Chapter 152: Waking from a Great Dream

Wujue's original pure intent urged him to stop himself rather than harm Anyi, but the other person seized the moment, wrapped her arms around Wujue, and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Come up and grab him!"

Xiao Han and Huron moved simultaneously, yet the person they actually managed to grab was Princess Anyi. While she stood there in astonishment, Wujue retrieved a purple crystal from inside his robe.

"Anyi, it is time for you to witness the true world." Wujue drove the purple crystal straight into Anyi's chest. In an instant, a fierce burst of purple energy erupted from the sharp tip of the crystal, piercing through Anyi's body.

It was so overwhelming that she could not stop herself from screaming aloud, "Ah! What is this? Impossible!"

Influenced by the purple crystal, Princess Anyi's entire demeanor underwent a radical transformation. A far more formidable power surged within her, instantly shaking off both Huron and Xiao Han.

She then turned to face Wujue, drawing back her fist to strike. Wujue merely stepped back with ease, watching her calmly until a purple hue painted Princess Anyi's eyes as well. Only then did he halt and say, "Well, have you felt the wild desires of your heart?"

Anyi froze, maintaining her punching posture, lingering in place as if deep in thought for a long moment. Suddenly, a strange smile crept across her face. "Indeed. Why should we constrain ourselves and toil away merely to make wedding garments for others? We are the ones with the truest strength; why should we not be the masters of this world?"

Even Princess Anyi had been infected by the purple crystal. Consequently, both Xiao Han and Huron now firmly stood on Wujue's side. The four of them gathered together once more, their eyes carrying an unspoken, arrogant glee.

Scarlet Hua, who had witnessed the entire sequence of events, was struck with absolute shock. He backed away, desperately wanting to flee the scene. Everyone here was insane—these people had all lost their minds.

In his panic, he accidentally collided with something behind him. Looking back, he saw a covert miniature surveillance drone hovering in mid-air, which immediately darted away upon impact.

"Something's there!" Xiao Han noticed it instantly, rushing forward to shove Scarlet Hua rudely to the side.

Huron chuckled, "I saw it long ago. That's Xiao Yang's surveillance device. No doubt he has witnessed our every move by now."

"Since that is the case, let's go find Xiao Yang," Wujue stepped forward to make his decree, "and Xuner as well. Let's not miss a single one; we shall bring them all over to our side."

***

At that very moment, inside a micro-warship not far away, Xiao Yang, who had been monitoring everything, sorrowfully removed his headset and said to Xuner beside him, "You saw it. All of them have been corrupted by that purple crystal. If we cannot stop them, everything will spiral completely out of control."

Xuner merely nodded and replied, "Rest assured, I will not hold back this time."

She pushed open the door and stepped outside, steeling her resolve on how to face Wujue and the others, when an unexpected figure drifted into view right before her eyes—it was none other than Xiao Han.

"Ha, so you were hiding here all along," Xiao Han said, his demeanor entirely uninhibited as he addressed Xuner and Xiao Yang inside the vehicle. "Since you're both here, don't stand on ceremony. Xiao Yang, Xuner, why don't you join us?"

Xiao Yang stepped down with a dark expression, saying, "How can this be? I chose to cooperate with Wujue precisely because he maintained a benevolent heart amidst this apocalyptic world, yet now he has transformed into a bloodthirsty, tyrannical fiend. I cannot accept such a reality."

"If you cannot accept it, learn to submit to fate!" Wujue's voice suddenly echoed through the air. Without hesitation, he brandished a machine gun and unleashed a wild barrage of gunfire straight at the vehicle.

Fortunately, Xiao Yang had already donned his powered armor. Instantly activating the rocket thrusters on his back, he darted away from the vehicle like a flying arrow, crashed into Xiao Han to pin him to the ground, and shouted to Xuner, "Don't just stand there! Run while you can! The two of us are no match for them. Find a way to contact Ter; only the Mirror Hero can save us!"

Hearing this, Xuner stood frozen for a moment before blankly beginning to cast a spell.

Wujue watched her movements from mid-air and muttered quietly, "What is it, Xuner? Do you truly intend to go against me? Do not forget that I have inherited Old Master Ma's sorcery power; when it comes to strength, I still surpass you."

With that, he gathered an invisible surge of vital energy between his palms, imbued with the potent, seductive power of the purple crystal, and prepared to strike at Xuner.

To everyone's utter shock, however, the sorcery Xuner conjured suddenly veered at the critical moment, pointing directly at Xiao Yang's back.

As it turned out, she had already been influenced by the purple crystal during her earlier contact with Wujue. Standing face-to-face with Wujue and the others once more, she had already crossed over to their faction.

A fierce bolt of purple energy flashed forth, carrying within it Xuner's signature paralyzing poison. Just as it was about to pierce Xiao Yang's back, a beam of brilliant light shot out of nowhere, deflecting the poison completely.

A figure descended from thin air into the world—it was none other than Ter, the Mirror Hero: "Cease this fighting! The Tianzhu clan has already been defeated. Just one cosmic day ago, the Cosmic Alliance vanquished the Tianzhu army. A potent vaccine has begun spreading among the Tianzhu viruses, and their tyrannical rule has now collapsed."

"How can this be?" Faced with Ter's return and the truth he spoke of, Wujue, along with the infected Anyi and Huron, stood utterly stunned.

That was not all; landing gracefully right behind Ter were a dozen aliens of various skin tones and species—they were all members of the Mirror Heroes.

"I am not joking; the Tianzhu clan has indeed fallen, but the battles are far from over!" Sertel stepped forward among them and announced, "We are merely here to deliver the news. The Tianzhu control plaguing your human world will gradually fade, but because every planet is currently scrambling to save itself, we cannot dispatch more reinforcements to help. I am afraid you will have to rely on yourselves."

Ter glided closer to Wujue, staring intently at him as he said, "Old friend, I never imagined you would change so drastically, allowing yourselves to be controlled by evil forces. Cease your wickedness, and let us restore you."

"Impossible!" Confronted with this sudden turn of events, Wujue shouted in a rage, "This is the apocalypse—survival of the fittest! Have you people still not figured it out? So-called benevolence and morality are things that ought to be discarded!"

With that, he lunged violently into the air and unleashed a frantic barrage of attacks directly at Ter. Seeing this, the other Mirror Heroes immediately sprung into action, launching a counter-assault against Wujue, Huron, and the rest.

Down on the ground, Anyi displayed terrifying might, hoisting Xiao Yang's abandoned vehicle into the air and hurling it upward.

Yet, the moment the car collided with one of the Mirror Heroes, the opponent caught it with an inexplicably gentle mirror-light and smoothly deposited it far away.

Seizing the opportunity to break free from Xiao Han's assault, Xiao Yang shouted, "They all carry a mysterious purple crystal! That is what corrupted Wujue—you must take the purple crystal from them!"

"A purple crystal? Of course we know!" While Wujue was locked in fierce combat with Ter, Ter produced a unique green crystal. Raising it in mid-air, he shone it against the White Tiger Divine Mirror on his chest, instantly scattering a distinct green beam that struck Wujue directly.

Previously, Wujue had relied heavily on the power of the purple crystal to trade blows evenly with Ter, but the moment he encountered this unique green crystal, his body instantly felt drained of strength, rendering him utterly powerless to resist.

"What is happening?" An involuntary wave of dizziness washed over him, and all his murderous desires and malicious thoughts were ruthlessly suppressed.

Ter intensified the mirror-light, enveloping Wujue from head to toe, and declared, "This is the sacred artifact used to purge the Tianzhu clan—the green crystal, capable of erasing evil thoughts. Wujue, the malice within you was merely incited by the purple crystal. While it counters the Tianzhu virus, it is merely fighting fire with fire. Quickly now, submit to the purification of your soul!"

Instantly, the dozen Mirror Heroes present channeled the powerful radiance of their green crystals, casting a unified beam that completely enveloped Wujue, as well as the infected Huron, Anyi, and Xiao Han behind him.

Stripped of all resistance, the four of them underwent a transformation within the brilliant mirror-light as their inner malice slowly dissolved.

Moments later, Wujue finally dropped limply back to the ground. Trembling, he wept and cried out, "What have I done all this time? May the Buddha forgive me, I truly deserve a thousand deaths!"

Recalling his actions over the past few days, profound remorse and overwhelming despair welled up from the depths of his heart.

Huron, Anyi, and the others similarly awakened to their own degradation, feeling deep in their souls as though they had just emerged from a horrifying nightmare.

Ter landed before Wujue, patted his shoulder, and said, "It matters not, so long as you have awakened. Use the remainder of your lives to make amends for your transgressions and contribute more to this planetary catastrophe."

Wujue pressed his palms together in a bow and nodded silently.

***

Half a day later, having returned to the settlement in the eastern suburbs, Wujue walked back to his room alone.

He quietly reflected on the transformation he had undergone that day, a lingering trace of apprehension and unease still haunting his gaze.

He sighed inwardly at the thought that he had actually turned his back on Buddhist principles and committed so many cruel acts.

Fortunately, Ter's return had restored their rationality, preventing an even greater tragedy.

He slowly raised his hand and stared at his palm, yet a faint smile curled across the corner of his lips.

In truth, did he truly need to revert to his former self?

Once he sensed that the mirror-light lingering outside his window to monitor him had faded away,

he parted his lips, spat out a small piece of purple crystal, and clasped it tightly in his palm.

How could desires that had been unleashed with such difficulty ever be so easily reined back in?

Silently, Wujue channeled his energy, merging as one with the crystal once more.