“Including elders and direct disciples, there are 133 traitors. They’re all here. We request the Xuanzai to pass judgment.”
Nan Yan was roughly thrown into a corner. Through the reflection on the smooth stone tiles, she saw her appearance. The power of the Mirror of Reverse Reincarnation allowed her to witness this historical moment from a young man’s perspective. She recognized this face from the Treasure Pavilion and her childhood memories, though it now bore a look of shock and fear, unlike Ji Yang’s usual demeanor.
Anticipating what would happen next, Nan Yan desperately raised her head to look past the crowd. A sea of eyes, some filled with fanatical belief and others with unbearable hatred, fixated on the figure kneeling before the Dao Venerable’s statue. Despite once being the pride of the entire Daosheng State, no one now felt any compassion for him.
“Xuanzai, the time has come. Since he’s determined to betray Daosheng State, we mustn’t delay any longer.”
Ying Zewui nodded slightly. His eyes weren’t as lifeless as when Nan Yan had seen him, but they were still gray, as if devoid of all human emotion.
“Shao Cang, how long have you been my disciple?” he asked.
Ji Yang, seemingly unaware he was in the midst of an execution, replied calmly, “Thanks to your guidance, sixteen years and one hundred forty-seven days.”
“Sixteen years…” Ying Zewui murmured. “I’ve taught you to follow the great path set by the Dao Venerable for sixteen years. Why, in the end, have you still gone astray?”
Still sharp-witted and stubborn, Ji Yang argued, “Master entrusted the lives of all beings to me. I prioritize the living over the dead. Even if it’s the Dao Venerable’s word, following an unjust path will never lead to righteousness.”
Ying Zewui countered, “The Dao Venerable’s words are beyond question, and no one can obstruct the way of Daosheng State—”
“Master doesn’t have to follow the Dao Venerable’s teachings to achieve greatness!” Ji Yang interrupted fiercely. “My master has the talent to govern heaven and earth. The Dao State is already decaying. Clinging to it is merely waiting for death among the Dao Venerable’s ruins. Only by breaking it down can we create a new world.”
“Nonsense!” An elderly Dao State master nearby wanted to strike him dead. “The Xuanzai bears the great responsibility of guiding us cultivators to ascend to immortality. How can he abandon Daosheng State’s thousand-year-old enterprise based on the words of a traitor like you? Once we master the secrets of reincarnation, our entire sect will no longer be bound by lifespan, and we can explore the great path as we please! You could benefit from this too, yet you’re so foolish!”
“Life and death in the world are predetermined. Even if we don’t speak of success or failure, letting your decaying bodies devour the world until nothing remains—what crime have other living beings committed to become your feast? Moreover… do you truly believe that without the forty-nine great paths decreed by the Dao Venerable, there’s no hope for ascension?”
Amidst the rising killing intent, Ying Zewui waved his hand to quiet the crowd.
“Shao Cang, you’ve spoken out of turn,” he said, rolling up his sleeves and brightening the candle before the Dao Venerable’s statue. “The Dao Venerable’s path cannot be wrong, and must not be wrong.”
“What if it is wrong?”
As the gray in his eyes gradually eroded his last trace of spirit, Ying Zewui replied, “Then we shall… correct the world that believes it to be wrong.”
“Correction, you say. I just don’t understand—by compromising yourself like this, who are you serving?” Ji Yang turned his gaze, scanning the elderly faces one by one. “Them? Not one of their three hun and seven po is clean. Unable to ascend themselves, they seek to extinguish others’ hopes. If they succeed, they’ll live as long as heaven; if they fail, they’ll drag everything in the world into oblivion along with their lifespans. Who’s truly righteous, and who’s evil?”
A slap echoed.
A trickle of blood ran down Ji Yang’s mouth as he looked up at Ying Zewui. The latter seemed somewhat weary as he beckoned for the 133 captured accomplices to be brought forward.
“I’ve said it before—if the Dao Venerable is wrong, we’ll correct those who believe him to be wrong.” His tone remained gentle, but his actions were chillingly cruel.
“Master—” Before Ji Yang could argue further, a flash of blood sprayed across his face, mixing with his shocked expression. He stared at the severed head rolling at his feet and said, “Master, he was your disciple. You… you taught him to read and write.”
Ying Zewui, expressionless, asked, “Shao Cang, do you admit your mistake?”
“…”
“Next,” Ying Zewui commanded.
The second person brought forward was also a disciple of their sect. Breaking free from the silencing spell, he cried out, “Senior brother! We’re not wrong! Daosheng State didn’t teach us this path of exterminating all life. It taught us to walk righteously and sit upright! It—”
A second spray of hot blood fell into Ji Yang’s eyes, turning everything before him blood-red. He felt something shatter within his chest.
Ying Zewui continued to ask, “Do you admit your mistake?”
“…Why deceive yourself and others?”
“Next.”
Time seemed to pass both slowly and quickly after that. With each person killed, Ying Zewui would ask if Ji Yang admitted his mistake. Even when Ji Yang said he did, the killing didn’t stop.
By the time the entire Minquan Hall was awash with blood, Ji Yang finally understood—Ying Zewui wasn’t trying to kill these people; he was trying to kill his humanity.
When Nan Yan was pushed forward, she was completely numb. She felt Ying Zewui gently pat her head, like an affectionate elder.
“I remember this child. Not particularly gifted, but came from the outer regions as a mortal, nearly dying at the foot of Xuankong Mountain to knock on Daosheng State’s door. Your junior master broke the rules to accept him as a disciple for menial tasks… Where is your junior master?” Ying Zewui’s gaze searched among the corpses before locking onto a decapitated body. “Ah there he is. He always had a soft spot for these children. What a pity.”
Nan Yan’s soul desperately wanted to rush forward and kill him, but despite her efforts to break free, she remained trapped in this body. Helpless, she could only watch as young Ji Yang’s eyes, once as clear and vast as the night sky filled with stars, gradually darkened.
“Let him go, and I’ll return to Dao Sheng Tian with you,” she pleaded. “Whether you want me to slay gods and demons or scheme against the world, I’ll do as you wish.”
Ying Zewei shook his head. “I’ll trust you for now, but this is the responsibility of Dao Sheng Tian’s ruler. Now, tell me, how should we punish this child who betrayed us by secretly sending messages to rebels?”
Ji Yang closed his bloodshot eyes. “I’m the mastermind.”
“The Emperor isn’t wrong,” Ying Zewei said, his gray eyes reflecting the bloody scene. “The error lies with him, with them… and then with you.”
It became clear that he never intended to spare anyone.
Nan Yan finally understood why Ji Yang always spoke of Ying Zewei with such detachment. Years of mentorship had been severed in this moment.
The Dao Sheng Tian followers, intoxicated by the bloodshed, approached and asked, “Venerable One, your decisive action impresses us. How will you deal with these two traitors?”
“Since their hearts are insincere, we needn’t preserve their souls,” Ying Zewei replied. “Let Shao Cang possess him. Once he’s committed sins, he’ll understand the necessity of ‘correction.'”
Ying Zewei, well-versed in Dao Sheng Tian’s teachings, knew this demonic technique would strip away one’s humanity, causing them to lose their mind and devour others indiscriminately.
“Master,” Ji Yang called out softly one last time. As the eternal starlight outside the hall faded behind Ying Zewei’s departing figure, he added, “You changed when you returned from the mortal realm seven years ago. Was that when you started to go wrong?”
Ying Zewei paused. “What do you know?”
“I know that the Dao Patriarch’s writings mentioned he wanted you to marry someone. She was meant to be your stepping stone to ascension when you had no other choice. But after the Patriarch’s death, you pushed her further away. It’s the only time you defied him.”
Time had passed, and he had forged a path through thorns. His youthful love now burned fiercely in a pool of blood.
“Have you never considered turning back from this path?” Ji Yang asked.
Ying Zewei clutched his chest, feeling something foreign pulsing within. He glanced back at the silent statue of the Dao Patriarch. For a moment, the light and shadows before him sharpened, then faded like a falling star.
“I sent her away myself. There’s no point in turning back now.”
The stars of all realms finally extinguished, and true darkness descended.
Only Ji Yang, awaiting execution, and the Dao Sheng Tian disciple possessed by Nan Yan remained in the great hall.
After several futile attempts to break free, Nan Yan forced herself to calm down. Moments later, she heard the body she inhabited speak fearfully.
“Senior Brother, does the Venerable One want you to possess me?”
Ji Yang, eyes still closed, replied coldly, “Yes. Within half an hour, the demonic energy will force me to possess you. If you use your spirit locks to strike the Dao Patriarch’s sword of righteousness, you can escape. Then pick up the sword, kill me, and go to the third stone tile in the southeast corner of the back hall. There’s a teleportation array I set up. I’ll teach you the incantation. This time, don’t… forget.”
He was barely holding on.
Nan Yan once again pounded against the invisible barrier. Suddenly, she noticed a hot, broken mirror shard in her right palm.
Something wasn’t right. If the Reverse Samsara Mirror only allowed her to watch, what was the point of sending her here? There must be something only she could do.
Nan Yan calmed herself and, gritting her teeth, slowly dissipated her five senses to influence the body’s thoughts. The five senses were the source of her perception of the outside world. Carelessly dispersing them risked permanent damage.
Hurry… at least prevent him from self-destruction.
The disciple didn’t move, hesitating for a long time before saying, “Senior Brother, I… I can’t escape.”
“Do you want to wait for death?”
“I don’t want to die either,” the Dao Sheng disciple lowered his head, hiding uncontrollable tears. “Senior Brother, is what the Venerable One and the elders said true? They want to usurp hell, allowing everyone to retain memories of their past lives after reincarnation. Isn’t that immortality?”
Ji Yang’s brow furrowed as wisps of black demonic energy began to emanate from him. Fighting against the malevolent energy, he asked sternly, “Do you believe that?”
“I… I’m not skilled enough to know if it’s right or wrong, but I want to believe it.” The disciple crawled to the Dao Patriarch’s statue and kowtowed. “Grandfather Dao Patriarch, if someone must become the ruler of the underworld, I hope it’s Senior Brother.”
Ji Yang opened his now blood-red eyes. “What are you trying to do?”
The disciple raised his head, looking confused. “Senior Brother, I just saw a Bodhisattva… She said not to worry, that she’d take on the suffering of being possessed for me. I… I want to disperse my soul before you come, so this body with poor aptitude will still be clean. Even if you possess me, you won’t have sinned. Only the Bodhisattva will suffer.”
Ji Yang, increasingly consumed by demonic energy, frowned deeply. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry, Senior Brother. I’m afraid of pain… I have to go first.” With that, the disciple turned and struck himself against the sword of righteousness on the ground. Then, placing his hand on his crown, he slowly dispersed all the spiritual power and soul blood he had cultivated over the years.
“Have you gone mad?!”
As her consciousness faded along with her host’s, Nan Yan clung to a thread of awareness. “Shao Cang, don’t give up.”
The disciple murmured in echo, “…Senior Brother, don’t give up.”
The eruption of demonic energy happened in an instant. After the disciple’s three hun and seven po souls dispersed, Nan Yan felt a cold, locking intent.
Now it was her turn to face a cultivation realm emperor who had fallen into demonic madness.
Nan Yan recited all her protective measures word by word, but even as she fortified herself into an impregnable fortress, it took only the blink of an eye for Ji Yang’s primordial spirit to tear through her defenses.
“Why didn’t you run?” The battered primordial spirit looked at her with unfamiliar eyes.
Nan Yan clasped her hands together and, instead of retreating, unexpectedly embraced him as he raised his hand.
“Buddhists sacrifice themselves to feed tigers. Remember my face. If you must harm someone, harm me, but don’t hurt others.”