Plague Rat was locked in a fierce struggle with the pale weeping puppets. The dark green toxic mist of his Great Plague Heaven spread over a massive area, enveloping and corroding over a dozen white figures within it.
He was fighting with rising excitement, a steady stream of curses flying from his mouth, completely failing to notice the cold arrow shooting in from his flank.
Thwack—
The earthen arrow pierced through his left abdomen and protruded from his back, a shred of torn flesh clinging to its tip.
Plague Rat's body shook violently. He looked down at the hole in his stomach, where blood and intestines were spilling out.
“Mother... fucker...”
Plague Rat sucked in a cold breath, the agonizing pain nearly making him lose his footing, yet he continued to curse under his breath.
Reaching down, he grabbed the arrow shaft and snapped it with a grunt. The broken arrowhead remained lodged in his stomach, but he didn't have the time to pull it out. Gritting his teeth, he channeled his death qi once more to seal the wound.
The sharp, ear-piercing screech of another arrow tearing through the air, vibrating with the force of the ley lines, flew straight toward Plague Rat's ribs.
Chen Zhou stood at the bow of the boat, his expression grim, his gaze locked onto the white, faceless figure in the distance.
His Ghost Domain was holding up reasonably well against the onslaught of the weeping puppets, but the white rain falling from the sky was eroding the edges of his domain layer by layer.
The rate of consumption far outpaced the speed at which he could replenish it.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and attempted to communicate with the River of the Underworld once more to summon passengers.
An icy current welled up from the deepest depths of his sea of consciousness, wrapping around his mind. Before the connection could fully solidify, the lazy voice of the River of the Underworld rang out first.
“Don't bother.”
Chen Zhou's movements stiffened.
“Kid, how many passengers do you even have in this river of yours?”
“If you think you can take on that fellow over there with just this little power, you're sorely mistaken.”
Chen Zhou's brow furrowed as he suddenly felt his consciousness being violently dragged downward by an immense force.
Darkness surged, and icy waters rushed in from all directions, wrapping around his mind and pulling him deep down.
By the time he regained his bearings, he found himself standing once again on that boundless surface of black water.
Two faint, dark glints of light lit up from the depths of the water, staring at him through the endless gloom.
“Do you see that white-wax man clearly?”
Chen Zhou nodded. “The Fate Officer.”
“Let me see... Ah, the Heavenly Weeping Star. In that case, you really stand no chance.”
Chen Zhou frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Did you say Heavenly Weeping?”
“Wait,” Chen Zhou said, staring at the dark eyes beneath the water. “The Fate Officer is the Heavenly Weeping Star?”
The River of the Underworld sneered. “It's not your fault you can't tell.”
“You haven't even reached the eighth-stage. Even if you use that Faith Conferment of yours to temporarily boost yourself to the eighth-stage Siming level, your true cultivation is still only at the seventh-stage fifth symbiosis contract.”
“His rank is far too high compared to yours. Since you haven't reached that realm, it's only natural that you can't perceive it.”
Chen Zhou fell silent for a moment. “Is Heavenly Weeping... also a unique destiny?”
“It's something that has existed since the ancient era of the Divine Path,” the River of the Underworld explained unhurriedly.
“The destiny of Heavenly Weeping is a solitary, baneful star-path, loathed by heaven and earth and abandoned by ghosts and gods alike.”
“Those born with this destiny bear the grief of all directions from childhood. The whispers of dead souls follow them like shadows, and the resentment of the deceased clings to them like maggots to bone.”
“Wherever they go, wails never cease; whatever they touch, resentment never fades.”
“Heaven will not claim them, and earth will not keep them. Even ghost bailiffs take the long way around when they see them, terrified of being tainted by that indelible aura of sorrow.”
“Tell me, is that powerful or what?”
Images flashed through Chen Zhou's mind: the overwhelming flood of white slime, the hollow eye sockets of the contaminated souls weeping white fluid, and that incredibly dense aura that had almost stirred grief within his own heart.
No wonder. So Heavenly Weeping was indeed a unique destiny. But why was it inside the Fate Officer?
As if reading Chen Zhou's thoughts, the River of the Underworld let out a boisterous laugh. “You should know what the ninth-stage is, right?”
Chen Zhou, unsure of why the river was asking this, honestly replied, “Truth-Usurping.”
“Correct.”
“An eighth-stage Siming allows one to break free from the shackles of death qi parasitism and master their own life.”
“Once you reach the ninth-stage Truth-Usurping, you can alter the laws of destiny.”
“And his destiny is certainly not his own.”
A chill ran down Chen Zhou's spine. “Are you saying... he stole it?”
“Why else?”
“A little insect like him actually dared to strip the Heavenly Weeping Star destiny from its celestial position and force it into his own body.”
“Something forced inside will never truly belong to him. That's why he needs to rely on the grief of the dead souls within the Myriad Ghost Array to stabilize it.”
Chen Zhou suddenly thought of Lou-Metal Dog.
He recalled the seven white nails, the Eight Sufferings Heart-Lock missing a single nail, the shattered divine soul that had been sealed away, and those amber eyes that were so clear they were almost pure.
No wonder there was nothing special inside Lou-Metal Dog's body. It had been stolen.
Having finished explaining, the River of the Underworld chuckled. “Though, just like you, he's currently a half-baked mess.”
“But his cultivation is far higher than yours. A reckless kid like you might not be able to get the upper hand.”
“I knew that old geezer had bad intentions when he dumped you on me.”
“What a pain.”
Chen Zhou blinked. “Old geezer?”
“None of your business. Don't worry about it.”
“Kid, has no one ever taught you how to face an enemy stronger than yourself?”
Chen Zhou paused to think. He was genuinely stumped by the question.
Since crossing over to this world, he had fought his way to this point. While he had faced some tough battles, he had almost always held some kind of advantage.
Either his cultivation crushed his opponent, his system abilities perfectly countered them, or he had planned ahead and set up contingencies.
When it came to facing an opponent several tiers above him in a direct, head-on clash of raw power, he truly lacked experience.
Chen Zhou admitted honestly, “No. I rarely encounter situations like this.”
“No wonder.”
The River of the Underworld drew out its words lazily, its tone laced with a hint of disdain.
“Sigh, what a pain.”
“There's no time to teach you from scratch now, so I'll just give you a tip.”
“Sometimes, you don't have to carry everything on your own shoulders. Think about your predecessors, your backers, hm?”
Chen Zhou said thoughtfully, “Are you referring to the Great Emperor's Palace?”
The River of the Underworld: “...”
“You really are a hopeless case!”
“He has barely managed to recover some of His strength. Me, Him, and even that Lesser Palace of yours can be considered your backers.”
“As for that white-wax man—if he can steal, why can't you?”
Chen Zhou's brow furrowed.
“Have you forgotten the Xuandu Ghost Decree in your hands?”
A hint of amusement crept into the River of the Underworld's voice. “You surely haven't forgotten what that thing is used for, have you?”
Of course Chen Zhou remembered.
He had only recently used the power of the Xuandu Ghost Decree to steal Mao Ri Ji's Sunlight Array and turn the tables to escape.
But to steal the Fate Officer's Tears of Heavenly Weeping?
Chen Zhou shook his head. “No.”
“The white pollution of Heavenly Weeping originates from the Heavenly Tribulation. I'm already marked by the Heavenly Tribulation. If I entangle myself with any more of its karma—”
“I know.”
Rate on N.U.
