Chapter 585: The Shadow’s Embrace

Rustling…

A gigantic black shadow, centered at Lu Xin’s feet, spread outward in an instant, transforming the abandoned town into something unrecognizable.

Shadows seeped everywhere, enveloping all things and instilling an eerie silence.

Within that silence, only a fine rustling sound was heard.

It was as if countless silkworms were nibbling on mulberry leaves – a faint sound that sent an inexplicable chill down the spine.

Although the town was deserted by people, wild grass, trees, hidden small creatures, and even hibernating snakes and insects still teemed with life. Yet once the shadow took over, everything changed in an instant.

Dry leaves were silently crushed into dust, while even a hint of blue from the pines and cypresses withered immediately.

Wires and steel bars were quickly blanketed in thick rust, and yellowed photos beneath layers of spiderwebs blurred beyond recognition.

A trembling little creature’s heart pounded violently before it quietly expired.

Even the hibernating snakes and insects began to rot without anyone noticing.

The entire abandoned town was being swallowed by darkness, as if it were sinking into a black marsh.

And as the darkness spread, Father’s will completely dominated the town.

This was a temporary method to grant Father the freedom to unleash his power. Lu Xin had used it once in Water Buffalo City against the gods of High Table, and repeating it now made him acutely aware of Father’s terrifying might—a dread so extreme it promised utter annihilation, turning the town into a domain symbolizing the end of life.

Lu Xin even mused to himself, ‘I must have some talent…’

‘Isn’t the kitchen the very place that consumes life the most?’

…

With that thought, Lu Xin took a deep breath and looked up into the town.

Countless mental entities scattered by the Hell’s Messenger were all around.

No one could tell how many people this Hell’s Messenger had converted at the start.

But once those transformed into Mental Monsters, its power had begun to wane.

It ceaselessly passed through various settlements, polluting—or rather absorbing—others’ mental energy to maintain its own psychic balance, much like human cells that die and regenerate in batches.

Now, it was impossible to count just how many pale mental entities existed.

In a desperate bid to survive, they abandoned their main bodies and scattered like exploding fireworks in every direction.

They still resembled living humans.

Their movements mimicked climbing and running, yet they could squeeze through the narrowest cracks like flowing water.

Skulking about, the abandoned town had become a living nightmare—a ghost domain come to life.

It was nearly impossible to capture them all.

Killing a lion with bare hands might be feasible, but who could possibly catch a swarm of ants with bare hands?

Fortunately, Lu Xin could seize an entire village.

The spreading black shadow instantly engulfed the whole village. Under the Red Moon, what was once vaguely visible within ten meters, with outlines discernible beyond that, suddenly plunged into complete darkness—crumbling buildings and empty doorways were swallowed whole.

Terrified and confused, the pale mental entities lifted their gazes amid the ruins as darkness surged around them.

From deep within a towering tide of darkness, they seemed to glimpse a tall figure with mocking, cold eyes, fixated on them like a predator before slowly emerging and extending a hand…

“Ah…”

A piercing, otherworldly scream echoed throughout the abandoned town.

The pale mental entities emitted a sharp mental pulse that rapidly expanded outward.

Even some of the shadows were forced to retreat at the sound.

Summoning the strongest will of their lives, the pale entities desperately scattered in all directions…

“Hahahaha…”

Yet as they trembled in fear, those eyes in the darkness grew even more excited, emitting a hollow, ecstatic laugh. Then, robust arms emerged from every corner of the town and seized their necks.

“Pah-pah-pah…”

Like countless bursting bubbles, the pale mental entities caught by those black arms disintegrated one after the other.

They were too fragile, collapsing the moment the shadow touched them.

In an instant, it was impossible to count how many mental entities shattered and disappeared under the assault of the dark shadow.

“Hmm?”

Lu Xin paused, stunned by the scene.

Soon, a twinge of panic set in.

He remembered that he was there to assist the Research Institute with the capture, not to silence them…

“Be careful…”

He urgently warned Father, his voice edged with anxiety, “Grab them all, or else…”

“Oh, oh, my apologies…”

Father, sounding slightly guilty, murmured softly. Meanwhile, the black shadow that had engulfed the town began to shift—expanding to cover the entire area before rapidly contracting and overlapping along the edges, wrapping around the relatively intact buildings and towering trees like giant black colossi gradually opening their eyes.

They fixed their blood-red, cold gazes upon the pale mental entities within the town.

Under that intense scrutiny, the pale mental entities froze, as if transformed into semi-transparent white statues.

Then, in a commanding, low tone, an authoritative voice ordered, “Return…”

…

…

“Swish-swash…”

At the moment that commanding presence resonated through the darkness, all the pale mental entities panicked.

Like startled white minnows, they darted back—one after another converging in front of Lu Xin. They flooded into the abandoned black robe lying on the ground until, gradually, the robe began to lift from its slump, taking on a vague humanoid form and slowly growing taller.

It was unclear what strange material composed that black robe; innumerable mental entities crammed inside without even seeming to mind the cramped space.

The Hell’s Messenger had returned.

From the gaps in its black robe, countless faces and eyes peered out, fixated on Lu Xin.

In their gaze, they saw a young man with pitch-black eyes facing them, offering a faint smile.

With a swift ‘whoosh’, all the pale mental entities recoiled, trembling.

As the Hell’s Messenger examined itself, Lu Xin mirrored its scrutiny. Once it retracted into the black robe, it no longer resembled a scatter of broken mental entities but reformed into a cohesive whole.

Yet its once imposing height of three or four meters had shrunk to barely a meter, with only a head visible.

And it trembled, completely devoid of the commanding presence it had when it first arrived in the abandoned town.

Having witnessed the earlier chaos, Lu Xin realized that this was not just any Mental Monster—it was a convergence of mental entities. He had seen fragmented Mental Monsters before, but this one was different; while others were indivisible, this one could seemingly disassemble…

So what bound them all together into one entity?

Was it that peculiar black robe?

It appeared to be composed of a unique mental force, almost possessing the tangible texture of real fabric.

Sighing, he thought, living beings turned into Mental Monsters…

Lu Xin shook his head. There were simply too many monsters and deranged souls in this world.

…

…

“Why do you all run when you see me?”

Once nearly all the fleeing mental entities had entered the robe, Lu Xin turned his gaze toward it, frowning slightly:

“Am I really that terrifying?”

The mental entity trembled, unable to answer and shuddering instead.

“Also…”

Recalling something, Lu Xin added, “I heard that when you were outside Heichao City, you insulted me?”

Swish…

The black robe nearly fell apart once again.

All the mental entities panicked as complex murmurs erupted from the surrounding air.

To human ears, these murmurs sounded like auditory hallucinations—innumerable voices flooding into the mind, with mental radiation tangling into an indecipherable turbulence that further muddled one’s thoughts.

Was this their way of explaining something?

Lu Xin hesitated to press further, fearing he might shatter it completely.

“Return now!”

Once it was clear that the Hell’s Messenger had been captured, he looked toward the distant Father and declared.

“Swish-swash…”

The black shadow that had engulfed the entire abandoned village, upon receiving Lu Xin’s command, quickly contracted, sliding off the buildings and tall trees to merge into a river of darkness at his feet before coalescing into a faint silhouette under the Red Moon—as if nothing had happened.

Lu Xin, just as calm, turned and looked at the Hell’s Messenger.

The black particles in his eyes vanished, restoring them to a clear, stark contrast of black and white.

Smiling, he formally addressed the Hell’s Messenger, “You’ve been captured because you participated in a soul transaction.”

“Do you have any objections?”

“…”

The Hell’s Messenger trembled, too fearful to voice any objection.

Nearby, the Dragon Team Leader and the armed personnel stood dumbfounded beside Lu Xin, witnessing the overwhelming mental power, the Hell’s Messenger’s escape, and its subsequent brutal recapture.

Every moment defied their wildest imaginations, leaving them in a state of incomprehensible awe.

For the Dragon Team Leader, who had always thought Lu Xin a bit abnormal for disrupting his mission in town—enough to warrant silencing him—and later, upon realizing Lu Xin’s power even overran his Six Senses Mask, his ultimate trump card, it only confirmed that Lu Xin’s parasitic item was far more potent than he had ever imagined.

When the Hell’s Messenger arrived, it was doomed to misfortune.

Then he witnessed Lu Xin’s indescribable power as he directly grasped the Hell’s Messenger.

And with that, the Dragon Team Leader completely collapsed, plunging into an abyss of despair.

In his mind, one thought reverberated: “Did I just provoke a god who borrowed fire from me?”