# 1581
Chapter 1577: The Walker of 【Chaos】
"Who goes there?!"
Lin Qiye's eyes snapped open, a surge of powerful spiritual pressure erupted from his body as he stood on full guard.
But when he saw the scene before him, he froze in place.
"This is... Asylum of the Gods?" Lin Qiye gazed at the familiar ward buildings and courtyard, muttering to himself.
Lin Qiye clearly remembered—he had just been standing on the steps of the Sword Tower, when that face of 【Chaos】 burst out, destroying the tower, devouring An Qingyu, and then being trapped within the Slaying Immortals Formation...
But the next moment, it felt as though someone had struck him hard on the back of his skull. His consciousness drifted away from his body, as if he had fainted.
When he woke again, he was standing in the Asylum of the Gods.
"How is this possible? I clearly didn't immerse my consciousness here..." Lin Qiye's eyes were filled with confusion.
He immediately closed his eyes, wanting his consciousness to return to his physical body. The situation outside was extremely critical—he couldn't afford to stay in the asylum now... But a few seconds later, when he opened his eyes again, he was still in the asylum.
Lin Qiye stood there stunned.
He tried several more times, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't return to his body like he normally could. His consciousness seemed to be locked inside this asylum by something!
Beads of sweat formed on Lin Qiye's temples. Just as he was about to try again, he suddenly seemed to realize something, and his pupils constricted sharply.
It was too quiet.
This asylum... was far too quiet.
Every time Lin Qiye returned to the asylum before, it was bustling with activity. Hundreds of nurses each performed their duties—conversations, cooking sounds, the rustle of washing, laughter... No matter which corner you stood in, there was a thriving, lively atmosphere.
But this time, deathly silence filled his ears.
Lin Qiye's gaze swept across the surroundings. The entire asylum was empty—wards, nurse dormitories, corridors—scanning everything, not a single soul was in sight.
His brow furrowed tightly.
Something was wrong...
"Li Yifei!!" Lin Qiye shouted, his voice echoing across the empty courtyard.
One second, two seconds, three seconds... after ten seconds, there was still no response.
Where had everyone gone?
Lin Qiye immediately spread his spiritual perception across the entire asylum. Every building was deserted. He even searched the underground dungeons. Hundreds of nurses had all vanished as if they had never existed.
But the vegetables on the kitchen cutting board, the quilt half-fallen from the window, and the tea cup still steaming in the lounge all bore traces of their presence.
Lin Qiye's heart sank.
Just then, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned to look at the center of the courtyard.
Beneath the large tree in the courtyard's center, a figure sat quietly by the chessboard, lightly raising his head, gazing at the emptiness above as if observing something.
Seeing that familiar, benevolent figure, Lin Qiye's hanging heart settled a fraction. He hurried to the chessboard and asked urgently:
"Brother Yelland, what happened here?"
The moment he spoke, Lin Qiye felt a pang of regret.
Facing Yelland, that repeat-after-me uncle, whatever he said would only receive one fixed answer—it was completely useless.
Yelland wore that sacred robe gathered from white clouds, his gaze fixed on the emptiness above slowly shifted, falling upon Lin Qiye.
On that kind, benevolent face, a brilliant smile curled at the corners. Normally Yelland wore that gentle smile no matter the circumstance, but Lin Qiye had never seen such an intense smile on his face before...
For some reason, that brilliant smile on that aged face carried an inexplicable aura of eeriness and wrongness.
"...Guess?"
These two words fell into Lin Qiye's ears, and his mind was struck by a bolt of lightning!
He could speak?
He could actually speak?!
Lin Qiye opened his mouth, about to say something, when the white-robed old man sitting behind the chessboard suddenly melted like black mud. Surging black qi poured from within him, instantly weaving into a completely black, naked human silhouette within the blink of an eye!
This figure stood over three meters tall, with limbs as thin as bamboo poles. Its shape resembled a bipedal cricket, with a robust torso but a tiny, narrow head. It had no face, no features—utterly monstrous to behold!
Lin Qiye's pupils contracted violently. At the same time, as if sensing something, he猛地 whipped his head around to look at the second floor of the ward building.
On the second floor of the ward building, the doorplate of the sixth room from the left—the original book pattern etched upon it was peeling away piece by piece, until it revealed the true symbol beneath:
— "?"
Lin Qiye sharply turned to face this pure-black faceless entity. "Who exactly are you?!"
"Me?" The faceless being's voice was sharp and piercing, no longer resembling Yelland's gentle, magnetic tone. From the intonation, it sounded like mockery. "Of course I'm the Greatly Merciful, Greatly Compassionate, Selflessly Devoted, Strongest Western Holy Church Leader, Yelland?
Don't you recognize me, my esteemed Lin Qiye, Director?
Or rather, do you only recognize that phrase?"
The faceless figure's form flickered, bizarrely transforming back into the white-robed, all-sympathizing appearance of Yelland. Using that low, deep voice, speaking with benevolence: "You've done well, child..."
"Hahahahahaha..."
With Yelland's appearance, he switched back to his original sharp, piercing voice and laughed wildly, mockingly.
Lin Qiye stared at him intently, speaking word by word:
"When did you replace him?"
"Replace?"
"Yelland" acted as if he'd heard something hilarious, laughing again. "My esteemed Director Lin, do you still think the patient in that ward is Yelland?
That old codger is still desperately holding the seal on the Moon—how could he possibly come here to play house with you all?"
Hearing these words, Lin Qiye's expression changed dramatically.
"It was you?! You've been disguised as Yelland, staying in this asylum the whole time?!"
He felt the terrifying Cthulhu Faction divine pressure emanating from this entity. As if thinking of something, he exclaimed, "You're 【Chaos】, Nyarlathotep!?!"
"How thoughtful of you to know my name." "Yelland" coldly smiled. "Unfortunately, it's already too late..."
Whoosh—!!
Before His words even finished, the blade-light of Ame-no-Murakumo sliced through the void, rapidly flashing toward 【Chaos】's throat!
Lin Qiye didn't know how this creature had infiltrated the Asylum of the Gods, nor what It intended to do. But his instincts told him he had to kill this thing immediately!
If it were in the outside world, this would be nearly impossible. But this was the Asylum of the Gods—here, he was truly invincible. Wielding Ame-no-Murakumo and striking at the right moment, he might just create a miracle!
Seeing that blade-light rapidly approaching, an expression of disdain spread across 【Chaos】's face. It simply stood there calmly, allowing the blade-light to pierce toward Its throat!
Clang—!!
The sword's edge struck 【Chaos】's throat with a sound of clashing metal. Lin Qiye stood frozen in place.
Ame-no-Murakumo hadn't managed to scratch It in the slightest.
As 【Chaos】 raised a finger, an invisible force slammed into Lin Qiye's chest. He vomited a mouthful of blood, flying backward!