Chapter 379 Who is the real socially anxious one here? - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

What is a domain? Su Miao was grappling with this question. She had asked Lin Jiu Jiu what a concert domain was. Lin Jiu Jiu couldn’t clearly explain the specifics or principles. Su Miao researched it thoroughly but came up with nothing. How could it be described? The domains like Lin Jiu Jiu’s were just too idealistic. From what she knew, Su Miao found it impossible to reference Lin Jiu Jiu's domain. Su Miao picked up the magic book Artyom had sent, hoping to gain some inspiration from these magical tomes. After a few hours, Su Miao set the magic book down and rubbed her temples. Then, she took out "Dao and Magic." This book was truly mysterious. Theoretically, she had become much stronger, yet whenever she read "Dao and Magic," she'd forget everything she had just read upon finishing. She had tried using magic to perceive if there was anything special about the book. No matter how she looked, it remained a completely ordinary book, indistinguishable from any other. The very plainness of "Dao and Magic" was the greatest issue. Interestingly, when Su Miao shared "Dao and Magic" with Lin Jiu Jiu and Xia Xiao An, both would naturally fall asleep within ten minutes of reading. In that regard, Su Miao could only say that the book had an excellent hypnotic effect. Regardless, she hoped "Dao and Magic" might offer some inspiration for constructing a domain. After a moment, Su Miao put "Dao and Magic" down. Unlike the familiar disorientation after finishing reading, this time she felt an unsettling restlessness, as if something more terrifying was approaching. “A more dreadful unknown apocalypse?” Su Miao looked at the white, vast sky, clueless. She checked the time. Without realizing it, it was already 1 a.m.—time to rest. Due to the disrupted cadence of day and night, Su Miao often forgot when to sleep and disliked the feeling of a disrupted biological clock. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit her, and Su Miao made a bold decision. As a socially anxious person, she decided to reach out to a stranger. Su Miao took out her phone, opened the night snack app, and quickly navigated to Irena's post, glancing at the first reply, Xin Meow Meow. Xin Meow Meow's avatar was a cute, two-dimensional blue cat-eared girl. Su Miao clicked follow. [Alert: The user does not accept followers.] Huh? Su Miao blinked. Do you know how much courage it takes for a socially anxious person to actively follow a stranger? And here the target she intended to follow had disabled following. This was a bit much. Even Su Miao herself didn't have such settings. Who is the real socially anxious one here? If she couldn’t follow, then she couldn’t follow. She prepared to send Xin Meow Meow a message, only to find that she couldn’t send any. [Alert: The user has disabled private messaging.] What? !!!!!!! Staring at the app's annoying alert, Su Miao took a deep breath and decided against saying anything. For the very first time, Su Miao felt inadequate online to this Xin Meow Meow’s level of social anxiety. Oh well, time to sleep. Any questions could wait until tomorrow. ... In the shadow realm, at the Exorcism Ridge. On the battlefield, the bodies of demons and humans alike dissolved into pools of mixed poison under corrosive toxins, which in turn eroded the ground, making the battlefield a wasteland. With no demons to consume the bodies nor humans to gather them, inexplicable phenomena began appearing on the prolonged battlefield. A patrolling adept noticed bodiless heads appearing on the mountain at night. These heads floated in mid-air, emitting eerie wails. More bizarrely, when one occasionally landed, it would dissolve in agony on the spot. Beyond floating heads, there were also assembled skeletal creatures seeking something amidst the battlefield, absorbing elements as they grew larger, eventually succumbing to the lingering toxins until they withered into the earth. “Nonsense!” A Taoist master scoffed at the report: “After all these years of scientific education, has it all gone to waste? Trust in science!” The reporting adept was dumbfounded. [You practitioners of immortality, telling me to believe in science?] [If not for you being my sect's elders, and me not being strong enough, I’d have to...show more respect.] “Fine, the last battle was brutal, and they’ve just descended the mountain recently; psychological disturbances are normal. Take a rest and rotate the duty.” Daoist Elder Chu Jiu Yuan said, “To be safe, dispatch more observers around the battlefield to prevent actual anomalies.” Mentioning anomalies, a hush fell over those present. They weren’t familiar with many dangers of the shadow realm, but they knew full well about adept transformations. Once an adept reached their contamination limit, they’d transform. At such times, bystanders must end them to prevent a greater disaster. Post-transformation, the adept’s corpse must be incinerated promptly since some anomaly creatures awaken only after an adept becomes a corpse. This was akin to post-mortem reanimation. “Fellow Daoists, does anyone here have expertise in the I Ching, who can divinate our upcoming times?” Taoist Elder Chu Jiu Yuan asked solemnly. A middle-aged Taoist inquired, puzzled: “Chu Daoist, aren’t you skilled in divination? Why ask us?” Chu Jiu Yuan replied, “I need to verify something.” Last night, driven by whim, Chu Jiu Yuan cast a hexagram, revealing a great misfortune. Thus, he sought an audience with the secluded Elder Feng Yin, passing the message on. Elder Feng Yin said little, merely advising him to assemble everyone and be prepared. At that moment, Wang Xuan Dao stood and spoke: “Chu Daoist, all here practice martial arts and immortality; we all know a bit about divination, so stop being cryptic and just tell us what you foresee.” “Remember, Earth is in an apocalypse; drawing disastrous symbols daily would surprise no one.” “As for the shadow realm, those who survived know its peril.” “So, after all your training, failing to uncover bloody turmoil with your divination would be disgraceful.” Chu Jiu Yuan was taken aback. It all sounded so reasonable. Arriving in the shadow realm, surrounded by demons, every battle had been an ocean of blood. The other representative adepts in the hall nodded in agreement. In truth, they'd privately divined as well, and none had derived anything but signs of great catastrophe, though few chose to disclose this... Wang Xuan Dao said: “Misfortune begets fortune, fortune lies in misfortune, the ways of heaven are unpredictable, yet inherently nurturing. Out of the fifty numbers, only one escapes; Most seated here might perish soon, but someone will surely return to Earth alive.” “After all, we've seen it: demon offensives grow ever stronger; the last assault mimicked Earth’s beast and insect plagues in scale.” “I still have some remnants of the mixed toxins brewed by Sorceress Su Miao.” “Except, having been used before, the next demon assault will be met with ample preparation. I hope you all are equally prepared.” “For instance, if any of you haven't yet recorded your sect’s legacy, now’s the time to document and compile them, distribute copies among yourselves. Whoever survives, bring it back, so the heritage isn’t lost.” Initially logical, yet it turned awkward at the end. However, one couldn't deny the sense in what was said. Wang Xuan Dao continued: “You all, stop glaring at me like that. I initially spoke to incite discussion; Chu Daoist, please share your divination’s essence.” For goodness' sake. If it were possible, they really wanted to give Wang Xuan Dao a beating. This wasn’t a joke; it was a genuine desire, he was infuriating. More so because of Wang Xuan Dao’s last poison attack on the demons, causing significant casualties among their top members. The deceased were sect elites, pillars, beloved kin, revered predecessors. This vendetta was tremendous. However, reason had them restrain their fury against Wang Xuan Dao, having no just cause to seek vengeance. Witnessing the tension sparked by Wang Xuan Dao, Chu Jiu Yuan took a deep breath and uttered eight words: “The Demon Lord arises, rivers of blood shall flow.” A hush fell over the meeting room. Wang Xuan Dao took a deep breath, realizing his banter had gone too far, given the grim prophecy from Chu Jiu Yuan. He wanted to rush back immediately and inform his master of the news. A Demon Lord—beyond his capability to handle. Only Master, the Chronocrat of Earth's infamous villainous organization, the Twelve Divisions, has the qualification to measure up to this. Wait a moment... Wang Xuan Dao suddenly remembered that his master had closed himself off in seclusion after entering the shadow realm. Could it be that he had foreseen the advent of the Demon King? [That old fox, so deep in his schemes!] [But wait, the Twelve Divisions had already started to trouble the local evil gods before entering the shadow realm. Would they fear a mere Demon King? Not to mention, there are esteemed Daoist elders like Feng Yin from the Daoist Celestial Sect here.] He was, after all, a true immortal on Earth. Wang Xuan Dao's mind raced, identifying the critical point. Even if we step back and consider, with masters like Guihai Zhenren and Feng Yin joining forces, taking down a mere Demon King shouldn’t be an issue. If there’s a problem, it must be because the Demon King is beyond their scope—or there’s more than one Demon King… Wang Xuan Dao quickly calmed himself and asked, “Chu Daoist, is there only one Demon King, or are there multiple?” “Multiple…” Chu Jiu Yuan instinctively replied. Damn, is it really appropriate to speak of Demon Kings in terms of headcount like that?! “Ahem, fellow Daoists, there’s some truth in what Wang Xuan Dao mentioned earlier. Please make preparations in advance,” “Chu Daoist, are you saying we have to hold out here to the end?” One middle-aged Taoist stood and asked. Chu Jiu Yuan said, “Yes, I do not wish for the portal location to be discovered by the demons, nor do I wish for us to become the traitors of humanity." A young adept stood and said, “Chu Senior, I have something to say. Whether or not we hold our ground here, if the demons attack and wipe us out, they’ll eventually find the portal location to Earth.” “Delaying the inevitable only postpones disaster’s arrival on Earth marginally; it holds no true significance.” “My suggestion is to break out toward the portal’s location and abandon this place to the demons.” “By the time the demons realize it, we will return to Earth and alert the official shelters about the impending demon invasion, allowing them to prepare the big bombs in advance—perhaps even trying to unleash them here to prevent the Demon King from reaching Earth.” “If the portal is compromised, I also have a plan. Our sect possesses a seal spell, where a sealer sacrifices themselves as a glyph to create an immensely powerful seal, buying Earth more time.” Chu Jiu Yuan, Wang Xuan Dao, and others looked over. The young adept’s name was Han Bufan. Legend said he was dubbed a prodigy at birth. At 13, he entered the region’s top high school through the entrance exam, and by 16, he topped the national exams, receiving invitations from all of the top universities. By 19, Han Bufan graduated with a doctorate and joined the National Research Institute. Within three years, he wrote two reference books, made significant contributions to the country’s aerospace advancements, and devised a detailed upgrade plan for the starship carriers, shocking nations on Earth and Mars alike. To outsiders, it might seem Han Bufan possessed a system or a protagonist’s script. However, just as great expectations were placed upon him to see if he could propel human civilization to a qualitative leap, he suddenly abandoned his accolades to retreat into the mountains and practice immortality under an old Taoist. Han Bufan’s actions caused a sensation and skepticism. Especially in North America, where multiple spy missions dispatched sought to uncover if Han Bufan was developing an extremely dangerous weapon for his country. If so, measures would need to be taken, even if risking conflict. However, no matter their means, unless Han Bufan appeared, he was nearly impossible to find. Later, as the apocalypse began, Han Bufan emerged, using his absolute strength to sweep the dark forces in his region, bringing hope amid the catastrophe. Regrettably, human strength has limits; even with immense power, Han Bufan remained but a small force before the apocalyptic calamities. The bases he built were hit by terrifying meteors. Upon news of the shadow realm’s entrance, Han Bufan resolutely joined the expedition team formed by the Dao Sect. Through the continued skirmishes between humans and demons, the losses remained low wherever Han Bufan held the line. During Chu Jiu Yuan’s visit to Elder Feng Yin, Feng Yin commented, “If this child develops properly, he will undoubtedly become another celestial immortal in our Dao Sect.” Yet, there seemed to be a problem with what Han Bufan had just mentioned. Sacrificing oneself as a glyph? Who would be sacrificed? Could it be that the young man valued by the Elders was innately ruthless? Before Chu Jiu Yuan could speak, a Taoist stood up and asked, “Han Bufan, when you mention sacrificing oneself for the seal, who do you mean to sacrifice? For a seal of such magnitude at the portal to Earth, there aren’t many here qualified.” Han Bufan replied, “Since I proposed it, naturally, it should be me.” (End of this chapter)