Zanxing looked at him with horror: “You’re insane?”

Offering himself to the Xiaoyuan Pearl, letting the Xiaoyuan Pearl refine him, just like the craftsman Chai Sang in the treasure cave from before. He had offered his soul as a sacrifice to the long sword, becoming a slave to the Wuyou Sword, unable to find release even in death.

Offering himself to the Xiaoyuan Pearl, one day, Gui Yansheng would be devoured by the Xiaoyuan Pearl.

This was no longer harming the enemy by ten thousand while losing three thousand of one’s own – this was trading life for life.

“That’s right,” Gui Yansheng laughed, “I was already a madman to begin with.”

In this world, he no longer had anything or anyone to cling to. Though he had once painstakingly searched for the Xiaoyuan Pearl, intending to destroy Heishi City, he had ultimately still harbored a thread of hope to find Xiao Chun again. But now the Two Lives Buddha Wheel had been destroyed, and the dead would never return. He was without attachments, all hopes extinguished. The only thing he wanted to do was drag everyone in the world to death with him.

This was his only wish – it was fairness, and it was also liberation.

“They’re all going to die anyway, why go to such unnecessary trouble?” Gui Yansheng’s tone was gentle. “Isn’t the destruction of these three realms good? Dying in this flood is their destined fate.”

Gu Baiying said coldly, “If you want to die, go die yourself. Don’t drag others with you.” As soon as he finished speaking, the black giant shadow beside Gui Yansheng became even more solid, suddenly pouncing toward Zanxing.

The airflow stirred up by Yuanli created whirlpools in the air. Heavy energy is transmitted from overhead. That giant shadow seemed to possess intelligence as well, slapping a palm toward Zanxing.

The spirit artifacts in Zanxing and Gu Baiying’s hands thrust out fiercely.

The azure stick radiance and silver spear tip moved like swimming dragons, firmly blocking the giant palm pressing down on them. In that solid palm center, countless strange, anguished human faces suddenly appeared. Zanxing even saw Zi Luo’s figure among them.

Her heart shook. The demonic yuanli power in the giant palm suddenly became heavy, pressing her down several degrees. In the black wasteland, a crack suddenly appeared in the earth. Everyone fighting the remnant souls before the giant pit was alarmed.

“Zanxing!” Bujiang cried out in shock.

Gu Baiying’s expression turned stern. His silver spear carried vast spear winds that broke through everything. The solid black mist was fiercely scattered by the long spear, flying away in the air. The youth’s posture was straight and upright. Countless silver-white snow flew before him, and on the long spear wound with red tassels, the blade’s edge was unstoppably sharp.

A trickle of fresh blood slowly overflowed from the corner of Gui Yansheng’s lips. He wiped it away with his finger without much concern and sneered: “Nothing more than this.”

Large patches of scars appeared again on his face and body. These wounds were even deeper than before. Countless streams of blood seeped from his body, almost dyeing his entire form red.

The scattered black mist quickly condensed into solid again.

Gui Yansheng looked at Gu Baiying and smiled eerily: “You’re truly deeply infatuated with her, always protecting her behind you no matter when. What’s the point?” He suddenly leaned closer, his tone carrying deep mockery. “Don’t forget – she’s a demon race, you’re a human race.”

“So what?” Gu Baiying spoke expressionlessly. “Whether she’s human or demon makes no difference to me.”

These words seemed to enrage Gui Yansheng. The light in his golden pupils suddenly deepened, his expression becoming particularly sinister: “How utterly ridiculous! Since you like her so much, then I’ll send her on her way and make you watch helplessly as she dies before your eyes!”

The black giant shadow suddenly grew much taller. Those howling shadows continuously rushed out from within Gui Yansheng’s body, as if his body had become a vessel for housing remnant souls. Those black long mists flowed endlessly like surging rivers, becoming an ocean that obscured everything before them, striking down toward Zanxing.

Heaven and earth shook violently!

Chaotic stones flew all around. The long stick suddenly emitted a dazzling light. The azure begonia on Zanxing’s forehead suddenly bloomed, its radiance captivating. The silver long spear and azure long stick joined together. Two light formations held in stalemate with that giant shadow, yet still couldn’t match it, being forced closer bit by bit.

The remnant souls on the battlefield instantly became much more frenzied. Between the opening and closing of the snow-white paper umbrella, like a greedy giant mouth, it began harvesting the souls of living people around.

The surroundings instantly darkened.

Gui Yansheng burst into loud laughter, his voice carrying an eerie strangeness: “Yang Zanxing, do you know why you’ve possessed the Xiaoyuan Pearl for so long yet couldn’t refine it? Do you know why, even though you’ve refined it now, you still can’t unleash its full power?”

Zanxing gripped her stick with both hands, her entire body taut, not daring to slack off for even a moment. The giant shadow’s oppressive force grew stronger and stronger, containing countless cold, chaotic, and violent killing intents.

“Because the Xiaoyuan Pearl was originally formed from an ancient demon stone – it was inherently an evil pearl. It wants to eat people, it wants to feed on living people’s blood and souls. If you won’t give it anything, how could it serve you?” His voice transmitted over, seeming to carry bewitching evil. “You want to be a savior who rescues all living beings, want to put on airs and pretend to be a good person, but you don’t even dare kill people. You’re destined to be at others’ mercy and die by my hand!”

His entire body suddenly burst open in a spray of bloody mist. His whole person looked as if he’d been burned by a great fire, with pus and blood continuously crawling out from his body along with the black mist.

“Crack—”

A faint breaking sound came from beside their ears. A crack suddenly appeared on the Embroidered Bone Spear in Gu Baiying’s hand.

“Not good!” Shaoyang Zhenren’s gaze moved. Disregarding the remnant souls before him, he turned and wanted to pursue them.

A rumbling sound was transmitted between heaven and earth.

From within that black mist came countless piercing shrieks, as if all the most painful things in this world had been encountered by the masters of these shrieks. Those shrieking sounds seemed like fine threads, condensing into a bundle in the air, transforming into the shape of a sharp blade that cut through the firmament, cut through the long river, cut through all love and hate in the mortal world, slashing toward Zanxing.

Mimi let out a roar, its lion’s roar splitting stone and piercing clouds, yet it came to an abrupt halt when encountering that black mist. The crack on Gu Baiying’s Embroidered Bone grew deeper and deeper as he was suddenly sent flying. Zanxing felt countless piercing sounds drilling into her brain. The flower waterfall blooming before the Wuyou Stick was completely shattered by the shrieking sounds.

Just as she felt she was about to be torn apart by these shrieks, a red, gentle, warm current suddenly flowed through her spiritual roots, halting the violent black mist rushing toward her by several degrees.

“Junior Sister Zanxing!” Tian Fangfang shouted anxiously. Watching as the black long mist enveloped Zanxing within it, she could no longer be seen.

“Zanxing…” Bujiang’s heart sank.

“Zanxing!” Gu Baiying gripped his long spear tightly, about to charge into the black mist.

Just then, a massive burst of light suddenly erupted from the spot.

This light was like countless azure, sharp arrows, piercing through the darkness before them. Those black mists receded like a tide. The azure long stick condensed into a massive stick phantom in the firmament, colliding with that black long blade.

Blade and stick collided—

Countless vast yuanli surged to all sides like mountain floods and tsunamis. The long blade was scattered, crumbling into black powder. The golden-eyed youth was suddenly sent flying, crashing into the distant gray cliff wall.

The woman held her long stick, the azure begonia on her forehead flowing with radiance.

She stood within the dissipating gray mist, looking coldly at Gui Yansheng and speaking in a light voice: “Who said it must feed on living people’s fresh blood and souls?”

Gui Yansheng gritted his teeth: “You…”

Zanxing slightly raised her eyebrows: “You haven’t read the ‘Peerless Heart Scripture.'”