Chapter 38: Oh no, a life-or-death crisis is upon us!

After completing these tasks, Li Yan resumed seeing patients. Throughout the night, over a dozen more entities arrived, all of whom were killed by him. Li Yan hid their remains before locking the clinic doors to get some sleep.

However, no sooner had he laid down than he was struck by a wave of dizziness, and the entire room seemed to spin violently. Li Yan clutched his head and cried out in agony. Suddenly, a mass of black substance surged out of his body, repeatedly weaving in and out of his flesh. A voice echoed in his mind: "I am giving you one more chance. If I catch you killing them in secret again, I will make you die in torment."

After the voice faded, Li Yan endured the pain for a long while before finally recovering. He felt a sense of despair, realizing he had been played; despite his thorough checks, he was under surveillance after all. He decided to act with greater caution from now on.

Li Yan fell asleep and woke up the next morning. When he stepped outside to search for food, he discovered that the world of the supernatural was snowing—but it was a snow of blood. The entire ground was stained a dark crimson. Li Yan was filled with apprehension, unsure of the cause, but the sight of people suspended in the air immediately clarified the situation. Blood was streaming from their bodies, and they appeared to be in immense pain, constantly being lacerated by blades.

Li Yan flew toward them, desperate to rescue them, but he found it impossible. A barrier surrounded each of them, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not shatter it. To his utter despair, he spotted his own parents among the suspended victims. They were shouting at him in desperation, "Son, save us! We have struggled so hard to survive until now; we really don't want to die here."

After confirming that this was no hallucination—that his parents were truly there—Li Yan flew rapidly toward Li Wangxi and Wang Yanjing. He unleashed his energy, attacking the ropes that held them. The ropes swayed slightly.

To his surprise, it actually worked. He was overjoyed, but looking down, he realized the height was immense; his parents could not fly, and a fall would surely kill them. Furrowing his brow, he instructed them, "Don't move. I will save you. You must listen to me, understand?"

With tears in his eyes, Li Yan thought quickly, attempting to conjure a barrier in the air with his energy before resuming his attacks on the ropes. Just as the rope holding Li Wangxi was about to snap, an accident occurred. Li Wangxi, who had been struggling and trembling with fear, suddenly went completely still, his eyes tightly shut as if he had not awakened at all.

Watching this, Li Yan was seized by panic. *Has my father died?* But he did not speak. He quickly severed the rope, caught his father, and brought him safely to the ground. He turned to fly back up to save Wang Yanjing, but to his shock, the sky had changed. The figures hanging in the air had vanished as if they had never existed.

As Li Yan stood in confusion, he noticed the eyes of a massive sculpture staring directly at him. A terrifying red light emanated from them, and more eyes began to appear across the sculpture’s body, all fixed upon him. Li Yan felt a chill run down his spine, shivering uncontrollably. He realized he had fallen into a trap. He looked toward the ground, and as expected, Li Wangxi’s body was gone.

Disappointment washed over him, but he knew he had to keep living. He began to fly toward the ground, but before he could get far, he was enveloped by a massive surge of energy and dragged into the Palace of the Supernatural.

Before Li Yan could even process what was happening, the Overlord of the Supernatural struck him thirty times across the face. Li Yan glared at the creature, fists clenched, burning with the desire for revenge, but he forced himself to hold back. "Why did you hit me, Lord?" he asked.

The Overlord laughed. "You failed my test. You deserve to die."

Seeing that the Overlord had been so direct, Li Yan dropped the pretense. He drew his blade and began hacking at the Overlord's tentacles. The creature parried his attacks, while one of its heads lunged forward, attempting to bite Li Yan to death. Li Yan showed no fear and severed the head, immediately destroying it to prevent it from regrowing.

Yet, to his dismay, the head manifested again on the Overlord’s neck. Li Yan felt his spirit break; the monster seemed impossible to kill. Just as he hesitated, a familiar figure appeared. Stunned, Li Yan stammered, "Cat God, why are you here?" He had always believed the Cat God was unable to escape.

In the split second Li Yan turned to speak, the Overlord launched a sneak attack. Li Yan was caught off guard and nearly struck, but the Cat God stepped in, taking the full force of the blow. The impact sent the Cat God crashing to the ground in agony.

Seeing this, Li Yan no longer held back. He shed his disguise, transforming into a half-entity. Having absorbed a great deal of resentment over the past few days, his power had increased significantly. With his blade, now surging with dark energy, he charged at the Overlord.

The Overlord sneered at the half-entity. "Do you think you can defeat me just by becoming a half-breed?"

With that, the Overlord unleashed his power, sealing off the entire Palace of the Supernatural. He conjured the victims who had been held in cages, suspending them in the air with his energy. They cried out to Li Yan for help. Li Yan fought with all his might, but no matter what spells he cast, he could not free them. Instead, he suffered grievous wounds and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

The Overlord laughed even more maniacally as he looked down at the broken Li Yan. "You are a failure. You cannot save anyone. Because of your incompetence, they will all die here."