After Refusing Marriage to the Dao of Slaughter Patriarch (25)

The black-haired sword cultivator holding the broken sword had a cold and stern expression. Under his wide sleeves, his thin wrists and the blue veins hidden beneath his snow-white skin could faintly be seen.

Qi Baishan had never observed his senior brother so solemnly before.

It was only then that he realized Ji Zhaixing was not as unrivaled and without weaknesses as he had imagined. His figure was even somewhat thin; the slightly narrowed waist and the lean spine caught his eye, constantly reminding Qi Baishan.

His senior brother was nothing more than a youth who was only a few years older than him.

Tang Huaimeng heard Qi Baishan's trembling question, and the corners of his lips pressed tightly together into a straight line. He really found it hard to understand why the fellow disciple Ji Zhaixing had risked his life to save didn't even know what injuries he had suffered. At this moment, Tang Huaimeng's gaze, carrying a hint of icy mockery, rested on Yun Liu. Word by word, like a bystander watching a play, he brought up the old events from back then—

Yun Liu closed his eyes slightly, his eyelashes trembling faintly. He looked somewhat pitiful and utterly despondent. Even the sword in his hand could no longer be held firmly, drooping dejectedly.

It wasn't just him; carefully recalling the things Ji Zhaixing had experienced in the Mingling Sword Sect back then made these Mingling disciples reveal a somewhat awkward expression.

They, the Mingling Sword Sect, considered themselves the leaders of the righteous path, yet on this one matter alone, they had a guilty conscience.

Ji Zhaixing slightly turned his head. Seeing his little junior brother's pale face and red eyes, he was truly afraid that he would cry himself into a faint in the next second. He merely sighed lightly, intending to stop Tang Huaimeng from continuing. His expression became slightly solemn, taking on the demeanor of a heartless sword cultivator.

"There's no need to mention the events of the past again," the black-haired sword cultivator said indifferently. The past from Tang Huaimeng's mouth could no longer stir up the slightest ripple in his heart. All his weaknesses were wrapped up indestructibly. "All my actions were out of my own free will."

He simply defined it with one sentence, seemingly wanting to put an end to this matter.

However, it wasn't that easy to bring it to a sudden halt.

Yong Lianyin, who was usually positive and optimistic, had an expression of astonishment and heartache under such a shock.

Aside from the misunderstanding during their first meeting, Yong Lianyin had only seen Ji Zhaixing's outstanding and exceptional side. He was the youngest elder of the Yushui Sect, a mighty figure who could crush fellow cultivators of the Golden Core realm with the power of a single sword strike. Yong Lianyin saw that the people of the Yushui Sect protected him dearly, so he assumed that Ji Zhaixing had been thoroughly pampered by thousands since childhood, blossoming into a generation's Golden Core Patriarch amidst the blooming praise of everyone.

Yet what he heard now was not the case at all.

The black-haired sword cultivator before him had a past that left one feeling incomparably palpitating just by listening to a few scant words from the sidelines.

At this moment, Qi Baishan had already begun to tremble uncontrollably—he had indeed seen Senior Brother Ji when he first returned from the Great World. He was covered in injuries everywhere, his white robes soaked in blood. When Qi Baishan dreamed at night, he seemed to still be able to smell that faint scent of blood lingering at the tip of his nose.

He truly felt a deep heartache.

But he had only cast those aside as things of the past.

If Qi Baishan had known earlier that his senior brother had been wantonly mocked and had his Dao Bone extracted in an unfamiliar great sect, falling from a favored son of heaven to the bottom of the abyss in a single day, only to return to the Yushui Sect all alone like that... He would probably have truly hated these great sects to the bone, wishing he could charge into the Great World right now and make those cultivators who relied on their power to bully others pay with their blood.

But he was still... too weak.

For every fraction his desire to pursue higher cultivation grew stronger, the deeper he sank into depravity under the influence of the demonic body.

Those clear and exquisite eyeballs looked as if they had been soaked in blood. He stared intently at the people in front of him, his field of vision entirely filled with a desolate, bloody hue.

At this time, Ji Zhaixing hadn't noticed his little junior brother's abnormality; his attention was mostly occupied by Yun Liu.

Yun Liu, with his Nascent Soul cultivation, no longer resisted Tang Huaimeng's attacks. As if completely uncaring about the possibility of getting injured, his whole person lost its luster.

Like a dismal blank sheet of paper, an anomalous ghost, he gazed vacantly at Ji Zhaixing.

In the end, Tang Huaimeng did not deal him a lethal blow.

It wasn't because he harbored any feelings for a fellow sect member, but rather because, in front of the disciples of the Mingling Sword Sect, he couldn't actually take Yun Liu's life.

Yun Liu's hair seemed to be soaked in sweat, carrying a dampness. The sharp killing intent in his eyes seemed unable to condense when facing Ji Zhaixing now, leaving only obvious apprehension and guilt buried deep within.

"Daoist Ji—" He sighed slightly, the depths of his eyes seeming to burn with a layer of gloomy firelight. His body even trembled a bit, yet he still called out to the person in front of him very firmly, "Ji Zhaixing."

He should have realized earlier that this was Ji Zhaixing.

"Whether you believe it or not, originally, I never thought of seizing your Dao Bone."

Once these words were spoken, Yun Liu was left with only a bitter smile, feeling that he was truly utterly shameless.

The benefits he had obtained using the Transformation Dao Bone could not be summed up in a single sentence. Saying these words now simply sounded like an ulterior motive disguised as showing off.

Ji Zhaixing slightly lowered his eyelashes and looked at him with a cold expression, making no sound, as if wondering why Yun Liu would say such words.

"If you want to take back what rightfully belongs to you," Yun Liu almost didn't dare to look at Ji Zhaixing's face. He merely pushed his world-renowned Snow Melting Sword in front of Ji Zhaixing and silently undid his defensive Dharma robe, revealing his pale chest. His voice was low and hoarse.

"Then take it back with your own hands right now."

Yun Liu's heart was a tangled mess.

He found it difficult to even control his own state of mind, which was full of calculations.

He both hoped that Ji Zhaixing would make a move, so that from then on he would no longer owe him; and feared that Ji Zhaixing would act, making him lose everything and revert to his original situation.

Seeing the sword controlled by spells and pushed in front of him, Ji Zhaixing was slightly startled.

—If he were to take Yun Liu's Dao Bone, he would forge a deadly enmity with the Mingling Sword Sect again, and he would have to trouble Yun Shu to go through the whole process once more. Why bother? Moreover, as for the Transformation Dao Bone, Ji Zhaixing truly didn't want to get involved in this trouble.

Ji Zhaixing stepped forward and grasped the Snow Melting Sword.

Famous swords usually possessed the spirituality of not serving a second master. However, now that the Snow Melting Sword fell into Ji Zhaixing's hands, it only struggled slightly, emitting the ringing sound of striking jade. As the hilt was grasped in Ji Zhaixing's hand, it instantly fit perfectly, as if he was born to be the master of this sword.

Yun Liu closed his eyes.

A line of coldness grazed his cheek, like a snowflake melting on his skin.

The Snow Melting Sword left Ji Zhaixing's hand and was thrown out. It slashed across Yun Liu's cheek and finally nailed itself firmly into the giant tree behind Yun Liu, turning the wood entirely to ash.

"I will not pick up something I no longer want." Ji Zhaixing's tone was extremely cold, as if taking another glance at Yun Liu would make him weary. His thick eyelashes cast a layer of shadow. He clearly looked docile and gentle, yet he was so cold and ruthless towards others to this extent.

Yun Liu was momentarily dazzled by the black-haired cultivator acting like this.

—Ji Zhaixing seemed to possess this kind of arrogance inherently.

The innate supreme treasure that countless cultivators fought over and schemed for, attracting a swarm of maddened admirers, was nothing more than trash that he could discard like worn-out shoes once he decided to abandon it.

Truly severing all karma, merciless and fearless.

This situation clearly exceeded Yun Liu's expectations. A piece of his heart seemed to have emptied out, and his complexion became even more dismal.

"You..."

Tang Huaimeng slightly turned his head away, seemingly cursing softly.

The current Yun Liu, in Ji Zhaixing's eyes, was merely an ordinary cultivator whose face he was familiar with.

"Daoist Yun," Ji Zhaixing asked, "Are you still going to stop me?"

Naturally, it was impossible for Yun Liu to stop him anymore.

He really wasn't thick-skinned enough to attack Ji Zhaixing right in front of these disciples. Taking a slight breath of cold air, he said, "I'll let it go for today, but in the future... if I meet that demonic cultivator, I won't show mercy."

Qi Baishan sneered.

He had already memorized Yun Liu's appearance.

And that Yun Shu as well.

He couldn't kill them now, but there would always be an opportunity after breaking through his realm...

Yun Liu seemed to pale a shade further because of that sneer, but he only kept staring at Ji Zhaixing.

Ji Zhaixing did not react in any way to Yun Liu's words and was just preparing to leave with the few disciples. But he saw Tang Huaimeng suddenly follow up again, blocking Ji Zhaixing's path.

Clearly, he had no intention of letting them leave.

The black-haired sword cultivator's gaze focused slightly. Compared to Yun Liu, he naturally wanted even less to face off against Tang Huaimeng.

Yet he saw that Tang Huaimeng still maintained the appearance of that lofty, unattainable young master, as he said casually, "Ji Zhaixing, the time I let you go before, I have already regretted it."

"...That time, I indeed ought to thank you." Ji Zhaixing's voice was very soft, seemingly deep in thought.

But he couldn't just surrender without a fight this time.

Tang Huaimeng looked intently at Ji Zhaixing and suddenly smiled. "Then either you're not allowed to leave this time. Or, take me away with you."

Mingling Sword Sect disciples: "......"

Ji Zhaixing: "?"

Just as Ji Zhaixing was still puzzled about the deeper meaning behind Tang Huaimeng's words, the ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed and split open like a landslide. Boundless spiritual energy surged like a hurricane and ocean waves, frantically flooding toward the center of the Spirit Domain, causing their sleeves to flap loudly in the wind.

Ji Zhaixing immediately stabilized his footing—and conveniently cast a stabilization spell for the two Foundation Establishment disciples as well—recovering his wits slightly.

Deep in the Spirit Domain, those terrifying demonic beasts with cultivation approaching the Out-of-Body Realm, or even close to the Soul Splitting Realm, awoke one after another. Even though the cultivators were only situated on the periphery of the Spirit Domain, they could still feel the aura of coercion surging over like seawater.

That highly intimidating spiritual pressure even made the hair on these disciples' bodies stand on end, giving them the illusion that they couldn't move a single inch.

In comparison, Ji Zhaixing's reaction was very small.

He only looked toward the depths of the Spirit Domain where the spiritual energy was frantically surging and gathering, frowning as a sense of foreboding rose within him.

At such a moment, probably no one had expected it. "Retrospection Night" descended just like this.

It wasn't even at night, but while two blazing suns still remained in the firmament, the bizarre phenomena that only appeared during Retrospection Night replicated themselves one by one on the cultivators.

They had just barely managed to resist the sweeping spiritual energy when, at such a critical moment, they were engulfed by drowsiness and forcibly dragged into a deep slumber.

Ji Zhaixing lightly bit the tip of his tongue, attempting to maintain a clear mind, but in a daze, he still arrived at the place he had stepped into countless times during Retrospection Nights.

Three crescent moons hung high in the gloomy firmament, and on both sides of the extending path were lurking ferocious beasts.

Those ferocious beasts seemed very afraid, their bodies trembling under the cover of the woods, occasionally letting out whimpers of terror.

The only difference from the usual was that this time he did not see the silver-haired, white-robed man standing at the end of the path, who, upon seeing him, would suppress an expression of subtle pleasant surprise and nod to him reservedly.

The other Yun Shu, he was not here.

Ji Zhaixing had never tried to leave Retrospection Night by himself, so he merely pondered for a moment before walking forward. This area was magnificently beautiful like an illusion. He had already seen it once when teaching Mo Xuan how to walk and had memorized the terrain.

Having barely taken two steps in, Ji Zhaixing smelled a faint scent of blood.

At the end of his line of sight, a demonic beast with soft white fur was lying prone on a white jade platform. It curled up weakly into a ball. Though there were no obvious wounds on its body, it inexplicably made one feel that the demonic beast was in a state of extreme exhaustion and depleted spiritual energy.

Ji Zhaixing approached. When he slightly bent over, his cold, soft black hair fell onto the demonic beast's fur, causing it to sluggishly wake up.

"Mo Xuan."

This was the first time Ji Zhaixing had called his name.

Mo Xuan opened his eyes, still sporting that round and innocent look. It softly "mewed" once, seemingly wanting very much to transform into human form and roll into Ji Zhaixing's arms. However, having truly no strength left, it curled into a shrunken form. That giant beast became only as large as a kitten, limply rubbing into Ji Zhaixing's embrace to act coquettishly.

As if feeling deeply wronged.

Ji Zhaixing subconsciously petted Mo Xuan a couple of times.

He was originally worried about the bizarre situation outside, but at this moment he paused slightly and asked, "Where is Yun Shu?"

This was also the second time Ji Zhaixing had called out the name "Yun Shu". In the past, he would always just say "Daoist" or not address him at all. Mo Xuan, however, seemed to understand, "mewing" continuously to point the way for Ji Zhaixing.

One dared to point, and the other dared to follow.

Ji Zhaixing, carrying the ferocious beast in his arms, walked toward an even more winding place.

He then paced through a layer of barrier. Upon lifting his eyes again, the sun and moon shifted, and an extremely terrifying and boundless spiritual energy accumulated in the firmament, roaming alongside leaping bolts of lightning.

The white-robed, silver-haired cultivator stood beneath the golden clouds, at the center of the surging spiritual energy.

Ji Zhaixing furrowed his brows slightly.

The person before him was undergoing a tribulation.