C14 There Was No Chen Village in This World

In life, we grapple with the concepts of Karma and the ever-present impermanence. Some individuals, unable to find their place, attribute Karma to mere chance, ultimately leading to a life adrift. Others see impermanence as destiny, only to meet their end engulfed by the mortal world.

Yang Xiaoyan's life was a tapestry of Karma and change. She was blessed with a happy family, loving parents, and an eccentric brother. From a young age, she awakened to her superpowers and witnessed the Heaven Earth Mutation, feeling the transient nature of existence.

Yet, she could never have imagined Yang Huang lurking in Chen Village. What could his purpose be here? Her brother exuded an eerie presence, always an odd character, but also incredibly intelligent and fond of manipulating others, even taking pleasure in killing. While it may seem harsh to say he enjoyed such a grim act, that's exactly how Yang Xiaoyan saw him in her heart.

"He must have a reason for showing up in Chen Village; my brother isn't someone who acts without purpose. After Ding Yuhuan visited him, she was completely transformed. Shen Moren, too, vanished after a single visit. This time... Ding Yuhuan... it can't be!" The more Yang Xiaoyan pondered, the more her heart raced. She stared intently at the mangled corpse on the ground, her back slick with a cold sweat.

With trembling hands, she inched closer to the disfigured body. Her goal wasn't the coveted Blood Sword, but rather to confirm her suspicions by examining the deceased Ding Yuhuan.

As her hand nearly grazed Ding Yuhuan's body, the unexpected occurred. A series of golden lines illuminated within a three-meter radius of the battered corpse. The lines danced across the ground, rapidly forming a bizarre pattern that twisted and turned, seemingly drawing power from beneath the earth.

Within moments, the pattern's golden light intensified, eventually releasing a blinding radiance that shrouded Ding Yuhuan's body and the Blood Sword.

"Array Pattern!" Chen Min's pupils contracted, recognizing the odd design that no one else seemed to notice.

"Void Breaking Mist Becoming Array!" After a brief pause, Chen Min gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in astonishment.

"Would you like me to give you a gift?" Yang Huang suddenly turned to face Chen Min, speaking in a gentle tone.

"Sure, but you can't make me close my eyes," Chen Min replied, also turning around. Her expression shifted from surprise to joy, her eyes narrowing into crescents.

"Just wait for me."

Yang Huang walked away from Chen Min, moving step by step toward the center of the light. His pace was slow, as though he were a person with a severe illness and disabilities.

Yet, his pace was perfectly timed. As he reached the Array Pattern, the golden light vanished abruptly, taking with it Ding Yuhuan's corpse and the Blood Sword stained with fresh blood.

All that remained was the unwanted piece of talisman paper from the sword.

This was exactly what Yang Huang had come for!

Yang Xiaoyan was lost in a daze for a long time until the golden light faded. She snapped back to reality only to find her brother standing next to her, holding an old talisman.

Her eyes widened in a mix of confusion, regret, and anger, which eventually gave way to a resigned sigh. She gazed at Yang Huang, unable to utter a single word.

Yang Huang was well aware of the intense gaze upon him, but he didn't bother to look back. Instead, two new talismans materialized in his hand, inscribed with indecipherable runes.

A wisp of Genuine Qi danced over his fingertips, causing the talismans to blaze with light. With a casual toss, the talismans seemed to come alive—one flying toward Yang Xiaoyan, the other toward the bald man.

Yang Xiaoyan felt a touch of scorn. She had always thought of Yang Huang as nothing more than a common man, whose numerous tricks could not possibly harm powerful Evolvers like them in such an open and straightforward situation.

However, as the talisman approached her, she realized she had been mistaken once again.

Once targeted by the talisman, she was immediately locked in place by a force of qi movement. Despite her strength, she was utterly unable to break free, forced to watch as the golden, pale yellow talisman affixed itself to her forehead.

With a whoosh, the talisman paper disintegrated upon contact with her skin. Yet, the runes, as if fueled by the talisman paper's energy, transformed into beams of golden light that unhesitatingly penetrated Yang Xiaoyan's mind.

The moment the golden light penetrated her body, she lost consciousness without any doubt and collapsed to the ground, devoid of strength.

Not far away, the muscular bald man was just as defenseless against the might of the talisman paper, falling into a state of unconsciousness.

"This is the Illusion Disaster Misfortune Talisman. It dispels illusions and disasters, leaving one to live as a simpleton, unconcerned with worldly matters and ignorant of social graces," Yang Huang murmured under his breath.

He then returned to Chen Min with the same swift pace he had arrived.

"Chen Min, I have a gift for you."

"Mm..."

Chen Min's face was filled with anticipation, but Yang Huang, unfazed, lifted his arm. The worn talisman he had just acquired was pinched between his index and middle finger.

With deliberate ease, he affixed the talisman onto Chen Min's face. Simultaneously, a surge of Innate Genuine Qi flowed from his fingertips into the talisman. As he recited a Magic Spell, the talisman was fully activated, causing numerous runes to illuminate on the talisman paper and penetrate Chen Min's body.

This was no ordinary Void Talisman. Even after one use, it was nowhere near its dissipation point.

Thus, Yang Huang took back the talisman, silently incanted a spell, and stored it within the Mustard Storage Talisman.

Chen Min's eyes snapped open, staring round-eyed at Yang Huang. A tiny fissure formed on her forehead, from which slivers of red light twinkled, threatening to burst forth at any second.

Cracks swiftly spread from the fissure, expanding across her entire face and body.

Finally, with a soft "pop," the Chen Min before him... shattered.

The fragments reassembled into an ethereal figure that still bore Chen Min's likeness.

The red light unveiled its true form—a radiant red stone the size of a fist, mostly smooth with some unevenness, resembling an uncarved piece of chicken blood stone.

The stone hovered quietly before Yang Huang.

Chen Min, suspended in the sky, gazed down at Yang Huang with an impassive expression. She seemed ethereal, yet her presence felt as tangible as reality.

"Yang Huang, our paths will cross again," Chen Min said, her gaze fixed on him, her cherry lips barely moving as she uttered the familiar words.

Yang Huang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, silently observing as the phantom before him gradually faded, eventually transforming into a faint glow that streaked across the sky before vanishing.

He glanced at the sky meaningfully, then collected the blood-red stone before him.

As soon as he took possession of the stone, it felt as though the heavens and earth were shattering. The world plunged into darkness, and the villagers of Chen Village vanished without a trace. The vibrant trees, hills, rivers, and houses—all of it disappeared from this realm, leaving behind only the Evolvers, the unconscious Yang Xiaoyan, and the bald man.

The Evolvers, young and vulnerable, the ones most in need of protection, were terrified by this abrupt turn of events. Their panic surpassed even the fear induced by Ding Yuhuan's irrational acts of violence.

But their fear seemed trivial when six talismans, crackling with lightning, materialized around them. These talismans hovered and shifted, eventually forming a rudimentary array.

Concurrently, thunder roared in the heavens, and pale blue bolts of lightning centered on the Evolvers rained down in a relentless barrage. The thunderclaps were ear-splitting.

In mere moments, the Evolvers were silenced, unable to utter even a cry before being reduced to ashes by the relentless lightning.

The six lightning-enshrouded talismans disintegrated into dust and disappeared shortly thereafter. And with that, the thunder ceased.

Gone too was Chen Village.

Yang Huang now stood before a landscape of uneven mountains, with no sign of the village.

"In this world, Chen Village never existed."