Chapter 1324: The Perfect Door
Qinglong stood in this empty room, recovering his composure for nearly a minute. Only then did he glance at Zhang Shan and Qiao Jiajin.
He knew he had already won this fight. Two people who had completely lost their sanity were utterly incapable of any further resistance.
He walked slowly up to Qiao Jiajin, stared into his eyes, and swiftly slashed his palm across. A horrifying gash appeared on Qiao Jiajin's throat, blood spraying profusely. Yet his face remained expressionless.
"Ha..." Qinglong laughed, as if facing a toy. "Mortals... they're just like toys."
Whether he was venting or genuinely feeling a hint of frustration, Qinglong thrust out both hands and slashed wildly, covering Qiao Jiajin's body with terrifying wounds.
Flesh flew, organs began to spill out, and Qiao Jiajin's face quickly lost all color.
"How ridiculous..." Qinglong continued. "I possess [Soul Snatch], and you carry [Tianxingjian]. How could you possibly fight me? Even if you pierce your ears to avoid [Soul Snatch], under the effect of [Tianxingjian], your ears will heal again. Unless there is a deaf man in this world who also bears [Tianxingjian]... No matter how many times you challenge me, you will lose."
"There will be..." Qiao Jiajin muttered.
"...?"
Those three brief words made Qinglong stiffen all over.
He looked at Qiao Jiajin with disbelief, his expression full of confusion.
Did this man accidentally answer his own words... or could it be that he—
"Qinglong..." Qiao Jiajin slowly raised his head. His vacant eyes gradually filled with hatred. "There will be..."
Qinglong froze. He saw that the wounds on his body were beginning to mend at this moment—slowly, but clearly showing signs of recovery.
"You..."
Qinglong's mind grew chaotic. He had clearly taken away his sanity... what was happening now?
"I feel like Lord Guan is protecting me. Every time I'm about to go mad, a new memory surfaces and wakes me." Qiao Jiajin smiled bitterly, the wound on his neck healing again. "Those memories didn't just awaken me—they solidified my resolve to fight you to the death."
Although he didn't quite understand what was happening to Qiao Jiajin, the man clearly was no longer affected by [Soul Snatch].
"But you can't win," Qinglong said. "Even if you regain your sanity and fight until the end of the world, you still can't win."
With that, he slowly raised his hand. At the same moment, Qiao Jiajin's hand rose involuntarily.
"See? With [Soul Snatch], you won't even be able to touch me from now on." Qinglong shook his head. "Better give up early and let me give you a quick death."
"Yes... it really is hard. Even if Big Guy and I fight together, it's hard." Qiao Jiajin laughed. "But it doesn't matter... I promised someone I would take your life. So even if I have to fight until the end of the world, I won't leave."
Qinglong frowned at Qiao Jiajin. "Even if you die... with no next life, you still won't leave?"
"I won't leave." Qiao Jiajin shook his head, revealing a relieved smile. "I've remembered a lot of things from before. I don't know how to face my old friends anymore. If I think about it carefully, dying here is probably the best ending I could hope for."
At this moment, Zhang Shan also shifted his body, blinking with difficulty. "Damn... what's going on? Didn't I already recall those memories? Why am I getting them again... this place really treats people like crap..."
Qinglong turned around with a dark expression to look at Zhang Shan. He hadn't expected the second nuisance to have revived as well.
The wounds on both of them began to heal, but their faces were extremely haggard.
Even so... they showed no intention of giving up.
Qinglong's whole body began to tremble slightly. He said in a hoarse voice, "You two have caused me a huge mess... All my grand plans over these many years have been dragged down by you two."
Though he was furious, he still couldn't tear these two men apart instantly. His anxiety reached its peak at this moment.
"That's exactly why we're here," Qiao Jiajin said, raising his hand and clenching his fist. "Whether we win or not, we won't let you have your way."
Qinglong felt as if he had been stuck with disgusting, stubborn plasters all day. Every time he wanted to do something, someone would be in his way.
"Forget it..." Qinglong said despairingly. "You can't dodge [Jing Lei] now. Let me give you a quick end. I'll just consider that I spent these ten-plus years removing obstacles. I can only hope for victory next time."
After speaking, he began to move, rapidly shifting between the two men. "When Tianlong wakes up, I'll tell him that I personally ended this rebellion."
...
"Done...!"
Tiantian took a deep breath, opened her eyes weakly, and before her stood a nearly perfect wooden door, its carvings intricate.
She stood up and stepped back, but suddenly felt dizzy and nearly fell. Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu each reached out a hand to steady her.
"Don't push yourself," Qi Xia said. "You've overdrawn your [Conviction]. Rest a bit. I might need one last small favor from you later."
"Okay..." Tiantian nodded. Even she wasn't sure what was happening to her body. Building a wooden door seemed to have drained all her strength in just a few minutes.
Qi Xia turned to Chu Tianqiu. "How's the door?"
Chu Tianqiu studied the door from top to bottom, then said, "I can't see any flaws. It looks real. Should we go in now?"
"Not yet. We need to 'inspect the goods'." Qi Xia nodded, picking up a splinter of wood from the ground.
"There are so many fragments here. Did you get into a fight with someone?" Chu Tianqiu asked. "And these wounds on you..."
"To be precise, I fought with myself," Qi Xia said. "But it doesn't matter. Don't mind me."
He used the splinter to gently lift the door handle.
A dull creak sounded. Two previously unrelated rooms seemed to have established a strange connection. Through the narrow crack of the door, the scene inside unfolded before them.
It was Qinglong, Qiao Jiajin, and Zhang Shan.
The three were moving at inhuman speed within that space.
On the distant steps sat their ultimate target for this journey: Tianlong.
Tiantian had indeed managed to replicate such an important door.
Qi Xia paused. He seemed not to notice the battle with Qinglong, but closed the door before Qinglong could spot the crack. Then he turned to the other two and said, "The mission is essentially complete. Now, invading Tianlong's dream is the final step."
"Mission... complete?" Chu Tianqiu was taken aback. "Qi Xia, didn't you see? Qinglong is still alive."
"He was never going to die anyway," Qi Xia shook his head. "Having someone hold him off is already the best outcome. Are you ready?"
Chu Tianqiu estimated that from this door to where Tianlong was, it was only a few dozen steps. A full sprint would take very little time.
Unfortunately, standing in their way was a Qinglong who looked utterly insane.