Soon, the fierce wind hit, blowing the entire forest as if it were alive.

Tian Bufan shouted loudly: "Stop this nonsense! I'm here to negotiate terms... 'Zero'!!!"

The intangible wind suddenly solidified into a visible form in front of the fourth Puppet!

This was the first time Lin Yi had observed the "wind's" appearance, formed by countless folds resembling transparent glass fibers, showing fleeting changes before him.

The Big Snake was still extremely far away, but its voice slowly transmitted through the wind:

"... 'One'?"

Tian Bufan remained silent.

The next moment, the wind suddenly began pulsating in an even more terrifying manner.

"Bring your true self here! What's the point of sending a Puppet?"

The strong wind swept past, and the Puppet turned into dust in an instant.

Consciousness returned, and Tian Bufan propped his chin, letting out a long sigh.

Lin Yi hurriedly said: "No matter what, don't ever let your true self go there!"

"Of course I know that," Tian Bufan replied. "Come on, let's continue. Four Puppets for one sentence, overall it's still a gain."

Reminded by Tian Bufan, Lin Yi quickly asked: "What do you mean by 'Zero'? Why does it call you 'One'?"

"'Zero', 'One', are they numbers? Or symbols, or some kind of code name...?!

"Wait!!" Lin Yi's eyes suddenly flashed with insight, and the chant of the broken sculpture suddenly rang in his mind.

[Lin Yi, oh Lin Yi... where do you need to go...]

[Lin Yi, oh Lin Yi... where can you go...]

[Come back, come back...]

[I wait for you in Desolation...]

[You know my body and name...]

[You know my might and power...]

[Lin Yi... oh Lin Yi...]

[Destiny is like a serpent biting its tail, forming a ring... coming full circle back to the Starting Point...]

[Lin Yi... oh Lin Yi...]

[When the Black Moon withers...]

[Chant my name loudly...]

Could it be that the chant is not about his name "Lin Yi", but about the Big Snake's name "Ling Yi"?!

Is the Desolate Land actually referring to the desolate land of the Matrix?

Hiss... that Matrix?!

Could it be... used to summon the Big Snake?

Lin Yi's mind was filled with boundless thoughts.

"Of course, it's... one of its code names." Tian Bufan's eyelids lowered slightly, a hint of obscure light flashing in his eyes. "As I said, we are 'old friends', old friends know some secrets."

"'Zero'... this is information even Night Watchman and Old Mo aren't aware of?" Lin Yi pondered aloud.

Tian Bufan chuckled: "It's not that they don't know, even if they do, would they really dare to call it that?"

Lin Yi was slightly taken aback, indeed, even Tian Bufan, after calling it, was mercilessly shattered along with the Puppet by the Big Snake. For such an entity that still retained some humanity yet was fickle, gambling one's life recklessly was really not a wise choice.

He said deeply: "Lately, I've been hearing those broken sculpture sounds without any warning. In that chant, I heard my name..."

Tian Bufan's expression shifted.

Lin Yi paused, then continued: "But I now feel, perhaps that's not my name... but 'Ling Yi'."

Tian Bufan was rarely silent.

After a long time, he finally managed a bitter smile: "Create the Puppet."

"Why won't you answer?" Lin Yi couldn't help but press on.

"Does it matter whose name it is?" Tian Bufan shook his head slightly. "Let's talk terms and then leave."

"Isn't it important?" Lin Yi was dumbfounded, these sounds that had been echoing in his ears for days seemed to involve some kind of secret matter, isn't it important?

He observed Tian Bufan's expression, noticing his frown, it was clear the reality was not as he claimed.

Puppet number five was constructed, Tian Bufan adeptly traversed the Layers, once again arriving in the realm of the Big Snake.

"If you feel like you haven't had enough fun, then continue to kill me!"

"If you feel it's enough, let's sit down and talk!"

This time, Tian Bufan shouted loudly as he walked forward.

"No matter what you do, you can't stop our plan!"

"I'll say it one last time!"

"I'm here to negotiate terms!"

"Not to play games with you!"

"You know what I'm doing!"

"I just want to know your attitude this time!"

"Time here isn't infinite either, I can play a few rounds of torn-up games with you, but I won't keep playing forever!"

"Come out and see me! Or, keep killing me!"

[Hehehe... hehehe... hehehe...]

In the eerie forest depths, the laughter of the Big Snake resounded.

Its chuckle was so deep it sounded like a drum, the whole mountain range trembled in its laughter, countless dead leaves fell, yet strangely there was no fierce wind.

[Clang clang clang... clang clang clang... clang clang clang...]

From the forest depths came the sound of countless blades scraping through a metallic jungle, the ground shook, teetering on the edge of collapse.

An off-white dense mist churned endlessly, a gloomy space where even light couldn't penetrate, like an abyss below an abyss, a Hell under Hell.

Finally, near-infinite contours swayed faintly in the mist, a golden brilliance as resplendent as two Suns rising in darkness.

[Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—]

Once again blowing against them, yet it was no longer that world-ending force, but a pressure formed by pure compressed wind.

In the end, the Big Snake did not appear, only reflected its phantom and indescribable silhouette on the abyss' edge, leaving just that Sun-like radiance, looking like eyes, watching them.

"State your terms this time."

Instead of discussing major terms immediately, Tian Bufan started slowly: "'Principal' set sail, but I know he reached the 'Desolate' in the black sea."

"That fool... what's he doing over there?" The Big Snake's voice wasn't terrifying, but unusually thick, each utterance made the whole world tremble.

"He must have learned your secret, trying to find a way to save you."

"Impossible." The Big Snake said, its voice laced with coldness yet tinged with disbelief, "Human hearts can change, but not his. He never, never acknowledged me, acknowledged my existence... his infiltration of the 'Desolate' must be for his own secret."

"Whether you believe it or not, his will penetrated into the 'Ashen Apostle's' Origin, projecting outside the dimension of reality."

"Once, a group of Zealots deceived a child, using them to start a summoning ritual for 'Angels'..."

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat, was Tian Bufan referring to the Head Yuan incident?

The Big Snake said; "I know about that, they succeeded, but, the 'Angel' didn't descend because I intercepted its infiltration."

"The Outpost over there had no way to deal with it..."

"But with 'her' final hand and since you will be going there, those Night Watchmen are enough to handle the 'Angel's' reflection..."

"Reaching here shows you've acquired the 'Ring' once again."

"Everything is proceeding according to plan." Tian Bufan nodded slightly, then continued, "You are indeed strong, after all you're still..."

"Hmph!" The Big Snake snorted, the strong wind nearly tearing apart that Puppet, "It's useless, if you can still see me, then everything is futile."

"It won't be futile." Tian Bufan shook his head, "This is our closest attempt to success."

"You say that every time, but every time you fail."

Tian Bufan replied: "But undeniably, every time, it's when the success rate is calculated to be at its peak that we take action."

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