IWOL Chapter 323: The Demon God's Blood

It didn’t find him.

Dong Zheng relaxed. Something was fluctuating from the other side of the pool and was accurately captured by his kernel. Perhaps it was because it was the temple in Dusk Island that upgraded his kernel, but Dong Zheng could sense most props here.

He walked over and found that the waves had pushed an iron box up against a huge boulder.

The box was in a humid environment all the year round so the lock had rusted so much that it shattered at a touch. Dong Zheng opened it and saw that inside the box was a glass bottle with a roll of parchment paper.

Dong Zheng pulled the cork off the bottle. Even after a long time, because it was protected by a glass bottle, the parchment paper inside wasn’t damp at all, and the quality was still the same as when it was put in.

Dong Zheng opened it and drew out the light crystal he had on him. The gleaming blue light illuminated the writing on the sheepskin scroll.

April 17, light rain.

This was the 61st day since we came to the island. Many people died, and many others collapsed. But after everyone’s efforts, we finally succeeded in sealing the imminent demon.

Before leaving, the fish-form sage told us that the blood of the demon god contained great power. If you can get some to drink, you can get a power comparable to that of the demon.

Some people believed it. They wanted to break the seal and release the demon god to get its blood. William and I shot those people. It is dangerous to covet a power that does not belong to one. Sooner or later, the abyss will devour those who enter rashly.

If someone comes to the island again many years later and sees this message, please do not be shaken by the power of greed. When opening Pandora’s box, no one knows whether they will be greeted with disaster.

Dong Zheng guessed that this was left by the British expedition team four hundred years ago. They sealed the demon god once and left the island. Did it happen like this back then?

He read the contents of the sheepskin scroll once more and kept it in mind. Afterward, he put it back into the glass bottle and returned it to its place. It seemed that the fish-form sage knew the secrets of the island. According to Ah’Zuo, the fish-form sage had helped him unlock the first seal in the Western Temple.

He had to find the fish-form sage and discover the secrets of the island. If drinking the blood of the demon god could really give him a power comparable to that of the demon himself, then he had no reason not to take it.

He needed to become stronger and gain more power, whatever the price he had to pay.

Aside from this, there was nothing else in the box. Dong Zheng closed the lid and put the box back in place. In the past, the time scepter suddenly broke in Cui Zuojing’s hand, causing the seal to fail. The demon god descended to the world, and it seemed that this was something Domingo had done deliberately.

So…Domingo’s actions back then guided him now. The things he did back then would affect his decisions now, just like the snaking biting its tail. The cycle would never end.

Where was the beginning of everything?

This was a question of whether the chicken came before the egg or vice versa. The mystery of time lay here. Dong Zheng didn’t struggle too much with pondering over unnecessary questions. He searched around but found no other clues or props, and decided to leave the cave.

The information on the scroll could indeed affect the final outcome of the box. Dong Zheng took an alternative route to the one he’d used to enter. He moved at a rapid pace, not feeling tired at all. Less than three hours later, he saw the sky again.

He’d stayed in the maze of caves for approximately six hours. At this time, the sun was already high in the sky. Dong Zheng took some time to slowly adjust to the sun and then built a bonfire to have a quick bite.

After leaning against a tree for a while to rest, Dong Zheng set out on his journey again. Soon, a long rift in the valley blocked his path.

He walked along the gorge for a long time before finally finding a way to get off. When his feet touched the surface, he relaxed and continued walking.

A single person’s journey was very lonely. As the sun gradually stretched its shadow to the west, Dong Zheng walked tirelessly on until he sensed a certain fluctuation and came to a stop.

A small stone stele was standing at the entrance of a cave. It was engraved with incomprehensible words with green paint. Dong Zheng approached and studied it. He gently placed his hand on the slab, trying to brush away the dust on the writing. But the second he touched it, the letter suddenly began to glow.

Moo—

The moment the low roar reached Dong Zheng’s ears, he immediately rolled away. The bull slammed into the square where he was just standing. It’s sharp and majestic horns raised the sandy soil, creating a pit among the yellow sand. Dong Zheng just had enough time to stabilize his figure before the bull moved in for another attack!

The kernel accurately calculated the moment it arrived. Dong Zheng didn’t try to dodge. He merely turned sideways and grabbed the horn with one hand. As the bull shook its head madly, he jumped onto the bull’s back.

Suddenly feeling a person’s weight on its back, the bull was infuriated. Its four hoofs kicked and it ran directly into the narrow cave. It rushed about, wanting to throw this hateful person down.

Dong Zheng gripped its horn with one hand, tightened his legs hard on the bull’s sides, and laid on his back like a plaster. Therefore, no matter how much the bull shook, it couldn’t get rid of Dng Zheng. The furious bull ran and jumped in the cave for a long time. Then, with a roar, it lost its sense and rammed into the cave wall!

Boom–!

The thin cave wall smashed open. The bull threw itself against the crumbling rocks and rolled sideways to crush Dong Zheng under it!

Dong Zheng had already predicted the bull’s next move the moment its muscles bunched up under him. He slammed one of his arrows into the side of the bull’s neck, released his hand, and jumped off just as the bull turned over. He rolled as he landed. The bull didn’t notice the slight pain at all so, in the moment when it threw itself against the wall to crush Dong Zheng, it ended up slamming the arrow deeper into its neck.

Blood gushed down the arrow’s body. But this sky bull was, after all, a legendary creature. It didn’t die and became even more infuriated. Ignoring the intense pain, it rushed madly toward Dong Zheng. Dong Zheng knelt on one knee, raised the crossbow in his hands, and wound the arrow. His gray eyes were cold and silent, and his target was extremely clear.

In a flash, the arrow shot through the bull’s eye and buried itself into its brain.

The bull lost control of its body. It fell down with a loud bang and struggled to its death, dripping bloodstains.

Dong Zheng let out a breath. He stood, patted the dust from his clothes and hair, and pulled out the two arrows from the bull’s twitching corpse.

After shaking the blood from them, Dong Zheng turned his head and looked at the Wonton Insurgency team, who were watching not far away.

His eyes stayed on his own face for a moment before moving over to look at Cui Zuojing. The youth quickly concealed the thoughts in his eyes and walked forward, saying, “What a coincidence that we met here.”

“A coincidence.” Dong Zheng finished patting the dirt from his body and nodded.

The sky bull’s hoof was the object they needed to collect, per the instructions of their codex. After obtaining his consent, Allen beamed and happily approached him. Dong Zheng looked at his dazzling red hair and blue eyes. The memory of his blood splattered body on the cold snowfield made it almost impossible for Dong Zheng to breathe.

Allen, his first friend from the Pure White Realm, a companion that he could trust with his life.

It turned out that it’d been two years since he was gone.

A long-necked bird flew by, and facing Cui Zuojing’s suspicion about how he ended up there, Dong Zheng simply pointed to the bird and said, “I followed it. There’s something wrong with that thing.”

Everyone obviously didn’t trust him, nor did Dong Zheng mind. He knew very well what he’d been thinking back then. Domingo had been a mystery, and he seemed extremely suspicious.

But the team still followed Dong Zheng’s words and chased after the human-faced bird “Ba” toward the graveyards full of tombstones filled with skewed and slanted words. These graves belonged to the companions that the British Expedition Team left behind four hundred years ago. Their corpses had become a nest for the bird, Ba.

Dong Zheng’s kernel perceived the energy fluctuations among the tombs. This, combined with his added vision, allowed him to clearly see the dim light spot, and so he pointed it out. Victor had changed Dong Zheng’s appearance, and even his current height of 1.9 meters was taller than before. He looked down at Cui Zuojing, leaned down, and when he spoke, his warm breath brushed against the youth’s neck. “There’s something over there.”

Such a posture was extremely ambiguous, and Dong Zheng suddenly recalled what happened when they were together. He knew exactly how Cui Zuojing would react when he touched his body, and he remembered the temperature and softness of his eyes and lips. But right now, his Ah’Zuo’s body was still 16 years old and he’d left his emotions with the clown.

At this moment, his past self pulled Cui Zuojing away. His face sank into a frown as he passed by and he whispered to the youth, “Look, there’s something shining over there.”

As he looked at his past self and saw his guarded eyes, Dong Zheng couldn’t help but feel amused.

“Let me take a look,” Cui Zuojing said, unaware of the atmosphere. He quietly moved toward the group of tombstones.

The youth approached the shining light step by step. After waiting for a while, everyone saw that there was no danger and so they followed after him.

Before Cui Zuojing pulled the luminous gemstone from the frame, Allen ran to safety with Wang Que. Meanwhile, everyone else also moved to the side, out of the way.

Dong Zheng looked at everything quietly. He could sense the weak energy rippling under the nourishment of the gemstone, calming the large number of souls underground, but he didn’t say a word and only watched as Cui Zuojing pulled the gemstone out.

The tombstone cracked and collapsed, and the bird Ba screamed in anger. But the youth ignored it and looked down at the gemstone in his hand. Suddenly, a thin hand stretched out from the grave and grabbed his ankle!

The buried corpses crawled out from their graves, wanting to take back the gemstone. Everyone ran in the same direction they’d come, but the vibration of the tombs had triggered a chain reaction. A huge rock crashed down in front of them, blocking their only path to escape.

“Come this way!” Dong Zheng immediately turned around. When he was fighting with the sky bull earlier, he’d surveyed and mapped the layout of the cave. There was a thin cave wall nearby. As long as a strong enough force was used, it would break.

He turned sideways and threw his shoulder against the mountain wall, which made a muffled, hollow sound.

“Get out of the way!” Allen retreated five meters away and kicked his feet fiercely. His speed ability made him fly like a cannonball, and he crashed into the rock wall at high speed!

The wall shattered. Dong Zheng ran into the cave, and secretly pulled Allen along. Everyone rushed into the depths of the cave and quickly threw those corpses away.

After running for several hundred meters, Dong Zheng gradually stopped. He didn’t feel tired, but everyone else leaned on the cave wall, breathing hard. The past Dong Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, wrinkled his brows, and said, “You seem to be familiar with this place.”

Dong Zheng turned around, looked at himself from two years ago, and said calmly, “No one stipulated that I must tell you everything.”