CHAPTER 390: CHAPTER 163: GETTING USED TO IT

Scarlet flesh hurled boulders, under the violent tremor, cliffs collapsed one after another, along with the buildings attached to them sinking into the Abandoned Land.

Fortunately for Bologue, he was far away from this madness of flesh, but under the shroud of mist, the scene beyond became even more bizarre.

Ether’s gleam forged into thunder, dazzling arcs of electricity flashed continuously.

"What a terrible day."

Bologue muttered in his heart, but after saying this, he realized he had spoken similar words many times before.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh; this is indeed a terrible world, such damned days keep setting new lows.

A whistling sound came from the mist, followed by a boulder crashing not far in front of Bologue, directly severing the forward corridor, then the whole cliff trembled violently, along with the corridor under his feet, shaking and collapsing.

Swirling dust mixed with debris and steel engulfed Bologue in a flash, but seconds later, a fierce ether reaction burst forth.

A narrow rock projection blocked the falling debris from above, followed by more rocks erupting one after another, in the shadows of the rocks, Bologue summoned the stones he touched, making them pave a path for him.

In the chaotic situation, the rocks beneath twisted to one side, forming a continuously extending stone bridge, violently striking the cliff on the other side.

Bologue ran swiftly forward, while as he advanced to the other side, the long bridge behind him kept collapsing, due to being out of the range of the Summoning Hand.

For others, facing such a predicament, most likely they’d be unable to save themselves, but Bologue was different. The versatility of the Summoning Hand, and the extensibility of the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid, enabled him to navigate such chaos with ease.

Leaping high, he swung out a grappling hook, halfway across, the Silver Hand was released, like a human spider, the end of the Silver Hand solidified into a sharp spearhead, easily piercing into the rock, allowing Bologue to move rapidly along the steep rock wall.

The devastation behind didn’t attract Bologue’s attention at all, he merely dodged the aftershocks slightly, as this trouble was temporarily irrelevant to him anyway, and he lacked the ability to handle it.

Now Bologue kept his gaze fixed on the dial on the back of his hand, searching for signs of Aimou.

Roaring explosions continued, Bologue glanced back, only to see the rampage of flesh spreading to the crossroads ahead, with many ether reactions rising, forcing the Condensers lurking in the shadows to join the battle.

For them, this was simply an unwarranted disaster, quietly hiding for many years, only to have their rooftops torn off by this flesh monster.

A mad melee was playing out in the Great Rift, while outside the thick mist, the citizens living inside Opus remained completely unaware.

For any anomaly in the Great Rift, the heartily indifferent citizens had long gotten used to it.

Flesh monster? Just a light refraction illusion.

Electric arcs? Merely a phenomenon created by waste gases.

Roars? Probably the mine blasting today.

See, everything is normal, nothing happened.

Before Bologue could continue lamenting this insane scene, a heart-pounding ether reaction came, a certain will summoned all the ether, as a beam of light swept across, scarlet limbs were severed neatly, without blood, just dissolving into ether.

Until this moment, Bologue’s expression finally changed; this was not the Immortal Heart losing control but Teda’s Illusion Creation.

Bologue immediately realized that Teda was battling someone, not hesitating to conjure such a massive Calamity projection to repel the opponent; worst of all, the enemy not only remained unfazed but put Teda at a disadvantage.

Sixth Group, perhaps?

Bologue recalled that the Sixth Group had been tracking Teda, but quickly dismissed this thought; the Sixth Group comprised of Origin School Condensers, under Ethereal Prohibition and Ethereal Silence, Teda couldn’t create such a vast Illusion Creation.

Teda might not even get to deploy ether before being heavily sealed by Yas, losing all ether, becoming a mere mortal at everyone’s mercy.

His enemy was someone else.

Bologue thought of another adversary, one long hidden within the Great Rift, unnoticed but possessing enough threatening power.

King’s Shield Guard.

This mysterious group splintered from the King’s Secret Sword, had joined the battle for the Immortal Heart during the conference combat, and according to subsequent intelligence, the chaos itself was a setup by the Order Bureau for the King’s Shield Guard.

Whether Teda, or the Gray Trade Association, in the eyes of the Order Bureau, their importance was far less than the King’s Shield Guard.

Bologue didn’t understand why this was the case, but he believed the Order Bureau must have its reasons.

It’s done, within mere minutes, the terrible day’s new lows were lowered yet again, with the more troublesome King’s Shield Guard also emerging.

Bologue glanced at the Sea of Mist below, he could already vaguely sense the ether reaction from below, likely Aimou.

Facing so many doubts, Bologue must find her to clarify.

The Silver Hand swiftly retracted into the sleeves, and Bologue’s figure paused in mid-air for a few seconds before plunging straight into the Sea of Mist like a free fall.

Keeping his mind taut, he carefully sensed everything around him, missing not even the slightest anomaly until Bologue detected a faint movement.

The Ether surged.

Silver serpents danced wildly out from the sleeves, splitting from one into two, then two into four, as Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid proliferated extensively, even Bologue’s figure expanded a bit in the blink of an eye.

The serpents flooded in all directions, piercing through layers of mist, accurately anchoring into the rocks, Bologue found a point of leverage, while other serpents that missed their target also changed their direction towards the leverage point, pulling Bologue onto the rocks.

His vision cleared up, standing on a relatively flat ground, with the cliff above extending into the mist, the booming of Ether’s roar continuously echoed.

In front of Bologue, the same waves appeared, followed by a thunderous explosion.

Before Bologue could observe his surroundings, a powerful Ethereal Shock came rushing in, the airwave carrying dust violently blasted figures in its path.

Bologue flung dozens of Silver Hands, deeply stabbing like rivets into the earth, then splitting again into roots, gripping firmly into the ground.

Even so, the moment the airwave hit Bologue, his whole body lifted into the air, with several connections of the Silver Hand breaking, let alone the numerous stones hitting him like cannonballs, leaving Bologue bloodied and mangled.

The sweeping airwave was accompanied by several wailing voices, emitting an ethereal glow from their bodies, they were all Condensers.

Unlike Bologue, they lacked the ability to resist the airwave. Some slammed hard against the rocks and passed out, while others were directly thrown into the Great Rift, falling into the Abandoned Land.

After the hurricane passed, Bologue crashed to the ground, dizzy from the blowing, staggering as he stood up.

The airwave’s impact had also cleared a path through the surrounding mist, broadening his view, showing collapsed ruins, a scarred land as if an intense battle had just been waged here.

Looking further ahead, at the end of the smoke and dust, Bologue saw a figure of radiant light, appearing exhausted, raising her right hand, with the brilliant bracelet gradually dimming.

Their gazes immediately locked onto each other.

"Aimou..."

Bologue murmured, holding the serpents in his hand, transforming them into a sharp blade.

After three times of time reversal, Bologue finally found Aimou, but she seemed somewhat different from the figure he was familiar with.

She held a Fire-Calling Staff in her left hand, with its tip still burning faintly, Aimou appeared to have undergone several battles, with the outer coating on her body peeling away, revealing the metallic luster beneath.

The most noticeable was her chest, where the Constant Motion Core used to be, a semi-transparent tumor had formed, its edges extending tiny sprouts infiltrating Aimou’s body, becoming one with her.

In that semi-transparent tumor, blazing starlight was being nurtured, a light Bologue was familiar with; it was such a glow he had seen each time during time reversal.

Was it truly Aimou who triggered the time reversal?

Aimou also noticed Bologue, her expression showing some surprise, as if Bologue was not supposed to be here, but soon her gaze returned to firmness.

The silence between them didn’t last long, as an abrupt ether reaction shattered the standoff.

Aimou quickly turned, raising her right hand again, a milky white barrier constructed purely of Ether encapsulated her, then the ruins to one side collapsed, and a sword blade swiftly slashed towards Aimou, crashing against the Ethereal Barrier.

Sparks of electric arc flared between the blade and the barrier, the assailant pressed hard on the hilt, making dense cracks spread over the blade, yet at the same time, the sword’s tip was gradually penetrating the barrier’s isolation.

Aimou struggled to lift her hand, the Ethereal Barrier shattered with a bang, which also repulsed the opponent, as she swung her Fire-Calling Staff, and in an instant, blazing flames engulfed the foe.

In the flames, a blurry figure emerged, a man raising his palm high, as if an invisible wall stood before him, splitting the sea of flames.

"How long can you hold on?" the man taunted.

A hint of a smile suddenly appeared on Aimou’s tense face, she said nothing, the flames extinguished, and she turned to escape.

The man saw this and slashed his sword directly, Aimou’s actions undoubtedly exposed her body, as if she was walking to her death.

But as the blade was about to fall upon Aimou, another surge of ether erupted, the ground suddenly bulged, and a massive Stone Spear shot up, launching him high into the air.

Before the man could comprehend what was happening, a silver chain already entwined around his ankle.

The chain tensed, and Bologue fiercely swung it, with the whistling wind, the man soared like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the ruins on one side, and that was not the end.

Bologue stepped forward, swung a fist, smashed the ground.

A blue light trail swept through, causing the entire ruins to collapse, and then thousands of crisscrossing Stone Halberds shredded every reachable material into dust.