Volume One, Chapter 18: A Life Like Countless Stars, Beyond Reach—Fate

If any other trial participants from Qinghe University’s campus were here, they would surely find this voice eerily familiar, and an involuntary shiver would rise in their minds at the sudden image that appeared.

—Wei Yang!

Gu Xinian recognized the voice as Wei Yang’s as well, yet both his expression and inner thoughts remained remarkably calm.

He turned around, and behind him in the void floated an exquisitely small throne.

On the throne’s backrest was a lifelike, sinister goat’s head, ablaze with a strange, ghostly blue flame.

Wei Yang sat upon the throne.

Dressed in a suit and tie, with lips as if smeared with fresh blood, he squinted at Gu Xinian.

“You don’t seem afraid of me?”

“Even though I’ve uncovered some of your secrets.”

Gu Xinian met Wei Yang’s gaze steadily.

“Why should I fear you?”

He was already very familiar with this fellow from his past life.

Wei Yang laughed heartily.

“Ha ha ha, you truly are the most interesting human I’ve encountered on my walk among mortals this time.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll devour you?”

Gu Xinian asked.

“Eating you benefits me nothing, but me living can bring you many benefits,” Wei Yang applauded.

“Well, well, well—clever humans are far more endearing than foolish ones.”

“Although I don’t know how you managed to learn so much about the trials,”

“I do know that you’re probably thinking of killing Nan Jiang Xian by destroying his viscera, right?”

“You can go check Nan Jiang Xian’s viscera now.”

Gu Xinian frowned, a foreboding feeling creeping into his heart.

Without a word, he stepped into the mire of corruption, moving from Nan Jiang Xian’s abdomen toward the area near his chest cavity.

Soon, he arrived at Nan Jiang Xian’s chest cavity.

He saw the five viscera!

Countless viscous fluids swirling with strange energy converged here, flowing from every inch of Nan Jiang Xian’s body like rivers merging into the sea.

Since Nan Jiang Xian had ten bodies, he had ten sets of five viscera!

The viscera throbbed and labored desperately, demonstrating his vigorous life force.

Gu Xinian’s expression grew grave.

The five viscera were indeed Nan Jiang Xian’s weak points.

But they were also the source of his power.

In other words, Gu Xinian needed a way to shatter Nan Jiang Xian’s power if he wanted to kill him!

At that moment, a suitably eerie chuckle sounded behind him from Wei Yang.

“Since you understand the mechanisms and rules of the trials so well, you must know that Nan Jiang Xian’s body is filled with terrifying immortal energy.”

“If you can’t resolve Nan Jiang Xian and leave this place within twenty minutes, and if the mire of corruption cannot withstand the immortal energy within him, you will be tainted by the immortal energy and offered up to the immortals!”

His voice was strange and high-pitched, sending chills down the spine.

As for what it meant to be “offered up to the immortals,” it was probably similar to being corrupted by the mire, becoming a creature devoted to and embraced by corruption.

Gu Xinian glanced back at Wei Yang.

“So, noble Wei Yang deity, you’ve appeared here specifically to see me, a lowly wretch, and yet not just to say these things, right?”

A bright, ghostly light flashed in Wei Yang’s terrifying crimson eyes.

“Heh heh, I didn’t come here just to say those things.”

Suddenly, the dark flames ignited in his terrifying right hand, eventually forming a contract.

“I admire you. If you’re willing to sign this contract, I can save your life, and even grant you some favors and blessings in the future!”

Holding the contract, he looked down on Gu Xinian from above.

“Contract?”

Wei Yang’s expression twisted strangely with excitement.

“Yes, I have great hopes for you!”

“So I’m granting you a chance to devote yourself to my divine kingdom!”

“As long as you sign this divine contract, you will receive my protection, care, and blessings. But after you die, my divine kingdom will become the resting place for your soul.”

Heh, a divine contract?

Calling it a devil’s pact would be more fitting.

Gu Xinian certainly knew what such a contract entailed, but he had to pretend.

Wei Yang knew it didn’t matter why Gu Xinian seemed to know so much about the trials.

But if he found out Gu Xinian also understood some of the gods’ secrets, that would spell trouble.

He also knew that what Wei Yang said was true.

If he signed this contract, Wei Yang would undoubtedly grant him the greatest protection, care, and blessings in the trials ahead.

But becoming destined to reside in Wei Yang’s divine kingdom after death was far worse than merely becoming a divine fruit.

Therefore, Gu Xinian feigned deep thought and solemnly replied to Wei Yang,

“I refuse!”

“Hm?”

Wei Yang raised an eyebrow, then unleashed a harsh, raucous laugh.

The sound echoed through the heavens and earth, piercing and bone-chilling.

In an instant, countless divine energies spilled from him, surging against the overwhelming immortal energy within Nan Jiang Xian’s body and instantly shattering Gu Xinian’s mire of corruption energy field.

Gu Xinian felt as if a mountain had suddenly fallen upon him, pressing down so heavily he dropped to one knee.

It seemed his entire body was about to be torn apart.

Countless ghostly lights streaked with crimson blood veins surged and struggled inside his body, like frenzied, writhing tentacles or countless squirming maggots.

His flesh tore open repeatedly, sprouting terrifying eyes, and his entire body seemed on the verge of exploding.

Yet he did not beg for mercy, nor utter a sound of pain.

At that moment, Wei Yang’s voice sounded again.

“Lowly wretch, you don’t know how precious an opportunity you’ve just rejected. You’ll regret this.”

“I want to see how you survive.”

His voice turned cold, noble, and distant, as if separated from Gu Xinian by an entire starry sky.

When his words ended, the divine energy suddenly dissipated.

The oppressive mountain weighing on Gu Xinian vanished.

He returned to normal.

Though a reincarnated soul, he was still very weak now; before Wei Yang, he was less than an ant.

Yet the divine energy Wei Yang casually unleashed nearly shattered him to pieces.

Pale-faced, Gu Xinian wiped the blood leaking from the corner of his mouth and lifted his head.

As expected, Wei Yang had already departed.

He took a deep breath, stood up, and looked again at Nan Jiang Xian’s five viscera.

He noticed the energy converging there had grown even denser and more terrifying than before.

Clearly, this was Wei Yang’s doing—and the price for Gu Xinian’s refusal.

...

At the southern bank of the Shan Nan River.

The Destiny Breakthrough Group, like the great forces led by Li Xuan and Xiao Ran, had divided into countless combat squads to launch an assault on Nan Jiang Xian.

Though Lin Qingxue’s command was naturally not as skilled as Xiao Ran’s or Li Xuan’s, Han Tong, the ox-nosed man, and the red-haired youth were no pushovers.

Under the repeated amplifications by the singers,

The attackers’ innate skills rained down on Nan Jiang Xian, dazzlingly slicing through the sky above Shan Nan River.

At that moment, Nan Jiang Xian’s body radiated a multicolored halo, as beautiful and dreamlike as the northern aurora, yet with a sinister aura.

Those innate skills fell into the halo like stones into the sea, without even a splash.

“Damn, this hidden boss is so strong!”

For a moment, not only Han Tong, the ox-nosed man, the red-haired youth, and other members of the Destiny Breakthrough Group were stunned as if struck by thunder, frozen in place.

Even Lin Qingxue was dumbfounded.

It should be noted that although the Destiny Breakthrough Group lacked the coordination of the larger forces led by Li Xuan and Xiao Ran, their combat power was several times greater.

With the singers’ ongoing amplifications, they were confident that if that elite monster stood still, they could severely wound him with their many innate skills.

But now, not a single hair on this hidden boss Nan Jiang Xian was harmed. How could they accept that?

Most importantly, under such circumstances, how could they possibly kill this hidden boss?

Before they recovered, Nan Jiang Xian launched a counterattack.

The ten-bodied giant merely twisted once, and a massive vortex formed in the Shan Nan River.

Following that, an aurora-like halo rose from the river waters.

It surged upwards, colliding toward the Destiny Breakthrough Group on the riverbank.

“Retreat! Fall back quickly!”

Lin Qingxue, Han Tong, the ox-nosed man, and the red-haired youth snapped back to reality, faces pale, issuing urgent commands while desperately retreating.

At this moment, a strong sense of crisis filled their hearts.

They had a powerful intuition—

If they were struck by that river water, they would surely die immediately.

The rest of the Destiny Breakthrough Group also regained their senses and scrambled to retreat.

But not everyone was quick enough, nor agile enough.

At least thirty members failed to dodge the crashing water, struck by the river water entwined with aurora-like light, turning instantly into blood mist that exploded, staining the Shan Nan River a glaring red.

Lin Qingxue and the others watched the scene, faces pale, hearts racing, cold sweat pouring, shaken to the core.

If they had hesitated just a moment longer, this would have been their fate!

Han Tong, the ox-nosed man, and the red-haired youth looked at Lin Qingxue, all their previous confidence gone, expressions somewhat disheveled.

“Qingxue, this hidden boss is too strong. Please use your divination skills to foresee his weakness, or we’ll never be able to kill him!”

Indeed, in spite of the circumstances, they were unwilling to give up.

After all, anyone who wasn’t a fool knew that killing a hidden boss meant unimaginable and generous rewards.

Moreover, this hidden boss was terrifyingly powerful; the post-victory rewards would surely allow them to dominate the world!

Just thinking about it excited them, an irresistible temptation.

A grand opportunity lay before them, and only fools would not dare to venture into this tiger’s den.

Besides, they were all greedy.

Lin Qingxue gritted her teeth, her desire for the rewards of killing Nan Jiang Xian equally strong.

She then employed her innate skill, Astrology.

“Fate like the stars, distant yet within reach.”

As she chanted, her head tilted back, her eyes rolled up showing the whites.

Countless star-like white lights burst forth from her eyes.

Han Tong, the ox-nosed man, the red-haired youth, and others in the Destiny Breakthrough Group watched her, their eyes full of hope.

After a moment, the star-like lights dissipated, Lin Qingxue’s head returned to normal, and her eyes regained their usual color.

The divination was complete.

Yet instead of an answer, everyone saw her collapse to the ground as if seeing a ghost, hands bracing against the earth, feet pushing back desperately, screaming in terror.

“Run… Run quickly, he’s not dead!”

“He killed Nan Jiang Xian!”