Chu Wanning was the first one to emerge from the passageway. Unlike the narrow passageway, when he stepped out from the last stone step, he saw a vast open platform. It was difficult to see the end of it, as if it was a pure land floating above the nine heavens.

     At this time, a bright moon was hanging high in the sky. The high platform was deserted and barren, with no grass growing. When one looked at it, they could only see the bleak gusts of wind and a haze of clouds. At the center of the high platform sat a person.

     Xu Shuanglin.

     The people behind Chu Wanning came out one after another, but they were all stunned the moment they saw Xu Shuanglin. Xue Zhengyong was even more shocked, “What… This is… What’s going on?”

     Another person gasped and said quietly, “Heavens, how could this be?”

     “Is he dead or alive?”

     Mo Ran walked towards him. The closer he got, the more bone-chilling the sight became. Xu Shuanglin sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed. The right half of his body was completely rotten, hardly a human form at all. The stench of pus and black water constantly gushing from his body was overwhelming. Around him, there were five extremely fierce holy weapons.

     Mo Ran’s fingertips curled involuntarily—he saw Bu’gui.

     Bu’gui stabbed deeply into the ground. A faint green glow climbed up from the ground and finally merged with the radiance of the other four weapons into a stream that poured into Xu Shuanglin’s heart, illuminating his rugged, bony face, and making it flicker between light and dark.

     Behind Xu Shuanglin, there was a black cloud of smoke spiraling and twisting. It seemed to be some kind of barrier that was about to take shape.

     The others followed one after another.

     Huang Xiaoyue muttered incredulously, “This is… This is the Martial Spirit Technique?”

     Xue Meng didn’t know what the Martial Spirit Technique was. He was just about to ask his father, but when he turned his head, he saw Xue Zhengyong’s face turn pale. Obviously, he didn’t believe anyone would actually use such a technique.

     “What the hell is this?” It was clear that Xue Meng wasn’t the only one who didn’t know about the Martial Spirit Technique. Another young disciple was asking quietly as well.

     Chu Wanning stared at Xu Shuanglin’s face, and said, “The Martial Spirit Technique is to offer one’s soul to the blood-stained holy weapon and make a contract with it, swearing that after death, their soul will be torn apart and devoured by the spirit of the holy weapon—to become a sacrifice to refine the holy weapon.”

     “Living sacrifice to the weapon?” Xue Meng was stunned. “Why would he do that?”

     “Because he doesn’t have enough spiritual energy,” Chu Wanning said. “This is a method to rapidly and substantially increase one’s strength. He offered his soul to the holy weapons, and in turn the holy weapons lent him their power.”

     While he was talking, they suddenly heard a faint sigh.

     Almost everyone couldn’t help but take a step back. Xue Meng stepped out of his place and unsheathed Longcheng, staring closely at Xu Shuanglin’s face.

     Xu Shuanglin slowly opened his eyes. In the moonlight, he lifted his face. Half of it was normal, and half of it was a puddle of smelly mud.

     “Chu-zongshi… Everyone, you have sought it after all.”

     He supported himself with one hand on the ground and staggered to his feet. His eyes swept across the faces that were either vigilant, disgusted, or fearful.

     He didn’t care. The one eye that was still normal moved, and there was even a kind of malicious teasing and evil in it. However, after scanning the area again and again, he did not find that person’s presence. The malicious smile on his face froze and disappeared.

     Xu Shuanglin shouted, “Where is Ye Wangxi?!”

     Xue Meng said angrily, “You think you’re worthy to mention her name?”

     “What did you do to her?!”

     Xue Meng was even more furious, “Why do you care? You’re a heartless person, without flesh and blood. What right do you have to miss Ye Wangxi?”

     “Miss her?” This word seemed to provoke Xu Shuanglin. He was stunned at first, then narrowed his eyes and seemed to slowly calm down, “No, why would I miss her? How ridiculous…”

     Jiang Xi said coldly, “What’s the point of talking nonsense with him? Kill him!”

     As he spoke, he raised his right hand, and Xuehuang appeared in his palm. He was about to slash at Xu Shuanglin when a black shadow as fast as lightning blocked his attack.

     Jiang Xi raised his eyebrows and gritted his teeth, “Why is Mo-zongshi stopping me?”

     “I have something to ask him!” Mo Ran turned around, his eyes shining with a complicated light. He pursed his lips and seemed to want to say more, but in the end, he only spat out four words, “Where is your accomplice?”

     Xu Shuanglin slowly—he was like this, but still managed to slowly rub his toes.

     Mo Ran noticed that he wasn’t wearing shoes again today.

     “I already told you they are my accomplice.” Xu Shuanglin revealed his eerie white teeth and smiled. That half-smile still looked brilliant, with a hint of mockery, “Then you should know that I will never tell you. I, Xu Shuanglin, still understand this code of righteousness in the cultivation world. Young heroes and gentlemen, you shouldn’t waste your time with this.”

     He gave Jiangui in Mo Ran’s hand a deliberate look, and said, “There’s no need to use any other interrogation method. At worst, I’ll just cut off my tongue. I’ll always have a way of not telling the truth.”

     Xue Meng seemed very astonished, “You… even someone like you has the nerve to talk about the code of righteousness in the cultivation world…”

     “Strange, why can’t I speak of the righteousness of the cultivation world?” Xu Shuanglin said, “Friends help each other, brothers respect each other, teachers are kind, disciples are filial, the good enjoy peace, and the evil receive punishment. This is how the world should be. Do you think that only people like you can understand this?”

     Xue Meng was stunned by his thick skin. He pointed at him and said, “Brothers respect each other, teachers are kind? …You?”

     Xu Shuanglin said slowly, “Yes, how about it?”

     “Do you have any face? You are the one who fought with your brother, and it’s you who encouraged Nangong Liu to eat Luo Fenghua’s spiritual core. You’ve done all kinds of bad things, and you actually… you actually have the nerve to say so confidently that this is how the world should be?”

     Faced with Xue Meng’s series of questions, Xu Shuanglin grinned, but didn’t deny it. Instead, he suddenly asked, “Little brother, how old are you this year?”

     “Why are you asking this?”

     “It’s fine if you don’t tell me.” Xu Shuanglin looked him up and down, and said, “I think you’re about twenty years old. Twenty-year-olds are always hot-blooded, innocent, and arrogant, standing proudly between heaven and earth and thinking that there’s nothing in the world they can’t do.”

     He paused and smiled, “It’s really the best age.”

     The glow of the holy weapons continued to flow on the ground, and continued to give him strong spiritual power. He used this spiritual power to maintain his control over the thousands of Zhenlong chess pieces and resist the backlash of the chess pieces. But even so, the skin on his body was festering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

     Xu Shuanglin didn’t care, seemingly unable to see his body being consumed by the evil spirit. He paced back and forth in front of the winding barrier behind him. “Twenty years old… Do you know what I was doing around your age?”

     “What else could you have been doing?” Xue Meng said with righteous indignation, “Who doesn’t know what you did? You seized the Sect Leader’s ring and replaced your brother as the Sect Leader of Rufeng Sect. Within two months, you killed two high lords of the upper cultivation world. Later, whenever someone came to ask you for an explanation, and you gouged out their eyes. You are unjust, heartless, and deaf! You’ve done it all! If I were to do these things by the age of twenty, like you, I would rather have died at the age of twelve!”

     Xue Zhengyong saw that he was agitated, and was afraid that he would attract Xu Shuanglin’s attention. He whispered, “Meng-er, don’t talk too much.”

     “No.” Little did he know that Xu Shuanglin heard this sentence. He smiled and waved his hand, “Go on. Why don’t you talk too much?”

     Xue Meng saw that he was still smiling. His expression was as playful as a parrot flapping its wings and singing on a shelf. He was having fun. He couldn’t help but feel hot blood rushing to his head, and he said angrily, “You, you are shameless! There’s no remedy for you!”

     “What’s there to be ashamed of? What you said is nothing at all,” Xu Shuanglin said. “You said I stole the Sect Leader’s ring. Since ancient times, high positions have been occupied by the capable. My brother is a good-for-nothing. He can’t do anything, but he still managed to make a name for himself by relying on his smooth tongue. People who haven’t actually fought with him think that he’s one of the best, calling us the two young heroes of Rufeng Sect, equal in spiritual power and magical arts. Don’t you think that’s ridiculous?”

     “Me and him?” Xu Shuanglin slapped his forehead and sneered, “Don’t be ridiculous. Since I was a child, I could beat him with one hand, and on all fours. And I had to be on par with him? While I was cultivating all day long, he only knew how to act spoiled in his mother’s arms and peel oranges to eat! When I practiced every day and every month, whether it was summer or winter, he didn’t have a single day of study in spring, and hot summer days were perfect for sleeping! Later, I tried to make a real name for myself at the Spiritual Mountain Competition, but he played tricks behind my back, and enjoyed the fruits of my labor! What happened after that? You give the name of plagiarism to the hardworking man, but you give him… the good name of the world’s most outstanding person. Is this fair?”

     Xue Meng hesitated, but still insisted, “Then, you didn’t have to go to this extent…”

     “Nonsense! It’s easy to accuse others. But when it comes to yourself, it’s a completely different face. If it were you, would you be able to tolerate things like that at the Spiritual Mountain Competition?!”

     Xue Meng was caught off-guard by his counterattack.

     If it were him, would he be able to bear it?

     “Hundreds of people at the Spiritual Mountain Competition pointing at you and saying that you are shameless. All the ranking and applause are his, and all that’s left for you is an injustice that will last a lifetime. Your diligent hard work and training defeated by his silver tongue. Is this fair?”

     “I…”

     Seeing that Xue Meng was stunned and speechless, Xu Shuanglin sneered, “Let’s talk again about the matter of me killing those two high lords. Of the two of them, one knocked on the wooden fish all day long, reciting Amitabha Buddha, and the other was an upright gentleman, whose righteous reputation was known throughout the world. But for their own selfish interests, they expressionlessly pushed me down into the abyss. Let me ask you all, why should I spare their dog lives?”

     When the people of the two sects heard him talk about their former leaders like this, their faces turned blue and purple. They wanted to refute, but they couldn’t say anything. In the end, Master Xuan Jing of Wubei Temple sighed softly, closed his eyes, and put his palms together, “Revenge breeds revenge. When will there be an end to it…”

     “Yes, when will there be an end to it? They all want to end their hatred, but why should it be me?” Xu Shuanglin said each word angrily, but there was still a smile on his face. His smile was light, and even a little sarcastic, “If I slap you, and then say the grievance was repaid, not letting you fight back, would you be willing, you bald donkey?”

     Someone said angrily, “Nangong Xu, watch your mouth. How can you talk to your seniors like that?!”

     “I’m your fucking senior too.” Xu Shuanglin laughed, “You better watch your mouth too, little boy.”

     “...”

     Huang Xiaoyue twisted his beard and said, “Nangong Xu…”

     Before he finished his words, the other party made a stopping gesture and tugged at the corner of his half-intact and half-rotten mouth, then said, “Let’s discuss. Can you call me Xu Shuanglin? I don’t like the name Nangong Xu.”

     Huang Xiaoyue flicked his sleeves, “Even if you wanted to seek justice, you should have been done long ago after killing those two lords. What’s the reason for gouging out so many people’s eyes?”

     Xu Shuanglin said happily, “In the past, I tried to reason with them, but no one listened to me.”

     He paused for a moment, then chuckled, “And then what happened after that? I became a madman, but you all want to drag the madman back into a debate about black and white. You honest gentlemen… Interesting.” He clapped his hands, and said, “This is so interesting.”

     Mo Ran, who had been standing at the side, suddenly asked, “So, you ask for justice for yourself, right?”

     “...” Xu Shuanglin’s gaze moved up inch by inch, moving to Mo Ran’s face.

     The two of them looked at each other on the winding cold stone platform.

     In Mo Ran’s eyes, Xu Shuanglin’s shadowy figure gradually blurred, as if he was not seeing the man with rotting limbs in front of him. Through Xu Shuanglin, he saw another shadow, wearing a bead crown and a black and gold robe. He saw Emperor Taxian-Jun, himself in his previous life.

     “On our way here, we met Nangong Liu. He called you Your Majesty, and you think yourself a god,” Mo Ran said. “You became the emperor of this Heavenly Palace, holding the power of judgement. Whatever you say is right, is right, whatever you say is wrong, is wrong. Life and death are all up to you. Is this what you call fairness?”

     Xu Shuanglin was silent for a moment, then laughed coldly.

     Mo Ran saw Taxian-Jun laughing coldly, his pale and handsome face full of ridicule.

     “So what if it is? As you can see, I once believed in the so-called fairness of the world, and honest gentlemen, but what happened in the end?”

     He paused, and paced back and forth in front of the holy weapon formation. His eyes flashed with excitement, “It is you who worship cowards as heroes, and trample heroes under your feet. It is you who treat hard work as dirt, and build latrines into altars. It is you who regard flattery as friendliness and pride as arrogance. You have done all kinds of evil things, and trampled me into mud! Then, you tell me that even if I have suffered many sins, even if I have been framed by my brother, even if I am unclothed and humiliated, that’s my own business, and no matter what, I shouldn’t vent my resentment on innocent people. Ha, what a joke!”

     Mo Ran saw Taxian-Jun’s cold laugh become more and more exaggerated, and gradually turn into a hideous grin.

     “You are not the one who is accused of a thousand things and bears no guilt. Of course you can say all kinds of beautiful words. And I, I am only, in my own way, seeking justice in the world.”

     “...Justice in the world?” Mo Ran stood opposite of Taxian-Jun, and asked, “How many people have you killed for your own view of justice in the world? You are the self-proclaimed emperor, with bones and blood at your feet. Have you had a single moment of repentance?”

     “What is there to repent for? I killed them, but I will give them a chance to be reborn. They will all be my chess pieces, and from then on, everything they do will be under my control. From then on, there will be a clear distinction between black and white, good and evil. This is justice in the world.”

     Mo Ran was silent for a moment, then said, “It seems that you really think of yourself as the ruler to measure the world.”

     “I am the ruler.”

     Xu Shuanglin stood in the wind.

     He was Nangong Xu in the eyes of all.

     He was Emperor Taxian-Jun in Mo Ran’s eyes.

     He said, “Look at the front hall, don’t you think it’s beautiful? The good and virtuous people all live in peace and happiness, while the ugly people burn in fire and cook in woks. Anyone who has stabbed another person with a knife will stretch out their neck and be killed to make up for it. Every debt will be settled clearly. A debt of blood must be paid in blood. Is there anything wrong with that?”

     Mo Ran said, “You really think highly of yourself.”

     Then, he heard Emperor Taxian-Jun reply, “Why should I look down on myself? In my opinion, this is the best karma.”

     No one spoke for a moment.

     Most people in the crowd were shocked by Xu Shuanglin’s crazy words. Before they came, many people thought Xu Shuanglin was probably doing all of this for power, personal revenge, and so on. None of them thought that Xu Shuanglin would feel that he was doing the right thing for the sake of justice and fairness.

     But who could be the fairest ruler in the world? Even the descendants of the gods, Tianyin Pavilion, may not be able to do so.

     Mo Ran stood still. After a moment, his heart finally calmed down a bit. He looked at the Emperor Taxian-Jun who was standing opposite him.

     The crowd disappeared, and the handsome face sank in and became charred black.

      He blinked. The person in front of him was Xu Shuanglin, not Emperor Taxian-Jun. Because Xu Shuanglin’s actions were too similar to those of his previous life, he actually had the illusion that he was talking to himself through time and space.

     “Well, then can I understand that regarding the chess pieces in the hall, even if you lack spiritual power, you still want them to retain their minds from when they were alive? You built your own kingdom in this Heavenly Palace. From now on, you are a god, or Buddha, His Majesty the Emperor. You divide the world into two, good to the good, and evil to the evil. This is the fairness you want.”

     He said this passage.

     At the same time, his mind was like a blizzard, quickly flashing through many fragments of memories related to Xu Shuanglin.

     In his previous life, in order to save Ye Wangxi, Xu Shuanglin died under his sword.

     Standing barefoot in Three Lives Courtyard, Xu Shuanglin laughed and teased the parrot.

     Beside Jincheng Lake, Xu Shuanglin asked his elder brother for a piece of orange as a reward.

     The orange trees on Mount Jiao, Nangong Liu, whose mind had returned to the purity of childhood, and Luo Fenghua, who had been snatched back from the infernal hells…

     One by one, they all strung together in a mountain of thoughts that rushed in his mind like a tsunami.

     Mo Ran raised his dark eyes. There was neither ridicule, nor disdain in those eyes. He only looked at him quietly, “Am I right, Nangong Xu?”

     “Call me Xu Shuang—”

     “No, your name is Nangong Xu.” Mo Ran stepped forward, step by step. He looked at the man whose flesh and bones were festering in front of him. He knew that no one in the room knew better than himself what Nangong Xu was thinking at this moment. They were both people who had been pushed to the edge. The former Emperor Taxian-Jun, and Xu Shuanglin of this life, were the same.

     He saw everything clearly. He stared at Xu Shuanglin’s face, and kept a close eye on the most subtle changes.

     He stopped and suddenly looked down.

     “It’s so cold, and the ground is cold,” Mo Ran said softly. “Nangong Xu, why don’t you wear shoes?”

     The smile on Xu Shuanglin’s face froze for a moment. However, the frozen twinkle in his eyes quickly turned back into solid gold, “I don’t want to wear shoes. I want—”

     “Do you want Ye Wangxi to ask you this question?”

     “...”

     “That day, when I went to Three Lives Courtyard and saw you for the first time, you didn’t wear shoes,” Mo Ran said. “It was she who later told you to wear them. I’m afraid you didn’t notice the satisfaction on your face.”

     Mo Ran stared at Xu Shuanglin’s face.

     That was the answer he had speculated about when he was on Feihua Island, watching the blazing fire and smoke billowing on Linyi across the river.

     “Nangong Xu, you’ve always wanted someone to notice your bare feet. You’ve been hoping that someone would tell you…”

     Xu Shuanglin, who had been laughing and smiling all this time, suddenly had a trace of fear on his face. He took a step back, wrinkled his nose, and said with a ferocious expression, “Shut up.”

     Mo Ran naturally wouldn’t shut up. He looked at Xu Shuanglin. What was originally only speculation, turned into reality at Xu Shuanglin’s violent reaction.

     Mo Ran looked at him. He felt that he was not looking at Xu Shuanglin, but himself in his previous life, who was trapped in the darkness with nowhere to escape.

     “Put your shoes on, the ground is cold.”

     Xu Shuanglin suddenly leapt up like a cheetah, the light and shadow of the holy weapons gathering. Xu Shuanglin lunged up and grabbed Mo Ran’s lapels in a fury. The normal hand and rotten ghost claw grabbed him at the same time. Xu Shuanglin’s eyes were bloodshot. He gritted his teeth and said, “Shut up! You shut up!”

     “Okay, before I shut up, I have one more sentence to say.”

     “Don’t say—” Xu Shuanglin was almost desperate. He was like a dragon whose reverse scale had been pulled out and blood was flowing like a river, “Don’t say…”

     “Ye Wangxi, who really looks like Luo Fenghua.”

     The words were soft, but they drained all of Xu Shuanglin’s strength in an instant.

     He was speechless, and stood bewildered on the ground.

     Some of those around them who had seen Luo Fenghua and Ye Wangxi were stunned. In their minds, they recalled these two completely different people. They were not related, and even in the turbulent world of mortals, one had already died, while the other had just been born… But with this mention, they suddenly realized—ah, it was really like that.

     Ye Wangxi’s every action, every move, even her temperament and mannerisms were the same as those of Luo Fenghua, Xu Shuanglin’s Shizun.

     Xu Shuanglin abruptly withdrew his hand from Mo Ran. His fingers twisted, and he buried his face in his palms, his shoulders trembling slightly.

     Xue Meng muttered, “He… Is he crying?”

     Crying?

     No.

     Xu Shuanglin buried his head in his palms. After a long time, the trembling of his shoulders became more and more obvious. A twisted and treacherous laugh escaped from his fingers, “Ha…”

     The laughter grew like a ripple. He suddenly put down his hands and laughed wildly, “Hahahahaha, they look similar? That’s nonsense! Mo-zongshi, have you seen Luo Fenghua? You only saw a glimpse of his corpse when the gate to the infernal hells was open. How can you say they look alike just based on that once glance? Aren’t you a bit too confident?”

     “Since you yourself mention the infernal hells and Luo Fenghua’s corpse,” Mo Ran said, “then let me ask you, where is he?”

     Xu Shuanglin’s eyes were ruthless, and his smile suddenly tightened abruptly, “What do you mean, where is he?”

     “In your kingdom, good and evil are punished, whether they’re engulfed or honored, it’s all under your control. But you didn’t even kill Nangong Liu in the end. You even lifted the curse of his lingchi fruit. I don’t know why, but since he’s here, there’s no reason for you to abandon Luo Fenghua. You have run out of spiritual power, and are offering your soul to the holy weapons. But at Jincheng Lake and the Peach Blossom Springs, I have fought against you several times. I know that your strength isn’t so weak as this.”

     Xu Shuanglin: “...”

     “There is another reason why you can’t hold out any more, besides the use of the Zhenlong Chess Formation. That’s the second forbidden technique you’ve been painstakingly practicing all these years.”

     Mo Ran looked up, and the knife finally fell down, “Did your Rebirth Technique finally save Luo Fenghua from the eighteen levels of hell?”

     Before he finished speaking, Xu Shuanglin’s face had already turned ashen. He was about to say something when a white smoke suddenly rose from the black formation that had been circulating behind him all this time.

     Xue Zhengyong, who was most experienced on the battlefield, was the quickest to react, “Not good. There’s something behind that formation!”