again, and the remaining few's faces changed. Despite everything, Dark River wasn't dead.