Chapter 612: Real Door
“Ascension is not easy. You need the appropriate time, location and connections. Elder Tang probably already knows the secret between the Water Dragon King and the Soul Temple. He purposely disguised himself as the black snake so he wouldn’t be rejected by the Soul Temple. Unfortunately, he didn’t foresee his own minions betraying him.”
Gao Ming stared at the pool. “Regardless, I don’t think that old coot is dead.” Elder Tang’s corpse and his clothes didn’t float to the surface. The cunning elder probably had gone into hiding.
“The butcher’s knife has a strong murderous aura. Even if he’s not dead, he would be heavily injured.” Gao Ming glanced at the forest not far from him. The butcher’s knife came from that spot. This meant that the butcher’s hiding spot was very close to him. “Zhu Ren became more dangerous after he shed his murderous aura on the pill-refining floor. However, I’m curious. How many more knives does he have?” The butcher had a limited set of tools. Gao Ming had one. Elder Tang’s body was stuck with another one. He wouldn’t have many weapons left. The leaves shook. A figure slowly walked out from behind the largest tree.
“Is that the butcher?” Stepping on the dried leaves and paper money, the pale palm dragged a bone knife that was about two meters long. The large blade formed a great contrast to its thin wielder.
Gao Ming could sense the deer shaking. Its fear was transmitted to him. “Is that what the butcher really looks like?”
There was no madness or bloodlust. He looked so different from the image of the monster Gao Ming had of him. The butcher had broad shoulders and a tall frame. However, he was very thin. His skin was so pale that it felt like he had been soaked in water for days already.
The blade dragged out a long trail on the ground. His arm was bound to the hilt like they were connected. The butcher kept his head lowered, and he wore a loose pig’s face. Salt and pepper hair poked out of the pig’s skin. He looked so listless, but he radiated an extremely dangerous presence.
The deer stomped its hooves as it tried to escape. Gao Ming pressed firmly on its head and mouth. The butcher was the most impacted by the Soul Temple as he went up the floors. He didn’t have as many minions as the Elder Tang. He wasn’t as cunning as the other divine ghosts. He faced all the challenges head-on. On the first floor, he abandoned the animals that lost their faith in him. On the second floor, he turned his murderous intent into a pill. On the third floor, he created a treasure using his eyes, which had watched all the brutality in the world. On the fourth floor, he used his murky memories to turn into sutras. On the fifth floor, he exhausted his lifespan to break the array…
When he reached the eighth floor, the butcher only had a few knives left. He was extremely pure. The butcher moved slowly like he was following some hidden rules. His footsteps covered the wailings and the rushing water sounds. He acted like he was the sole person on the eighth floor. The pig’s skin dangled freely on his head. There were no extra voices in his brain. He was a lot saner. The price was he had to sacrifice everything.
“I will not believe it easily…”“Everything in Dream Break Town is fake…”
The butcher walked to the divine pool and raised his head. Two voices came out of his mouth. The two voices couldn’t be more different, but they sounded equally lost.
“If you want me to believe…”
“If you are willing to provide me with proof…”
His fingers tightened around the bone blade.
“Let me see if I can kill you…”
“The real God will not die to my knife…”
The wrinkly pig’s skin showed a cruel smile. As the butcher’s lifted his head again, the pig’s skin stuck closer to his skin.
“I cannot kill God.”
“Only animals will die in my hands.”
The butcher took several steps forward before picking up speed. Cracks appeared on his frail body, and his flesh dimmed. However, a blinding light burst from the bone knife. The butcher stomped on the edge of the pool and leapt up. He stared at the heavenly gate surrounded by the stars. His skin rapidly wilted. As he confirmed his target, his eyes melted like water. All his energy flowed towards the blade in his hands. The butcher never thought of ascending to become immortal. He was spun around by lies all his life. He just wanted the truth. He wanted to see the sky beyond this nightmare. Every part of his body was sacrificed. He committed to this action, which he did every day. He raised his arms and aimed the knife at the divine palace.
“Open!”
The moment the slash was made, the butcher’s body started to crumble. He fell downwards, but the bone knife flew at the divine palace!
The divine waterfall was split through the middle. If everything were fake, nothing in the Soul Temple would be able to stop the knife. The layers of divine glow were parted. The holy fog dissipated. The treasure pavilions were distorted. The divine palace made from moonlight was easily punctured!
“It’s fake. The divine palace is an illusion. It’s a moon in the well…” Before Gao Ming could finish, his pupils trembled. All the divine ghosts on the eighth floor turned in the same direction. They saw the butcher’s knife slice through the falsehood, pass through the heavenly palace and land on the heavenly gate!
There was a loud thud. The whole Soul Temple shook!
“The divine temple is fake, but the heavenly gate is real! There does exist a special door inside the nine-story soul temple!” The divine ghosts became excited. They saw the path to leave the nightmare!
They didn’t have to suffer endless nights anymore. They could taste new and fresh sacrifices. Once they controlled that door, all the benefits would be theirs. The bone knife couldn’t cut through the heavenly gate. The falling butcher had already sacrificed his eyes. He couldn’t see anything. In the last moments of his life, he heard the sound of collision.
“The knife cut something…”
“It’s real…”
Two voices disappeared into the wind. The butcher was exhausted. The pig’s mask slowly fluttered down.
While everyone was distracted by the heavenly gate, Gao Ming tapped the deer on its head. The man and the deer sneaked to the pool and fished up the pig’s mask. The mask was more like a hollowed pig’s head. There were many bloodred names inside. Gao Ming saw the name Lee Zhu.
“Has the butcher been recording the names of all of the animals he has sacrificed?”
The deer looked sad. It bumped against the mask using its head.
Gao Ming didn’t chase him away. He reached his hand into the mask. All the names carried warmth, like they contained some kind of energy.