I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 111 - 111 110. Glazed Fire_1

Chapter 111: 110. “Glazed Fire”_1 Chapter 111: 110. “Glazed Fire”_1 If the hellish scenery teeming with demons was enough to shatter one’s sanity before, then now, amidst a world of absolute filth, the only vestige of purity was the dancing shrine maiden, which indeed had a sort of charm.

This shrine maiden, unlike the somewhat desolate and bleak ones Lu Ban had seen before, felt more like a projection from the past – spotless and barefoot, standing in the filthy and cluttered courtyard, embodying a stark contrast between red and white, pitch black, purity and filth, insanity and reason, life and death.

The folk song echoed across the island, silencing all people, all creatures, all structures, listening to this ballad that seemed to come from nowhere and from no time.

Even Lu Ban felt his mind calming down.

No, that’s not right.

This peaceful state of mind was not normal.

Lu Ban felt his blood cooling, all his obsessions fading away, realizing that only death was the final destination.

He saw fog spreading from the body of the shrine maiden, engulfing the creatures.

The monsters underwent further mutation.

Several monsters gathered together, turning into a massive, staggering worm with six legs, its maw full of sharp teeth upon sharp teeth, like the mouth of a blind eel.

Birds soaring in the sky let out a piercing screech, then their heads split apart, the torn flesh rapidly healing into a two-headed form. The new heads seemed to disagree, pecking at each other, and soon they plummeted into the sea to be devoured by a gigantic creature.

The trees began to sway and their leaves quickly withered and blackened. Heavy, plump fruits grew from the branches, which upon closer inspection, turned out to be human heads.

In the sky, the massive, peculiar Pure Glass Doll also transformed – its abdomen split open, and dark green pus rained down like a downpour, nourishing the earth. Wherever the green rain fell, smooth mushroom-like plants sprouted, and the monsters roamed leisurely in the small lakes formed by the pus.

Even the buildings began aging and decomposing, with faces struggling and contorting on the walls as though in agony or pleasure.

The fog crept towards Lu Ban, and all the Island Stewards prostrated before the shrine maiden.

Without a doubt, this was the Calamitous Shrine Maiden, the source of all the catastrophes that befell Song Island.

Whether she was brought by the Undefined Fog or had created it, Lu Ban wasn’t sure.

But he could guess that the island itself was part of a ritual, with the Calamitous Shrine Maiden at its core, and someone, the master of the ritual, was now waiting for everything to unfold naturally.

As for what the ritual would ultimately produce, Lu Ban speculated that it was probably something capable of contending with a Shrine Maiden.

“At this point, it’s time to put an end to this farce of a poetry festival,” Lu Ban murmured, as he saw Red Leaf helping Wan Ye to come out.

He didn’t know when the Shrine Maiden’s Pure Fire would come, if at all. All Lu Ban knew was that he had to stop the spreading of the dense fog now.

The white, sun-obscuring fog spread at an alarming rate, quickly enveloping his surroundings.

The air, filled with a stronger sensation of particles than what he had experienced in the shrine the previous night, surged into Lu Ban’s nose and mouth. The pain was so intense that it couldn’t be described merely as burning – it lacerated his lungs and respiratory tract in an instant, along with his stomach, liver, and kidneys. If he stayed in this fog for three more minutes, Lu Ban would die in the most twisted form imaginable.

Unusual patterns emerged on his arms. Lu Ban could see a third arm sprouting from his elbow, a callous layer forming in the palm, and bones growing savagely inside his body, ready to burst through the flesh.

Lu Ban had almost completely lost his vision. He could only sense that Red Leaf opened a faintly glowing barrier in front of him, enveloping both Wan Ye and himself within it.

The ripping sensation brought by the fog lessened slightly, but a more intense pain surged, threatening to consume all of Lu Ban’s consciousness.

He saw himself becoming less and less human. Even as wild grasses poured out of his body, they were insufficient to resist the erosion of the fog that exceeded human limits.

[Item Acquired: Sigh of the Ever-Changing Fog]

Even the cold, indifferent text from the System felt strangely comforting to Lu Ban, who struggled to prop himself up and, with his third hand, grabbed his tattered bag and pulled out a bottle.

Within the bottle swirled a black fire infused with shades of orange-red, pale yellow, dark green, and deep blue. It resembled a flowing rainbow and a spinning galaxy with specks of light that twinkled like stars, dazzling and bright.

“Glazed Fire”

Upon seeing this object, Red Leaf’s expression underwent a significant change. With a hint of realization mixed with regret, she, however, did not speak.

Lu Ban hurled the object towards the direction from which the fog poured in. Despite his body being battered and riddled with holes, he felt as though he possessed boundless strength.

Some intangible force enveloped Lu Ban’s body, manipulating him like a marionette. His ragged body jerked into action, and the bottle was flung away, only landing with a clatter approximately fifty meters from him.

Lost in the thick fog, Lu Ban could not see how the bottle shattered. He could only hear a faint tinkling sound amidst the quiet mist, followed by a burst of radiant light.

Some say that fire came first in this world, and then came humanity. Fire symbolizes civilization, the rational sword with which humans overcame the brutality of wild beasts.

Now, not far away, a nascent flame ascended.

The fire, dancing with brilliant, multi-colored light, unbelievably drew its fuel from the fog itself.

Like a hot knife through butter, like wildfire sweeping across the plains, the flames spread rapidly.

The dense fog that shrouded the entire island, like a startled beast, began to contract abruptly.

Lurking in the shadows, Lu Ban could vaguely see the faint light near Red Leaf flickering continuously, as if the surrounding mist had become a tangible sandstorm battering her fragile defenses.

The fog seemed intent on contracting to suppress the pure flames.

But that only hastened its own end.

Every monster, every mutated animal, every dilapidated building, and the gray world itself were devoured by the flames.

As far as Lu Ban knew, these flames would continue to burn eternally, consuming the entire island, staining the oceans with its blaze, and ultimately engulfing He Dao in a sea of fire, just as had happened with other regions cleansed by the Pure Fire.

Lu Ban seemed to understand why this place was called “The Island.”

It was likely due to the wars on the mainland between humans and the filth, which ended with the land capable of sustaining human life covered by the Pure Fire, resulting in the formation of the islands today.

Wherever he looked, Pure Fire reigned.

“You did it.”

Within the interwoven fire of pale and pitch black, Red Leaf looked at Lu Ban, revealing a smile he had never seen before.

It was like a warm afternoon in spring when you’re reading a long-coveted novel in a library bathed in sunlight. Just as you finish an exciting passage and lift your head, you notice a girl seated opposite you, holding the same novel. She looks up because of your movement, and upon confirming the books in each other’s hands, that smile bursting with suppressed joy appears.

“You have successfully dispersed this patch of Undefined Fog. There is one more thing left to do, regarding Song Island, and everything about the Festival of Poems is about to end.”

Red Leaf pursed her lips, her voice resolute.

“That is to completely purify the lingering obsession of the Calamitous Shrine Maiden.”

“That is, me.”

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