Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal?

Chapter 856.15: The Statue of Chong Li

…Ignoring the two great immortals being pummeled by the two bronze statues, Chen Huaian led the group straight toward the palace on the floating peak.

This stretch of road wasn't short, but no monsters jumped out halfway either.

Crossing the threshold of the main hall, they were met with a vast, desolate space permeated with an ancient and murderous aura.

The hall did not enshrine the myriad gods and buddhas. Only a solitary statue stood in the very center.

That statue was not some three-headed, six-armed deity, but a human military general clad in tattered armor, holding a broken spear.

Though it was a stone carving, it was rendered with lifelike detail, especially the eyes. They were not looking toward the hall's entrance but were instead fixedly staring at the empty void above. The corners of the eyes were cracked, as if bloody tears had flowed, and within them burned a raging fire of wrath and unwillingness that had not been extinguished even after ten thousand years.

"Hiss—! This… this thing looks even fiercer than those two Door Gods just now?"

Wang Shouyi had just wanted to get closer for a look when the fierce, tragic killing intent emanating from the statue made him shiver uncontrollably. He instinctively retreated three paces, hiding behind Zhang Yibai. "Senior Zhang, this thing won't come to life too, will it? This aura… if it really 'came alive,' the four of us probably wouldn't be enough for him to poke with one spear."

"Do not speak nonsense. This is merely a dead object." Zhang Yibai frowned, his fingers lightly tracing over the mottled marks on the statue's pedestal. "Moreover, judging by the style of this armor—ancient, simple, and rugged—it doesn't resemble the current style of the immortals. It seems more like… the style from the legendary ancient 'Human Emperor Era.'"

Chen Huaian did not speak. He slowly walked to the front of the statue.

In his perception, this truly was just an ordinary stone statue, with no fluctuations of spiritual energy, nor any traces of mechanisms or formations.

However, the moment he stopped and stood still, a sudden change occurred.

On the grayish-white stone surface of the statue, lines of golden characters suddenly appeared.

The strokes of the characters were vigorous yet hasty, seemingly carved in a state of extreme urgency and resolve. Each character exuded a desolate, death-seeking determination.

Chen Huaian looked around. He saw Zhang Yibai and the others scattered around the hall, tapping and knocking on things here and there, clearly oblivious to these golden characters.

This was a message left for a specific person.

Perhaps left for a "kindred spirit," or perhaps, because of his special soul.

Only he could see it.

Chen Huaian focused his mind, his gaze falling upon those golden characters.

It was a letter home.

Or rather, a final testament.

[To my wife, A-Man:

Seeing these words is like seeing my face.

By the time you see this letter, I should already be gone. Do not weep. Do not search for me.

Emperor Zhuan Xu has made up his mind to carry out the act of 'Severing Heaven from Earth.'

The things above this sky are not the deities of legend who protect all living beings. They are thieves who steal the Heavenly Dao, man-eating evil ghosts!

They feed on all living beings, using the cycle of reincarnation as their plate. In their eyes, we humans are merely livestock, pigs and dogs.

Today, I will follow the Emperor to kill our way up to the Nine Heavens, sever the Jianmu tree, cut off this pathway between heaven and earth, and fight for a sliver of hope for our human race!

This journey is fraught with peril, with little chance of return.

If I do not come back, you must take the child, change your names, go to the farthest western lands, and live as ordinary mortals.

Remember, remember… never, ever cultivate immortality!

If Heaven has eyes, may we be reborn as a pair of wild deer in the mountains, unconcerned with the fate of the world, unconcerned with gods and ghosts.

Your husband, Chong Li, final testament.]

Chong Li?

Chen Huaian's pupils contracted sharply.

In ancient mythology, this was the legendary Director of Heaven who "Severed Heaven from Earth," isolating the human and divine realms—a true mythical figure.

But here, he was fighting to resist "man-eating evil gods"?

Those gods… are they the Celestial God Clan?

Before Chen Huaian could ponder further, a tremendous suction force suddenly surged from within the golden characters, instantly pulling his consciousness out of his physical shell!

Boom—!

The silence in his ears vanished instantly, replaced by deafening battle cries and the explosive clashing of metal.

Chen Huaian's eyes snapped open.

He found himself no longer standing in the empty great hall, but in the midst of a battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

He seemed to have "become" Chong Li.

The long spear in his hand was already dyed red with blood, heavy as if filled with lead.

He could clearly feel the exhaustion, the intense pain of this body, and the anger in its chest that was almost ready to explode.

Around him, countless human warriors clad in animal skins and wielding crude weapons were roaring as they charged. They used their flesh and blood to build a great wall, trying to block the inverted flow of the Heavenly River.

And their enemies…

Chen Huaian looked up, and his breath even hitched for a moment.

Could those really be called gods?!

Above the clouds, densely packed, stood a group of monsters with bizarre forms.

They were draped in golden radiant glow, their outward appearance seemingly dignified and solemn.

But deep within that halo were twisted tentacles, countless compound eyes, and writhing pale flesh.

They stood high above, wearing compassionate fake smiles on their faces, yet holding swords and knives in their hands as if enjoying a feast.

"Kill!!!"

"Chong Li" let out a roar, stepped on the void, his figure like lightning, transforming into a burning meteor as he charged into the enemy formation.

The long spear moved like a dragon, each strike carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth. It was the purest human blood and qi, not borrowing the power of heaven and earth, only seeking invincibility from oneself!

Chen Huaian felt the surging fighting spirit within this body. In that moment, he seemed to merge with this ancient god of war.

He sent a "false bodhisattva" with three heads flying, pierced through a "false heavenly king" covered in eyes.

Golden divine blood spilled down, actually corroding the earth into a pockmarked mess, emitting a sizzling, foul stench.

He didn't know how long he fought, nor how many he killed.

Until, in the end, he was the only one left standing in the entire heaven and earth.

And right then, the sky split open.

A hand so immense it defied description pierced through layers of tribulation clouds, slowly pressing down.

Upon that palm, there were no fingerprints, only countless wailing human faces. They squirmed and screamed within the palm, emanating a despair that drove one mad.

Before this giant hand, "Chong Li" was as insignificant as dust.

There was no suspense.

The long spear shattered. The physical body disintegrated.

In the final moment before death descended, Chen Huaian's consciousness was ejected, returning to the perspective of an observer.

He saw Chong Li, with only a wisp of breath remaining, let out a final unwilling roar at the giant hand from the void.

That roar traversed time and space, directly resounding in the depths of Chen Huaian's soul:

"Person of later generations… if fate allows you to see this…"

"Remember! Remember!!!"

"The gods! Must not be looked upon directly!!!"

Chong Li's remnant soul burned, gradually turning to ashes, with only the roar still echoing.

"They live in the crevices of perception… all that is seen is falsehood!"

"Once you look directly upon their true forms, your five senses will be stripped away, your perception will be tampered with, you will… become a part of them!"

"Close your eyes! Use your heart to strike!!!"

"Ah—!!!"

With one last tragic roar, the scene shattered like a mirror.

…

"Hoo…"

Chen Huaian sucked in a sharp breath, his entire person as if just pulled from deep water, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

He subconsciously tightened his grip on the sword hilt in his hand, his knuckles turning white. His heart beat violently, that sense of despair still lingering in his heart.

Looking before him again.

The empty great hall was still deathly silent. Zhang Yibai was studying a mural not far away. Wang Shouyi was hiding behind a pillar, craning his neck to peek at the statue. Gu Changsheng was wiping his own treasures.

Everything seemed as if nothing had happened.

The golden characters on the statue had vanished without a trace.

Only the statue remained, those eyes full of cracks still fixedly staring upward, as if silently narrating something.

Before, Chen Huaian did not know.

But now he knew what the statue was 'saying.'

"Must not be looked upon directly…"

Chen Huaian murmured to himself, his gaze becoming unprecedentedly grave.

Could this be one of the key methods to deal with the Celestial God Clan?

"Brother Chen? What's wrong with you? So much sweat?"

At that moment, Gu Changsheng noticed Chen Huaian's unusual state and walked over, somewhat puzzled. "Was breaking the formation just now too taxing? Why is your face so pale?"

"It's nothing."

Chen Huaian slowly released the hilt of the Black Scales Sword, let out a long, deep breath, and regained his usual calm demeanor. Only, deep within his eyes, there was now a faint, barely perceptible glint of cold light.

"I just… watched a rather long play."

…