Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1481 The One Who Knows the Stars
Danxi's smile looked sincere, and Lu Ning could even tell that she really didn't want to cause trouble for her here, but she still believed what she saw more.

“The tourists know the mission details, Danshi. We must confirm with each other, otherwise it wouldn’t be good if I were betrayed by the tourists who chose the other side at a crucial moment.”

“You used the excuse of ‘choosing the other side,’ but how am I supposed to know which side you’ve chosen? That’s a very cunning argument.” Danxi took a step back. “I’m not interested in you, nor in the motives of the other tourists. If we were to be enemies, I wouldn’t resort to backstabbing or anything like that. Believe it or not, Pharmacist.”

“I prefer to eliminate potential threats before they arise,” Lu Ning said. “Now—”

“Then let’s try another method.” Danxi took two steps back, standing by the art gallery door, and raised a hand. “Since we can’t build a relationship of trust, I think equality is also a way. Conflict here won’t benefit either of us; it will only result in mutual destruction.”

Lu Ning indeed did not take any further action.

At this stage, the tourists' financial strength is difficult to estimate, and she is wary of this factor.

"What makes you feel that I pose a threat? Perhaps so. Depending on how things develop, I could become an enemy of either side... So let's prove it with this." A magical pattern appeared in Danxi's palm, and some of the spell patterns felt familiar to Lu Ning.

"This is... a star?"

“That’s right. This world is so close to the metaphorical stars that any visitor who has come into contact with it should have sensed it.” Danxi activated the spell in her hand, “Star Vision, this is my spell.”

Lu Ning looked into Danxi's eyes, which now contained a vast and powerful force that even she could feel was awe-inspiring.

“Since you recognize it, it means you can do it too. This deity probably wasn’t summoned by you. Only a tourist could attract a deity so precisely and in such a targeted manner. Therefore, there are at least three tourists in this scene who can come into contact with the stars. So, among us, whoever has a deeper understanding of the stars will determine who can cause the biggest change in this scene.”

“There’s no necessary connection between the latter part,” Lu Ning immediately said. “Are you planning to call upon the stars every time there’s a problem? If a volatile god appears, none of us will survive.”

“Of course, a mutually destructive method, Pharmacist.” Danxi pointed to her head. “Our spirits have been torn apart by those stars to some extent, haven’t they? The so-called pollution of the gods, divine calamities, all sorts of names, are nothing more than the result of the gods changing their surroundings according to their perception, but for us, they are absolute deterrence. Don’t call them by their real names, just use various code names to address them, otherwise they can appear from any corner of time and space and spread their divine kingdoms.”

Saying she didn't want it was actually a threat. However, after Danxi demonstrated her understanding of the stars, Lu Ning had already given up on dealing with her here.

Just like in the previous scene, Junying only used her call once, and the entire background universe of the scene was sliced ​​apart, everything annihilated in the destruction of the universe. In a normal scene, there might be problems with communication, but this scene has been confirmed to be so close to the stars, with nine even right outside.

"Stop your spells. If you go mad, you might drag us all down with you."

Danxi laughed and dispelled the magic in her eyes.

"Don't worry about me, we have far more experience. I've been trained and even shattered many times, both mentally and spiritually... This little bit of time won't be a burden to me. But what about you? Your goal doesn't seem to be that god?"

"The Church will handle the matter according to the will of God, listen."

The ground trembled; it was the sound of the Key to the Cathedral activating. As the temple rose from the ground, and the Eternal Sanctuary transformed into the core of the furnace, channeling energy to every part of the cathedral, the war machines were ready to attack.

The earthquake even bypassed the blockade of the fundamental structure, and the two felt a faint tremor beneath their feet. The deity above seemed to sense the threat and immediately tightened the surrounding threads, releasing a large number of bubble-like objects from the cocoon, which surged into the surrounding space.

“I need to deal with a Plague Apostle, and I don’t think you’ll be an obstacle for me. I’ve already wasted too much time here.” Lu Ning slung the gun she was holding behind her back.

“Then, I’ll help you find this person.” Danxi reached out and patted the wall next to her. “Describe his appearance to me, and my drawing will help you find him.”

Lu Ning thought about it and didn't refuse.

The threat posed by Danxi stemmed largely from her knowledge of the truth about the stars; after all, once someone became tainted by that substance, they were doomed. However, Lu Ning wasn't planning on further cooperation with her; she trusted her intuition.

As Lu Ning dictated, Danxi quickly drew a simple portrait, which indeed bore a striking resemblance to the escaped plague apostle. Lu Ning thought for a moment and then said, "Although that person has this appearance, based on my brief encounter with him, he is probably using a fake face."

“Don’t worry, I drew his bone structure. As long as he doesn’t go back into the womb and be reborn, I’ll definitely be able to catch him,” Danxi said confidently. “I’ve done you this favor, so that attack just now is considered paid back. It’s best if we don’t meet again.”

"most."

Lu Ning watched the face disappear along the wall, then followed. Danxi breathed a sigh of relief after watching her go.

"This is troublesome. If so many tourists know about the stars, it's hard to guarantee that the other four don't either. Given the selection criteria of the distribution center, it's very likely that they all have some or none..."

Danxi looked up and saw a beam of light stretching across the sky. She hadn't heard the sound of it being launched, but the heat emanating from the beam had even reached the ground, adding to the dryness of the air.

Having just gained insight into the world of the Spinning Star, she roughly understood that this world held little value for this deity, and if attacked again, it would likely abandon it. Unfortunately, her spell couldn't penetrate the deity's mind, preventing her from understanding what the deity truly desired. Of course, if she did understand, her mind would probably shatter again.

"What a pity about the promise."

Danxi rubbed her temples and glanced back at the art gallery. Inside the dark gallery, if Lu Ning had walked in earlier, she would have seen graffiti covering the walls, with simple black line drawings of little figures patrolling with equally simple weapons. Some of these graffiti figures had gathered around the group of unconscious young people and were beginning to build an altar.

"Stop, it's not time for the sacrifice yet. Go do what you were doing." Danxi quickly waved her hand to dismiss the guys, then dragged a chair over and sat down by the door. Several graffiti artists pulled a trailer full of books over with ropes.

Danxi picked up a book from the pile of books.

"The history of Violet City... is quite ancient, so there are many places where the records are not very detailed. Before the Empire even appeared, there were already some villages here. Of course, they couldn't be called cities back then, let alone have any history. But when a very famous person in history came from this place, it was a different story—the hero Caesar." She flipped the book to a page with a rustling sound.

“Look, the hero who shot down the god, the one for whom the church could use the divine magic of ‘resurrection’, is said to have a soul that still protects this land to this day…” Danxi smiled and pointed to some of the paragraphs with his finger. “First there was Caesar, then came Violet City. The name of this city also comes from the flower that the hero Caesar liked the most.”

Snapped.

Danxi slammed the book shut.

"But why is it that, throughout the entire Violet City area—no, I should say, throughout Toriljen—we cannot find the tomb described in the book—the one where the hero Caesar was buried on a small hill outside his hometown after his death?"

In that instant, her tone changed from lighthearted and cheerful to angry and sinister.

"Here, a piece of history has become flawed. Following this, after the establishment of Violet City, at this ambiguous point in time, two records were formed. The first record comes from the Empire, where a Grand Duke was granted this territory, while the other record comes from the local historical materials, where a valiant general returned to his hometown. These two are clearly not the same person, and there is no connection between them."

The graffiti figures all scurried to the side, crouching down and trembling. Danshi reached for another book, gritting her teeth as she said, "Violet City, its history is riddled with fragments and inconsistencies. This city, which should be beautiful, is filled with paradoxes! Who manipulated time? Who played with history? If we only focus on the present, a god, a divine calamity? After all this is over, this place will head towards Violet City's destined end!"

Danxi suddenly raised her hand and cast a spell on herself, then suddenly stopped and fell silent.

"Phew... Thank you, 'Danxi'."

=
Lu Ning knew that the god no longer cared about this land. Most of its roots had been severed, and the silk threads used to protect itself had been blown apart. Although its own strength was still enough to withstand the bombardment for a while, the god would no longer waste its strength.

Blooming in a land that understands the true nature of gods is still too troublesome, and this one, because of its overly gentle methods, has clearly attracted even more trouble, so—

The "cocoon" began to rise, and a crater appeared in the depths of the now-normal night sky, tearing the starry sky apart. The "starry sky" itself began to emerge from behind, with countless withered branches covering the part of the "starry sky" closest to this world. These withered branches came from the lakeside, which resembled pus. If one looked closely, one might also see clusters of blood coral, giant burrowing worms, mushrooms secreting putrid fluid into the lake, and brains floating in the lake...

Lu Ning only noticed the outlines before looking away. She didn't dare to look closely. These plague lords were too close to this world, but they didn't try to invade it when the god left, which meant they were weaker than this god.

Okay, so what if I'm weak? It still can't be solved in the normal way.

Lu Ning saw the face suddenly turn in one direction and start making expressions. As the night was about to end, the simple line drawing of a face on the wall making such vivid expressions created a rather eerie atmosphere.

Is it in this room?

She looked up and saw a three-story building. The neighborhood was already in a state of fighting, so the nearby houses had been cleared out by the church, making it a good place for her to strike.

The darkest hour is just before dawn.

Lu Ning, gun in one hand and sword in the other, sneaked inside. The builder of this small building must have been a wealthy person; the interior was exquisitely decorated, and she could roughly guess why that guy had chosen this place.

If a normal person walks up from downstairs, they will definitely be spotted by the person upstairs, and then they will have a certain advantage whether they fight or run away.

Of course, the other party couldn't possibly not have set up some warning devices downstairs, but after Lu Ning had witnessed his methods, she was already on guard and cautiously avoided those devices before sneaking up to the second floor.

The painted face followed them in, climbing all the way to the ceiling. After moving around for a while, it finally stopped in a corner.

Lu Ning quickly understood the meaning of the face. She reached out and touched the wall. The main structure of this small building was basically made of wood, after all, it was built by the people themselves, unlike the church which would use stone as the main building material.

That's it.

The Snowlight Sword was instantly unleashed, piercing directly into the face. Its sharpness, enhanced by magic, easily sliced ​​through the wooden planks supporting the floor above. In an instant, a section of the plank was shredded, and the person on it fell down along with the severed plank.

Ed Wilder reacted extremely quickly, casting a levitation spell the instant his feet were suspended in mid-air. However, he still fell to the second floor. He hurriedly swept away the stray pieces of wood in his way and, without even looking, unleashed a "wave of energy" spell to block Lu Ning's attack.

"How did you find this place?" Edwid looked at Lu Ning with suspicion and uncertainty. "Even the old hyenas of the Burial Pivot might not be able to track me down. What methods did you use!"

“You can think about this in hell.” Lu Ning raised her gun and pointed it at him. “Your appearance has changed. Is this your original appearance? Good, so you won’t be confused when you die.”

Ed Wilder immediately raised his hand and held up a page: "Immortality..."

boom!
Flames erupted from the muzzle, and Edwid's body jerked violently. A small hole had appeared in the page of the book in his hand. He looked down slightly and saw a thin bullet lodged in the side of his heart.

Neither the pages imbued with divine power nor the steel-forged subcutaneous defense layer could stop this bullet. Edwid's eyes widened as he saw countless black lines spreading around the wound. A familiar yet deadly power spread through his body—the divine power of the Plague Lord. In an instant, the lethal contamination had covered his entire body.

When he looked at Lu Ning for the last time, he saw her pull back the bolt, ejecting the same slender cartridge case. Decisive and efficient; a seasoned killer.

Edwid smiled, released the pages of the book, and the magic left a final message on the pages, which was then sent to his collaborator.

(End of this chapter)