Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1413 Chaos of Heaven and Earth
The *Dahuang Lieyi Jing* (Classic of Strange Things in the Great Wilderness), in its chapter on strange phenomena, states: "In the beginning, before the Great Wilderness was revealed, various strange phenomena had already appeared." The name "strange phenomena" was given by Qin Zhong, who was then the General Commander of the Northern Frontier.

The extraordinary, regardless of its physical form or reality, and its ever-changing nature, inevitably brings calamity. The changes in heaven and earth affect all living beings, taking lives, destroying cities and ravaging fields, without end. Therefore, all races regard it as their greatest enemy.

The first extraordinary event to appear in the world was recorded in the first chapter of this book. Lou Lingzhu recorded it in the first year of Yunwu, in Gouchen City, Lingzhou, by the person known as the Wujian Xingzhe.

Chapter 1 of "A Study of the Strange Classics of the Great Wilderness": Although the book "The Great Wilderness Classic of Strange Classics" records events from the beginning of the Great Wilderness and has been continued, supplemented, revised and compiled by more than ten generations of writers, it can be called the most authoritative historical book during the Great Wilderness period. Modern historians all take its records as the standard. However, there are still many controversies about some of the contents of this huge work.

The original author of the *Dahuang Lieyi Jing* (Classic of Strange Things in the Great Wilderness), Lou Lingzhu, set out nine chapters in thirteen volumes. However, the subsequent expansion of the book was probably beyond what the founder could have foreseen. Of the nine chapters, seven—*Demons Divided into Five Elements*, *Born in the Four Wildernesses*, *Tales of the Human World*, *Nine Star Demon Realm*, *The Great Wilderness Annals*, *The Treasure Collection Record*, and *The Year Never Ends*—are now considered reliable by historians. Many of the accounts in these chapters have also been corroborated by the demon race, making them all credible.

However, the two texts, "Strange Scripture" and "Far Away from the Martial World," still have many doubts. Considering that the sect to which Lou Lingzhu, the author of the texts, belonged at the time was a sect that recorded rumors of the martial world, and that many of the events in the texts are so bizarre that they cannot be verified, some historians believe that this part of the content may be Lou Lingzhu's compilation and transcription of some of the legendary and strange tales of the sect at that time, rather than historical facts.

The author disagrees with this viewpoint, and therefore has examined some historical materials preserved by the Wei Kingdom during the Great Wilderness period and even before it, intending to prove that the entire first draft of the *Dahuang Lieyi Jing* is a historical record. Over eight years, the author visited the ruins of the three cities of Lingzhou and the place names mentioned in the *Yijing* and *Jianghu Zhiyuan*, and spoke with some demons, compiling this book for reference.

Special thanks to a senior member of the demon race whom I met by chance, who was willing to take me to some important locations to search for clues in the ruins. Although the two races have now reconciled, we do not interact much. This senior member's behavior and style are no different from those of my race, but he does not wish to reveal his real name. With his permission, I will refer to him by a pseudonym here.

—Thanks to senior Juque for his great help in writing this book.

=
Visibility was poor at night, and Lu Ning couldn't see what changes were happening on the distant Golden Position. Of course, her top priority at this moment was to lead the team back to Gouchen.

It's clear that the demon army is in disarray. The appearance of the "former evil beings" was not part of the demon army's plan; that much is certain, given that they themselves didn't know how to awaken things of unknown origin.

Lu Ning was feeling very unwell; the things that had been carefully sealed in her mind were now becoming agitated, and she needed Zhao Yuqiao's help to check on them. She had to devote a lot of energy to adjusting the balance of the shackles to bring these things back to stability. On the contrary, her subordinates, the Celestial Stars, were unaffected.

Fortunately, the impact was minimal compared to the situation of the demon army.

"Hey, my arm..."

A demon stared at the cracks that were sprouting new branches. It was a wood-elemental demon, but only a powerful one, assigned to move these stone cannons simply because of its innate strength. Lacking intelligence, the demon had no complaints; in fact, it had even learned some basic language through its interactions with the troops.

However, instinct cannot tell it what to do when the arm turns into a branch.

"what happened to you?"

The demon general in charge of it turned around and noticed its abnormality. This was only because the wood element demon was relatively mild-mannered; there seemed to be more chaotic noises coming from other parts of the battlefield.

But just as the demon general took a step, it heard a cracking sound—half of its foot had turned into mud and was connected to the earth. As it took the step, part of its foot easily shattered and detached from its body.

"What kind of attack by the human race?" The demon general, having seen the world, immediately ordered the demons not to panic, and at the same time sent a signal to the other demon generals around him to confirm the situation.

However, there was no response. Its power turned into a cloud of murky mud and sand in mid-air and fell to the ground, along with the information it carried, which lost its meaning.

"Boss, boss! I'm burning up! I don't feel well—"

Some demons could only make cries; their language skills were already poor, and the mutations they had undergone made them show signs of reverting to their original forms. Some had even become mentally unstable and started attacking the demons around them.

In no time, the chaos reached a point where the demon general could no longer maintain control. It could barely control its own body, and it was already its limit not to fall to the ground.

"It's over..."

This wasn't the only demon with such thoughts.

As the commander-in-chief, Di Xin naturally noticed the chaos in the army. However, like the other generals, he was unable to control the army at this moment because his orders could not be issued at all.

Di Xin could see the anomaly appearing above the gold position, and the demon army he had sent to the gold position to drive that array was probably already wiped out.

"Marshal, the problem is very serious. Most of the demons who have undergone reincarnation have reverted to their original forms, and those who transformed using their own abilities are in an even worse state, their bodies are turning into inanimate objects of their own nature."

Yu Chang landed lightly next to Di Xin and reported to him.

"You—" Di Xin glanced at Yu Chang, then hesitated.

This rather reliable demon king's arm was now almost completely liquefied, clearly controlled by Yu Chang's abilities to keep it connected to his body. However, under such drastic changes, only a demon king of this strength could still maintain normal mobility.

"My fire... has lost its heat."

A flame ignited beside Di Xin, blazing fiercely, yet emanating no warmth, let alone heat, from the surrounding area. He then extinguished the flame and said in a deep voice, "An unexpected turn of events has occurred on the battlefield. As per Lord Yaoxing's orders, if the situation becomes untenable, I have the authority to withdraw the troops, regroup, and wait for another opportunity."

“If the Marshal gives an order, I will convey it. However, the Golden Position Demon is probably beyond saving,” Yu Chang said.

“I know, but I don’t want to be a stubborn and self-willed general. Yu Chang, you are also a demon king. I want to hear your thoughts.”

“It doesn’t matter. The path I follow as the Demon King is my own path, not for my fellow demons, nor for the benefit of the world. My opinion is irrelevant here. You make the decision, and the demon army will naturally follow. This is a consciousness that the demon race has had since ancient times,” Yu Chang said.

"It's alright, then speak your mind in your own way."

"We should find his true form, display his corpse to the public, and show our strength," Yu Chang said.

Di Xin nodded, then let out a long sigh.

"Send the order out: the entire army shall withdraw, prepare to retreat a hundred li, observe the changes, and respond to any further developments." "Yes, sir."

What Yu Chang said was indeed something that lone wolf demons would do, but unfortunately Di Xin could not act so recklessly.

=
Zhao Yuqiao was startled awake from his bed. As a non-combatant, he could have easily gotten a good rest that night and didn't need to worry about the safety of the outside world. After all, if this place was destroyed, Guan Yuan's side wouldn't be much better off, and he couldn't provide any combat-related improvements anyway.

But when it comes to his own life, he becomes much more serious.

"What the hell is this smell?"

He looked towards the bedside and saw a cluster of dark green flames gradually dying down, leaving white ash on the ground. It was something he had sprinkled beforehand next to his bed, and it was also one of the props that Zhao Yuqiao had brought into the scene.

[The mentally ill in Crete:]
Since the founding of Crete Mental Hospital, the main hospital and its branches have treated hundreds of millions of mental patients. No competitor can match the richness of our caseload! We have seen all kinds of mental problems, whether you have thought of them or not—of course, we have not necessarily cured them all.

A little bird droppings, a piece of scalp from a corpse, a thumbtack that was stuck in the buttocks or something similar, ground together into powder, plus what a seasoned mental patient vomits in the middle of the night, and you get a pile of garbage! Yes, the pharmacist who invented this formula was also a mental patient!

Based on the application submitted by the Level 6 Chaotic World [Crete Mental Hospital], we have placed its introduction at the forefront.

Warning: The potential side effects of this medicine are not yet fully understood; therefore, it is classified as a prescription drug. Visitors who obtain this medicine should use it with caution. Any adverse effects resulting from the use of this medicine will not be treated at the distribution center.

It has been determined that the "Cretan Mental Patient" drug can react to any abnormal state within a five-meter radius, unless it is sealed in a special container made of "Cretan's Skull" material.

Depending on the specific abnormal state, the agent may produce different reactions, including but not limited to combustion, explosion, vaporization, strong corrosiveness, and proliferation. Currently, no correlation has been found between the abnormal state and the reaction.

Once the drug reaction occurs, people within five meters will be immune to the corresponding abnormal condition for a period of time, with a minimum of about twelve hours.

During the immune abnormality period, any drug residues must be destroyed; otherwise, after the immune period, the individual may randomly contract more than three types of "Cretan's psychosis".

Currently, only two methods of destruction are known: 1. Ingestion and digestion by a living being with normal digestive capabilities. 2. Soaking the brain matter solution from twelve mental patients in a formula called "The Wisdom of Crete" until the same time as the immunization period.

Zhao Yuqiao hurriedly rolled off the bed, took out a box, and collected all the ashes left on the ground, even if they were mixed with some dirt. Then, he strolled outside into the yard, where several animals affected by the Return to Origin were tied up. They had been captured by the army in recent days, and he had taken them under the pretext of conducting some medical research.

Zhao Yuqiao chose a larger one, pried open its mouth, and poured the residue and soil from the box down into it. Then, just in case, he scooped up a ladle of water and poured it down as well, before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Sometimes, the things tourists carry around are more dangerous than the things in the scene.

After dealing with the side effects of the medicine, Zhao Yuqiao began to think about the strange smell he had just mentioned. He hadn't dared to use it much, but each time the situation was different, so finding a pattern was out of the question. At most, he could analyze how serious the danger was based on the intensity of the smell.

However, he soon discovered that he no longer needed to investigate; someone had already come knocking on his door.

"What? The city's protective maze has dispelled itself?"

Compared to the phenomenon of returning to the origin, this matter is more serious. However, the soldiers who came did not ask Zhao Yuqiao to solve this problem, but rather that the three leaders in the city fell ill at the same time after the illusion was dispelled!
This was no small matter, so Zhao Yuqiao quickly grabbed his box and followed the soldiers.

At the time of the incident, the three generals were discussing matters in the government office. After all, the demon's night attack was quite a commotion, and since they had known about it in advance, they naturally couldn't have slept. Instead of the demon coming, the illusion array suddenly dissipated on its own, and then the three of them collapsed.

Zhao Yuqiao sensed something was wrong when he saw the three generals lying in a row.

One was completely red but felt cold to the touch; another was unconscious but only mumbled in fear; and the third seemed normal, but would fall to the ground as soon as it stood up.

The symptoms are completely different, but the attack is most likely the same type of attack. This disease is difficult to cure.

Zhao Yuqiao squatted down and began to examine the three generals, and asked the guards on night duty what had happened, as well as whether anyone else in the city had experienced a similar situation, such as the commanders.

The inquiry revealed that only these generals had fallen ill; no one else in the city had been found to have contracted the strange disease. However, the disappearance of the maze was quite a shock to some of the soldiers who knew the situation, and they needed some reassurance.

This was not Zhao Yuqiao's concern.

Although Qin Luo felt cold, his mind wasn't too affected. He said to Zhao Yuqiao, "It seems the demon army did something to break the illusion array in order to attack Gouchen. This tactic worked on us, but it didn't affect the Commander. However, something's not right... There are no siege troops outside?"

"Reporting to the general, we have not seen the demon army attacking the city," a personal guard said.

"Could it be... that it wasn't done by the demon army?"

Lu Ning, who was outside the city, could see it clearly.

The illusory mountains vanished beyond Gouchen, revealing some uneven, low hills that could not conceal the city. They could still provide some cover, but were far less effective than the solidified maze.

Above Gouchen, the reflections of the mountains began to appear, not very noticeable, but Lu Ning could see them clearly.

"This is the evil object?"

The true form is invisible; even from the golden position, there is no specific image that can be described. Only the distorted scenery can roughly depict the direction in which the evil creature is moving.

When Lu Ning returned, she had already witnessed some changes in the demons. The chaos and strangeness of those demons provided her with numerous examples for analysis. Having seen so much, coupled with her own lingering headache, she had basically deduced the evil creature's abilities.

It is a reversal, and a controllable, selective reversal.