Chapter 1269
Chapter 1269 - 1255: Newborn
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8 min read
"The Path of Life (Artifacts of World Authority)"
"Once, a man set three life goals for himself, to acquire wealth, love, and power. He succeeded, but he did not find happiness. Wealth blinded him, love betrayed him, and power devoured him. In the end, he came to this world alone and left it alone...."
"Unique authority, the pursuit of desire (Curse of Wishmaking): Make a wish and pay for it with the life of the wishmaker."
"The chase of desire: the first time a wish is made, it will be fulfilled using the life of the wisher himself; the second time a wish is made, it will use the lives of others who desire wishes; the third time a wish is made, it will fulfill the wish using the lives of all wish-seekers. As the authority of this world, this power can only be used on Mercury 42."
"The pitiful ones devoured by desire: after the three wishes are fulfilled, the Hand of Desire will make a wish by itself, using the lives involved in the first three wishes as the material."
"Life, although it always finds its own way out, is not only a key and guidance but also the most important brake and valve—Peace Road."
"Life, once it gains what’s called ’wisdom,’ always becomes greedy and shortsighted. Those who pursue desires will always be devoured by their insatiable needs—the Hand of Desire."
"PS. This item is extremely dangerous, as It harbors evil intent within it, performing a cycle of three + one wishes on its own, continuously expanding its power range, equally annihilating all intelligent life."
"Overall assessment: World-destroying Level (limited to intelligent creatures)."
"Devour it, Hungry Ghosts."
Lu Ping’an opened the door, once again releasing this "Biochemical Nuclear Bomb".
The Bloodvine spread infinitely, equally annihilating everything around.
Intelligence is always the top priority on the battlefield; the Hand of Desire is too greedy, just as its own philosophy suggests. When it greedily abandoned its original "wisher" and shifted its focus to Hua Xueyi, it naturally leaked even more intelligence.
And when Lu Ping’an came to know these things...
"Eh, why does this sound so familiar?"
While Lu Ping’an wasn’t well-versed in the domain of "Desire," "wish-fulfillment" resembled more the domain of High-Tier Scholars, but the method of actualizing wishes using life as a stake was something Lu and Big Cat were best at.
That’s why he could easily deduce the working mechanism of this power... he himself was a professional in this field!
"...using life as a wager, I am too familiar with that! So, the way to break the game is clear, devour its stakes at all costs, never let it accrue interest!" At that moment, Lu Ping’an thought about his own "Account book" and Big Cat’s "Black Holy Grail".
This time, below Lu Ping’an, the "Hungry Ghost Blood Pool" capable of destroying cities had been released.
Once it started gaining freedom and immediately went out of control, it began an infinite expansion.
The ground, rocks, and buildings were all entangled and devoured, let alone the "marionette flesh".
For it, this was a flavorless but satisfying feast!
No hindrance, no resistance, only equal destruction and devouring.
At this moment, countless "human faces" appeared simultaneously, their screams of agony echoing as they were being swallowed by the greedy Superior Predators.
Compared to the Hungry Ghosts’ "devouring," "Drawing Life" is a worthless lower-level ability.
The "Blood Pool" instantly took root, and then turned this city into its own nutrition... the moment it took its first bite, it instantly expanded dramatically.
It wasn’t because it digested so quickly, but rather, upon "tasting" the flavor, it comprehensively expanded its feeding area.
An untouchable life mist? How could there be a true invincibility when Lu Ping’an had already proven that "Burning Life Lantern" could prey upon them, there’s no reason why the Superior Complete-form Magic Plant Bloodvine couldn’t do the same.
"Eat it all, devour everything!"
If "life" is your stake, then I will simply devour it!
Lu Ping’an was ruthless; he directly smashed the gambling table the moment he started!
The world touched by the "Hand of Desire" saw its own "reserves" continuously diminishing while the predator was wildly expanding its reality.
It vaguely sensed that if it let this demon continue to hunt, the whole city would turn into a forest of Bloodvines, and all other lives would become history.
Thus, its cycle of wishes would naturally be interrupted, it would revert back to a Broken Hand, and the hunter opposite wouldn’t give it another chance...
"We make our wishes...."
Finally, what Lu Ping’an had "expected" happened; when it sensed the stakes were rapidly decreasing, the Hand of Desire pushed all in and prematurely made its third wish.
The earth continuously shook, the entire world oscillated back and forth, and countless lost souls sang their aspirations at the same time.
Who is the Wisher? Is it the puppet that is being controlled?
No, it cannot bear all this, it is simply not qualified....
"Quick, follow the plan."
Under the command of Lu Ping’an, Hua Xueyi and Eve disappeared from their spots.
Lu Ping’an was unable to define the exact scope of "wishing", and he did not know whether others could stay true to themselves, so a brief "departure from this world" was the best choice.
No matter how powerful it was, it was unlikely to directly affect another world in the courtyard.
"....we destroy....we draw all life....we achieve rebirth."
Finally, when the third wish was made, the world was rewritten again.
This time, the Wisher was "us"..... the "form of mist" life that had died and been reborn in the second wish.
It was the only qualified Wisher, and when it made a wish using Sudar as a conduit, its options were already quite limited.
After repeatedly weighing the options, it finally made a choice..... the sole answer that Lu Ping’an hoped for!
"Indeed, it’s a resurrection...."
And Lu Ping’an, who witnessed this scene, also saw all these changes.
This was his goal—for if the scope of the third wish was limited to just the current materials, the range of "wishes related to life evolution" that it could make would be extremely limited.
And among the many options, instead of wasting these "wealths", it would be better to transform them into a top-tier "combat power" resource.
"AI might not make mistakes, but because it always makes the best choices, it’s exactly why it’s best to predict."
In the current situation, the best choice for that "AI" would probably be to lump all the materials together to create a truly high-position strong life.
"Thank goodness, it’s not the other possibility..... it probably doesn’t have the Life Bombing Module."
But in Lu Ping’an’s view, the worst development would be if the AI were decisive enough to turn all the chips into "life bombs" and flatten the city directly.
If that were really the case, probably no one could handle it.
But now, seeing the earth trembling and bending slightly and the mist rapidly condensing, Lu Ping’an knew a newborn was likely being born.
"Whew, at least, it’s not the worst possibility....."
Although this unknown opponent might be difficult to deal with, compared to the possibility of "direct annihilation" or "a part less of the Continental Plate being blown up," it was already much better.
If he really couldn’t overcome it, he could still escape and later find a Big Shot to finish the job...
"[I make a wish...]"
But at this moment, a sinister voice echoed among all beings, and the unexpected still happened.
Lu Ping’an had underestimated "its" hatred. The fourth wish came directly.
Lu Ping’an could feel infinite malice surrounding him, he seemed to be marked, and this time’s "wish" had already encompassed him.
This was not rational, even if the fourth wish directly killed him, it would mean that thing would have to accumulate the cycle again.
Lu Ping’an, also disappeared on the spot, leaving behind only a "key".
This time, the sinister force could not find a target and could only rage impotently.
In the end, its gaze fixed on the Bloodvine that was rapidly spreading...
"[I make a wish, my will, will become the sole will of the newborn, the ground will become my bone and flesh, ’Life’ will become my innards, the unknown plant before me will become my skin and tendons.....]
Finally, the fourth wish overlaid on the third wish, it directly erased any potential self-consciousness the newborn might have, turning the "Hand of Desire" into the master of the new life.
This time, everything around it was absorbed into itself, even Lu Ping’an’s "nuclear bomb" became part of its "food".
Finally, the boundless mist dissipated, and the city that once was also vanished without a trace, the Bloodvine that had swallowed everything also turned into an illusion.
Left on the spot, there was only a giant egg, a newborn struggling to open itself, tearing at the cracks in its own eggshell!
— End of Chapter 1269 —