# 1665
Chapter 1665: All Life in Ruins
Huo Qubing gazed at the bewildered Gongyang Wan without speaking.
When Gongyang Wan had first accused him of being a fake, Huo Qubing had already considered two possibilities. The first was that Gongyang Wan knew he was the real one but was deliberately framing him, hoping that through the fake Huo Qubing and Lin Qiye's hands, she could eliminate him and gain complete freedom... But based on Gongyang Wan's later behavior, this possibility was slim.
Therefore, the only remaining possibility was that Gongyang Wan was also a fake, and she had been trying to help Lin Qiye and Huo Qubing. However, her perception had been altered, causing her to mistake the fake Huo Qubing for the real one.
"I'm a fake... Then where is the real me? Is she still alive?!" Gongyang Wan trembled as she muttered to herself. She abruptly turned to look at the approaching iridescent mist, as if having thought of something, and gritted her teeth before rushing directly into the mist!
Whoosh——!!
A long spear flew past her, gouging a terrifying deep crater into the ground beneath her feet. Gongyang Wan turned to look back, seeing Huo Qubing clutching his wound and walking weakly toward her.
"What are you looking for the本体 for? Even if you swallow her, you're still fake... *cough cough*..." Huo Qubing said slowly.
"Swallow her? Why would I swallow her! I need to save her!" Gongyang Wan stood disheveled in the ruins, screaming toward the mist. "She can't die! A Zhuo is still alive! I need to save him out!
Huo Qubing! If you stop me now, I'll fight you with everything I have! My life is worthless anyway, so what's there to be afraid of!"
Gongyang Wan glared fiercely at Huo Qubing, then vaulted over the spear and rushed toward the mist at full speed.
Huo Qubing watched her retreating figure and frowned slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he didn't activate the 【Heart-Returning Gu】 to stop her, but instead let her charge into the mist.
At that moment, a streak of black light flew out from the mist. Noticing Gongyang Wan running toward it, it made a curious sound and crashed directly into her head!
The speed of this light was too fast—even Gongyang Wan couldn't react. She only felt her vision go dark as her entire body suddenly froze before the mist.
She opened her mouth and licked her red lips, a black severed finger already resting on her tongue root.
"Tsk, two thousand years of time... That Key to the Gate fellow probably wouldn't be so kind as to send me back again. This body isn't bad—it should be enough for me to use for a while." Gongyang Wan casually flicked her disheveled black hair and didn't enter the iridescent mist again. Instead, she turned and slowly walked toward Chang'an City.
She glanced at the imperial palace standing proudly in the night within Chang'an City, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
"It might be interesting to be a human emperor on the side..."
Gongyang Wan walked unhurriedly toward Chang'an. She had only taken two steps when a figure appeared before her.
"You're not Gongyang Wan... Who are you?" Blood-soaked Huo Qubing gripped his spear, frowning as he looked at the woman before him. His voice was deep. "Who are you?"
He had personally watched Gongyang Wan walk to the mist's edge, then get struck by a beam of black light. The Gongyang Wan before him was different in both demeanor and behavior from the original... Although he had long known she was a fake, such a dramatic change shouldn't happen so suddenly.
"Oh? You're still not dead?" Gongyang Wan raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Having successfully set up the scheme that killed Lin Qiye, and now facing a Huo Qubing on the brink of death, 【Chaos】 couldn't be bothered to keep up appearances. A light laugh escaped her lips. "What? With your current state, do you actually think you can stop me?"
Boom——!!!
As soon as Gongyang Wan's words fell, the iridescent fog behind her churned violently. Countless legs carried the enormous willow tree shadow as it crashed down behind her. Without the obstruction of the mist, its full form was now revealed to Chang'an City!
Countless willow branches twisted snake-like through the air, sharp shrieks piercing the clouds. The massive entity gazed down at the entire city from among the clouds, its horrifying appearance directly terrifying most of the common people into stunned silence.
Huo Qubing's already pale face grew increasingly grim.
Having forcibly activated 【Imperial Crimson Blood】 to kill the fake while his lifespan was nearly depleted, he was already in an extremely weakened state. Facing the fake Gongyang Wan possessed by 【Chaos】 and Kusuen, a being beyond the Human Apex realm, he had virtually no chance of victory.
"Though it's a few hundred years early, it doesn't matter... Consider this my greeting gift to you." Gongyang Wan's lips curved upward. She patted the giant willow's roots beside her and said softly,
"Disperse your offspring, Kusuen."
A sharp shriek emanated from the willow tree's crown. The pale face growing from its canopy suddenly opened its massive mouth, and spores the size of palaces shot out from within, rocketing straight into the clouds!
Propelled by tremendous force, these enormous spores continued ascending, shooting all the way to the edge of the atmosphere's outer layer. Then they turned around, swarming downward toward the earth below!
Accelerated by gravity, their shells rapidly frictioned against the atmosphere, turning them into streams of flaming meteors crossing the night sky. They dispersed evenly across the land—rivers, mountains, cities, valleys... Their targets spread across the entire Great Han Dynasty, nearly a hundred in total!
Within the imperial palace, the current Director of the Imperial Observatory rushed out of the palace hall. Seeing this meteor fire rain falling from the heavens, his face turned ashen!
His legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees, trembling as he murmured to himself:
"All life in ruins... All life in ruins..."
...
Outside Chang'an City, Huo Qubing witnessed this scene. The grip on his spear tightened, his knuckles bone-white.
"You... are the Cthulhu Faction creature Lin Qiye mentioned, aren't you?" Huo Qubing yanked his spear from the ground in one motion. His dominion power spread outward once more, a surging killing intent sweeping through the area!
"My apologies, allow me to introduce myself." Gongyang Wan's brow lifted. She stuck out her tongue, revealing a severed finger exposed to the air.
"Nyarlathotep. You may also call me the Walking 【Chaos】, one of Cthulhu's three Great Ones."
As her voice fell, that finger curled lightly. A gu worm flew out from Gongyang Wan's throat and crashed into a sharp stone on the ground, transforming into a puddle of flesh and blood.
【Heart-Returning Gu】? Huo Qubing's eyes narrowed.
"This, consider it my greeting gift to you. How about it?" 【Chaos】's voice rang out once more.
A crimson figure swiftly crossed over the city walls and landed steadily on a giant rock. She gazed at the absurdly large willow tree and at Gongyang Wan before the churning iridescent mist, her brow creasing tightly.
"This... is going to be a huge problem." Chloe murmured to herself.
Her appearance also drew Huo Qubing's attention. He studied the human girl before him, who radiated an aura similar to his own, and confusion flickered in his eyes.
"You're the Marquis of the Capital?" Chloe said in fluent Chinese. "I'm a friend of Lin Qiye's. You should know him, right? These things are tricky... How about the two of us join forces?"
Huo Qubing studied her carefully for a moment. After hesitation, he finally nodded:
"Alright."
Gongyang Wan stood atop the willow tree's canopy face alongside Kusuen's willow branches. She looked down at Huo Qubing and Chloe, a teasing glint appearing in her eyes.
"Overreaching oneself..."