Chapter 204
A miraculous scene unfolded atop the Annihilation Platform.
The Heavenly Dao’s humanoid form—originally just a vague, faceless light figure—had no features, much less a tongue, teeth, or throat. But now, the moment it held that pig trotter in excitement, a mouth suddenly formed on its once-blank face!
A realistic, expressive mouth—complete with lips, teeth, and tongue. Even drool was dripping down.
With that very mouth, the Heavenly Dao let out a growl—“Awoo!”—and wrapped itself around the pig trotter, biting into it with the desperation of the starving!
The instant the pig trotter entered its mouth, the Heavenly Dao was shocked to its divine core.
Simmered for hours in a slow-boiling marinade, the pig trotter was so tender it practically melted on contact. With just one bite, the amber, translucent skin released its rich gelatinous texture, soaked through with that deep, savory flavor—barely needing to be chewed before it dissolved into bliss…
And yet, despite the softness, it still had a satisfying chewiness!
Thanks to the abundance of tendon, the texture was springy and elastic—but not tough. There was just enough resistance to bite cleanly through. The fatty layer between skin and meat released its meaty fragrance throughout the mouth, blending with the braised flavor into a rich, indulgent burst that was utterly addictive.
The Heavenly Dao and Taotie sat on either side of Jian Yunlan, each holding a pig trotter, gnawing away with rapturous delight—completely hooked.
Hard to imagine that just a while ago, these two were the very picture of haughty, untouchable godlike power.
Taotie licked the marinade dripping down to his wrist, slurping noisily:
“Chomp chomp chomp, my wife is so good to me~ chomp chomp, this pig trotter is insane, chomp chomp, you lonely losers without wives will never understand!”
The Heavenly Dao crunched away at some crispy tendon:
“You tell me, chomp chomp, how in all the worlds, chomp chomp, could something taste this good?! Chomp chomp, this tender skin soaked in sauce, this lean meat—chomp chomp chomp!”
Under the reddish-brown glazed skin, the lean meat was firm and delicate, never dry—every bite a deeply satisfying experience.
Even the crunchy bone tips of the trotter were delicious!
The Heavenly Dao chewed noisily on a chunk of crispy cartilage—crunch crunch—sucking out every last bit of flavor from within. The cartilage held concentrated marinade essence, with every bite bursting with layered umami and sauce-rich intensity.
Meanwhile, viewers across the Multiverse Worlds Live Broadcast were already crying from hunger.
Resentment surged across the multiverse:
[Never been so jealous of Lord Taotie before… not only did he kiss Boss Jian, he also got to eat his pig trotter. What a winner.]
[So hungry so hungry so hungry so hungry SO HUNGRY]
[Heavenly Dao!!! AAAAAHHHH!! Let me soul-swap with you!! Can you hear me?! I’ll give up my entire soul, just let me be youuuu aaaaaa]
[Multiverse citizen check-in: I’m so hungry I’m gnawing on my classmate.]
[Interstellar realm check-in: I was so hungry I got in my mech and blew up the school cafeteria.]
[Ancient realm check-in: So hungry I started a revolution and overthrew the feudal monarchy…]
The Heavenly Dao ate with surgical precision.
From the skin, to the tendon, to the cartilage—even once only bones remained, it gnawed over every piece multiple times, not wasting a single drop of marinade.
Taotie gave it a disdainful glance—then casually tossed his entire bone into his mouth and crunched it to dust.
Real men, he seemed to say, leave nothing behind when eating food their wife made.
At last, the Heavenly Dao reluctantly licked its lips and set the bone down.
It then looked to Jian Yunlan—eager, but trying to be subtle—extending its right hand, rubbing its thumb and forefinger together.
—Boss Jian. Pig trotter. Hungry. Food please!
Jian Yunlan looked up at the net of divine light still suspended in the sky above him and Taotie. He gave the Heavenly Dao the same eager-yet-subtle look, and also rubbed thumb and forefinger together.
—Honored Heavenly Dao. Want more pig trotter? …You know the drill.
“Oh oh oh! Totally forgot about that part!” The Heavenly Dao scratched its head and looked up at the net.
Without much hesitation, it turned to Jian Yunlan and gave him a ‘leave it to me’ expression. Then, with a solid slap to its chest, declared:
“About that execution thing? Not a problem, not a problem. Boss Jian and Lord Taotie are the backbone of the snack stall world—executing them would be such a shame! It’d violate the natural order!”
“Execution, terminated.”
The Heavenly Dao snapped its fingers effortlessly.
In the next moment, the dark clouds gathered in the sky vanished abruptly, and strands of the clear evening light began to shine through.
The glowing net of light in the sky also began to fade at the edges, gradually dimming.
Jian Yunlan and Taotie exchanged a glance. Standing side by side, both of them looked up at the dissolving light net with a touch of emotion.
Was it really over… just like that?
Well, so be it.
After this was over, as promised, he’d keep running the food stall until everyone had a chance to buy something! Jian Yunlan thought with eager anticipation.
After this, they could live together, sleep together, daydream, play games, watch TV, and set up their stall side by side… Taotie thought longingly.
And soon, he’d be able to eat as many pig trotters as he wanted! the Heavenly Dao thought, practically drooling.
By now, the glowing net above Jian Yunlan and Taotie had fully dissolved into the sunset, leaving behind only a few faint flecks of light.
The shadow of death had completely lifted from above their heads.
…However, just as the last flicker of light was about to disappear, everything changed.
Those final, faint fragments of light suddenly burst into a blinding glare, rapidly multiplying like mold. In a blink, they had expanded hundreds—no, thousands—of times over, intertwining into a brand new, denser net of light.
This new net was even sharper than before, its edges glowing with crimson fire, instantly surrounding Jian Yunlan and Taotie once more—and quickly tightening!
Jian Yunlan frowned and looked at the Heavenly Dao. “Honored Heavenly Dao, this isn’t what you promised.”
Taotie, furious, grabbed the humanoid light form of the Heavenly Dao by the neck and hoisted it up:
“You little brat—trying to cheat us?!”
“……”
Under their interrogation, the Heavenly Dao’s realistic, human-like lips trembled, but it didn’t say a word.
…Its expression was one of confusion, shock, and sudden realization.
After a long silence, the light figure actually fell to its knees with a thud.
Not only did it kneel—it grabbed onto Jian Yunlan’s leg and began howling in despair, its tears bursting forth as rays of light like a glowing fountain:
“Wuwuwu, what do I do, what do I doooo—I forgot, I forgot!! I’m such a fool! I actually forgot something this important, wuwuwuwu!!”
“I regret it, I really regret it!” it sobbed, putting its hands together and kowtowing frantically to who-knows-what.
“Boss Jian can’t die! He’s my one and only god! Without him, who will make me delicious pig trotters…”
And yet, even as the Heavenly Dao said all this, the new light net didn’t stop—on the contrary, it tightened even faster, rapidly shrinking in toward Jian Yunlan and Taotie. In an instant, it was nearly touching their bodies.
Even someone as even-tempered as Jian Yunlan couldn’t take it anymore. His voice sharpened with anger: “What game are you playing? If you mean to kill us, just say so. You are the Heavenly Dao—what need is there for lies?”
Hearing this, the Heavenly Dao cried even harder, shaking its head furiously:
“Boss Jian, I swear I’m not lying! I don’t want you to die at all! But the Annihilation Platform was born at the dawn of time—it’s just as powerful and ancient as I am. Nothing like this has happened in all of history, so I… I forgot…”
“Forgot what?!” Jian Yunlan demanded.
The Heavenly Dao wiped away tears: “I forgot… the Annihilation Platform only ever allows one person at a time.
If two people step on it together… then only one of them can survive.”
“So… between Taotie and Jian Yunlan… only one can live.”
“You have to choose.”
“……”
Why wouldn’t you say that earlier?!
Inside the shrinking light net, Jian Yunlan and Taotie could feel the air thinning, the burning light searing their skin and stirring an intense, unspeakable unease.
Two pale-white orbs of light floated into the air, coming to rest in front of each of them.
Only one may live.
Jian Yunlan could feel it clearly—the light net wasn’t just energy, but a manifestation of the world’s own will. The rule didn’t need to be spoken; it was etched directly into his mind:
As soon as either of them reached out and touched their orb of light, the net would constrict and swallow that person into eternal death, while the other would be allowed to go free.
Though the air around him was stiflingly hot, Jian Yunlan felt a coldness wash over him, from head to toe.
The temperature of death itself.
At first, he could still hear the Heavenly Dao’s constant wailing from beyond the light net—annoying and persistent. But gradually, it faded into silence.
The world around him blurred into dim shadow, as if everything was tilting, crumbling. Jian Yunlan felt short of breath, his heart aching as if it were beating without direction, like a fly trapped in darkness, searching for any hint of light.
…Then, in that shadowy chaos, someone grasped his hand.
“Don’t be afraid.”
The Beast Lord spoke slowly and clearly.
“Jian Yunlan, don’t be afraid. Look at me.”
A warmth like a furnace radiated from Taotie’s palm, banishing the cold that surrounded him.
Jian Yunlan opened his eyes—and met Taotie’s steady gaze.
Looking into Taotie’s dark golden eyes, Jian Yunlan suddenly found all his panic and unease vanishing without a trace.
Reflected in each of their pupils was the other’s figure.
The burning light net cast crisscrossing patterns of shadow and brilliance across their bodies, making their faces even clearer.
In Jian Yunlan’s eyes, there was no death, no apocalypse, none of the disasters and misfortunes that had arrived or were about to arrive—there was only Taotie.
Taotie, who had always watched him, and only him, with such unwavering focus.
Amazingly, his heart completely calmed.
“……”
“Only one of us can live—who should it be?” Jian Yunlan couldn’t help but smile. “Lord Taotie, if you were the one to survive… would you feel lonely?”
Taotie gave a cold snort, “Leave me behind? Jian Yunlan, in your dreams.”
“Well, in that case…”
Jian Yunlan’s fingers slid into Taotie’s palm, their hands interlocking tightly without the slightest hesitation.
Hand in hand with the one you love, even the unknown of death feels like an exciting field trip.
“Let’s go together.”
They smiled at each other, then reached out together and grasped the glowing white orbs before them.
And then—they kissed.
A kiss so long, it seemed like it could last until the end of the world.
In that moment, time itself seemed to stop.
The entire world fell into a deep, heavy silence.
The next second, the blazing net of light tightened abruptly, surging toward them like a tidal wave.
…They only rested their foreheads together, closed their eyes, and were pierced through by that radiant torrent.
Their figures vanished in an instant.
