The pain of having one's desires 'determined' is like the punishment of peeling off one's skin.

When the young Shi Jingzhi closed his eyes, all was silent. The maple forest was gone, and all that remained in his memory was agony and darkness.

But when these crucial memories were restored, the pain pierced through time like a hot knife through butter. He remembered that fleeting moment from the past, and his mind was almost shattered.

In that brief moment, he finally understood the danger of breaking the seal.

Memories flooded in, and the pain was unrelenting. It was like sinking into a swamp, unable to breathe or move. It was like being forced into a tiny iron cage, his whole body wracked with pain.

Shi Jingzhi did his best to hold on to his sanity.

It wasn't for the truth - in that moment, all thoughts of 'determining' his desires and 'bets' were thrown aside. In Shi Jingzhi's increasingly chaotic mind, there was only one idea left.

What happened afterwards? What happened next?

Yin Ci hurried back with the medicinal herbs, only to be met with a scene of carnage. Faced with the scattered entrails and shattered bones, what would his emotions be like?

This was the second time he didn't wait for him to come back.

Would Yin Ci fall into madness again? Without him by his side, he would be alone once more. In Yin Ci's most painful moments, there would be no one to hold him.

They only had a short month together. Their best day was actually their last.

Twenty-four years later, they met again at the Ku Mountain, but were separated by an unknown prohibition, unable to recognize each other.

As far as he knew, the 'Yin family', spanning three generations, all lived in the Ku Mountain... After the separation at the Gathering Valley, did Yin Ci never leave the vicinity of the Ku Mountain again?

The pain in his heart was so intense that it even overshadowed the agony brought on by the prohibition. This sadness was not solely due to their separation...

On the day they were forced to part ways, Yin Ci's battle with the giant demon was still vividly etched in his mind like a knife carving.

Legend has it that the immortal body can restore itself with blood-red fine roots, thus making it indestructible. The words that recorded this legend was swirling in Shi Jingzhi's mind, and the scattered clues were like pearls, stringing together at this inappropriate moment.

Yin Ci was an immortal being with an indestructible body.

Shi Jingzhi had been searching for the elixir of life for a long time, but had never heard of the indestructible body. Chen Qianfan had been studying this path for thirty years, but had only come across a rumor. The indestructible body was not like mushrooms after the rain, it was impossible for them to appear in such large numbers.

A nearly absurd speculation slowly took shape.

...What if there was only one person since ancient times?

Since their reunion, no matter what the situation, Yin Ci had never shown any obvious external injuries. That air of a seasoned expert and his exceptionally rich combat experience were also not like those of an ordinary person.

Twenty years ago, Yin Ci was already here. He carried himself in a superior way, and his imposing manner was already deeply rooted.

Is Yin Ci really just a descendant of the "Su family"? The Red Hook Sect was the number one demon cult in the world, but they never found the "Su family." Is it really because they went into hiding?... Does the "Su family" really exist?

Did the famous Su Zhi with the Sweeping Bone Sword technique from a hundred years ago really just die of old age? Or was it an illusion of aging created with a Ghost Skin Suit? Two hundred years ago, was that strange man kneeling in front of the village also Yin Ci?

When did this almost tragic "immortality" begin?

Countless questions rose and fell, ultimately turning into waves of palpitations. Thousands of words gathered and dispersed, and in the end, all he wanted was to give that person a hug that was twenty-four years too late.

Shi Jingzhi had never wanted to wake up so badly before.

The prohibition detected his intentions. The headache became more and more piercing, and more memories rushed in, trying to disrupt his thoughts and occupy his mind.

He saw his mother.

The woman leaned against the bed, her face so haggard that only her eyes remained. She looked at Shi Jingzhi expressionlessly, with traces of her past beauty still visible on her face. Since he could remember, he had only seen her this once.

The unfamiliar mother didn't say a word, but reached out and stroked his head. Her bony hand naturally slid down his face and tucked a strand of messy hair behind his ear.

In the next moment, he saw himself being held down by the eunuch Lu Fu, reluctantly putting on a tattered peasant's clothing. The clothes reeked of a foul, animalistic odor that made the young Shi Jingzhi retch.

The eunuch struggled to dress him, saying, "Little ancestor, just behave yourself. If you wear those luxurious, fragrant robes, you'll be carried away by wild beasts the next day!"

Shi Jingzhi remembered the carriage carrying him to the Ku Mountain, the bitter taste of the sedative still lingering in his mouth. He also remembered the imperial physician carrying him back to the manor, the sweet aroma of the medicine filling his nostrils.

He heard people whispering angrily and arguing softly in his ear. He even heard someone sobbing mournfully.

Memories became increasingly fragmented, voices grew louder and emotions from the past repeated endlessly. The three combined to form countless invisible hands behind him. They constantly tempted him to lose focus, become angry, and even confused, trying to drag him into the depths of darkness.

In the midst of it all, Shi Jingzhi felt as if he had returned to the Gathering Valley, stepping onto the path of demons and monsters with no way out. The sweet scent of flowers wafted behind him, and he knew that if he turned around and gave up struggling, the endless pain would stop.

But this time, he took big steps forward without even looking back once.

Ah Ci asked him to wait for him, but he had been away for too long and couldn't waste any more time here.

The "immortal" under the maple tree had already been waiting for him for twenty-four years.

At last, at the end of his memories, a deep sigh was heard. In his final memory, a thin and withered finger pressed against his forehead.

"The desires of the world are boundless, and you have gathered them all. But often, these desires lead to destruction. If you want to maintain your sanity, you must choose one desire to focus on."

"Unfortunately, in the past three hundred years of Dayun, those who have chosen a desire have either focused on wealth, fame, or love. In the end, they all brought disaster upon themselves, without exception."

"But you are quite special...you chose your desire early on, before your mind was fully matured. This makes you the perfect candidate for us to carefully cultivate. Perhaps, with our guidance, you can achieve greatness in the next hundred years..."

Suddenly, Shi Jingzhi felt like laughing.

He knew that his insatiable desires were difficult to control, and would inevitably lead to disaster in the future. It was ironic that he had randomly attempted to "catch a disciple", and in reality, the world had already made him "grab" a desire from the countless options available.

A thought flashed through his mind, and his heart was clear.

Shi Jingzhi knew what he truly desired. That day, in Yin Ci's embrace, he captured a moment of carefree bliss, a long-lasting sense of contentment.

In this world of countless beings, who spend their entire lives searching high and low, their desires and aspirations are nothing more than this.

That old man had clearly misjudged him. In the three hundred years of Dayun, Shi Jingzhi had no idea how many others also had their desires 'determined', but he was undoubtedly the greediest of them all.

In the past, he had risked everything to stay alive, yet he never found true satisfaction. The reason was simpler than he had imagined - he sought the "happiness of life," but was left with only the meaningless word "life" after being brutally sealed away.

...Until he met Yin Ci again.

At this moment, the person he was eager to see was within reach. If he were to die to this prohibition, wouldn't it be a disservice to the old man's words of "boundless desire"?

Suddenly, a fierce wind rose, and a heavy sense of oppression came crashing down.

Chen Qianfan was busy breaking the formation, almost spitting out blood, and his movements almost stopped.

Shi Jingzhi on the wooden platform had his eyes tightly closed, and his face was somewhat distorted. Blood vessels appeared on his body like the time he had his desires 'determined, and his immense internal energy was out of control, causing sparks to fly randomly below the platform.

The prohibition's formation behind Shi Jingzhi's head appeared again, emitting a series of explosions, and the brilliance of the large formation weakened instantly.

The brilliant golden formation was like a living creature, and a series of runes detached from the formation, crawling towards Shi Jingzhi's temple, recklessly burrowing into his flesh. They swelled and wriggled under his skin like restless blood vessels.

Between Chen Qianfan's fingers, there were silver-blue threads of light that coiled and condensed into sharp "tweezers". He held his breath and focused, carefully dismantling and distorting the runes, pulling them away from the spell formation. The golden runes he plucked wriggled like earthworms, quickly turning into specks of golden dust.

But there were just too many of them, and the structure was too complex, and they were burrowing into his flesh too quickly. Chen Qianfan's face darkened, and a thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead.

Shi Jingzhi's face was as pale as gold paper, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, his fingertips trembling slightly, struggling against the force.

Without Chen Qianfan having to explain, Yin Ci knew that they were at a critical moment in breaking the prohibition.

As Shi Jingzhi fought desperately against the "desires" he had discovered, the prohibition's formation began to fiercely counterattack. If Shi Jingzhi lost consciousness, these runes would immediately take advantage of the opportunity and turn him into a useless person who could only close his eyes and breathe.

Although Shi Jingzhi was skilled at circumventing people, he was not a coward. Seeing this scene, he forcefully intimidated the runes with his momentum, daring to confront them head-on.

Yin Ci did not see any signs of retreat or fear on his face, but instead found a sense of inexplicable sadness.

Shi Jingzhi was very good at finding joy in hardship, even in moments of despair and anger, he always held onto a full sense of vitality. Yin Ci had never seen Shi Jingzhi... so sad.

Fortunately, Yin Ci was familiar with how to deal with this situation.

Yin Ci tightened his blood-stained coat and stepped back into the formation. He resisted the chaotic inner energy and used the techniques of "Dustless Words" with his right hand, pressing on the acupoints around Shi Jingzhi's body one by one.

His left hand held onto Shi Jingzhi's trembling fingertips, covering them with his palm.

Chen Qianfan immediately blew his beard and stared angrily at Yin Ci, "What are you doing? Stay still!"

Yin Ci didn't let go, "I won't interfere with your formation breaking, I'm just helping him."

Feeling a familiar energy, Shi Jingzhi's trembling gradually stopped, and the rampant inner energy around them also calmed down. Whether it was unconscious or intentional, Shi Jingzhi's fingers moved in Yin Ci's palm, as if wanting to hold his hand back.

And it was this moment that made the prohibition go completely crazy.

In the blink of an eye, the calmness was gone. Instead, Shi Jingzhi's condition worsened, becoming even more terrifying. His seven orifices were bleeding, and his whole body was convulsing. The wriggling runes on his forehead were struggling frantically, making his complexion even darker and revealing a gradual decline in vitality.

Shi Jingzhi's fingertips, which were originally scorching hot, were now slightly cold. Yin Ci's hand tightened, and his heart grew colder as well.

Had he made another mistake?

Had he once again chosen the seemingly correct path that actually led to destruction?

The scorching heat in his palm suddenly changed, and the scene before him overlapped with the tragedy of twenty-four years ago. Yin Ci almost couldn't control the rising resentment in his heart.

On that day many years ago, he had not figured out the mute boy's illness. But Yin Ci knew in his heart that he needed to find some internal injury medicine to stabilize the mute boy's condition.

He had never used his qinggong with such full force before. When he arrived at the nearest pharmacy, Yin Ci threw down a few silver ingots and went straight for the most valuable medicine in the store. He didn't stop along the way, and who knows how many wounds he received from the branches and twigs along the path.

He handled his injuries and returned in a timely manner. The Gathering Valley was vast and full of rare demons, but he had only been away for a short time. The little mute boy shouldn't have any problems.

He couldn't have any problems.

Yin Ci knew that making a wish was useless, but he had made a wish for the first time in his life. In the vastness of the world, he only wished that fate would allow a three-year-old child to survive.

When Yin Ci returned to his original location, the autumn wind was chilly and the red leaves were still the same. The monster corpse was still there, just as it was when he left.

However, the smell of blood in the wind was too strong.

As if it were destined by the heavens, his wishes would never come true, and all the hope he held onto would ultimately fall through. Faced with a scene of blood and gore, in a daze, Yin Ci found a kind of almost cruel calmness within himself.

He remembered how he had repeatedly checked the remains, trying to find a glimmer of hope that the "little mute" was still alive. He also remembered how he had gradually descended into despair in front of the roasted fish and wild fruits in the stomach of the corpse.

Yin Ci did not lose his mind, even though he hoped to fall into madness.

Even if he couldn't die, he just wanted to escape from the gruesome scene in front of him and find release. It's easy to blame others, but he hated himself like hell. People say that there are eighteen levels of hell, but his own personal hell seemed to have no bottomless abyss.

Unfortunately, this time, he couldn't take that one step off the cliff's edge.

In just one month, Yin Ci had developed a pitiful habit. His anger would surge and then dissipate silently.

As if someone had grabbed his hand and given him a sticky hug.

Unfortunately, he still wanted a flower.

The heavenly fate had given him an answer, sharp and almost ironic - there was indeed someone who had never let him down from birth to death.

So he resigned himself to fate, maintaining his sobriety and wandering through the world. If one day that hand could no longer hold him, and that embrace could no longer stop him, he would once again leap off the cliff, perhaps never to see the light of day again.

Now that he had finally regained a glimmer of hope, did he have to watch it extinguish before his very eyes again?

Yin Ci clenched Shi Jingzhi's hand, feeling a bit lost as he didn't dare to look at the fresh blood on the man's face. The 24-year-old trauma that had been buried deep inside him was now awakened by his fear, ready to burst forth once again.

Crack.

A sound of shattering followed by a series of gentle explosions filled the room.

Amidst Shi Jingzhi's heavy aura, a hint of warmth emerged as golden dust exploded throughout the space. Chen Qianfan's hand froze in mid-air, the runes on his "tweezers" still wriggling.

A hand suddenly grasped Yin Ci's wrist, burning hot and almost scorching him, yet gentle and irresistible in its strength.

In just a moment of hesitation, Yin Ci was pulled towards the wooden platform, the faint trauma in his heart still lingering.

Then, he was enveloped in a warm embrace.

On the wooden platform, Shi Jingzhi's face was covered in blood, looking disheveled. Despite this, his embrace was warm and his heart beat steadily and strongly. The seal was completely broken, and the dark green sparks on the wooden platform turned into brilliant gold and red.

They were lifted up by Shi Jingzhi's inner strength, like a flurry of tiny petals.

"You're back," Shi Jingzhi buried his nose in his neck and sighed softly.