Chapter 408

Chapter 408: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

"What do you mean?"

The Wind God paused for a moment, and a feeling of unease surged within him.

At the same time, something within the depths of his mind seemed to sense this, and subtle mental waves began to spread, seemingly guiding his thoughts in another direction.

"Hmph!"

The God of Theater snorted coldly, then raised his right hand and pulled sharply.

In the next moment, a phantom in the shape of a sinister flower was forcefully drawn out by the God of Theater.

"Ugh…"

The Wind God let out a muffled groan, feeling as if his head had been pierced by thousands of needles in that instant.

But when he saw the sinister flower phantom in the God of Theater’s hand, he realized that his earlier sensation was not an illusion.

"Xiao Feng, hang in there."

"You might have a bit too much going on in your head."

The God of Theater spoke softly, then without giving the Wind God time to respond—or his mental tactics time to react—he unleashed tremendous power that erupted all around them.

With unmatched ferocity!

The most advanced solutions often adopt the most direct approaches.

And under the God of Theater’s unmasked explosive expulsion, one strange phantom after another began to appear in his hands.

Some phantoms attempted to escape the moment they emerged.

But under the God of Theater’s control, how could they possibly flee just like that?

Let alone escape; even if they wanted to self-destruct, they could not accomplish it at all.

Even though the being standing here was merely the God of Theater’s weakest avatar, the power he possessed was not something mere tactics could withstand.

Most importantly, the God of Theater manifested these mental tactics and conspiracies through phantoms to serve as the most direct material for persuading the Wind God.

In this situation, to let these things go would be a great insult to the God of Theater.

On the other hand, the Wind God, who had started with a muffled groan of pain, slowly crouched down, trying to endure the agony caused by the removal of the internal tactics.

Finally, when the God of Theater extracted the last cunning curse from Within Us, he was left completely limp, sitting on the ground without any dignity.

The pain caused by a single tactic’s removal felt no less than having his bones crushed and skin pulled off.

When all these tactics were concentrated and extracted in just a few minutes, the combined suffering was more than even the strong-willed Wind God could bear.

It hurt!

It hurt too much!

"Xiao Feng, take a look at the fruits of your labor over the years."

The God of Theater glanced at the Wind God, then waved his right hand, sending a milky white healing light flowing into him.

Under the effect of the healing power, the Wind God’s pain began to subside.

With the successful completion of the God of Theater’s healing procedure, the Wind God quickly stood up and turned his gaze toward the direction the God of Theater had pointed.

What he saw was a bizarre assortment of objects, each unique in shape and appearance, glowing with an eerie "wisdom" light.

"This… was pulled out from within me?"

The Wind God hesitated for a moment before asking with difficulty.

What on earth are these things?

He had never seen anything like them before!

And now he was being told that these things had been inside him?

For a long time, no less?

What does this even mean?

Do others know me better than I know myself?

"What else could it be?"

The God of Theater chimed in, "Now, tell me, what are your thoughts?"

"I’m particularly curious—who have your true friends been all these years?"

As he spoke, the God of Theater gestured toward a floating, round, strange object and explained, "See these things?"

"These are mental tactics deeply embedded in your mind, cultivated only while you were in deep sleep."

"Planting them was no easy task, but once they took root, your mental defenses were practically breached."

"Let me ask you this: can you only sense your friends’ thoughts in fragments now?"

The Wind God: "…"

At that moment, he fell into an awkward silence.

Not for any other reason, but because the God of Theater was absolutely right.

At first, he could sense the thoughts of his friends from the Hidden Killing clan.

They genuinely wanted to befriend him and truly cared for him during crucial moments.

But over time, he found it harder to directly perceive their thoughts.

Or rather, it wasn’t as seamless as it used to be.

He had subtly probed his friends about this, both openly and discreetly, using his own communication methods.

His friends told him that a powerful figure in their clan had developed an advanced technique.

This technique could effectively block external probing and significantly strengthen one’s divine sense.

At the time, his friends generously shared this technique with him.

Initially, he had his doubts, but recalling their sincerity, he gradually let his guard down.

If his friends were so genuine, how could he possibly doubt their intentions?

But now, it seemed he was wrong—dead wrong!

You’ve messed up big time!

Those so-called true friends in your heart? They’re nothing but wolves in sheep’s clothing!

Those people deserve to die!

“Looking back now, don’t you feel like slapping yourself a couple of times?”

The God of Theater seemed to read the Wind God’s mind, speaking in a calm, almost eerie tone.

The Wind God took a deep breath, then raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

This slap was for being blind and clueless!

“Slap!”

The Wind God raised his hand again, delivering another sharp slap.

This slap was for trusting outsiders.

They were clearly different, yet he’d been stupid enough to believe and trust them!

“Slap!”

Another slap, the third one.

This slap was for being oblivious to all the tricks planted on him.

So incredibly foolish!

So shockingly stupid!

When had he become this dumb?

Why hadn’t he noticed it from the start?

“Enough!”

The God of Theater waved his hand, cutting off the Wind God’s self-punishment.

“That’s enough. Watching you beat yourself up is making me feel a bit sorry for you.”

“If you’re really that mad at your own stupidity, you can slap yourself after I leave, or when you’re alone.”

“Then, you can slap yourself as much as you want. Out of sight, out of mind!”

Here, the God of Theater paused, then spoke with a serious tone, “In this time and space, it’s just you and the Fighting God left.”

“The Shadow God… she was supposed to be your ally too, but due to special circumstances, she won’t firmly stand by your side.”

“So, you and the Fighting God can only rely on each other.”

“After we leave, you need to be careful. The Fighting God isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and can easily fall into traps.”

“You, on the other hand, can see through people’s intentions and judge the good and evil in the world. So, you need to support the Fighting God well and make sure you don’t get played by such weaklings again.”

“Do you… understand?”