Chapter 00134: Endless Night · Part 3
# Endless Night · Part 3
Chapter 134
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 134 – Endless Night · Part 3
The very instant the order was given, the darkness that had long shrouded the villa was suddenly pierced by bright light.
It was as if the stars had burst.
Amid the deafening roar, flashes of light streaked out from the darkness; clouds of dust surged up, and a rain of metallic shards came down in torrents.
In an instant, on the first floor, the second floor, the third floor, and the basement, in the left wing, right wing… even within the deep clusters of shrubs—guns that had lain silent suddenly sprang up from their mounts and fired at every living thing.
Crossfire swept over everything.
During the week he had stayed at the villa, Ji Jue had not wasted a single day.
He had painstakingly and methodically renovated the entire villa, room by room.
After tearing down walls and installing a fire control console behind them, he replaced the walls with new gypsum board, skimmed the putty, and repainted the walls in such a masterful manner that they blended perfectly with the original decor.
He reworked the plumbing and electrical wiring, laid new bricks, and rebuilt the walls—he knew a bit of everything.
And now, at the moment when the disguise was shattered, the ferocity he had hidden was fully revealed to the intruders.
Steel-core bullets burst through the barriers of wood and wall, tracing gory patterns of blood in the hall or corridor in just a heartbeat.
Limbs were severed, fragments of cotton and wood splintered into the air.
Once the walls and ceilings were torn open, the intersecting streams of fire, like whips, swept across everything in their path, cleaving every flesh and bone cleanly in half.
Old Tang, caught in the siege, barely had time for a single turn before blood and gore splattered across his face.
Yet, the firepower that should have turned him into a smear of flesh instead honed its assault with precise edging—leaving not even a single hair touched.
It left him dumbfounded.
With such large-scale precision control, one could only wonder—are you embers or the Primal Force?
A roar erupted from the hall.
Countless bullets ricocheted, embedding themselves into the walls and ceilings.
Amidst the terrifying firepower of machine guns, a hulking figure even lifted his arm to shield his face, defied the onslaught head-on, and with a single kick, bent a wildly whirling barrel.
Still not satisfied, the ferocious Chosen of the Vortex forcefully ripped the machine gun from its mount, twisted it into a heap, and hurled it to shatter into pieces.
But when he turned around, he saw his subordinates behind him, writhing in agony and wailing from heavy casualties.
One after another, they were being decapitated through walls by sniper rifles.
“Old Deng, don’t just stand there and watch—” shouted the man clad in bone armor, the whirling Chosen.
He swiveled his head and roared, “Put in some effort!”
“Silence,” came a cold voice from the courtyard.
In the eyes of Jin Wujiu, fierce light surged, and his entire body crackled with faint electric sparks.
He hadn’t joined the main force charging into the maze-like villa along with everyone else.
The most terrifying aspect of the Entropic Chosen was his destructive power, yet his weakest point was undoubtedly his defense.
Although he had stepped into the rebirth stage, his defenses still could not compare with the metamorphic stage of the Vortex or the Ruins.
One could even say his defenses were no better than an ordinary person’s – unless, in this lifetime, he could completely complete the rebirth stage, transform his mortal body, and ascend into a formless gathering of energy.
Otherwise, his frail defenses would forever be his Achilles’ heel.
Because of that, he would never recklessly risk himself.
Covered head to toe in alchemical gear designed to block every attack, at this moment, after he carefully set up a cage of static electricity to completely cover the hilltop and ensure that no one could escape, he raised his hand once more.
In the midst of surging, endless electric light, a dazzling blue brilliant beam swept out in all directions, submerging the entire villa.
Every light flickered for a moment; the sound of shattering was non-stop, as overloads occurred everywhere.
All the backup generators exploded, the electric wires melted and scorched, and the servers belched thick smoke amid the thunderous noise.
Once the main circuit board overloaded, every modern device fell away from Ji Jue’s perception in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, every modern device within the sudden electromagnetic pulse was completely rendered useless.
“Is there still one more who can control machinery like a Primal Force?” Jin Wujiu sneered. “Hiding such defenses in secret—Chen Xingzhou really does have tricks up his sleeve! Centaur, move faster! Stop hesitating and showing your tail. Mr. Lei doesn’t keep trash for nothing. If you want a raise, it all depends on your performance.”
“Damn it, you’re all talk. If you can do it, then do it!” The Centaur-class Chosen of the Vortex cursed impatiently, though his body swelled up once again.
In an instant, he transformed into a giant over three meters tall.
Beneath his torn clothes, bulging muscles outlined by blue veins, accompanied by bizarre bone armor growing from his limbs, and strange contraptions reminiscent of exhaust pipes emerging from his body.
Amid his roar, scorching, almost boiling blood erupted out from those bone exhaust pipes.
From his once-familiar ten fingers, sharp giant claws, tinted with the color of steel, sprouted.
They glowed a fierce red, and the bone covering his face began to change under the intense heat—stretching, as from deep fissures, sticky blood flowed like the weeping visage of a bleeding horse’s head.
Four eyes, covered with heavy irises, opened from cracks in his skull, each looking in a different direction.
“Hey, let’s start with you…”
In a slight sniff, amidst the damp air filled with the scents of blood, sweat, decay, and incense, his instincts immediately pinpointed the golden-haired man at the far end of the corridor.
A sinister smile spread across his face.
Amid the earth-shaking clamor, the floor broke open and debris shot flying.
“Help, help, help, help, help—”
Caught in the onrush of a reek of blood, the golden-haired man screamed in terror, turning around and running with all his might.
He scrambled on all fours but still, even as he turned, he emptied a burst from the submachine gun in his hand.
One had to admire that, no wonder Bai Lu was known for such balance, reflexes, and speed in fleeing—so much so that even Ji Jue couldn’t help but be envious.
But the golden-haired man was nearly in tears.
For heaven’s sake, he had only gone to take a dump… How come, even before he finished wiping his ass, it felt as if he had stepped onto the wrong film set?
Boom!
A scorching iron claw swept across from behind him, nearly tearing him in two and leaving four glaring cracks on the wall.
This only made the golden-haired man cry out louder, as he felt a sudden chill in his rear.
Just as he had freshly put on his pants, they were soon about to fall.
In his desperate, haphazard sprint, he did his best to evade the monster nipping at his heels.
Then, he heard a sound coming from the end of the corridor—a voice from Ji Jue, full of admiration.
“Well done, Golden Hair!”
Huh? Eh? Uh? For a brief moment, the golden-haired guy was completely confused: Me? What did I do? Wait a minute, that pendant on the wall—it’s like a warning sign saying… this area is a minefield, ahhh!!!
“Help me, help me, help me!!!”
His cries grew more high-pitched and desperate.
Just when his already maximum speed seemed to surge even more—as if time had slowed down so he could see the floor deforming and swelling—the terrifying heat and violent shock waves erupted from behind him, scattering countless steel balls that expanded outward, completely consuming the monstrous pursuer from behind.
But landmines and explosions couldn’t kill him.
At most, they merely caused a crack to appear in the bone armor of the centaur, which only grew more ferocious, as blood surged from its exhaust pipes.
And at that very moment, he finally reached within twenty meters of Ji Jue.
That was precisely the intervention limit for the mechanical descent after reaching the second stage of promotion.
Ji Jue clenched his five fingers.
Then, the fuel-rich explosive hidden within the walls erupted in a flash of brilliant light.
The whole villa trembled with roaring explosions.
Walls crumbled, shock waves swept through, and the golden-haired man wailing in mid-air was flipped over, blown away, and skimmed right over Ji Jue’s head, smashing into the wall.
The aftershock alone nearly killed him.
If it weren't for the alchemical gear in the shape of a large golden chain protecting him, this wave would have sent him straight to the ICU.
Meanwhile, the charging centaur was slammed into the load-bearing wall riddled with cracks by the shock wave and intense heat from the explosion.
He staggered into a daze; the outer layer of his skeleton burned into char, and sticky blood dripped from his fissures.
Even one of the four eyes on his face was shattered.
“You little bastard… you little brat… dammit…” The centaur roared in anger, his bloodshot eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ji Jue.
Raging blood erupted furiously from him, fueled by the power granted by the blessings of “Tenacity” and “Winter Storage.” That power not only spared him from sudden grievous injury but also amplified his regeneration rate and strength.
Before all that, he had heard a faint muffled sound.
It was as if an engine had started, gradually rising in pitch—as if something was extremely close… just separated by a wall?!
At that very moment, as the centaur’s eyes narrowed, on the other side of the wall a colossal beast roared.
Amidst a flash of spiritual light shimmering on a wild chainsaw, it tore through the wall.
Within the roaring sound, the centaur tumbled off the wall entirely, and the steel monstrosity that had burst through became mounted on his back.
Three enormous, savage chainsaws swung wildly, slashing down.
They tore through his armor, rending flesh and bone into shreds.
Blood sprayed like a tide, splattering onto the ceiling.
Clad entirely in thick armor fashioned from purified fluid alchemy—and a body that once resembled bestial features now gradually emerging human hands and feet, with a lengthy tail as sharp as a blade—the three arms, now equipped with an alchemically welded chainsaw, roared as it relentlessly hacked away at the centaur, leaving deep, bone-exposing fissures in its wake.
Dragon’s blood blazed hotly, the engine roared, and scorching oil evaporated to billow out thick smoke from beneath the steel armor.
——A heavily armored beast charging in!
Boom!!!
Amid the centaur’s agonized screams, his reborn arm and claw fiercely grabbed at the chainsaw.
The chainsaw’s chain, already processed by Ji Jue, ground noisily with a shrill sound as it was forcefully snapped in two.
“Get the hell out!”
The centaur bellowed, as his wounds rapidly began to close and his skeleton regenerated.
On his raised arm, blood gushed out from the exhaust pipe like an engine under boost.
With a furious punch that caused the ground to shake, even the faceplate on the little beast known as the “young cow” was stamped with a distinct fist mark.
The fully armored “young cow,” weighing a solid two tons, was struck by the blow and staggered backward.
But right after, under Ji Jue’s control, it swung its limbs, dislodged its chainsaw attachment, and with a reverse motion drew a massive single-edged axe from a huge box on its back.
The axe, freshly cut by Ji Jue from a lathe, hadn’t even undergone the processes of sharpening or quenching—it was crudely enhanced with alchemy.
It wasn’t much more than a heavy, sturdy iron plate.
Yet, when combined with the young cow’s raw strength and mass, it was enough to crush any who opposed it.
Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!
After the journey through broken dimensions, this was the first time it had shed its three-wheeled disguise to reveal its true form.
Having undergone successive transformations in the furnace and by the prophet, the purified dragon’s blood hungrily absorbed spiritual essence, whirring into a berserk state.
Compared to its monstrous former appearance, it had grown two heavily jointed, reverse-bent legs, with three thick arms constituting its upper body.
They held up composite steel armor weighing over a ton without burden.
And now, it collided head-on with the Vortex Chosen in his metamorphic stage, as if by accident stepping into the set of a horror film—a clash between a steel beast and a flesh-and-blood monster, with neither side defending as they swung their steel or bony claws, battering each other.
The corridor and the side wings of the villa, battered and ravaged, were almost reduced to ruins.
Countless steel fragments and shreds of metal rained down continuously.
Amid the spreading raging flames, the centaur roared, and his entire body swelled once more.
His regenerated muscles grew ever tougher as they healed.
Disregarding the slashes from steel axes and chainsaws, he boldly collided.
In the moment the young cow lost its balance, he hoisted it completely and slammed it into the ground.
“Trash! Trash! Trash! Trash! Trash!!!”
The centaur laughed wildly, pounding with his fists as if driving piles, trampling on the armor.
His gruesome wounds visibly closed at a rate one could see with the naked eye, his bone armor regenerated.
But then, his head involuntarily tilted back so forcefully that a large dent appeared—a chunk of it nearly crushed his brain… Even if his brain were smashed, for a Chosen of the Vortex, rebirth was merely a snap of the fingers.
This kind of life force that defies common sense is simply overwhelming.
One should recall that back when Lawrence of the rebirth stage barely managed to take a few hits from Sister Wen, his life seemed almost unbreakable.
Now, even as this horse-headed gorilla’s regeneration speed nearly approached that of half a reborn warrior, taking down Ji Jue should be an easy task.
At that moment, having noticed Ji Jue’s distant assault, the rapidly regenerating centaur turned his head with a sneer, ready to charge—but his ankle was suddenly seized tightly.
On the ground, beneath shattered armor, a sharp mechanical claw reached out and clutched his ankle, then yanked it back forcefully.
The young cow’s entire body leaped from the ground, entwining around the centaur.
Once the protective plating around its face fell away, a massive gaping maw appeared, biting down fiercely, as if a greedy, ravenous beast had latched on.
Soon, the two tumbled and grappled together once more.
Ji Jue fired a round of anti-armor slugs from an empty magazine—it made his hand go numb from the recoil—but he dared not use his corrupted bullets.
This bastard’s life force was truly absurd; even after undergoing corruption, it might cling on for another ten minutes.
By then, if Ji Jue was left with nothing but bones, his disgraceful death would top every list of embarrassing ends.
Moreover, outside in the courtyard, an Entropic powerhouse was still lurking, watching.
Just from sensing the ferocious fluctuations in spiritual essence, Ji Jue was sweating profusely.
Thunder rumbled and electric flashes continuously slammed against the entire villa, yet his opponent still had not truly made a move… What exactly was he waiting for?
At the same time, Jin Wujiu also fell into unprecedented hesitation.
Despite the pleas for help from his subordinates, he stared fixedly at the pitch-black villa, as if he could sense something lurking in the darkness, watching him coldly—sending shivers down his spine.
What kind of ghostly existence could be hidden inside?
No matter what it was, it couldn’t delay any further… After a brief moment of hesitation, he carefully took out an object resembling a small bell from his bosom, then attached a delicate clapper wrapped in silk.
The ancient bell, hanging from his fingertips, hovered in the air.
Despite the howling wind, it remained utterly still.
But only when Jin Wujiu’s spiritual essence began to flow into it—as if being swallowed by a bottomless pit—a clear, tinkling bell sound rang out.
So ethereal, yet so close, it seemed to chime right beside everyone’s ear, echoing in the long night and darkness, and sending waves of dread.
Jin Wujiu’s face paled; clearly, even at the stage of rebirth, it would be hard to bear the enormous burden imposed by this blessed creation.
And in that instant, a mournful, plaintive wail arose—from around the villa and from the darkness within.
One after another, semi-transparent, vague figures emerged from the air.
With a single ring of the Soul Calling Bell, every dead soul revived, and within a ten-mile radius all stray spirits began to gather.
With the second chime, every dead soul became frenzied, ravenous, bloodthirsty, bent on destroying every living thing!
Jin Wujiu gritted his teeth, wanting to ring the bell a third time—but he could no longer bear the terrible pressure.
With that, he raised his hand toward the villa.
In an instant, countless stray souls wailed as they streaked away.
Specks of ghostly light gathered, like the tides of the underworld…
At that same moment, Ji Jue suddenly sensed that the spiritual essence seal he had left in the basement had been triggered, as if someone from the inside was trying to break the mercury-binding.
He stood dumbfounded.
Could it be that the corpses were staging a ghostly uprising? But then, he immediately heard the pitiful scream of the golden-haired man:
“Ghost! Ghost! Ghost—!!!”
Ji Jue was so angry he nearly rolled his eyes.
At a time like this, don’t you dare babble on—disgusting! Yet at that moment, within the villa, one vague figure after another emerged.
Those stray souls and shattered spiritual remnants carried no clear visage, but they were hideously terrifying.
Not only in the cemetery outside the villa but even among the corpses that had just died inside the villa, a greenish ghostly light gradually appeared.
Under the influence and nourishment of the blessed creation, the power of supreme benevolence manifested, causing the dead to transform into puppet-like stray souls that then attacked the living once more.
Who could be responsible for such utterly ruthless equipment? But Ji Jue had no time to marvel, for those soul remnants that had just died by his hand were now shrieking as they surged toward him—filled with murderous intent, bloodstains, and an unquenchable hunger.
Then, Ji Jue saw it: the foremost savage stray soul, charging right at him, suddenly slammed on the brakes and froze—as if it had truly encountered a ghost.
Its hollow eyes were illuminated by a phantom flame.
It was as if it had just swung its cleaver and kicked open an enemy’s door to avenge a grudge, only to see, in the great hall behind that door, countless agonized, hellish faces—each contorted in pain, malice, and despair—turning as one to peer out.
Damn… Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt.
Fuck, I’m out of here!
The terrified stray soul trembled violently, as if it were about to be flung away in an instant.
But before it could run, it was seized by a hand covered in intricate tattoos.
Unyielding—could it be that it simply could not break free?!
“Where the hell are you going?” Ji Jue roared furiously as he watched his catch slip away. “Get back here!”
This was pure, undiluted spiritual essence! With his uncanny spiritual manipulation, Ji Jue grabbed hold of the pure stray soul and, with a determined gesture, forcibly compressed it between his hands into a pellet-sized spiritual particle.
Loading it into a handgun, he then forcefully pulled the trigger on the young cow!
Thick, vengeful, murderous spiritual particles flew out, embedding into the young cow’s body.
Within seconds, they were quickly digested by the ravenous, fierce dragon’s blood, replenishing and mending even the fissures on its arms! The sight brought a gleam of brightness to Ji Jue’s eyes.
Is there really such a supply drop? Thanks, buddy, for sending a rocket my way!
Alas, the spiritual content of the stray soul was still insufficient.
Even as Ji Jue frantically tugged, clawed, and sent out waves of his own spiritual energy to attract more stray souls, it still wasn’t quite enough.
Until a mutilated corpse staggered down the corridor, parasitized by an enormous mass of stray souls.
It locked eyes with Ji Jue for a brief moment—and then saw Ji Jue’s warm, friendly smile.
“Now that you’re here, why rush off?”
With that, the hand of non-aggression reached out and without mercy grasped the zombie’s head, then violently sucked it in—the horrific screams and cries mingled as an enormous mass of spiritual energy gathered and miraculously condensed into a physical form.
Ji Jue drove it deep into the young cow’s body.
With such abundant spiritual energy replenishing it, the boiling dragon’s blood heated up once more.
The young cow let out a wild, unrestrained shriek, growing even more ferocious, its joints nearly spouting fire from the cracks.
Clinging to the centaur with a death grip and counterattacking ferociously, it even began showing signs of regrowth…
But alas, even stray souls know to pick on the weak.
Sensing the bizarre changes unfolding, the vast majority began circling around the centaur.
No matter how much spiritual energy Ji Jue released, it seemed useless.
This left Ji Jue frustrated to the point of nearly beating his chest—dammit, he wasn’t going to catch any fish! Surely he wouldn’t have to resort to baiting something to snare them, would he?
Wait a minute…
In that fleeting flash of light, Ji Jue paused for a moment before slowly turning his head.
He looked to his side, to where Jin Wujiu—sweating as he sat on the ground—was wiping cold sweat.
Jin Wujiu offered a confused, ingratiating smile.
And then, Ji Jue himself smiled back.
Soon enough, the golden-haired man’s pitiful screams echoed once more throughout the villa.
Amid his cries and frantic sprinting, a long string of stray souls chased after him like a train.
Finally, under Ji Jue’s control, they were all twisted into a tight bundle and stuffed into the young cow’s mouth, transforming into an ever more raging engine fire!
Amid the centaur’s roar of anger, Ji Jue showed no sign of letting up—in fact, his expression grew increasingly grim.
Xiao An had not come to assist for a long while now, as if he had vanished into distant darkness…
(End of Chapter)