Forge a path to success

Chu Hengkong plunged into the smoke, sensing his surroundings with his spiritual energy. The Immortal Machine's analysis report appeared in white text on his retina. This time, the smoke screen was primarily composed of some kind of demonic ink and materials from various alien beasts. It couldn't reproduce bullets but could conceal one's presence. Considering the characteristics of the Illusory Demon, Shax might have powerful methods targeting the Ghost Body. Even with his immortality, he wasn't entirely foolproof.

He slowed his pace, conserving energy and suppressing the burning flames of ambition, leaving only a thin layer of fire on his tentacles. The demonic smoke diminished the effects of his spiritual perception, but his five senses remained constant. He sensed changes in airflow, unusual odors, and the subtle noises of the moving gun barrel—

He suddenly thrust out his white spear, the shaft whipping out a sharp white line. At the same time, three blue laser beams pierced the mist; two were neutralized by his inner energy, exploding into blinding flashes of light and fire, while the third broke through the blockade. Chu Heng spun in mid-air, turning his thrust into a slash to deflect the attack, the laser beams exploding at close range, a slight stinging pain shooting through his head.

A mixed attack of light and spirit elements is easy to get hit by if you attack it directly; you should use the Qi Armor to break through this attack.

Deep within the mist, Shax gripped a blue-painted three-barreled pistol in his left hand. The HT-1777 "Little Saburo," a best-selling product of the Shura Island military giant "Zhaizhu Heavy Industries," boasted a high rate of fire and immense maximum power, earning high praise in low-quality firefights. The gun's selling points were the satisfying feeling of rapid fire and the high cost-effectiveness of a level 2 relic, but its true advantage lay in its built-in light element converter. With this small component, one could easily convert light element bullets, and vice versa.

The "Little Saburo" in Shakes's hands was smaller than the common models on the market. His modifications enhanced its portability and added mixed mental damage to the lasers, raising its rating to level 3. The trigger of this gun was completely removed, and a charging pipe ran directly from the back of the gun to Shakes's combat helmet. Without pulling the trigger, the nervous system issued commands, and three lasers were fired in succession, the electric light flashing like fireworks in the depths of the mist.

A burning, spirited throwing knife flew against the laser beam, narrowly grazing the gunman's long hair. Ignoring the spreading flames of ambition, he maintained his firing stance and retreated rapidly. A countdown, measured in microseconds, ticked through his mind. In the instant the distant air currents rippled, Shax raised his right hand to his medium shotgun. Countless transparent bullets, propelled by the powerful recoil, struck the assassin emerging from the mist!

VV375, commonly known as "The Salesman," is a compact weapon with extremely low recoil. It fires 3000 miniature magic bullets in a single shot, requiring only mental energy to recharge without physical ammunition. Its name consists only of the designer's initials and a number, clearly indicating it's a product of the Dustless Grounds headquarters. Its design is ingenious but overly idealistic. The lack of recharge sounds convenient, but most point masses would be drained of energy after just three shots.

Therefore, during the modification, Shax filled the energy storage crystal at the cost of greatly increasing recoil, and increased the bullet capacity and attack range. The shotgun is mainly for wide-area damage. At this moment, transparent bullets rained down on Chu Heng. Most of them were deflected by the Qi Armor, but one-tenth of the bullets hit the unarmored abdomen and legs.

The barrage of attacks from the ghostly figures brought Chu Hengkong to a sudden halt, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood. Simultaneously, Shax used the strong recoil to create further distance. However, Chu Hengkong remained firmly planted on his feet. As he coughed up blood, he thrust his spear forward, the powerful strike grazing Shax's right leg! Both attacks struck simultaneously!

Chu Hengkong holstered his gun and returned to defense, his vision reeling from the shockwaves, forcing him to pause and calm the turmoil in his mind. Shax, his right leg broken, activated his modified jetpack and flew backward through the smoke.

"It's rare that you underestimate people," the sniper sneered. "Take out your knife!"

Chu Hengkong did not reply, silently activating his communication artifact: (Fande, I've been affected by the Ghost Body attack, what should I do?)

The Eye Demon displayed the demeanor of a master of the Ghost Body: (How exactly did he injure himself? Could the Qi Armor reflect the damage?)

(Transparent shotgun shells that ricochet; when hit, it feels like bugs are gnawing at my brain.)

(That means the bullet is still inside your body. Use the minimum output of the Annihilation Field to cover it, the smaller the better.)

Chu Hengkong did as instructed. A golden light flashed on his back, and a second later he coughed up blood, staining an entire wall red. Vande's solution was simple and effective; the bullets were indeed dealt with, but he himself was also severely struck by the force field. Fortunately, this force was relatively gentle compared to the attack from the Immortal Machine at the time, and with his upgraded Steel Bones, he could withstand it completely.

He wiped away the blood, sprinted forward, and chased after the gunman's figure in the fog. The laughter of the madmen echoed between the buildings, and the smoke-filled streets were occasionally illuminated by lasers and flames. The residents dared not step out of their homes, trembling with fear at the terrifying atmosphere outside.

Among these pitiful souls was the utterly demoralized Iceman Sethlen, who hid under a skybridge, weeping and praying to avoid being caught in the monsters' clutches. Qingye, who had followed him, wandered through the mist, utterly stunned before the blood-stained wall.

She gazed into the depths of the mist and saw the menacingly smiling tentacled man and the long-haired man laughing maniacally. Qingye was so shocked by this deadly battle that her mind went completely blank.

"That person... could it be the sniper? Mayor Jin Ye?" Qingye murmured to herself, "The tentacle man and Jin Ye are fighting... what exactly happened?"

·

"Holy crap, he injured the ghost's body? Was his opponent that strong?"

"Floating Light Path Point 3, nobody would believe it without some kind of mental attack method." Vande quickly flipped through the manuscript on the ground, stuffing whatever looked valuable into Ji Huaisu's bag. "This time, Chu Hengkong has met his match."

Ji Huaisu pointed to the towering flames outside: "Do you even need to look at that? Stop dawdling and hurry up and provide support. If you don't leave, I'll go myself!"

Before they knew it, they had reached the city center, but this one-eyed monster was still dawdling around in Jinye's mansion, searching for materials. Captain Ji was getting increasingly anxious. They say true friendship is revealed in times of trouble, and this time, brothers were showing their true colors in times of need. This guy was really slacking off. If it weren't for his weak fighting ability and the fact that having only one eye could easily cause trouble, she would have rushed into the war zone to provide support long ago.

Van Der, however, was still looking at the manuscript, speaking slowly and deliberately: "So what do you plan to do? You open your shield, carry me in, and I'll just cast a hypnotic spell on the other side to force a ceasefire?"

"...Yes, yes!" Ji Huaisu felt a little guilty. What she actually wanted was for the three of them to gang up on her after the hypnosis was over.

"First of all, the fact that they can fight Chu Hengkong in a real battle shows they're incredibly powerful, probably a Legendary Point 3. If the two of us went over there, we'd have a hard time keeping up." Vande raised two short tentacles. "Secondly, you can tell from the commotion that this is a feud between the two of them. No one else is allowed to interfere, nor should anyone else. It's like two men signing a death pact, agreeing to fight to the death; in the end, whoever lives or dies won't be responsible. At this point, for a contestant's family member to run up and say, 'Stop fighting! Stop fighting!' is that appropriate?"

“I’m not his family member!” Ji Huaisu blushed.

"To put it simply, it's all the same." Vande waved his tentacle. "Both sides are full of super-strong men, and this fight might not be a clear winner. What we can do now is gather intelligence and prepare. I think there's more than one strange thing in this city..."

It held up Jin Ye's diary, gesturing for Ji Huaisu to gather his materials and prepare to retreat. With its other hand, it took the diary and slowly began to read it.

Their gazes froze instantly. It was a withered, thin stone hand. The ugly statue, which should have been smashed to dust, had somehow returned to its original state. They had been talking for so long without noticing its presence, like a stone ghost.

"I forgot, I forgot. In a moment of shock, I lost my identity and my ability to think. After being petrified for days, I finally awoke and realized that I was who I was..."

The ugly stone sculpture closed its diary.

"My territory is not to be allowed to be run rampant by others."

The statue's surface cracked layer by layer, then suddenly shattered from within, turning into a cloud of colorful dust. The dust drifted like the wind towards the city and towards the distant battlefield. Vande trembled as if thawing, grabbing Ji Huaisu's arm tightly: "Go and provide support! Go and provide support! Quickly!"

Ji Huaisu was still in shock: "Who the hell just said we weren't allowed in?!"

"This isn't a duel anymore, it's a disaster movie!!" Vandal screamed hoarsely. "That thing is... a catastrophic species!!"

The ugly statue turned to dust and dissipated, drifting into the city like a colorful gust of wind. The Dust of No Destiny is a wavering, confused being, yet also a free spirit without constraints; thus, its speed is incredibly fast, arriving at the center of the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

It spread its arms and whispered, swallowing up the tiny particles in the air like a whale, instantly dispelling the smoke that had been concealing its presence. In mid-air, it transformed into a human form, revealing its bizarre appearance: withered and slender stone limbs, layers of crystal like scales covering its body, and a large head without facial features, consisting only of a circular cavity occupying nearly half its surface.

Its aura wasn't terrifying like a monster, but rather eerie and demonic. The stone demon's body dissipated and reformed, flashing between the battlefields of the two assassins. It punched the earth, and a deafening roar echoed from the bottom of Golden Leaf City, like the roar of a slumbering dragon from the depths.

"Earthquake," it said.

Chapter 123 My Home

Beneath the bridge arch, shivering, Sethlen was startled. He felt his vision tremble, and pebbles kept hitting his head. This safe and secluded little haven was no longer safe, though he couldn't explain why.

He mustered his courage and opened his eyes, seeing the stone bridge cracking like tree branches. The surrounding smoke dissipated, and the few people still outside stumbled and got up again, like children who had forgotten how to walk. They couldn't maintain their balance; the earth itself, which supported them, was trembling. The once stable structure was dismantling and collapsing under the will of the stone demon, like fragile ice in a raging storm.

“No…” Sethlen’s face turned pale. He sensed the power underground. “No…!”

Transparent ice crystals covered the earth, attempting to stabilize the crust, but this was utterly futile. His ice layer instantly collapsed and shattered, the stone bridge that provided shelter collapsed, and rubble struck him, causing him to bleed profusely from the head.

Sethlen whimpered and curled up in a ball, building an igloo-like shelter out of ice. The small city shook violently; skyscrapers sank into the ground, and peaks rose abruptly from the flat land. Amidst the devastating roar, the sky turned gray with dust.

A major earthquake has occurred.

·

Jin Ye raised his right fist, the force that had triggered the earthquake still lingering within it, floating around like an amorphous balloon. The next moment, his arm and most of his body were blasted apart by a blue laser, and his head and lower body were pierced through by a spear and smashed into the ground.

Chu Hengkong gripped his spear and unleashed his power, blasting the golden leaves into a pile of sand. But that wisp of sand seeped into the earth, forming an identical outline hundreds of meters away. It spread its arms, churning up blade-like sand, and Chu Hengkong swung his spear, cleaving through the sandstorm.

A temporary truce was declared.

The assassins reached the same conclusion: they were driven by their personal grudges, but none of them were ruthless killers. They had no reason to act as great heroes saving the world, but they also had no reason to ignore the surrounding casualties and continue their own deadly battle. Shax fired repeatedly, shattering the golden leaves, but a second later, a third and fourth golden leaves flew out from the sandstorm. Their aura was exactly the same as the stone demon that had caused the earthquake earlier, and even the Immortal Machine's analysis showed no difference.

“Stone demons, the most troublesome kind.” Shax holstered his pistol and slung the Black Ball back over his shoulder. “Fight on your own!”

A sandstorm swept across the sky above Jinye City, blotting out the sun. Shax piloted his backpack and flew into the wind, with two stone goblins chasing after him, while the other two strolled leisurely across the trembling earth and attacked Chu Hengkong.

He attacked again, his tentacles coiling around his spear, a glint of ambition flashing in its light. The stone demons moved as lightly as paper, deliberately spreading out to avoid the thrusts, their transformed, hammer-like arms whipping up a gust of wind to smash down. Chu Hengkong flicked his spear, creating several sparks, using azure flames to dispel the enemy's illusory form. Another stone demon seized the opportunity to scatter, transforming into a sandstorm that enveloped the assassin who had launched the spear.

In an instant, Chu Hengkong's head was completely sealed off by sand and dust, with colorful sand covering his entire body. Under the control of the stone demon, each grain of sand was a tiny, sharp scalpel, and the sand and dust were like an all-pervasive swarm of ants. Under such a terrifying attack, even a martial artist's body would be sliced ​​to pieces.

A glint of gold flashed from the depths of the sand, and the colorful sand suddenly scattered. The stone goblin's ant swarm had died; they had encountered a poisonous creature that killed on contact.

The Ghost Body Annihilates the Force Field!

Chu Hengkong emerged from the smoke and dust, not particularly surprised to see yet another stone demon appear from the ground. The exact same aura, the exact same power. This wasn't some simple trick like a clone technique; if it were merely using a portion of its mental energy to manipulate the mechanism, the attack from the annihilation force field should have damaged its true form. Yet, the stone demon appeared completely unharmed to him; the enemy's power seemed almost inexhaustible, as if the entire earth itself was providing it with a continuous source of support.

Chu Hengkong activated the communication relic. (Provide some information.)

(Run! Run! Run!!) Vande screamed in his mind, (I swear, how could I not recognize it? That thing is a Stone Demon! Outer Path Point 3, Cataclysmic Species - Foolish Demon!!)

(The Annihilation Field didn't work this time. How do we deal with its clone technique?)

(Dude, are you drunk? A clone technique? It's a natural disaster, an earthquake, a landslide, a mudslide. Every clod of earth, every grain of sand is its weapon; if it wanted, this entire Dust Island could become its body. Compared to the monstrous creature's size, your annihilation field is at best a needle! Can you kill a giant with a needle?!) Vandal was frantic. (To deal with the three monstrous creatures, you need to start from the physical level. You need matter-disintegrating rays now!)

(My spine doesn't emit light beams yet. Other methods.)

(Either you invent a deadly poison that can kill an entire island, or you run.)

(The suggestion has been received.) Chu Hengkong switched communication partners, (Captain—)

Ji Huaisu remained calm: (Focus on the battle. I'll save as many as I can.)

(...It's up to you now.)

My partner is an impulsive person, but she's not a naive girl who can't see reality. She didn't say anything like, "Leave the rescue to me. The situation is what it is; we can only save one person at a time."

Chu Hengkong held his breath, dispersing the sand and dust. The effect of his "One Qi for a Thousand Autumns" technique meant he didn't need to breathe, thus eliminating the risk of inhaling sand and gravel. At this moment, the shockwaves intensified, and the lower-lying bungalows began to collapse. People wanted to seek refuge in open spaces, but they couldn't find a safe place to stay.

Before the panicked crowd, an ugly hand emerged from the ground, pointing at Chu Hengkong and the mountain peaks behind him that were trembling from the earthquake.

"Mudslide," it said.

The soil softened, mountains collapsed, and mud and rocks swept in like rivers, carrying trees with them. Golden waves surged in the western part of Jinye City—thousands of tons of mudslides. The immense force was enough to destroy bungalows, but now most civilians didn't even have homes; their dwellings were being destroyed by the earthquake!

Without hesitation, Chu Hengkong turned and ran. A bright yellow crystal leaped from his sleeve, containing swirling water, resembling a yellow bead. The white spear had three grooves at the rear; he inserted the demonic remnant fire and the yellow bead one after the other. The flames of ambition instantly rose from the spear, transforming into a majestic dragon under the influence of an unknown force.

"The mighty dragon soars, the fiery demon's heart remains. Relying on weapons to display its divine power, it borrows the power of fire to aid it. Obeying the decree to vanquish evil, it responds to the gods to punish the wicked—"

The prayers to the gods resonated with the spirit, and a fiery dragon coiled around the gun handle. The man holding the gun transformed into a green lightning bolt, and he hurled his spear at the flood peak. The dragon god's power manifested through the gun, like sunlight shattering natural disasters.

Mystic Art: Dragon Pattern Spear!

This was one of the trump cards he carried when he left Huilong City: the Mystic Bead personally crafted by Youyou. Combined with the spear modified by Qisu and the Flame of Ambition, it could provide immense explosive power within a low-quality framework. The mudslide triggered by the stone demon was shattered by this single spear thrust, nearly 90% of the mountain was instantly destroyed, and the remaining 10% was dispersed by the impact, narrowly missing the sides of the city.

The phantom of the Dragon God rose into the sky, his white spear planted diagonally in the ground. Chu Hengkong had just picked up the spear when his vision was suddenly shrouded in shadow.

It was a new mountain rising from the ground, far larger than the original yellow hill. A stone demon with a hollow head stood atop the mountain, pointing its withered fingers at its city.

"Mountain collapse."

The mountain collapsed, mudslides swept down, and without a moment's respite, a new wave of natural disaster struck. The stone demon Jin Ye flew up from the mountain peak, its arms outstretched as if embracing.

A fierce wind gathered in the sky above the city, and countless dust particles fell from behind the stone demon. The dust particles were crystal clear and colorful, like stardust falling from the sky.

Chu Hengkong's face darkened; he realized the enemy's impending tactics. Dense dust and highly flammable gas meant a catastrophe that would engulf the entire city—a natural disaster he was powerless to stop.

·

Sethlen, with a wall of ice over his head, shivered as he walked along the desolate road. Cries and groans filled the air, a cacophony of despair. Animals scurried in terror under the rubble, and young people bumped into him as they fled. At this moment, no one paid him any attention; not even the animals bothered to acknowledge him.

His igloo had just been destroyed, shattered by an avalanche triggered by the stone goblin. He tried to find shelter but to no avail; the whole world was collapsing and there was nowhere safe to be found.

He walked past many familiar buildings. The stadium where he used to play ball. The shop where he bought snacks. The restaurant where he and his coworkers had lunch. Seeing those buildings almost brought him to his senses, but in the blink of an eye, the buildings he had passed by turned into rubble and bloodstains. All destroyed, all gone. No one could prove that they had ever existed. He couldn't tell whether the disaster had destroyed the real buildings, or whether he was simply remembering a false past.

"No...it's fake...no! No!!"

A sharp pain throbbed deep in his head, unfamiliar images shattering his memories, mingling with a man's triumphant laughter. Sethlen couldn't make sense of anything. He clutched his head and ran aimlessly, finally coming to his senses in front of a house. Miraculously, this bungalow had survived the city-wide earthquake; ivy clung to its exterior walls, and a blue mailbox by the door stood crookedly, bearing a familiar name.

Sethlen's house.

The middle-aged man burst into tears and rushed frantically towards his home. He had found refuge; here was his bed, his sofa, his old blanket that he had used for many years. Neither the trivialities of school nor work could cross the threshold and intrude into his life. This was the safest place in the world. As long as he hid at home, no one could harm him. No matter how chaotic the outside world was, he could still sleep peacefully and feed his pets in the yard.

Suddenly, he stopped moving. He saw colorful dust falling from the sky, crystalline and translucent like butterfly scales. The butterfly that had scattered the scales floated in the sky, overlooking the city like a ruler, its faceless surface emitting a laugh as swift as the wind.

"What's going on?" "Don't inhale the dust!" "A new cutting attack?!"

In that instant, the incompetent Sethlen was the first to understand the situation.

—Dust explosion.

Sethlen, who worked in that factory back then, knew how terrifying this phenomenon was. High-density dust would ignite violently upon encountering a source of ignition, triggering a massive explosion in a very short time. And that disaster wouldn't easily spare humanity; the returning wind could cause a secondary explosion, and if the concentration didn't decrease, there could be a third, a fourth... The factory where he used to work was destroyed by a dust explosion; he still remembers the mangled faces of his coworkers and the overwhelming blood they saw after surviving.

Dust now covers the entire city.

The stone goblin can control the airflow at will.

He saw a spark of light fall from the stone goblin's fingertip, like a firefly flying into a summer night.

"Don't...don't..."

My home is beyond saving.

This street—no, this entire city—will be blown away, buried. Those who don't care about him will be torn apart by the blast, his beloved pets will be consumed in the flames, and there will be no safe haven, not even a place to hide. His home will be destroyed. Many people's homes will be destroyed—

"My...home...!!"

Fear, only fear, an unprecedented fear gripped his soul, and tears flowed uncontrollably. Transparent ice crystals erupted from the man's side, the power of the elements rising with his emotions. That power instantly enveloped the entire city, transforming into thousands of ice pillars reaching the sky. The immense power, enough to freeze the entire city, surged into the sky with his will, single-handedly bearing the flames of the explosion!

The man frozen in ice had unfocused pupils. He fell heavily to the ground, his body stained red with his own blood.

The moment the flames fell, everyone in Golden Leaf City looked up at the sky.

Thousands of icicles support the cold rooftops, forming a home that envelops the city.

Despite the deafening explosions, it remained unmoved!

Chapter 124 Rescue Operation

Ji Huaisu brandished her light shield and emerged from a pile of rubble. The dust explosion came too fast and too suddenly; even though the igloos protected the city as a whole, the aftershocks of the attack still caused chaos and casualties among the citizens.

She found Vande, who had been jolted out of her pocket. The beholder was stuck upside down in the mud, a few tentacles twitching occasionally, looking like a piece of squid sashimi that hadn't been properly prepared. She scooped Vande up and hurriedly activated her communication relic: (Akong, how are things over there!)

(Hold on, save the city... find the Ice Man...) Chu Hengkong's voice was broken due to magic interference. (Be careful... the Firefly Corpse...)

(the same as you.)

She paused communication, dodging a glowing claw. Glittering clumps of mud surged from the ground, transforming into amorphous humanoid forms. The characteristics of the Cataclysmic species began to manifest; the innocent victims of the first earthquakes turned into glowing corpses, and another sinister force was stirring.