Chapter 75: Tearing Destiny to Shreds
Sponsored Content
In the fragment of the secret of Heaven found in the Golden Light of Merit, Song Qingshi had seen the Phoenix; he had seen Yue Wuhuan. He had also seen his own death.
One death after another — he had died in the snow; he had died amidst a barrage of arrows; he had died crushed under wheels, he had died on the execution ground…
He had been confused, but as Yue Wuhuan opened his heart and gradually revealed his feelings and fragility, Song Qingshi understood the significance of these deaths. Each instance of his death was heart-gouging, bone-carving torture for Yue Wuhuan, forcing him to lose hope, to completely sink into madness, leaving him no choice but to commit suicide in hellish despair.
Not in pain, though. He was not afraid of pain.
He won’t ever allow this ending to happen again.
Song Qingshi tried to analyze every death shown in the secret of Heaven. He found that most of them contained the traces of destiny being tampered with by Heavenly law — sudden diseases, accidents, disasters…There was even in one life, when he discovered the crisis, he was merely staying in his room when a meteor crushed him to death.
Every accident was a coincidence, and every coincidence happened to him, killing him.
In this life, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, a cultivator with a high level of cultivation. If it’s not a randomly leaking poison, a pill furnace explosion could kill him. Judging from the Yue Wuhuan’s lightning tribulation, Heavenly law seemed to be able to distort the rules and create coincidences, but not directly kill people.
So, how will he die this time?
Song Qingshi suddenly remembered that he had been killed once before…
At that time, he hadn’t known Yue Wuhuan, so he hadn’t been targeted by Fate. Borrowing the power of the system, he managed to smoothly survive, although he still didn’t understand why the system helped him.
However, if An Long’s heart demon could lose control once, it could lose control a second time. He was the strongest Nascent Soul cultivator, and had a half-demon bloodline. He was bloodthirsty and combative, and was the most suitable chess piece for Heaven to control.
He had long cast his suspicions on An Long.
800 years of acquaintance, 500 years of friendship, former comrade-in-arms…
Song Qingshi understands An Long’s character. He hated hiding and liked to fight head-on. Faced with the danger of being hunted, he would only become braver as he fought, until he killed all his enemies. Since the Myriad Gu Sect has chosen to betray him, An Long would definitely return to the Western Forest to punish the insurgents…
If there was still news of An Long coming from the Western Forest, even if it was bloody news, the situation was nothing serious.
The Western Forest having no news of An Long was the most dangerous…
An Long might have lost control of his heart demon, and his eyes have turned red with murderous intent.
There would be no news if everyone were dead.
When Ye Lin Xianjun sent him that letter with the warning…
Vbcu Hlcurtl ecvfgrabbv atja atlr kjr atf kjg mtjiifcuf Cc Obcu tjv ulnfc tlw. Ktlr kjr jirb atf alwf bo vfjat Mjaf tjv jggjcufv obg tlw, atf tfii atja atfs tjv jggjcufv obg Tef Qetejc.
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……
Song Qingshi stretched out his hand, black and red flame lotus flowers appeared in the sky, illuminating the surroundings.
An Long covered his blood-red eyes, ill-suited to the bright light. His thinking was hazy, he kept wandering between madness and sanity. Finally, he couldn’t help laughing.
He found that he had never actually seen Song Qingshi’s true strength. Now, the two were about to go all out, about to fight a fierce battle. It wasn’t a waste of their many years of friendship.
Song Qingshi asked while An Long was still a little clear-headed, “At Golden Phoenix Manor, did you also turn into a demon?”
“Yes,” An Long’s body was gradually changing, and he smiled in pain, “I was controlled by my heart demon at the time and I lost my mind… I was in pain and I asked you to lie to me, to say even just “like”, to give me a beautiful illusion to make the heart demon retreat and abandon the killing intent. But you refused. Did you loath me so much, you would you rather die than lie to bring me out of the pain?”
Song Qingshi thought for a while, “I couldn’t. Like is like. Don’t like is don’t like. I can’t lie to you.”
An Long’s breathing was becoming rapid. His consciousness was gradually being invaded by his demon nature. “Qingshi, I hate you so much…”
Yue Wuhuan’s Emotion Locking Gu suppressed his love. His Emotion Locking Gu suppressed his hatred and murderous intent.
The blood of a half-demon, born with no understanding of emotions, only the lust for killing and greed.
He forced himself to learn, to understand, and to respect.
He truly wanted to be a real human, but he failed.
Song Qingshi once intended to send him to Great Master Ci Bei to learn to be human. But he hadn’t seen any humanity in those children. They didn’t understand good and evil, they merely became obedient puppets and followed the rules. During the battle to seal away the demons, he saw with his own eyes how Great Master Ci Bei was seriously injured, had an outbreak of his demonic nature and turned into a terrible monster. He was then taken as an enemy and killed. Everyone thought that he’d been killed by the demons and was worshipped as a hero. It was truly laughable.
After Great Master Ci Bei’s death, his remaining disciples gradually revealed their demonic nature, and were finally wiped out.
After all, a demon was a demon. Where was there any humanity?
He just needed to kill…
An Long’s pupils have become terrifying vertical pupils. He has lost any human feelings and had completely turned into a demon. He let out an inaudible whistle, and the fragmented sounds of insects moving echoed from within the forest. More and more were coming; coming closer and closer.
Song Qingshi looked around, and between his fingers, the Red Lotus Fire ignited, burning the entire forest. The extreme high temperature blocked the attacks of the Poisonous Gu’s. The air was filled with the smell of burnt limbs.
He stood atop the red lotus, looking down upon the demon on the ground.
He made a seal and countless hands stretched out from beneath An Long’s feet. Those were Poison Puppets hidden in the ground. They had stitches all over their bodies, making them look like ragdolls crawling out of hell, tightly wrapping around the target, carrying all kinds of poisons, grabbing ahold of him. An Long’s body turned into thick scale armor, blocking the invasion of toxins. He threw out his long scorpion tail, tearing off the pale hands, and rushed towards Song Qingshi.
He didn’t need to know how many aces Song Qingshi had up his sleeve, it was enough that he knew that Song Qingshi wasn’t good at close combat.
Defensive enchantments and magic formations opened up in mid-air, quickly cutting the distance between the two.
An Long sneered and stretched out his claws. He tore open the barrier, and rushed towards the target in front of him. However, Song Qingshi suddenly disappeared, replaced by countless black butterflies with their hyper-toxin. Blotting out the sky and covering the earth, they flew towards him. An Long quickly closed his eyes, but in the end the scale powder fell on his face, and through wounds created by the corrosion of his scales, the poison penetrated his body.
With a fierce swipe of his claw, he tore off the infected scales, blocking the invasion of toxins. New scales then grew out, covering the original wounds. He immediately whipped his scorpion tail to the side where there seemed to be no one. He broke through Song Qingshi’s concealment formation, forcing him to reveal his actual position.
“Found you.” An Long chirped softly.
Song Qingshi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He smiled, and threw a small black lotus flame on the ground.
Suddenly, the ground exploded. The Poisonous Puppet lying in ambush launched a self-detonation attack. The explosions went off in quick succession, releasing layer upon layer of heavy poison, bombing the entire forest, corroding the trees with black venom. All living things were wiped out. Huge pits up to several tens of meters deep appeared on the ground, burying everything. The air was filled with poisonous mist, infiltrating their breaths, seeping into their skin, penetrating into every inch of their body.
The dust dispersed, revealing An Long’s figure. He wrapped himself in hard scale armor to protect his vitals and avoid most of the damage. However, poison had invaded his body and affected his movements. His perception gradually dulled and his breathing became slightly heavier. But his emotions became more and more excited.
This was a joyous battle…
This was an opponent worth killing…
He stood up again and rushed towards his target. He disappeared in mid-air, only to reappear instantly in front of Song Qingshi. He lay a heavy punch against his abdomen. Song Qingshi was blown away by the punch. Even with the protection of the high-level vestments, his ribs were still cracked. His shaking Nascent Soul, on the verge of breaking, was now even more imperiled.
Song Qingshi stood up with difficulty. He had known for a long time that An Long’s strongest weapon was not the Gu’s but his natural war-like spirit. He possessed the strongest physique and combat instinct, and he could easily see through all the flaws and find weak points suitable to be attacked.
He gave up part of his defenses and placed a mark on An Long for the Black Death Butterfly.
Black Death Butterflies gathered one after another, attacking the marked enemy.
An Long glanced at the butterflies, and then gave out a silent whistle. Countless Devil Mask Moths surged like a tornado, rushing through the flame barrier without fear, pouncing on the black butterflies in droves. They died one after another, their corpses piled high like a mountain. They took away with them the poisonous scale powder of the Black Death Butterflies, consumed the venom in their bodies, rendering them unable to attack.
Song Qingshi realized the crisis, and the Underworld Ghost Fire rose up in his body, trying to burn the approaching enemy to death.
However, the scorpion tail suddenly appeared. It pierced his abdomen, nailing him firmly to the rock wall.
An Long slowly walked out from the cluster of Devil Mask Moths. “I’ve caught you.”
Song Qingshi clutched the scorpion tail in his abdomen tightly, panting for breath. He knew that if he couldn’t pull out the weapon that had pierced through him now, he would lose blood. Fortunately, before their battle, he had taken a powerful analgesic pill, suppressing most of the pain to a tolerable level, and keeping his mind clear.
An Long walked over slowly. He stretched out his hand, and gently touched his face, trying to wipe off the blood on it.
There was a sharp pain on his fingertips. He felt like he had touched a burning hot pill furnace. It scorched the hard scales, tearing his skin open and exposing his flesh. It emitted an unpleasant smell. The severe pain cleared his head for a moment, and bloody tears streamed down from his blood-colored eyes. He asked, voice hoarse, “Why?”
As soon as the word fell, he couldn’t speak anymore.
Feelings were the sweetest things in the world. They were also the cruelest things in the world.
There was no principle that could explain it.
“Qingshi, I don’t want to kill you,” he looked at the person in front of him, and desperately pleaded once again, “Please, as long as you say “like”, even if you lie. Just let the heart demon let go of me and let go of you. ”
The shrill auditory hallucinations in his mind kept clamoring, sending out signals to kill, eroding his will. Only by killing the person in front of him or getting what he wanted could he get rid of this hideous appearance and be free from pain.
He didn’t know how long he could hold on.
Song Qingshi raised his head and said softly, “It’s no use.”
The same scene, the same plea, finally reminded him of what happened in the Golden Phoenix Manor.
“Fake is, in the end, still fake. It can’t be made real,” Song Qingshi gasped hard and told him the real answer, “I can’t lie to you. You are the Gu genius I admire, and you were my best friend. You’re so good. You’ve helped me a lot…so…I can never deceive your heart with lies. This is a dishonor to your feelings…”
An Long stared at him blankly, as if meeting him for the first time.
There were tears in Song Qingshi’s eyes. He smiled and said, “I’ve caught you too.”
From the very start, he had been waiting for was such an opportunity. The scorpion tail connected the two off them, neither could escape.
An Long finally understood that death was the best thing he owned.
He smiled and lowered his head, embracing the blood-covered young man into his arms. He traded having every inch of his body getting burned for this momentary clarity. He gently branded a kiss on his forehead; his lips burned inch by inch until its original appearance could hardly be seen. All for this final farewell.
The most painful embrace and the most painful kiss in the world, but he was perfectly willing.
The black lotus and the red lotus in the sky were forcibly merged into one, turning into brilliant gold, giving out the breath of death.
An Long gently lowered his head, still relying on Song Qingshi to push this lotus of death into his bosom.
The lotus instantly exploded, blasting away the hard scale armor, and piercing his chest. All his organs were destroyed, blood splattered everywhere, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It swiftly dyed the gravel red and it penetrated bit by bit into the ground.
It turned out a half-demon’s blood was also red.
The auditory hallucinations in his mind had practically turned into frenzied alarm bells. His sea of consciousness was thrown into confusion. He felt his body being forcibly repaired bit by bit, depriving him of the right to die. This violated the laws of heaven and earth. His body was going through a strange transformation. Just what was happening?
An Long was somewhat anxious and alarmed.
The scorpion tail was disconnected. Song Qingshi urgently treated the wound and stopped the bleeding with gold needles and medicine.
He slowly crawled towards An Long. He checked the unreasonable changes in his body, and confirmed his own judgment. — Destiny had chosen An Long to be a chess piece to destroy Yue Wuhuan. And so, he was not allowed to die by his own hands.
In the absence of luck, he could only be killed by force.
“Don’t be afraid,” Song Qingshi comforted softly, “Death is not the real end, but a new beginning.”
The Golden Light of Merit in the picture scroll was very gentle.
It didn’t want to show him the pain of dying again and again. Instead, it wanted him to see the opportunity presented by being reborn again and again. If the death arranged by Heavenly Law could not be avoided, what he had to do was to seize every moment and give Yue Wuhuan enough reminders and promises, leave sufficient preparations for himself, and then wait for the beginning of a new cycle of reincarnation.
Phoenix Nirvana, towards death and birth…
This was the correct answer given by the picture scroll.
An Long looked at his calm expression and gradually calmed down the alarm and anxiety in his heart.
Song Qingshi struggled to brandish the tattered Nascent Soul from his body. The self-detonation of a Nascent Soul cultivator could destroy all creatures within a radius of a hundred miles. He would destroy himself, destroy An Long, destroy the entire secret realm, and destroy everything.
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After watching him for a long time, An Long finally asked the question he wanted to know since a long time ago, “Qingshi, do you regret it? You rescued a white-eyed wolf from the foul swamp, an ungrateful wretch who requited kindness with enmity…who hurt you again and again…”
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He stopped his words, suddenly remembering that in the memory in the picture scroll, a majestic and domineering Black Dragon would occasionally appear next to the Phoenix.
The Black Dragon liked provoking the Phoenix. They would then fight amongst the clouds, they would fight until dark. After their fight they would reconcile and fly side by side…they seemed like good friends.
Song Qingshi was envious of this.
The black scales on An Long’s face, the vertical pupils in his eyes. They gradually overlapped with the Black Dragon in his memory. He had his dragon scales pulled off, his dragon muscles removed. He was turned into an ugly monster. He lost his former brilliance, lost all his pride, but he was still struggling, still resisting. He would rather die than be reduced to a chess piece controlled by Fate.
Song Qingshi looked more and more carefully, and looked more seriously.
An Long blocked his gaze with his hand. He said in fear, “Don’t look at me. I’m a monster.”
Song Qingshi: “Don’t be afraid, this is not the real you.”
An Long asked, “What should the real me be?”
Song Qingshi thought about the Black Dragon that accompanied the Phoenix to fly above the Ninth Heaven, “Probably very handsome.”
“What nonsense,” An Long couldn’t help laughing. The laughter pulled the wound in his chest, but he was very happy. He said loudly, “Kill me. Otherwise as long as I still have a breath, I will definitely kill you and Yue Wuhuan…”
The voice in his mind was becoming more and more intense, like a machine that was about to be destroyed, issuing wave after wave of dangerous hums.
An Long looked at him and softly said good-bye, “If we can meet again, there won’t be a third time.”
Song Qingshi smiled and nodded, “I believe you.”
His Nascent Soul gradually shattered, about to tear apart the plans of Fate.
……
Suddenly, a frantic alarm sounded.
A strange black hole appeared in the air, swallowing Song Qingshi in, blocking the power of the Nascent Soul’s explosion.
From the void, came the chaotic voice of the system. It stuttered, like an instrument that has been infected with a virus, consuming too much energy, and on the verge of crashing.
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one.”
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one thousand three hundred fifty.
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one.”
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one thousand three hundred fifty.
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one.”
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one thousand three hundred fifty.
“Revising plot. Dispatching tasker.”
“Revising plot. Dispatching tasker.”
……
Song Qingshi disappeared into the black hole. He only had time to leave one last statement to An Long, “Don’t kill Yue Wuhuan, you will regret it!”
An Long struggled to get up, wanting to stop him. But the injury affected his body’s movement, and in the end, he was half a step slower. He watched helplessly as the seriously injured Song Qingshi somehow disappeared. His mind was thrown into confusion. He couldn’t understand what had happened.
He tried to fish a handful of air, but he didn’t feel anything.
There was no undulation of a spell, no traces of sorcery.
He felt that Song Qingshi’s breath was erased by the world, as if he had never existed.
The demonization of his body gradually receded, and he returned to his human form.
This kind of thing had happened before; when Song Qingshi died.
An Long sat on the spot in a daze, until most of the serious injuries on his body were repaired. Nothing could be done to get him to come back to his senses.
The auditory hallucinations in his mind were much weaker, but it went on chattering as before.
“He-he’s lying…”
“Don’t-don’t believe it. You won’t regret it…”
“It-it was I who saved you.”
“Qui-quickly, go to the Medicine King’s Valley. Kill Yue Wuhuan.”
……
An Long sat for a long time. He pondered for a long time. Finally, he stood up.
Dragging heavy steps, he made his way step by step towards the Medicine King’s Valley.
Chapter 75: Tearing Destiny to Shreds
Sponsored Content
In the fragment of the secret of Heaven found in the Golden Light of Merit, Song Qingshi had seen the Phoenix; he had seen Yue Wuhuan. He had also seen his own death.
One death after another — he had died in the snow; he had died amidst a barrage of arrows; he had died crushed under wheels, he had died on the execution ground…
He had been confused, but as Yue Wuhuan opened his heart and gradually revealed his feelings and fragility, Song Qingshi understood the significance of these deaths. Each instance of his death was heart-gouging, bone-carving torture for Yue Wuhuan, forcing him to lose hope, to completely sink into madness, leaving him no choice but to commit suicide in hellish despair.
Not in pain, though. He was not afraid of pain.
He won’t ever allow this ending to happen again.
Song Qingshi tried to analyze every death shown in the secret of Heaven. He found that most of them contained the traces of destiny being tampered with by Heavenly law — sudden diseases, accidents, disasters…There was even in one life, when he discovered the crisis, he was merely staying in his room when a meteor crushed him to death.
Every accident was a coincidence, and every coincidence happened to him, killing him.
In this life, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, a cultivator with a high level of cultivation. If it’s not a randomly leaking poison, a pill furnace explosion could kill him. Judging from the Yue Wuhuan’s lightning tribulation, Heavenly law seemed to be able to distort the rules and create coincidences, but not directly kill people.
So, how will he die this time?
Song Qingshi suddenly remembered that he had been killed once before…
At that time, he hadn’t known Yue Wuhuan, so he hadn’t been targeted by Fate. Borrowing the power of the system, he managed to smoothly survive, although he still didn’t understand why the system helped him.
However, if An Long’s heart demon could lose control once, it could lose control a second time. He was the strongest Nascent Soul cultivator, and had a half-demon bloodline. He was bloodthirsty and combative, and was the most suitable chess piece for Heaven to control.
He had long cast his suspicions on An Long.
800 years of acquaintance, 500 years of friendship, former comrade-in-arms…
Song Qingshi understands An Long’s character. He hated hiding and liked to fight head-on. Faced with the danger of being hunted, he would only become braver as he fought, until he killed all his enemies. Since the Myriad Gu Sect has chosen to betray him, An Long would definitely return to the Western Forest to punish the insurgents…
If there was still news of An Long coming from the Western Forest, even if it was bloody news, the situation was nothing serious.
The Western Forest having no news of An Long was the most dangerous…
An Long might have lost control of his heart demon, and his eyes have turned red with murderous intent.
There would be no news if everyone were dead.
When Ye Lin Xianjun sent him that letter with the warning…
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Lf kjcafv ab vb tlr yfra ab mtjcuf Tef Qetejc’r oeaegf.
……
Song Qingshi stretched out his hand, black and red flame lotus flowers appeared in the sky, illuminating the surroundings.
An Long covered his blood-red eyes, ill-suited to the bright light. His thinking was hazy, he kept wandering between madness and sanity. Finally, he couldn’t help laughing.
He found that he had never actually seen Song Qingshi’s true strength. Now, the two were about to go all out, about to fight a fierce battle. It wasn’t a waste of their many years of friendship.
Song Qingshi asked while An Long was still a little clear-headed, “At Golden Phoenix Manor, did you also turn into a demon?”
“Yes,” An Long’s body was gradually changing, and he smiled in pain, “I was controlled by my heart demon at the time and I lost my mind… I was in pain and I asked you to lie to me, to say even just “like”, to give me a beautiful illusion to make the heart demon retreat and abandon the killing intent. But you refused. Did you loath me so much, you would you rather die than lie to bring me out of the pain?”
Song Qingshi thought for a while, “I couldn’t. Like is like. Don’t like is don’t like. I can’t lie to you.”
An Long’s breathing was becoming rapid. His consciousness was gradually being invaded by his demon nature. “Qingshi, I hate you so much…”
Yue Wuhuan’s Emotion Locking Gu suppressed his love. His Emotion Locking Gu suppressed his hatred and murderous intent.
The blood of a half-demon, born with no understanding of emotions, only the lust for killing and greed.
He forced himself to learn, to understand, and to respect.
He truly wanted to be a real human, but he failed.
Song Qingshi once intended to send him to Great Master Ci Bei to learn to be human. But he hadn’t seen any humanity in those children. They didn’t understand good and evil, they merely became obedient puppets and followed the rules. During the battle to seal away the demons, he saw with his own eyes how Great Master Ci Bei was seriously injured, had an outbreak of his demonic nature and turned into a terrible monster. He was then taken as an enemy and killed. Everyone thought that he’d been killed by the demons and was worshipped as a hero. It was truly laughable.
After Great Master Ci Bei’s death, his remaining disciples gradually revealed their demonic nature, and were finally wiped out.
After all, a demon was a demon. Where was there any humanity?
He just needed to kill…
An Long’s pupils have become terrifying vertical pupils. He has lost any human feelings and had completely turned into a demon. He let out an inaudible whistle, and the fragmented sounds of insects moving echoed from within the forest. More and more were coming; coming closer and closer.
Song Qingshi looked around, and between his fingers, the Red Lotus Fire ignited, burning the entire forest. The extreme high temperature blocked the attacks of the Poisonous Gu’s. The air was filled with the smell of burnt limbs.
He stood atop the red lotus, looking down upon the demon on the ground.
He made a seal and countless hands stretched out from beneath An Long’s feet. Those were Poison Puppets hidden in the ground. They had stitches all over their bodies, making them look like ragdolls crawling out of hell, tightly wrapping around the target, carrying all kinds of poisons, grabbing ahold of him. An Long’s body turned into thick scale armor, blocking the invasion of toxins. He threw out his long scorpion tail, tearing off the pale hands, and rushed towards Song Qingshi.
He didn’t need to know how many aces Song Qingshi had up his sleeve, it was enough that he knew that Song Qingshi wasn’t good at close combat.
Defensive enchantments and magic formations opened up in mid-air, quickly cutting the distance between the two.
An Long sneered and stretched out his claws. He tore open the barrier, and rushed towards the target in front of him. However, Song Qingshi suddenly disappeared, replaced by countless black butterflies with their hyper-toxin. Blotting out the sky and covering the earth, they flew towards him. An Long quickly closed his eyes, but in the end the scale powder fell on his face, and through wounds created by the corrosion of his scales, the poison penetrated his body.
With a fierce swipe of his claw, he tore off the infected scales, blocking the invasion of toxins. New scales then grew out, covering the original wounds. He immediately whipped his scorpion tail to the side where there seemed to be no one. He broke through Song Qingshi’s concealment formation, forcing him to reveal his actual position.
“Found you.” An Long chirped softly.
Song Qingshi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He smiled, and threw a small black lotus flame on the ground.
Suddenly, the ground exploded. The Poisonous Puppet lying in ambush launched a self-detonation attack. The explosions went off in quick succession, releasing layer upon layer of heavy poison, bombing the entire forest, corroding the trees with black venom. All living things were wiped out. Huge pits up to several tens of meters deep appeared on the ground, burying everything. The air was filled with poisonous mist, infiltrating their breaths, seeping into their skin, penetrating into every inch of their body.
The dust dispersed, revealing An Long’s figure. He wrapped himself in hard scale armor to protect his vitals and avoid most of the damage. However, poison had invaded his body and affected his movements. His perception gradually dulled and his breathing became slightly heavier. But his emotions became more and more excited.
This was a joyous battle…
This was an opponent worth killing…
He stood up again and rushed towards his target. He disappeared in mid-air, only to reappear instantly in front of Song Qingshi. He lay a heavy punch against his abdomen. Song Qingshi was blown away by the punch. Even with the protection of the high-level vestments, his ribs were still cracked. His shaking Nascent Soul, on the verge of breaking, was now even more imperiled.
Song Qingshi stood up with difficulty. He had known for a long time that An Long’s strongest weapon was not the Gu’s but his natural war-like spirit. He possessed the strongest physique and combat instinct, and he could easily see through all the flaws and find weak points suitable to be attacked.
He gave up part of his defenses and placed a mark on An Long for the Black Death Butterfly.
Black Death Butterflies gathered one after another, attacking the marked enemy.
An Long glanced at the butterflies, and then gave out a silent whistle. Countless Devil Mask Moths surged like a tornado, rushing through the flame barrier without fear, pouncing on the black butterflies in droves. They died one after another, their corpses piled high like a mountain. They took away with them the poisonous scale powder of the Black Death Butterflies, consumed the venom in their bodies, rendering them unable to attack.
Song Qingshi realized the crisis, and the Underworld Ghost Fire rose up in his body, trying to burn the approaching enemy to death.
However, the scorpion tail suddenly appeared. It pierced his abdomen, nailing him firmly to the rock wall.
An Long slowly walked out from the cluster of Devil Mask Moths. “I’ve caught you.”
Song Qingshi clutched the scorpion tail in his abdomen tightly, panting for breath. He knew that if he couldn’t pull out the weapon that had pierced through him now, he would lose blood. Fortunately, before their battle, he had taken a powerful analgesic pill, suppressing most of the pain to a tolerable level, and keeping his mind clear.
An Long walked over slowly. He stretched out his hand, and gently touched his face, trying to wipe off the blood on it.
There was a sharp pain on his fingertips. He felt like he had touched a burning hot pill furnace. It scorched the hard scales, tearing his skin open and exposing his flesh. It emitted an unpleasant smell. The severe pain cleared his head for a moment, and bloody tears streamed down from his blood-colored eyes. He asked, voice hoarse, “Why?”
As soon as the word fell, he couldn’t speak anymore.
Feelings were the sweetest things in the world. They were also the cruelest things in the world.
There was no principle that could explain it.
“Qingshi, I don’t want to kill you,” he looked at the person in front of him, and desperately pleaded once again, “Please, as long as you say “like”, even if you lie. Just let the heart demon let go of me and let go of you. ”
The shrill auditory hallucinations in his mind kept clamoring, sending out signals to kill, eroding his will. Only by killing the person in front of him or getting what he wanted could he get rid of this hideous appearance and be free from pain.
He didn’t know how long he could hold on.
Song Qingshi raised his head and said softly, “It’s no use.”
The same scene, the same plea, finally reminded him of what happened in the Golden Phoenix Manor.
“Fake is, in the end, still fake. It can’t be made real,” Song Qingshi gasped hard and told him the real answer, “I can’t lie to you. You are the Gu genius I admire, and you were my best friend. You’re so good. You’ve helped me a lot…so…I can never deceive your heart with lies. This is a dishonor to your feelings…”
An Long stared at him blankly, as if meeting him for the first time.
There were tears in Song Qingshi’s eyes. He smiled and said, “I’ve caught you too.”
From the very start, he had been waiting for was such an opportunity. The scorpion tail connected the two off them, neither could escape.
An Long finally understood that death was the best thing he owned.
He smiled and lowered his head, embracing the blood-covered young man into his arms. He traded having every inch of his body getting burned for this momentary clarity. He gently branded a kiss on his forehead; his lips burned inch by inch until its original appearance could hardly be seen. All for this final farewell.
The most painful embrace and the most painful kiss in the world, but he was perfectly willing.
The black lotus and the red lotus in the sky were forcibly merged into one, turning into brilliant gold, giving out the breath of death.
An Long gently lowered his head, still relying on Song Qingshi to push this lotus of death into his bosom.
The lotus instantly exploded, blasting away the hard scale armor, and piercing his chest. All his organs were destroyed, blood splattered everywhere, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It swiftly dyed the gravel red and it penetrated bit by bit into the ground.
It turned out a half-demon’s blood was also red.
The auditory hallucinations in his mind had practically turned into frenzied alarm bells. His sea of consciousness was thrown into confusion. He felt his body being forcibly repaired bit by bit, depriving him of the right to die. This violated the laws of heaven and earth. His body was going through a strange transformation. Just what was happening?
An Long was somewhat anxious and alarmed.
The scorpion tail was disconnected. Song Qingshi urgently treated the wound and stopped the bleeding with gold needles and medicine.
He slowly crawled towards An Long. He checked the unreasonable changes in his body, and confirmed his own judgment. — Destiny had chosen An Long to be a chess piece to destroy Yue Wuhuan. And so, he was not allowed to die by his own hands.
In the absence of luck, he could only be killed by force.
“Don’t be afraid,” Song Qingshi comforted softly, “Death is not the real end, but a new beginning.”
The Golden Light of Merit in the picture scroll was very gentle.
It didn’t want to show him the pain of dying again and again. Instead, it wanted him to see the opportunity presented by being reborn again and again. If the death arranged by Heavenly Law could not be avoided, what he had to do was to seize every moment and give Yue Wuhuan enough reminders and promises, leave sufficient preparations for himself, and then wait for the beginning of a new cycle of reincarnation.
Phoenix Nirvana, towards death and birth…
This was the correct answer given by the picture scroll.
An Long looked at his calm expression and gradually calmed down the alarm and anxiety in his heart.
Song Qingshi struggled to brandish the tattered Nascent Soul from his body. The self-detonation of a Nascent Soul cultivator could destroy all creatures within a radius of a hundred miles. He would destroy himself, destroy An Long, destroy the entire secret realm, and destroy everything.
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After watching him for a long time, An Long finally asked the question he wanted to know since a long time ago, “Qingshi, do you regret it? You rescued a white-eyed wolf from the foul swamp, an ungrateful wretch who requited kindness with enmity…who hurt you again and again…”
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He stopped his words, suddenly remembering that in the memory in the picture scroll, a majestic and domineering Black Dragon would occasionally appear next to the Phoenix.
The Black Dragon liked provoking the Phoenix. They would then fight amongst the clouds, they would fight until dark. After their fight they would reconcile and fly side by side…they seemed like good friends.
Song Qingshi was envious of this.
The black scales on An Long’s face, the vertical pupils in his eyes. They gradually overlapped with the Black Dragon in his memory. He had his dragon scales pulled off, his dragon muscles removed. He was turned into an ugly monster. He lost his former brilliance, lost all his pride, but he was still struggling, still resisting. He would rather die than be reduced to a chess piece controlled by Fate.
Song Qingshi looked more and more carefully, and looked more seriously.
An Long blocked his gaze with his hand. He said in fear, “Don’t look at me. I’m a monster.”
Song Qingshi: “Don’t be afraid, this is not the real you.”
An Long asked, “What should the real me be?”
Song Qingshi thought about the Black Dragon that accompanied the Phoenix to fly above the Ninth Heaven, “Probably very handsome.”
“What nonsense,” An Long couldn’t help laughing. The laughter pulled the wound in his chest, but he was very happy. He said loudly, “Kill me. Otherwise as long as I still have a breath, I will definitely kill you and Yue Wuhuan…”
The voice in his mind was becoming more and more intense, like a machine that was about to be destroyed, issuing wave after wave of dangerous hums.
An Long looked at him and softly said good-bye, “If we can meet again, there won’t be a third time.”
Song Qingshi smiled and nodded, “I believe you.”
His Nascent Soul gradually shattered, about to tear apart the plans of Fate.
……
Suddenly, a frantic alarm sounded.
A strange black hole appeared in the air, swallowing Song Qingshi in, blocking the power of the Nascent Soul’s explosion.
From the void, came the chaotic voice of the system. It stuttered, like an instrument that has been infected with a virus, consuming too much energy, and on the verge of crashing.
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one.”
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one thousand three hundred fifty.
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one.”
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one thousand three hundred fifty.
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one.”
“Tasker Song Qingshi, times failed: one thousand three hundred fifty.
“Revising plot. Dispatching tasker.”
“Revising plot. Dispatching tasker.”
……
Song Qingshi disappeared into the black hole. He only had time to leave one last statement to An Long, “Don’t kill Yue Wuhuan, you will regret it!”
An Long struggled to get up, wanting to stop him. But the injury affected his body’s movement, and in the end, he was half a step slower. He watched helplessly as the seriously injured Song Qingshi somehow disappeared. His mind was thrown into confusion. He couldn’t understand what had happened.
He tried to fish a handful of air, but he didn’t feel anything.
There was no undulation of a spell, no traces of sorcery.
He felt that Song Qingshi’s breath was erased by the world, as if he had never existed.
The demonization of his body gradually receded, and he returned to his human form.
This kind of thing had happened before; when Song Qingshi died.
An Long sat on the spot in a daze, until most of the serious injuries on his body were repaired. Nothing could be done to get him to come back to his senses.
The auditory hallucinations in his mind were much weaker, but it went on chattering as before.
“He-he’s lying…”
“Don’t-don’t believe it. You won’t regret it…”
“It-it was I who saved you.”
“Qui-quickly, go to the Medicine King’s Valley. Kill Yue Wuhuan.”
……
An Long sat for a long time. He pondered for a long time. Finally, he stood up.
Dragging heavy steps, he made his way step by step towards the Medicine King’s Valley.
