Inside the Wulun Pagoda, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted.

Violent yuanli burst forth from within, instantly sending those guarding the pagoda flying. Even the fierce Xiezhi statue in front of the pagoda turned to dust under this yuanli impact.

Xiao Shuang stood up from the ground, his gaze pausing slightly: “The restrictions in the pagoda have been broken.”

This Wulun Pagoda had originally been guarded by the Xiezhi. He and the remaining Demon Elimination Army hadn’t dared to act rashly, so they had stayed outside the pagoda. Now that the stone sculpture was shattered, it meant they could all enter the Wulun Pagoda.

“Lord Xiao Shuang!” The Bone Woman’s panicked voice came: “Something’s wrong!”

Xiao Shuang turned around abruptly. Before Zanxing entered the pagoda, she had instructed them not to come up, so the remaining demons had all stayed here. But now, at least half of the demons were lying on the ground, silent and lifeless. The other half seemed to have their primordial souls being slowly drained away, floating toward the towering white pagoda.

“What’s happening?” His heart tightened.

It wasn’t just the demons who were in trouble—the Demon Elimination Army was experiencing the same thing. Many of the Demon Elimination Army had died silently. The remaining members were filled with panic and fear, beginning to lose their composure.

Countless primordial souls flew toward the pagoda.

The small prayer wheel continued to rotate with “creak—” sounds, but this time the rotation was even slower than before.

Mu Cengxiao, Meng Ying, Tian Fangfang, and Ming Jing stood together, each gripping their magical artifacts tightly, locked in a tug-of-war with the rotating Buddha wheel.

The Buddha wheel was about to stop, but because of the countless primordial souls flying in from outside the pagoda, it seemed to suddenly receive new power and began slowly rotating again.

“What’s happening?” Tian Fangfang gritted her teeth and looked at Ming Jing: “Why is this endless? The four of us together can’t overcome one Buddha wheel—is that reasonable?”

Ming Jing’s eyes also showed shock: “No good! He’s driving the Buddha wheel from inside.”

“Driving?” Meng Ying frowned: “What do you mean?”

“The Two-Life Buddha Wheel is a treasure of the three realms, but it’s inherently something that defies Heaven. Reversing the laws of time and changing past and future go against the Heavenly Way. The Buddha wheel won’t keep rotating unless someone continuously drives it, and to drive the Buddha wheel…” He spoke with restraint: “Requires the primordial souls and spirit essence of worldly beings!”

Everyone was stunned.

Mu Cengxiao seemed to understand: “So the reason Yuè’é Mountain is so desolate inside, with not a blade of grass growing near the pagoda—is it also for this reason?”

Ming Jing nodded: “It should be so.”

When Mu Cengxiao and the others arrived, they were puzzled. Outside Yuè’é Mountain, the vegetation was lush and flowers bloomed in clusters, but why was the inner mountain so barren? The Siyou clan people planted flowers and trees daily, yet the forests weren’t as dense as those on the outer mountain. Near the pagoda, it was completely desolate—all apparently because of this Buddha wheel.

Originally, just the existence of this Buddha wheel had nearly exhausted the surrounding spiritual energy. Now that it was being forcibly driven, it naturally required human lives to fill the void. As long as the person inside the Buddha wheel continued driving it, the wheel would ceaselessly devour the divine essence of the surrounding people until there was no one left to use.

“It must be Gui Yansheng’s doing!” Tian Fangfang said hatefully, her gaze falling on the rotating Buddha wheel before becoming anxious again: “My junior sister and uncle must be fighting that demon inside the Buddha wheel. Master, is there no way for us to enter the Buddha wheel too?”

She and Meng Ying had tried to enter, but as soon as they approached the Buddha wheel, they were repelled by invisible restrictions on the wheel.

Ming Jing said, “The Buddha wheel has already recognized Gui Yansheng as its master. The young master could enter because they both have the Heavenly Demon bloodline. Fellow Cultivator Gu was together with the young master and was summoned in by the Buddha wheel as well. We don’t have the Heavenly Demon bloodline, so we can’t be recognized by the Buddha wheel, naturally making it impossible. Moreover, even if we had a Heavenly Demon bloodline, we couldn’t rashly enter the Buddha wheel. The Buddha wheel rotates continuously, and the time spent inside varies. If we find the wrong time…”

Then they would never be able to return to their original position.

“Junior sister…” Meng Ying looked toward the Buddha wheel, her gaze slightly focused.

For now, they could only hope that Zanxing could quickly stop Gui Yansheng.

By the riverbank, Zanxing gripped the Wuyou Stick tightly, circulating all her demonic essence power. The Wuyou Stick, wrapped in heavy flower cascades, struck toward Gui Yansheng.

Murderous aura suddenly flared in the golden-robed youth’s eyes, and the Ashura Umbrella in his hand became increasingly brilliant. The next moment, a silver spear tip came from an oblique thrust, piercing into the umbrella.

The beautiful umbrella surface immediately showed a trace of being torn.

Gui Yansheng smiled sinisterly, holding Xiao Chun as he retreated: “Why rush to die? Your turn will come soon.”

“You’re insane!” Zanxing raged: “The Two-Life Buddha Wheel is driven by human lives. Even if you can save her for a while, time will still move forward! Are you going to use all the lives in the three realms to drive the Buddha wheel?”

“Why not?” His golden pupils gleamed with a cold light in the sunlight, mad as an evil spirit: “What do the three realms matter to me? What do all living beings matter to me? Even if she’s destined to die, I’ll make all beings in the three realms accompany her in death!” With that, the demonic aura in his Ashura Umbrella suddenly intensified. Zanxing felt another piece of the life bead at her waist shatter. The girl held in Gui Yansheng’s arms no longer had blood flowers spreading across her chest.

“If one isn’t enough, I’ll kill two. If two aren’t enough, I’ll kill three. Even if I have to kill hundreds, thousands, or slaughter everyone under Heaven—so what? Benevolence is just an excuse to bind the strong. In this world, the strong are supreme. Since they’re useless, they’re destined to be manipulated by the strong! You don’t need to lecture me with boring principles—these rules aren’t for you to decide!”

He roared, the begonia at his brow center black as ink. Countless violent Demon Lord yuanli burst from his body, and the primordial souls flying around suddenly increased greatly. Zanxing only felt the severe pain in her heart return. Gui Yansheng shared the Demon Lord’s yuanli with her, and for some unknown reason, whenever he circulated his demonic power, she would be in extraordinary pain.

Just then, a hand suddenly grabbed Gui Yansheng’s sleeve.

“Yansheng…” The girl who had been held in Gui Yansheng’s arms all along—Xiao Chun—grasped the corner of his sleeve and softly called his name.

Gui Yansheng looked down, and the murderous aura in his golden eyes dispersed slightly. He grasped Xiao Chun’s hand: “What is it?”

Xiao Chun stared at him seriously, fell silent for a moment, then asked: “Am I already dead?”

All around fell silent.

Gu Baiying’s silver spear tip no longer continued forward.

“I heard you talking.” Xiao Chun spoke haltingly. Once the Buddha wheel was no longer being continuously driven, the wound at her chest gradually spread. But she grasped Gui Yansheng’s sleeve, not letting him continue his actions.

“You… aren’t Yansheng, are you?” She looked at Gui Yansheng and smiled slightly, her gaze hiding clever mischief, like someone proud of catching a friend’s mistake: “Are you the future Yansheng?”

Gui Yansheng’s expression froze.

The girl’s hand gently caressed his face, carefully tracing his features, speaking half with sighs and half with relief: “So this is what our Yansheng will look like in the future.”

“Indeed, much more impressive than now,” she smiled.