Seized by the System

Time ran out with each passing day.

Three days later, bright lights suddenly emitted downstream of the River of Blood. Countless souls were absorbed continuously from the River and then deposited into the Astral Formation at the river bank.

Within the Astral Formation, the Red Tree was transforming. Each branch looked as if it was digesting a soul.

The Countess among the group of alchemists outside of the Astral Formation became ever more arrogant. It looked like the entire realm was within their control.

The way matters developed was certainly not expected by Anderson.

At least that Astral Formation proved to be effective, unlike how Anderson commented that it was unremarkable and nothing to worry about.

Sir hastily looked for Fang Ning to discuss a solution to this matter.

“This Anderson is so unreliable. He said that others were doomed to fail, but they’re starting to succeed anyway. It’s lucky that I didn’t seek his advice last time. Mr. Rich Boss is still more reliable.” Sir remarked grudgingly.

“Hmm, it’s too early to conclude. We must not lose our footing. You continue to send out scouts to closely observe activity at those areas, especially at William’s side. Hopefully, he can discover something.” Fang Ning suggested.

“What an inconvenience. It wasn’t that difficult the last time when we tried to capture those few realms. What’s going on?” Sir was extremely frustrated.

“That’s because last time, the realms appeared too early. Perhaps they aren’t mature enough…” Fang Ning guessed.

“Ah, that sounds about right. Like myself, I used to be easily swayed. Now this realm is obviously in a mature stage and not easily altered.” Sir exclaimed.

“Exactly. Take it slowly. As opposed to this, I do have a big worry.” Fang Ning said anxiously.

“What are you worried about?” Sir was confused.

“We have been in here for quite a while and are separated from the outside world. Things might have changed.” Fang Ning replied in a worried manner.

“Eh, didn’t we spend a long time as well when we entered the Land of Heritage? Nothing will happen.” Sir remarked in disbelief.

“You are so naïve. Circumstances are no longer the same now. Last time, if our existence affected the world by a factor of one percent, it would be one thousand percent now. Just imagine, if we no longer exist, how will the outside world end up?” A concerned Fang Ning replied.

“You are such a worrywart. What does that have to do with us anyway?” Sir was absolutely indifferent. “Based on what you said, does that mean it means that I, Sir System, am still unable to leave the Earth? I am a Hero, not a babysitter. Our valuables are safeguarded by important followers and aren’t simply carried around. That is, if we are in Morality City, there is no need to be afraid of any uncertainties.”

“Hmph, I knew you would say that.” Fang Ning said helplessly.

…

The Land of Sanguinity, in a forest.

William was surveying new blood-red stream. The source of this stream seemed a bit strange and originated from a mountain spring somewhere.

As he intended to investigate further, a bright light painted the sky red. He noticed the countless spirits howling and wailing within the red light, as if they were facing total desolation.

“No, I must make haste, or it’ll be bad.” Deep down, he was anxious. Then, he jumped into the mountain spring with clenched teeth.

What followed was endless darkness…

Meanwhile, at the area illuminated by the red light, Countess Barito was looking at the Astral Formation with a contented expression.

It was absorbing the River of Blood’s power to strengthen itself, and as its body grew stronger, the rate of absorption became faster, thus leading to the process of iteration.

Once this process of iteration was complete, it would suddenly suck the River of Blood’s power dry and coalesce into a Realm Crystal.

That moment would be their day of victory.

This path was straightforward and clear, and far more effective than those unreliable ideas suggested by other people.

“Aahh, I need more power. I want to eat them all.”

The Red Tree roared.

Half of the Astral Formation was situated on the river bank, while the other half was in the water. The Red Tree was right at the center of the formation. It functioned as a sacrificial object and also a transfer point for power.

“No worries. I will let you have them all, Master Abraham…” Countess Barito laughed coldly.

This geezer often thought himself to be superior, but little did he know that God did not protect him…Oh right, this fellow did not believe in God, but nature instead.

Too bad nature did not protect him either, but nature itself did not protect anyone anyway.

“Such precious souls, and billions of them too. I wonder where all these souls came from? It’s all because of that damned Vigilante A messing with us, or else we could have created the Kenja Stone with the souls of billions of Americans.” The Countess gave a sinister chuckle.

“Your Excellency, according to our refinery, we found out that they aren’t from any sort of mysterious place, but they are in fact Earthlings…” An alchemist replied.

“Huh, quickly analyze the history of the souls’ formation, and most importantly, their time of death…” The Countess was very particular about the key points.

“We’ll do it at once.”

A few hours later, a shocking truth emerged.

“My Countess, we wish to report that these souls have varying ages, but the earliest time of death is 20 years ago. In other words, when these souls died, it was already the beginning of the Era of Vitality.” An alchemist answered.

“In that case, I have a bold guess. It looks like this realm needs our presence. It is destined to belong to us.” The Countess remarked proudly.

Oddly, no alchemist questioned her thoughts.

“Alright, all of you will continue to refine this River of Blood. I believe the Flaming Gate will open soon.”

“Yes.”

No one noticed a fish in the river eavesdropping on them during their conversation.

Soon, it avoided all the shadows with ease and swam upstream against the current.

The fish kept swimming until it returned to its master a few hours later.

“Oh, so this is your scout. A rather intelligent one, too.” Fang Ning observed the interaction between the fish and Vigilante A through the System View.

“Of course, I spent a lot of experience points on it. It is no less intelligent than you.” Sir said proudly.

“You are pulling my leg again. How can it be more intelligent than I am?” Fang Ning was not amused. “Tell me quickly, what news does this dumb fish bring?”

Sir then relayed all information about the alchemist’s discovery to him without hiding a single fact.

“I see. I am puzzled about the formation of this realm and the source of its power. Apparently, the countless souls in the river originate from Earth. From my estimate, I remember that millions of people on Earth die in a year. Twenty years later, that’ll be around 10 billion or more. It’s not a small figure.” Fang Ning exclaimed.

“I don’t follow. Does this have any meaning?” Sir was baffled.

“Of course it does. It means that this place is the true site of reincarnation! No, it should be called the Terminus. It crushes all souls to dust and transforms them to feed to supplement its personal growth. Indeed, it’s cruel. Even in the Era of Vitality, there’s no hope for life after death. In the past, we thought there would be afterlife and reincarnation with the commencement of the Era of Vitality, but apparently, this isn’t the case. If someone enters this area, he or she can only become one with this place only after a number of massacres.” Fang Ning explained with trepidation.

“What’s this anyway? Back in the day, there were no such things as souls. A person who was dead would disappear and leave nothing behind.” Sir replied nonchalantly.

“Forget it. Come to think of it, we’d better find a way to establish communication with the outside world.” Fang Ning suggested.

“Why?”

“Who’s better at understanding souls than Bodhisattva?”

“We can find him, but this time, don’t think about giving this place away again.” Sir said firmly.

“Alright, alright.”