Worlds’ Apocalypse Online

As they entered the cathedral, a thick stench of blood and burnt flesh rushed into his nose.

Gu Qing Shan scowled and looked around.

Every wall was full of evil creatures that still haven't completely sunk inside, still struggling to escape.

They couldn't die so they could only struggle forever within the flow of constant lava.

The evil creatures all had pained and desperate expressions on their faces with their mouths opened wide, trying to scream.

But they couldn't utter a single sound.

The cathedral had taken away their voices as well.

This terrifying silent spectacle could be seen on every wall of the cathedral no matter where one looked.

The middle-aged devil noticed Gu Qing Shan's gaze and smiled: 「 The ones that like to play things sneakily never end up well, what do you think? 」

"A day without doing sneaky things is a day of torture for every fiend and devil" Gu Qing Shan replied.

「 Very few know themselves as well as you do, sir Ruler 」

As they talked, a fiend covered in scales stopped in front of a wall.

He looked at it in surprise and called out: 『 Old friend, why are you here? 』

Across from him was a devil whose entire body had already sunk into the wall, leaving only his limbs and head sticking out.

「 Big bro, save me, please get me out of here quick! 」the devil called for help.

『 This place is the lava cathedral, my hands are tied 』

「 Please beg the Lord of Total Distortion for me, as long as he is willing to let me go, I will offer everything I have! 」

『 Everything you have? Hm, you mean your goods… that's a good idea…』

The fiend showed a greedy expression before quickly leaving the cathedral.

It seems this fiend knew exactly where the devil kept his goods.

Quite a few fiends and devils were walking in the cathedral, in fact, there were so many that it seemed more like a marketplace, but no one paid any attention to this.

Gu Qing Shan also didn't react at all and just followed the middle-aged devil through the hall, down a long hallway and up a flight of stairs leading to a higher floor before arriving at a small room.

The room was small, but it was perfectly equipped with all necessities, including a miniature wall fireplace.

「 Here is the private room that is specifically reserved for Rulers 」

The middle-aged devil clapped his hand.

A full course meal immediately appeared on the table together with a large ice box containing 7-8 bottles of liquor.

The middle-aged devil respectfully spoke: 「 You must have traveled a long way from the Xie Qi Fiend Realm to reach this place, please have a rest for now. There is one other Ruler who came before you; after sir Appraiser finishes with him, he shall come to you 」

"I'll trouble you then" Gu Qing Shan nodded.

He walked up to the table, randomly picked one of the bottles, opened it, and poured himself a glass.

The Appraiser of the Chaos Demonic Sea was extremely famous, he was known for only serving Ruler-class fiends and devils, an exceptional master of Mystic-type abilities.

Since there was another Ruler who came before me, let's simply wait.

The middle-age devil smiled and closed the door as he backed out from the room.

Not too long later.

When Gu Qing Shan was having his 5th glass of liquor, a knock could be heard from the door.

"Please come in"

Gu Qing Shan placed the glass down.

The door opened.

An old man with a clear and elegant bearing entered.

------after reaching a high enough level, most evil creatures liked to disguise themselves as humans to conceal their original race and identity.

Taking human form saved a lot of space, and from experience alone, most found that using the human form to communicate made things a lot more smooth.

Turning into a human was also an advanced technique that only high-leveled evil creatures can truly grasp.

「 Welcome, Xie Qi Fiend King, your battle was truly exceptional. If I hadn't seen you use Elemental Lightning, I would've thought you were human」 the old man smiled and told him.

Gu Qing Shan only smiled back without saying anything.

-----you can't lie here.

The old man then asked: 「 So, why have you come to the Chaos Demonic Sea right after obtaining two evil realms?」

"Venerable Appraiser, I came to issue a mission" Gu Qing Shan replied.

Hearing that, the old man said without much interest: 「 Ah, a mission? That much is simple, I will order someone below for that」

Gu Qing Shan replied: "I'm afraid this matter might need you to personally issue"

He took out a small bag and tossed it to him.

The old man received the bag, estimated the weight a bit, and smiled as he replied: 「 Considering how heavy it is, I believe your mission to be not quite as simple as I expected. Please tell me briefly, what kind of mission do you wish to issue?」

"Saving a weapon spirit" Gu Qing Shan replied.

Gu Qing Shan took out a long rectangular box and lightly placed it on the table.

He placed his hand on the box and spoke in a low voice: "There is a dying weapon spirit inside that will soon lose its life completely. I want to know if there are any fiends or devils with a unique power that could repair it"

The old man was suddenly a lot more interested and muttered: 「 So that's how it is. Weapon spirits are originally rare, so even I don't have much experience with saving them------- such a mission is indeed hard to come by, it is worth me trying once」

He then chanted an incantation: 「 Mystic Investigation Table of Contents, manifest」

Poof!

A large book appeared out of nowhere and hovered in front of them.

This was the Appraiser's famous personal Mystic-type ability.

「 Place your hand on the book and state your request」 the old man said.

Gu Qing Shan then placed his hand on the cover of the large book and spoke: "I want to save my weapon"

The book didn't move or let out any sound.

The old man regretfully told him: 「 It seems there isn't a single fiend or devil within the Chaos Demonic Sea that has an ability to save weapons」

"I can take one step back and issue a simpler request" Gu Qing Shan said.

「 That is?」 the old man asked.

"To temporarily maintain my weapon in its current state so it doesn't die" Gu Qing Shan answered.

The old man nodded and gestured for him to continue.

At this point, Gu Qing Shan was extremely anxious.

The Earth sword only has 1 day left to live.

If there isn't even a way to prolong its death, then it's all over.

Gu Qing Shan took a deep breath, placed his hand on the thick book, and said: "I want to delay this weapon's death and make it so that it doesn't completely break yet"

The thick book didn't move at all.

One breath's worth of time later.

The book suddenly trembled heavily.

Boom!

The book knocked Gu Qing Shan's hand away and flipped through page after page until it finally stopped at a certain spot.

This was a completely blank page, but the old man still smiled.

「 It seems there was still an evil creature who could do that」 he said.

"Really?" Gu Qing Shan was glad.

「 Indeed, let me check who has such an ability, please wait for a moment」

The old man pulled out a goose feather quill and put the tip against the blank page.

As soon as the quill touched the page, it jumped and began to scribble out more details.

Gu Qing Shan couldn't understand what the quill was writing at all.

After the quill finished writing, the old man read the content of the page and muttered: 「 Black Bone Witch King, Mystic-type ability, [Death Suspension]」

"Where is there Black Bone Witch King now?" Gu Qing Shan immediately asked.

The old man had a strange expression on his face and replied: 「 You probably don't know, but he is the same as I, we are both subordinates of the master」

「 He isn't part of the business administration like me, but rather the combat sector. Without the master's expressed permission, he cannot act at all 」

"What do you mean?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 Come with me to meet the master, only after the master agrees can this transaction be completed 」the old man told him.

Gu Qing Shan was a bit surprised.

Meet the Lord of Total Distortion?

Even the Blood Demon Duke and Holy Pure Priestess didn't want to associate with this terrifying Lord.

The old man continued: 「 In consideration of your generosity, I will give you a suggestion. Prepare enough payment, because if the master isn't happy with your offer, you will become another decoration on the cathedral's wall 」

Gu Qing Shan muses: "How much payment would be considered enough?"

The old man replied: 「 I can only give you a frame of reference. There was an evil creature who came here with 12 large ships full of Soul Blood Gems to ask the master for a single request, that evil creature is still hanging out on the outside wall of the cathedral right now 」

"…" Gu Qing Shan.

He came with some of the most precious materials within the two evil realms in his possession, but because he left in such a hurry, there were still many things that he didn't bring--------- two evil realms weren't small.

Then, what would actually be considered enough payment?

He silently asked himself.

Seeing that, the old man told him: 「 Have you thought this through? If you give up on your request now, I won't report this to the master and you won't need to risk anything, all you need to do is pay the consultation fees 」

Gu Qing Shan replied: "Please make the request for me"

The old man nodded: 「 Very well, please wait here 」

He pushed open the door and left.

A few moments later.

A knocking could be heard from the door.

『 Xie Qi Ruler? 』someone asked.

"I am here" Gu Qing Shan replied.

The door was opened.

Two beautiful fiends wearing uniforms stood on either side of the door.

They both bowed towards Gu Qing Shan and smiled: 『 The master has been informed of your request, please follow me 』

Gu Qing Shan followed them outside.

But the scene outside the door had completely changed.

At some point, the run-down flight of stairs and empty hallways outside this room had both disappeared.

Instead, it was now a luxurious large hall.

A beautiful carpet was laid on the ground.

The smell of fresh flowers filled the entire hall.

There wasn't a single wall around the hall, only the vast expanse of the ocean on all sides.

The howling rain and storm winds were still rampaging outside, but none of it could make it inside.

Gu Qing Shan could even see two faint figures wrestling one another on the surface of the faraway ocean.

They were two Demonic Sea creatures.

Ooo-----------

Both Demonic Sea creatures were roaring full of madness and killing intent.

Gu Qing Shan suddenly realized.

At some unknown point, the room he was staying in had moved to the top of the cathedral.

This was the palace of the Lord of Total Distortion.

Gu Qing Shan followed the two beautiful women forward until they reached the end of a long series of stairs leading upwards.

A devil with a powerful aura was already waiting here.

On top of the stairs, another evil Ruler was carefully climbing each step.

------the final step was obscured by an invisible barrier that prevented anyone from probing inside.

『 Please wait for a few moments, there were two other Rulers who requested an audience with the master before you 』

The two female fiends smiled at Gu Qing Shan and stepped down.

Gu Qing Shan waited together with the other evil Ruler at the bottom of the stairs.

He glanced at the evil Ruler.

The devil's expression was completely pale with sweat all over his face, apparently very stressed.

「 What are you asking for? 」the evil Ruler asked.

"Something related to my weapon, what about you?" Gu Qing Shan returned the question.

「 A problem with my body 」the evil Ruler replied.

Both of them nodded and said nothing else.

They both realized something.

---------no one could tell a lie here.

So it was best that they didn't talk at all.

Otherwise, they were going to expose everything about themselves.