“Kill Cangdi Fenglang, then bury his corpse in the soil. There’s no need to worry about what happens after that,” Dao Zu instructed clearly and slowly.
Lingyu slowly came back to himself. “Why… does he need to be killed?”
“He hurt you and committed several massacres. He must be punished for his crimes.”
Lingyu asked, “Do other people know about this?”
“They don’t.”
“Why not let others know?”
Dao Zu answered nonchalantly, “If people find out that my — Gu Qingchen’s — disciple was the culprit who killed so many people, then will I even have a reputation anymore? Will Spirit Sect be able to keep its position as the leader of all sects?”
Lingyu thought for a while and then asked, “Must he be killed?”
Dao Zu replied, “He must be killed. If you don’t kill him, he will frame you for all those crimes in the future. Think carefully.”
Then he really did have to be killed.
Lingyu took the job. He went after Cangdi Fenglang, who fled after catching wind of this. Cangdi Fenglang’s cultivation wasn’t as good as his. In other words, right up until his heart was pierced by a sword, this boy didn’t believe that Lingyu would actually kill him.
“Why?” Cangdi Fenglang’s innocent face was splashed with blood and looked particularly contradictory.
Lingyu pulled his sword out of Cangdi Fenglang. “No reason.”
After Cangdi Fenglang died, Lingyu buried him. Then he took a deep look at Cangdi Fenglang and walked away without looking back.
The wind rustled, and there was decaying and withered vegetation around the wilderness.
A man in a black cloak appeared like a ghost. He stood by the grave and mocked, “You really are a silly child. I’ve only been away for a while, but in the short time when I wasn’t helping you, someone beat you down like a dog. Looks like you still need my help in the end.”
He raised his hand. The purple evil Qi pulled up the dirt pressing down on Cangdi Fenglang, and Cangdi Fenglang’s bloodless face was exposed in front of him.
“Rise.” As soon as the man raised his hand, Cangdi Fenglang stood up, but his action was a little stiff.
Suddenly, Cangdi Fenglang opened his eyes. A dagger slipped out from his sleeve, and he stabbed it into the man’s stomach. Before the man could escape, he saw Dao Zu suddenly appear in front of him.
Dao Zu gnashed his teeth and asked coldly, “Was it you, brother dearest?”
The man’s blood was bleeding all over the ground, but he laughed as he took the hood off his cloak, showing a handsome face.
“So you found out ah.” Sheng Ren shrugged. “I thought you would find out a little later.”
“I began to suspect you a long time ago,” Dao Zu said, “but I couldn’t find any evidence.”
Since he couldn’t find any evidence, he didn’t reveal his suspicions to anyone.
“Ah.” Sheng Ren was unconcerned. “To think I lost practically all credibility in your eyes so early on. Elder Brother, when did you start suspecting me? I don’t think I’ve done anything excessive.”
“Sacrificing Lian Hua wasn’t excessive?” Dao Zu glared at Sheng Ren’s face. He felt that this face was so unfamiliar now.
He walked up to Sheng Ren and asked with difficulty, “What else can you deny? Anything else you want to say to me?”
Sheng Ren said lightly, “Since you found out, I naturally have nothing to hide. If I deny any further, I will appear too timid and cowardly.”
Dao Zu took a deep breath and tried to hold back his fluctuating emotions. He said, “Give me a reason. Give me a reason why you had to do all this.”
Sheng Ren stared at Dao Zu with endless obsession in his eyes. “Elder Brother, if I said that I did it for you, would you accept this reason?”
“For me?” Dao Zu sneered. He raised his hand, pointing the tip of his sword at Sheng Ren’s neck. “Gu Aman, tell me — exactly what shameful things I have done to cause you to sacrifice so much and become neither human nor ghost?”
“If I become a God, I can oppose Heaven and change fate to remove you from Yama’s Book of Life and Death. From then on, this Dao of Heaven will no longer control your life and death!”
His tone was full of unrestrained arrogance, which made Dao Zu feel inexplicable apprehension.
“Life and death are ruled by fate. I’ve never feared death.” Dao Zu said indifferently and coldly. “To live, die, and reincarnate are the common ways of the Dao of Heaven. You are trying to oppose the Dao of Heaven with your own strength. After committing such despicable, merciless, and cruel acts, are you not afraid of retribution?”
“Retribution? If those who commit evil deeds suffer retribution, then how can the people who killed our mother still live happy and carefree lives, even to this day? Mother has done countless good deeds but still ended up dead. Elder Brother, ever since I was young, I’ve never believed in the saying that virtues will be rewarded and evils will be punished.”
Sheng Ren laughed and stepped back a few steps. He looked drunk. His steps were shaky and his figure looked like it was tottering on the verge of collapse, but he immediately steadied himself.
“I haven’t wanted to be a good person for a long time. So what if I’m worshipped by everyone under Heaven? So what if they regard me as the savior of the world? What did I get? I followed your steps closely. If you said one thing, then I didn’t dare say the opposite. But did you really believe that I merely saw you as an older brother?”
Dao Zu’s expression was extremely ugly. “Then? What more do you want?”
Sheng Ren said, “You and I already have the closest relationship in the world, so what harm is there in getting even closer to each other?”
Dao Zu’s pupil suddenly contracted. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Sheng Ren curled his lips and smiled. Since he had already revealed his intentions, he simply stopped hiding.
He flew forward and held Dao Zu firmly in his arms, one hand pressing on the back of Dao Zu’s waist. He lowered his eyes and chuckled. “Older Brother, I’m an evil Qi cultivator now, and I’m close to the peak of Sky Realm. If I want to ascend, I can do so any time. If you’re willing to become Dao companions with me, I can naturally share my lifespan with you.”
He continued, “When that happens, I can then destroy this disdainful Nine Lands. The two of us can return to the Boundless World together. We can first kill that scummy couple and then destroy the entire Gu family. After avenging Mother, we will retire from the cultivation world. Isn’t this perfect?”
Dao Zu priest was expressionless and unmoved. He slapped Sheng Ren in the face.
“Perfect, like hell it is.” Dao Zu’s eyes were bloodshot. “You killed so many people and committed so many sins, yet you want to smooth everything over with a single sentence. Don’t even think about such beautiful things.”
Sheng Ren’s face was slapped to the side, and the corners of his mouth also overflowed with blood. He wiped the blood stains, and his eyes were gloomy and fierce. “Gu Qingchen, you truly don’t understand your own situation. You are the most ignorant person I’ve ever seen. If I want to imprison you, it’s as easy as moving my fingers. You can’t do anything except submit to me.”
“You’re welcome to try.” Dao Zu also couldn’t help laughing.
His eyebrows and eyes were excellent, to begin with. When he didn’t smile, they looked elegant and cold, and when he did smile, they held some of the warmth of peach blossoms. The so-called affectionate eyebrows and eyes were just like this.
Every single one of Dao Zu’s moves was meant to kill. It could be seen that he truly planned to kill Sheng Ren.
Dao Zu was once the person who knew Sheng Ren the best in this world.
After all, Sheng Ren was single-handedly brought up by him. Ever since Sheng Ren was a baby, Dao Zu had played the roles of both father and mother.
When did he start to change?
The more merciless Dao Zu’s attacks, the more desolate his heart became.
Sheng Ren no longer hid his true powers and used evil Qi directly. The sky cracked and the earth trembled. The sun was hidden from view, and no light could be seen. Oppressive dark clouds covered the sky, like a fierce beast baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. The beast opened its bloody, gaping maw, as if it couldn’t wait to swallow the insects down on the ground.
The earth shook, the mountains collapsed, and the stars were overturned.
This battle lasted for an unknown number of days. The entire fertile field turned into scorched earth. Even the ancient beasts who originally lived in nearby mountains trembled in fright. They ran away all through the night for fear of being caught up in the battle and losing their little lives.
People could only feel the frightening power of Sky Realm powerhouses that could easily overturn rivers and seas from a distance. However, they dared not spy on the fight or even approach the battleground.
Dao Zu was truly furious. He used magic treasures to force Sheng Ren to retreat all the way to the demon realm. The current Sheng Ren hadn’t fully grown into his powers as an evil Qi cultivator yet.
Dao Zu placed a forbidden curse on him, temporarily sealed his cultivation, and seriously injured him.
Sheng Ren was defeated for the time being and was forced to find a place to heal himself.
However, the injuries Dao Zu sustained were more serious than Sheng Ren’s wounds, so that when he exhausted his last ounce of energy to return to the place where Cangdi Fenglang was buried, he collapsed to the ground, bleeding all over.
He closed his eyes tightly, frowning, and couldn’t even stand up. The evil Qi in the air gradually disappeared. Only after the sun and moon switched places dozens of times did Dao Zu manage to stand up with much difficulty.
Before the fight between him and Sheng Ren started, Dao Zu had buried Cangdi Fenglang in the soil again with a wave of his hand. At this time, he regretted the fact that he buried Cangdi Fenglang too deep inside the earth.
He could hardly lift his hand. He clawed away the solid soil bit by bit, then pulled out Cangdi Fenglang, who had been buried underneath. He patted off the soil on Cangdi Fenglang’s face, and a single tear quietly rolled down his face.
“Master.” At some point, Xi He had appeared behind Dao Zu.
His voice was almost trembling, and his legs almost gave out under him. He stumbled and crawled to Dao Zu’s side and stared at the miserable pair of teacher and disciple. “What happened here? How did this happen?”
“You’re here ah.” Dao Zu looked at Xi He, then looked down at Cangdi Fenglang and said hoarsely, “I’m truly a useless person.”
Xi He: “…”
Dao Zu said, “I thought I could protect everyone and this world. But in the end, I couldn’t even protect my own disciples.”
Xi He realized that Cangdi Fenglang wasn’t breathing anymore. He froze, and even his heart was about to stop beating.
“What happened to Fenglang? He… Is he…”
“Xi He, there’s no need to inform anyone of today’s affairs.” Dao Zu looked at Xi He in exhaustion and calmly explained, “He can’t live anymore. His mind was completely controlled, and the evil gu had already invaded his heart and veins. He would only lose more and more of his consciousness until he became a puppet completely. This body can’t be used anymore. I couldn’t save him.”
Xi He suffered a great shock. After a long time, he said, “I-I can reshape a body for him if I pull out one of my bones.”
“You’ve already done this for Lian Hua. To begin with, you’ve yet to fully grow, so your foundation has already been damaged. If you pull out another one, something will happen to you. Spirit Sect still needs someone to protect it. Nothing bad must happen to you.”
After a pause, Dao Zu whispered, “Nothing bad must happen to anyone else.”
