Volume 4: Twilight Galaxy
Everyone instinctively began to sniff the air, their evolved senses quickly picking up on the faint smell of blood. It was very subtle, indicating that the injury wasn’t large, but blood was definitely flowing, as the metallic scent was freshly lingering!
Following the scent, all eyes eventually turned to Mu Yang.
Indeed, Mu Yang had sustained injuries during the previous battle, but with the incredible healing ability of the Twilight Clan, his wounds should have long since healed. Furthermore, to prevent him from being tracked, Shu Xun had also cast a simple healing spell and a purification spell midway, removing the congealed blood from his body. Thus, while Mu Yang’s clothing was torn, there were no visible bloodstains on him.
The group’s confusion didn’t last long. With their keen senses, they soon noticed that a dark hue was slowly spreading around Mu Yang’s heart area, soaking into his black robe, and the smell of blood grew stronger.
The confusion turned instantly into shock as they realized that Mu Yang’s wound not only hadn’t healed but appeared to be spreading! What was happening? Shu Xun was particularly astonished. The fluffy creature pinched its own beard. Having been with Mu Yang throughout the battle, Shu Xun was certain that Mu Yang had not been injured in the heart area during their recent fight.
Seeing Mu Yang remain unperturbed, Shu Xun helplessly spoke up. “Are you sure you don’t want to take care of that? I have some excellent healing potions here.”
Mu Yang seemed to hesitate for a moment but then made a move. With all the men in the room, he wasn’t going to be shy. He directly removed his robe, revealing a robust and nearly perfect chest. However, above his heart, a sword wound was slowly expanding, with blood continually seeping out.
Everyone’s expression instantly turned to astonishment—Mu Yang’s wound was truly spreading! The live stream was suddenly buzzing with speculation.
“I kept a close watch on Mu Yang during the battle and I can confirm that he wasn’t stabbed in the heart!”
“What’s going on? Does the assumption that wounds from the Twilight Clan heal rapidly not hold? What about when Qing Kong did it?”
“What kind of wound doesn’t heal but gets larger instead?”
“Remember when we first entered Twilight Galaxy and coincidentally caught Mu Yang’s decision to attack Qing Kong? The position was the same, right in the heart!”
“This is chaotic. Let the fluffball deduce or let Mu Yang explain himself.”
“I’m still waiting for Meng Muyu to relay any information. I feel like this game is about to end.”
In the room, Shu Xun had already taken out the medicinal spray he had prepared before entering the game, trying to stop Mu Yang’s bleeding. To everyone’s surprise, this highly effective hemostatic spray for evolved beings only had a minimal effect on Mu Yang, and after just a few seconds, the wound continued to bleed.
The group suddenly felt bewildered. What was going on? Why wasn’t the medication working? At this rate, they would soon face a crisis of excessive blood loss, not to mention the spreading wound.
In the room, Mu Yang unexpectedly became the calmest person. He looked down at his wound and the slowly oozing blood, his expression one of accustomed nonchalance. It occurred to everyone that when Mu Yang had just removed his clothing, there was a medicine pouch attached to the heart area of his robe. Clearly, the wound had not just appeared; it had likely been there for some time. The intense movements during today’s battle probably caused the pouch to become ineffective in absorbing all the blood.
Seeing that the medication was ineffective, Mu Yang calmly picked up his clothing to put it back on, but Shu Xun stopped him. The fluffy creature nimbly jumped onto Mu Yang’s shoulder and took out a healing talisman from the spiritual space, attaching it to the heart area of Mu Yang. The healing talisman shone briefly before merging into his skin, and Mu Yang’s wound rapidly healed at a visible speed.
A hint of surprise flickered in Mu Yang’s eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, but the fluffy creature extended its paw and pressed it against Mu Yang’s heart, feeling around as if searching for something. However, in an instant, it was grabbed by Ye Jian and pulled back.
The fluffy creature was placed back on Ye Jian’s shoulder, and Shu Xun stroked his beard, letting out a gentle sigh. “A top-grade healing talisman can only last for a day at most. Strange… Is your body resisting the healing ability of the talisman? Do you not want the wound to heal?”
In silence, Mu Yang redressed, looking at the puzzled expressions of those around him. After a long moment, he finally spoke. “It’s not something I can control.” Mu Yang seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further, so he offered only a brief explanation.
The others exchanged glances, understanding enough not to press for more details.
Seeing this, Shu Xun had no choice but to shift his focus back to the information Meng Muyu had conveyed to him. The fluffy creature used its nimble little paws to open the note, which contained only a few hurriedly scribbled words: Three days later, the Grand Baptism, Southeast Corner.
The fluffy creature pondered for a moment then handed the note to the others for inspection. Their expressions were filled with confusion, as they didn’t quite understand the message from Meng Muyu. However, Shu Xun activated his light brain, projecting relevant materials he had found in the temple into the air. He pointed to a particular segment of the complicated records and calmly stated, “The so-called Grand Baptism is an extremely large-scale baptism ceremony, far beyond the scale of what we witnessed in Qi Yu City. If I’m not mistaken, this Grand Baptism will likely be global in scope, representing the last major cleanup before the end of days. At that time, whether we are transformed or invaders, we will have nowhere to hide.”
Lie Yang was taken aback. “The last clean up before the end of days? What does that mean? Does that mean Twilight Galaxy has only three days left to live?”
The fluffy creature nodded. “The rituals in the temple will come to an abrupt end three days from now. It’s likely that the world consciousness intends to make a final effort to purge all outsiders from this world, leaving a sanctuary for the indigenous people. The southeast corner that Meng Muyu mentioned is probably the southeast corner of the central plaza of the main city, which is our last chance to evade divine punishment. Meng Muyu will undoubtedly be a key figure in presiding over the baptism ceremony. If he can deceive the world consciousness, he can certainly provide us with a place of refuge.”
However, Lie Yang’s expression did not relax; instead, he frowned, his mind filled with too many questions and enigmas that left him unable to form a coherent line of thought.
Shu Xun glanced at Mu Yang, whose expression was complex, and stroked his beard a few times. Mu Yang sensed Shu Xun’s gaze and understood that he was waiting for an explanation regarding the invaders he had found out about. “In the prophecies, invaders refer to outsiders with no record of their origins or their whereabouts.”
Lie Yang was at a loss for words. “That’s it?”
Mu Yang’s expression remained unchanged. “There are also methods to deal with the invaders.” At this point, Mu Yang paused for a moment before continuing, “Aside from the divine punishment during the baptism, transformed who cannot be detected by the baptism can be judged by the adjudicators. If the transformed dies, the invader dies as well.”
After speaking, Mu Yang’s expression froze for a moment, his pupils suddenly constricting as if he had recalled something that terrified and shocked him deeply. The others exchanged glances, taken aback by Mu Yang’s sudden silence.
Shu Xun leaned quietly against Ye Jian’s neck, watching Mu Yang’s complexion change with concern. What are invaders? What is transformed? Could it be that the powerful world consciousness is truly unable to identify certain transformed? The answer is no; the so-called method of dealing with invaders is solely divine punishment. The second method is merely a right given to the indigenous people to judge for themselves. The indigenous people, in their fervent adoration, have misunderstood this.
For instance, regarding Qing Kong, his shadow wasn’t invaded; rather, it was his emotions that changed. Because of his affections, his faith became impure. The world consciousness could not pass judgment on Qing Kong’s morality, so no divine punishment was issued. Instead, it entrusted the right of judgment and decision to the indigenous people. The notion that the death of a transformed means the death of an invader implies that once Qing Kong dies, the feelings will naturally vanish.
The world consciousness of this realm possesses immense power, yet its understanding of emotions is far less nuanced than that of the world consciousness in “Deep Blue Sea”. The world consciousness in Twilight Galaxy has its own stubborn way of making judgments. For example, the initial batch of players who received insufficient beauty scores and attracted divine punishment, or the Indigenous people whose shadows were merged with the grotesque invaders. The world consciousness clings to its own judgment, striving to discern invaders in the simplest way possible and acting without hesitation.
Mu Yang’s hand seemed to tremble slightly. Upon closer inspection, it appeared as if he had misread the situation. His expression remained unchanged as he stood silently beside the table, finally speaking after a long pause. “Can we rest today?”
In the deep night, after a brief uproar, the lights of the Zhu Si city gradually dimmed, and the city fell into profound darkness once more. The tavern where Shu Xun and his companions were staying had also gone dark, with everyone having returned to their respective rooms. Mu Yang was settled in Shu Xun’s room, while Shu Xun himself curled up beside Ye Jian’s pillow.
In the silent room, some were soundly asleep, while others were wide awake, unable to find rest.
Mu Yang leaned against the window, gazing at the bright full moon outside. His cold and handsome face was cast in a serene glow under the moonlight. The intense tearing sensation in his chest had faded, replaced by a lingering dull ache, as if a sharp sword had turned into a gentle needle probing at his heart. Unfazed, he remained motionless for a long time.
At some point, blood once again seeped from his heart area, indicating that the healing talisman had failed earlier than Shu Xun had anticipated…
Lowering his head to glance at the spreading bloodstains, Mu Yang revealed a hint of a self-mocking smile at the corner of his lips. He reapplied a talisman, and the wound quickly healed, returning to normal. He wasn’t afraid of death; he only feared not finding that person before he died.
In Ye Jian’s room, a gentle snore broke the silence, causing the fluffy creature to stir, opening its eyes. It then turned over and silently crawled back to Ye Jian’s neck, feeling the familiar warmth before contentedly closing its eyes again.
At the moment the healing talisman failed, Shu Xun had already realized the secret and source of power of the Twilight Clan. The clan’s greatest secret and characteristic lies in their emotions. Just as their fervent faith can be transformed into energy, their pure emotions can also convert into energy. However, the feelings of the Twilight Clan are extremely faint, so aside from the power of faith, this world hardly perceives any other energy.
During Qing Kong’s judgment, both he and Mu Yang had pierced each other with a sword. In the end, Qing Kong let go of everything and departed carefree, his lack of attachment resulting in Mu Yang’s wound healing almost instantly. However, Mu Yang feared that he himself had not foreseen that the sword piercing his heart would no longer have the possibility of healing.
Who is more heartless? Who is more affectionate? Beneath the fabric of their robes, no one could tell who bore deeper wounds until one day, when shedding their garments, they discovered the scars on their hearts and realized that pain could numb them, but wounds could not lie.
The fluffy creature sighed softly, rubbing its little head against Ye Jian’s chin before hugging his neck.
In a dream, Ye Jian smiled contentedly, recalling Shu Xun gifting him a scarf.