Chapter 1340

When the crack was fully mended, a faceless person in a panic rushed straight toward this place. Before Qi Xia could grab her, she plunged into the healing crack as if fleeing from some monster. Qi Xia furrowed his brow, initially thinking of pulling her back, but after a few seconds, he withdrew his hand. What a coincidence this was? She didn't run toward the exit or a deserted area, but straight into this crack? The "variation" had just emerged, and now a new surprise came to fill the gap. Watching the woman struggle in the crack, Qi Xia frowned in thought. It seemed that even in this moment, "Ye Li" and "Yin Guo" still persisted. The fact that this person appeared here at this time to complete the "variation" might be due to the karma Qi Xia had accumulated in the past. And her escape through this crack would plant new causes and effects for another time. As "good" and "evil" became entangled, "cause" and "effect" reversed and cycled endlessly. Let the "variation" resolve the "variation," and let "Ye Li" nourish "Yin Guo." Qi Xia no longer paid attention to the faceless person and turned back to look at Tian Long. He was still lying there quietly, motionless, as if deep in thought. Even now, lying on the ground, Tian Long had no idea what he had been fighting against. Was it Bai Yang? No, he felt like he was fighting the entire world. Qi Xia made his way through the scattered pedestrians and slowly approached Tian Long's side. He saw that Tian Long was unharmed and was staring expressionlessly at the sky. Tian Long gazed blankly at the sky, lost in thought. The massive ribcage pirate ship that had knocked Tian Long away now floated lightly in the air like a balloon. Though it had no eyes, Tian Long could feel it watching him. What kind of scene was this? It was as if the world itself was alive. Besides Bai Yang, everything in this amusement park seemed intent on his destruction. Qi Xia said nothing, apparently giving Tian Long time to rest, then turned and walked over to a nearby stall. The stall was selling amusement park souvenir pins, but the owner had already fled. The pins were made from bone fragments, with patterns outlined in fresh blood. Qi Xia selected one for a moment, took a pin with a flower pattern from the stall, and slipped it into his pocket before casually returning to Tian Long's side.

"Are you tired?" Qi Xia asked.

Tian Long didn't answer, just kept staring at the sky.

"If you still have the will to fight, we can keep going," Qi Xia said. "We've only dismantled less than a tenth of the things here. There's still work to do."

Tian Long let out a bitter laugh. "You haven't even used your 'faith' at all."

"Hmm?"

"Those things came at me like they were alive. They're not under your control at all." Tian Long asked expressionlessly, "What on earth is this amusement park...?"

"Tian Long, the issue isn't with the amusement park. I told you before, I chose this place to settle things with you because it's no longer useful. I want to tear it down and build something else."

Tian Long's expression gradually turned grim; he felt like he'd been tricked.

"It's not related to this amusement park at all... but you deliberately brought me here?"

"In this world, no matter where you go, you can't win," Qi Xia said. "The moment you stood here, everything was already settled."

"Bai Yang... where exactly is this place?"

"You're sharper than Qing Long and should have noticed the stability of this world by now," Qi Xia said. "No matter how crazy I seem, this world follows its own logic. It doesn't show any signs of collapse under any circumstances, so is this really a dream?"

Tian Long felt that what Qi Xia said was true. At first, everything here felt eerie, but the longer he stayed, the more stable it seemed. It was even more stable than his own dreams. Everything here was made of flesh and blood, and every person had no face. Seeing Tian Long fall silent, Qi Xia suddenly asked, "Tian Long, do you think... you have a face?"

Tian Long was startled, as if remembering something. He trembled and reached up to touch his cheek— his features were all there.

"So this place... really... isn't a dream?"

"Yes," Qi Xia nodded. "I told you that long ago, but you..."

Before he could finish, Tian Long suddenly swung at Qi Xia. Qi Xia's body scattered like a sand dune in a strong wind, turning into fragments of flesh and blood that drifted into the air. As the fragments dispersed, a small bone pin fell from the sky. Tian Long hadn't expected "Li Xi" to dismantle Qi Xia so easily. This proved that this world wasn't a dream... but something else. Was it... reality? But how could such a place exist in the real world? It was more absurd than "Tao Yuan" and shouldn't be possible. A few seconds later, a person slowly approached Tian Long. He bent down, picked up the bone pin, and put it back in his pocket. Tian Long recognized the face—it was Qi Xia—and couldn't help but smile bitterly. A person who had just been "Li Xi"d was now standing there perfectly fine. In such a strange place... it wasn't a dream? But if it was a dream... why hadn't the dream collapsed even after the dreamer was killed? "Bai Yang, you entered my dream, yet now you want me to believe this isn't a dream?" Qi Xia shook his head. "Tian Long, that's part of my strategy. When you think you've awakened, you're actually in an endless dream. When you come here and still believe it's a dream, you've already woken up." Tian Long struggled to prop himself up and sit, looking less like he was defeated and more like he was utterly broken. "Then... when did I wake up?" "Probably the moment before you entered," Qi Xia murmured. "Did you feel your breathing become more difficult, surrounded by endless darkness?" Tian Long laughed bitterly again. In that collapsing moment... his breathing had indeed grown harder. But who could tell if that was from waking up? "I came here in a awakened state... only for you to show me a nightmare." Tian Long rubbed his forehead and sighed helplessly. "Tell me the truth—can I kill you here?" "No," Qi Xia replied. "If you want to kill me completely, you'd have to destroy this entire world." He looked at Qi Xia, hesitating several times before finally sighing and asking, "How did you do it?" "What you killed wasn't me, but a part of this world," Qi Xia answered. "The more intent you are on killing me, the more danger you'll face." Tian Long murmured, "You said you had no reason to keep fighting me, but from the moment I stepped in here, I felt an overwhelming killing intent." "That's because it's not me who wants to kill you—it's this entire world." "What...?" Tian Long felt things had once again exceeded his expectations, but thinking back on what had just happened, it did seem that way. "The world wants to kill me... but you don't?" "How can I explain this to you..." Qi Xia squatted down and gently touched the ground. "Tian Long, this world is 'me'." For the first time, Tian Long found a single sentence so hard to comprehend.