novelonline Chapter 4167 Life and Chaos
Chapter 4167 Life and Chaos
Chapter 4167 Life and Chaos
The group continued to approach the evil creature, but Miss Felian Anna did not follow. Instead, she hovered in place, observing her surroundings.
With such thorough preparation, she never believed they would lose this battle. Her current worry was that after [Life] perished, the final being would immediately appear. To meet a god in this form, she herself had no confidence whatsoever.
But when the four of them got close enough to the evil creature, the monster, which had been lying on the ground, suddenly broke free from the moonlight's restraints. Its previously bewildered eyes were now filled with wisdom. It opened its mouth and swallowed Shad, who had come to stand before it, then dodged the magical attacks of the other three witches and transformed into a dim yellow light, flying away into the distance.
"Oh no! While the aging of life means the decay of the body, it also means the accumulation of wisdom! This thing has been preparing a trap for a long time, hurry and chase after it!"
Anxious, Gina and Madam Gustav immediately chased after the mist; the dim yellow hue was quite conspicuous, so there was no need to worry about not finding it. Miss Bradvi, her face streaked with tears and snot, also wanted to follow, but then she noticed the petite doll following her at a leisurely pace.
“Miss Feliana, aren’t you worried about him?”
"What's there to worry about? He can sense life energy, so he must have seen through this trap long ago. He probably also noticed from your battle just now that for [life], the inside is much more vulnerable than the outside."
The petite doll smiled:
"Look, he's made his move."
In the fog, dense, crimson, translucent petals rushed towards her. Sensing a deadly threat, the halfling girl hurriedly activated her secret technique, [False Life Skin], using the power of the fire seed to resist the power of these petals.
She and the doll girl ran faster forward, while the petals blowing from ahead grew denser. A sweet, pungent floral scent filled the air. At first, the halfling girl found the smell pleasant, but she quickly realized that the fragrance was actually the smell of mutated flesh.
The old witch and Gina appeared ahead, and the dragon girl had already transformed back into human form. Miss Bradvi was curious why they had stopped, and after she stopped beside them, she exclaimed in surprise at the scene before her:
"Oh, this is really beautiful."
A dense rain of petals swept over them, and not far ahead, a massive, hill-like mass of flesh lay sprawled in the blood. On the back of that mass of flesh, crimson flower buds were blooming.
The Flower of Decaying Moon is rooted in Life, slowly changing color as it draws upon the power of "decay" from its body. This flower, possessing the power of flesh and blood decay, further causes the life beneath its roots to wither.
The skin of the motionless mass of flesh grew increasingly yellow and its body became increasingly emaciated, while the flower buds growing on its back grew larger and larger.
The witches didn't know how to best describe the scene, but in short, this strange magic seemed even more sinister than the evil object itself.
Finally, the enormous flower bud completely concealed the trace of the flesh and blood, as if the bud had absorbed it all. Layer upon layer of petals then bloomed, and a rain of flowers appeared in the blood mist. In the center of the blooming petals, Shad, his entire body transformed into flames, also appeared.
"I have to admit, the Life Fire Form's immunity to the negative effects of flesh and blood is truly amazing."
As he spoke, he reversed his body from the life force back into flesh and blood. The flames ultimately converged into the source of fire in his palm. If it weren't for this new and wondrous technique, Shad might not have dared to risk being swallowed by the evil creature.
They were relieved to see that he was alright, but they didn't dare to approach him immediately. Instead, they waited until the effects of Shad's magic had completely worn off and the crimson petals with their dim yellow edges had all disappeared before they dared to go over.
"The extraordinary technique you have chosen for yourself is excellent."
Miss Feliananna praised, then landed back on Shad's shoulder, while the others looked down at Shad's feet. [Life] is born from the furnace, ages as it withers, and ultimately succumbs to the decaying red moonlight.
In the end, only a piece of black flesh remained. The flesh was soaking in the blood at their feet. Shad picked it up, and everyone stared at it in silence. Finally, the halfling girl, having wiped her face clean, spoke:
"Is it just my imagination? Why does it smell so good?"
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone's stomachs started growling, including Xia De's.
"Is this a placenta?"
Mrs. Gustave asked, "Although the color is a little off, the shape is generally correct." And no one could describe the fragrance in the right words; everyone just knew they needed it.
This is different from the desire to make one's own life force stronger when seeing the "spark of life." The desire for this black placenta is life's attempt to evolve.
"This is the essence of life, a treasure that can fill any congenital or acquired physical defects, cure any physical disease, and enable any life to evolve to a higher level."
Shad explained:
"After I successfully resolved it, I learned some information, and the other me in my ear helped me interpret this information. We brought this [life] into existence, and we also let it live its entire life, finally entering a carefree death, which is why this thing appeared."
As he spoke, his stomach rumbled again:
"Mrs. Gustav, please take this first. The focus now is not on the harvest."
He looked around:
"New life is born, and then it dies. So, what's next?"
Everyone looked around. The mist stirred up by the battle was calming down, and the ripples of blood beneath their feet were subsiding. Nothing had happened, nothing had changed.
"Have I completed my mission?"
Shad then asked in his mind, and "she" gave an affirmative answer:
The mission is complete; you may choose to return at any time.
"Where is that deity?"
"I think I understand the significance of this factory's existence now."
As everyone looked around, Miss Feliciano said:
"One theory suggests that since the end of the First Era, subsequent eras have been heading towards collapse and destruction, which is why many strange problems have arisen. This factory is probably a place used to process disordered life force."
"Disordered life force?"
"If we consider all life in the material world as a whole, then this whole will also experience illnesses. The increase or decrease in population represents an overall change in vitality, and the emergence of plagues represents the appearance of minor diseases in life as a whole."
So what if life as a whole develops problems like chaos, disorder, and rampant growth as the world progresses?
Miss Felicity said:
"All the chaotic and disordered life energy is channeled here, which is why this factory is full of mutated life forms. And the factory can use a ritual called the 'Life Furnace' to forge the disordered life energy into a whole called 'Life'."
Witnessing the birth of life and then sending it to its death is perhaps the fundamental purpose of this factory. This place is incredibly ancient; I even suspect its existence is related to that ancient god of creation. Perhaps long ago, the rituals and procedures performed within the factory were carried out by devotees of this ancient god.
Mrs. Gustave understood Miss Ferrenanna's thoughts:
"But after the ancient gods left, the ancient god cult also fell apart. This factory needs someone to continuously repeat this ritual, which is why outsiders keep coming in and regularly performing this ritual. The coffins we just encountered are proof of this."
Gina suddenly realized:
“We are all connected to that ancient god of creation, which is why we came here! Even though the ancient god's cult has disappeared into time, the rituals here have never ceased, nor can they cease.”
Miss Bradley looked on with awe. Although they had all been forced to come here, they didn’t actually dislike the adventures they had taken if there was a noble reason for the trip.
"That does have a very mythological feel to it."
Shad said, and guessed that after the departure of the [Twilight Creator], there was indeed someone supervising this place. The evil god called the [Lord of Flesh and Blood Abnormality] had obviously taken over the responsibility, but that being clearly had no intention of discussing things properly with mortals. Once the invitation was sent, people had to come.
"Miss Feliana's guess may not be 100% accurate, but it should be close to the truth. However, even though we understand the possible significance of this factory, doesn't this ceremony leave the participants a way out?"
Or perhaps, everyone participating in the ritual is implicitly considered a sacrifice destined to die? After all, the witch who provided us with the coffins also completed the ritual, but died here as well.
The petite witch frowned slightly:
"If I can get out, I think I need to check some information in the council. This matter is probably not only related to the creator, but also possibly to the witch goddess. Chaos and disorder represent her mysterious power. The handling of the imbalance of world order since the mythological era is full of the shadow of that ancient witch."
As for leaving? No, the factory probably wouldn't dare let the participants leave. The place is filled with chaotic and disordered life force, and even if the participants successfully achieve their goal, their life forms will most likely be irreversibly affected.
Rather than risk letting those who participated in the ritual return to the normal world carrying their chaotic life force, bringing the risks back with them, it's better to let all the participants stay.
"In ancient times, those who volunteered were probably devout martyrs."
Mrs. Gustav said, and Gina added in a low voice:
"But in modern times, we who participate involuntarily are just unlucky witches with terrible luck."