Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Sacrifice

At the Apostle’s miserable state, a chill ran through everyone’s bones.

Because its appearance here could only mean one thing.

… And that Li Feng had been defeated.

The thought alone made the air feel heavy.

But what confused them even more was the sight before them.

That terrifying giant monster seemed to be… crying.

And it was crying for her.

Yue Lan’s fingers tightened around the hilt of the Ice Jade Sword until her knuckles turned pale.

Her breathing grew uneven as a strange turmoil rose in her chest.

She gritted her teeth.

For some reason, her emotions were becoming increasingly chaotic.

Anger, confusion, guilt… everything crashed together inside her heart.

Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“…What is wrong with you?”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“What do you want from me?!”

By the end, she was shouting.

But the Apostle didn’t react to her words at all.

It only continued reaching toward her slowly, its massive arm stretching forward while its sobbing pyramid heads stared directly at her.

Seeing this, Yue Lan felt her chest tighten in frustration.

Everything had become such a mess that she could barely understand what was happening anymore.

That thing kept staring at her…reaching for her… calling for her.

And yet it had also tried to kill her again and again.

None of it made sense.

And now… Li Feng was gone.

Because he stayed behind.

Because he chose to protect her.

The thought of his death stabbed into her heart.

She knew the truth that Li Feng had only come to this place because of her.

And she had been the one who invited him in the first place, hoping to repay some of the debts she owed him.

Instead…. he had lost his life protecting her.

Her chest burned as anger, helplessness, and a crushing guilt she couldn’t even describe began to build inside her.

The more she thought about it, the more those dark thoughts flooded her mind until they finally burst out of her.

“Enough!”

SLASH!

Yue Lan swung her sword with all her strength, unleashing a powerful crescent of icy light that tore through the air and crashed into the Apostle’s massive body.

BOOM!

Frost exploded outward as the slash struck.

But when the mist faded…

The Apostle remained completely unharmed.

It didn’t even seem to notice the attack.

It simply continued crawling toward her, its broken body dragging across the ground as it stretched a trembling hand toward her… still crying.

[…Please… you… promised us… a beautiful… future.]

Hearing that incomprehensible nonsense, Yue Lan’s cold face twisted with frustration.

Her grip on the sword trembled slightly as the chaos in her heart only grew worse.

Nothing it said made any sense.

Yet those strange words still stirred something in her chest, making her emotions even more unstable.

But then—

An old voice suddenly pierced through her mind, snapping her slightly back to her senses.

“Don’t listen to it! Those things can amplify your emotions!”

The old man’s face darkened as he looked at everyone around him.

Without them realizing it, a dark mist had already begun to coil around them, suffusing the air with a stifling pressure.

Seeing this, he gritted his teeth.

With the little power he had left, the old man forced his fading soul to gather what remained of his spiritual energy.

A faint glow began to spread from his translucent form.

“Clear your minds!” he shouted.

A wave of pale light burst outward from him, sweeping across the tunnel like a gust of wind.

Hiss—

The moment the light touched the dark mist, it began to dissolve like frost under sunlight.

Thin strands of black vapor twisted violently before dispersing into nothing.

The pressure in the air immediately weakened.

Yue Lan’s body stiffened.

Everyone else also began pulling themselves back from their own emotional turmoil.

They couldn’t help but stare at the Apostle with eyes full of fear.

None of them had expected that it had already ensnared them in its grasp without them even noticing.

Yue Lan’s chaotic breathing slowly steadied as the suffocating emotions in her chest began to loosen.

The burning anger and crushing guilt that had overwhelmed her moments ago still lingered… but they no longer blinded her.

They were still there, simmering beneath the surface but at least now she could think clearly.

Her pupils trembled..only now did she realize how unnatural those emotions had been.

The old man’s voice echoed out again, but it sounded weaker this time, as if he had already exhausted most of his strength.

“These creatures also feed on negative emotions! The more unstable your mind becomes, the stronger their influence will be!”

His tone was grim.

“That thing isn’t just attacking your body… it’s trying to break your mind.”

Ahead of them, the Apostle continued crawling slowly across the ground.

Its massive body dragged heavily against the stone floor as its trembling arm stretched toward Yue Lan once more.

Those pyramid heads were still sobbing.

Still staring at her.

[…Please… don’t… leave us…]

Yue Lan’s grip on the Ice Jade Sword slowly tightened again.

But this time… her eyes had regained a trace of cold clarity.

Without another word, she spun on her heel and bolted.

“Everyone, run!”

Shui Ruo and the others didn’t waste another word.

They immediately followed behind her, sprinting toward the distant light.

Within moments, they had already put some distance between themselves and the Apostle.

[..No… NOO!!..]

The Apostle roared, crawling frantically, as if it were watching its last hope vanish.

Its limbs clawed at the ground, dragging black liquid and debris.

The tunnel walls trembled from its desperate movements.

CRACK…

CRACK…

CRACK…

Suddenly, the tunnel walls began to crack as more black water burst out, gushing like blood from an open wound.

Stone began to fall from the walls and ceiling as if the entire tunnel was about to collapse.

Yue Lan’s boots slipped in the slick mixture, but she didn’t slow down.

She could hear the others panting behind her, their footsteps chaotic and uneven.

“Move! Faster!” Yue Lan shouted, her voice barely audible over the roar of collapsing stone.

The old man floated in front of them, his translucent form flickering as he pushed his remaining energy into keeping the dark mist at bay.

The Apostle’s sobbing continued…distorted and horrific, mixing with the roar of falling rocks and rushing water.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Its heavy crawling grew louder, the sound of its dragging limbs like thunder rolling through the tunnel.

It was coming for them, relentless, desperate, and somehow… almost mournful.

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