Chapter 199: Domains of Darkness (1)

Whoever actually made the multi-layered dimensions in this world clearly knew what they were doing. Li Yang literally entered a new world that was cut off from the forest dimension and when he looked back—the portal immediately shut down and was gone in a blink of an eye.

Whether that was enough to hold off a Goddess was another thing though.

"This fucking world is confusing as hell!" Bao the Panda said.

Li Yang glanced up at it and raised his brow. "Finally giving commentary again?"

"Well that's—"

Once again, Li Yang already shot off from his position and deeper into this area and left the creature mid-sentence as he accustomed himself to  his new surroundings. 

The first layer of the portal dimension in the Sacred Forest simply expanded the forest and made it into a twilight zone. In this place, not even the beams from a moon pierced the nightmare version of the forest. 

How this one was supposed to be a testing place for Priestesses to enter the Inner Court was a question he might have pondered at another time.

Right now, Li Yang concentrated on the sensation that tugged with him. 

While he never actually got the chance to properly learn how to use the energy bond between him and Setsuko as the two of them focused on learning different things—this time he felt it.

The rush of blood that drummed in his ears, mini palpitations that made it a little harder to breathe as he cut through trees and found them also trying to cut him back… Setsuko's distinctive emotions and even current physical state was now mixing in with his.

For a moment, he thought he saw a familiar Priestess' face and then hands clawing at him, screaming obscenities before he blinked and found himself in the same path he was running on.

Instantly, his feet and even movements seemed to tread on the same exact place where Setsuko might have run in.

In a way, it was almost engulfing for him to be caught in the throes of another person's emotions, sensations and thoughts. The intimacy involved in this particular bond was unlike anything else he experienced before.

Li Yang took a deep breath and focused on fending off strange creatures that tried to latch on him. Shadows and unexplainable shapes similar to the veil that covered the Mashiro Temple seemed to be present here and even thicker.

The man avoided those and kept everything away with a swing of his sword and coupled with an incredible amount of Ao that flowed through him now. Sometimes he caught a particular creature looking at him from the bushes and trees, it never dared approach him before it was then spooked away. 

In his mind's eye, it was the very same rabbit that he had killed when he first arrived in this world. It was a peculiar thing since Li Yang was very much sure that he killed it.

Perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

All of this might have been very well an illusion—

A bloodcurdling scream echoed within the nightmare forest. It temporarily chased the darkness away as Li Yang focused on getting there—focusing on the position of the voice and then finally found himself arriving at a scene that made his blood run cold.

It should have been obvious in hindsight that something like this would make a person used to the modern life blanch slightly. Oh yes, similar to how people can mindlessly kill insects and other lower lifeforms without even blinking and considering the deaths—the same might be held in this world to those of their fellow men and women.

Death was a part of life.

The two were intertwined and one was never truly separate from the other. Li Yang was aware of it but the way that blood spilled on the forest's floor came from the same women he might have seen in his day-to-day life for the past weeks he had been here was still mind-numbing.

Almost mind-fucking.

And then the thought passed him by when a certain white-haired woman threw herself into his arms. "Yang! You're here. I didn't think you'd come, but here you are." 

Setsuko wasn't sobbing, there were no tears that touched his robes or chest—but it was just the longing of a woman after everything that happened within the forest.

He held no clue as to what happened.

For once, even the energy bond between them detailed nothing to him and only the sensation of deep longing and yearning coursed between the very line that connected him and Setsuko together.

Li Yang absolutely had no time to discriminate and shifted his gaze away from the sight within the forest. He didn't want to associate the carnality and grotesque sight with Setsuko, but there was certainly a reason for this.

Setsuko probably had no choice.

It was the same as what might have happened with Taiga and her encounter with the sects and temples in the past. The ones that she burned down to make them pay for what they did to her. 

He shook off his wariness, the still very modern thinking that he was used to and held Setsuko closer. His entire worldview needed to change and adapt to the standard of the world or else he'd fall behind. 

And yet he was still running away.

Li Yang winced but then looked at Setsuko's face, the hint of red in her eyes was quickly fading back to the same blue eyes that he encountered when they first met. "We don't have much time at all. I need to get going or die here—have you encountered Beast Cores here?"

This was the very thing that Setsuko was afraid he'd tell her. 

Setsuko shook her head. "No, I haven't encountered a single one. Maybe there's some elusive beast here with Beast Cores, but I was ambushed and didn't have much of a chance to look."

"I see…" Li Yang looked behind him and wondered if the Goddess was nearly upon them and reaching out to kill him. He didn't want to involve Setsuko any further if it meant that she might get hurt along with him.

"Let's go together please."

This was Setsuko's plea.