Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The closer you get to the bronze door, the more terrifying the pressure in the air becomes.

It wasn't a physical pressure, but a fear and repulsion stemming from a life instinct.

Every breath of air carried a maddening scent, and countless indescribable whispers seemed to echo in one's ears, unsettling the mind.

If Mr. J and his companions were not ordinary people, they would probably have already suffered a mental breakdown or fallen into complete madness.

Two factors were indispensable for the decapitation team to arrive at this location so relatively "easily".

On one hand, there was Su Xiao's outrageous idea, which could be described as "outrageous"—he himself stood like the most dazzling lighthouse on the main street of Eisenla, using himself as bait, and together with the noise-generating machine Uta, he managed to attract more than 95 percent of the Dark Guardians in the city, creating an excellent opening for Mr. J.

On the other hand, the environment near the bronze door was too harsh and dangerous. The malice and oppression emanating from the world behind the door made most of the Dark Guardians unwilling to stay for long. They instinctively avoided this area, as if getting close would lead to being devoured and assimilated by some being behind the door.

Xia's face was as pale as paper. Despite the protection of Mr. J and Bubuwang, she still felt that her soul was like a candle flame flickering in a storm, which could be extinguished at any moment.

Mr. J settled Xia in a relatively stable ruin about three kilometers away from the Bronze Gate.

"Laurent, keep an eye on her."

Laurent nodded, and a barely perceptible shield of aura enveloped Xia, isolating her from some of the unpleasant aura.

Although Su Xiao and Lin Yi never said it outright, Mr. J could clearly see their attitude towards Xia.

The way Bubuwang and Baha kept Xia at the center of their journey further confirmed this point.

Mr. J didn't want to personally experience just how sharp Su Xiao's blade was, capable of cutting through everything, because of a single oversight, especially now that the team had an unfathomable trump card in Lin Yi.

Mr. J has finally managed to escape the quagmire of the past and get back on the "right track," so why invite trouble upon himself and make enemies out of thin air? Getting things done smoothly is the best course of action.

After settling Xia in, Mr. J, along with Bubuwang and Baha, had no more reservations. They transformed into three blurry shadows and swiftly pierced through the suffocating pressure field, finally arriving at their destination.

Looking up, the bronze door was larger than imagined, with patterns and symbols carved on the door that could not be understood by common sense.

Mr. J carefully examined the area and could clearly see the forms of Azathoth, the nameless mist-like ruler, and the black goat Shub-Niggurath, but these three only occupied a portion of the area on the giant gate.

In other areas, he saw even more bizarre sights: planets as large as the sun, their surfaces writhing with countless tentacles; viscous shadows of ever-changing shapes, seemingly without a fixed form; and many more that defied description, causing dizziness and a frantic, piercing scream of warning with just a glance.

“Tsk…” Mr. J clicked his tongue, his eyes becoming extremely serious.

Based on the carvings on the door, he quickly made a judgment: this world, or rather the world that this door connects to, must have a very deep connection with Azathoth and the others' original homeland.

The terrifying beings depicted on the door are very likely gods of the same rank as Azathoth and Shub, or even more bizarre.

If this bronze door is left to remain here and used by a madman like Sphinx, who knows what will crawl out of it next?
A group of ancient gods, perfectly healthy and unharmed?
If that's the case, let alone Su Xiao and Lin Yi, even if the entire fighting force of the wizarding world were brought over, they would probably only have one outcome: "waiting to die".

Mr. J's guess was almost identical to the facts.

This bronze door connects to the primordial world where Outer Gods such as Azathoth and Shub were born.

However, that world itself was already on the verge of collapse.

Azathoth, Shub Nicholas, and Yog Sothoth paid an unimaginable price to barely escape from that collapsed original world into the void and then fled to this "wizard world".

Most of the remaining conceptual deities in the original world, either due to their deep involvement or the nature of their power, have fallen into a near-eternal slumber.

The reason why the three gods of Azathoth did not actively use the bronze gate to summon their former "colleagues" or subordinates after invading the wizarding world was not because they were unwilling, but because they were unable and dared not.

The reason is simple: earlier, the three of them had clashed with the previous generation of law destroyers and were beaten half to death. Their origins suffered irreversible damage, causing their power level to plummet from the terrifying ninth rank to the current sixth rank.

In such a weakened state, how could they dare to open the passage connecting to the original world?

Regardless of which Great Old One or Outer God is summoned, given their current state, they are highly likely to become "nourishment" and "snacks" for the other to regain power.

Therefore, the three gods unanimously chose to seal this dangerous bronze door to prevent any being from discovering and exploiting it.

However, Shub Nicholas never expected that Sphinx's ambition and ability far exceeded her expectations.

Not only had Sphinx secretly located the exact location of the Bronze Gate, but he had also established a hidden connection with a being behind the gate thanks to his unique talent.

Nyarlathotep, the Outer God known as the "Messenger" and the "Man of a Thousand Faces," was deeply connected to the collapsing Central Plains, which prevented him from leaving with the other three gods during their escape.

However, Nyarlathotep lived up to its title of "the God of a Thousand Faces." On the eve of its impending eternal slumber, it exercised some ultimate power, forcibly separating its countless avatars and incarnations from its original essence.

Many of these detached clones retained independent consciousness and some of their power, like viral seeds scattered throughout the universe.

The Sphinx contacted one of these countless Nyarlathotep clones.

At that moment, Baha flew around the bronze gate once.

It was somewhat impatient, or rather, irritated by the malice emanating from the door.

"Damn, this looks weird! Let me see how hard this thing is!"

Before he could finish speaking, Baha swooped down, its claws slashing fiercely at the surface of the bronze door.

"Qiang!"

A brief clang of metal rang out.

The result was predictable: Baha couldn't even leave a faint white mark on the bronze door, let alone damage it.

Its claws grazed the doorway, sending up only a trail of barely visible sparks; the recoil made Baha's claws go numb.

"Woof!" Bubuwang barked from the side, its voice clearly showing disdain. It turned to Mr. J, nudging him with its nose, its big, dark eyes conveying a clear message: It's your job to do what you're good at, don't dawdle.

Mr. J took a deep breath of the insane air, feeling the almost tangible malice emanating from the bronze door.

However, this extreme danger only stirred up Mr. J's inherent madness and greed.

A twisted, excited smile gradually spread across his face, his mouth stretching almost to his ears.

Risk and reward go hand in hand; this is the essence of advancement for people like him.

As long as he can successfully devour the bronze door connecting the primordial world and survive, Mr. J will definitely be able to plunder unimaginable benefits from it, enough to bring about a qualitative transformation in him.

But the prerequisite is that he must survive this high-stakes gamble.

“Step back, little ones,” Mr. J ordered in a hoarse voice, his eyes burning with an increasingly intense madness.

Baha and Bubuwang did as they were told, leaping back a short distance and watching warily.

Mr. J walked step by step toward the bronze door. With each step he took, the ground beneath his feet seemed to sink slightly, and the whispers around him seemed to become clearer.

He came to the door, slowly raised his right hand, and placed his palm on the door covered with strange reliefs.

The moment they made contact, something unexpected happened.

"Om-"

The bronze door seemed like a giant beast that had been awakened, and the reliefs on the door seemed to come alive, wriggling slightly.

A ball of dark energy rapidly seeped out from inside the door, coiling up Mr. J's arm and attempting to penetrate his body.

Mr. J grunted, veins bulging on his forehead, but the madness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

Instead of breaking free, he further amplified his power.

"Roar--!"

Behind Mr. J, a phantom image that was difficult to discern in its exact form, only vaguely recognizable as a gigantic maw that seemed capable of devouring stars, suddenly appeared.

The gigantic phantom mouth opened and then suddenly closed, swallowing Mr. J and the bronze door in the area his hand was touching.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no blinding burst of light.

Under the watchful eyes of Baha and Bubuwang, the space in front of them seemed to collapse and disappear inwards like a painting erased by an eraser.

All that remained was a perfectly smooth, bottomless circular crater, where everything that had originally existed had been forcibly devoured and taken away by the gigantic phantom.

Mr. J and the bronze door vanished without a trace, leaving only a deathly silence.

Almost at the same moment that Mr. J successfully devoured the Bronze Gate, Sphinx, who was far away in the core area of ​​Eisenra and was staring intently at several light and shadow screens in front of him, calculating the countdown to the arrival of Nyarlathotep's clone, suddenly stood up from his chair.

"What's going on?!" For the first time, an incredulous look of panic appeared on Sphinx's usually gloomy and calm face.

The soul link he had established with Nyarlathotep's avatar in his mind was severed without warning.

It was as if the signal source had been completely destroyed, leaving only a deathly silence.

Sphinx frantically switched between the images transmitted by the various surveillance devices deployed throughout the city. When the image switched to the area where the bronze gate was originally located, his pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints.

It's gone! That area is empty!
The bronze door vanished without a trace, leaving only a stark, deep crater in its place. The surrounding ruins remained intact, but the door and the spot where it stood were completely erased.

"White Night!!!" Sphinx spat out the name through gritted teeth, his voice filled with deep-seated resentment.

He didn't even need evidence; his intuition told him that this was definitely Su Xiao's doing.

Only an unconventional hunter, skilled at dismantling conspiracies in the most direct way, could pull off such a radical move.

Having confirmed that the Bronze Gate had truly vanished, and that his connection with Nyarlathotep had been completely severed, Sphinx felt as if all the bones in his body had been removed, and he staggered back into his chair.

He tilted his head back and exhaled a long breath.

Lost.

This time, it was a complete and utter defeat.

With the Bronze Gate, his last hope for a comeback, shattered, all his schemes became a joke.

Right now, besides himself, Sphinx only has the few remaining Dark Guardians in Eisenra City who were almost wiped out by Su Xiao.

As for Su Xiao? He himself is a killing machine comparable to an army, along with three immortal wizards in perfect condition, and that sorrowful woman whose origins he cannot even fathom.

The top combat forces have become completely unbalanced, tilting to a hopeless degree.

Eisenla's main street could no longer be described as a "street" at this moment; it was more like a bloody swamp made up of severed limbs and broken shells.

Su Xiao stood atop a mountain of corpses, more than fifty meters high, holding a knife in one hand.

This mountain of corpses was entirely made up of the bodies of the Dark Guardians, with thick, dark blood flowing like a stream, staining the ground below a mess.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood, which mingled with the madness unique to the Dark Guardians, creating a terrifying environment capable of driving an ordinary person to the brink of madness.

Su Xiao's black outfit was stained with large patches of dirt, but the blade of the Dragon Slayer remained as clear as snow, reflecting in his calm eyes.

"Roar--!"

Driven by its lingering madness, the last Guardian of Darkness used all four limbs to painstakingly climb the corpses of its kind, launching a final assault on Su Xiao at the top.

Su Xiao didn't even look at it directly, but casually swung his long sword backhand.

"puff!"

A faint flash of light appeared, and the hideous head, accompanied by a spray of blood, shot into the air. The headless corpse rolled down the pile of corpses with a dull thud.

At this point, the Dark Guardians who had been drawn to the main street had been completely slaughtered by Su Xiao with a single sword stroke.

Su Xiao frowned slightly and raised her hand to rub her ear.

Uta, whom he had previously imprisoned in the crystal cage, had long since disappeared.

In fact, once the number of Dark Guardians had gathered to a certain extent and the offensive had reached a certain scale, Su Xiao found the "clanging" noise that guy was making too jarring, so he casually tossed the crystal cage into a corner like trash.

Using Uta to attract the Dark Guardians was indeed very efficient, but the continuous knocking sound, which was bearable at first, eventually became so loud that his eardrums hurt, and he even became somewhat impatient.

Purity is the best accompaniment to continuous killing.

"beep--"

A crisp electronic sound came from his arms, breaking the deathly silence of this bloody battlefield.

Su Xiao sheathed his long sword and took out a small communicator.

On the screen, a green dot representing Mr. J and the Bubuwang team was flashing steadily at a specific frequency—this was the pre-arranged "mission completed" signal.

"Things went fairly smoothly." Su Xiao put the communicator away.

From their official arrival in Eisenla to the resolution of the biggest threat, the Bronze Gate, only an hour and a half had passed.

Time is life. In this enemy stronghold, the longer the delay, the more variables there will be, and the more unfavorable the situation will become for them.

The best way to deal with a cunning old fox like Sphinx, who has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, is to overturn the chessboard with overwhelming force, killing all his ingenious plans before he can even begin to execute them.

Just as Su Xiao leaped down from the mountain of corpses, his feet landing on the blood-soaked ground—

"Boom!!!"

The entire city of Eisenla trembled violently!
It wasn't the kind of tremors that come from underground like an earthquake, but rather the entire urban space itself groaning in agony.

The already dilapidated buildings on both sides of the street were covered in rubble and dust, and the chaotic whispers in the air were amplified instantly.

A chilling malice, like a flood bursting its banks, erupted from the heart of the city and instantly swept through every corner.

About ten meters behind Su Xiao, on an open space, the outline of a door quickly solidified and took shape.

The newly appeared door has a black and red metallic texture, and countless tormented and twisted phantoms of souls are wrapped around the edge of the door frame. They shriek silently, exuding endless resentment and despair.

Above the door, there were no specific patterns, only a constantly flowing vortex of blood, which seemed to draw your gaze in if you looked at it for too long.

This is Sphinx's ultimate weapon, manifested through his connection with the Bronze Gate and the primordial world, combined with the negative energy he has accumulated over countless years.

Although he lost the Bronze Gate and could not summon Nyarlathotep's avatar, Sphinx clearly overdrawn some kind of primordial energy at the last moment, bringing forward and manifesting the "Gate of Darkness" that represented his ultimate ambition in an incomplete form.

He was determined to fight to the death. Sphinx possessed his own pride. He could accept defeat to Su Xiao, a powerful enemy, but he would never allow himself to close his eyes and wait for death like a coward, awaiting the final judgment in despair.

Even if it means death, he will drag Su Xiao, the hunter who ruined all his plans, down with him into the "dark prison" he created himself.

"Om-!"

"Well!"

With a muffled groan, Su Xiao felt a sweet taste in her throat, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

This is just the prelude.

The next moment, countless black energy threads, like living beings, surged wildly from the black and red vortex of the Dark Prison Gate, instantly enveloping the space within a few meters around Su Xiao.

[WARNING: The Hunter is being affected by the 'Assimilation' effect of the 'Gates of Darkness'!]

[The 'assimilation' effect is being checked... This effect comes with an instant-death rule!]

[When the hunter's health drops below 25%, the 'Desperate Struggle' ability is activated, greatly increasing physical defense and resistance to abnormal statuses... The instant-death rule has too high a priority, and the increased resistance cannot be fully exempted.]

[The instant death penalty has been finally confirmed...]

【'Soul Blade' is now activated!】

[Successful counterattack! 'Soul Blade' has been forcibly exempted from this instant-death penalty!]

[Warning: 'Soul Blade' will be dormant for 15 days.]

A series of notification messages flashed across Su Xiao's vision like a waterfall, but he had no time to look at them closely.

The moment the black thread entered his body, he did indeed feel a sense of "ending" enveloping his entire being, as if his existence would be completely erased in the next second.

"Tsk-!"

The black energy threads that had coiled around him, attempting to "assimilate" him and drag him into the dark prison, broke and disintegrated as if they had encountered their nemesis, turning into black specks of light that dissipated into the air.

The blackness covering Su Xiao's body quickly faded, and the suffocating feeling of impending death receded like the tide.

Su Xiao raised his hand and gently wiped away the streak of bright red blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. His face was slightly pale, but his eyes still showed no sign of panic.

He turned his head and made a simple gesture towards Lin Yi, who was not far away.

The gesture meant: No problem, I've got it.

Su Xiao knew very well that Lin Yi possessed some kind of resurrection-like ability, which was one of the reasons why he dared to take such a risk and confront Sphinx's ultimate killing move head-on.

Of course, one's own strength and resources are fundamental, but having an extra layer of insurance is always a good thing.

He never places all his hopes on others, but he also does not reject the strategic advantages that reliable allies can bring.

With the instant death penalty forcibly waived, the dark prison gate, which had been manifested by Sphinx using his last bit of power, also lost its supporting force.

The spinning speed of the black and red vortex on the door gradually slowed down, and the ghostly figures around the door frame also began to fade.

Finally, amidst a subtle ripple in space, the Gate of the Dark Prison slowly closed like a mirage, then vanished completely into the air without leaving a trace. (End of Chapter)