Boom!
轰隆！
The bonfire violently erupted, wild flames spreading like a storm wind as the phantom sounds dissipated in agony.
篝火猛烈爆开，肆掠火焰狂风般荡开，幻音惨然消散。
After the dust settled, Yang Zicang’s gradually recovering form emerged.
烟尘平息后，杨子藏逐渐恢复的身影显露而出。
Asner did not exist, yet Yang Zicang felt an additional power within himself.
阿斯纳并不存在，但杨子藏感觉自己身上多出了什么力量。
Just then, accompanied by several savage wails, several red shadows swiftly swept across the night sky over the savage camp and shot into the flames. These were minor evil nightmares manifested from other “artificial beings.”
就在这时，伴随几道野人惨叫，数道红影自野人营地迅速掠过夜空，射入火焰之中。这是其它“人造物”化现的小恶魇。
At this moment, almost every savage began emitting a dangerous aura as they fled in chaos.
此刻几乎每个野人身上都开始散发出危险气息，他们正在混乱逃离。
“Damn it, even wrapping oneself in animal skin counts as one?” The thought had just emerged when Yang Zicang immediately found his mental intent twisted.
“遭了，连裹个兽皮也算数吗？”刚诞生此念，杨子藏立即发现心念被扭转。
-[Some matters are more urgent; for now, we must deal with the main enemy.]
-[事有轻重缓急，眼下需应对主要敌人。]
It felt as if there were another presence within his mind, but that was nothing new—Yang Zicang had grown accustomed to it.
内心就像是多了个人似的，但这并没有什么，杨子藏已经习惯了。
Just as he turned to leave, a low yet powerful phantom roar echoed once again between the cliffs.
刚转身准备离开，低沉有力的幻音咆哮却重新在崖壁间回荡。
Within the fire, a sinister obscurity was gathering.
火中有森然晦能在聚集。
“Not dead?”
“没死？”
So that’s what Asina meant.
原来阿斯纳是这个意思。
Amid the smoke and dust, the dark red flame lost its shape; it tried to manifest several times but failed.
烟尘内，那团暗红火焰失去形状，它数次想要显现，却未成功。
Yang Zicang quickly took an evil nightmare form out of his pocket, infused it with temporal sequence, and hurled it out. Unexpectedly, the residual energy of the flame nightmare soared far along with the pierced nightmare corpse, engulfing and refining it.
杨子藏赶紧随手掏出个恶魇形体注入时序打出。哪知火焰恶魇的残留能量，居然跟着射穿的恶魇尸骸窜出老远，将其包裹着炼化。
“What! Damn it!”
“什么，可恶啊！”

[The evil nightmares you speak of come in many different types; those born from fire are more powerful; moreover, they contain spiritual power from original worship, far surpassing ordinary nightmare levels.]
-[你们口中的恶魇分为许多不同种类，此种由火焰诞生的则更为强大，而且它蕴含许多原始崇拜的精神念力，已经远远超过普通恶魇水平。]
The flame devoured the spiritual war vessel born from the desert, then took form rapidly. It turned into a several-meter-long creature resembling a desert centipede—like an earth dragon!
那火焰将沙漠内诞生的灵物战器吞没后，快速化形，是个类似沙漠蜈蚣的地龙般的数米长生物！
“Damn, it can even devour similar beings and revive?!” Yang Zicang was shocked.
“靠，还能吞掉同类复生？！”杨子藏大惊。
The fire monster’s head, reborn by swallowing the spiritual war vessel, was as fierce as a tiger or wolf, but at its sides grew curved fire pincers used to deliver food to its mouth.
吞下灵物战器而重生的火焰怪物头颅，如虎狼般威猛，但在其嘴边又左右长着可将食物送往口内的弯曲火钳。
They seemed like the ferocious jaws of a Bobbitt worm.
它们就像是博比特虫的凶猛巨颚。
……
……

[Rising from the ashes is a fundamental property of fire.]
-[死灰复燃是火焰的根本特性。]
“I understand.”
“我晓得了。”
……
……
The nightmare monster’s gaze was like a torch, its massive, two-person-wide body coiling swiftly as it charged forward, scorching heat waves causing the air to rumble with a dull roar.
恶魇怪物目光如炬，曲起两人宽的庞大身躯快速冲来，灼热气浪烧得空气也发出闷响。
Yang Zicang unfurled his form, dodging like a phantom, and whipped his long spear across with ferocity.
杨子藏身形一展，如同鬼魅般闪避开，扬起长枪凌厉抽打而去。
Boom! Boom!
轰轰！
The monster slithered left and right like a snake; fortunately, Yang Zicang was unafraid of flames, and even if struck, his body could quickly recover.
怪物如蛇左右窜动，还好杨子藏并不畏惧火焰，哪怕被抽中身体也能快速复原。
The dangerous aura around them grew thicker. The monster, having devoured its kind, became even stronger. How could anyone still play this game?
周围诞生的危险气息越来越多。吞噬同类的怪物气息变得更强，这还怎么玩。
“Eeya!”
“咦呀！”
“Hah!”
“哈啊！”
Two barbarian chiefs angrily charged at the fire, holding up boulders.
两个野人首领愤怒地举着石块奔向火焰。
“Stop! You idiots!”
“停下！你们！”
[Dispatch!]
[调度！]
The two barbarians, lifting rocks with reckless abandon, ran before the monster in an X-shaped arc. The long fur on their beast-hide bodies was ignited by the high temperature, forcing them to roll on the ground in a panic to douse the flames.
两个举着岩石悍不畏死的野人，在怪物前跑出个X形掠过。他们身上的兽皮长毛被高温引燃不少，慌得这两人赶紧满地打滚灭火。
[I have achieved over 80% mental resonance with the Melt-Vein Master, Asne.]
[我和融脉者阿斯纳契合了超过80%的心力共鸣。]
[I am beginning to understand the Explosive Wind Fist!]
[我开始理解爆风拳！]
Involuntarily, Yang Zicang activated certain dormant forces within him. A profound clarity enveloped his mind, as if someone were guiding him hand in hand. He clenched his fist—and struck!
杨子藏不由自主运转体内某些不曾觉察过的力量，一种空明萦绕着心灵，仿佛有人手把手教导自己般，他缩紧拳头，一拳打出！
Rumble!
轰隆！
A giant phantom fist burst forth, exploding fiercely! The flames scattered in all directions! The flaming centipede monster was sent flying by the fist shadow, which felt as tremendous as a deity’s. It expanded into a gale-force wind, roaring across the forest.
庞大拳头虚影冲出炸开，火焰轰地四散开来！火焰蜈蚣怪物被这道宛若巨人的拳影打出老远，扩散成一道席卷山林的狂风。
The trees swayed.
树木摇摆。
[I unleash the Explosive Wind Fist!]
[我发动爆风拳！]
The Time-Sequence Golden Radiance imbued within rippled outward, and as it swept over the primitive men, it temporarily suppressed the birth of the beast-hide Nightmares.
付诸其中的时序金辉扩散荡漾，它们卷动到那些原始人身上时，暂时压制了兽皮恶魇的诞生。

[Remember this feeling. You’re on your own now.]
-[记住它的感觉，接下来靠你自己了。]
[My heart resonance with the Vein Convergence Asna exceeds 60%.]
[我和融脉者阿斯纳契合了超过60%的心力共鸣。]
[My heart resonance with the Vein Convergence Asna falls below 45%. Resonance terminated.]
[我和融脉者阿斯纳契合度低于45%，共鸣解除。]
Yang Zicang gazed at the frozen river in the distance.
杨子藏看向远方结冰的河流。
“Come on, you fiend!”
“来吧，妖怪！”
Yang Zicang’s confidence reignited.
杨子藏重新燃起了信心。
On the snowfield, a furious centipede with the head of a tiger and wolf was lured away by Yang Zicang as his golden-glowing weapon lashed at it relentlessly. The battle raged all the way to the riverbank.
雪地上，愤怒的虎狼头颅蜈蚣被杨子藏引走，带着金辉的武器不断抽打。一路战到了河边。
BOOM! Half of the Nightmare’s body instantly melted the ice and plunged into the river, sizzling like a red-hot iron ingot, releasing a massive cloud of steam.
轰！恶魇的半个身躯瞬间融化冰面跌入河中，仿佛烧红的大铁块落入般呲地涌起大量蒸汽。
“Since you jumped in, don’t even think of leaving!”
“既然下来了，就别走了！”
Through the steam, golden light and flames clashed; the destructive power and sheer force of the two silhouettes left the savages utterly awestruck.
蒸汽中，金芒与火焰互搏，两道身影的破坏力与威势让众野人震撼得无以复加。
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
轰轰轰轰！
Countless savages gathered around, gazing in terror at this battle reminiscent of gods—they finally understood why even the shaman had bowed before him.
无数野人围了过来，恐惧地看着这宛若神灵般的战斗，他们终于明白为何连巫也愿意在他身前低头。
……

“Ooh-argh~!”
“嗷呃~！”
After several collisions, with a deafening muffled roar, the flame monster, which had boiled away much of the river water, shuddered violently, collapsed limply, and dissipated like fireworks.
数次对撞后，随着声震耳欲聋的闷响，烧干不少河水的火焰怪物身躯猛地一震，瘫软倒下，如烟花般消散。
As soon as it died, Yang Zicang immediately rushed to the shore, arbitrarily tore off a piece of animal skin casually wrapped around a savage, and punched it.
它一死，杨子藏立即冲向岸上，不由分说扯下一野人随意裹在身上的兽皮一拳砸去。
Thanks to the golden wind of time that had permeated that previous punch, the malignant nightmares contained within the animal skins had still not fully manifested.
得益于之前那拳弥漫时序的金色狂风，兽皮们蕴量的恶魇到现在还未完全诞生。
“Good, I’ve managed to save at least one tribe.”
“还好，终于保下了个部落。”
After a flurry of activity, turning thousands of beast hides into low-level spiritual artifact templates with a strange aura, Yang Zicang finally had the chance to wade back into the water, where something was constantly emitting heat, causing the river water to boil and gurgle.
一翻忙碌后，让数千兽皮都成为具有妖异气息的低级灵物模器，杨子藏才有机会重新淌入水中，那里有个不断散发热气将河水煮得翻咕噜的东西。
Picking it up for a look, it turned out to be a stone as red as blood jade.
捡起一瞧，是块血玉般的石头。
Inside, a lava-like glow slowly flowed, with a faint, coiled shadow of a wolf-headed flame centipede curling within.
里面缓缓流动着熔岩似的光芒，若影若现的狼头火焰蜈蚣虚影在其中卷曲。
[I have obtained the Spiritual Artifact Template. It can probably devour the spirits of other nightmares.]
[我获得了灵物模器，它大概能吞噬别的恶魇之灵。]
Startled for a moment, Yang Zicang said, “So your power is to devour your own kind. No wonder.”
惊愕了下，杨子藏道：“原来你的能力是吞噬同类，难怪。”
He tossed the radiant, high-temperature crystal in his hand a few times before stepping ashore, where the savage people gathered to welcome him as if he were a shaman.
他将这散发高温的晶石拿在手中抛了抛，走上岸来，众野人如看待巫一般的聚集过来迎接他。
“Stop squatting. Starting today, I’ll teach you language.”
“别蹲了，从今天开始，我教你们语言。”
Yang Zicang said with a smile: “Get ready for a painful kindergarten class.”
杨子藏笑着道：“准备开始痛苦的幼儿园课程吧。”
Meanwhile, he silently recalled that whirlwind-like punch just now, and the energy-circulating path within his body temporarily surfaced along with the memory.
同时他心中默默回忆着刚才那狂风般的一拳，体内那能量运转的线路随着回忆而暂时浮现。
……

One hundred and twenty-one years later.
一百二十一年后。
At the seaside primitive tribe’s settlement, many elderly people who were fishing with nets saw that figure arrive as promised.
海边的原始人聚落处，好些拿网捕鱼的老人见到那道身影如约而至。
He had said he would appear again when a comet appeared in the sky, and indeed, that came true.
他说过，当天边出现彗星时就会再次出现，果真如此。
“Zang.”
“藏。”
A few elderly men with unclear speech gathered around.
几位口齿不清的老人聚集而来。
“No need to be formal.” Yang Zicang wore a gentle expression, carrying a iron sword on his back.
“不用客气。”背着铁剑的杨子藏面目温和。
He turned his head to gaze at the sky, where a small point of light with a tail appeared in the distant horizon.
他转头望向天空，远方天际出现个带着尾迹的小光点。
The young man’s pace was in sync with the comet. He crossed vast wildernesses and distant mountains, destroying the grotesque doom eggs born within one clan after another where he had once stayed.
青年的步调与彗星一致，他跨过茫茫荒野、渺渺山峦，在一处又一处自己停留过的族群内，将诞生的恶魇之卵摧毁。
Over the years, he taught them simple languages, instructing them on how to fend off beasts, fish, grow crops, fire pottery, drink clean water, and bandage wounds.
这些年来，自己教他们简单语言，教导他们如何抵御野兽，如何捕鱼、种庄稼，如何烧制陶器、饮用净水，包扎伤口。
As the comet was about to reach the other side of the land, Yang Zicang arrived at the “Fire Tribe.”
彗星即将到达陆地另一端时，杨子藏也来到了“火部落”。
Once again, many familiar faces were gone, and they no longer recognized him.
又一批熟悉的人不在了，他们不认得自己。
Although there were still a few elders who had seen him before, Yang Zicang felt that his connection to this place had largely faded. After a brief exchange, this man, whose appearance remained unchanged for over a century, departed temporarily amid the reverent gazes of the crowd.
虽然还有几位见过自己的元老，但杨子藏感觉跟这里的联系已经不大。简单交流过后，在众人崇敬的目光中，这位上百年面容不变的人暂时离开。
Accompanied by two chieftains, Yang Zicang arrived at their ancestral cave.
杨子藏在两名老首领的陪伴下来到他们的先祖洞穴。
“Sixty years ago, this place was teeming with people, and now it has become a forgotten memorial hall,” Yang Zicang sighed as he looked at the empty cave.
“六十年前这里还人满为患，现在已经成无人在意的纪念堂了。”杨子藏看着空旷洞穴感叹地道。
He strode into the spacious cave.
迈步宽阔洞穴内。
Although he had interacted with this place for nearly three Jiazi (a period of 180 years), this was, in fact, the first time he had truly set foot inside. The young man’s gaze swept over scattered straw mats and animal-skin mats of various sizes.
虽然打了近三个甲子的交道，但说起来这还是他第一次真正踏入这里。青年的目光从大小不一的废弃草垫与皮垫上扫过。
He looked at the messy stone walls, which were marked with simple lines.
他看向纷乱的石壁，上面也有着简单的线条。
Yang Zicang walked step by step along the stone wall to the right, arriving at the farthest corner, where a dusty beast skull was hung. This area was elaborately adorned, and despite having been abandoned for a long time, it still retained an ancient sense of solemnity.
杨子藏顺着石壁一步步走向右侧，来到最角落悬挂着落灰野兽头骨的区域。这儿精心装扮，虽荒废许久，却依旧有着古老的庄重之感。
The rock paintings near this spot also showed a bit more craftsmanship.
靠近这里的岩画笔迹也稍微有了点章法。
Then, in this abandoned cave, he saw an image of himself.
然后他就在这荒废洞穴上见着了自己的形象。
……

2,400 years later.
两千四百年后。
By the surging river, Yang Zicang, dressed in a coarse cloth robe, climbed to the mountaintop beside the waterfall and gazed at the landscape.
汹涌澎湃的大河边上，身穿粗布长袍的杨子藏登上瀑布旁的山顶，俯瞰山河。
Behind him was a small clearing, where a thatched hut stood.
他身后有块开辟出来的小巧空地，立着间茅屋。
He glanced at the halo on his chest, where the “extra lifespan” known as “Time Sequence” was reduced to just the numbers 1000.
看了眼胸前光环，名为“时序”的“额外寿命”只剩1000这几个数字了。
Since spotting more and more simple figure outlines representing him in primitive tribes, Yang Zicang had roughly guessed where the Bloodline Resonance Statue he was looking for could be found.
自从在越来越多的原始部落见到了代表自己的简笔身影线条后，杨子藏大概猜到自己想要找的血脉雕像在哪里。
It lay in the distant future.
它在遥远的未来。
Four thousand years of Time Sequence was far from enough.
四千年时序，根本不够啊。
[I’m going to temporarily break away from the dream.]
[我要暂时脱离梦境。]
Yang Zicang clutched the glowing envelope and muttered to himself in his mind.
捏着光芒信封的杨子藏在心中对着自己道。
[I suspect that if I leave now, the next time I enter will be when the comet departs once more.]
[我猜测，若现在离开，下次进入应该又是彗星再次离开之时。]
This time, it did not stop him.
这一次它没有阻止自己。
The envelope emitted a swirling vortex of consciousness, and Yang Zicang felt as if in a dream; everything around him seemed unreal.
信封散发出旋转的意识漩涡，杨子藏有种如梦似幻的感觉，周围一切都变得不真实起来。
The sense of primacy from these millennia quickly faded, and various experiences were compressed and packed into his brain like bundled items, causing past and present to overlap in an instant, the vast sense of time rapidly receding.
这几千年的经历悠久感迅速退却，各种经历如同打包物品般迅速被压缩塞入脑中，过去无数经历过的画面与现在在此刻重叠，漫长时光感正急速消退。
[This time, I can take one item with me.]
[此次，我可以带离一个物品。]
“Huh?”
“嗯？”
A certain image flickered.
某个画面闪动。

……
“Hey, you’re awake? I mean, fine, I won’t bother scolding you.”
“嗬哟，醒了？我说你小子，算了，我懒得骂你。”
A whiff of stench drifted over, but still within a tolerable range.
一股臭味飘来，但还在可以忍受的范围之内。
“How long have I been asleep?” Yang Zicang held his head as he sat up.
“我睡了多久？”杨子藏捂着头起身。
Luo Bin, who was munching on roasted meat, leaned in with a skewer.
吃着烤肉的洛滨举着肉串将头凑过来。
“About a day and a half.” He squinted like a fox and asked, “You went to the realm of the stamp emblem?”
“快一天多了吧。”他眼睛眯成狐狸似的道：“你去邮徽的世界了？“
“Yeah.”
“是啊。”
Yang Zicang blurted out the answer automatically, then glared angrily at this fat man.
杨子藏下意识一口就回答了出来，随后一怒地看向这个胖子。
“Good grief, if you keep piling them up, you could almost make a complete stamp emblem. What a shame, what a shame.”
“好家伙，你要是再凑凑，都能拼一个完整邮徽了，可惜啊可惜。”
Luo Bin shook his head happily and spoke with a sarcastic tone.
洛滨开心的摇摇头，阴阳怪气道。
He deliberately wanted to anger this fool; at that moment, his mind was full of the Chrono Weapon that had been snatched away yesterday. Every time he thought of how that gun had been right beside him yet lost, Luo Bin wanted to punch this guy, who slept like a dead pig, a few times.
他故意想气这个傻叉一下，此刻他满脑子都是昨天那被人抢走的时序战器，每每想到那枪原本就在身旁却错失掉，洛宾就想给这睡得跟死猪似的家伙来上几拳。
Yang Zicang sensed his body’s state and found it no different from before falling asleep.
杨子藏感应着身体的状态，跟入睡前没什么不同。
Although he had spent nearly two thousand six hundred years in the dream, upon waking, he immediately felt that experience was as swift and illusory as a dream itself, and his personality hadn’t been affected by that prolonged duration.
虽然在梦境中待了接近两千六百年，但此刻一醒过来他就感觉这经历真如梦境般迅速变得虚幻，自己的人格并没有因为那漫长的经历而出问题。