Purgatory Artist
Chapter 552: The Unknowable Realm!

Chapter 552: The Unknowable Realm!

A white robot returned to the camp.

Self-Propelled Combat Annihilator!

This was the powerful robot Arland had exchanged to protect Liu Ping back then!

Exchanging a vanguard team captain position only required 1,000 merit points, but this robot cost a full 1,500—proof of its formidable strength.

Following behind it were three other professionals from the vanguard team.

At this moment, the camp had just been rebuilt. A young man sat cross-legged by the bonfire, taking a short rest.

The robot walked straight up to the youth and spoke:

"Liu Ping, new captain of the Expeditionary Vanguard Team, greetings."

"Greetings," the youth replied.

"I am the robot exchanged by Aland before his death. My duty is to protect you," the robot said.

"Is there any danger now?" the youth asked.

"Not for the moment. I have already disarmed the camp’s bombs and punished the rogue spellcaster Zhang Changjiu according to military law," the robot reported.

"How did you punish him?" the youth asked with interest.

"Executed. Soul sent to the conversion pool," the robot answered.

While it conversed with the youth, the other three professionists stood obediently to the side, not daring to utter a word.

This robot was too powerful.

Aland was dead—killed by another Vanguard team!

Anyone acting inappropriately now would likely bring misfortune upon themselves.

The youth glanced at the interface before him, his face showing disinterest.

"Ah... only four of us left now."

He rubbed his hands together.

"Boss, what should we do next?" one professionist asked respectfully.

"Any ideas?" The youth countered.

"You’re the captain. We’ll follow your orders. Just tell us what to do," another said.

This youth had survived everything, even exchanged for the captain’s position, and now had such a powerful robot protecting him.

This couldn’t just be luck.

Better not oppose him.

The youth frowned, thinking hard for a moment before asking, "What do you usually do for fun?"

"Cards... We sometimes play cards, boss," one professionists offered.

The youth suddenly snapped his fingers, making a decision. "Let’s play cards then."

Play cards?

The three professionists were baffled.

"Boss... it’s only noon. Shouldn’t we gather more merit points first?" one ventured.

"No. I’ve made up my mind. If we’re going to do something, let’s do it properly—we’re playing cards!"

The youth, remembering Liu Ping’s instructions before leaving, spoke with utmost seriousness.

The three professionists exchanged glances.

Noon...

Well, they had just returned from a long journey. A break was reasonable.

They could always complete the Expeditionary Army’s missions after resting.

The group set down their gear and gathered around the fire.

"Boss, how do we play?" one asked.

The youth casually drew a deck of cards, enthusiasm bubbling over.

"Simple showdown."

"But boss... we’re running low on merit points," another said hesitantly.

"No problem. There’s another way to play without spending merit points," the youth said.

"What way?"

"This!"

The youth pulled out a red-hot iron rod, its tip glowing.

"The loser gets branded on the butt! Haha, what an exciting game! I’m already feeling the thrill!"

He laughed gleefully.

The three professionists stared at the iron rod, speechless.

professionist or not, an unguarded branding would hurt!

"Agreed? Anyone who refuses to play is disobeying the captain’s orders. Everyone knows the consequences of insubordination in the military, right?"

The youth grinned mischievously.

The robot stepped forward, its voice buzzing. "Disobey orders—I send them to the conversion pool!"

Silence fell over the camp.

"The cards—"

"Check them."

A deck was tossed over.

The three inspected it carefully, then nodded in unison.

The deck was clean.

"The boss is meticulous. These are Pixie-made cards—rumored to be impossible to cheat with," one subordinate praised.

"Deal then, boss," another said, swallowing hard and resigning himself to fate.

"Now that’s the spirit!" The youth cheered, patting the man’s shoulder before casually slipping on a pair of black-framed glasses.

When he looked at the cards again, the size of each was clearly visible on their backs.

"Good. Let’s begin. Remember—you might not lose. Maybe I will," the youth said earnestly.

A short while later...

The desolate wilderness echoed with howls of agony.

Meanwhile.

The River of Blood.

Deep within the massive whirlpool formed by the river, Liu Ping stood before a complete set of green spiked armor.

The aged voice from the depths of the blood river spoke:

"This is the Nightmare’s Embrace stripped from that individual. Its power far surpasses the imitation Nightmare’s Embrace we created before."

"You mean this?"

Liu Ping displayed the Blood Skeleton card.

"Yes. That was something we crafted based on vague intelligence—pure conjecture. Its only function was to evade the first wave of monster detection," the aged voice explained.

Curious, Liu Ping circled the green spiked armor.

His Expeditionary Army interface had been handed over to the Pixie impersonating him, leaving only the Heroic Spirit UI.

Lines of burning text appeared in the void:

[????????]

[The sole starting point of the ultimate secret. Only by wearing this can you hope to uncover even a fragment of the truth.]

The sequence revealed no attributes whatsoever.

"Any other clues?" Liu Ping asked.

"That individual’s soul was annihilated by your blade strike, leaving only this Nightmare’s Embrace," the elder said.

"Suggestions?"

"Hard to say. The only way to know is to wear it," the aged voice sighed.

A woman’s voice rose from the blood sea: "But no one knows what will happen if you do. We hesitate to let you take the risk."

Without hesitation, Liu Ping said, "I’ll try it on. If this Nightmare’s Embrace disappears for too long, the timeline might destabilize—sooner or later, that entity’s death will be noticed."

The aged voice warned, "But if there’s danger—"

"If anyone else tries, they might get caught and expose our entire plan."

Liu Ping stepped forward, placing his hand on the spiked armor.

Instantly, lines of burning text flooded the void:

[You have activated your Occultizim power: ’Deception.’]

[To all observers, you are identical to the being you killed.]

[The unknown Nightmare’s Embrace senses your energy signature and life characteristics.]

[It is activating!]

Almost instantly, the spiked armor clad itself onto Liu Ping.

New prompts appeared:

[This sequence is establishing a connection with an unknown functional sequence.]

[3...]

[2...]

[1...]

[Connection successful!]

A new interface materialized before Liu Ping.

The aged voice declared, "I have opened the spacetime channel to that period of history for you. You may go now!"

[Transmission commencing...]

A glow emanated from the Nightmare’s Embrace, enveloping Liu Ping before vanishing into the void.

White light.

Blinding radiance swallowed everything.

When the glare finally faded, Liu Ping found himself inside a completely sealed glass cube.

Countless eyes—blue, gray, gold, orange; round pupils, slitted pupils, square pupils, scattered pupils—

They pressed densely against the glass walls, scrutinizing Liu Ping with undivided attention.

Unintelligible symbols flooded his vision, scrolling upward like a waterfall for dozens of seconds.

At last, the eyes retreated one by one from the glass.

A door appeared on the wall.

Beyond it lay an expanse of white mist.

Liu Ping took a deep breath, about to step out, when new lines of burning text emerged:

[The functional sequence is requesting communication.]

[Accept?]

"Accept," Liu Ping said.

A gruff voice spoke directly into his ear:

"Come to Rebirth Channel Three. We’ve got a problem here."

Rebirth Channel Three?

What’s that?

For now, the priority was leaving this glass box.

Liu Ping stepped through the door into the mist. Ahead stood a sealed metal door.

As he approached, a green light flashed above it.

A gentle voice announced:

"[Verification complete.]"

"[Welcome back, Worker #408721.]"

"[Please remain still. You will be transported to Rebirth Channel Three.]"

Very efficient.

Liu Ping stood motionless.

A beam of light engulfed him, instantly relocating him to a rusted, bloodstained, filthy abandoned passageway.

Two other figures stood there, both clad in spiked armor—though the styles and colors differed from Liu Ping’s.

One, a towering three-meter-tall brute, greeted him in the same gruff voice from earlier:

"Took you long enough, 408721."

"What’s the situation?" Liu Ping asked.

"An exceptional individual is reaching his end. I’m worried we can’t suppress him," the brute said.

"Hasn’t he met the consumption criteria yet?" asked the other, whose armor bristled with metallic spikes.

"Not quite. The higher-ups want him reincarnated once more—to see if he can break his limits and ascend to Occultisim," the brute explained.

"Overambitious," the spiked one muttered.

"Focus. He’s coming. Activate the effects," the brute ordered.

"Go ahead. If anything goes wrong, 408721 and I are here."

"Right," Liu Ping chimed in.

The brute pressed a button on the wall.

Click.

Like a switch flipping—

The entire passageway transformed into a radiant, holy space.

Liu Ping found himself and the other two now resembled winged beings of light, exuding an indescribable majesty.

Behind them, atop the clouds, a city bathed in divine glory materialized.

Liu Ping steadied himself, maintaining his silence.

By now, he was beginning to understand.

This is how it works.

"The deceased scholar was a devout follower of the sacred path, longing for heaven," the brute added.

The spiked one warned, "He’s here."

A soul appeared in the sanctified passageway.