Chapter 312: Forbidden Flower

The coffin lid, imbued with the glow of the aurora, was slowly pushed shut. As everyone watched under their umbrellas, the Aurora King’s form was gradually obscured until the lid sealed perfectly with the coffin. He had now entered an eternal slumber within.

As a bloody slash streaked across the sky, the churning Sea of Taboo fell into a brief silence. Even the numerous calamities, which had always emitted strange screeches, quieted down, as if the outside world had come to a standstill.

Chen Ling had no idea what was happening outside. When he turned, he saw the long-haired figure, wielding a zhanmadao, slowly approaching them. Scarlet blood dripped from the blade onto the ground, yet Queen of Spades’ suit remained pristine, untouched by any stain, still perfectly tailored and solemn.

She picked up a black umbrella from the ground and spoke calmly: "How did it go?"

"Retrieval complete," Chu Muyun replied.

"Let's go then." Queen of Spades glanced back towards the city’s edge. "They're about to break through."

"Understood."

Number 10 hoisted the Aurora King’s black coffin onto his back. Without a moment's hesitation, the group turned and headed towards the other side of the city.

Just then, Tan Xin, covered in blood, stood amidst the black snow and suddenly spoke: "Wait."

The nine black umbrellas halted.

"You had so many people already positioned in Aurora City... why didn't you simply infiltrate the Aurora Base and seize the Aurora King, like you did with the Ruoshui Domain?" Tan Xin asked Queen of Spades, his voice hoarse. "You clearly had the ability to sneak into the base and kill the Aurora King while he was still unawakened. That shouldn't have been difficult."

Queen of Spades, holding her umbrella, didn't turn around. She simply replied calmly amidst the snow: "While we pursue a 'reboot,' that doesn't mean we negate other people's explorations and attempts for humanity's future."

"The Aurora Domain is not the Ruoshui Domain. Even when faced with despair, you didn't give up; you pursued other possibilities on different paths. Therefore..."

"We respect Aurora City's choice."

With her words spoken, she didn't hesitate further, walking straight ahead. The nine figures with umbrellas gradually disappeared into the black blizzard in the distance.

Tan Xin silently watched them leave, not attempting to stop them. After a long moment, he let out a helpless, bitter laugh and slowly sat down, leaning against the ruins. Just then, he seemed to sense something and gently lifted his hand from the ground. Beneath his damp palm was a nearly imperceptible film of seawater, gradually spreading in from outside the city.

The Sea of Taboo... had invaded.

"The seawater has seeped into the city." Chen Ling walked through the street, noticing his feet were now covered by a thin layer of water, and his brows unconsciously furrowed.

"This is inevitable," Chu Muyun said, adjusting his glasses. "As Aurora City converges with the Gray World, this empty city will become the territory of the Sea of Taboo. Humans cannot survive long in the Gray World, but for the calamities, it's a fertile ground for freedom."

"Why didn't the Aurora King try to eliminate the Sea of Taboo?" Chen Ling asked. "Over three hundred years ago, when some conventional weapons were still functional and the Aurora King was in his prime, proactively attacking the Sea of Taboo should have given him some chance of victory, right? That way, even if the Aurora King's lifespan ran out, no one would be able to harm Aurora City."

Chu Muyun shook his head. "Firstly, even during the Aurora King's prime, he couldn't have annihilated the Sea of Taboo. What we currently see is just a small fraction that arrived on Earth during the Gray World's convergence. The true Sea of Taboo harbors millions of calamities. Furthermore, the Sea of Taboo also contains a 'World-Ending' class calamity. Although it's also a Ninth Order, fighting in the Gray World makes it nearly impossible for a human Ninth Order to defeat a 'World-Ending' calamity. In other words, they are invincible in their own territory."

"Secondly, even if the Sea of Taboo were completely purged, Aurora City still wouldn't survive. The fundamental reason for a domain's destruction is the convergence of the Gray World, not simply the invasion of calamities."

"Is there a difference?" Chen Ling asked, puzzled.

"The Gray World and Earth are two entirely different worlds. Nothing, whether matter or living organisms from Earth, can exist long-term in the Gray World. Even if there were no calamities around the Aurora Domain, simply being exposed to the Gray World would gradually contaminate its inhabitants, leading to organ failure, mental derangement, and even the growth of calamity organs, ultimately resulting in sudden death. The same applies to objects, which is why 'ritual artifacts' can be found in certain parts of the Gray World. These artifacts are items that have incidentally developed strange properties after prolonged exposure to Gray World conditions. As for calamities, you can think of them as the native inhabitants of the Gray World. Even if you killed all of them, it wouldn't prevent the two worlds from converging and overlapping."

"So the fundamental problem lies with the Gray World itself, not just the calamities?" Chen Ling mused, nodding thoughtfully. If their adversary were just the calamities, it would be a manageable problem, as they are tangible. But the Gray World is an entirely different matter—an unknown world whose convergence with Earth is unexplained. Unless the fundamental reason for this convergence is deciphered and the two worlds can be separated, even continuous nuclear bombardment would be futile. What remains unseen is often the most terrifying.

As they spoke, a few scattered runes drifted from the seawater beneath their feet into the city. Like fish scenting blood, they burrowed into the frozen corpses lining the streets. Immediately, the corpses seemed to reanimate, trembling eerily. Their eyeballs became consumed by the runes, as if something was gestating and growing beneath the surface.

*Pop!*

With a soft sound, their eyeballs burst open, and two blood-red, alluring flowers slowly bloomed from within their eye sockets. Chen Ling froze.

"This is a..."

"A Forbidden Flower," Chu Muyun replied. "It's how the calamities of the Sea of Taboo reproduce. They implant their seeds into flesh, slowly consuming it until the calamity's offspring has absorbed enough energy, then it bursts out."

"A city ruin containing three million corpses is an excellent breeding ground for them. It appears the number of Sea of Taboo calamities is about to experience an explosive increase," Number 10 said with a sigh, carrying the black coffin.

Chen Ling's brow tightened, as he noticed several runes heading towards the small building where the Sector 3 survivors lived. Would their bodies also become breeding grounds for calamities? "In that case, why not just destroy them?"

"You mean these corpses?" Bai Ye shook his head. "There are over three million people in this city, and they are widely dispersed. Even if we wanted to destroy the bodies, we wouldn't have enough time. Furthermore, Queen of Spades' ability is almost at its limit. Soon, massive numbers of calamities will breach the city, and we won't be able to move an inch. In short, it's not that we don't want to stop it; we simply can't. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless someone can destroy the bodies of three million people in an instant."

Chen Ling suddenly stopped.