CHAPTER 122: ABSURD

The Devouring Demon drifted into Yu Xuan’s sea of consciousness — weakened, frayed, and barely intact.

Even entering this place had taken all he had. The resistance was immense. If not for the characteristics of his immortal soul, he would’ve been torn apart before even crossing the threshold.

"What kind of monster is this boy?" he muttered under his breath, looking around warily.

His original plan, to hijack the youth’s talents and absorb his foundation — was now dust. But perhaps... he could still use the boy’s body as a temporary vessel until he found a better one. Though he wasn’t optimistic.

A portion of his soul had already been dragged back to the Underworld upon death of his spirit. What remained now was a shadow, a sliver, weakened and unstable.

But the moment he looked around, he paused.

This was not a normal sea of consciousness.

Instead of a vast ocean or spiritual plane shaped by core memories, he stood amidst towering glass buildings reflecting golden sunlight. Strange, foreign people bustled across paved walkways. Everything appeared foreign to him.

He tried to blend in, hoping to remain hidden like a parasite. If he could just lie low within this surreal landscape, he might yet survive long enough to recover.

But something else disturbed him — the size.

Yu Xuan’s sea of consciousness was massive. Far, far beyond what a Qi Condensation cultivator should possess.

’Something’s not right about this child,’ he thought, uneasy.

He wandered deeper, unsure what this bizarre mindscape represented. There were people here, illusions, memories, fragments? He didn’t know.

At one corner, he saw a young man holding a rectangular black device, watching a scene unfold where a stretchy limbed figure punched a dragon in the face. Then he looked around, seeing no one paying attention, he swiftly switched his tab to the one with saying "You’ve gone Incognito".

Nearby, three geese in business suits whispered conspiratorially. Then they solemnly nodded and vanished into a portal.

Farther ahead, a stage appeared where an idol group danced in perfect synchronicity while crowds around them screamed with religious fervor.

He blinked and turned — only to see a man in a black suit standing across from a bipedal green platypus wearing a fedora.

"My name is Bond. James Bond," said the man.

The platypus squeaked back, "My name’s Platypus. Perry the Platypus."

The Devouring Demon instinctively took a step back.

He had just witnessed the greatest crossover in spy cinema and hadn’t even realized it.

’This place is cursed,’ he muttered.

Just then, something even more absurd happened.

A giant duck in a hoodie dropped from the sky, screaming "STOCKS!" before being abducted midair by a UFO.

There a yellow guy with chin shaped like balls said, "I knew that would happen." His name was Peter Simpsons.

Other’s didn’t reacted. Apparently, this was normal.

A moment later, a flying butterfly the size of a cart passed overhead, flanked by a massive, winged whale that seemed to be raining over the city like a living sprinkler.

Still in disbelief, the Devouring Demon wandered further and found something that made his ethereal skin crawl.

There was a man in all black with red glowing stick protecting a cheerful man with a small, neat mustache who stood before a group of children, laughing as he taught them to draw a strange red-and-white symbol. Then he placed his hand over his chest and saluted. The man was an artist.

Every instinct screamed danger so the Devouring Demon turned and ran.

Just when he thought he’d found some semblance of peace, he rounded a corner and found himself standing before a boiling pot of soup... being interrogated by a cabbage.

"Where’s the tofu?!" the cabbage screamed, slamming a leafy limb on the counter.

The soup gurgled nervously. A potato nearby fainted.

Eventually, he found a quiet corner — a coffee shop. Inside, a sleep deprived young man with bloodshot eyes was typing away furiously at some odd glowing device, chugging mug after mug of coffee like his life depended on it.

It probably did.

The Devouring Demon exhaled, "This is madness."

His moment of reflection was abruptly shattered when the café door burst open and four individuals in sleek black uniforms entered. Each bore a triangular insignia glowing faintly on their chest, and futuristic weapons strapped to their backs.

They marched straight toward the young man.

"Sir," the leader announced in a robotic tone, "we are from the Illumination Group. Your existence poses a direct threat to world peace. You must be neutralized."

Before the man could protest, they seized his laptop.

"Wait! I haven’t finished writing the chapt—!"

A silver device slapped over his mouth mid-sentence, muffling his cries.

One of the agents turned to the others. "Are the Martians and lizard people making a move?"

"They are," another confirmed grimly.

Then, in synchronization, the four agents struck a flawless dab and declared in unison.

"We are the protectors of the world. We are... Illumination."

And just like that, they marched out of the coffee shop, dragging the muffled writer behind them.

The Devouring Demon stared for a long moment... then turned and quietly walked out.

Outside, the bizarre didn’t end.

A mermaid floated through the sky, swimming effortlessly alongside a school of fish. Small children waved at her from rooftops as she twirled her trident like a baton. Bubbles sparkled in the air behind her.

A nearby teenager hit his watch and changed into a red muscular person with four arms.

Then on the street, a purple headed titan with his underlings was protesting with banners saying, "We demand to restore the balance."

Another group was discussing nearby, how to glorify their one win out of 14,000,605 outcomes though a great sacrifice was required, and then talking about the sacrifice people began to sob.

The Devouring Demon blinked slowly. He sighed, resigned to the madness.

Just as he took a step forward, a streak of color whooshed toward him. Instinctively, his soul surged with alertness, until he saw the source.

A man hovered midair, clad in blue and red, a bright yellow "S" emblazoned on his chest... and, tragically, wearing his underpants outside his suit.

"You look lost," the man said warmly, casually defying gravity. He handed the Devouring Demon a chilled can of beer. "Take this."

The Devouring Demon, ignoring the power of thousand suns, took the can with a blank stare. "...Thanks."

Moments later, a sleek black vehicle with glowing rims and actual bat wings descended beside him.

Inside was another man, dressed entirely in black, voice deep.

"We’ve got an unfinished chess game," he said.

The caped man folded his cloak neatly and entered the vehicle. The bat-winged car revved like a dragon, lifted into the air, and zoomed off into the clouds.

The Devouring Demon cracked open the beer, took a long sip, and muttered.

"...What in the nine hells is this place?"

He felt refreshed.

***

[Author Unfiltered]

[A/U: Honestly this was fun to write, like really and I wanted to do much more but maybe next time, Oh and give your thoughts about this one, if you like this, next Chapter will be intresting too. And sorry readers, I am not that much engaging as an author but always trying my best. This is just before Chapter release but a shoutout to Tommy_Andrades for 33 Goldern tickets and SushiTime for those gifts and Goldern tickets ohh and Tyler_Crowe_7219 too. You three are the top contributors for goldern tickets, there are many others awesome people too contributing daily and to all my readers and fans(if there) you make this story worth writing!!! So, as always keep supporting this author.]