The night was as dark as ink, the wind howled, and a suffocating sense of oppression filled the air.
Forest of Death.
"Lord Gu, there was a really loud explosion over there just now. I hope the Lord is alright."
An hour ago, dozens of abyssal energy contaminations of varying sizes appeared out of nowhere throughout the Forest of Death, accompanied by the emergence of some low-level monsters.
Xiao Gu methodically directed his demon subordinates to purify the demons one by one.
"Nothing will happen. Our lord is so strong that even if we all joined forces, we couldn't harm a single hair on his head."
Xiao Gu said this in a casual tone.
Suddenly, a powerful pressure came from afar, and then quickly disappeared.
"It seems that Yan and the others' plan has succeeded."
Just then, several little demons rushed in in a panic.
"Report! A large number of monsters have suddenly appeared in the southwest of the forest! The brothers can't hold them off any longer!"
"That monster is fearless and its corrupted people lose their minds. If it weren't for the timely support of several powerful demons, we might not have made it back."
Xiao Gu immediately activated the Magic Array, chanting incantations, preparing to forcibly summon lightning to purify the forest.
"Prepare to die, you insects! Let's see if you can withstand this!"
After a blinding thunderstorm, the forest returned to calm.
The abyss's offensive gradually subsided until it disappeared completely.
Looking at the collapsed houses and scorched trees, Xiao Gu sighed and said to the demon beside him.
"Go and appease everyone. Tell them that fighting among demons is prohibited in the forest for three months, and each demon can receive three months' worth of rations. Go and do it."
"Wait a minute, add one more sentence: 'Lord Yan greatly admires you!'"
The demon was puzzled but still obediently did as instructed.
After handing the matter over to his subordinates, Xiao Gu quickly flew towards the battlefield.
Just as he sensed Yan's location, he only saw a huge palm print on the ground, which had leveled the distant forest.
"Ayan!"
Xiao Gu rushed over with red eyes, as if he didn't see the land around him being eroded by the abyss.
Yan was completely corroded by the abyss, his chest stained with blood, his consciousness blurred, and his breath weak.
"Quick, let's go!"
Xiao Gu seemed not to hear him, rushed to Yan's side, his hands trembling as he tried to pick him up, only to find that Yan's body was already stuck to the ground, and he was helpless.
"Ayan, no, you can't die."
Xiao Gu channeled his spiritual power, unleashing purification and healing spells upon Yan as if they were free, but it was all destined to be in vain.
Yan tried to raise her hand to touch Xiao Gu's head, but failed.
Xiao Gu grabbed his hand and placed it on her cheek.
"Don't cry, I will come back when the seeds I left behind sprout."
"Ahem, if you encounter something you can't solve, you can go to Shinigami in the Pure Land, he will help you too."
As the last ray of light faded, Yan's body completely vanished into the air, leaving only Xiao Gu standing there, empty-handed.
(PS: Huh? Me, the mighty World Spirit, is the first one to die? I'm so angry.jpg)
Heng, who had only managed to escape by using a technique that consumed some of his spiritual essence, stared in shock at the palm print in the distance.
"If it weren't for Yan, I probably would have..."
He collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, and pulled out the Shinigami mask, which now had several cracks.
Only after the terrifying aura completely disappeared did Heng dare to carry Xiao Wu's corpse back to the Pure Land.
On the same day, news broke that Forest of Death had announced its closure.
...
One month later, the Pure Land.
In front of a brand new stone house.
"It's Heng, come in and sit down."
" Uncle Yuan, is Xiao Wu awake?"
As they talked, the two walked through the main room and sat down in the bedroom.
"His physical injuries have almost healed, but there are some problems with his meridians, which is why he hasn't woken up yet."
Heng looked at Xiao Wu lying on the bed. His eyes were closed, his face was as pale as paper, and his hand was gently placed on his chest, like a leaf falling after a storm, fragile and quiet.
Heng looked away as if he couldn't bear it, and said to Uncle Yuan, "If he wakes up, let me know immediately."
Xiao Wu had a very long dream: In the dream, he was still living in the underworld, with a family who loved him. Suddenly, a cute boy grabbed his hand and ran into the distance. They fell down on the grass together, looking at the sun.
Suddenly, everything changed. The meadow turned into black flames, the river was filled with blood, and there were bones and pieces of flesh everywhere. The boy's face also became blurred.
In the end, everything around him was swallowed up by darkness, leaving only himself. No matter how much he cried out and begged, he was still all alone, forever all alone.
"Yo!" Xiao Wu suddenly woke up from his dream, the ring on his hand was glowing.
"You, you saved me again." His tone calmed down as he gently stroked the ring on his hand.
"Trust me, you won't have to wait long."
"Uncle, big brother is awake!"
Xiao Hu excitedly looked at Xiao Wu who had just woken up and shouted towards the outside.
"Coming, coming, go tell A-Heng." Uncle Yuan's friendly voice came from outside.
"Okay, I'm off then." Little Tiger rushed outside.
Uncle Yuan pushed open the door and sat down next to Xiao Wu. "It's good that you're awake. It's good that you're awake."
" A-Heng told me everything about you guys. You are all great heroes."
"The appearance of such a powerful enemy was unexpected, and you have done a very good job."
Uncle Yuan gently patted Xiao Wu's back.
"Then you continue to rest, I'll be going now."
Xiao Wu suddenly clutched his chest, trying to relieve the excruciating pain, but to no avail. He could only take out a golden pill from his pocket and swallow it, which made his complexion look better.
He stared blankly at the few remaining pills in the bag, lost in thought, seemingly preoccupied with something.
...
At the same time, it is a sacred and forbidden land.
"Keep going, Heng, you can do it!"
Heng stood in the forbidden area on the back mountain and looked down.
Heng took a deep breath and jumped into the forbidden area. Darkness instantly enveloped him, the wind whistled in his ears, and the feeling of weightlessness lasted for a long time until his body crashed heavily to the ground.
"Ouch, thankfully the spell lasted long enough." Heng stood up, a flame rising in his palm, and slowly explored forward by the faint light.
Ahead was a nearly dried-up red pool, with a few datura flowers growing sparsely beside it.
Suddenly, he heard a deep roar, as if some enormous creature was approaching.
Heng clenched his fists, becoming alert. A colossal beast, its entire body radiating a ghostly blue light, slowly appeared, its eyes bloodshot and filled with a bloodthirsty desire.
Heng knew he couldn't fight head-on, so he retreated while mentally devising a plan of action.
The giant beast lunged forward, and Heng dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding it. At that moment, Heng noticed that the giant beast would pause briefly after each attack, as if it were gathering its strength.
So Heng deliberately provoked the giant beast, luring it to attack frequently. When the giant beast paused after missing its target, Heng quickly rushed behind it.
He discovered a strange stone behind the giant beast, covered in runes. Heng lit up the runes one by one as instructed by his master, and a beam of light shot out, instantly freezing the giant beast in place.
Heng breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking deeper into the area.
Just then, an old man suddenly appeared in the distance, scrutinizing him with sharp eyes: "You are not him!" Heng nodded.
"My master has already sacrificed himself." Heng's tone was filled with grief.
The old man slowly began to recount the process by which the entire forbidden area was gradually eroded by karma. When he got excited, he couldn't help but denounce the inaction of his predecessor, Shinigami.
Heng listened quietly without refuting anything. After a while, the old man's emotions calmed down a little.
"Now that you've come, you must shoulder this responsibility. The true power of the Pure Land lies hidden beneath this forbidden area. Only by obtaining it can you be recognized as a god by this world." Heng clenched his fist, his eyes resolute: "I am ready."
Watching Heng Yuan's departing figure, the old man stroked his beard and looked at the divine beast beside him, "Old friend, what do you think of this kid?"
At this moment, the giant beast had shrunk back to the size of a normal person and stood behind the old man.
"He's still a promising talent."
"Actually, in this kind of small world, his talent is already quite good."
The old man sighed, "Actually, the child didn't have to die; things hadn't come to that point yet."
"It's no use. His mental state has collapsed. Even if he survives by chance, his cultivation will hardly improve in this lifetime."
The beast sighed and said.
"Moreover, the First Elder said that if the two of us fail to complete the mission, we shouldn't go back."
"You're just using that to shut me up!"
...
Meanwhile, at the cave where Xiao Wu had hidden.
"Captain, search complete. It's Uchiha's men. We found burnt-out flare casings nearby."
"Let's go. This forest has been searched. Senju is unharmed. The entire mission team from last time is dead."
The group hurried towards the clan's territory, the atmosphere somewhat silent along the way.
Another battlefield.
"Don't come any closer, you evil Uchiha!"
young Senju Itama gripped Kunai tightly in her hand. Although she was afraid, she thought of her people who had been killed. They had greeted her warmly just the day before. But, but... I can't fall here!
"Try and see if you can take my life!"
"Hmph, brat, you must be Senju Hashirama's younger brother, right? I'd like to see if he can remain so calm if we kill you."
As Ninja spoke, he threw out several shuriken, blocking Itama's escape route.
Other Ninjas also cast illusions, attempting to trap Itama in a hallucination. Itama felt dizzy, but with his strong willpower, he used the Kunai in his hand to cut his arm. The pain prompted him to quickly concentrate and break free from the illusion's influence.
Then he quickly rushed towards the Ninja and used his physical skills to attack her at close range. The Ninja couldn't dodge in time and his arm was slashed.
"You brat, you're asking for it!" came the angry roars of the other Ninjas.
Soon, Itama had multiple wounds, his attacks became less effective, and his breathing became heavy.
"Brothers...I'm sorry..."
As the fatal blow landed, Itama closed his eyes.
Suddenly, a point of light drifted over from afar and merged into Itama's body...