PDLP Chapter 116 One Blow Through
Chapter 116 One Blow Through
The third fragment was only three feet away from the muzzle of the cannon.
The main cannon on Li Tianwang's chest was stretched to its limit, with black light churning inside the barrel, like a well that could swallow the entire Milky Way.
The soldiers of the Duanliu Army all knelt down, not daring to raise their heads.
Marquis Liejiang's Adam's apple bobbed, and his legs went weak.
He knew how powerful that cannon was.
This is not a kickout.
This means drilling through the valves, the monkey line, and the entire Tianhe River all at once.
"retreat!"
Chen Fan shouted first.
The Bull Demon King swung his iron cudgel and lunged into the air, trying to intercept the fragments.
Useless.
The fragment seemed to be nailed to the suction force, pulling faster and faster, and in the blink of an eye, it crashed half an inch into the cannon barrel.
hum!
The entire area behind the bronze door trembled simultaneously.
The ancient patterns on the valve lit up one by one, and blue light poured wildly into the cannon body through the pipes.
Li Tianwang stood still, his old armor creaking and crackling, fire leaking from the seams.
He stared at Wukong, the coldness on his face completely gone, leaving only a fierce look.
"The lineage of the Stone Monkey ends here today."
Red Boy cursed loudly, "You old bastard, you've brought shame upon your ancestors!"
He opened his mouth and spat.
The Samadhi True Fire was rolled into a musket and thrust straight into the cannon muzzle.
The moment the fire touched the cannon, a black light swirled in the barrel, and the entire musket disintegrated.
Red Boy felt a tightness in his chest, staggered back three steps, and blood immediately appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Damn it, this thing eats fire!"
The ancient corpse also moved.
Despite its gaping hole in its chest, it moved with terrifying speed, its gray-haired hand reaching up to grab the fragments from the suction.
Li Tianwang raised the black pagoda with his left hand.
A black chain hangs down from the base of the tower.
Snapped!
The ancient corpse's arm was instantly pulled off, and its icy shell shattered on the ground.
"You worthless line, you dare to block my way?"
The ancient corpse let out a low growl and charged forward again.
Li Tianwang didn't even look at it; the main gun was already fully formed.
Inside the cannon muzzle, concentric black lines recede inwards.
The third fragment hangs in the center, like a heart that has been drained dry.
Chen Fan's scalp tingled with fear.
He knew better than anyone that if this shot were fired, at least one of Wukong and Tianhe Valve would be gone. Even more troublesome was that the trail to the three true cores would be severed.
We mustn't let him fire.
"Yang Jian!"
Chen Fan's voice cracked.
Without him saying anything, Yang Jian had already made his move.
Dragging his three-pointed, double-edged sword, he charged forward from the side, his speed so fast he was just a white streak in the distance. Mid-air, he flicked his wrist, the blade flashing across his body, and a crack appeared in the divine eye on his forehead.
Golden light shot out from that line.
"open!"
boom!
The main gun fired first.
It wasn't a fully charged shot.
Li Tianwang ignited the fire ahead of time.
Black light shot out from the cannon muzzle, first as a beam, then instantly growing to half a zhang thick, and blasted straight towards Wukong and the valve behind him.
Yang Jian stood at the very front.
The moment the blade was raised, it collided with the black light.
The end of the Milky Way looks like it's been hit hard with a hammer.
Everyone's ears rang simultaneously, and all the sounds behind them disappeared.
Chen Fan only saw Yang Jian being pushed backward by the black light, his boots leaving two long fiery grooves on the bronze ground. The three-pointed double-edged sword in his hand curved in a dangerous arc, and the veins on his arm bulged.
"Stop!"
Yang Jian gritted his teeth so hard they made a grinding sound.
The divine eye between his forehead opened wider and wider.
Jin Guang held off Hei Pao with all his might.
But that cannon was too fierce.
The black light pressed down inch by inch, first shattering Yang Jian's chest armor, then splitting his shoulder and causing blood to flow, and even cracking several fine lines on the side of his face.
What's most frightening is his third eye.
A trickle of blood slowly seeped from the edge of that vertical line.
Then the second thread.
The third thread.
The blood vessels looked like red needles, creeping down the corners of her eyes.
Marquis Liejiang was dumbfounded, his voice changing: "True Lord... True Lord is actually taking on the main cannon head-on?"
The soldiers standing nearby, whose minds were blank, were completely stunned.
They had served under Li Tianwang and knew that this cannon was used to bombard city gatekeepers.
Yang Jian alone can hold them off?
This is not a way to block a cannonball.
This is like using one's own body to block the Milky Way.
Li Tianwang also narrowed his eyes.
Clearly, they hadn't expected Yang Jian to actually withstand the first blow.
He sneered, and the armor on his chest trembled once more.
"Let's see how long you can hold out."
The beam of light suddenly grew thicker.
Yang Jian's feet sank, and the copper coin beneath his feet cracked open with a snap.
He felt a sweet taste in his throat, and unable to suppress it, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood fell onto the knife handle and was instantly shaken into a red mist.
Chen Fan's palms were sweaty.
If this continues, Yang Jian will truly be ruined.
"Where's Wukong?!"
As the Bull Demon King roared, he charged upwards, enduring the pressure of the cannon.
But he had only gone halfway when his foot slipped.
The surrounding scenery suddenly swayed.
Near the ancient corpse, there was still a layer of cyclical illusion. When Wukong captured its old name earlier, he had already been dragged into it.
Everyone is working incredibly hard right now, but the one who should be the one smashing the cannon is nowhere to be seen.
Red Boy was so anxious he jumped up and down: "Monkey! Where have you been?!"
When Li Tianwang heard this, his laughter grew even colder.
"He can't get out."
"That old line was prepared as a grave for Shi Sheng."
"He'll only die inside."
These words had barely left his lips.
A crisp sound suddenly came from mid-air.
It looks like a cracked mirror.
Click.
Another sound.
Click!
Everyone looked up abruptly.
Suddenly, a golden crack appeared in the empty space above Li Tianwang's head. The crack grew larger and larger, as if someone were hitting a wall hard with a stick inside.
next moment.
boom!
The entire illusionary realm shattered in mid-air.
Shards of light flew everywhere.
A figure burst out from inside, covered in golden flames, with a long afterimage trailing behind a black iron rod in his hand, and eyes as red as burning charcoal.
Sun Wukong has appeared.
Blood still clung to the corner of his mouth, but a frighteningly fierce smile spread across his face.
"Li Jing".
"Who are you firing at, you piece of junk?"
Li Tianwang's pupils contracted, and he raised his hand to turn the cannon.
late.
Wukong didn't give him a second step at all.
He was in mid-air, swinging his staff with both hands, his entire arm muscles taut like iron chains, but the golden cudgel didn't hit anyone, didn't sweep away armor, and didn't slap anyone's face.
He only chose one point.
The muzzle is right in the center.
"Crush this, Old Sun!"
A stick fell.
clang!!!
That was a really loud noise.
The air behind the entire bronze door seemed to have collapsed.
The muzzle of the main gun first caved inward, then a ring of white lines exploded from the middle. The third fragment, which was being forcefully compressed, suddenly shuddered, the black light became unbalanced, and flowed back.
Li Tianwang's expression finally changed.
"receive!"
He wanted to stop firing.
Can't control it.
Wukong's staff struck its most vital spot.
The cannon barrel snapped.
The power that hadn't yet been released was all trapped inside the chest, surging wildly.
The next second, the barrel exploded.
Boom!
The main gun exploded section by section from front to back.
The old armor instantly shattered with more than a dozen gashes, and armor plates flew everywhere like knives. Li Tianwang's chest exploded first, and he felt as if he had been hit by a ten-thousand-pound iron hammer. He spat out blood, his feet left the ground, and he flew straight backward.
The black tower slipped from his hands and crashed into the copper wall, creating a large crater.
Marquis Liejiang stood frozen in place, his entire face expressionless.
"It...it exploded?"
The eyes of the soldiers standing nearby, who were about to fall out, were practically popping out of their sockets.
The commander's main gun.
The Tianhe Ministry of Works' final weapon.
It was actually blown up by that monkey's staff.
Or rather, smash it head-on into the cannon barrel.
This is not a way to block cannon fire.
This is like using a cannon as a nut to crack.
Red Boy was stunned for a moment, then burst into wild laughter.
"Alright! Monkey King, let's fuck him to death!"
Seizing the opportunity, the Bull Demon King leaped into the air, his large hand piercing through the turbulent shockwave, and scooped up a fragment that had been blasted out of the air.
The fragments were still shaking violently, and they were frighteningly hot.
The moment his palm touched it, a layer of scorch appeared on his palm.
Without even blinking, the Bull Demon King clenched his fist and gripped it tightly, roaring, "I got it!"
That sound was like a shot of strong liquor being poured into everyone's hearts.
Chen Fan finally relaxed a little.
"Red Boy, the flag!"
"clear!"
Red Boy had his eye on it for a long time.
Behind the Duanliu Army, a black and blue military flag was still standing, with Duanliu formation patterns wrapped around it. As long as the flag didn't fall, these remnants of the army would still dare to fight.
With a kick, he sprang forward, unleashing a torrent of Samadhi Fire from his mouth.
The fire curled upwards along the flagpole.
The military flag first turned black, then burned through the middle, and collapsed with a whoosh.
The broken patterns on the corner of the flag tried to struggle, but were completely devoured by the fire.
Red Boy, hands on hips, roared, "What the hell are you kneeling for? Your commander's already flying over the wall!"
These words are harsher than fire.
A group of soldiers from the Duanliu Army all looked towards the distance.
Li Tianwang was embedded in the large pit in the copper wall, his old armor cracked beyond recognition, his chest charred black, and he could barely get up. He looked up at Wukong, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He has lost before.
But he had never lost like that before.
The main gun is fully charged, the fragments are recharged, and finally, it's blasted through with a single blow.
And in front of so many of his old subordinates.
This time, they lost all face.
Wukong landed, hoisted the golden cudgel onto his shoulder, and stared at him with a smile.
"You're using monkey thread to add fuel to the fire."
"I'll crack your skull open with your cannon."
"Who loses?"
Li Tianwang's throat trembled, and he choked on another mouthful of blood.
Upon witnessing this scene, Marquis Liejiang's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
He had initially planned to take on the commander-in-chief in a big gamble, but the outcome was truly spectacular; the commander-in-chief nearly blasted him to pieces.
Chen Fan strode forward, just as he was about to take the fragment from the Bull Demon King's hand, when the expressions of the three of them changed simultaneously.
wrong.
The fragment is shaking.
This was not an ordinary earthquake.
It is a response.
The fragment in the Bull Demon King's palm emitted a golden-red light, the one in Chen Fan's arms also became hot, and even the other one on Wukong's body began to hum.
Three fragments resonate remotely.
hum-
hum-
The voice grew increasingly urgent.
It's like three bells calling to each other.
Chen Fan looked down, and the system panel popped up on its own.
[Three eukaryotic fragments detected]
Matching complete
[Forced start of assembly progress]
On the other side, Wukong also heard that familiar, cold prompt.
He frowned and muttered under his breath, "Not again?"
Chen Fan suddenly looked up.
The third fragment in the Bull Demon King's hand had broken free by half an inch, as if it were about to fly into the sky.
Deep within the Tianhe valve, the monkey-shaped ancient corpse suddenly raised its head, its dark golden flames leaping wildly in its eyes.
It stared at the three fragments, and squeezed out a very low sound from its throat.
"The eukaryotes... need to be combined..."
The next instant, all three fragments suddenly lit up.
At the very end of the Milky Way, golden-red light spread out inch by inch.
The notifications for Chen Fan and Wukong rang at the same moment.
[The True Annihilation Star is about to be assembled]
Chapter 196 The Eve of True Core Assembly
Golden-red light spread across the end of the Milky Way.
The three fragments seemed to come alive, intertwining and fiercely attacking each other, leaving three long trails of light.
Chen Fan only felt a blur before his eyes.
First, there was a loud bang in my ear.
Immediately afterwards, it was as if someone had ripped everything apart.
The Milky Way, the ice layer, the ancient corpse, and the broken valve all became flying shadows.
The next instant, his feet lost their footing, and he fell out of the light.
boom.
Chen Fan slammed his back against the hard ground, felt a sweet taste in his throat, and almost spat out the blood.
He looked up and was stunned for a moment.
Old construction site.
It's still that old construction site.
All around were cracked black walls, half-collapsed overhead pipes, and rusted talisman nails scattered on the ground. In the distance, the broken tower leaned against the ground like a bone that had been broken by human hands.
He actually came out.
"Old Chen!"
Red Boy was the first to rush up and grab him.
"You finally came out. I thought you'd been swallowed up by the sea of scriptures."
Chen Fan steadied himself, slapped his hand away, and scanned the area first.
Wukong was on the left, his golden cudgel planted firmly on the ground, his chest heaving, and a trickle of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth.
The Bull Demon King knelt on one knee, clutching the third fragment tightly in his hand, his palm burning black, but he refused to let go.
Tang Sanzang stood behind, his cassock torn in one section, but he held the black and gold scroll in his hand very firmly.
Yang Jian leaned against a broken pillar, his three-pointed double-edged sword stuck in the ground. He didn't speak, but the vertical scar on his forehead remained unclosed.
They're all there.
I finally caught my breath.
"Where's the monkey carcass?"
Chen Fan asked the question as soon as he opened his mouth.
Wukong raised his hand and wiped the corner of his mouth.
"It stayed there. It didn't chase after us."
"Where is Li Jing?"
"I haven't seen it either."
Red Boy grinned.
"That old bastard got hit by Monkey King's staff, and half of his chest is caved in. If he can still catch up, I'll admit he's made of iron."
The Bull Demon King muttered, "Don't underestimate him. He's Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearer. He's incredibly tough."
He said this while spreading his hands.
The third fragment hovered above his palm, like a piece of red-hot iron, its edges still trembling.
The first one was in Chen Fan's arms.
The second one was taken out by Wukong.
The moment the three were released, the surrounding air changed instantly.
hum.
The three beams of light trembled simultaneously.
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow.
"Step back a bit."
The crowd made way for each other.
The three fragments seemed to recognize each other, slowly rising into the air and getting closer and closer. In the empty space between them, a point first emerged, then a line stretched out, and then it gradually expanded, becoming a fragmented picture.
It's not a map.
It's like carving directly into the air with a knife.
There are no mountains, no rivers, and no cities above.
There are only three intertwined boundaries.
A line with a Buddha pattern.
A celestial scroll hangs in the sky.
It was a dark, heavy line with cracks at the edges, like the abandoned boundary beneath an old construction site.
The three lines eventually converge at one point.
That point is flashing wildly.
Red Boy stared for a long time, then cursed.
"What kind of place is this?"
Tang Sanzang took two steps forward, his gaze sharpening.
"The seam between the three realms."
The Bull Demon King looked up: "A seam?"
"Um."
Tang Sanzang lowered his voice.
There has always been a gap between the Heavenly Court, the Buddhist realm, and the lower wasteland. It is not visible under normal circumstances. It only opens when something major is reorganized or old grievances are brought up.
Chen Fan stared at that point, already understanding seven or eight parts of it.
Eukaryotes do not exist in any realm.
It got stuck in the crevice.
Anyone who wants it will have to go and snatch it.
Wukong sneered.
"They certainly know how to pick a location. Anyone can come, but no one can back out easily."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the black and gold dossier opened by itself.
Splash!
The pages were turned one by one, like someone frantically flipping through an account book in the wind.
Finally, it stopped on a black page full of cracks.
A row of dark gold characters first appeared on top.
Chen Fan glanced at it, and his expression turned cold.
[When the true core is assembled, the observer of the sutra will surely appear.]
The next line also lights up.
The cataloger must be present.
The third line is the most ruthless.
The principal debtor will definitely appear.
Red Boy didn't understand and asked, "Who are these people?"
Chen Fan did not reply.
He stared at those three names, his back teeth clenched.
The one who observes the scriptures had already guessed it.
Most of them are the same group that have been hiding behind the scenes watching the show. They watch others succeed, remember their mistakes, and then come out to reap the rewards when the situation is over.
The cataloger shouldn't find it difficult to understand.
They are the ones who categorize all beings, number the stories, decide who should die, who should live, who should be a pawn, and who should be a background character.
As for the principal debtor.
As Chen Fan looked at those three words, his gaze gradually darkened.
Those who can be called by this name are probably even more disgusting than the previous two.
It's not about settling accounts.
It's for putting out tents.
First, they'll put the debt on your head, then force you to pay it off for the rest of your life.
Wukong understood the gist of it, raised his staff, and grinned.
"Good timing. Saves Old Sun the trouble of searching for them one by one."
The Bull Demon King, however, did not laugh.
"Don't be so happy yet. A name like that isn't something you can just dismiss with a single blow."
"If you can't kill him, then hit him a few more times."
Wukong didn't even glance at him.
The Bull Demon King's lips twitched, but he didn't refute it.
Yang Jian finally spoke.
"You'd better hurry."
Everyone looked at him.
He straightened up from beside the broken pillar, raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and spoke in a very calm tone.
"I've already scouted the area before bringing you into Tianhe this time."
"I can cover for you one more time with the sealing layer on this side of the old construction site."
"Once the seam between the three realms is opened, the Jade Emperor will definitely make a statement."
Red Boy frowned: "Just say what you think, aren't you his nephew too?"
Yang Jian glanced at him.
"It's my nephew who's even more troublesome."
This sentence is very soft.
The area around the old construction site fell silent for a moment.
Chen Fan understood.
Yang Jian has already risked his own position to help this far. If he comes to his aid again next time, it won't just be a private favor; it will be a public falling out.
The Heavenly Court can no longer pretend to be blind.
The Jade Emperor could not delay any longer.
Chen Fan stepped forward.
"When else can you help?"
Yang Jian remained silent for two breaths before saying, "When the seam opens, I can hold off the first wave of Heavenly Court troops for you. Only once. It won't last long."
"And then?"
"From now on, it's up to each person's own abilities."
He spoke frankly and directly, without a trace of pretense.
Wukong shouldered the golden cudgel and snorted.
That's enough.
"Old Sun hates it when others help him too much."
Yang Jian ignored this and looked at Chen Fan instead.
"You'd better decide on your backup plan now. By then, no one will have time to change it."
After he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Chen Fan.
Chen Fan didn't rush to speak.
He looked at the fragments first.
Let's look at the case file again.
Finally, he looked at Tang Sanzang.
"What were you trying to say that you've been holding back?"
Tang Sanzang looked down at the black and gold scroll, his finger pausing on one of the pages.
That page was badly tattered.
A third of it was missing from one corner, and there was a charred crack in the middle.
It's the third page.
It was also an opportunity they had been holding back.
Tang Sanzang slowly raised his head.
"The real core is fiercely contested, and everyone wants to grab it. Whoever gets it has the right to re-stamp it."
"We can't hold out by just guarding."
"We can't finish this by just fighting."
"Then let's try another method."
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.
"Just say it."
Tang Sanzang exhaled.
"Make original sin public."
Upon hearing these four words, even Wukong turned his head to glance at him.
Red Boy was completely bewildered.
"What do you mean?"
Tang Sanzang's voice was not loud.
"What they've always been afraid of isn't how strong we are."
"What they're afraid of is the truth coming out."
"What I fear is that the people below will find out that the way they are living is not something they deserve, but something that someone wrote page by page."
He tapped the tattered page.
"You can write the third page again."
"We've attached it to the eukaryotic composite."
"Once the true cores begin to merge, the third page will automatically unfold. The old grievances buried in the files will be scattered across the Three Realms on the spot."
The Bull Demon King's eyelids twitched.
"You mean, let everyone see it?"
"right."
"I saw everything: from the Heavenly Court, the Buddhist Temple, the old construction site, and the abandoned world."
Tang Sanzang stared at the page, his voice growing increasingly steady.
"Anyone who wants to get involved in the real core technology has to step on these obstacles to move forward."
"They won't come to steal the treasure, they'll come to steal the lid."
After these words were spoken, everyone on the field fell silent.
Chen Fan smiled.
The smile wasn't strong, but his eyes lit up.
That's a ruthless move.
It's too cruel.
When the true cores clash, all eyes will be on them. At that time, revealing the old secrets will be a hundred times more useful than simply hiding the files.
Didn't you come here to rob me?
Row.
Then just rob it in front of everyone.
Show your hands, your face, and all that stuff behind your back.
Wukong grinned.
"Monk, this time you're speaking like a human being."
Tang Sanzang glanced at him but ignored him.
Yang Jian frowned.
"In that case, you will become a thorn in everyone's side."
Chen Fan nodded.
"It already was."
"The only difference is that now they can pretend they don't know."
"If they really tie the third page on, anyone who wants to keep pretending will have to crush us first."
The Bull Demon King took a deep breath.
"Then it won't just be about stealing a single core."
"That's like flipping the table."
"Right." Chen Fan grinned. "Old Niu, you've finally hit the nail on the head."
Red Boy slapped his thigh.
"Do it! That's how it should be done!"
"What I hate most is that they all put on a respectable face and talk about rules, but behind the scenes they do the dirtiest things."
Chen Fan reached out and pressed down on the three fragments that were still hovering in mid-air.
The light is very hot.
It burned his palms until they went numb.
"Then it's settled."
"To connect the seams of the three realms."
"When assembling the cores, attach the third page."
"Whoever tries to grab it first gets to show their face."
The moment the words left his mouth, the tattered page on the black and gold dossier shook violently.
It's like admitting it.
Immediately afterwards, the incomplete picture in the middle of the three fragments began to become clear.
That point flickered more and more intensely.
The ground shook as well.
First, a gentle touch.
One more time.
Iron pieces fell from the broken tower with a clatter.
Red Boy turned his head and cursed, "Not again?"
Chen Fan suddenly realized something was wrong.
This isn't the fragments shaking.
The entire old construction site is sinking in one direction.
Wukong took a step forward, his golden cudgel raised horizontally.
There's something down there.
boom!
The collapsed area in the center of the old construction site suddenly cracked open.
This is not an ordinary crack.
It looked as if someone had used their hands to tear a hole in the skin of the Three Realms from the ground.
There was no soil, no fire in the crack.
Only layers of dim light rising upwards.
Buddhist patterns, celestial inscriptions, and old craft symbols are all mixed together.
Like mud, and like a wound.
Everyone stepped back.
Chen Fan stared at the crack, his breathing gradually becoming heavier.
The seam between the three realms has been opened ahead of schedule.
The crack kept getting bigger and bigger.
A row of dark figures first appeared inside.
Not a soldier.
It's not a palace either.
Those were steps.
It rises upwards and expands outwards, rising from the cracks like a tide.
Each floor is covered with old-fashioned seats.
There are wooden bases, stone bases, gold bases, and some whose materials are completely indistinguishable, with long-abandoned serial numbers engraved on the sides.
Circle after circle.
High and low.
Like a giant audience seating area.
No one is sitting here.
At least for now, there's nobody around.
But there are too many remaining indentations on it.
It's as if countless things have sat on it for a long time, looking down.
Watching others fight.
Watching others turn hostile.
Watching others fall.
Red Boy's smile froze instantly.
"What the hell is this place?"
No one replied to him.
Chen Fan stared at the empty seats at the very top.
There were a few broken plaques hanging there.
The sign swayed gently, making a soft, clinking sound.
One of them was flipped over halfway.
There are only two words on it.
"look in."
The next moment, a new mark slowly appeared on the largest empty chair in the center of the top floor.
Chapter 197 The Audience Seats
A new indentation appeared on the largest empty chair.
It looked like someone had just sat down.
It's as if that person hasn't completely left yet.
There was dead silence all around.
Even the buzzing of the eukaryotic fragments seemed to be suppressed by this place.
Red Boy couldn't help but take a half step back.
"Who has sat here?"
No one responded.
Chen Fan looked up at the rows of seats.
When he first came in, he only felt that the place was empty.
Looking at it now, it's not empty anymore.
There are shadows behind those chairs.
They were blurry, like wisps of human-shaped smoke sitting in the air. Their faces and limbs were indistinct, only outlines remained. They were motionless, their heads all facing downwards.
Towards them.
Yang Jian slowly raised his three-pointed double-edged sword, the tip pointing to the highest point.
"It's not an empty seat."
The Bull Demon King exhaled a heavy breath from his nostrils and gripped the iron rod tightly in his hand.
"Old Niu hates this kind of pretentious nonsense the most. Come out here."
No one came out.
The top row of broken cards gently bumped together.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
The sound wasn't loud.
It makes your teeth clench.
Sun Wukong slammed his golden cudgel on the ground, his eyes blazing with golden fire.
"Have you seen enough? If you want to fight, get down here."
He had barely finished speaking when...
A voice suddenly came from above.
Neither male nor female, neither old nor young.
It's like someone sitting far away, resting their chin on their hand, casually making a remark.
"The story has come to this point and is worth watching."
This sound fell.
The entire audience area seemed to come alive.
The blurry shadows all moved at once.
Someone leaned forward.
Some people seemed to be whispering to each other.
Several other figures raised their hands, as if clapping.
There was no applause.
Only the slight creaking of the chair back could be heard.
Red Boy's expression changed on the spot.
"Damn it, they're really treating us like a show."
Chen Fan remained silent.
He stared at the head chair in the middle at the top.
The sound came from there.
Or rather, it's like a piece that fell from every corner of the whole place.
His heart sank.
Earlier at the end of the Milky Way, he had a feeling that the merging of the true cores wouldn't be so simple. Now it seems that with the fragments combined to this point, it's no longer a matter of who has the biggest fist taking it away.
This place looks like a venue.
They were the people entering.
Those things high up are what you see from a seated position.
The system panel was flashing wildly in my vision.
[High-level observation field detected]
[Current Location: The Seam Between the Three Realms]
[Note: You've been on stage the whole time.]
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched.
"On stage?"
Sun Wukong turned his head to look at him.
"What did you see this time?"
Chen Fan was about to speak.
Suddenly, the crack where black and white met in front of them was torn open three more times.
From the first path, a person carrying a long book walked out.
He had a thin face, long eyes, and the booklet in his hand was wider than a door panel.
He was the cataloger.
From the second path, a tall figure in a black and gold robe stepped out. The hem of the robe trailed like a string of curtains, and with each step, a gray line appeared on the ground.
The principal debtor.
The third crack is the dirtiest.
The edges were covered with cracks that looked like rotten flesh.
The remnant master crawled out from inside, half of his body still entangled in broken chains, his mouth stretched wide, like a ripped gash.
As soon as the three parties arrived, the air pressure suddenly dropped.
The Bull Demon King spat.
"Alright, it's getting lively, everyone's here."
The cataloger first glanced at everyone, then his gaze fell on the three fragments of the true core, and for the first time, an uncontrollable heat appeared in his eyes.
"We've finally made it this far."
The principal debtor looked up at the group of chairs at the top, a hint of apprehension in his eyes.
"You're still watching."
The voice above chuckled softly.
"What are we supposed to see if you don't come?"
The Lord of the Cripples licked his cracked lips, his smile chilling.
"Enough with the nonsense. The core is right here. It's time to explain the rules."
As soon as he said that...
A gray-white stone step slowly descends in front of the main chair at the top.
The stone steps are not long, only nine levels.
A lone chair in the straight-up arena.
The chair had always been there, but it had been hidden in the shadows until now it was fully revealed.
The chair back is extremely high.
The handrails are wide enough for someone to lie down on.
The chair has many scratches and fingerprints of varying depths.
Like many people have ridden in it.
Like many people who wanted to sit but ultimately couldn't get a good seat.
The broken stone tablet in front of the chair flipped over with a snap.
The three words above.
The main position of the deleted boundary.
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.
"Authentication slot".
The cataloger had already spoken, his voice dry.
"The True Core is not something that can be obtained simply by touching it. Someone must take the main seat and complete the World Deletion Certification. Only those who successfully complete the certification are qualified to control the True Core."
Red Boy cursed.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
The creditor said coldly, "It's no use talking. The real skill is being able to sit on it."
Sun Wukong grinned.
"There's only one chair. Just grab it."
The cataloger glanced at him as if he were some country bumpkin.
"It's not that simple. That position is based on both connections and authority. Without approval from above, taking it is tantamount to suicide."
"above?"
Yang Jian looked up.
"Just these onlookers?"
As soon as he finished speaking, several blurry figures at the highest point slightly tilted their heads.
It's like looking at him.
Yang Jian's third eye on his forehead split open slightly, forcefully pushing it back.
"What are you looking at?"
The voice came down again, tinged with amusement.
"You guys are interesting. You've fought your way up, and you're much more interesting to watch than the previous batches."
The Bull Demon King was furious.
"The first few batches?"
Chen Fan's heart sank.
That was a really harsh thing to say.
This isn't the first time they've come to this point.
People have come here before.
And he died here.
The Lord of the Cripples also understood, and his face darkened.
"I hate being treated like old news."
"Then you can play a new role."
The voice above replied calmly.
The entire room fell silent.
Even the Chief of the Crippled Division choked for a moment.
The next second, the voice suddenly added a sentence.
"Before the certification, here's a little something for you."
A faint light slowly appeared in front of the main body of the Deletion Realm.
A line of words emerged from the light.
Not big.
Everyone present could see it clearly.
The person who takes the main seat may delete the person or matter they most wish to delete.
This line of text appeared.
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
Red Boy was taken aback at first, then stared intently at the chair.
The Bull Demon King's breathing became heavy.
Yang Jian tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword by an inch.
Even Sun Wukong's eyes darkened.
The person I most want to delete.
The thing I most want to delete.
This bait is too tempting.
So ruthless that a single sentence can tear open all the old scars in someone's heart.
Chen Fan didn't need to guess to know what was flashing through everyone's mind at that moment.
The Bull Demon King could erase the defeat of the Monkey King and the separation of his wife and children.
Yang Jian was able to delete the mess of accounts after splitting the mountain, and erase the old story of his mother being imprisoned.
Red Boy might want to delete the part where he was taken to be the Sudhana (a disciple of God of Wealth).
What about Sun Wukong?
Chen Fan glanced at the monkey.
Wukong didn't say anything.
He just stared at the chair, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
Chen Fan knew that the thorn in this dead monkey's side was never the Five Finger Mountain.
It was the scene at Flower and Fruit Mountain.
It was the scene of the monkeys and their offspring being burned to death and slaughtered, which he saw when he returned and saw the mountains covered with charred corpses.
If it really can be deleted.
Will he believe it?
Chen Fan himself is not clean either.
He had an extra layer of thought in his mind compared to others.
If it can be deleted.
Can you delete the moment you transmigrated here?
Or even more ruthless.
Should we delete this entire pre-arranged line?
As if sensing his thoughts, the system suddenly displayed a line of bloody text on the panel.
[Warning: This reward is highly enticing]
[Advice: Don't believe the sweet moments shared by onlookers]
Chen Fan cursed inwardly.
This lousy system actually speaks like a human being when it matters most.
The catalogers were the first to act.
He slammed the long book to the ground, and the pages flipped open with a clatter.
"The main position belongs to me. The core also belongs to me. Anyone who stands in my way will be removed from the register."
The principal debtor sneered.
"You're not worthy?"
He raised his hand and grabbed, and countless black lines stretched out from mid-air, heading straight for the stone steps to wrap around them.
The crippled master was even more decisive; he lunged forward, the tattered chain sweeping across and directly engulfing the back of the chair.
All three parties were vying for it simultaneously.
The scene immediately erupted.
"Let's do it!"
The Bull Demon King roared and swung his iron cudgel.
boom!
The shadow of the stick struck three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in front of the stone steps, forcefully shaking the cataloger to the side by half a foot.
Red Boy opened his mouth, and a fiery dragon shot into the sky, burning along the black line.
With a flick of his sleeve, the debtor caused the fire dragon to explode into a string of sparks.
Sun Wukong is faster than anyone else.
As the Bull Demon King unleashed his staff, he had already leaped to the third level, and the golden cudgel cleaved towards the debtor's forehead.
"Get out of here."
The principal creditor didn't even look up, flipping through the ledger pages in his hand, and actually took the blow head-on.
boom!
The stone steps were shaken so badly that cracks appeared.
Yang Jian cut in from the side, his three-pointed, double-edged sword flashing as he aimed straight for the cataloger's waist.
The cataloger roared angrily, slammed the long book shut, and stood his ground as a shield.
Chen Fan didn't rush.
He stood below, his gaze constantly scanning the area.
Sweep that chair.
Scan the top seats of the audience.
This place is so strange.
According to the current rules, whoever seizes the main seat first has the upper hand.
But would those things really let them sit there so easily?
impossible.
The Observer throws out the rules and then offers the poisonous bait of deleting people and things, clearly wanting to see them break the rules first.
He had just thought of this.
The voice rang out again.
"Well played. Unfortunately, they weren't in enough of a rush."
As soon as he finished speaking...
Behind the main body of the deleted realm, the three true core fragments vibrated simultaneously and began to assemble on their own.
Click.
The first seam is closed.
Everyone in the room changed their expressions at the same time.
The cataloger yelled, "Hurry! Eukaryotes won't wait!"
The creditor's eyes flashed with dark light, and he suddenly slapped Wukong back, shattering two layers of stone steps as he rushed straight for the main seat.
The Lord of the Cripples also went mad, half of his rotten body exploded, turning into a wave of gray-black flesh that passed through the side of the bread.
The Bull Demon King raised his staff to stop him, but the debtor swung his hand back, and dozens of black lines from the ledger pages lashed at his chest, causing him to stagger back seven steps.
As soon as Red Boy breathed fire, the cataloger slapped him to the ground with a booklet.
Yang Jian opened his Heavenly Eye to its limit, and a divine light blasted towards the debtor's back.
The principal debtor took the blow head-on without stopping.
He's almost there.
Only the last two steps are missing.
"The seat of honor is mine!"
He roared and lunged at the chair.
He drew everyone's attention.
Chen Fan also stared intently.
Everything went too smoothly.
It's ridiculously smooth.
next moment.
Snapped.
A hand fell from a great height.
It has no body.
There is no origin.
It was a large, grayish-white hand that slapped down from the top of the audience like swatting a fly.
The creditor's face had just shown a hint of joy.
That hand had already patted him.
boom!
The principal debtor was sent flying on the spot.
The black and gold robe shattered instantly.
Half of his body exploded into a cloud of blood mist in mid-air.
He was like a stone that had been swung around, crashing through seven or eight rows of seats before finally slamming into a crack at the bottom, where he couldn't get up for a long time.
The entire audience was instantly stunned.
The Bull Demon King paused, his staff still.
Red Boy opened his mouth, a spark stuck in his throat.
The cataloger's face drained of color, and he staggered back several steps, clutching the long book.
The disabled manager was even more decisive; just as the tattered chain was about to touch the back of the chair, he swiftly pulled it all back.
Sun Wukong looked up, his eyes blazing with golden fire.
"who!"
No one answered.
The hand that slapped the debtor away did not disappear.
It was placed next to the railing on the top floor.
The five fingers were thin and long, and they tapped lightly twice.
It's like a reminder to those below.
Don't make it too ugly when you're fighting for it.
Followed by.
From the previously blurry shadow at the highest point, a figure slowly sat up straight.
The chair back made a soft creak.
One foot stepped onto the pedal in front first.
Chapter 198 The First Audience
The moment that foot stepped onto the pedal, the entire audience fell silent.
It's not that no one is taking action.
It's as if all sounds have been silenced.
The wind stopped.
He didn't even bother turning the pages anymore.
Even the black flame on the principal debtor's chest shrank by half an inch.
Sun Wukong raised his head, his golden eyes blazing with fire, and his staff was already held horizontally on his shoulder.
"Enough with the charade, get down here."
The figure above did not answer.
Only one voice came down from the highest point.
not tall.
It's not heavy either.
But everyone could hear it clearly.
"Before we start arguing about core technologies, let's debate one question first."
"Who has the right to rewrite the story?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire audience trembled.
The old signs behind those empty chairs were all turned over.
On each sign, there was an extra stroke of ink.
It looks like someone just wrote it down.
Red Boy's lips twitched, and he muttered under his breath, pressing down on his Fire-Tipped Spear: "Do they really think we're just actors on stage?"
Yang Jian squinted for a while, but didn't open his third eye. He just slammed his knife on the ground.
"It's not about watching a play."
"Like solving a case."
Nezha floated in mid-air, his Wind Fire Wheels turning gently, his expression unusually serious.
"This guy doesn't want to steal the true core."
"He wants to set the rules first."
Chen Fan did not respond.
He stared at the highest point.
The person was still blurry.
Only the outline can be seen.
He sat very steadily, as if he had been sitting there for a long time.
It's like this guy has been watching ever since they stepped in.
The principal debtor made the first move.
It raised its hand and folded it up, the rolled-up black curtain on its chest flapping open with a hoarse sound like a piece of iron grinding against a wall.
"Those who are qualified should be the ones to collect debts."
"If you owe something, you should pay it back."
"Mistakes should be erased."
Those who evade their debts should pay with their lives.
With each sentence it uttered, a string of bloody words lit up on the ledger page.
The blood-written words were not a name.
It's a scene.
The burned-out hilltop of Huaguo Mountain.
Human bones that have sunk in the Liusha River.
The layers upon layers of old blood beneath the Heavenly Demon-Slaying Platform.
The debtor pointed his finger forward, directly at Sun Wukong.
"You caused havoc in Heaven, how many people died?"
Then he pointed at the Bull Demon King.
"You gathered demons into an army, crushing countless cities."
Finally, keep an eye on Chen Fan.
"You rewrote Journey to the West, ruining so many original plans."
"Does someone who owes money have the right to talk about rewriting things?"
After those few words, many people on the Duanliu Army's side lowered their heads.
Several former officials and clerks turned pale.
They fought their way out, and they were all stubborn.
If we really go through all those old grievances, who doesn't have blood on their hands?
After the creditor finished speaking, a surge of anger rose in his chest, as if he had regained his footing, and even his voice became louder.
"The archivist can record this."
"Those who demand payment can be dismissed."
"As for the people in the story, they only have to follow along."
"To be even one step off course is to make a mistake."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cataloger steadied himself by holding onto the long book.
It was slapped away by that hand, and half of the paper on its face was torn.
Now, he has put away his previous panicked demeanor.
It slowly raised the long book, its voice high-pitched.
"Let me add something."
"Collecting debts is something that comes after right and wrong have been determined."
"Archiving comes first."
"Without anyone to record, without anyone to compile, without anyone to set pages, where would the stories come from?"
With each word it utters, a series of floating directories appear behind it.
The table of contents is densely packed, like countless book spines lined up in the sky.
The text above reads: Flower Fruit Mountain, Milky Way, Flaming Mountain, Old Scroll of Spirit Mountain, Revised Copy.
Chen Fan glanced at it, and his eyelids twitched.
They had seen many of the names mentioned here.
There were also quite a few that I was seeing for the first time.
The cataloger slapped the long book.
Those directories glowed simultaneously.
"You think you're rewriting it."
"In reality, it's just jumping from one book to another."
"The archivist has the right to include, delete, and replace pages."
"Who has the right to rewrite it?"
"Of course, it's someone who can hold a pen."
As it said this, it deliberately looked at Tang Sanzang, a hint of sarcasm creeping onto its lips.
"Unfortunately, some people have pens in their hands."
"But his mind was filled with sleep talking."
Tang Sanzang did not move.
He simply held the pen horizontally in his hand, his thumb slowly rubbing the pen shaft.
There are quite a few cracks on the penholder.
Some of them are old injuries.
Some of them were caused by the page being forcibly pressed down just now.
He kept his eyes down, as if he hadn't heard.
Sun Wukong laughed first.
His laughter was cold.
He took a step forward, and his golden cudgel touched the ground, causing the entire staircase to tremble.
"Are you done talking?"
"Then I'll say a few words too."
He looked up at the highest point and grinned.
"Old Sun doesn't understand your lousy books."
"They don't know how to file documents, collect debts, or write pages."
"Old Sun only knows one thing."
"Only those who are alive have the right to make changes."
"What's the point of changing something that's just on paper?"
These words were met with complete silence.
Red Boy was the first to realize what was happening and burst out laughing.
"It suits your taste."
The Bull Demon King nodded emphatically, his breath making the floor tiles scorch.
Yang Jian's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything.
Sun Wukong swung his staff, pointing it directly at the cataloger and the principal debtor.
"One of you wants to cram people into the cubicles."
"One of them wants to use old grievances to crush someone."
"To put it bluntly, neither of them are the way to deal with the living."
"From the day Old Sun sprang from the stone, he never recognized anyone's written Dao."
"You want me to act like this?"
"Go to hell."
The last four words felt like a slap in the face.
The cataloger's catalog was momentarily thrown into disarray.
The principal debtor's black ledger also trembled.
Someone behind the Duanliu Army couldn't hold back and squeezed out a laugh, but quickly shut up after only half a laugh.
Because the principal debtor glanced back.
His eyes were so sinister they could drip water.
"A living person?" it sneered. "Just because you're alive doesn't mean you can write whatever you want?"
"The livestock are alive too."
"The insects are alive too."
"You dare call yourself alive?"
Sun Wukong's eyes flashed with a fiery light, and he was about to raise his staff.
Chen Fan raised his hand and pressed it down on him.
"Let me speak."
This sentence is not tall.
The principal debtor and the cataloger turned around at the same time.
Even the figure at the highest point leaned forward slightly.
Chen Fan took two steps forward and stood in the middle of the steps.
There were torn pages under my feet.
The audience seats are above them.
He looked at the principal debtor, then at the cataloger.
"You're all wrong."
"Those who archive only collect corpses."
"Those who demand repayment only bring up old grievances."
"You're all standing outside the story."
"Like inspecting goods, like taking inventory, like nitpicking."
"You are not the ones who truly have the right to rewrite it."
Chen Fan paused for a moment, his voice slowing down, which made it even clearer.
"Those who are written into it but refuse to accept their fate."
As soon as those words were spoken...
Tang Sanzang suddenly looked up.
Yang Jian tightened his grip on the knife.
Nezha floated in mid-air and suddenly stopped swinging his legs.
Even the black flame on the principal debtor's chest seemed to be blocked by something, shrinking inward by an inch.
Chen Fan continued.
"You said you owed it and you had to pay it back."
"Fine. Whoever owes it, pays it back."
"But if you use old grievances to block all avenues of retreat, that's not called debt collection, that's called silencing people."
"You said the archivist holds the pen and can fix the pages."
"Okay. You can remember it, you can receive it."
"But you treat living people as entries and resistance as misplaced pages. That's not journalism, that's castration."
The cataloger's face twitched twice.
A crack appeared at the edge of the book.
The principal debtor's voice was deep.
"How dare you!"
Chen Fan didn't even glance at it.
"Stories aren't your personal warehouse."
"He's not anyone's accountant."
"People enter into stories, not to become words."
"They're here alive."
"If every path in a story leads to kneeling, then the story should be destroyed."
"If the first page determines who deserves to die, who should be worshipped, and who should take the blame for others, then that page should be torn off."
"Who has the right to rewrite it?"
"Not the person who wrote it."
"Not the person who conducted the investigation."
"It's that person who dared to look up even though they were clearly pushed in."
One sentence after another, getting more and more direct.
The empty chairs below began to vibrate slightly.
It sounds like someone is patting the handrail.
Not one.
It's a row.
Then there was another row.
It's very light.
But everyone heard it.
popping.
popping.
Like applause.
The cataloger's face turned pale.
"Shut up!"
It suddenly lifted the long book, and the table of contents slammed down like a madman.
Sun Wukong took a step forward, his golden cudgel sweeping across, smashing the entire catalog to pieces with a deafening boom.
The shattered light scattered wildly across the sky.
The principal debtor also made a move, uncovering the truth and trying to suppress it.
The voice from the highest point fell again.
The debate is over.
Four words.
The actions of both the principal debtor and the cataloger froze simultaneously.
It was as if there were invisible ropes binding their hands.
The voice continued:
"The third argument is hereby approved."
"Page 3, pre-writing allowed."
Everyone in the room felt a jolt in their hearts.
The pen in Tang Sanzang's hand suddenly glowed.
It's not Buddha's light.
It's that grayish-white light you only see when you turn an old page.
He stared at the pen in his palm, his breathing suddenly faltering for the first time.
Chen Fan turned to look at him.
"Your turn."
Tang Sanzang remained silent.
He walked step by step to the huge, half-open book.
With each step, faint traces of words appeared beneath one's feet.
There is an old scripture by Jin Chanzi.
There is a tight headband on the journey to the West.
There are unspoken words from the Kingdom of Women.
There was the detour before the Flaming Mountain.
The words lit up as they followed his feet, then quickly went out.
I still want to pull him along, just like in the past.
Tang Sanzang stopped before the third page.
The page is empty.
It was so empty it looked blank.
But everyone knows that when this stroke is made, it doesn't write words.
It is public.
It's about carving out what's hidden.
Red Boy's throat bobbed, and he lowered his voice.
"Really writing it?"
The Bull Demon King stared at that page, his face as stiff as stone.
"Write."
Yang Jian's eyes were calm as he slowly raised the blade.
"Some people will be anxious."
Nezha grinned.
"Let him worry himself to death."
Tang Sanzang finally raised his hand.
The pen tip hovers above the third page.
Everyone was watching.
The cardboard covering the cataloger began to bulge layer by layer, as if something was about to burst out.
The principal creditor is even more direct, with all the bloody words on the black ledger running wildly at the same time.
It stared intently at Tang Sanzang, forcing out a sentence.
"If you dare to publicly inscribe original sin on the third page, the main scroll of Journey to the West will be overturned on the spot."
Tang Sanzang's hand did not tremble.
"Then let's flip it."
The pen tip fell as these two words were uttered.
laugh--
Like hot iron being pressed into wet skin.
The first stroke of the pen was etched into the center of the third page.
It's not about writing.
It is a moment.
The entire page instantly lit up with blood and white, the color spreading wildly outwards along that stroke.
The cataloger screamed and pounced on him.
"Stop him!"
Sun Wukong had been waiting for this, and with a swing of his staff, he smashed half of its body apart on the spot.
Paper pages flew everywhere.
The principal debtor also got into trouble.
Yang Jian blocked with his sword, then spun his three-pointed, double-edged blade, sending the rolled-up black curtain flying into the air.
Nezha followed up with another shot, the Fire-Tipped Spear piercing through the middle of the tent flap and burning a hole in it.
Red Boy laughed loudly as he charged into the battle.
"Want to steal the pen? You'll have to get past me first."
Tang Sanzang then made his second stroke.
This time, the entire audience started shaking.
The figure on the top floor didn't stop them.
Just watch quietly.
He really does look like a referee.
But just as the third stroke was about to fall...
The cataloger's half-exploded body suddenly stopped.
Those scattered pieces of paper do not come back together.
They spread out in all directions.
The debtor stopped charging forward and instead pulled out the black flame from his chest and slammed it into the ground.
Chen Fan's expression changed.
"wrong."
The cataloger's cracked face slowly stretched to his ears.
"Do you really think all I can do is take pages?"
"The third page can be opened."
"The Deletion Wheel can also be opened."
It slammed its hands together.
The ground, ceiling, steps, and audience seating—all the scattered fragments of paper were projected simultaneously.
First, there was the sea.
Boundless and endless, the pages roll and swirl.
Each page was covered with both the old scripture and the new commentary.
Next is the Revision Division.
Black towers rose up, with giant pens hanging between them, as if they were about to fall and change words at any moment.
Finally, there are the fragments of Mirror City.
The fragmented city shadows piled up layer by layer, the city walls were all mirrors, each mirror reflecting a different person, a different journey to the West, a different ending.
Triple projection combined.
In the center of the entire space, a huge gray-white ring suddenly opened up.
The edges of the ring are all toothed.
The middle is empty.
The empty space, however, absorbs light, sound, and shadows.
The cataloger stood in front of the circle, ink still dripping from half his face, his laughter trembling.
"Archived boundary wheel".
"It's open."
Tang Sanzang's pen stopped at the top of the third page.
Sun Wukong suddenly turned around.
Chen Fan looked up and his pupils contracted sharply.
The empty space in the middle of the wheel was directly opposite the book at their feet.
Chapter 199 Archive Deletion Wheel
As soon as the gray-white ring opened, the entire space fell silent for a moment.
The suction force exploded the next instant.
It's not the wind.
The entire area was collapsing into that wheel.
The sutra pages on the ground rolled up first, followed by the broken chairs by the railing. Even the tattered plaques hanging high up began to tremble, making a series of crisp sounds. Tang Sanzang almost dropped his pen, the hem of his cassock was pulled straight forward, and he was dragged forward half a step.
Chen Fan grabbed his shoulder and placed his other hand on the third page.
The paper looked as if it had just been pulled out of a fire.
"Don't stop," Chen Fan hissed. "Every word you write reduces its value by one point."
Tang Sanzang's Adam's apple bobbed, and without saying a word, he picked up his pen and began to write.
The moment the ink touched the paper, the gray-white perforated pages in front of it slowed down abruptly.
The cataloger's eyelids twitched violently, and the smile on his face froze halfway.
"Protect that page!" it shrieked. "Take the book first, then the person!"
The principal debtor raised his hand and grabbed, and countless black ropes immediately descended from mid-air. These ropes weren't aimed at Chen Fan; they all rushed towards the third page. The remnant master also unfurled his tattered chains, the ends of which were studded with barbs, and lashed out at the ground, specifically targeting Tang Sanzang's feet.
"Good timing."
With a stomp of his foot, Sun Wukong rushed to the front of the Delete World Wheel.
He didn't dodge.
He swung the bat and hit him.
The moment the golden cudgel was held horizontally, a piercing screeching sound exploded. It was like someone was sawing back and forth across everyone's ear cartilage. The gray-white ring pressed down, the muscles in Wukong's arms bulged, and the stone beneath his feet burst open layer by layer, cracks spreading wildly in all directions.
"Is that all you've got?" Wukong grinned, veins throbbing on his forehead. "Trying to take down your grandpa Sun?"
A sudden burst of light shone from the empty space in the Deletion Wheel.
A line of gray text appeared.
[Target for Retrieval: Sun Wukong]
[Old file matching: Bi Ma Wen, Demon Monkey, Prisoner, Journey to the West tool]
Each time a character lights up, the ring gains one point.
Wukong's body sank half a foot, and the soles of his shoes sank into the cracks.
On the high spectator stands, a few blurry figures swayed slightly, as if watching a spectacle.
Yang Jian snorted coldly and slashed out with his three-pointed double-edged sword.
"Get out of here."
This cut didn't cleave the middle.
He chopped the edge.
The blade's edge sliced through seven fiery lines along the edge of the toothed blade, snapping and cracking as it cleaved through all seven teeth. The gray-white ring shifted slightly, the force pressing down on Wukong sliding to the left. Wukong's shoulder jerked, forcefully pushing the staff back up three inches.
The cataloger's face turned pale.
"Cutting off the edge won't work! It will return on its own!"
As soon as it finished speaking, the broken teeth grew back.
The Bull Demon King has already crashed into the side.
"You've got long legs, my foot!"
boom!
He thrust his horns upwards, his entire body like a mountain wall, firmly wedging himself against the side of the wheel. The toothed leaf, which had only grown back halfway, was shattered again by his impact, sending fragments flying everywhere. The flying ash pieces touched the surrounding space and immediately turned into sheets of old case papers, covered with their former names, crimes, and past events.
Chen Fan glanced at it, and his brows immediately furrowed.
These things aren't scary.
This is debt collection.
As long as the Deletion Wheel digs up all the old debts, it can dismantle people layer by layer back to their original state based on those debts.
"Zongwu!" Chen Fan shouted.
Zongwu had been holding back for a long time.
The old crow, carrying the bone pen, flapped its wings and flew into the air, then slapped down a page of ink onto the cataloger.
"Forced interrogation!"
Snapped!
A black box was placed directly on the head of the cataloger.
The cataloger paused, muttering to himself, "Current cataloging permissions: C+, validity period: three breaths—"
As soon as it finished speaking, its face turned pale.
Zong Wu was delighted and immediately took on the second task.
"One more question. Who approved the core call to the boundary deletion wheel?"
Snapped!
The black frame fell down again.
The cataloger was practically grinding his teeth to powder, but his mouth was still uncontrollably open.
"The seat of honor for sutra contemplation is number one—"
It uttered only one word, and an invisible hand pressed down from mid-air, shattering the black frame with a snap.
Zongwu was so shocked that it tumbled twice, its feathers falling to the ground, and it was still cursing.
"Damn it, feeling guilty, huh? Come down here and tell me!"
The shadow sitting high up did not move.
He didn't even turn his head slightly.
It's still watching.
Below, the principal debtor has already found a loophole.
It clasped its hands together, and a large black rope twisted into a thick pillar, which it thrust straight down at Tang Sanzang.
"Cut off the pen first!"
Chen Fan raised his hand and threw out the Zhen Ce nail.
With a clang, the nail pierced the center of the black rope, causing it to crack inch by inch. Before the cracks had completely disintegrated, the tattered chain belonging to the Remnant Master was already upon him, the end of which coiled and headed straight for the third page of Chen Fan's waist.
Chen Fan did not back down.
He grabbed the scripture and held it to his chest, then struck the surface of the book with the chain, sparks flying everywhere.
My arm went numb.
The person slid back five or six steps.
Tang Sanzang was also shaken so much that his hand trembled, and an ink splattered on the corner of the page.
The cataloger burst out laughing when he saw this.
"Protect them! Keep protecting them!"
"You can protect it for a while, but you can't protect the archives of the Deletion Wheel."
"This wheel can recycle, archive, and even collect debts. It remembers all the old debts each of you owes. Is copying scriptures useful? Let's see if you can write faster, or if it can collect them faster!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the gray-white ring expanded again.
This time, it's not just Wukong who's being suppressed.
Its edge teeth flipped at the same time, and old pages popped out into the air one by one.
They're all over there.
Old footage of Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace.
The war archives sealed at the mouth of the Guanjiang River by Yang Jian.
The old grievances of the Bull Demon King's faction.
The fragments of the scroll from the story of Red Boy burning the mountains.
They even dug out Tang Sanzang's old book of golden cicadas.
The last volume slowly came to a stop in front of Chen Fan.
There was only one line of text on the page.
[Other source. Accidental entry. Should be deleted.]
Chen Fan's eyes turned cold.
really.
This thing is the most ruthless towards him.
The principal debtor grabbed the scroll and shoved it hard at the wheel of destruction.
"Debt collection!"
A muffled thud came from the hollow center of the ring, and a suction force locked onto Chen Fan. The ground beneath Chen Fan's feet collapsed, half of his leg sank into the ground, and his head buzzed, as if someone was scraping inside him with a blunt knife.
Countless fragments flashed before his eyes in an instant.
A hundred years of feeding fruit at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.
The first time I saw Sun Wukong.
The system lights up for the first time.
There were also many scenes that shouldn't have appeared.
It was like a road he had never traveled before.
It's like the blank space he should have been placed into after being deleted by this wheel.
"Chen Fan!"
Tang Sanzang's pen trembled, and his voice changed.
"Write yours!" Chen Fan gritted his teeth, raising his hand to press his forehead. "Don't look at me!"
The next second, a burst of fire blasted in from the side.
Red Boy rode his fiery wheels into the air, laughing fiercely.
"You dare to bite my brother? I'll burn your axle first!"
He opened his mouth and unleashed a ball of Samadhi Fire.
The fire did not burn the wheel surface.
He was focused on the central axis.
No matter how fast the cycle of destruction spins, it still needs an axis. That axis is hidden deep and usually invisible, but every time the ring exerts force, a gray-white bone line will be revealed in the very center.
Red Boy's bite hit the bone perfectly.
With a sizzling sound.
The flames suddenly shot out along the central axis.
The entire deletion wheel trembled, and the page teeth rotation immediately went awry. Several old sheets of paper, not yet fully filed, collided together in mid-air and exploded into a cloud of dust.
The Bull Demon King laughed heartily.
"Good son!"
Red Boy raised an eyebrow, still breathing fire.
"Nonsense, I'm the expert at burning this kind of junk!"
Yang Jian seized this opportunity and suddenly opened his third eye on his forehead.
A white line runs straight down the rim of the wheel.
click!
This time, it wasn't just a tooth that broke off.
It's a complete border.
As the Delete Wheel shrank inward, the pressure on Wukong's shoulders decreased dramatically. He kicked off with his feet, raised his arms, and thrust the Golden Cudgel upward with all his might.
"Get out of here!"
boom!
The ring was lifted three zhang off the ground.
The entire stands shook.
The creditors and the remaining lawyers surrounding them were shaken and staggered. The cataloger fared even worse; the long book on his chest tore in half on the spot, and a bunch of messy pages flew out. He pounced on it, frantically trying to grab them, and was still screaming.
"Don't panic! Don't panic! The formation can't be scattered! If it's scattered, everything will be in chaos!"
Zongwu's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Are you afraid of this?"
He flapped his wings and flew back, pointing with his bone pen.
"Forced questioning. Principal creditor, which level of debt are you currently demanding?"
Just as the creditor was about to rush forward, his mouth suddenly stopped responding to his commands.
"Exceeding the proper debt collection level. Unauthorized. Forcible collection by borrowing funds—"
Zongwu burst into laughter on the spot.
"Did you hear that! This bastard overstepped his authority!"
Chen Fan immediately took over.
"Then grant it access!"
He raised his hand and flicked out a black seal, which struck the creditor squarely between the eyebrows. The black seal was a fragment of a seal he had pried out from the broken mat a few chapters ago; it hadn't been used until now. As soon as the seal landed, a row of fragmented characters immediately appeared above the creditor's head.
[Permission verification in progress]
[Prior bond eligibility, one month's interest frozen]
A breath is very short.
enough.
The Bull Demon King turned and delivered a punch, smashing half of the debtor's body into a pillar. Yang Jian followed up with a slash, his three-pointed, double-edged sword ripping open a gaping wound from the debtor's shoulder to his waist. Red Boy's fire then poured into the wound, burning the debtor until he tumbled to the ground.
The cataloger's eyes widened in amazement.
It never dreamed that these people, after fighting until now, weren't just stubbornly resisting, but were specifically targeting the rules to counter-dismantle the system.
"Madmen, they're all madmen..."
It muttered something, then suddenly looked up and hissed at the highest point.
"Get on the bench! Time to bring the gavel down! They're going to dismantle the wheels!"
There was still no response from above.
The figure was sitting there.
It's like watching a play and really enjoying it.
This silence was more intimidating than any action.
Chen Fan looked up and glanced around, his heart sinking even deeper.
The less this thing moves, the more it shows it can wait.
It is waiting for the erasure wheel to push them to their limit.
Or, wait until a certain word is written on the third page.
"Tang Sanzang, where are we in the writing?"
Tang Sanzang's forehead was covered in sweat, and the pen was so tightly gripped that it made a cracking sound.
"Almost there."
Chen Fan looked down.
On the third page, most of the ink characters have already emerged.
With each character formed, the edge of the brush weakened. Now, the edge was heavily grayed, and many of the page teeth were becoming brittle. But the further he went, the harder it became for Tang Sanzang to write. It was as if something was pressing down on the tip of the brush, preventing him from continuing.
The cataloger obviously noticed it too.
It slammed the remaining half of the long book against its chest, and its entire body exploded into a cloud of ink mist. The next second, it directly entered the Delete World Wheel.
"The archive fits perfectly!"
The gray-white ring immediately lit up again.
The cracked borders quickly healed, and the fire on the central axis was covered by layers of ink. Even more ruthless, a giant hand emerged from the hollow center, its palm covered with densely packed small characters, and it reached out to grab Tang Sanzang and the third page.
"I'll do it!"
Wukong lunged forward and brought his golden cudgel down on his head.
With a swift movement, he grabbed the shaft of the stick.
The situation reached a stalemate.
Wukong's eyes were practically spitting fire, and his arm bones were cracking.
Yang Jian cut off the border.
The Bull Demon King rammed into them again.
Red Boy burned the axle with all his might.
Zong Wu asked three questions in a row from the side, but the debtor and the disabled officer kept pausing.
The entire space went completely insane.
Rocks flew everywhere. Broken pages filled the air. Rows of empty chairs along the railing collapsed one after another, as if someone had kicked them down from above.
Chen Fan didn't look anywhere else.
He stood guard in front of Tang Sanzang.
A chain came, and he smashed it open.
He takes an old file and tears it off.
He was struck twice in the shoulder and then hit in the back with an ink dagger. Blood dripped down his clothes, but he didn't even turn his head.
"Write."
He only said that one word.
Tang Sanzang's lips turned pale, but his hands became increasingly steady.
The pen finally pressed down.
The light from the first and second pages rose together, like two hands, slowly lifting the third page. The large hand in the hollow of the Deletion Wheel immediately began to peel away, layer after layer of text falling away.
The cataloger's screams came from inside the wheelchair.
"impossible!"
"Who dares to write this! Who gave you permission to write this!"
Tang Sanzang's wrist suddenly sank.
The first character is 成 (chéng).
most.
The world-deleting wheel cracked open with a snap.
The second character is 成 (chéng).
初。
The principal debtor coughed up a mouthful of black blood on the spot, and the authority words above his head were completely destroyed.
As the third word fell, the figure that had been motionless high up finally seemed to sit up a little straighter.
罪。
The entire stands fell silent for a moment.
It's like all the sounds are stuck.
Only the last stroke of the pen tip remains, continuing downwards.
Chen Fan suddenly looked up.
The three fragments of the true core in mid-air had somehow broken free from their restraints.
They took off at the same time.
One flew past Wukong's head.
One shot out from the crack in the Deletion Wheel.
The last one was actually pulled out from the text on the third page.
Three streaks of golden-red light collided in mid-air.
Snapped.
The fourth character was only half-finished.
The three fragments have been glued together.