Chai Xijin raised the drumsticks in his hands and struck the drum face heavily, producing a thunderous “boom.”

The hatred in the eyes of those struggling and writhing on the ground intensified. Their gazes flowed between Liu Yan and Chai Xijin, seemingly unable to distinguish which one was causing their unbearable pain.

This unbearable suffering—against which one should they seek revenge?

The black horse accelerated and charged over. Liu Yan sat up straight, letting the black horse throw both him and Yu Tuan’er into mid-air. Beside them, the spider woman and Dashi both struck out. A blade appeared from nowhere, intercepting the spider woman and Dashi.

Fu Zhumei came from a distance. He was too far away and had just arrived, not yet knowing what Liu Yan intended to do, but struck first to save people.

Liu Yan took it for granted that he would save people. Ignoring the spider woman and Dashi completely, after flying into mid-air, he dove down with his entire body—with a tremendous “boom.”

He landed on Chai Xijin’s great drum.

Chai Xijin was suddenly extremely close to his “master.” Liu Yan’s appearance had mostly recovered. Chai Xijin felt the person before him was both extremely strange and extremely familiar. His “Layered Petals Chonghua” flew out like a blizzard, striking more than ten major acupoints on Liu Yan’s upper and lower body. At such close distance, Liu Yan had no room to resist. But he neither dodged nor avoided, striking out to seize Chai Xijin’s drumsticks!

“Ding ding ding ding”—a series of crisp sounds. The “Layered Petals Chonghua” were swept away by the Jade Plum Blade. Fu Zhumei should have been more than capable of fighting the spider woman and Dashi. But facing the spider woman, his previously healed back wound ached faintly, his mind began to blur, his vision flickered between bright and dark, as if everything he could see was shrouded in a layer of mist. Fu Zhumei relied on his hearing to strike down a circle of “Layered Petals Chonghua” for Liu Yan, but he himself staggered back two steps. His ears also began to hear unclearly, as if there were sounds of ocean tides cycling in his ears, gradually isolating everything outside.

Chai Xijin gripped the Layered Petals Chonghua. Liu Yan’s internal power had dispersed but his techniques remained. In a moment of distraction, the drumsticks were already in Liu Yan’s hands.

Liu Yan stared coldly at Chai Xijin.

He sat cross-legged on Chai Xijin’s great drum and struck with the drumsticks, but hit the side of the drum. The drum produced an unprecedented sound. Liu Yan gripped the drumsticks with his right hand and finally placed the zither horizontally on his knees, strumming with his left hand.

Both sounds rang together. Chai Xijin bore the brunt and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing Chai Xijin injured, Dashi roared and struck Fu Zhumei with “Supreme Buddha Seal.” Though he was also shaken by the sound-killing, Liu Yan wasn’t targeting him. Dashi didn’t understand music and was naturally dull to it, so he wasn’t as easily injured as Cheng Yunpao or Chai Xijin.

The spider woman sneered and pressed down on the restless alien venomous spider in her embrace. Dashi used his full strength in that punch, but Fu Zhumei didn’t dodge. The punch struck his heart directly, and he spat out a mouthful of purple-black blood.

Liu Yan, sitting on the great drum, suddenly turned back. The war drum and zither in his hands didn’t stop. Chai Xijin caught his breath and was about to strike. But Fu Zhumei behind him was poisoned by the venomous spider and slowly turned to stare fixedly at Liu Yan.

The spider woman was delighted beyond expectation to see the restraint was effective. She hadn’t thought she could completely control this famous master. Fu Zhumei’s martial arts were on par with Cheng Yunpao’s.

But both Fu Zhumei and Tang Lici had been seriously injured at Tianqing Temple and had fought bitter battles—both were at the end of their strength.

Though the venomous spider on his back had been stabbed to death by Tang Lici’s blade, the spider’s poison hadn’t been cured.

Having endured torture for days, deeply poisoned, and severely wounded again, when the spider woman used another alien venomous spider to confuse his mind, Fu Zhumei actually fell under her control.

Yu Tuan’er was already exhausted. Seeing Fu Zhumei’s expression change dramatically, she became frightened, “Brother Liu, what’s wrong with him?”

Liu Yan’s left hand stroked the strings, stopping the use of the ancient zither.

“Tuan’er.” He rarely called her name.

Yu Tuan’er came to her senses, “I’m not afraid of death. Don’t think of making me leave.”

Liu Yan smiled, “I’m not worth it.” He struck with his elbow, and the zither spun half a circle on his knees, carrying true force as it heavily struck Yu Tuan’er’s chest.

Yu Tuan’er received a blow to her chest. Her true qi was disrupted, and she couldn’t speak for a moment, staring with shocked wide eyes—the true force on this zither was still what she had given to Liu Yan!

Liu Yan exerted force again and pushed, knocking her unconscious. Meng Qinglei arrived just in time to catch both the little girl and the ancient zither. He stared at Liu Yan with complex emotions, wishing he could eat his flesh, but this fellow had just saved the situation and was now sitting on Chai Xijin’s great drum, yet couldn’t be killed for the moment.

Liu Yan surveyed his surroundings. Fu Zhumei was controlled by others, Meng Qinglei was full of hostility, Chai Xijin had recovered his breath, while the spider woman held Fu Zhumei and Dashi wielded his meteor hammer—enemies everywhere, seemingly with no way to survive.

He began to laugh lowly, “Hahaha…”

He abandoned the drumsticks in his hands and slapped the great drum beneath him with both hands, producing equally magnificent and stirring rhythms.

He laughed loudly with full voice, “Hahahaha…”

That laughter together with the drum sounds seized souls and shook hearts! Liu Yan said proudly, “This master established the Pleasure House and refined Nine Heart Pills, killing countless people—Chai Xijin is my disciple, Tang Lici is my beloved general. All of you are poisoned with ‘Nine Heart Pills,’ ‘Lamp-Calling Order,’ and other toxins. The antidotes are all in my hands! How does being poisoned feel? Hahahaha…”

After his wild laughter, those on and off the battlefield who had just submitted to his sound-killing were now completely silent.

Wanyu Yuedan and Miss Hong frowned. Liu Yan suddenly struck out, stirring up hatred from all sides—he must have learned this from Young Master Tang, but learned it so awkwardly and reluctantly that it couldn’t bear deep thought. But Tang had fought desperately to save him, and Liu Yan wasn’t truly evil. His acknowledgment of these crimes now, forcibly controlling the situation, would surely anger Tang greatly when he returned.

But besides Liu Yan, who else could control the situation?

Without sound-killing to control the scene, the bloody slaughter from moments before would be repeated.

The Central Plains Sword Society, Biluo Palace, Infantry Command, and others could only protect themselves but couldn’t save everyone.

The great drum beneath Liu Yan shook again. Everyone’s blood surged, and the venomous hatred in their chests grew higher and higher. Liu Yan continued, “This master intends to gain the world. Under heaven, I alone am supreme. Those who oppose me die. Disciple, don’t think that learning some superficial sound-killing techniques from me allows you to establish your own school—and Tang Lici shouldn’t think of borrowing the name of my Pleasure House master to intimidate by false power.” He said grimly, “This master has heaven-sent talent and commands countless strange arts. How can I allow you small people to encroach and usurp? You—if you don’t kneel, all of you die for me!”

“Boom”—the war drum sounded again.

The people on the ground roared together. Everyone was confused and rushed toward the war chariot.

Fu Zhumei, Chai Xijin, the spider woman, and Dashi all attacked Liu Yan together.

Liu Yan sat upright on the war drum, eyes downcast, the trace of coldness and mockery at his eye corners still there.

Miss Hong’s expression changed, “Liu Yan…”

Liu Yan offering his neck for execution served three purposes: first, to control the situation; second, to remove the evil reputation of “Pleasure House master” from Tang Lici; third, he himself… didn’t want to live.

“This master has heaven-sent talent and commands countless strange arts” was true.

“Under heaven, I alone am supreme. Those who oppose me die” was false.

Liu Yan simply wanted to eliminate some sins.

He couldn’t eliminate his own, but if his death could eliminate some of Tang Lici’s evil reputation, that would be good too.

Just then, Floating Zero Brow Garden emitted rumbling sounds. The central rock layer collapsed, flames shot skyward and scattered in the air. Everyone felt extreme heat on their bodies and faces. With the alarming ascent of fierce flames, a red silk flew by. Tang Lici moved with his shadow, emerging from the fire. Having just escaped, he saw thousands of troops attacking Liu Yan together.

He widened his eyes, watching Fu Zhumei reverse his Jade Plum Blade and chop toward Liu Yan’s back. The expression on Fu Zhumei’s face and the light in his eyes were exactly like Chi Yun’s! The Central Plains Sword Society gathered heaven’s fury, the walking corpses on the ground moved with the drum sounds—they all went toward Liu Yan!

The red-robed woman beside Chai Xijin brought out from her embrace a huge venomous spider, half blue-gold and half pink, as large as a palm, spewing pale golden poisonous mist. Countless spider silks around it entangled Chai Xijin, Liu Yan, Fu Zhumei, and Dashi—nearly invisible spider silks flickered with pale colorful flowing light, demons that devoured human consciousness.

Cheng Yunpao held his sword supporting himself on the ground. Unable to maintain himself in the sound-killing, he swayed on the verge of collapse. Meng Qinglei’s eyes held only Liu Yan, his face full of hatred. Several spider silks entangled his sword, but he was completely unaware.

Biluo Palace’s whistle sounded. Tie Jing and others were calling to each other and retreating. Some were unwilling, glaring angrily at Liu Yan, but the vast majority followed Wanyu Yuedan’s orders—retreat far from the war chariot, plug their ears, and quickly retreat!

No—

Tang Lici’s Golden Thread Song suddenly unfolded. Before he could understand what was happening, he was already pouncing toward the red-robed woman holding the spider. Red shadows spread like twin wings, like clouds hanging from heaven, carrying embers from his entire body as he descended from the sky.

The spider woman had just controlled Fu Zhumei and was beside herself with joy when Tang Lici fell like a kun-peng. Golden Thread Song struck down from above, the golden silk sword severing her head with one blow. The venomous spider in the spider woman’s hands was still spinning silk when her head had already fallen to the ground. As it fell, her face still bore a smile.

Dashi suddenly turned. After Tang Lici landed, his second sword struck down at the venomous spider. The poisonous creature was instantly cut into a pile of meat paste, but Dashi’s heavy palm had already struck Tang Lici’s shoulder.

With a muffled “slap,” Tang Lici fell forward. He couldn’t even support his body and crashed heavily onto the war chariot. His gray hair was disheveled, tangled with the embers covering his body—the ashes were even blacker than his long hair. Liu Yan suddenly opened his eyes, “A’Li!”

The Jade Plum Blade chopped down from behind. Liu Yan slapped the drum surface with both hands—”boom”—heaven and earth shook.

Fu Zhumei was unmoved—he didn’t use sound-killing techniques, but wasn’t completely incapable of them. But this drum sound cleared his mind somewhat. He widened his eyes, and his blade slightly deflected, sweeping past Liu Yan’s face, immediately cutting half of his black hair with the blade wind.

Several Layered Petals Chonghua flew from Chai Xijin. Liu Yan leaned back and spun following Fu Zhumei’s blade, half his black hair flying up. He slapped the drum surface with his right palm, and after this strike, he lightly tapped with five fingers, tapping out a melody. Violent qi erupted in Chai Xijin’s heart. The unbearable hatred from before surged up, wanting to immediately kill the person before his eyes—this person tore at his wounds, tormented his emotions, and gave him ten thousand times the grievance.

This person—this person was Liu Yan.

His master, who taught him sound-killing techniques and told him “you can do whatever you want, but you can’t do nothing.”

Desolation and hatred coexisted. Chai Xijin’s seven emotions burned like fire, his mind in complete chaos. Liu Yan spun back with the blade wind, leaving the great drum and moving behind Chai Xijin. Chai Xijin struck out with a palm to parry Fu Zhumei’s following blade. The Jade Plum Blade came like a shadow, but it was unclear whether it was chopping at himself or at Liu Yan.

Something tightened around his throat—something was strangling his throat.

Chai Xijin was startled. Turning his head sideways, he realized Liu Yan’s scattered long hair was floating about, sweeping in front of him. When Liu Yan leaned back and spun, he grabbed his own hair and strangled his throat.

Chai Xijin could hardly believe that someone in this world would try to kill with their own hair. Just as he was about to elbow Liu Yan to death, the great drum suddenly rang with rapid strikes like wind and rain. The melody was like a violent storm. His true qi was disrupted, his throat made gurgling sounds, and he was nearly strangled unconscious by Liu Yan’s black hair.

Fu Zhumei’s vision alternated between seeing Liu Yan and Chai Xijin, then seeing inhuman demons and monsters, sometimes hearing singing, sometimes hearing sounds of strange creatures crawling. He couldn’t distinguish where he was, bewildered and at a loss. Just now his heart had been injured by Dashi, and unable to continue his true qi, the Jade Plum Blade fell from his hands with a “clang.”

Dashi saw only dazzling confusion before his eyes—the spider woman dead, Tang Lici fallen, Chai Xijin strangled by Liu Yan, Fu Zhumei’s long blade fallen. Completely unable to understand what had happened, he was stunned for a moment, then grabbed his meteor hammer from the ground and smashed it toward Liu Yan’s head.

Though he didn’t know why things had taken such sudden turns, killing Liu Yan and saving Chai Xijin was imperative.

Tang Lici lay on the great drum. He had just tapped out a melody to suppress Chai Xijin’s counterattack. But he truly lacked the strength to get up. Seeing Fu Zhumei’s Jade Plum Blade fall and him swaying unsteadily, Liu Yan strangling Chai Xijin in mortal danger, and Dashi’s meteor hammer smashing toward Liu Yan’s head.

The situation was precarious as stacked eggs. He lay on the drum surface, unable to summon true force no matter what. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat. When true qi reached his dantian, it was blocked. Multiple meridians passing near the dantian were obstructed. A large area… a large alien object affected his internal power circulation. How could he not be clear? It was because of this object that both his internal power circulation and blood flow and meridians were affected. His current injuries were slow to heal and his constitution was much worse than before precisely because of its existence.

Fang Zhou’s… heart.

His hope that… no one would die, which he had never abandoned.

The proof that Tang Lici was omnipotent.

The arrogance that Tang Lici would never lose.

And the illusion.

Gray hair trailing on the ground, Tang Lici half-raised his body. Dashi’s first meteor hammer strike missed Liu Yan. Liu Yan dragged Chai Xijin back repeatedly. Chai Xijin elbowed Liu Yan, but Liu Yan gritted his teeth and wouldn’t let go. That long hair was surprisingly strong—no matter how tightly Liu Yan gripped it with both hands, it wouldn’t break.

Dashi’s second meteor hammer strike came out. At the same time, those controlled by Liu Yan’s sound-killing and full of hatred toward him had already arrived.

With a “whoosh,” the first long arrow shot over, hitting three inches from Liu Yan’s side.

No good… Tang Lici still couldn’t get up. All the blood in his body alternated between cold and hot, as if it had long since drained away, yet also as if it had all frozen. He bit his lip hard, flipped his wrist, and “Golden Thread Song” opened, inserting downward into his own abdomen.

With a flick and flip, Tang Lici’s lower lip was bloody, his expression emotionless. The golden sword broke through his abdomen and picked out an object that fell bloodily beside the great drum.

Rolling together with the spider woman’s head.

True qi in his dantian suddenly flowed through, meridians burst, internal power scattered in all directions, blood gushed from his abdomen like a spring. He used Floating Red Insect Silk to desperately bind the wound, raised his sword without looking back, and pounced toward Dashi.

He didn’t spare a single glance at the alien object on the ground.

That thing was bloody and mangled, hideous and terrifying, like a monster with several teeth and bones.

That wasn’t Fang Zhou’s heart at all.

But merely a malformed tumor that had grown based on Fang Zhou’s heart.

So-called resurrection from death was, from beginning to end… self-deception.

There was never “I ask you to die for me, and I ask you to live for me again.”

Worldly affairs are like peach blossoms and flowing water.

The departed cannot be retained.

Life is life.

Death… is death.

Human life and death are no different from falling flowers and insects.