Chu Xinyao.
When that familiar face appeared before him, Fang Xin’s head buzzed.
Golden light burst forth from Chu Xinyao’s pupils.
Her wide hood swayed in the wind.
Beneath the brim, her face was cold, calm, and devoid of humanity.
She seemed like a cold machine without human emotions.
Their eyes met.
Fang Xin looked at Chu Xinyao before him, familiar yet strange.
The vision ended there.
When Fang Xin opened his eyes, he found that the black god and demon marrow sand that had previously covered the small courtyard had now turned crimson.
The entire courtyard was enveloped in an eerie crimson hue.
Long Fuling’s watery eyes glanced at Fang Xin, then she withdrew her hand.
She continued to sift through the god and demon marrow fragments on her own.
Fang Xin sat blankly on the small stool, processing everything he had just seen.
That familiar face flashed before his eyes repeatedly.
“Still haven’t recovered?” Long Fuling asked after an unknown amount of time.
Fang Xin, as if waking from a dream, finally looked at Long Fuling.
“Was everything I saw just now real?”
Long Fuling smiled, “You are also an Awakened with a perception-type talent. You should know if it’s real or not; why ask me?”
Seeing Fang Xin’s expression, Long Fuling shook her head and smiled, “Many times, people wish they could instantly travel to the future to see what their future selves would be like. But when they actually see things in the future they don’t want to face, they all become like you are now.”
“Of course, after many people see the future, they want to change something. Some things can be successfully changed, while others cannot. Time is like a person’s skeleton, and history is the flesh. A person’s skeleton is fixed; each bone is a spacetime node, an inevitable event. But a person’s weight can change, which is like how changing some insignificant things has no impact on the future’s trajectory.”
“Of course, if you insist on arguing that bones can be broken, reset, or replaced, then everything you say is correct.”
The image of Chu Xinyao stabbing him with a sword still lingered in Fang Xin’s mind.
Although the impact was great, it wasn’t so unbearable as to make him want to die.
“You should go out now. Aren’t you supposed to exchange hostages? Kou Tianlin is looking for you. Remember what you promised me.”
“When do I give you the god and demon marrow?”
“Just find an opportunity to give it to Kou Tianlin; he will pass it on to me.”
Before Fang Xin could say anything else, his vision blurred, and he vanished from his spot.
Out of the corner of his eye, the ants next to him were as large as trucks, and the loaches and ladybugs looked like monsters.
However, in the next second, these sights began to shrink, and Fang Xin’s body began to grow.
In a few breaths, Fang Xin returned to his normal size.
He searched at his feet for a long time but couldn’t find the small courtyard where Long Fuling was.
It seemed that Long Fuling’s small courtyard must be some kind of treasure. There was also an aura in the room of the small courtyard just now. Although the aura was very faint, Fang Xin could still feel that the other party was very powerful; it should be Long Fuling’s protector.
“Brother, I’ve been looking for you for a long time!” Kou Tianlin walked over with his men.
“Did you go to the Grand Priestess?” Kou Tianlin seemed to have guessed something.
Fang Xin did not hide it and nodded.
Kou Tianlin put his arm around Fang Xin’s shoulder, “You’re getting high-class treatment! Many commanders of our Eternal Night Army find it hard to see the Grand Priestess even once, but you just arrived and met her!”
“Seriously, brother, we have to exchange prisoners soon, so we have to put on a show.”
Fang Xin, being sensible, put his hands behind his back.
Kou Tianlin grinned, tied Fang Xin’s hands, and then slipped the Kou Family Army jade token into Fang Xin’s pocket.
Soon after, he brought Fang Xin to meet Tang Hu and Shi Tailang.
Both of them had woken up by now, and their injuries had been roughly treated.
Seeing Fang Xin, Shi Tailang immediately struggled, but he was tied very securely. As he struggled, he wriggled like a larva from a cartoon.
“Xin Ge! Xin Ge! Here!”
Fang Xin was pushed next to Shi Tailang and squatted down with him.
Shi Tailang whispered, “Xin Ge, are you hurt? Did they torture you?”
“No!”
“You scared me to death! I heard they’re exchanging prisoners. I have to say, our luck is really good; we get to be exchanged right after being captured.”
Tang Hu lowered his voice and said, “Be careful. These bastards from the Eternal Night Army are cunning. They might suddenly start a massacre during the prisoner exchange. This has happened many times in history! If you see any signs that something is wrong, run! Don’t look back. If you can help your teammates, help them; if you can’t, run yourself. Staying alive is the most important thing, understand?”
“Understood, Tang Ge!”
Including Fang Xin and the two others, there were over thirty prisoners in total, who were escorted by specially assigned people to the front for the exchange.
The first round of attacks had just subsided.
Both sides headed towards the designated location, preparing for the prisoner exchange.
In the distance, within the Eternal Night Army camp, Qiu Xuanji stared in the direction of the prisoner exchange, then turned to look at a figure behind him, “As soon as the personnel from both sides for the hostage exchange make contact, immediately release all the fierce beasts and begin attacking the city with them!”
“Understood!”
The moment the prisoners were about to be exchanged, the sound of drums suddenly echoed from the arena above the Eternal Night Army camp. When the drumming was suddenly interspersed with three long horn blasts, Fang Xin’s expression immediately changed. Kou Tianlin had told Fang Xin earlier that this was the signal to release fierce beasts for an attack.
Fang Xin broke free from the loosely tied ropes on his wrists. His zhilian device produced a laser sword, directly cutting the ropes binding Shi Tailang and Tang Hu.
“Run!”
Several dazed individuals present didn’t understand why.
The few Eternal Night Army soldiers escorting the prisoners immediately showed sinister smiles.
The earth trembled.
Behind the Eternal Night Army’s formation, a black line suddenly leaped up from the ground, and that black line grew thicker and thicker.
Further back, dense figures also flew up into the sky.
Only then did they realize it was countless fierce beasts.
In the blink of an eye, the thickening line had reached a visible range, like a surging torrent of fierce beasts rushing towards Yun Cang City.
The endless horde of fierce beasts trampled the earth, creating a rumbling sound.
Vaguely, behind the countless fierce beasts, several terrifying auras could be seen.
On the towering and majestic city walls of Yun Cang City, the leaders of various factions and organizations stood together.
Seeing the beast tide, they couldn't help but frown, their expressions grave.
The prisoner exchange location was in the middle of the battlefield, and it would still take some distance to return to the city.
The Church Governor looked down with cold eyes.
“Strengthen the barrier!”
Palace Master Shang Tianque of the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace pointed at the exchanged prisoners frantically running towards Yun Cang City, “The exchanged prisoners haven’t returned yet!”
The Church Governor glanced indifferently, his tone unequivocal, “Behind us are hundreds of thousands, millions of lives. Do not sacrifice these dozens of lives and let those modified fierce beasts rush into the city!”
“But there’s still time to save them now!”
But he only received four cold words, “Execute the order!”
Many people subconsciously looked towards the Sky Shield Bureau.
However, at this moment, the two most unyielding individuals from the Sky Shield Bureau’s Ninth Division, who dared to contradict and challenge the Church, were not present.
Now it was the Church’s time to dictate.
“Strengthen the barrier!” the Church Governor roared again.
Church members immediately complied, and the barrier was instantly reinforced, completely cutting off the hope for Fang Xin and the others, who had been exchanged, to return to the city.
Shang Tianque looked in Fang Xin’s direction, gritted his teeth, and stomped his foot.
“There’s still time to save them! I’ll go!”
Unexpectedly, the Church Governor raised his hand and pressed it on Shang Tianque’s shoulder, “Palace Master Shang, this is not the time for you to show off and display individual heroism!”
Shang Tianque’s cheek muscles twitched as he looked in Fang Xin’s direction, then he shook his shoulder, throwing off the Church Governor’s hand.
“Go to hell!”
Shang Tianque leaped up, riding a giant eagle that swooped down.
The Church Governor remained expressionless, “Strengthen the barrier, no entry or exit!”
Jiang Weiqi’s gaze swept over the prisoners, not seeing his sister’s figure. He immediately guessed something, clenching his fists. He personally led people to reinforce the barrier. His sister was dead, and Fang Xin was not. This was unfair. Fang Xin must also die under the beast tide to accompany his sister!
Shang Tianque slapped the great eagle he was riding, and the eagle’s body swelled in the wind. Shang Tianque shouted down at Fang Xin, “A Xin!”
Fang Xin saw that Shang Tianque had actually risked his life to save them, and couldn’t help but smile at Shang Tianque.
Shang Tianque released several more large eagles, intending to transfer everyone into the city.
Fang Xin, along with Shi Tailang and Tang Hu, jumped onto an eagle.
But when he looked back, he found that the barrier had been reinforced and thickened, preventing entry or exit, completely blocking Fang Xin and the others outside.
“These beasts!” Shang Tianque roared in anger.
If they were to return now and reinforce the barrier, there would be ample time. Many people on the city wall clearly understood that the Church Governor wanted to use these prisoners as cannon fodder to test the combat strength of those fierce beasts.
Shang Tianque slapped the great eagle below him, attempting to fly into the distance.
But he didn’t expect that.
In the sky behind them, a huge pterodactyl flapped its wings, soaring high, its gaping maw roaring towards Fang Xin’s direction, the sound waves forming tangible concentric circular attack waves.
The great eagles summoned by Shang Tianque seemed to feel a bloodline suppression, and their heads tilted, heading towards the ground.
The dense, endless beast tide was already approaching.
The pterodactyl’s body made a 'bang' sound in mid-air, its speed instantly skyrocketing, leaving a black streak across the sky, its gaping maw heading towards Shang Tianque and Fang Xin.
It was actually a level twelve peak combat strength pterodactyl.
Blocked from both front and back, they were in a stalemate.
The Church Governor on the city wall sneered, “Seeking death!”
Shang Tianque’s face was slightly pale. He flipped his hand, revealing a bone flute.
The small bone flute played a 'drip-drip' sound.
An indescribable aura permeated the air.
The pterodactyl, which had been charging, miraculously slowed down a bit.
Shang Tianque breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But unexpectedly, in the next second, the pterodactyl’s eyes gleamed with cunning, and it accelerated again, rushing towards Shang Tianque.
In the nick of time, Fang Xin, standing behind Shang Tianque, looked up.