Chapter 363

Chapter 363: A Matter of a Slap

Zhang Yang trusted his intuition.

Thus far, it had never failed him in anything significant, only in minor, inconsequential ways.

And now, that same instinct insisted the figure was Bing Yuyan from a previous life.

It sounded impossible. Ridiculous.

Yet his thoughts drifted to the Stone Monkey within the "Xiao" Hall, buried deep in the fragmented world of his bloodline.

Could that truly be his former self?

Did reincarnation actually exist?

He had no answers.

Clenching his jaw against the surge of chaotic thoughts and mounting dread, he forced himself to look once more at the shattered tomb.

The same torrents of rage and bitterness roared forth, but the Slaughter Sacred Thunder purged them swiftly.

His real goal was to catch a glimpse of the half-celestial, half-demonic figure.

He found nothing.

His vision revealed only destruction, an entire civilization reduced to swirling ash.

Confusion deepened.

If it wasn’t a past life, why was Bing Yuyan the target?

By realm level, he was far beneath her, a mere ant. If anyone were vulnerable, it should have been him.

Yet his instincts screamed otherwise.

How was he to free her?

That twisted figure, lingering in the tomb, clearly had her under its spell.

“Possession?” he murmured.

“Or some lingering resentment across lifetimes?”

The words felt absurd even as he said them. But no better explanation presented itself.

Still he had to act.

Intertwining his left hand with Bing Yuyan’s trembling fingers, he placed his right index finger against her brow, channeling Soul Binding Saint Power, not to hurt her, but to strike at whatever force bound her.

Nothing.

No signs of possession.

Next, he summoned the Slaughter Sacred Thunder, threading it through her Realm of Thunder. At their combined cultivation level, that alone should have shattered mountains.

Still nothing. The thunder vanished into the void without even a ripple.

When he turned to her, a deep chill ran through him.

Bing Yuyan’s face now mirrored the distorted visage he had seen in her eyes, half celestial, half demonic. It wept and smiled at the same time.

The corruption was spreading.

Zhang Yang’s heart sank. If this continued, she would fall completely.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his restless spirit, when another thought flickered into his mind.

The Four Lamps within his bloodline world.

Those mysterious lamps… especially the second one. The Dim Light of Death in that shadowy realm had twice stunned even the Headless Monk.

Could that light… help her?

Without hesitation, he stirred his bloodline.

The bloodline world reappeared, its shattered scene barely stronger than the destruction of an ordinary world. Zhang Yang summoned the Dim Light, and its brilliant glow surged forth, piercing through the broken world, flowing along his bloodline, through his body, and finally illuminating Bing Yuyan from within.

Bing Yuyan shuddered, a flicker of panic flashing across her face as she whispered, “Inner demons…”

Then her expression shifted again, an eerie blend of weeping and laughter clouded her features.

In that moment, clarity struck Zhang Yang like lightning. He slapped his own forehead.

“Madness! Madness!”

“What is madness, if not the mischief of inner demons?”

“This Chaos Demon’s Graveyard is designed precisely to plant inner demons, to break the mind.”

“Inner demons are manifestations of the heart. Normally, self-purification is the best method to overcome them. But since this is an external influence stemming from that shattered tomb, it can be countered with external force as well.”

“Inner demons, it’s always the heart!”

Zhang Yang’s eyes gleamed with golden light as he muttered to himself, “For you, the deepest inner wound should be the destruction of the Ice and Snow Divine Palace… the fall of the Cangmang Sacred Land. But the Vast Forest has already been rebuilt, and your strength has grown far beyond what it once was. Surely, you’ve already come to terms with that. This shouldn’t be the source of your greatest torment.”

“The goddess’s greatest taboo should be…”

He paused—then suddenly shouted into Bing Yuyan’s ear, “Bing Yuyan! Call me master!”

The shout had little visible effect, but the word "master" struck a chord. The image in her pupils wavered—then shifted. A new version of Bing Yuyan appeared: the icy beauty in a frozen state, still slowly melting.

Zhang Yang’s eyes brightened. He had uncovered something important.

Even if there was a past life, even if the half-celestial, half-demonic figure was truly Bing Yuyan’s former self, that life had ended the moment she self-froze for five hundred years. That was equivalent to death. When she awakened, it was a rebirth, a brand new existence.

Bing Yuyan should be anchored in the present.

And since her awakening, the person who had stirred her emotions the most… was him.

Smack!

He slapped her again, enduring the jolt of contact and the blush-inducing ripple that followed, shouting, “Quick! Call me master!”

This time, the reflection in her pupils, the half-celestial, half-demonic figure—shattered instantly. Though fragments lingered, struggling to reform, the illusion was breaking.

Zhang Yang smirked.

“Bing Yuyan, call me master, and also show me that painting you secretly drew of me.”

The demonic reflection dissolved completely.

Only the frozen beauty remained.

And as the ice melted, Bing Yuyan’s peerless form emerged, her aura purified, her very being exuding an enchanting fragrance.

She opened her eyes, shot him a sidelong glare, and muttered, “You shameless man… always taking advantage of me.”

Zhang Yang knew she had fully returned.

Bing Yuyan closed her eyes once more, as if digesting the experience.

Their fingers remained interlocked, allowing Zhang Yang to sense every subtle shift in her energy.

He stayed still, quietly guarding her.

In that cold, dark, and eerie place, Bing Yuyan became like a beam of radiant spring light, her beauty soothing, her presence warm.

After a long while, she opened her eyes, and her first words left Zhang Yang momentarily stunned.

“My past life…”

Zhang Yang blinked. “You really believe that was your past life?”

Bing Yuyan furrowed her brows. “I’m not sure. I just feel… incomplete. Like a part of me is missing.”

“Did you gain something? Or were you disturbed?” Zhang Yang asked, his tone serious.

Bing Yuyan lifted her head, thinking for a long time before finally shaking it. “I don’t know.”

Zhang Yang felt a twinge of unease. It did seem as if some hidden danger remained. But he quickly reassured himself.

So what if there was something left behind?

Worst case, he’d just slap her awake again!

For a woman like Bing Yuyan, hailed as an unmatched beauty since childhood, forced to suppress her natural allure and cultivate a goddess-like detachment. Sometimes, what truly stirred her heart wasn’t cultivation techniques or deep insights… but a slap that broke her carefully constructed shell.

If one slap didn’t work, two would do it. And, truth be told, the sensation wasn’t bad either.

Zhang Yang felt a little impure.

He had always thought of himself as a pure man. This must be her influence.

After all, she was the femme fatale.