Ji Tongzhou remained silent, his reticence infuriating her. She shouted angrily, “Speak! Did you kill them?!”
Ji Tongzhou suddenly let out a low chuckle and said calmly, “You’ll never see them again.”
Bai Ligelin felt her hand holding the dagger trembling violently. Her vision blurred, but the blood-soaked figure before her became increasingly clear. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word, “You are indeed very strong. I can’t kill you now. But one day, I will personally avenge them. You must be extremely cautious every moment, for the instant you let your guard down, I will appear behind you and cut you into a thousand pieces.”
Ji Tongzhou coldly replied, “I can send you to meet them. No need to wait for years, right now.”
Bai Ligelin could no longer contain herself. She let out a roar and swung her dagger wildly, without technique but with extreme ferocity. The demonic beasts she had raised swarmed forward, with the oriole demon screeching sharply as if about to spit fire.
In the next moment, the dagger in her hand suddenly vanished. She felt as if an invisible giant hand was pulling her backward. The demonic beasts involuntarily turned into paper talismans, scattering like snow. Mr. Shen gripped her wrists and frowned, saying, “Everything is already in chaos. Do you want to add to the confusion? Any grudges can wait until this is all over!”
Seeing that Bai Ligelin was too agitated to listen, he pinched the back of her neck, channeling the spiritual energy of his sleep technique into her extraordinary meridians. She immediately collapsed limply.
One couldn’t blame her for being impulsive. With her loved ones brutally killed and the culprit right before her eyes, how could a seventeen-year-old girl endure such pain? Mr. Shen cast a grim glance at Ji Tongzhou, having to admit that although this young man’s actions were ruthless, his talent was truly astonishing. Lei Xiuyuan, who had once been his equal, was also a genius who had attracted much attention in Wuyue Ting. However, Lei Xiuyuan was a Yaksha, while this young man was truly human.
A talent seen only once in a thousand years, yet it was given to this impulsive and obsessive youth who arrived amidst a storm of blood. If no one restrained him and he continued to develop like this, who knows what he would become?
Wu Zhengzi also flew over. As Ji Tongzhou’s master, his expression was far from pleasant. Mr. Shen sighed inwardly, thinking that if even his master couldn’t control him, this child was truly dangerous.
“Kneel!” Wu Zhengzi stopped in front of Ji Tongzhou and shouted sternly.
Ji Tongzhou’s spiritual energy fluctuated slightly, and a light spring rain began to fall, washing away the demonic blood on his body. Only then did he slowly kneel, his voice hoarse, “Disciple greets Master.”
Wu Zhengzi had many things he wanted to say, to reprimand and guide him, but he also knew that no matter what he said, Ji Tongzhou wouldn’t listen to a single word. He even felt a hint of regret, thinking that if he had agreed to protect the Yue Kingdom for him back then, perhaps Ji Tongzhou wouldn’t have done those heartless things.
He just wanted Ji Tongzhou to understand that the rise and fall of a country was normal and that no country could remain powerful forever. As a cultivator, one’s perspective should be broader than that of ordinary people, and one shouldn’t be fixated on worldly power. But he had been presumptuous, not realizing that such a terrifying desire was hidden in Ji Tongzhou’s heart. These were all part of his cultivation mindset, and without it, a cultivator would be useless.
Was this what Xuan Shanzi wanted to give him by making him go to any lengths to protect the Yue Kingdom and more clearly recognize his desires? Indeed, his Xuan Hua Fire had grown immeasurably stronger. At this rate, he could achieve immortality within a hundred years, and his future ambition to dominate a region was no empty talk.
But as a master, he didn’t want to see Ji Tongzhou with such an expression, such eyes. He had grown thin, his cheeks slightly sunken, with dark shadows under his eyes, his lips slightly pursed, his complexion pale—all of this made him look gloomy and profound. The little boy who once shone like the sun and called him “Master” in a clear voice was gone forever.
“… After the sea falls, return with me to Xing Zheng Hall,” Wu Zhengzi said after a long pause. He was one of those who had pushed Ji Tongzhou into the sea of fire, and he couldn’t bring himself to say any words of reproach. “You’ve made too many enemies. When you achieve immortality, you can leave again.”
Ji Tongzhou calmly replied, “Disciple will obey Master’s instructions and achieve immortality within ten years.”
Ten years? Wu Zhengzi laughed in shock but didn’t refute his words. He sighed deeply and brought Ji Tongzhou back to the spiritual energy net.
Lan Yajing quietly approached Ji Tongzhou, knelt humbly, and embraced his feet, trembling as she said, “Your Highness, Lan Ya knows her mistake. Please forgive me.”
Ji Tongzhou gently kicked her away, but she clung to him again like a tenacious vine, embracing his feet and pleading pitifully, “Lan Ya truly knows her mistake! From now on, Lan Ya will only listen to Your Highness. Even if it means sacrificing my life for Your Highness, I wouldn’t hesitate!”
Ji Tongzhou glanced at her and said calmly, “Die for me?”
Lan Yajing choked, “Lan Ya is willing to die for Your Highness!”
“Then fly to the thunder clouds and die now. Go right now.”
Lan Yajing froze, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Ji Tongzhou kicked her away again and said slowly, “I’ve told you before, I don’t like hearing these pretty words. You say you’d die for me, so go die for me now. If you can’t do it, don’t ever say it again.”
Lan Yajing wept uncontrollably, “Does Your Highness still hate Lan Ya?”
“Hate?” He laughed, “How could you think that?”
He hated Long Ming Zuo because of their deep-seated enmity and vigilance; he had hated Jiang Lifei because she couldn’t give him equal feelings and tried to pull him back into the realm of friendship; he had hated himself even more, for his weak mind and fragile cultivation, only able to survive until now by relying on the help of powerful forces.
Hate was too intense an emotion; not everyone was worthy of his hatred.
Ji Tongzhou lowered his head and saw Lan Yajing looking up at him with a face full of confusion and pleading. He smiled again, pressing his toe against her face, leaving a dirty mark, “You don’t understand. All you care about is status and glory. Since you want to keep these things, learn how to please me properly. Don’t be so presumptuous and self-righteous.”
Lan Yajing was stunned for a long while before finally bowing her head submissively, her forehead respectfully touching his toe. She didn’t speak again.
Li Fei leaned against the broken wooden window, squinting at the dense spiritual energy net not far away. After the demonic beasts had shattered those erected spiritual walls, the immortals indeed hadn’t rebuilt them. The thunder had struck continuously for three days and three nights, each time the thunder clouds would drift over and strike three times before retreating to the East Sea.
She turned to look at Lei Xiuyuan, who was leaning against another wooden window, gazing at those black and red thunderclouds with a solemn expression.
“What’s wrong?” Li Fei asked.
Lei Xiuyuan stroked his chin, “It’s a bit strange. I’ve never seen thunder like this before. It’s as if it’s waiting for something.”
This was her first time witnessing a sea fall, and she had no idea how the thunder and sea of fire should proceed, nor did she particularly care. Compared to this once-in-five-hundred-years celestial phenomenon, she was more concerned about Gelin and the others’ situation.
She took out the decree from her sleeve and looked at it again. It stated that Bai Ligelin, Lu Li, and the others were colluding with overseas forces and had intentions of defecting, so they would be executed in the East Sea. This was deliberate bait, undoubtedly Immortal Cui Xuan’s idea. But he probably never imagined that they had been waiting in a small town’s inn room for three days, not far away, where they could sense that Bai Ligelin and the others were safe, and even Ji Tongzhou and Princess Lan Ya were there.
Besides those familiar spiritual energy fluctuations, there were many other powerful spiritual energy vibrations, even stronger than Immortal Cui Xuan’s. The founders of the academy, the leaders of various sects… Even Sang Hua Jun, who had lent the Twin Swords of Fate to Mr. Zuo Qiu, had come, but Mr. Zuo Qiu himself hadn’t.
Li Fei felt a twinge of sadness. Her name had been given by this immortal, and he was also the first person besides her master to discover her unique physique and kindly conceal it for her. Although he hadn’t come in person, he must have some unresolved feelings, just like Master Chong Yi.
Later, she and Lei Xiuyuan returned to Qingqiu and found Master Chong Yi and the others, explaining everything in detail. She had thought Master Chong Yi would have many questions, but to her surprise, he only said one thing, which she had been thinking about until today.
He said, “It would be best if you simply went overseas. The Qingcheng Immortal has already ascended, and nothing can bring him back. If you intend to kill, then I must keep you here today, no matter what.”
Hu Jiaping had said that they, as people from overseas, were mortal enemies to the mainland immortals. She hadn’t fully understood the true meaning of those words then, but when Master Chong Yi finished speaking, she immediately grasped the heartbreaking implication.
She was, after all, an outsider from overseas.
She solemnly said she wouldn’t kill anyone, made a solemn promise, and then bid them a heartfelt farewell. Senior Sister Zhao Min, Su Wan, and even Deng Xiguang all smiled and told her to come back quickly after finishing her business overseas. Those sincere smiles and reluctant gazes, she would never forget.
If she could come back, would she see the same smiles and gazes again?
The sound of thunder drew closer again, and the house trembled, dust scattering everywhere. Then came a deafening boom, much louder than the previous thunderclaps. Li Fei’s ears rang from the blast. Lei Xiuyuan suddenly grasped her hand and said in a deep voice, “The thunderclouds have dispersed!”
Indeed, those dense black and red intertwined thunderclouds quickly dispersed above the almost shattered spiritual energy net, revealing the long-hidden sky. To the east, the firmament showed a bright moon and twinkling stars, while to the west, it was high noon with blinding white light. Half day and half night, clearly divided.
A fierce wind rose from the ground, whistling sharply through the cracks between night and day. Strange dragon-like roars sounded from the zenith, sometimes urgent, sometimes slow, sometimes soft, sometimes loud, unpredictable in their changes.
“It’s the sound of the wind,” Lei Xiuyuan tightened his grip on Li Fei’s hand. “The sea of fire is coming. We’ll leave after it reaches the shore.”
Li Fei instinctively summoned the Horn of the Rhinoceros. It pressed tightly against her forehead, silently expressing its hunger. For today, she had long since emptied the spiritual energy stored in the horn.
“Be quiet,” she frowned, looking towards the gradually advancing line of crimson in the depths of the East Sea. “You’ll be full soon.”
The spiritual energy net at the zenith had been removed, and the erected spiritual walls were quickly re-established in a crisscross pattern. The dragon-like wind sound grew louder and louder. The gale outside the window no longer carried snowflakes but countless scorching fire points, hot enough to burn people. Half the sky gradually darkened with the reflection of fire. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and all fell silent. An endless sea of fire seemed to pour down from the horizon, engulfing the small town in an instant.