1585 The Choice Between Life and Death
Duan Qing—the Prince of the Realm Palace, and a Renhuang level cultivator—had fallen here.
The two of them were at the same level, and since Duan Qing had reached that level earlier, his knowledge of it was deeper. He had already forged three Wheels of the Great Path and reached the next, most powerful part of the Renhuang plane. However, he had been wiped out by Qi Xuangang. His Divine Spirit had been destroyed, and his life force had been scattered. He had never been given a chance to surprise.
Of course, Qi Xuanguang had used techniques that hurt himself in order to forcibly increase his power. At the same time he had killed Duan Qing, he had needed to wound himself. This is what made the others look so worried. They did not care whether Duan Qing lived or died. On the contrary, they cared more about Qi Xuangang. They couldn’t let anything bad happen to him.
He was the only one who still knew about the disappearance of the divine item.
At the moment that Duan Qing died, a burst of terrible energy pressed down on Qi Xuangang. His Divine Spirit returned to him in a flash, but it burned up in the furnace of the Great Path. Endless divine light from the sky still pierced his mind, and the countless characters of the great path exceeded the limit of what he could bear.
His Divine Spirit and his body were bathed in divine fire. The burst of powerful energy began to dissipate. The endless light burst and shattered, and the will within his mind was burned away to nothingness. In a flash, his level decreased, and he was no longer as strong as before.
“What have you done?” Terrible divine light shot out of Shen Yao’s eyes as he looked at Qi Xuangang. He could feel Qi Xuangang’s soul weakening. Previously, he had burned away his own soul in order to create will and forcibly use it in an attack. In addition to killing Duan Qing, he had also destroyed a part of his own soul.
Qi Xuangang opened his eyes and looked up at Shen Yao. He looked incredibly calm. It was as if everything ended here with him.
“You burned your own soul. Did you destroy a part of your memory?” The cultivator from the Shen clan strode forward, staring daggers at Qi Xuangang. But he no longer cared. He looked as if he was now free.
He knew he had wiped away many of his own memories, and he had forgotten which ones they were. It was probably information about Feixue, and about his escape. In this way, even though the Shen clan had powerful techniques, they would have no way to gain any valuable information from his mind about Feixue.
He had wiped away these memories. So now, Feixue must be safe, right?
He did not know, as he no longer had those memories.
He had forgotten, but he felt at peace.
Jie Huang of Realm Palace walked over to Duan Qing. He cradled the body in his arms and looked at Qi Xuangang, his eyes full of killing intent.
Today, Qi Xuangang had returned, and before everyone’s eyes had killed his son Duan Qing. He was the heir who had made great contributions to the Realm Palace. He had created the palace’s current prosperity with his own hands.
But he had been slain by Qi Xuangang like this.
However, he understood that the Shen clan would not allow him to take revenge.
The Shen clan would not let Qi Xuangang die.
“All his memories are fractured. They have been wiped away,” said a powerful figure from the Shen clan, looking at Shen Yao.
There was an ugly look in Shen Yao’s eyes. He would never have thought that his Uncle’s disciple would be so fierce. It seemed that he had already thought of everything before he had returned and had cut it all away, removing all hope for the Shen clan. Although he had returned, he did not give them a chance.
Qi Xuangang had returned just to put an end to this matter and to kill Duan Qing.
“This is the way things are. So give him to me,” came a voice. The one who had spoken was naturally the Sky River Great Elder. He walked forward towards Qi Xuangang.
Shen Yao looked at the Sky River Great Elder and said, “He came here to bring matters to an end of his own free will. You should not worry about this anymore.”
He would naturally not doubt the Sky River Great Elder again. Qi Xuangang had come to bring matters to an end, so he could definitely not give the information to the Sky River Great Elder. That would be foolish. Would the Sky River Great Elder be in danger because of this? Judging by Qi Xuangang’s present actions, this was impossible.
By doing this, the Shen family could not get the information they wanted. Back when Qi Xuangang had just fled, the powerful figures of the Shen clan had searched through all of the Tianhe Realm thoroughly. Then they had spent several years searching throughout the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path for some trace of him. But they had not found him, so they had given up.
Now he was here, which left only Feixue. And Feixue had been young when she had left. After so many years, her appearance and aura would be totally different. Even if they traveled through the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path and covered them all with their spiritual will, they would not be able to recognize her.
But they had to bring Qi Xuangang back with them to see if they could obtain any clues from him.
The Sky River Great Elder’s aura was terrible. It surged out from him, but Shen Yao stood in front of him calmly. Qi Xuangang turned his head with great difficulty to look back at the Sky River Great Elder and said, “Master, your disciple has not been filial. I can no longer remain by your side to take care of you, nor can I inherit your mantle.”
The Sky River Great Elder pointed at Ye Futianand said, “Your disciple can inherit my mantle. And your granddaughter is safe. I will teach her to cultivate.”
Qi Xuangang looked at Ye Futian and saw him step forward, up to the Sky River Great Elder.
The people of the Shen clan had said that his master had ruined his own memory. It seemed that his memory of him had been wiped away as well.
“Don’t worry, brother. I will cultivate well and take care of Master,” said Ye Futian to Qi Xuangang. He bowed to him, but only him and the Sky River Great Elder understood the meaning behind the bow.
“Mm.” Qi Xuangang nodded. His face was pale, and his aura was growing weak. He looked up into the sky. He seemed to see a beautiful figure there. He should have already been with her. Why was he still alive?
Qi Xuangang himself did not understand why he was not seeking death.
He did not understand, but the Sky River Great Elder and Ye Futian did.
“Bring him back to the Shen clan,” said Shen Yao. Chains of the Great Path fell upon Qi Xuangang, binding him up and carrying him into the sky.
“Take care, Uncle,” said Shen Yao to the Sky River Great Elder with a slight bow. Then he turned and flew up into the sky.
Brilliant divine light flashed, and Qi Xuangang was pulled up into the sky. He grew more and more distant until, finally, he disappeared.
Qi Xuangang looked down at his master as he was being pulled up with a calm smile. He seemed to be free from worry. He did not know why, but he felt very relaxed.
He looked at Ye Futian as well. Why did this man look so familiar? It must be because he was another one of the Master’s disciples.
The two of them had the same origin.
From now on, the Master would have to rely on this other disciple.
“Come back to us,” whispered the elder as he watched the disappearing figure. Ye Futian nodded. The two of them turned and walked away as if nothing had happened. They seemed very calm, but there was some sorrow in their tranquility.
The Sky River Great Elder was getting old.
There were times when he felt powerless in the face of all this. If it had been in the past, he would have fought. He would not have allowed the Shen clan to take Qi Xuangang.
But this time, he had not fought. And he had seemed calm the whole time.
Perhaps he was truly getting old.
Many people were looking at Tianhe Palace and at the tall and mighty emperor, as well as the fallen Duan Qing. It seemed that the Emperor had sold out the Sky River Great Elder, resulting in his three thousand disciples being killed.
Perhaps he was numb due to the things that had happened back then—so numb that there was no passion left in him.
Three thousand of his disciples had been killed, and now Qi Xuangang had been taken away. Would this incite him at all?
Even Qi Xuangang had come back, willing to kill the traitors at any cost.
He had questioned and killed Duan Qing outside the palace.
The old man and the young man walked side by side.
The elder’s voice appeared in Ye Futian’s mind. “Your master came here, seeking death.”
“I know,” answered Ye Futian mentally. His Master had not planned to leave here alive. He had come seeking death.
His death would be beneficial for many people.
Feixue was well taken care of, as she was set up in a Supreme Region. His Master would not seek to drag her into any more trouble, and so he would have no contact with her. Thus, he had returned to the Tianhe Realm alone.
“But he did not die,” said the elder.
“It’s because of me. As long as he is alive, the Shen clan’s eyes will remain on him. No one will worry about the won who will inherit his mantle,” said Ye Futian. Death would be easier for his Master. He already had the will to die. But he had come to the Tianhe Realm as well, which changed his Master’s plans. When he learned that the Shen clan was coming, he had appeared earlier, right outside the palace. He had cut off any road of retreat for himself. Moreover, he had destroyed his own memory.
Life was harder than death for him.
Life would be full of humiliation. The Shen clan would torture him, which was something he was not willing to undergo. But as long as he was alive, they would not pay any attention to Ye Futian. When the Master was there, why would they pay attention to a disciple?
As the two of them were talking, they reached the mountain. They stood there calmly, looking out into the distance. When she saw that they had returned, Ping’an calmed down. But she did not see Qi Xuangang, which made her sad.
“He thinks that his death will put an end to things. But it is not that simple.” As the two of them descended upon the mountain, the Sky River Great Elder looked up into the sky.
An end?
How could it bring an end?
Could killing the traitor Duan Qing and dying himself bring an end to things?
It was too early.
Ye Futian looked at the old man.
It was not that simple.
“You should not leave the mountain again. You should stay here and cultivate. Then you will reach the Renhuang plane faster,” continued the Sky River Great Elder. Ye Futian nodded.
The elder looked off into the distance and said Ping’an coming towards them. He smiled warmly when he saw her pretty face.
“Ping’an,” he said.
“Teacher.” Ping’an looked at him. She looked like she was going to say more, then stopped. She wanted to ask something, but she did not.
“Do you want to live somewhere else? Find a spiritual partner? Give up everything and choose a different life?” asked the Sky River Great Elder.
Ping’an looked up at him, and her eyes hardened. She shook her head. She did not say anything, but her answer was in her eyes.
The elder nodded slightly. He reached out and gently patted her on the shoulder. He looked off into the distance.
If she didn’t want to, then she didn’t have to!
