Above Destiny

Chapter 817 The Gate

Just before the sword shattered, in a moment of hesitation, [Unfinished Work]'s body was completely submerged by a massive amount of crystal beads.

Despite the relentless attacks of numerous craftsmen, and the constant sounds of creations deteriorating and breaking, all creations were treated as disposable items in such a wasteful and extravagant manner that they were not valued or regretted.

Even if they abandon tools and use their hands, claws, and teeth, abandoning the wisdom that craftsmen are proud of, they fight and entangle like wild beasts.

What ultimately pierced into the middle-aged man's fading face was a dagger that the craftsman had forged on the spot from his own bones...

The unfinished work destroyed the unfinished work; the remaining sharp stubble became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The frenzied, rotting dachshund pounced, its dozens of heads opening their gaping maws to devour the afterimage completely, isolating it from the last trace of its deterioration.

When the last old man awoke from his fleeting drunkenness, what he saw was an overwhelming storm of blood.

The exponential leap in the inheritance of the sacrificial ritual has been fully prepared. The super-fast speed and slashing force of 514 times the normal speed is already overwhelming, but it disappears without a trace under the heavy pressure of the Bone Collection Hall.

—Here, all external things are cut off!
The once-resonant and howling Pan Ying suddenly fell silent, offering no further response. With all external influences stripped away, Ji Jue was now in an unprecedented state of weakness.

Now, all that's left for him are Chun Jun, Zhan Lu, and Chi Xiao, who have completely merged with their reborn forms.

Oh dear, this is really...

What should we do?!

boom!
The barrier that suddenly appeared in the void in front of the old man's afterimage collapsed.

Entangled in purple lightning and black flames, the mechanically constructed metallic face laughed silently, approaching inch by inch, its five fingers spreading out and pressing against his face.

In the blink of an eye, without any fear or panic, the old man's afterimage seemed to twitch, spasm, and blur for a moment. Then, what emerged from that face was actually the appearance of a middle-aged man!

The three lingering images of old age, middle age, and youth echo each other, are interdependent, and exist together. Similarly, they can naturally be replaced at will!

In the instant when only one of the three pillars remains, the judgment ends, the analysis is complete—delaying time, preserving oneself, and ensuring the rebirth of the other two pillars.

Meanwhile, in response to the current opponent, the Lian Gu Hall was replaced by an unfinished project!

Wei Jin raised his head and looked at his opponent who was so close at hand. His dark eyes reflected Ji Jue's appearance. He was going all out with [Deterioration]!
Then, that face, filled with pity as if looking down on the ugly, crumbled under the ravages of the five metal fingers!
Jing Zhen!

After breaking through the outer defense with all its might, Zhanlu's purple lightning and black flames surged out and poured into it, erupting from the inside out, once again reducing the seemingly stunned Weijingong to ashes!

Until the very end, those dark eyes were fixed on Ji Jue, wide open, as if unable to understand why his deterioration was not working.

In the end, all that could be seen was the non-aggression matrix on his ten fingers.

"Surprised? Unexpected?"

From the beginning until now, after enduring and restraining himself to the very end, Ji Jue finally activated the second blessing chain of Non-Aggression - Metamorphosis - reforging himself as a creation and forcibly raising his quality by one level!
The temporary quality improvement, in response to the ten-thousand-fold accelerated degradation, can only offset the damage for a moment at most, but that moment is enough for Ji Jue to decide the outcome.

At this moment, in the sudden deathly silence, all three pillars were destroyed!
The workshop trembled violently, as if it were dying. Countless spiritual circuits lit up and converged out of thin air. In an instant, the three annihilated afterimages began to be recreated.

In just a minute, everything can be restored to its original state.

Unfortunately, the opportunity is gone.

The last line of defense and security measures were completely destroyed by the destruction inflicted by the association.

All that remained was the towering gate standing before everyone at the far end of their sight.

That is the core of the entire workshop, its vital hub and heart.

—The place where tragedy lies!
silence.

Silence fell suddenly, and no one could utter a sound.

All that remained was weary breathing, and even an uncontrollable sense of doubt and bewilderment.

After enduring so many hardships and making so many sacrifices, they have finally arrived at this point. But when they stand before this door, they cannot help but feel wavering and fear.

They even tried to escape.

It was just a door, without any sealing or reinforcement, not even a lock, yet it was impossible to see through it, hear it, or understand it.

It's as if everything behind the door is nothingness.

Only the instinctive urge to prick at their backs sent waves of pain through them, causing everyone to subconsciously avoid the idea of ​​pushing that door open completely.

Instinct betrayed itself, consciousness betrayed itself, and even the soul and body chose to betray, unable to even muster the thought of getting close.

He felt all his thoughts surging up like a tide, pulling at him, constantly entangled, and chattering incessantly in his ear.

Don't drive! You're not allowed to drive! You can't drive!

Once opened...

That's it!

click!
Ji Jue's forced step was suspended in mid-air, stiff, as if he were wrestling with himself. His ankles and knees made sharp sounds and emitted puffs of thick smoke.

However, it is difficult to truly take a step forward.

Until a hand gently pressed on his shoulder.

"Leave it to me."

Jiang Tongguang turned around and smiled slightly at them: "You've all worked hard. You've completed your mission and tasks. There's no need to push yourselves any further."

I assure you that no one in the association will hold anyone accountable for this.

He said, "Leave the rest to me."

Ji Jue opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out.

He remained where he was, without moving, and no one else chose to leave at that moment.

All that could be seen was Jiang Tongguang tightly clutching a creation wrapped in black cloth, walking step by step towards the gate.

Without any further hesitation.

The sound of shattering echoed continuously, as if fighting an unseen enemy. Cracks appeared beneath the charred robe, dripping with blood.

It left behind a blood-stained crimson path, winding forward with difficulty inch by inch.

The further forward he went, the more hunched his thin figure became, like a stalk of wheat about to be snapped in a strong wind, stretching out his hand with all his might. Until, finally, he touched that iron door that seemed to be the embodiment of despair.

squeak-

A soft sound.

Without the stability of towering mountains and sheer cliffs, and without the poison of any malicious intent, it was like a half-open door finally being touched.

It opened gently.

boom!!!
The world spins and everything is in turmoil.

It is now difficult to distinguish whether it is the workshop that is shaking and trembling, or the pillar of ruin that has long been rooted in the workshop!
Not only in the dilapidated workshop, but at this moment, the entire Dark Abyss was swaying and turbulent in what seemed like a chaotic, boiling tidal wave.

The tide of decline is crumbling once more!

Impacts from the embers, one after another.

"……Next!"

The rift between the sea and the sky has become a complete hell.

The towering clock tower resounded with a deafening roar, and a figure resembling a withered skeleton emerged from the flames, step by step, raising its head once more to survey the many figures peering and watching from the depths.

The tenth one!
The tenth demon of sin sent by the Deep died at his hands.

Former rivals, old friends, and even mortal enemies are now no different; they all die in the same way—torn to pieces and their bones scattered to the winds!

Right before him, the incredibly obstructive Pillar of Depravity shook and cracked once more, deep fissures already etched into its foundation, teetering on the verge of collapse.

With only one-third of its original height remaining, it's simply impossible to continue!

Between the sea and the sky, the sound of the bell, like a dragon's roar or a wild howl, echoed endlessly.

The sky above was completely silent.

"I see……"

As if finally realizing something, the drowsy old man raised his eyes: "I didn't expect that besides the Li Lin, this time they are actually using two methods at the same time."

Is there still any tragedy in the goal?

In a split second of consideration, he suddenly realized what was happening behind the scenes: "This is not your style... I understand. I don't think someone as conservative as Gustav can have such courage."

Even the mighty furnace of our time has been used as a front.

"Doesn't that make it even more tragic?"

Tianlu glanced at him and laughed contemptuously: "I am not the one who caught you out, I am not the one who made up my mind, I am not the one who decided to take a gamble, and I am not the only one who is truly your enemy at this moment."

As the Grandmaster who rules the Deep Abyss, you didn't even lose to the Heavenly Furnace, but rather to the Chairman of the Association.

He paused for a moment, then enthusiastically suggested, "If you really can't afford to lose, why don't we have a real fight? I'm available anytime."

"Never mind, it's not the right time yet."

The old man shook his head again, unmoved. "No rush."

"But I'm annoyed."

Tianlu's smile vanished, leaving only indifference.

His knuckles tapped the cane lying across his knee, one tap after another, like flicking a sword, his voice brimming with thirst: "Lu Changsheng is like this, and so are you. You're used to hiding like a snake or rat, running into the open, overestimating yourselves by wanting to fight to the death, but you can never shake off your ugly, cowardly behavior of hiding your head and showing your tail. It's really an eyesore..."

That's enough of those underhanded tricks!

His gaze lingered on the old man's aged face, and he told him, word by word, "Now that you've already thrown down the dice and placed your bets, it's time to open the cup!"

In that instant, a crisp sound rang out between the sea and the sky, echoing endlessly.

From afar.

From... beneath the vortex.

In the deepest, most secluded part of the workshop, within layers of sealed-off walls, right before everyone's eyes, the pitch-black door, held by Jiang Tongguang, shattered silently, turning to ashes.

Never again.

There was no more fear or confusion; all the strangeness vanished without a trace, as if everything that had just happened had never existed.

That was just a door.

Its effect is, like all doors, to completely seal off everything behind them, preventing any prying into the realm behind the door, whether it be etheric insight or ascension foresight, turning it into a complete black box.

Besides that, there is nothing.

Even now, it's so fragile that it could shatter at the slightest touch!
But now, the black box that was absolutely impossible to open has been opened in Jiang Tongguang's hands, and the long-lost glimmer of light has illuminated the darkness behind the door.

The ashes from countless shattered doors swirled and danced, falling into the thick dust.

There was no sound in the deathly silence.

In the very center of the workshop, in front of the extinguished furnace, a gaunt figure leaned against a chair, as if waiting for a long time, without uttering a word.

The withered face still bore traces of its former ferocity and despair, a silent howl to the sky, a desperate cry of lamentation.

It was frozen forever in that moment from who knows how many years ago.

—That was a mummified corpse that had been weathered for who knows how many years!

There was nothing else besides that.

A sharp collision sound rang out, and the creation that Jiang Tongguang was clutching tightly in his hand crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

His eyes widened, and he forgot to breathe.

This is the secret that has been buried beneath the whirlpool and hidden in the depths of the past for so many years by the old man who once shaved the earth.

The tragic work is dead!

(End of this chapter)