Chapter 1167: Bad News
"Train," Celestial-level room.
Not only had the entire "Land of the End" undergone a upheaval, but now even many of the "Celestials" were beginning to panic.
Because not long ago, the Celestial Dog had personally told everyone that he had heard the "Great Bell" had been destroyed.
"Heh heh..." The Celestial Rat grinned, revealing his sparse, jagged teeth. "Let that Celestial Ox bitch play smart... Now look at the mess. Everything below is in chaos, even the 'Human-levels' have abandoned their posts, and nothing has been accomplished... Soon, Azure Dragon will come back and start slaughtering everyone."
"You... speak less..." The Celestial Snake's eyes darted nervously. "If something this big really happened, everyone present here bears responsibility..."
"Where's my responsibility?!" The Celestial Rat snickered. "That young bitch Celestial Ox has no foresight. Anyone can see she's never held a real job. When something this major happens, of course whoever handles it takes the blame."
The Celestial Horse crone sneered after hearing this. "Well then, when Celestial Ox comes back, you can tell her that yourself."
"Me? What does it have to do with me?" The Celestial Rat continued his nauseating smile. "Whether you remember it or not, I was the one who strongly opposed Celestial Ox from the start. She just wouldn't listen. When the time comes, we'll just push all the blame onto her. One person gets punished, everyone else gets off scot-free. Isn't that great?"
"Yes... that's right..." The Celestial Rabbit, who had just woken up not long ago, said. "I... I opposed her too. It was Celestial Ox herself who was stubborn and refused to see reason..."
The Celestial Snake lowered his head, his eyes wavering left and right.
He had a feeling that this kind of rhetoric would only make Azure Dragon even more furious.
If all the "Celestials" defaulted to refusing responsibility in a situation like this, then just as Azure Dragon had said, the "Celestials" truly needed a major overhaul.
But if only one or two people stepped up to solve the problem now, they might not actually be able to handle the trouble.
The situation had momentarily fallen into a "prisoner's dilemma," leaving no one willing to speak up for Celestial Ox at this moment.
The Celestial Monkey and Celestial Chicken both stood up at the same time, saying in unison, "We think the most important thing now is to solve the problem, not to assign blame."
"Fine, fine." The Celestial Rat nodded. "When I see Azure Dragon later, I'll go clear my name. You guys go figure out how to solve the problem. Heh heh... let's see who ends up alive."
As they were speaking, they suddenly felt an unusual aura descend. Azure Dragon appeared abruptly at the doorway, his eyes blood red as he walked in.
Everyone was intimidated by this strange pressure and lowered their heads in silence. Only the Celestial Rat stood up at that moment, taking a few steps to Azure Dragon's side, and opened his mouth with a smile. "Oh! Azure Dragon... you don't know, just now..."
Azure Dragon glared at him, without a word, and swung a palm strike, sending the Celestial Rat flying.
"Scram."
The Celestial Rat slammed heavily into the wall, cracking the entire surface.
"Cough..." He never expected Azure Dragon to attack without a word. He felt several bones had been broken.
"Dog shit, don't get in my way."
Azure Dragon's eyes were crimson. Although he appeared unharmed, he was covered in bloodstains. He didn't bother looking at the others in the room and strode directly toward the door leading to the "Locomotive."
He paused at the doorway for a moment, then vanished on the spot and reappeared on the other side of the door.
He stared with his blood-red eyes, scanning the empty room.
Everything was as it had been, unchanged. What met his eyes were only the throne, the great tree, and the Celestial Dragon.
But he felt something was off. He had clearly just seen someone attack him here... If that memory wasn't an "illusion," what else could it be?
He turned his head to look at the Celestial Dragon. The Celestial Dragon was still sound asleep here, as if nothing had happened.
"Damned... what the hell is going on..." Azure Dragon felt his conviction facing an unprecedented challenge.
Having rampaged through the "Peach Blossom Land" for so long, he could never remember his memories being this chaotic.
No matter how many people he killed or tortured, no one could ever shake his conviction.
He was the one true god of this space.
But what was happening now?
He squinted as he pondered his current situation, vaguely feeling that this matter was related to Qi Xia. But Qi Xia had been with him in the "Cangjie Chess" all this time—what could he have done?
...
"Cough, cough..." The Celestial Rat finally struggled to get up from the ground, looking disheveled as he returned to the table.
No one had the heart to mock the Celestial Rat, because no one knew if they would be the next one to be injured.
"Damn strange..." The Celestial Rat wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sat back down in his chair with difficulty. "What the hell is going on? Why is Azure Dragon so furious?"
"Probably still about the destruction of the Great Bell..." The Celestial Snake said, head lowered. "Once the Great Bell is destroyed, I can no longer use the displayed 'Echoes' to help him find test subjects. In theory, the operation of the 'Train' will be affected..."
"No way..." The fat Celestial Dog shook his head. "I don't think Azure Dragon would get hung up on something so trivial... After all, he himself has 'Spiritual Hearing'..."
"I don't think Azure Dragon seems angry either..." The Celestial Snake replied. "More like his sanity has been affected..."
Everyone chipped in with a few guesses, but no one knew what had actually happened.
The Celestial Snake pondered for a long time on the side, then slowly said, "I don't know if it's my own 'Immortal Art' malfunctioning, affecting my reason... I keep feeling something's off."
"Off...?" The Celestial Dog looked at him. "How so?"
"I remember being torn apart by something..." The Celestial Snake still kept his head down, not meeting anyone's eyes. "Like a dream, but I remember it very clearly..."
The Celestial Rat paused upon hearing this. He had also just had a similar feeling, but having sat here for so long, his thoughts were already on the verge of madness, so he didn't dare speak his true feelings.
"I think I did too..." The Celestial Rabbit nodded. "I thought it was just a nightmare lingering after I woke up. I felt like my throat had been bitten open..."
The others fell silent, their faces grim, as if each had their own concerns.
They couldn't spread their anxiety here. After all, they were "Celestials." Even if something really went wrong, Xuan Wu and Zhu Que would protect them.
After a long silence, the Celestial Dog suddenly looked up, his eyes wide as saucers.
The Celestial Snake was drawn by his expression and inadvertently met his eyes, then also opened his mouth wide.
"What's wrong...?" The Celestial Horse asked.
"Xuan Wu is dead..." The Celestial Dog murmured. "Xuan Wu was killed..."
"What?!" Many of the "Celestials" exclaimed in shock. "Who did it?!"
"I don't know..." The Celestial Dog slowly lowered his head. "When the sound appeared, I could only hear someone mourning Xuan Wu..."
The Celestial Horse and Celestial Tiger exchanged glances. Both felt this was too unbelievable to be true.
Even if Azure Dragon had personally struck, he might not have been able to kill Xuan Wu. What kind of divine being could have done such an incredible thing?
The Celestial Monkey and Celestial Chicken were both stunned. They asked softly, "Wasn't Xuan Wu... immortal and indestructible?"
"That's not what we need to think about now..." The Celestial Snake pushed up his glasses with a trembling hand. "Once Xuan Wu is dead... only Zhu Que is left to protect us 'Celestials'..."