Xie Zhuo regained consciousness!

At the same time, the ears on his head and the tail behind him gradually transformed into points of light, like fireflies on a summer night, drifting away.

He had defeated the Evil God within his body, seized control of this vessel, and finally ended his prolonged growth phase…

The growth phase was merely groundwork laid by the Snow Wolf tribe. Only after the growth phase ended could one’s destiny truly begin.

The offerings Xie Zhuo had previously received gave him a foundation far beyond ordinary people. I believe this is why, in the future, despite being a demon, he could wield the divine weapon Pangu Fu and repeatedly cleave through space and time…

But at this moment, I had no time to feel happy about Xie Zhuo’s growth.

Before he regained consciousness, the Evil God had already injected his evil spirit aura into every Snow Wolf tribe member’s body.

Everyone had begun to transform. Some became evil spirits, some even directly turned into mindless, vengeful ghosts, beginning to tear at their tribespeople!

Blood and flesh everywhere, black energy overflowing…

The entire ice and snow forest had become like hell.

Xie Zhuo clutched his head. Having just awakened from chaos, his mind was still somewhat foggy. I saw a Snow Wolf tribe member, body emitting black energy, lunge toward Xie Zhuo!

I thought he had lost his reason and was about to attack Xie Zhuo, but instead, I saw him trembling violently, clutching Xie Zhuo’s arm as if grasping a lifeline.

“Kill me!” he screamed, as if all the cowardice, terror, and pain of these years exploded in this phrase that defied the Evil God’s curse: “I don’t want this! Kill me!”

Xie Zhuo looked at him, his just-cleared eyes taking in this broken, disheveled face.

He stood frozen, momentarily seeming to forget how to move.

That man’s screams and wails seemed to awaken the last bit of reason deep in the hearts of all the Snow Wolf tribe members.

“Kill me!”

“I won’t serve the Evil God!”

“I don’t want to be controlled anymore!”

“Kill me!”

“Xie Zhuo!”

Everyone who could still control themselves was screaming. Even those who had transformed into vengeful ghosts had tears of blood in the corners of their eyes.

With the final cry calling Xie Zhuo’s name, Xie Zhuo drew the sword from that person’s side and thrust it into his neck with one strike.

His swordsmanship was clean, delivering death in a single move.

Black evil spirit aura gushed out of his mouth, mixed with fresh blood.

Xie Zhuo’s hands were stained with blood, and an evil spirit aura drifted past his eyes. The hand gripping the sword hilt trembled, his knuckles appearing even paler against the backdrop of blood.

Standing by, I watched Xie Zhuo. I saw his lips pressed tightly together, the veins bulging on his forehead, and I also saw the person whose throat he had pierced use his lips to silently form three words to Xie Zhuo.

“Thank you…”

This was probably the first expression of gratitude he had received in his life.

Xie Zhuo pulled out the sword. As blood gushed forth, the dead man directly transformed into a mass of black evil spirit aura, then was instantly torn apart by the pure energy of the ice and snow forest.

In an instant, a life left behind only a charcoal-black mark where it had been. Even this mark was slowly being erased by the ice lake.

Xie Zhuo had no time for compassion. He swung his sword to shake off the blood on the blade. With pressed lips and determined eyes, he walked toward his tribespeople.

Sword rising and falling, blood spraying through the air.

A battle that could only be called a massacre. There was little resistance, only scattered vengeful ghosts driven by evil spirit aura lunging at Xie Zhuo, finding release under his sword.

I saw many people, many of whom, in their final moment, said to Xie Zhuo—

“Thank you”.

This was perhaps the gentlest day the Snow Wolf tribe people had shown Xie Zhuo in all these years.

But perhaps also the most cruel day…

It seemed like a slaughter, yet also like redemption.

I felt a wave of grief surge from the depths of my soul.

I looked at the blood-stained Xie Zhuo, without ears or tail, the same Xie Zhuo who had married me…

Looking at him like this, I felt an indescribable sadness.

In my daze, I recalled when I went to the cave to see Xie Xuanqing during my mission to sever fated relationships.

Xie Xuanqing had told me, “I am of the Snow Wolf demon tribe.”

“As rumors say, I exterminated my entire clan, killed my closest kin.”

“My past contains much that is unbearable.”

I closed my soul consciousness, unable to watch anymore. I never imagined that the rumors and unbearable things he spoke of could be so cruel and tragic.

He was originally just a child.

A child who wanted to grow summer flowers, a child who wanted to raise a puppy.

But why was he here, achieving redemption through slaughter?

I don’t know how much time passed. The day was gone, and even the moon had risen in the sky. The sound of the sword blade cutting through skin and bone finally stopped.

I opened my soul consciousness to see Xie Zhuo’s final sword blade pointing at Xie Ling’s neck.

But his sword tip stopped just before Xie Ling’s neck.

Blood, seemingly still warm, fell drop by drop onto Xie Ling’s neck.

In Xie Ling’s eyes, the whites had turned turbid, but she seemed to retain a final measure of reason: “Kill me, then take your own life,” she said calmly to Xie Zhuo.

“All right…”

Xie Zhuo responded just as calmly.

This calmness was like when he was a child, following step by step behind Xie Ling, neither crying nor making a fuss, walking back with her to her home with Zhu Lian, then stopping in his designated place, standing there for a long time before silently returning.

Xie Zhuo didn’t hesitate, thrusting forward with his sword, but at the moment the blade was about to pierce Xie Ling’s neck, she moved slightly backward, looking somewhat anxiously into the distance.

“I hear his footsteps, he’s coming back.”

Xie Zhuo frowned slightly. I saw the black spot on his brow flash with black energy.

“Spare Zhu Lian,” Xie Ling glared at Xie Zhuo. “No matter what happens, spare him.”

Xie Zhuo’s lips pressed together slightly.

In the distance, from outside the ice and snow forest, came Zhu Lian’s calls. He seemed to have discovered something, his voice rapidly approaching.

“Promise me!” Xie Ling looked at Xie Zhuo pleadingly. “For the sake that I gave you life.”

Xie Zhuo’s fingers tightened on the sword hilt. As he struck, I heard him respond: “All right…”

The sword entered her throat. Xie Ling closed her eyes, transforming into a black evil spirit aura, torn apart by the pure energy of the ice and snow forest.

“Mother!”

A scream came from outside the ice and snow forest.

Xie Zhuo didn’t even glance in that direction. He raised the sword to his neck. Just as he was about to behead himself, suddenly! Zhu Lian lunged at him.

“Xie Zhuo! I want you dead!”

Carrying immense hatred, with strange energy vortexes swirling at his sides, the evil spirit aura in the air that had been torn apart actually began drifting toward him bit by bit under the influence of this energy.

It was Zhu Lian’s hatred! Gathering the evil spirit aura!

This gathered evil spirit aura seemed to affect the Evil God inside Xie Zhuo’s body!

The black spot on Xie Zhuo’s brow flashed with a subtle flame. Xie Zhuo’s hand movement suddenly halted. He gritted his teeth, seemingly using all his strength to struggle, trying to drive the blade into his neck, but by now Zhu Lian had lunged to Xie Zhuo’s front.

No one had expected it! That black spot flashed out a cluster of needle-like lightning, with lightning speed, boring into Zhu Lian’s brow.

The black lightning that entered Zhu Lian’s brow quickly exploded into a ball of energy, and both Xie Zhuo and Zhu Lian were thrown back by the force.

Xie Zhuo, having just battled the Evil God’s soul and then slaughtered the tribe, seemed to have exhausted his spiritual power. He fell to the ground and didn’t rise for a long time.

On the other side, after Zhu Lian fell to the ground, his body was engulfed by a black evil spirit aura. He clutched his head, seemingly in extreme pain.

“No… kill… ah!” He fell into extreme pain and confusion, and clearly, the Evil God did not wish to linger here.

Perhaps, in the process of fighting Xie Zhuo for control of the body, he, too, had been severely weakened.

He controlled Zhu Lian’s body, staggering away into the distance.

Xie Zhuo wanted to give chase, but his body had truly reached its limit. Without the support of the evil spirit aura, the injuries he had suffered earlier seemed to resurface.

He lay on the ground, the sword in his hand never loosening its grip.

In this first confrontation between Xie Zhuo and the Evil God, victory and defeat were hard to determine. Because at this time, no one in the world yet knew how the Evil God had returned. Even if Xie Zhuo took his own life today, he might not be able to destroy the Evil God.

I floated to the seemingly unconscious Xie Zhuo.

As a soul, I pressed against his blood-stained cheek, silently, invisibly accompanying him.

I knew that from this moment on, his journey was perhaps just beginning.