Zhuo Yu only felt a flame flowing along his bone marrow. He was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was Lu Jiuchen in front of him. Even though he was usually dignified and solemn, he couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, wanting to say something sarcastic, but after thinking about it, he held back.

From beginning to end, he never had anything special to say to this man. In the past when they sat facing each other, it was nothing more than a cup of cold tea per person, sitting in silence.

The sound of horse hooves gradually approached from behind. Zhuo Yu looked back, laughed coldly, and patted the mount under him: "Let's go. At least you're just a horse, no one will make things difficult for you."

The horse let out a long neigh, as if it understood, and suddenly rushed towards a slanted path with him. That path was extremely difficult to walk. After a few bumps, Zhuo Yu only felt the burning pain intensify.

He could no longer hold on, only leaning forward to stroke the horse's head, then suddenly leaping up, his toes lightly tapping on the horse's back. In the night, he only slightly flicked his sleeves, then disappeared into the vast darkness.

Lin Bing was the first to rush into that slanted path. After running a few steps, he suddenly saw that there was no one on the back of the black horse in front! Shocked, he pulled the reins, and the people behind him stopped one after another, looking at each other in surprise.

"Witchcraft." At some point, Lu Jiuchen came to his side and looked around, "He's still nearby."

There were actually many strange witchcrafts in the country of Xiwan. Some were even transmitted to remote island countries through shipping routes, creating quite a few problems for the martial arts world of the Central Plains for a considerable period of time. Zhuo Yu himself was a master of witchcraft, and a little escape technique was already very common.

Lin Bing gritted his teeth and waved his hand: "Spread out and search carefully!"

Zhuo Yu didn't know how fast his speed was. He only felt that the fire-like heat in his bone marrow was becoming more and more obvious, and the needle-like pain on his back was unbearable. He could even clearly hear his own panting.

Finally, he stopped at a rundown temple in the mountains. His knees could no longer support the weight of his body. He knelt down dejectedly, then heavily fell on the dust-covered ground.

The footsteps of the pursuers seemed to come from far away, then gradually faded away. Zhuo Yu managed to smile. Yes, the location of this rundown temple was so hidden that he almost had to believe that Heaven had not forsaken him.

His consciousness became more and more blurred. He looked at his hand, and from the wide sleeves, his arm was exposed. The blue dragon scale pattern on it gradually spread, like a huge python, coldly coiling around him, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Zhuo Yu stood up staggeringly. He couldn't die here yet. He still had many things unfinished. Those responsibilities and expectations, those hatreds and attachments, tightly bound his steps from ceasing.

Suddenly, the back of his neck felt cold, and a slightly hoarse young voice spoke: "-- State Preceptor Zhuo."

Zhuo Yu paused and turned his head. In the faint candlelight, a young face was pale and still. He suddenly remembered that this was the boy who was extraordinarily fast at the cliff's edge, the Phoenix Symbol that the Emperor of the Celestial Dynasty regarded as a life-saving talisman.

"Kill me," he laughed, "What, can't bring yourself to do it?"

Mingde's eyes were filled with unspeakable shock.

He looked at Zhuo Yu's back. The wide black robe had already loosely draped down, revealing most of his smooth back. On that thin and beautiful back, a huge nine-clawed blue dragon imprint, extending from the shoulder blades to the lower back, was slowly and firmly spreading along the texture of the skin!

"What is this?" Mingde retreated half a step, his voice trembling slightly, "What is this?"

"It's the unsealing." Zhuo Yu said slowly, "You've never unsealed it, and you won't unseal it again."

Mingde almost didn't know how to react. In his eighteen years of life, he only knew that he was the only one with this kind of imprint. The previous one, his father, had already had his nine clans exterminated by the Qianwan Emperor, and the next one was probably unlikely to be born.

However, today when he saw the dragon imprint on Zhuo Yu's back, a feeling like seeing someone with close blood ties arose from his heart, making him at a loss.

Seeing that he was still not making a move, Zhuo Yu couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense with him. He laughed coldly and sat down against the wall, his hands tightly inserted into the soil beneath him, blue veins bulging on the back of his hands, the bone-piercing pain evident. Mingde hesitated for a while, walked over and lightly kicked him with his foot: "Are you still awake?"

Zhuo Yu's voice was a little hoarse due to the pain: "I won't die within the next three days."

"What about after three days?"

"Fifty-fifty chance."

Mingde half-knelt in front of him: "...Who are you?"

Zhuo Yu suddenly raised his head to look at him, his eyes completely bloodshot, showing an unusual ferocity on his handsome face.

"Poor child..." He laughed softly and panted, "You don't know anything about your clan, your bloodline, the power you may possess..."

Before he could finish, his vision went black, and he heavily fell to the ground. A foot was suddenly pressed between his ribs. Amidst the pain, Mingde's voice trembled uncontrollably: "What did you say? What do you know? Quickly tell me who you are! The others... where are the others?!"

Although the pain of unsealing and having a rib broken by the boy's kick doubled the stimulation to his nerves, Zhuo Yu still felt a little like laughing. He really did laugh, even though this expression looked a bit twisted and terrifying to Mingde.

"The others are all gone... dead... only you and us, only you and us, three people, there are no others anymore..."

Mingde grabbed him: "Where is the other one?"

"...I didn't find her." Zhuo Yu looked at him, his gaze almost pitying, "I came to find her, but was interrupted by you all."

In a flash, Lin Bing's words at that time flashed through Mingde's mind: Zhuo Yu was going to find a woman, and no matter how others tried to dissuade him, he couldn't be stopped...

"A person can only open their seal once in their lifetime. If someone with the same bloodline is there to protect them, they might be able to endure it. If they can't endure it, then they won't survive. If only you had the Dragon Seal..." Zhuo Yu sighed, but his voice didn't seem very regretful. "...This is retribution. I estimate that in three days, Lu Jiuchen will be able to come collect my corpse."

Mingde's mind was in turmoil, not knowing what to do. He grabbed Zhuo Yu: "Can I help you endure it?"

Zhuo Yu looked at him coldly: "Your father, your clansmen, your entire family's lives ended by my hands, and now you come ask me if you can save me? Shangguan Mingde, are you crazy?"

Mingde's mind exploded with a buzz: "It wasn't Li Ji... It wasn't Li Ji who..."

Wasn't it Li Ji who killed them?

One deep winter night last year, the Qianwan Emperor thought he was asleep, so he got up and went out. Outside, Rong Shiba's voice was very low, as if talking about something related to the totems. Mingde endured the soreness and weakness, and secretly walked to the door, vaguely hearing only the Qianwan Emperor sighing: "...Over a hundred people of the Phoenix Symbol... not a single survivor... truly ruthless..."

Rong Shiba nodded: "Yes, all nine clans were exterminated. This minister could only order to have them all cremated cleanly."

The Qianwan Emperor's voice was silent for a long time, finally saying lightly: "...I have no other requirements for you all, only one thing. As long as I'm alive, this matter cannot be known by anyone, otherwise..."

Rong Shiba bowed deeply: "This minister receives the decree."

At that time, the Qianwan Emperor did not know that the person he truly wanted to hide this from was standing on the other side of the door, his whole body ice cold, trembling indescribably.

Mingde did not witness Empress Mingrui's blood, but that unknown father a thousand miles away, that distant, unrealistic bit of longing, was also strangled in its budding stage.

He couldn't remember how he walked back to the bed, couldn't remember how he trembled in that man's arms, eyes open, staring at the luxurious bedchamber in the night, enduring until dawn. He only remembered that at dawn, the Qianwan Emperor got up, gently but unrelentingly dressed him, personally tying his sash, looking perfectly affectionate, but in reality leaving an indelible terror in Mingde's heart like a hideous demon.

At that time, a thought was deeply embedded in his heart, making him restless and hopelessly anguished.

...If he resisted this man, perhaps he would be killed immediately...

He was a... merciless demon...

He dared not tell anyone, and never dared to seek confirmation from anyone. This thought was deeply hidden in his heart, deeply rooted, like a powerful nightmare, often causing him to wake up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning.

Zhuo Yu forced himself to sit up, saying lightly: "That emperor of your Celestial Dynasty? He hates your father's clan to the bone, but he seems to be very reluctant to see you sad and distressed, so he sent troops to rescue you. But by the time Rong Shiba and the others arrived, I had already killed everyone. Sometimes being a step faster or a step slower, the outcome is so different. But then again, just based on his willingness to send troops to rescue the adulterer who cuckolded him, this point still makes me feel admiration."

Mingde retreated half a step: "Impossible..."

..."Over a hundred people, not a single survivor, truly ruthless"...

..."This minister could only order to have them all cremated cleanly"...

Those long-past fragments, like a nightmare sealed in dust for a long time, suddenly churned, almost sweeping him away entirely.

Could it be that the truth was the opposite?

Could it be that the truth I had been terrified of for so many years, was actually not the case at all?

Mingde reached out and tightly hugged his own head. Zhuo Yu panted and laughed with a sigh: "Come to think of it, we actually have a bit of an in-law relationship. My father, the man who passed this Dragon Seal to me, personally killed our entire Dragon Seal clan, even his own wife, in order to obtain your father's sister - that is, your aunt... He could even abandon his own children for that woman, throwing us into the deep mountains, fortunately raised by a wolf pack..."

Mingde's mind was buzzing, almost unable to understand what he was saying.

"I'm about to die," Zhuo Yu said. "I can't find my twin sister who carries the Dragon Seal. No one can help me endure the seal opening. For your aunt, that reportedly beautiful woman with the Phoenix Symbol, my father could disregard all familial ties, could personally slaughter his own kin... Haha, if only one Dragon Seal clansman had been left alive back then, I wouldn't have fallen into this situation today... Do you know that now there are almost no clansmen who die from being unable to open their seal?

"It's so simple, just drink the blood of your own clansmen, just a small mouthful is enough to endure the seal opening... Over these many years, dying from the ridiculous reason of being unable to drink the blood of clansmen when opening the seal, there's probably only me..."

The pain of opening the seal spread through his body, the Azure Dragon totem slowly unfurling, bringing bone-deep agony.

Zhuo Yu's laughter was close to wailing, but he had no tears, not a single drop.

"My mother, my clansmen, the over thousand people carrying the Dragon Seal, it can be said they all died at your aunt's hands. She was indeed a very beautiful woman, bewitching men's minds, seducing others to kill each other for her... Later, do you know how I killed her? You wouldn't want to know. I'll tell you, Shangguan Mingde, if you saw her in death, you would regret being born into this world!"

Mingde suddenly pounced over, grabbed him and kicked him to the ground with a knee, clutching his collar and roaring: "But what does that have to do with me? Why should I be the one to bear all this? Why!"

"Because you deserve it!" Zhuo Yu suddenly flipped him over and slapped him hard. "This is your fate! You deserve it! Don't come here and whine to me about your suffering. If it weren't for your clan, how could I have endured the annihilation of my entire clan? How could I have grown up among a pack of wolves? How could my twin sister have been reduced to suffering in such a remote place, never to see a single relative in her entire life?"

A man with a wife, children, and the mark of the dragon fell in love with a woman bearing the mark of the phoenix from the other side of the mountain. The woman told him, "If you want to come and marry me, you must kill everyone in your clan, including your wife and children."

The man actually did as she said. Unable to bring himself to kill the dragon twins, he threw the two infants deep into the mountains after slaughtering his entire clan.

The girl disappeared from then on, while the boy grew up drinking wolf's milk. Then one day, a passing traveler saved him, taught him martial arts, and raised him.

Many years later, one day the phoenix clan from the other side of the mountain opened their door to find a young man in black, with the most handsome face and the coldest eyes in the world, carrying a long sword, coming to settle the bloody debts from twenty years ago.

No one ever thought he was still alive, but not only was he alive, he had returned for revenge. He cut off his own father's head and made the woman who had seduced his father wish she were dead. He killed everyone, including Shangguan Mingde's biological father.

The reinforcements sent by Emperor Qian arrived just in time to play the role of the scapegoat. When they arrived, they only saw the retreating figure of that killing god. From then on, the name Zhuo Yu put an end to the legend of the two celestial clans.

No one knew that the destruction of the celestial clans was merely due to an initial heartbreak. Love and destruction go hand in hand, colliding in a dazzling brilliance before walking together toward annihilation.

The Azure Dragon mark gradually opened, and the dragon scales had already spread to the back of his hand. Mingde suddenly stood up and tore open Zhuo Yu's front lapel. The dragon's claw was gradually approaching his heart.

"Where is your sister?" Mingde asked, his face pale as he tightly gripped Zhuo Yu's shoulders. "Tell me! I'll go find her to save you!"

Zhuo Yu slapped him to the ground. "Get lost, you waste! You should kill me now, do you know that?"

Mingde knelt on the ground.

"Your aunt killed my entire clan, and I killed your entire clan! Do you know how much blood of your relatives is on my hands, you fool?"

Mingde wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up unsteadily, walking over to kneel beside him. "Will it work if you drink my blood? Tell me quickly!"

Zhuo Yu kicked him away viciously. "Scram! If I drink even a mouthful of your phoenix blood, I'm finished!"

"Then hurry up and tell me where your sister is!"

"Shangguan Mingde, have you gone mad?"

"I'm not mad," Mingde said, his face frighteningly pale, his voice coming out word by word as if squeezed from shards of ice. "I just don't want... to be left alone..."

I just don't want to be left alone in this world.

I have no family left, no one... like me...

Zhuo Yu collapsed to the ground in defeat. This peerless master, always noble and imposing, now looked like that child in the wolf pack from back then, putting on a fierce front but already unable to withstand a single blow.

"Mingde," he said after catching his breath for a while, calming down. "I'm in great pain now. If you kill me, I'll be relieved, do you know that?"

"Mm."

"You're very lucky. You can live on, even carry on the bloodline, do you know that?"

"Mm."

Zhuo Yu was almost choking up. "I've killed so many people... Now I just want to see someone like myself live on... I have no other hopes, do you know that?"

Mingde felt his eyes sting, his throat seeming to constrict. "But I don't want to be left alone in this world either, do you understand?"

Zhuo Yu turned his head to look at him. "You're different... That emperor of the Celestial Dynasty treats you well. Live on properly... Forget the hatred... Forget the matters of the previous generation... Forget your clan and bloodline. Don't live like me... Then I'll be very happy... Do you understand what I mean?..."

Mingde felt his face was wet. He didn't know it was because he had started crying. Strangely, he felt such sorrow, without the shock and hatred upon learning the truth, without any sense of reality regarding those bloody debts. The only thing he could feel was sorrow.

As if his entire heart was tightly constricted.

He stood up unsteadily and staggered towards the door.

"Zhuo Yu," Mingde said, "if you don't tell me, I can go find her myself... There aren't many people in that village. I'll find her eventually... I'll return here within three days. I don't care if you'll start a war or anything else, but you can't die now, you can't die... Do you hear me?"

Zhuo Yu wanted to say something, but the intense pain prevented him from uttering a single word. He lay in the weeds of the dilapidated temple, watching helplessly as the youth rushed out the door.

...Could this blood debt still not be concluded with me?

Must I continue to bear this sin and live on?...

He tightly hugged his shoulders with his hands. So cold. Those warm memories of blood, like frigid ocean tides, came wave after wave, engulfing his entire body.

He curled up trembling, the flames crackling on the temple floor, casting a faint shadow on the wall.

That shadow slowly walked in. Zhuo Yu didn't turn his head. He knew who it was.

Lu Jiuchen walked up to him and half-knelt down, staring into his eyes.

"What is it?" Zhuo Yu asked, his expression pained but his eyes calm. "Is something the matter?"

Lu Jiuchen stared at him. "There must be other ways to stop the unsealing."

Zhuo Yu paused for a moment, then sneered coldly, "What do you, an outsider, understand!"

Lu Jiuchen's voice was very calm, "Actually, in your family, some people can open the seal, while others cannot. The difference is very simple, and the method to prevent the seal from being opened is also very simple. It's just that you are too proud and unwilling to do it, right?"

...Although this person has always known about some forbidden techniques and secrets... how could he know about these secrets within the family?

Zhuo Yu remained silent.

Lu Jiuchen moved a little closer, now he was almost face to face with Zhuo Yu. At such a distance, they could easily feel each other's breath.

"Zhuo Yu," he said, "didn't you say that in order to win me over, even sacrificing your body would be a trivial matter?"

The crackling sound of the flames gradually weakened, and the night air, like a cold river, slowly swept in from the mountains outside the frontier, into a small, dilapidated temple.

Occasionally, two bird calls drifted far away along the mountain wind, dispersing distantly into the deep valley.