Eldritch Horror Theatre

Before the words faded, Qiu Chengyi’s right hand suddenly swelled.

It stretched to several times its original length, pulling apart into distinct segments that writhed like a centipede.

An instant later, the deformed arm lashed out, slamming into the pouncing Liang Yuntian.

Bang!

With a bizarre shriek, Liang Yuntian was swatted away like a baseball. He flew dozens of meters and crashed headfirst into a nearby building, smashing a deep crater into the rotting wood.

However, his ravenous appetite clearly provided him with boundless strength. Barely a second passed before he shook himself off, crawled out of the crater, and launched another charge.

By now, the last shreds of flesh had sloughed off his face. His snow-white skeleton was fully exposed, and he scuttled forward entirely on all fours.

More than ten bone spikes swayed and thrashed along his spine like scorpion tails.

This time, however, his advance was stalled by countless arms on the ground grabbing and tearing at him.

Qiu Chengyi was clearly manipulating them with far greater ease now.By the time Liang Yuntian finally forced his way close, Qiu Chengyi’s mutated arm snaked out and entangled him before he could even attack.

”Mindless trash!”

Qiu Chengyi stared at the thrashing Liang Yuntian and let out a disdainful sneer.

Crack!

The bone spikes on Liang Yuntian’s back had just taken aim, but before they could strike, Qiu Chengyi snapped them clean off.

Crack! Snap!

Amid Liang Yuntian’s shrieks, a rapid series of snaps rang out like splitting bamboo.

Liang Yuntian’s limbs were broken one by one, and even his ribs were crushed into shards.

”Your look is quite unique. I don’t think there’s any need to destroy you—I can find a place to hang you up later.”

Qiu Chengyi toyed with Liang Yuntian’s mangled remains, then turned to look at Fu Qian.

”Sorry to say, but it seems your little plan has failed.”

”At this very moment, do you finally realize the importance of true strength?”

”Is that so?”

Fu Qian replied casually, his face devoid of emotion.

Under Qiu Chengyi’s unbridled torture, Liang Yuntian was reduced to nothing more than a head attached to a spiked spine.

Yet, surprisingly, even with only this pitiful remnant left, his ravenous urge to devour had only grown stronger.

The moment Qiu Chengyi turned his head away, Liang Yuntian’s spine coiled and sprang like a snake. His head shot forward, lunging straight for Qiu Chengyi’s neck to take a bite.

The sudden ambush caught even Qiu Chengyi off guard. Though he threw himself aside, the razor-sharp teeth still tore a long gash across his neck.

Now was the time!

Taking advantage of Liang Yuntian’s final surge, Fu Qian struck without hesitation.

”Hmph! I knew you would try something!”

Qiu Chengyi didn’t even look back, letting out a disdainful sneer.

As far as he was concerned, Fu Qian’s own strength was completely negligible.

Only if he could summon that giant worm again might he pose any real threat.

And normally, the chances of an item like that being usable again so soon were practically zero. Wait—

From the corner of his eye, Qiu Chengyi noticed that Fu Qian had clamped the Bone Whistle between his lips once more, blowing a sharp, buzzing note.

He actually—

Qiu Chengyi subconsciously glanced down at his feet—nothing happened.

At the same time, a surge of agonizing pain erupted from his neck.

He was bluffing!

The realization slammed into Qiu Chengyi, and fury instantly boiled over.

The bastard had pretended to summon the giant worm just to distract him! The true killing blow was coming from Fu Qian himself.

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Fu Qian had plunged his right hand deep into the gaping wound on Qiu Chengyi’s neck.

”Bastard!”

Now genuinely enraged, Qiu Chengyi lashed out with his massive claws, tightly wrapping them around Fu Qian.

Hahaha!

With a hoarse laugh, Qiu Chengyi dragged Fu Qian right up to his face, completely ignoring the hand still buried inside his neck.

”Very nice! I really did underestimate you!”

”To think that a piece of trash like you could actually manage to wound me.”

”But unfortunately, you overlooked one thing... compared to you, this physical body means far less to me.”

”And now, as the price for your ambush, you have fallen right into my hands.”

Compared to Liang Yuntian, Fu Qian’s physical durability was vastly inferior. Caught in the crushing grip of the giant claws, blood began bursting from his body almost instantly.

”Actually, I understand things far better than you do!”

Despite being crushed, he still managed to squeeze out a weak response.

At the same time, Fu Qian pushed his right hand a little deeper, finally touching something different.

The very next moment, Qiu Chengyi’s expression visibly froze.

”Feel that? It’s actually the exact opposite. The physical body means far less to me than it does to you.”

Fu Qian smiled as he watched Qiu Chengyi’s body instantly go rigid.

He was absolutely certain he had disturbed the parasite inside Qiu Chengyi, and clearly, this had dealt a shock to Qiu Chengyi’s misplaced perception.

It was a sensation Fu Qian had experienced for himself not long ago, and the memory was still quite fresh.

And because of the difference in their mental states, the shock this one received would only be greater.

Right now, as long as Qiu Chengyi wasn’t completely oblivious, he should have realized the problem—

He was no Divine Child. The real Divine Child was something else entirely, and it was right there inside his body.

All his previous self-perception of being the Divine Child was nothing but a hallucination.

This body was not some disposable shell he could cast aside at any moment; rather, it was his only one.

Squelch!

Fu Qian didn’t give Qiu Chengyi a chance. Yanking his arm back, he forcefully dragged the parasite out.

He hadn’t gotten a good look at it last time, but now he could see it clearly.

It was indeed a centipede-like insect. Black with yellow spots and a full forearm in length, it thrashed wildly in his grasp.

”Here!”

Fu Qian shoved the parasite in front of Qiu Chengyi’s face.

”As they say, form is emptiness and emptiness is form! The tidal bore arrives on the Qiantang River, and today I finally know that I am myself!”

”You—”

Qiu Chengyi’s wound was far from fatal, but the sight before him struck him like a bolt of lightning.

’Was it all an illusion? Was I just the same as those mindless beasts all along?’

’How could this happen!’

He stared fixedly at the parasite in Fu Qian’s hand. Suddenly, a realization hit him, and his pupils dilated.

”You’re also—”

”That’s right. Me too.”

Fu Qian looked at him with a smile.

”But I’ve already succeeded in shattering the void.”

”Impossible!”

A moment later, Qiu Chengyi unleashed a frenzied roar.

”Absolutely impossible! This is an illusion!”

”Give me back my body!”

Fu Qian ignored him, squeezing his hand tightly in an attempt to crush the parasite, but nothing happened.

In fact, he had been trying to crush it the entire time, but the creature was incredibly tough.

”Haha, a mortal could never destroy my divine vessel! Give it back to me!”

Witnessing this, Qiu Chengyi let out a shrill laugh and tightened his grip.

”Sure, you can have it back!”

Feeling his bones rapidly snapping, Fu Qian stopped trying to crush the bug and passed the parasite over to Qiu Chengyi’s left hand.

Unfortunately, Qiu Chengyi’s left hand was currently holding onto a severed head with an insatiable appetite.

Seeing the delectable meal delivered right to its mouth, the head unhesitatingly clamped its jagged teeth around it, releasing its long-suppressed desire.

With a crunch, fluids splattered everywhere.