Heaven-Soaring Hatred, Mutual Destruction!

"Worker"—what a curious term.

In a place like the Main God Space, where everyone is for themselves and driven by selfishness, there is perhaps only room for teammates, not for workers and their employers.

However, the Third Great Purge caused more than just a massive death toll among reincarnators; it also introduced numerous restrictions and a significant increase in the difficulty of plot bosses.

With boss strength surging and difficulty rising, the number of participating reincarnators had to increase accordingly. Not to mention the extreme difficulty of constructing team missions, the ten-member cap for teams made them woefully inadequate for many large-scale boss battles. Under these circumstances, the "worker" was born.

Workers are generally elites among solo reincarnators. They possess extraordinary strength, but because they lack the support of a team, they cannot farm certain key bosses.

At such times, teams act as employers, recruiting them to contribute during boss fights. Once the boss is toppled, the spoils are shared, and everyone is happy.

Of course, that is the official narrative. In reality, the vast majority of workers exist in a state of exploitation; if the team eats the meat, the workers are lucky to get a sip of the broth.

This is an unavoidable reality. If everyone possessed the strength and means of Su Moyan, they wouldn't need to be miserable workers. For this battle against the Evil Sword Immortal, the four major teams recruited over fifty workers through various channels to face the enemy together.

However, a strategy contributed by Yao Xue, captain of the Flying Snow Team, dealt a devastating blow to the workers who had been rolling up their sleeves, determined to take down the boss.

To safely deal with the Evil Spirit Covering Heaven, this stunningly beautiful woman actually proposed turning all the workers into mindless idiots, controlled by puppet arts, to be sent forward to tank the skill!

This was a grand gesture that no one had dared to even imagine before: fifty reincarnators, all elites among the soloists of the East Asia Region, used as fodder to absorb a single boss skill!

When this plan was proposed, Lan Tianhong and Su Moyan were the first to object, but they could not withstand the questioning of Tu Qianli: if the workers were not sacrificed, how many team members would die? One had to remember that once struck by the Evil Spirit Covering Heaven, there was no returning to the Main God Space—meaning there was a real possibility of dying here.

In the end, the minority could not overcome the majority. Caught off guard, the highly vigilant workers were still ambushed by the five powerhouses of the four major teams. After clearing out a few who resisted, the suicide squads—ten people per team, divided into five waves—were finally formed.

The final form of the Evil Sword Immortal had turned blood-red, with even his eyes glowing with a heart-stopping crimson light. Compared to his previous two states, his intelligence was clearly clouded; this was his only weakness, otherwise, the reincarnators would never have dared to use such a tactic against him.

The ten workers rushed forward like marionettes. While the Evil Spirit Covering Heaven was terrifyingly fierce, it was naturally ineffective against idiots who possessed no thoughts whatsoever.

Seeing the skill fail, the enraged Evil Sword Immortal unleashed his sword techniques. The ten dazed workers, unable to dodge, were instantly transformed into a sky full of blood mist. In the distance, Lan Tianhong and Su Moyan showed expressions of unbearable pity, but these were quickly replaced by determination. Things had reached this point; defeating the Evil Sword Immortal and entering the Fourth Difficulty was the top priority, as only then could they slightly mitigate the negative effects of this incident.

Otherwise, once word of this spread, the five powerhouses of the four major teams would become the sinners of the East Asia Region, becoming street rats that everyone wanted to beat, and no one would ever dare to cooperate with them again.

This strategy was not only ruthless toward the workers, but was it not also a "burn the boats" ultimatum to everyone else present? It was a pity that Yao Xue, usually known as the Lingbo Fairy, possessed such a venomous heart. For a moment, many gazes of fear and disdain swept toward the Flying Snow captain, yet she remained unmoved, watching the scene with a calm expression.

Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, the battle had to continue. With Lan Tianhong, protected by the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, acting as the main tank to absorb the Evil Sword Slash, and a Ghost Soul Corpse Demon raised by the Dead Soul Team acting as the off-tank, the situation gradually began to clear.

100%--80%--60%--40%--22%!

After four instances of the Evil Spirit Covering Heaven, the area around the Evil Sword Immortal was littered with corpses and rivers of blood, evoking a deep sense of cruelty and sorrow. Aside from the final batch of workers, fewer than twenty reincarnators remained on the scene. Almost all were drenched in sweat and heavily wounded, yet their faces were filled with excitement and anticipation.

This was the closest they had ever come to success since they began pioneering. The only remaining obstacle was the berserk state of the Evil Sword Immortal once his health dropped below 20%. As long as they could focus their fire and burn him down quickly, this chasm that stood before all reincarnators in the East Asia Region would finally be broken!

But just then, a sudden change occurred!

Among the last ten workers tasked with blocking the Evil Spirit Covering Heaven, a man with tiger-like eyes and sharp, heroic brows suddenly drew his sword. A peerlessly agile sword light flashed, and a member of the Dead Soul Team spat blood, roaring, "Audacious! You dare to sever my Spirit Control Thread? Do you know if you're living or dying?"

What a joke. You are controlling people to go to their deaths, yet you won't allow them to fight back for their lives?

Such shameless words caused Su Moyan and the others to frown slightly, but the most critical issue now was that this worker had broken free from control. The reincarnators on the scene hurriedly stopped their output against the Evil Sword Immortal, keeping his health precariously at the 21% mark, and turned in unison to look at the worker who had caused the incident.

"Gao Xu? It's him!"

"Hmph, the 'Gold Medal Worker'? He certainly has some tricks up his sleeve, but this man is also remarkably patient to have exploded at this moment. I'm afraid this won't end well!"

"I remember he was recruited by Yao Xue. Heh, there's a good show to watch. Let's see how that woman resolves this."

The reincarnators whispered among themselves, only to see Yao Xue knit her brows. Just as she was about to step forward, she was blocked by Lin Feng.

It was common knowledge that Lin Feng, captain of the Dead Soul Team, lusted after Yao Xue and had pursued her several times. At this moment, he was surely stepping up for his lady.

"Gao Xu, what are you doing? Do you have any sense of the big picture? Our entire East Asia Region is giving its all to kill this boss, and you dare to drag your feet? Do you want to become a sinner to the entire region?" When Lin Feng spoke, his tone was remarkably similar to that of his team member, though far more sophisticated. He piled high-sounding accusations onto Gao Xu; if the others present didn't know the full story, they might have been misled by his righteous attitude. His ability to invert black and white was truly high-level.

Who would have thought that Gao Xu's face would remain calm, neither sad nor happy? He ignored Lin Feng entirely and turned his gaze to a spot not far behind him, smiling, "Brother Shadow Assassin, you can compete with me. Will you manage to restrain me first, or will I send these companions—who are destined to die sooner or later—on their way first?"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people's eyes flickered. Where Gao Xu was looking, an illusory figure indeed drifted out, spreading his hands and slowly backing away, signaling he had no malice.

Shadow Assassin was a top-tier assassin in the Flying Snow Team, moving silently like a ghost. No one knew how Gao Xu had detected him.

"Heh heh heh... Hahahahahaha!" Seeing Shadow Assassin forced back with a few words, Gao Xu suddenly threw his head back and laughed. The misery and sorrow in his laughter were moving. "Truly a bunch of spineless cowards. Are you so afraid just because the puppets meant to die for you are going to meet their end early?"

"Gao Xu, don't get cocky, I tell you..." Lin Feng, having been ignored and then mocked, could not endure it. He flew into a rage and began to threaten him, only to be stopped by Yao Xue.

As this recognized beauty of the Main God Space stepped forward, the scene fell silent. Her soft, gentle voice rang out, seemingly capable of soothing any enraged soul: "Brother Gao, you are a veteran worker who has helped us a great deal. If not for being forced into a corner, we would not have resorted to such desperate measures. Now that you have broken the spell and regained your senses, it is a fortunate thing. I swear here and now that the past will not be mentioned again. Come, join us and fight the boss..."

"Helped you a great deal... helped you a great deal..." Gao Xu repeated the words a few times. His expression calmed down, but his tone grew increasingly low. "Yao Xue, it's a wonder you can even say that. Two years. We've known each other for two whole years. How much hard work have I put in for you! I know... I know that while you are polite to me on the surface, you have always looked down on me in your heart. You think I'm just a lowly worker, working hard to farm bosses for your team, and when you're happy, you toss me a bone, and I'm expected to gnaw on it with delight! Heh..."

Gao Xu shook his head, looking at the piles of bones beside the Evil Sword Immortal, his eyes seemingly filled with disbelief. "This boss battle is a life-or-death struggle for us workers, extremely dangerous. Who doesn't know that? But why did so many people come? Do you think it was all for the sake of your four major teams? Or hoping to share in the purple equipment dropped after defeating the Evil Sword Immortal? What a joke! Your slogans were loud, but ask yourself, how much of it was genuine emotion? We were truly here for the East Asia Region to break through the barrier of the Third Difficulty, for the honor of the entire region! So we wouldn't be bullied and mocked by those foreign devils! But what did everyone get? Cannon fodder! Cannon fodder turned into idiots! Yao Xue, your actions are perverse and have incurred the wrath of heaven and man. You will absolutely meet a miserable end!!!!!!"

After Gao Xu finished his heart-wrenching words, everyone present was moved. Even the murderous Tu Qianli remained silent.

Yao Xue's pretty face flushed red, and she seemed somewhat ashamed, but the irritation and ruthless indifference that rose in her snow-misty eyes flashed and vanished. She might have been able to fool others, but she could not deceive Gao Xu at this moment.

Gao Xu possessed extraordinary strength and was hailed as the number one soloist under Su Moyan; this was no empty reputation. If not for a past disaster, he would certainly be a member of one of the four major teams today, and this dispute would never have occurred.

Yao Xue had always presented a kind image, and her inner arrogance and contempt were only occasionally revealed and well-hidden. But Gao Xu's direct cursing was more than she could take. Finally, she could not help but reveal a glimpse of her true face, threatening him in a soft tone: "Then what do you want? Do you want me to capture your soul and hand it over to those evil-path plot characters to refine into a magic treasure, so you can never be reincarnated? Is that your wish?"

"What do I want? It's simple..." Gao Xu raised an eyebrow. In that instant, his expression was indescribably ferocious and terrifying, filled with resentment toward heaven and earth. "I want you to not only fall short of success but also accompany us to the grave!!!"

Yao Xue pursed her lips and smiled, revealing a trace of disdain. If Gao Xu were to use a ruthless hand and kill the last batch of workers early, it might lead to no one being there to absorb the final Evil Spirit Covering Heaven, causing the boss battle to fail—that was a possibility. But the talk of "accompanying them to the grave" was a complete joke.

Any one of the reincarnators present could easily best Gao Xu. Everyone was only wary of him causing trouble; as for mutual destruction, did he even have the qualifications?

Whether he had the qualifications or not, Gao Xu soon proved it with his actions.

"Summon the Nine Abyss Nether Infant, reverse the flow of the Two Poles, invoke the fierce gods of the four directions, scatter the seven souls and eight spirits..."

Gao Xu pointed his sword at the sky and let out a long roar. Dark clouds instantly gathered over Shushan, the atmosphere so heavy it felt as if it were about to crush them.

"Eight Forbidden Laws of Heaven-Extinction? Hmph, playing with curses before This Seat? You are merely showing off your meager skills before an expert!" Yao Xue sneered inwardly, not alarmed but delighted. She shouted sharply, "I don't fear you dragging us down with you; I only fear you stalling for time... Shadow Assassin, why haven't you moved yet?"

Shadow Assassin, who had been holding back for a long time, immediately rushed to Gao Xu's side. Instead of attacking the enemy, he threw out several silk threads from both hands, entangling the remaining nine laborers. With a pull and a flick, they were controlled by the other supporting reincarnators and sent hurtling toward the side of Evil Sword Immortal.

Lan Tianhong understood the intent immediately. With one move of Bride's Blood Slaughter, he reduced Evil Sword Immortal's health to 20%. A member of the Blood Slaughter team with the lowest combat power stepped forward to fill the gap Gao Xu had left behind. The final Evil Spirit Covering Heaven was finally weathered!

The reincarnators from the four teams breathed a collective sigh of relief. When they looked again at Gao Xu, who seemed unaware of his surroundings, their eyes were filled with undisguised killing intent.

Since it had reached this point, regardless of who was in the wrong initially, standing in the position of the four elite teams, Gao Xu had to die. In this space, the strong exercising the power of life and death over the weak was just that cruel and unreasonable!

In truth, they didn't even need to strike; Gao Xu, having forcibly cast the Heaven-Extinction Forbidden Law, was already beyond saving. This could be seen from the expression on Yao Xue's face. She was now focused entirely on defense, as she anticipated a ninety percent chance that Gao Xu's suicidal, mutually destructive ultimate move would land on her.

Possessing various defensive items, Yao Xue was naturally unafraid. At worst, she would use that exceptionally precious Yujia Boundary Sealing Talisman; her survival was guaranteed. Once Gao Xu perished by his own hand and she killed Evil Sword Immortal, she would still be the number one contributor of the East Asia Region!

"Reflecting the sun and moon's dual brilliance, dancing through a thousand feet of absolute fiend-energy, I offer my soul as a pact, gods and demons share this spirit..."

As the chanting of the spell faded, the sword held high suddenly erupted with supreme sword momentum. The black clouds gathered in the firmament were torn asunder, and the sword qi soared to the nine heavens. To think that channeling sword qi with the forbidden law Absolute Heaven Nether Fiend could possess such earth-shattering divine power!

Gao Xu lacked the strength to fully control the forbidden law. Before the move could reach its zenith, the backlash had already begun. His eyes turned a bizarre, pale blue, spitting out an intensely thick killing intent!

"Absolute Heaven! Nether Fiend! Sword!"

The moment the sword move was officially unleashed, the surrounding space seemed to begin collapsing. Countless wild demonic flames spreading from the void gathered like layers of light upon the blade in Gao Xu's hand, and he himself was shrouded in a mass of deathly black mist.

Seeing the sword, now gathered with heaven-filling demonic intent, take shape, all the reincarnators stood on high alert, terrified that Gao Xu's target might be them. Various return items were already soaked by the sweat overflowing from their palms.

Yet, Gao Xu once again exceeded everyone's expectations. His sword, brimming with chilling demonic intent, was not aimed at Yao Xue, nor was it swung at any of the reincarnators before him. Instead, it turned straight downward, slashing toward the ground of Shushan!

BOOM!

In an instant, streaks of sword marks spread, erupting from the cracked earth. The battlefield for the showdown with Evil Sword Immortal was the Sword Qi Platform on the western mountain range of Shushan, built specifically for disciples to practice sword-control techniques.

Yet, this massive Sword Qi Platform was now being torn apart by the dark sword qi, ground into rubble and dust. The momentum did not stop there; wave after wave of competing energy shockwaves surged like a tide, carrying the scent of death as they slammed into Shushan.

"No! He is trying to trigger the Three Sovereigns Artifacts barrier of Shushan..." As Gao Xu attacked Shushan like a madman, Yao Xue was stunned for a moment before a flash of realization crossed her mind. Her beautiful face changed drastically for the first time, and she shouted loudly.

But before she could finish her words, three vast and peerless auras surged from the Three Sovereigns Platform of Shushan. The Fuxi Sword, Nuwa Stone, and Shennong Cauldron—these three artifacts left behind by the ancient Three Sovereigns—were one of the sources of Shushan's spiritual power and the final force protecting the sect.

Because it involved the very foundation of Shushan, even with the great threat of Evil Sword Immortal, the Five Elders of Shushan dared not rashly use the Three Sovereigns Artifacts. After all, no matter how fierce Evil Sword Immortal was, he had no intention of completely destroying Shushan.

But now, if Gao Xu were allowed to continue this world-destroying forbidden law, Shushan would undoubtedly suffer heavy damage. Thus, the Three Sovereigns Artifacts were finally provoked, and a mountain-protecting barrier was erected, easily blocking the impact of the sword momentum.

Logically, with Gao Xu doing this, the people of the Shushan Sect should be the ones panicking. But when the reincarnators reacted, the look of alarm on their faces was even more exaggerated than that of the Shushan disciples.

Because the Three Sovereigns Artifacts barrier was extremely stable—so stable that various items requiring spatial tearing for teleportation could not be activated!

In other words, this move of Gao Xu's had directly cut off the reincarnators' retreat. At this moment, they were truly in danger of falling!

"Gao Xu, you are very good. Don't think that casting a forbidden law will allow you to escape the fate of having your soul extracted and spirit seized. Die for me!" Yao Xue was practically gnashing her teeth. Staring at Gao Xu, whose body was already mostly turning into nothingness, she began to form seals and chants with her hands, clearly intending to fulfill her earlier promise to make him wish he were dead.

"Can't take it anymore?" Gao Xu looked at her with interest, his face overflowing with the relief and satisfaction of a great revenge about to be fulfilled. "The main event is what comes next! Blood Fiend Ghost Vessel, come out!"

The blood-red vessel floated out from Gao Xu's storage space. In Yao Xue's disbelieving gaze, it rushed toward the now-frenzied Evil Sword Immortal with lightning speed.

Then, as the blood light expanded and contracted, the whole world suddenly fell silent, leaving only Gao Xu's final, wild laughter:

"The greatest masterpiece of Nether Emperor Danyin, combined with the most evil Evil Sword Immortal in the world—bloom with your most powerful radiance, and then... destroy everything before you! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Impossible, this is the Blood Fiend Ghost Vessel, the item with the lowest drop rate from Nether Emperor Danyin. How could Gao Xu have it? How could he possibly have it?!" Lin Feng covered his mouth, seemingly realizing something. A look of frantic terror appeared on his face, and he turned his body, immediately rushing toward the outside of the Sword Qi Platform.

Not just him; all the reincarnators who knew what the Blood Fiend Ghost Vessel was turned pale. Abandoning everything at hand, their only action was to turn and run!

Run! Run! Run!

At this moment, they only hated that their parents hadn't given them two more legs!

"Run... with the Three Sovereigns barrier in place, where can you run to?" Only Yao Xue stared fixedly at Gao Xu, deep despair and unwillingness rising in her eyes. Her beautiful face was full of ferocity. "Blood Fiend Ghost Vessel... very good, very good indeed! Before this, if someone had told me that all the top experts of the East Asia Region would fall at the hands of a mere laborer, I would never have believed it! Gao Xu, you hid yourself too deeply, you will not have a good death!!!"

The Blood Fiend Ghost Vessel was a demonic evil object refined by Nether Emperor Danyin in the world of Legend of Sword and Fairy: Ghost Realm using the souls of sixty-four aborted fetuses, cast with the "Nine Resentments Transformation Technique." Its power was even greater than the forbidden law Gao Xu had previously released. Aided by this item, the evil-incarnate Evil Sword Immortal underwent a heaven-defying change in strength. Not only were his previous injuries fully healed, but his power climbed violently, becoming a true Tier 4 boss in a short time!

Lan Tianhong, the captain of the Ghost Savage Team who had been steadfastly holding back Evil Sword Immortal, was reduced to dust by a light sweep of the evil sword. At this moment, the evil sword had transformed into a giant blade several zhang long. It had no technique to speak of, only pure, world-destroying evil killing intent, yet it was already truly...

Invincible!

Yao Xue propped up the Yujia Boundary Sealing Talisman, barely resisting the impact of the evil sword, but her rapidly depleting mana could not sustain it for long.

With a heart full of gloom, Yao Xue scanned the area blankly, only to find that Gao Xu, who had only half a head left, was still staring straight at her, as if he would only be willing to die once he had seen her death with his own eyes.

"You destroyed everything I had, how could I let you die in peace?!" Knowing there was no hope of survival, Yao Xue unleashed her final strength. While she still had some mana left, she voluntarily removed the Yujia Boundary Sealing Talisman. With a wave of her fair hand, a curse shattered Gao Xu's head into pieces. His soul drifted out, soon to dissipate into heaven and earth due to the backlash of the forbidden law, never to be reincarnated.

"What a pity, this way, it will be to the benefit of those arrogant foreign devils from the Europe-America Region..." Yao Xue did not know that Gao Xu had long since lost consciousness, and her final thought was truly and genuinely for the sake of the East Asia Region!

******

When all the confident reincarnators had fallen under the evil sword, the aura of Evil Sword Immortal finally gradually weakened, reverting to a Tier 3 boss. After all, the Blood Fiend Ghost Vessel was only a one-time item and could not provide energy to Evil Sword Immortal indefinitely.

The late-arriving protagonist Jing Tian and his party encountered Evil Sword Immortal, who acted as if nothing had happened, and everything returned to the proper track of the game's plot.

Only after the great battle, above the sky of Shushan, a voice filled with indifference and a hint of surprise faintly echoed:

"Eh, why has the Six Paths of Reincarnation opened? Could it be that Demon Lord Chonglou is plotting something again? I must return quickly to report to the Heavenly Emperor!"