A few breaths ago, in the illusion realm..
"Shhhhk-"
Chen Kuang raced through the rain curtain at blinding speed. His expression was calm, but his appearance was in complete disarray and his entire right arm was gone.
Blood splattered apart countless raindrops as it sprayed out, scattering around him before vanishing completely in the fierce airstream.
The one chasing him was none other than Di Wu, the same Di Wu who, in the real world, had already been beheaded on the spot by Shen Xingzhu's "Sword Comes From the West."
But in this illusion, Di Wu was in peak condition. His gaze was sharp as lightning as he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, rapidly closing in on Chen Kuang.
Wherever he passed, buildings shattered like falling rain and collapsed thunderously, even dragging the ground itself into ruin.
In the blink of an eye, he leapt high into the air and landed in front of Chen Kuang. Then, spinning back, he struck with a single palm.
Boom!
Power exploded, violent like a lion's roar and within the burst of Spiritual Energy, a heart-shaking lion's roar could vaguely be heard.
That palm was domineering and fierce. It landed squarely on Chen Kuang's shoulder, and that was already after he had used his Blood Premonition to avoid as much as he could.
Bang! Crack!
The force barreled into his muscles, bones, internal organs as nothing was spared. It tore everything in its path to shreds.
Chen Kuang could feel it, his entire right side had been ruined in an instant.
This wasn't hyperbole. It was the plain truth.
Agonizing pain engulfed his nervous system. Before he could even react, he had already been blasted backward.
He had originally intended to use the momentum from Di Wu's palm to launch a retreat.
But Di Wu had anticipated that, having already released his full aura and suppressed all the surrounding Spiritual Energy in an instant, locking Chen Kuang in place.
As Chen Kuang was hurled away, he plowed a vivid trail of blood into the ground.
He crashed into a pillar and fell to the floor. Looking down at the blood seeping from his side, mingled with bits of internal organs, he sighed quietly.
The enemy was only Di Wu. His passive 'Invincible Before the Divine' didn't work so well under these conditions.
This time, it looked like another failure.
And it wasn't because he had chosen to fail, but because of an unexpected slip, his location had been exposed. Di Wu had found him and had been chasing him down relentlessly ever since.
Even with all his passives, perhaps his luck had simply hit rock bottom. Di Wu had used only two techniques so far, and 'Transferring Flowers and Grafting Trees' hadn't triggered even once.
Now he truly understood how terrifying Di Wu could be when going all out.
Though this man had little fame, his strength was absurdly overwhelming.
Chen Kuang finally understood why Lin Eryou had chosen to "frame" Zhou Yanwei to help him escape.
Di Wu and his Wind and Rain Tower kept such a low profile, but their control over Jishao Prefecture was alarmingly tight, even the Soil True Officials knew as much.
And Di Wu himself was not some brute, as his name might suggest, but a cunning and meticulous master.
If they hadn't misled him with those tactics, he would have seen through everything in no time.
Just like now, Chen Kuang had left the tower ship a few moments early, and was immediately tracked down.
Not long ago, he had taken Shen Meinan away early, before the little princess could become the Demon Sword host.
Together with several others, he had settled back into the Chen estate.
As a result, Di Wu was never killed and, after a short misunderstanding, reconnected with the Enlightenment Envoy.
And since the timeline had now shifted, Chen Kuang had no reason to know about the Demon Sword,nor did he have a reason to seek out Qi Sibai. Naturally, he also never made contact with the Soil True Officials.
But this time, it was the Soil True Officials who reached out to him.
Because of that, Chen An had learned his identity early on, and, shaken to his core, promised earnestly to keep it secret and help them escape.
No one had expected that this very connection with the Soil True Officials would be what exposed Chen Kuang,drawing Di Wu's thunderous wrath down upon them.
Just as they were preparing to flee via the south wharf's waterways under the Chen family's aid, Di Wu had descended from the skies, beginning a bloodbath.
Chen Kuang touched his wound. He figured he was done for. He considered whether he could hold out until midnight to refresh a new passive.
But this round was just too brutal. He kind of wanted to avoid the pain and just end it himself.
As he was mulling it over, he suddenly sensed someone familiar rapidly approaching.
Then, a pair of hands slipped under his armpits and hoisted him onto a back.
"Chen An?"
Chen Kuang was surprised. Chen An had only come to see them off and had already returned, yet now he'd come back!
Chen An didn't speak. Braving the pouring rain, he ran at full speed toward the nearest Soil True Officials base.
He knew, of course, that it was likely pointless.
The enemy's strength had already surpassed anything he could comprehend. Even if he reached the Soil True Officials, it might not matter.
What's more, Chen Kuang was already on the verge of death. He might not even make it there.
But he came back anyway. He didn't run.
Chen Kuang's right hand, propped weakly over Chen An's shoulder, regained a bit of strength. He tapped lightly on the younger man's shoulder and joked with a hint of surprise:
"What, you trying to repay me for saving your life back when I sold myself?"
Chen An still didn't speak, but gritted his teeth and pushed his pace even faster.
The trail of his footsteps grew clearer and clearer, mixed with deep red blood winding through the rain.
"Put me down. Run by yourself."
Chen Kuang said softly, "The Chen family still needs a pillar. You're better suited to carry that weight than I am."
He could feel the emotional wall that had existed between them suddenly melt away.
From the moment Chen An turned back to save him.
That child once led away by an unknown street musician, had once again returned home.
Chen An hesitated for a moment, then bit down and growled:
"You're a member of the Chen family too. Saving you is only right! So shut up and hold on tight, I'm bringing you home!"
He pushed his Spiritual Energy to its limits as the blood vessels in his legs burst open, bleeding freely.
With every step, he left behind a heavy red footprint.
But he didn't dare stop for a second, because if he did, he would never move again.
Chen Kuang stared, then laughed bitterly.
"Turns out you weren't just talking big."
Huh? What did I say?
Chen An was still confused when suddenly his chest exploded in pain.
He staggered. Looking down, he saw a sword had pierced straight through his chest.
Not far away, Di Wu stood unmoving, like a mountain in a storm. His aura surged like a river and sea. His expression remained cold as he watched the two collapse.
That sword, he had merely picked it up and tossed it.
To him, Chen An's desperate sprint wasn't even worth a second glance.
Chen Kuang opened his eyes again, startled to see that a new passive had appeared.
Perhaps Di Wu had paused to admire the struggles of these "ants." Yet in that moment, Chen An had bought him just enough time.
Before dying, the clock had passed midnight.
The passive list refreshed, and a new entry appeared:
[You have taken heavy risks and survived several times, coming back from near death and gained the passive "Destruction and Rebirth": Each time you survive a mortal peril, your cultivation rises higher.]
...
The charred outer shell on Chen Kuang's body fell away with a shake, scattering into dust.
Wind scattered the remains and above him, the steam dissipated like clouds into the sky.
Chen Kuang stood in white robes, graceful and composed. His loose sleeves fluttered in the wind. His newly reborn skin almost glowed with a radiant sheen.
No one would have guessed that this young man had just been unrecognizably burnt and near death.
The aura around him gradually stabilized and solidified.
Shen Meinan stared, stunned. She wondered if her spiritual perception had gone wrong.
But soon, she realized it hadn't.
At this moment, Chen Kuang had already stepped into the next realm!