Chapter 31
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Chapter 31: Bai Lian Never Saw Her Own Light!
Tonight.
The cold wind whipped across Su Youwei’s face, sending a chill through her.
It carried with it a sound, sharp and piercing, like the rush of ice water.
“Now, I’m here!” she declared.
Here they were.
Even without the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl in her hand, He Bukong recognized Su Youwei instantly.
He had been watching Qiongming Peak for months, after all.
Despite Su Youwei’s drastic change in temperament and her completely different attire, He Bukong, as a Demigod, couldn’t be deceived by appearances.
But…
Something in his chest tightened.
If he were to judge solely by Su Youwei’s physique, he wouldn’t sense any immediate threat.
She appeared as nothing more than a “girl.”
Was that all?
Her face was fierce, yet her presence felt no more threatening than that of a paper tiger.
A cultivator’s appearance, after all, is the least reliable indication of their strength.
And with the face-changing spells so common in this world, controlling one’s expression was as easy as flipping a hand.
He Bukong’s gaze shifted downward to Su Youwei’s sword.
At first glance, it seemed almost identical to Bai Lian’s Dirt Free Sword, at least in shape.
Bai Lian’s sword was transparent, while Su Youwei’s had the appearance of a blood-red gemstone.
What truly surprised He Bukong was that this sword wasn’t just a Magic Treasure.
It was alive.
He could sense a soul energy emanating from it!
His gaze then fell upon Su Youwei’s feet.
Her slender legs appeared crafted by the Creator’s hand, breathtakingly beautiful.
But it wasn’t just the beauty that captured He Bukong’s attention.
It was the bone chains wrapped around her ankles.
A sudden realization struck him.
Unless he could restore himself to his former state, the one before using Erosion Sand, survival seemed impossible.
But could he do that?
No, he had no such ability.
Despair began to settle in.
He had approached Bai Lian simply to retrieve the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl.
Now, the very treasure he longed for was floating just ten meters away, and yet he was powerless to claim it.
Perhaps…
This was despair.
“Who are you?” someone demanded as Su Youwei entered the stone chamber.
The voice echoed, and from the cultivator’s burly form, a golden light burst forth, illuminating the entire room.
Mysterious runes began to flicker around the stone walls.
“Edict—— Demon in the World!”
A violent shake from the Hate Cauldron sent a surge of demonic energy flying toward Su Youwei, arrows of malevolent force.
This was the opportunity He Bukong had been waiting for.
If this strike succeeded, he might still have a chance.
But…
Bang!
He Bukong’s smile faltered.
Before him, Su Youwei raised her right hand, and from her blood sword, a million arcs of crimson lightning erupted.
The electric snakes tore through the demonic energy, reducing it to ash.
Then, with brutal force, the electric storm hammered into the strong cultivator.
“Ah ah -”
A high-pitched scream filled the chamber.
A crimson void opened in the air, consuming everything in its wake.
“This is the Field of Asura, where killing stops killing.”
Su Youwei spoke with an eerie calm.
With one swing of her sword, she had eradicated the stars, and when the storm finally subsided, the floor of the cave showed no trace of the battle.
Only the one who had dared to challenge her was gone.
“No, it’s not possible,” He Bukong gasped.
He had practiced the “Way of the Silent Void Sword Style,” which shared similarities with Su Youwei’s “Path of the Asura.”
Yet, as a Demigod, he couldn’t even control his own wild energy. How could a mere girl from the lower realm do it?
What terrified him even more was Su Youwei’s power—nothing like what she should have had.
According to the intelligence gathered, Su Youwei was supposed to be just an ant-like cultivator in the Golden Core Stage.
But now, that ant had become a demon from another realm.
She stood motionless, the simplest of gestures, the briefest of words, and He Bukong felt his courage crumble, utterly shattered.
He Bukong didn’t want to die.
Not yet. He hadn’t become an Immortal Emperor.
His journey… It couldn’t end here.
“No, no, no, don’t come closer… Stay away…”
He Bukong’s soul recoiled, but Su Youwei hadn’t moved an inch.
In his vision, she was no longer just Su Youwei.
Before him, he saw countless ghosts dancing in the bloody rain outside the stone chamber.
They were the souls he had slaughtered.
Twisted faces, shrill laughter, all waiting for him to join them.
Die. Die. Die…
He Bukong’s expression contorted.
In desperation, he drew a Token of the Path of Wanjie Dharma from his pocket. It was a token that could communicate with the Immortal World.
When he first descended from the Immortal World, he had used it to receive orders from above.
But recently… the messages had stopped coming.
An accident.
It must have been an accident.
As long as he could reach out to them now, even if Su Youwei’s power were ten times stronger, he would have nothing to fear.
“Hurry, respond! Hurry! If you don’t respond soon, the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl will be gone! Please, hurry…”
Whoosh.
In a brief flash of blood light, He Bukong watched in horror as the token in his hand disintegrated into nothing.
“…”
He looked up, his heart racing.
Before he could react, Su Youwei had appeared right before him, the bloodied sword only an inch from his neck.
At this moment, he was nothing but a soul. Even if the sword pierced him, he wouldn’t bleed. But death was still inevitable.
He Bukong remembered the terror of growing old.
For him, that was the ultimate curse.
Suddenly, he dropped to his knees, wailing in agony. “Please… give me the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl. I’ll give you anything. Please, I don’t want to die… I really don’t want to die…”
The echoes of his voice reverberated louder than the rain outside.
His face remained tearless, for it was but a ghostly reflection, yet the torment on his twisted visage seemed more real than his physical form ever had.
Su Youwei stared at He Bukong, now fully hysterical.
She heard Hong Yi’s voice in her heart, “His Tao Heart is already broken.”
A broken Tao Heart?
So, it was as Dao Xingyuan had said. When all hope is lost, even the mighty fall to despair.
Time seemed to slow in that moment.
Su Youwei’s gaze never left He Bukong.
Before she arrived, she had already considered countless ways to deal with him.
Hate?
Of course, she hated him.
If it weren’t for people like him coveting the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl, her Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian and her master would never have been in danger.
She owed Bai Lian too much, and there was no way to repay it. No amount of suffering she could endure would be enough to make up for it.
She longed to make He Bukong feel a hundred times the agony in her heart.
But when she saw the look of fear and regret on his face, something inside her shifted.
She raised her sword high.
He Bukong, in the face of his inevitable death, crawled towards her, desperately trying to cling to her legs.
“Don’t kill me! I don’t want the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl anymore. Don’t kill me… whether it’s one day or one year, I just want to live, I want to…”
Puff!
The blood sword drove deep into He Bukong’s back.
In an instant, a black vortex erupted from the wound, beginning to devour his soul.
He Bukong struggled, trying to rise.
“No, no, no, no… I don’t want to… Ahh, ah, ah…”
No matter how much he fought, it was all in vain.
His life had come to its end.
As his vision blurred, only darkness remained, and…
A faint blue light.
Yes… it was the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl!
He lunged for it, like a starving beast.
But in the deathly silence, he plunged into the black whirlpool.
Countless arms reached from the void, grabbing his body, pulling him deeper into the abyss.
He Bukong tried to resist, but it was too late.
He was held captive by death.
“The Way of the Silent Void Sword Style. The only thing that becomes silent… is actually myself.”
It was all too ironic. After so many years, he had failed to cultivate a fearless heart.
No wonder even the Path Master, with all his talents, couldn’t escape death.
…
And with that, He Bukong disappeared.
The cries of agony had faded away.
Su Youwei, gripping a bloodied sword, silently stood in the empty stone chamber.
Her gaze lingered on The Hate Cauldron.
Is this the source of the chaos in the Sand Region?
She didn’t rush to take action. Instead, she heard noises coming from deeper within the cave.
Su Youwei slowly walked in that direction.
Barefoot, she moved lightly, leaving no ripple in her wake.
Passing through a cage, she saw a man chained up, barely breathing.
She asked, “Are you Dao Xingyuan?”
Dao Xingyuan struggled to sit up and managed a faint smile, “That’s right.”
Like He Bukong before him, Dao Xingyuan instantly recognized Su Youwei. Though his Divine Sense was suppressed, he could still roughly sense what was happening outside.
He attempted to stand, but as he rose, he collapsed back to the ground with a thud. His smile froze, replaced by a grimace of immense pain.
Dao Xingyuan planted his fists into the ground. “I failed to show up. If I had been more cautious, or even left a day earlier, things would not have turned out like this.”
Su Youwei spoke, trying to comfort him, “Those people have passed away, and it’s not too late to make amends.”
“No!” Dao Xingyuan suddenly let out a loud roar.
The outburst startled Su Youwei.
Why the sudden yell?
But she couldn’t bring herself to blame him. He was crying.
He knelt, pounding the ground with both fists.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Tears mixed with blood.
“It’s too late, everything is too late,” Dao Xingyuan’s voice cracked, raw and hoarse. “I can’t go back now. My cultivation is completely wasted. Even if I get the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl, I can’t return to the Path of Wanjie Dharma anymore. I have failed…”
Su Youwei opened her mouth to ask, “Why do you want the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl?”
But Dao Xingyuan didn’t answer.
His situation wasn’t much better than He Bukong’s. He had longed to acquire the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl, but unlike He Bukong, he sought it to find the Path Master.
He had been so close to the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl, but now, that one step became an insurmountable abyss.
He couldn’t go back.
His mistake had destroyed the Ineffable Immortal Emperor’s plan, dashed the dream of bringing the Path Master back, and erased the spiritual backbone that had once given him purpose.
“I am a waste,” Dao Xingyuan wept. “It’s me. It’s me who has hurt the Path Master.”
Nothing Su Youwei said could console him.
…
Finally, Su Youwei withdrew her hand.
She couldn’t help him.
While she now possessed the power to conquer the world, she couldn’t heal Dao Xingyuan’s shattered heart.
She returned to the stone room.
The source of the Tide of Resentment lay in The Hate Cauldron. If she destroyed it, everything should return to normal.
Su Youwei lifted her sword.
With a swift motion, she poured all her energy into the strike.
The blood light shot into the sky.
The rain of blood swirled.
The remnants of the Shangyang Immortal Sect were wiped away in an instant.
The stone chamber stood exposed.
The Hate Cauldron now bore cracks, its solid form severed.
“OK.”
Su Youwei sighed in relief.
Before she could turn, a torrent of darkness surged from the cracks of The Hate Cauldron.
Her eyes widened.
She could clearly feel the presence of He Bukong and others within the tide—wrath, anger, and despair emanating from it.
“What is going on here?”
Su Youwei’s face changed drastically. The Hate Cauldron had shattered, but the Tide of Resentment had not diminished. In fact, it had grown more volatile without the Cauldron’s control.
“Hurry, Hong Yi!”
Su Youwei cried out in desperation. She was overwhelmed.
But Hong Yi was no better off than she was.
The unknown was their greatest fear.
This upheaval was beyond anything they had experienced.
“I… I don’t know either,” Hong Yi’s voice trembled, the blood sword in Su Youwei’s hand quivering in response.
Under the endless darkness, even the Rebellious Shura appeared fragile.
“If Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian were here…”
Su Youwei gritted her teeth. She couldn’t help but think that Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian would remain calm and find a solution.
Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian always said cultivation was about cultivating the heart.
Su Youwei realized—despite her strength, she was truly weak.
…
“It’s too late.”
On the land veins of Mingzhou, King Daming spoke.
“For thousands of years, countless unpeaceful matters were buried in the vast desert sea, forgotten. The resentment, formed by Sun Fuguang’s anger, consumed the thousand years of resentments from the Shangyang Immortal Sect and the desert sea. Now, it has grown ferocious. After devouring the resentments of several Immortals, it has completely lost control.”
King Daming stood.
“It no longer needs the Hate Cauldron. If left unchecked, once it gains consciousness, it may become the most terrifying demon the world has ever seen.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Lian could no longer stay still.
King Daming called to her, “Where are you going?”
“I want to go back!” Bai Lian replied firmly, her voice carrying an undeniable tone.
King Daming asked, “Do you have a solution to the Tide of Resentment?”
King Daming shook his head.
Bai Lian cut in, unwavering. “Then I have to go back.”
He Bukong’s behavior before his death had made her reflect deeply.
Is death truly that terrifying?
It is.
If death weren’t so frightening, she wouldn’t have felt so upset facing Jiang Jing.
But if death is unavoidable, she thought, perhaps dying in the arms of her master would lessen her fear.
Bai Lian thought briefly of the ending from a pure love storyline in a game where “Elder Martial Sister Bai Lian” died in her master’s embrace.
After a moment of thought, she dismissed it.
That kind of end would only transfer her fear into her master’s pain, and that was not the outcome she wanted.
“If I have to die, let me die together with him.”
At that moment, Bai Lian received a new task option.
[Task 1: Forcefully cross the distorted time (Reward: +15 Focus)]
[Task 2: Do nothing (Reward: Light Skill+1)]
Fifteen Focus?
That meant even the smallest mistake could lead to death.
“Ah. Just choose Task 1.”
Bai Lian emotionlessly shut down the system panel and headed toward the area of time chaos, not knowing which path she would take, or if she would be torn apart by the flow of time.
King Daming reached out a hand, but eventually withdrew it. He couldn’t stop Bai Lian.
He recalled his own past and, if he ever had the chance, would speak with Bai Lian again.
Bai Lian stopped before the chaotic time rift.
“Let’s go!” she murmured to herself, stepping forward into the unknown.
Just then, a faint white light rose beneath her feet.
Bai Lian paused, following the light and discovering, to her surprise, that it illuminated Martial Sister Lu.
Soon, she saw more white lights springing up all over Xiwu City.
The scattered white lights were subtle, but when gathered together, they poked through the Tide of Resentment, creating a small hole in its vastness.
“What is happening here?”
Bai Lian stared, wide-eyed with amazement.
It all came too suddenly, and she couldn’t comprehend it all.
Even King Daming was surprised, though he quickly pieced it together.
“It’s just like back then,” he murmured.
He asked, “Do you know what the Tide of Resentment is made of?”
Bai Lian responded, “Hate and other negative emotions.”
King Daming replied, “The lights that rose just now are courage, family love, justice, integrity, kindness…”
The words tumbled from his mouth, forming a long poem.
Bai Lian’s realization dawned.
What dispels darkness?
Light.
What counters negative emotions?
Positive emotions!
It’s true what they say—magic can defeat magic.
A powerful wave surged through Bai Lian’s body, threatening to overwhelm her.
But…
“Too few.”
Compared to the immense Tide of Resentment, the people of Xiwu City seemed tiny and insignificant. Unless others from the Sand Region joined in, this small glimmer of hope would soon be extinguished.
“I still have to leave from here. I must spread the word.”
Bai Lian patted her chest lightly, turning to King Daming with a smile before leaping into the chaotic flow of time.
Her smile was as clear as the moonlight.
King Daming’s heart stirred.
People cannot see their own back. Bai Lian never noticed the white light emanating from her.
