# 1838
Chapter 1838: Black Merchant
Upon hearing this, An Qingyu fell silent.
"Even if that's the case, what can we do?" An Qingyu spoke slowly. "The Equivalent Exchange has already begun. Even if we stop now, the price I've already paid can't be recovered."
Lin Qiye lowered his gaze to the Divine Beast blood dissipating on the surface of the Gate of Truth. After a moment, he raised his fingertip and gently sliced across his own wrist.
The sharp blade edge cut through the blood vessel, and a large amount of crimson blood sprayed out!
"I am the current Supreme Commander of the Great Xia Night Watch, but at the same time, I am also the captain of the [Nightfall] squad. Standing from the perspective of the Great Xia Night Watch Supreme Commander, I should seize the moment when you're paying the price and directly strike to kill you; but standing from the perspective of the captain of the [Nightfall] squad, I would rather see Jiang Er return to this world..." Lin Qiye said calmly,
"The grievances between factions can continue after we save Jiang Er... At least at this moment, I still regard you as the vice-captain of [Nightfall]."
Dripping blood splashed onto the starlight tentacles and was immediately greedily absorbed by them, flowing through mysterious shimmer into that magnificent gate.
An Qingyu gazed at this scene, slightly stunned, then raised his head to look at Lin Qiye above. In this thick fog, his expression remained unclear.
"The blood of a Hongmeng Lingtai is a hundred times more precious than those Divine Beast bloods." Lin Qiye snorted coldly,
"If it takes your emotions and drains my blood yet still isn't satisfied... I will personally destroy this damned gate!"
A chilling killing intent was infused into the blood, and every last drop was swallowed by the Gate of Truth. Lin Qiye stood firm on the misty lake surface, allowing his own blood to surge forth, his face growing paler by the moment.
What Lin Qiye had cut open was an artery. Without any measures to stop the bleeding, the blood loss was terrifying. Before long, the blood in his body was almost completely drained.
If it were an ordinary person, suffering such a terrifying loss of blood would have killed them on the spot. But for a Hongmeng Lingtai, the tenacity of life was far beyond what ordinary people could withstand.
Lin Qiye didn't know how much blood he had given. He only knew that his consciousness was growing increasingly blurred, and an unprecedented sense of weakness washed over him.
But looking at that Gate of Truth phantom suspended in mid-air, it was still greedily absorbing his blood, showing no signs of stopping.
Before his blood was completely drained, Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes and directly sealed the wound in the blood vessel. A terrifying killing intent erupted from within him without reservation!
He took steps on the void, walking toward the phantom of the Gate of Truth.
He was serious about destroying the gate.
"This Gate of Truth is merely a phantom. Even if you shatter it, you won't harm the本体," An Qingyu, seeing Lin Qiye truly intended to destroy it, spoke up.
Lin Qiye stopped his footsteps. After a moment, he slowly spoke:
"So what if it's a phantom... Do you think there's no causal connection between a phantom and its本体?
Even if I can't destroy this phantom, I've learned the location of its本体. Once this matter is concluded, I'll have my master swing his sword at the South Pole and destroy both the Temporal Maze and its本体 remains...
Let's see then how it can continue deceiving people?"
Vibration—!!
As if understanding Lin Qiye's threat, that Gate of Truth phantom standing in the mist suddenly shuddered violently!
All the extending starlight tentacles simultaneously retracted into the portal. At the same time, a mysterious radiance bloomed from the door's cracks, covering the entire Erhai region!
Upon seeing this radiance bloom, An Qingyu suddenly froze.
It actually worked?!
If not for the Gate of Truth having抽走 his emotions, even An Qingyu would have been unable to resist the urge to curse.
As that mysterious radiance enveloped Erhai, magnetic fields that had once appeared over Erhai rose from the earth and lake water, like countless magnificent ribbons swaying and connecting to the sky.
An Qingyu stood in the center of this lake water, staring blankly at this scene. Then, he came back to his senses and quickly searched among the magnetic fields.
As time passed, various completely different magnetic fields frequently appeared and disappeared, dazzling to witness.
After an unknown duration, a familiar figure slowly drifted out from Erhai.
It was a young woman in a white long dress, her jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders, like a specter from the depths of the lake.
Her eyes were closed, her expression tranquil, as if asleep.
"Jiang Er..."
At the sight of that figure, An Qingyu's eyes slightly contracted. But at this moment, he couldn't feel the slightest hint of any other emotional fluctuations from within his heart.
He murmured that name, as if calling her, or as if reminding himself... reminding himself that he must not forget what she meant to him.
As Jiang Er's body drifted before the Gate of Truth, all other magnetic fields around dispersed. Only scattered radiance remained, flowing across the lake surface, making everything appear dreamlike.
Just as An Qingyu was about to extend his hand toward Jiang Er's residual shadow within the flowing light, the latter's body instantly shattered, also dissolving into mysterious radiance that spread in all directions!
An Qingyu's hand, extended halfway, suddenly froze in place.
In the depths of his eyes, a trace of bewilderment flashed... but that was all.
Conversely, upon witnessing this, Lin Qiye's pupils constricted sharply!
He abruptly raised his head to stare at that massive Gate of Truth phantom. Surging killing intent erupted once more:
"You're playing with us??"
As the Gate of Truth's portal closed, its presence rapidly faded, directly vanishing from within this mist. The vast Erhai once again fell into deathly silence.
Before Lin Qiye could take any action, An Qingyu's calm voice rang out once more:
"So that's how it is..."
Lin Qiye turned to look at him. "What?"
"The price we've paid isn't enough to completely resurrect Jiang Er, who has been dead—both soul and spirit—for four years. Therefore, after the Gate of Truth absorbed the price, it only minimally fulfilled my request..."
An Qingyu raised his head, gazing at the magnetic field ripples spreading in all directions,
"It... only brought back part of Jiang Er's magnetic field. Though without life, consciousness, or memories, in a sense, she has indeed returned."
Lin Qiye frowned. "But she's still not resurrected, is she? What's the use of this?"
"As long as we've retrieved part of her magnetic field, there will always be a way to completely resurrect her... Besides, you said that I currently have no emotions. Jiang Er returning in this way might be for the best."
Lin Qiye stood frozen in place.
The current Jiang Er possessed only magnetic field, without life or consciousness. Naturally, she wouldn't wake up to converse with An Qingyu, nor would she know what An Qingyu currently looked like... For her, this might indeed be a form of mercy.
If she were truly completely resurrected, seeing the one she loved most standing shoulder to shoulder with Cthulhu Faction gods, having betrayed Great Xia, lost all emotions, becoming an absolute stranger—the blow to her would be far greater.
Lin Qiye supported his虚弱 body. After a long while, he sighed helplessly.
Twelve Divine Beast bloods, plus An Qingyu's emotions, plus draining a Hongmeng Lingtai's blood... and it only barely brought back a wisp of magnetic field. If An Qingyu were to bear the price alone, this life would have been sacrificed, yet it still wouldn't have been enough to resurrect a complete Jiang Er.
Although the Gate of Truth truly adhered to "Equivalent Exchange," in terms of transaction methods, it was an absolute black merchant.
Just as Lin Qiye was about to speak further, his vision suddenly blurred. Two figures had already appeared before him.
Yu Er, Yu Si!
They stared at Lin Qiye, their eyes filled with coldness.
"The private matters are concluded... Now, it's time to handle official business." An Qingyu's emotionless voice slowly sounded from behind Lin Qiye.