The wind passed through the dense forest, becoming suddenly gentle when it reached the two of them.

The pale-faced young girl looked at the person before her, her voice as light and cheerful as it had always been in the past.

“It seems I truly am dead.” She nodded lightly, speaking with some regret: “I haven’t even lived a good life yet, how could I just die like this?”

Gui Yansheng’s gaze became confused for a moment, and he instinctively gripped Xiao Chun’s hand tighter: “No, you won’t die.”

Xiao Chun smiled: “…Yansheng, did you come back to save me?”

She appeared gentle and without temper, but was perceptive and intelligent. During those years when they escaped from the small village, they had depended on each other, living in a strange small town, and it had always been Xiao Chun who took care of him. She knew how to buy the most grain with the least money, and also knew how to navigate and deal with the ill-intentioned neighbors around them. Regarding Gui Yansheng’s matters, she was exceptionally sensitive—if anything was even slightly wrong, she could immediately detect it.

“Yes.” Gui Yansheng said in a low voice: “I came back to save you.”

Xiao Chun smiled, her smile carrying a hint of pride: “You indeed haven’t forgotten the bond we shared through hardship.”

“You’ve become so impressive now?” She spoke gently and freely, as if this moment wasn’t a life-and-death farewell, chatting casually as she said: “Then tell me about what happened afterward, how have you been living? From the looks of it, you should have lived quite well—this fabric of your clothes looks quite expensive. Did you ever go back to our village later? Did the small town where we used to live change? That tavern we craved the most, is it still open? Did you ever go eat there later?”

Just as Gui Yansheng was about to answer each question, he looked up and saw that the hollow in Xiao Chun’s chest was growing larger. His brow twitched, and just as he was about to activate the Two-Life Buddha Wheel again, a pair of hands grabbed hold of him.

“Yansheng, I’m already dead.” Xiao Chun’s gaze was very calm.

“No,” he spoke in low, urgent tones, not knowing whether he was trying to convince himself or someone else: “Don’t listen to their nonsense.”

“To save me, it would require human lives as the price, wouldn’t it? How long could one human life keep me here? A cup of tea’s time? How The time it take to burn an incense stick? Even if you killed everyone in the world, in the end, wouldn’t I still have to leave?”

Gui Yansheng froze.

“You and I are destined to part.” Xiao Chun smiled as she reached out her hand to touch his face: “I know you can’t bear to let me go, but Yansheng, don’t waste your efforts.”

“This isn’t wasting effort, as long as I can save you.” He looked stubbornly at the girl in his arms.

“But I’m unwilling.”

Gui Yansheng stiffened.

“If you use the lives of everyone in the world to exchange for a moment of peace for me, I’m unwilling. Yansheng, you are of the demon race, I am of the human race—our lifespans are different to begin with. Even without all these matters, someday I would still leave before you.” After saying this, Xiao Chun rested for a good while, then continued: “Actually, I thought about this matter long ago. I don’t know what happened afterward, but you must have been very sad.”

She looked at Gui Yansheng, her eyes holding some heartache: “You’ve become so formidable, you must have suffered much hardship and endured many grievances.”

Gui Yansheng gripped her hand, his eyes becoming somewhat red: “No.”

The bloodstains from Xiao Chun’s chest had completely soaked through her clothes, but she seemed unaware: “Now seeing you so capable, I’m also at peace. If you’re worried about me leaving with regrets, then help me go back to the village to see my mother, and go to the small town where we used to live, taste the pastries from the neighboring tavern for me… Yansheng,” she looked deeply at Gui Yansheng, as if wanting to engrave his current appearance in her heart, and smiled at him: “Being able to see you as you are now, I’m truly very happy.”

Her smile gradually became content. The bloodstains spreading from her chest were like blooming crimson flowers. Her body gradually dissipated, becoming like catkins in the wind, bit by bit flying away from his embrace, following the wind to drift above the Mingming River, where she was swallowed by the black river.

Nothing was left behind.

“Xiao Chun!” Gui Yansheng futilely reached out his hand, only grasping cold, thin wind.

He looked at his empty embrace, and for an instant, seemed to return to many years ago, when he emerged from Heishi City, stepped into the dense forest, and saw Xiao Chun’s corpse for the first time.

Many years had passed. He thought he had become strong enough that nothing and no one in this world could make him feel lost again. Yet at this moment, he felt like he had become a shattered porcelain vase, covered in wounds from head to toe—with just a light touch, he would crumble to ash.

In this world, those he hated had already perished, impossible to meet again between the living and the dead; those he loved, even if he acted against heaven’s will, he still couldn’t change the irreversible outcome. The Buddha Wheel was like a massive deception, with the Heavenly Dao laying down an inescapable net, manipulating the ephemeral life of mayflies.

Why was it like this?

Why could the outcome still not be changed?

In his eyes, golden light suddenly blazed intensely. From within Gui Yansheng’s body burst forth brilliant golden radiance, and within this radiance were entangled layers of black mist. Where the black mist and golden light intersected, countless ghostly human figures seemed to appear before him. Those human figures wailed and cried out, emerging from within his body and flying into the air. For a moment, heaven and earth were filled with the ghostly cries of asuras.

“Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Sun?” Gu Baiying suddenly turned his silver spear around and charged straight toward Gui Yansheng: “He’s going to destroy the entire Yugo Mountain!”

Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Sun was a cultivation technique practiced to the highest level in the Asura Path. To practice this technique, one must endure the suffering of ten thousand ghosts burning the heart. While gaining infinite power, one must also suffer endless pain. Zanxing suddenly understood why every time Gui Yansheng circulated his yuanli, she would feel pain. As fellow demon lord bloodlines, whether she was willing or not, she could sense Gui Yansheng’s pain. And the pain Gui Yansheng endured each time was ten times, a hundred times greater than what Zanxing experienced.

He was a madman!

Outside the Wulun Pagoda, the spiritual energy in Yugo Mountain rapidly thinned. The white pagoda seemed to become a giant beast with its mouth wide open, greedily devouring the essence of heaven and earth’s spiritual energy. Flowers and grass everywhere instantly withered to ash. In Siyou Village, men and women dressed in white and black robes stood on the mountain peaks, looking toward the direction of the distant white pagoda with grave expressions.

“The Buddhist pagoda is eating people.”

In the palm of the monk’s skeletal remains, the small Buddha Wheel no longer continued forward, as if forcibly held back by someone. The Buddha Wheel trembled slightly. From within the Buddha Wheel, wisps of black and gold intertwined light mist gradually seeped out. This light mist seemed capable of devouring everything—wherever it went, there were ghostly wails and wolf howls.

“Creak—”

A light sound rang out from the rotating wheel.

Meng Ying’s heart jumped, and she shouted sternly: “Quickly get away—”

As soon as her words fell, the Buddha Wheel that had been slowly rotating in the monk’s palm, as if finally unable to withstand the pressure, let out a tremendous roar. A violent surge of demonic yuanli power descended like an overwhelming canopy, covering the entire Yugo Mountain.

The golden Buddha Wheel turned to powder, and from within it flowed forth turbulent streams of light. People tumbled out from the surging brilliance.

“Seventh Martial Uncle!”

“Junior Sister!”

“Little Highness—”

Zanxing gripped the Wuyou Stick, looking toward Gui Yansheng, who stood up from the ground.

He slowly began to smile.