The First Appearance of the Evil

A moment later.

Qin Luo followed Long Dingtian through three layers of reinforced iron gates, the air thick with the strange mingling scent of ambergris and decaying blood.

When the final massive iron door—engraved with dragon-suppressing runes—swung open, a wave of heavy, deathly gloom rushed forth.

Long Aotian’s withered body lay sunken into a bed of cold jade, his skin marred by eerie, shifting patterns of blue-black veins.

Once the War God of the Dragon King Palace, his every breath now rattled like a shattered gong.

As Qin Luo stepped into the chamber, Long Aotian suddenly convulsed violently.

BOOM!

A surge of black mist erupted from his chest, coalescing before the onlookers into the ghastly visage of a demonic face.

Long Dingtian instinctively took half a step forward, only to freeze at the sound of his mother Liu Ye’s stifled sobs.

"Dingtian..."

Long Aotian’s eyes snapped open, his murky pupils flashing with a faint golden light. "This is...?"

"Master Qin," Liu Ye whispered, wiping the black blood seeping from her husband’s lips. "The one you asked to see three days ago."

Then, turning to Qin Luo, she clutched Long Aotian’s skeletal hand. "Master Qin... They say you can undo the backlash of Heaven’s Punishment..."

"I can."

A shadow coalesced into a willow-leaf blade at Qin Luo’s fingertips. His gaze flickered to Long Aotian’s chest before he spoke slowly, "But are you certain you want it undone, Madam Long?"

"Your old man’s got something filthy nesting inside him~"

As he spoke, a peculiar glint flashed in Qin Luo’s eyes.

Interesting.

So this is what they call [Heaven’s Punishment]?

To think... it’s this kind of thing?

At these words, Long Aotian’s pupils constricted violently. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, gasping, "...Go... Get out...!"

Every word sprayed crimson froth, while the demonic face formed by the black mist above his chest twisted into an even more grotesque grin.

BOOM!

The next instant—

The cold jade bed shattered. The black miasma from Long Aotian’s chest solidified into the spectral form of a monstrous entity—three-eyed, six-armed.

It fixed its malevolent gaze on Qin Luo, its voice a guttural rasp:

[Eat... Delicious...]

Long Dingtian’s pupils shrank. "Wh-what is that?!"

"Pretty obvious, isn’t it? Your dear old dad’s been possessed by something."

Qin Luo waved a hand dismissively, glancing at Long Dingtian from the corner of his eye. "Take your mother and leave. I’ll handle this."

"Master Qin..."

Long Dingtian clenched his fists—but didn’t hesitate.

He immediately pulled his mother toward the exit.

If Master Qin said so, then he must have a way to deal with it. Staying would only be a hindrance. And if his presence distracted Master Qin, he’d never forgive himself.

BOOM!

The heavy doors slammed shut.

Qin Luo turned his full attention to the monstrous apparition writhing above Long Aotian’s chest.

Damn...

Even Long Aotian—a protagonist-tier existence—got reduced to this state by whatever this is?

Just what the hell is it?

As the thought crossed his mind—

"Mas... Master Qin..."

Long Aotian’s skeletal fingers clawed at the bed’s edge, flesh sloughing off under the shadow’s corrosion. His gaze locked onto Qin Luo, voice ragged:

"Twenty years ago... when I broke through... it should’ve been the Nine Heavens’ Lightning Tribulation..."

His chest heaved like a broken bellows.

"But what struck down... was something alive!!"

Qin Luo: ?

Long Aotian’s eyes widened as memories flooded back—

The sky splitting open, a crimson eye glaring from the void. Bone-white claws reaching through thunderclouds.

Long Aotian had severed three of those claws with his full power, but the fourth pierced his heart.

And that fingerbone...

It took root inside him, sprouting into the abomination now howling before them.

"It... changed me," he rasped. "Even my master couldn’t suppress it... My body felt like it was being devoured from within..."

"I... I was terrified. That’s why I kept Dingtian away..."

"But then, one day, my Divine Dragon Technique broke through. I thought I’d suppressed it..."

"Yet... some instinct drove me to take wives, sire children... endlessly..."

"All to... harvest the vitality of their placentas..."

"And then... months ago... the day Xiao Tian was thrown into the river by Miss Su... it reawakened..."

"I knew... I couldn’t hold on any longer..."

"Master Qin..."

"The heavens... there’s something else up there..."

Long Aotian’s stare remained fixed on Qin Luo—until, with a sickening crack, his head lolled. Dead.

Simultaneously—

ROAR!!

The demonic entity’s form solidified further, its crimson eyes burning into Qin Luo.

[So... fragrant...]

Its voice—like a child’s—pierced Qin Luo’s mind.

Then—

[Heaven’s Abomination detected!]

[Master, please eliminate the target!]

[Reward: Scavenger’s Handbook (Illustrated Edition) x1]

As the system’s prompt appeared, Qin Luo frowned.

Heaven’s... Abomination?

[Reporting to Master: This is a malignant entity born from the corruption of the Heavenly Dao! It parasitizes living beings, consuming all to grow. Currently, it’s merely in its larval stage!]

A creature spawned by a tainted Heavenly Dao...

How intriguing.

Qin Luo tightened his grip on the willow-leaf blade. Suddenly, he recalled something—

Back at Destiny Mental Hospital, Dr. Ya once mentioned the original script of his world.

[After the Heavenly Dao went mad, its malice birthed the "Abominations."]

[Under normal circumstances, you’d carve a path through that world, purging every last one.]

"The Heavenly Dao... has gone insane, huh."

Qin Luo murmured, lips quirking slightly.

He eyed the larval-stage abomination before him and chuckled. "So now... we’re back to my destined role?"

(Full context: Chapter 400)

The next instant—

BOOM!

The shadowy willow-leaf blade in Qin Luo’s hand erupted in size. The abomination’s three bloodshot eyes swiveled wildly.

A skeletal claw tore through the air, reeking of decay.

"A larva dares to bark at me?"

Qin Luo sneered, swinging the blade horizontally.

SCHLICK!

The claw disintegrated into ashes.

Simultaneously—

[Pressure Hellflame!] —Activate!

BOOM!

The entire chamber seemed to convulse under an invisible, crushing force.

The abomination shrieked as the pressure pinned it in place.

Then—

Soul-scorching demonfire surged forth, a tsunami of annihilation. The black flames twisted like ravenous beasts, lunging for the abomination.

[SKREEEEE—!!]

Its wails—mimicking a wailing infant—echoed through the chamber.

Tap.

Tap.

Qin Luo strolled leisurely toward the immobilized creature, willow-leaf blade in hand.

With each step, the once-ferocious abomination shrank—diminishing into something pitiful.

It morphed into the form of a sobbing child, whimpering: "B-big brother... spare me... I won’t do it again..."

Qin Luo smiled.

Then—

BOOM!

His fingers elongated into spikes, slamming into the child’s skull. "You think I’m stupid?"

[GYAAAAAA—!!]

SQUELCH.

Demonfire erupted from his palm.

The child’s form warped back into the abomination’s true visage—twisted in agony.

"I'll kill you! My comrades will definitely kill you!!!"

Boom!

The fiend dissipated with a wretched scream.

At the same time.

[Congratulations, Master! You have slain a Level 1 fiend!]

[Reward obtained: Scavenger's Handbook Illustrated Guide x1!]

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