"According to our agreement, Hua Changdeng, you belong to me now."
Bei Huai's voice suddenly echoed through his mental world on the verge of collapse, like a demon's whisper layered upon itself.
This was the final straw that broke the camel's back! No...
Hua Changdeng's pupils lost focus as he looked around in panic.
The pattering rain by his ears grew louder, and the world turned bizarre and grotesque. In an instant, he found himself on the muddy roads of the Sorrowful Emperor Realm.
"Welcome, welcome~"
"The Yunshan Holy Emperor is here! Everyone, come out and welcome him~"
The flowers, grass, and trees by the road cried out in the delighted voices of young children, each manifesting a face identical to Bei Huai's.
From left to right! From top to bottom! In a single instant, faces filled Hua Changdeng's entire field of vision, and an all-encompassing pressure crashed down on him.
With a bang, the entire world shattered back into Hundun.
The Sorrowful Emperor Realm was gone. The tiny self looked up into the void, where only the Great World Locust Tree stood, towering into the heavens.
Beneath the Old Locust Tree stood a bare-footed figure in white robes.
The branches and leaves of the locust tree's crown intertwined, sketching an ancient face so lifelike it seemed alive.
"HUA! CHANG! DENG!"
The thunderous shout exploded from every direction.
Clearly, the Great World Locust Tree had not moved. Nor had the white-robed figure beneath it.
Yet voices pierced into his mind, intermittent and fragmented, stirring countless memories:
"You have no chance left..."
"If you succeed on this journey to the Holy Spirit Continent, unite with the Dao and ascend as an Ancestor, then you may stand shoulder to shoulder with us."
"Medicine-Bei is not an enemy. What lies between us can