Evil Emperor Zun

Chapter 2011 The Most Sacred Nightmare (Part 1)
"You just said that you saw a huge Gnawing Clan corpse in the Lost Galaxy."

Baili Ji was listening to Feng Yi'er's report. In fact, this wasn't the first time he'd heard her recount this experience, but initially, he was most concerned with information about the Lost Star System itself. Since she couldn't provide any more useful information, he had ignored her story. Only today, when he asked her to retell it, did everything sound so unfamiliar. And perhaps, hidden within were chilling clues!
According to Feng Yi'er, she met some temporary companions in the Lost Galaxy. They were all people who had fallen into the trap at different times and gradually came together in the process of struggling to survive. One of the women was from the Solitary Awakening Royal Court. Due to her special status, she was both the backbone of the team and deeply feared by everyone.

The Solitary Awakening Royal Court is an organization dedicated to world destruction. If the goal of other forces is to "dominate the entire universe," their goal is to "destroy the entire universe," leaving no survivors.

Although the creators claim that their original intention was to "liberate all living beings equally" and "rebuild a new world free from harm and suffering," their stance makes them destined to become the common enemy of all top powers and lone hegemons.

Under such circumstances, the fact that the Solitary Awakening Royal Court has not only never been wiped out, but has also been able to stand at the top of the pyramid, becoming an existence that the entire Cosmic Sea greatly fears, is enough to prove how powerful they are.

The woman told them that she had accidentally gotten stuck there while on a mission. Almost no one believed her. It wouldn't be surprising if this happened to others—after all, the boundaries of lost star systems are often fluctuating, and not everyone can accurately grasp their dynamic coordinates—but to say that the people of the Solitary Awakening Court would lack such resources was simply impossible. However, despite their suspicions, no one dared to voice them openly. After all, going against a self-destructive madwoman and getting her to remember you was hardly a long-term solution.

Feng Yi'er had also made some guesses. What she could say was that the woman's demeanor was completely out of place with them. If the others were lost in the wilderness, forced to rely on rudimentary knowledge to stumble and struggle for survival, then she was like someone with a pre-prepared map, searching for a certain attraction... something within a scenic area. Although she also seemed temporarily disoriented, she was far more composed than them.

However, before Feng Yi'er could find out her secret, something unexpected happened.

This all started with a taboo within the Lost Galaxy.

From these "predecessors" who had fallen into this trap earlier, the most frequent warning Feng Yi'er received was, "You must never see your own ghost." Otherwise, it would trigger a curse akin to causality. Because this would prove that "you will die in the future" had already become a predetermined fact.

To avoid trouble, they would occasionally blindfold themselves with strips of cloth. When Feng Yi'er first heard this, she thought it was just like burying one's head in the sand. If it was a future that had already taken shape, could simply not seeing it prevent it from happening?
When faced with her question, the seniors responded directly: "If you don't believe me, you don't have to lie."

Despite all precautions, the most terrifying legend still descended in a way that no one had anticipated.

When they discovered that one of their fellow elf girls had suddenly transformed into a pale-eyed, pupil-less female ghost who was rapidly lunging at them, it was too late.

Danger had been lurking all along in the place they thought was safe!
What's even more despairing is that, regardless of their strength in life, once these souls become part of the curse, they receive the energy boost from the entire field, transforming into evil spirits that leave them helpless.

A direct confrontation was not an option. Furthermore, since teammates could be used as a decoy by the enemy, continuing to team up was pointless. Ultimately, it devolved into a situation where each person had to fend for themselves.

As everyone scattered and fled, Feng Yi'er chose to chase after the woman from the Solitary Awakening Royal Court. Of course, she only followed at a distance. She was certain that the direction the Solitary Awakening Royal Court would choose, even if it wasn't directly to the exit, would certainly be the safest direction.

She couldn't figure out what had happened to the elven girl earlier, no matter how hard she tried.

If she was killed by her future self's ghost and then had her identity replaced, when would that have happened? They clearly hadn't sensed any energy fluctuations. Of course, there were other possibilities, such as the girl never being alive in the first place, or perhaps they had all died after they were trapped in the Lost Galaxy, and the girl was just recalling that fact... Feng Yi'er tried her best not to think about it from that angle.

After an unknown amount of time, a shrill scream came from afar.

That's the direction that the woman from the solitary royal court went!
If something were to happen to her, then the path she had chosen would no longer be safe… Feng Yi'er abruptly stopped in her tracks. She knew she should run away as fast as possible, the farther the better. However, before she could even turn around and take a few steps, she stopped abruptly again.

A crazy idea rushed into her mind.

The road ahead is dangerous, but would escaping elsewhere guarantee safety? This is a terrifying wasteland teeming with murderous intent. With my limited abilities, no matter how I try to escape or hide, I'll die sooner or later. Rather than gambling on luck and prolonging my life for a moment, I might as well risk everything and fight!
High-level magical artifacts are rarely damaged. If that woman dies, the treasures she carried will become ownerless. If we search carefully the place where she died, we might find the storage artifacts she left behind. The equipment of the Lone Awakening Royal Court is absolutely top-notch; this is true survival assurance!

Of course, doing so also carried immense danger. Moreover, the fact that the woman possessing the complete set of magical artifacts had likely already perished ahead of her repeatedly reminded her that retreating as quickly as possible was the right choice. But there was at least one reason that temporarily suppressed the surging fear within her and supported her continued exploration—she suspected that the woman might possess a "map"!
Just as she had always suspected, she believed the other person had intentionally entered the Lost Star System to search for something. She was different from those struggling for survival in their search for an exit, because she knew exactly where the exit was. Besides, surely she had a way to get what she found out? Therefore, the Solitary Awakening Royal Court must have a way to ensure its subordinates could leave safely!
As long as she could obtain that "method," she wouldn't need to search for anything afterward; she could simply leave as quickly as possible. Feng Yi'er mentally prepared herself in this way, step by step venturing into that perilous place fraught with danger.

In the end, she failed to find all of the other person's belongings and only found a bracelet that looked very delicate.

This was indeed that woman's; Feng Yi'er had seen it on the other woman's wrist. She picked it up and fiddled with it for a while, manipulating it to project a small screen in front of her, divided into several sections of varying sizes. A light touch of the finger in the air would open the corresponding section. Furthermore, this virtual panel seemed to be visible only to the wearer; therefore, although Feng Yi'er had seen the bracelet before, she only truly witnessed its secrets now that it had become ownerless and she had personally tested it.

This is a communicator. Feng Yi'er found a lot of communication information from the original owner and his colleagues. At this moment, she couldn't help but sigh, "The Solitary Awakening Royal Court truly lives up to its name." All of their communication tools had become unusable after they were trapped here; no transmission signal could reach the Lost Star System. But the Solitary Awakening Royal Court's equipment could maintain stable communication with the outside world, and even… communication across time and space!

The outgoing messages list shows the delivery time of each message. Scrolling to the bottom reveals that the earliest messages were sent thousands of years into the future, which should be the era of the original owner. As the order is moved up, the sending times begin to jump erratically, indicating that she should have already entered the Lost Star System and been randomly tossed to various timelines. Fortunately, the bracelet faithfully recorded everything.

It was only then that Feng Yi'er learned that the legends of survivors who traveled through time were true; however, the number of time-space rifts that occurred here was far greater than they had guessed. Furthermore, not everyone was lucky enough to be ejected to the outside world. Most people, no matter how they were tossed around, would simply remain trapped within this area.

The messages sent by the original owner were almost entirely coordinates. Their arrangement was far more complex than ordinary coordinates, incorporating shifts in the time dimension. With Feng Yi'er's limited knowledge, she could only recognize them as coordinates, but had no idea what specific locations they pointed to. She could only deduce that the original owner transmitted these coordinates to the organization every so often, a kind of "marking" process. Even if her mission failed, future replacements could follow her route and continue the journey.

As for her superior—yes, that arrogant attitude clearly indicated a superior. 99% of the messages in the communication log were from the original owner; the inbox was nearly empty. Occasionally, the other party would reply with a perfunctory, "Report received as of XX."

Regardless of whether the other party was arrogant or friendly, Feng Yi'er was in a terrible mood. She carefully checked her bracelet, searching through every accessible section, but couldn't find the map she needed. The meaningless coordinates in the communication logs offered no clues either. Had she taken such a huge risk only to end up empty-handed? Without any defensive magic or map, she was likely to die if things continued like this!

Perhaps it couldn't be said that she gained nothing at all... Gazing at the messages exchanged between the two sides, a glimmer of hope surged through her, her blood boiling. The communicator was in her hands; she could use this channel to contact the Solitary Awakening Royal Court!
The latest messages currently in the inbox are a string of gibberish mixed with coordinates, and another message that, after a while, asks in common language, "What's going on?" Perhaps it's because her movements have deviated from the planned route and she hasn't sent back new coordinates for a long time, prompting the other side to question her.

Feng Yi'er quickly abandoned the idea of ​​"impersonating the original owner to deal with them." She knew nothing about them and would be exposed after just a few words. Rather than letting them think she was a fraud, it was better to discuss the deal openly and honestly from the start.

Which is more dangerous, leaving an impression on the Solitary King's Court or venturing alone in the Lost Star System? This question kept swirling in Feng Yi'er's mind as she mustered her courage and sent a communication request to her only contact.

A short while later, a cool, mechanical voice sounded from the other side.

"signal."

At this moment, Feng Yi'er was incredibly grateful that she had decided to be honest early on, so she wouldn't have to worry about the unknown code. Without the slightest hesitation, she spoke in one breath, following her prepared speech:

“I am not one of your people, and I have not killed any of your people. You can verify whether what I am saying is true by calculating cause and effect. But I can temporarily become one of your people.”

There was a long silence on the other end.

Then, that same mechanical voice rang out abruptly, devoid of any emotion.

Tell me your plans.

Feng Yi'er breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that they could communicate; she had been worried that the other party was just a mechanical system and that she would need to enter the correct password to be transferred to a living person.

"I'm currently in the Lost Galaxy." To attract their attention, she immediately offered a powerful lure: "At the place where your people last went. I'm willing to take her place and continue the mission for you." "Since the person with the bracelet had an accident, it means this place isn't absolutely safe for you either. Rather than risking casualties by sending someone else in, it's better to let me, an outsider, scout ahead for you. Just tell me what to do."

Another long and cold silence followed.

The air seemed to freeze.

The other party is definitely wondering why a sane cultivator would willingly help the Solitary Awakening Royal Court. Feng Yi'er's mind raced, and she quickly raised her voice, calling out to the bracelet:

"If I die, whether the cosmic sea is destroyed or not will be none of my business! Help me, and I will take what you need out, on the condition that you help me find an exit. That's fair, isn't it!"

She was putting on a show of collapse for them. Because of this collapse, she was willing to risk everything, even resorting to desperate measures. Only someone driven to the brink of madness by fear could convince them that she had no ulterior motives other than self-preservation. At the same time, she was deliberately controlling herself, trying to project sufficient anxiety while maintaining a degree of rationality, because someone incapable of sound thinking was not someone they could use.

Finally, she received a response. The same flat, equally stiff response.

"I need to ask for instructions. I'll contact you again."

Then the communication was cut off.

Feng Yi'er had a bad feeling. She felt that the other party might not call again. The bargaining chips she could offer were insignificant in their eyes. Even if she tried to re-establish contact under other pretexts, she would only be seen as a cheaper beggar. Hope was repeatedly ignited and extinguished, leaving her no time to breathe.

At the end of despair, the last straw came.

A figure vaguely appeared in the distance. Although it was only a faint outline, its shape and the way it moved were clearly very similar to his own!

It's a legendary ghost from the future...! Once you see it, it will trigger an unsolvable causal curse!
This realization struck her like a sudden bolt of lightning, leaving a blank for several breaths. The first thing she did after regaining her mobility was to pull out the strip of cloth she had prepared earlier, quickly cover her eyes, and turn to run.

Strictly speaking, she didn't actually see what the future ghost looked like; she only guessed. That shouldn't count as triggering a curse, right...?
She ran with all her might, the only clear connection between her and the receding world being the feeling of being torn apart. She estimated that she had traversed layers of space and completely shaken off her pursuer before untying the strips of cloth with trembling hands and looking around at her surroundings.

She regretted it after just one glance out.

She was wrong. She shouldn't have run away. She should have stayed to face the ghosts of the future.

This is the real hell.

The enormous, mountain-like corpse of the Devourer Clan blotted out the sky, pressing heavily on her retina.

She had never seen such a large Gnawing Clan before. They were already ugly and terrifying creatures, but now their drooling, sharp teeth and rotten, hideous muscles were magnified countless times, making the visual impact even more catastrophic.

Feng Yi'er stood stiff and lifeless, her blood running cold. She couldn't imagine what a desperate death it would be if this thing could still move and devour her. She even wished she could sever her own meridians!
A bead of cold sweat slid down her forehead, and then, in her rapidly contracting pupils, an even more unbelievable scene was reflected.

A stunningly beautiful and mysterious man is emerging gracefully from the gigantic corpse of the Gnawing Clan.

To this day, Feng Yi'er can only describe his appearance with two words.

"Holy" and "beautiful".

If we were to add one more word, it would be: "ultimate".

He is arguably the most perfect creation in the world, a god wandering among mortals. His unparalleled beauty transcends gender, race, class, and everything else. Simply gazing at him from afar brings tears to one's eyes, like a pilgrim's.

He walked with effortless grace, as if an endless stream of light converged upon him, making every strand of his hair radiate a dazzling glow. Wherever he passed, the entire space softened like waves, as if even the scenery itself was consciously making way for his beauty.

Behind him, the corpse of the Devourer still exuded a heavy pressure, separating heaven and hell. The most extreme beauty and the most extreme ugliness intertwined to create a breathtaking spectacle!
Feng Yi'er watched him walk towards her step by step until he stopped in front of her, raised his head, and gave her a smile so beautiful that even heaven and earth would be jealous.

What era are we living in now?

After numerous time-space travels, Feng Yi'er wasn't sure if she could still be considered to have entered the same timeline. But her mind was still reeling from the experience, and she habitually gave him the information according to the cosmic calendar she was familiar with.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the man's smile revealed a hint of amusement.

"Oh, that was when Baili Ji was all messed up by Ye Yunyan."

Feng Yi'er's heart skipped a beat, pulling her thoughts back to clarity. The other person was using the past tense, meaning he wasn't experiencing this event simultaneously, so he definitely wasn't one of the pursuers she had attracted. The question remained: was he an enemy or a friend of the adults?

Having obtained the necessary information, the man continued on his way. Feng Yi'er's gaze remained fixed on him, and as they passed each other, their eyes met. He naturally tilted his head slightly towards her, as if gesturing for her to follow.

His eyes held a familiarity that went beyond mere chance encounters. It was as if they were meant to travel together.

No one could refuse such an invitation. Feng Yi'er skipped the thought process and followed him closely, listening to him continue the previous topic.

"Let me think, since we've already made it this far, shouldn't we bring some words of comfort from our friends?"

Upon realizing the subtext of his words, Feng Yi'er was both surprised and delighted: "Are you... a friend?"

The man's lips tightened slightly. Then, they suddenly curved upwards in a smile.

"Ah, the last time we met, I snatched something very important from him, and he's plotting how to kill me. If you're willing to call this relationship 'friendship'."

"But even if I die, he can't take it back—that purest soul that countless people dream of."