“How…” Mo Ran took a step back and muttered while shaking his head, “How is this possible? It’s really you…?”

     “Yes, it’s me.”

     Taxian-Jun looked at him slowly, then smiled. “Well… I originally thought that after you were reborn, you wouldn’t remember much about your past life, but looking at you now, it seems that you do remember everything?”

     “...”

     “And judging from your expression, you seem to have guessed at This Venerable One’s existence to some extent. If that’s the case, you’re not too stupid.”

     Mo Ran mumbled. He had a lot to say; those words were about to rush out of his throat as he bared his teeth, but in the end the only thing that broke out was a resentful shout of disbelief, “But you’re clearly dead!!!”

     “Oh?”

     “You already took poison in Wushan Palace, the strongest poison. There’s no way you could have survived! You died in front of Heaven-Piercing Tower, buried in a coffin under the flowering tree. You’re already dead!”

     Taxian-Jun chucked. “That’s not a good enough reason.”

     As he spoke, he slowly raised his eyes, revealing a bitter smile. His eyes were like the sharp beaks of raptors, ready to pierce Mo-zongshi’s body into pieces.

     “Why doesn’t This Venerable One say something for you?” He whispered softly and slowly, with the calmness of toying with someone in the palm of his hand. “Yes, This Venerable One is indeed dead. The person who can best prove that This Venerable One is dead is standing in front of me right now.”

     Mo Ran: “...”

     “Because you are This Venerable One’s soul that escaped from the dead.” Taxian-Jun laughed. “The most benevolent Mo-zongshi, across the mortal world, people often come to tell This Venerable One about your… how should I say, heroic deeds?”

     He grinned.

     “You’re really interesting. I thought you didn’t remember much of your past life, which is why you could act like nothing happened. But you actually remember it all.”

     “...” Mo Ran gritted his teeth.

     “Ah, Mo-zongshi, do you think that as long as you remain silent, no one will know the truth? Do you think you can start over from scratch just by putting down the knife? Most importantly, do you think…”

     Taxian-Jun’s actions suddenly became even more ruthless. He suddenly gripped Chu Wanning’s neck, his nails digging deep into his flesh, and pinched Chu Wanning’s skin until it turned purple. Chu Wanning frowned furiously, but he couldn’t say a word.

     “Do you really think I’ll still be so kind and let you enjoy the light alone when there’s no fire left in my world?”

     “Don’t touch him!”

     Taxian-Jun sneered, “Don’t touch him? Don’t you think it’s ridiculous for you to say that to This Venerable One?”

     He held Chu Wanning in his arms and slowly walked in a circle.

     He and Mo Ran looked at each other.

     Taxian-Jun stared at Mo-zongshi.

     Mo Ran stared at Mo Weiyu.

     The past life stared at the present life.

     Taxian-Jun mocked him, “Don’t you know how This Venerable One touched him? Now you’re putting on an act again, pretending to be a good person.”

     “Don’t say it!”

     “Hm? Why not? You don’t think these things are interesting and pleasant? After so many years of separation, life and death are so fleeting. Don’t you think we should talk about it freely?”

     Mo Ran couldn’t help but shake his head. His expression was probably even uglier than Chu Wanning’s at this moment. He was angry and helpless, guilty and desperate. “Don’t say anything.”

     “Oh, you want This Venerable One to shut up just like that? How interesting. Our wise and kind-hearted Mo-zongshi seems to be…” Taxian-Jun considered for a moment before he spat out three words, “Feeling very afraid.”

     Mo Ran couldn’t wait any longer. He looked at Chu Wanning being held tightly in Taxian-Jun’s embrace, and his heart was in turmoil. He didn’t know what to do. He just wanted to stop this demon in front of him from speaking. He wanted to bury all the ugly things from his past into the ground and seal them in a coffin.

     Jiangui suddenly rose into the air and attacked Taxian-Jun. The red sparks crackled, and the flames were more ferocious than ever before.

     Avoiding the attack, Taxian-Jun’s expression changed slightly. “...Tianwen?”

     No, as soon as he finished speaking, he already knew the answer. This glowing red willow vine was not Tianwen.

     “...Your new holy weapon is very interesting.” Taxian-Jun’s expression was slightly complicated. He stared at the vine whip for a moment, then looked at Mo Ran. His expression was even colder.

     “If that’s the case…”

     As he spoke, he swept back and passed Chu Wanning over to a subordinate behind him. Then he raised his hand and summoned Bu’gui. “Come, fight with This Venerable One. This Venerable One is curious which is more powerful, the one holding Bu’gui or the one holding the willow vine.”

     Taxian-Jun’s fingers moved along the blade inch by inch. Bu’gui’s green light surged as his spiritual energy reached its peak.

     At the same time, Mo-zongshi’s fingers grazed the willow vine inch by inch. The ghostly red light flowed in all directions, the flame blazing ferociously.

     “Fire attribute?” Emperor Taxian-Jun sneered, “Although I have a spiritual core with dual attributes of wood and fire, I clearly remember that I’m more adept at using wood than fire. Why did you change your temperament?”

     Mo Ran remained silent. His expression was cold and solemn. His lips were pressed together tightly, and there was a trace of sadness in his eyes.

     They were the eyes of a person standing on the edge of a cliff, teetering on the verge of collapse.

     Clang! Two nearly identical figures jumped into the air and clashed fiercely, pouncing and fighting with each other.

     Jiangui and Bu’gui roared silently as they each flowed with surging spiritual currents. It was as if a dragon had encountered a huge whale, or a flood had struck a ferocious beast. In a split second, the bricks and stones of Dragon Soul Hall flew everywhere. Their turbulent currents even raised the magma from the Dragon Soul Pool, causing it to shoot magma several feet high before falling on the ground.

     The people nearby focused spiritual power to their feet to prevent themselves from being scalded by the overflowing lava.

     Taxian-Jun and Mo-zongshi were no exception. The two of them fought viciously, but they were evenly matched. The blade clashed and the vine danced like the wind. The black shadow pounced on the black shadow, and bloodshot eyes stared at the desperate ones. Every attack was at its peak, causing the flames and lightning to surge wildly!

     There was another sharp scream of weapons. Both of them stood on tiptoe and soared into the air. The vine whip and blade collided, and the splash of spiritual power reflected two pale faces.

     One of them died and came back to life.

     The other had escaped death.

     During the struggle of strength, Taxian-Jun’s eyes were filled with frost. He shouted, “Bu’gui, temper your spirit!”

     Mo-zongshi gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, “Jiangui, temper your spirit.”

     In an instant, their own spiritual energy poured into their holy weapons. The two holy weapons emitted brilliant red and green lights as they clashed against each other. In the end, there was only a “bang” sound—Bu’gui pierced Mo Ran’s right shoulder and Jiangui pierced Taxian-Jun’s left arm.

     Both of them groaned as they landed on the ground, one on the left and the other on the right. They gasped, not feeling the pain of their wounds at all. All of their attention was on each other. They were like fierce beasts fighting in a cage.

     Either you die or I do.

     Taxian-Jun’s eyes were gloomy. “The way you use the vine whip is too similar to him.”

     “Him” naturally referred to Chu Wanning.

     Mo-zongshi was unwilling to waste any more time with Taxian-Jun. His eyes were murderous. “You’re still not leaving?!”

     “You want This Venerable One to leave?” Taxian-Jun sneered, “Mo Weiyu, what right do you have? You’ve been wearing sheep’s clothing for a long time. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your lips are still stained with sheep’s blood.”

     Before they finished talking, they leapt up and started to fight again. Taxian-Jun rushed forward quickly, with lava boiling under his feet and sparks flying everywhere. But how could Mo Ran not be aware of his own moves? It was as if he was looking at his own reflection in a lake. Before Taxian-Jun’s blade fell, he had already retreated several feet, the raging flames blazing under his feet.

     Between the two of them advancing and retreating, every move they made was within the expectations of the other. In the blink of an eye, they had fought for more than a hundred rounds, but they were evenly matched; neither side was able to gain the upper hand over the other.

     Mo Ran’s forehead was covered in a fine sweat, and Taxian-Jun was panting heavily as well. They continued to hover there, staring at each other, and circling around one another.

     Sweat seeped into the space between his dark brows. It paused for a moment, then suddenly dripped down.

     Mo Ran gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, “What are you doing all of this for?”

     “I’ve said it before. There is no more fire in This Venerable One’s world. Don’t be so delusional as to think you can take the last fire for yourself.”

     Mo Ran suddenly got angry. “That’s also your last fire!”

     “But This Venerable One can’t get him.” Taxian-Jun said coldly, “Besides, is there any difference between you and me? This Venerable One’s hands are covered in blood, and you’re clean? Why must This Venerable One live my life alone in a drunken stupor through the long night, while you can guard Shi Mei, Chu Wanning, and your ridiculous uncle and cousin—why is it you?”

     Upon hearing his words, Mo Ran was startled. After a while, he said, “You’ve already had it before.”

     “...”

     Mo Ran looked at his past self of the previous life. He had always thought about this, but never said the words out loud. Now, he murmured, “You’ve had it before and trampled him under your feet yourself… It was you who destroyed him with your own hands.”

     Taxian-Jun’s expression suddenly became extremely dangerous. The bridge of his nose wrinkled slightly, and his eyes seemed to be filled with waves of evil. He was so gloomy that even the way he addressed himself changed without him realizing it. “I destroyed him? Ridiculous. How do you know it wasn’t him who destroyed me?”

     “You don’t know the truth about the Heavenly Rift back then!”

     “I don’t need to know.” Taxian-Jun said coldly, “Mo Weiyu, it’s already too late. I think this is good. As long as he’s alive, he is mine, and I can hold him in the palm of my hand. Whether he’s happy or not, whether he hates me or resents me, it doesn’t matter.”

     He paused. “I just want to see him.”

     Mo Ran’s voice was boiling with anger and pain, torn by the overwhelming guilt and shame. He trembled slightly. “You have already destroyed him once. You still want to destroy yourself and destroy him in this world… for a second time…?”

     Taxian-Jun suddenly smiled. His dimples were deep, and he looked carefully at Mo Ran’s face.

     Then he said, “What’s there to destroy? Don’t you think so too? It doesn’t matter whether this person is alive or dead. As long as he is in your hands, you can do whatever you want.”

     Mo Ran shook his head, closed his eyes, and said hoarsely, “You’re wrong. You shouldn’t treat him like this. He… He is the person who treats you best in the world.”

     “That’s ridiculous.” Taxian-Jun’s smile suddenly tightened. “He is the person who treats me best in the world? Then what about Shi Mei? Mo-zongshi, don’t you think you’re ridiculous? The person you should be thinking about is the one who has always treated you gently and has never looked down on you—Shi Mingjing. You’re telling me that Chu Wanning is the best person in the world? Do you know what you’re saying?”

     “You’re the one who doesn’t know what you’re saying!”

     They were close to each other, their spiritual energy hissing and colliding with each other.

     Mo Ran’s eyes were red.

     “He treats you sincerely, but he’s very foolish. There are many things… many things that he does foolishly, but he doesn’t tell you. Wake up, the person you like isn’t Shi Mei at all. All these years, when have you ever had such intense thoughts about Shi Mei? When you were lying on the empty bed at Wushan Palace, who were you thinking about?”

     “...This Venerable One doesn’t deny that he’s very pleasurable to fuck,” Taxian-Jun said indifferently. “But so what? He can never replace Shi Mei.”

     When Mo Ran heard his words, he was obviously talking to himself in his previous life, but he was so angry that his blood rushed to his head. He gritted his teeth and said, “You’re not allowed to insult him.”

     Taxian-Jun narrowed his eyes. “What, you’re so protective of him now? Are you getting involved with him again?”

     “...”

     “In this life, you fucked him too?”

     His narrow eyes were like those of a snake.

     The strength and spiritual power in their hands didn’t stop, and the powerful spells they used made the other chess pieces unable to withstand it; some of them even curled up on the ground.

     Taxian-Jun first stared at Mo Ran for a while before his eyes fell on Chu Wanning.

     He murmured, “Mo-zongshi, This Venerable One heard that Shi Mei is still alive and well in this world. But you treat him like this.”

     Mo Ran really didn’t know how to argue with such a person who came from the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death, and he had no idea how he had been resurrected.

     Finally, he said, “What about you? Now that you’re here in this world, and Shi Mei is alive, why were you holding my Shizun so tightly and not letting go when I came in?”

     “Your Shizun?” Taxian-Jun rolled his eyes and said with a mocking expression, “Ha, you know very well what your Shizun is to This Venerable One.”

     “...”

     “Do you think I can hold him?”

     Mo Ran wanted him to let go of Chu Wanning, so he said, “If you do this, are you doing right by Shi Mei?”

     “Shi Mei is such a pure person, so of course he can’t be desecrated.” Taxian-Jun was not fooled and said lazily, “But Chu Wanning is different. He looks cold and arrogant, strong and conceited, but when he’s getting fucked, he looks like a slut. Have you forgotten?”

     Mo Ran didn’t expect that he would say it in such a lascivious and straightforward manner. He was stunned.

     Then he couldn’t help but think of Chu Wanning’s muffled moans under his body. Even though he didn’t want to, he thought of how, in his previous life, Chu Wanning finally succumbed to his desire after taking the most intense and largest dose of aphrodisiac. He had tangled with him madly, taking the initiative to cater to him. Their sex was as intense as a beast’s.

     That pair of phoenix eyes were filled with unwillingness and shame yet covered with mist, slightly closed. Chu Wanning’s eyes lost focus, and he couldn’t help but gasp, his lips opening slightly.

     He closed his eyes abruptly, then opened them again, full of anger. “I’m not like you! I still haven’t… I still…”

     “What do you mean you still haven’t?” This time, it was Taxian-Jun who didn’t understand.

     Mo Ran felt that the other had never pitied Chu Wanning, so he couldn’t imagine the love and restraint Mo Ran showed in bed.

     After a while, he finally understood from the angry and embarrassed look in the other’s eyes. But after this sudden realization, he was even more stunned.

     “Are you joking?”

     “...”

     “Don’t tell me that you and him haven’t…”

     Mo Ran gritted his teeth. Jiangui was about to materialize at any moment, tearing the entire Dragon Soul Hall apart.

     Taxian-Jun suddenly burst into laughter. “Mo-zongshi, at this moment, I suddenly feel that you and I are not related. Are you still me? Hmm?”

     Of the two of them, one was like a mad dog, and the other was like a loyal dog.

     The mad one was baring his teeth and laughing at him.

     The loyal one was silent and sorrowful, stubbornly and resolutely confronting him.

     It’s just that when he faced the monstrous mistake he'd made, the loyal dog’s expression was extremely pitiful and helpless.

     It was impossible to tell who would emerge victorious in this battle.

     Taxian-Jun gradually got tired of it.

     He suddenly said, “Alright, I’ve played with you enough. Mo-zongshi, it’s time to see the truth.”

     As he spoke, he waved his hand, and those Zhenlong chess pieces that had previously obeyed his orders to stand motionlessly at the side all rushed forward. Mo Ran was immediately attacked from both sides and couldn’t escape.

     “Is this your truth?”

     Taxian-Jun left the fierce battle and walked towards Chu Wanning. As he walked, he turned his head back and sneered, “This Venerable One’s chess pieces are naturally part of This Venerable One’s battle prowess. How can they not be considered true?”

     Mo Ran watched him carry Bu’gui, then gently pat Chu Wanning’s face with the blood-stained blade before raising his hand to pinch Chu Wanning’s face, saying something to him in a sweet manner.

     He couldn’t bear it anymore. In his rage, he forgot that Chu Wanning seemed to have some kind of connection to Bu’gui. He shouted, “Bu’gui!!”

     The blade flashed with a bright light and actually started to shake in Taxian-Jun’s hand. It seemed to be hesitating and struggling.

     It didn’t know who to listen to.

     Taxian-Jun’s eyebrows raised, and he looked down at his own blade. “Oh? Do you want to listen to him?”

     However, at this moment, Chu Wanning suddenly felt a splitting pain in his skull.

     The messy fragments of the dreams he’d had before rushed into his mind like rolling sand.

     Scarlet red sheets with the pungent smell of animal skins.

     Intertwined limbs.

     Kneeling outside the main hall in the snow, and the arrogant mocking of the palace maids.

     Taxian-Jun noticed something strange with him and raised his hand to remove the silencing spell. He asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

     Chu Wanning didn’t answer. He was already in unbearable pain, and his head felt like it was about to split open—

     He saw the ashes of bones covering the sky, the blue sky swallowed up by death. A man in black robes and long sleeves stood between heaven and earth. Corpses covered the field, and all living beings were in ruin.

     “Shizun.” The man turned around, and it was Mo Ran’s face. He had an evil grin on his face.

     He held a bright red object in his hand.

     Looking at it carefully, it was a beating heart.

     “You’re finally here. Are you going to stop me?”

     He exerted a little more force, and the heart burst in his hand, revealing the dazzling spiritual core inside. Mo Ran absorbed the spiritual core into his hand.

     He walked towards him, closing in step by step.

     “I never imagined that after half our lives as master and disciple, you and I still can’t escape from this battle in the end.”

     “!”

     Chu Wanning suddenly closed his eyes, the veins on his forehead throbbing and his blood flowing wildly.

     Taxian-Jun felt that something was wrong with his expression. He raised his fingertips and touched his cheek, then lifted his chin. “What’s wrong? Pain?”

     “...” Chu Wanning trembled slightly under his fingertips.

     Taxian-Jun grew even more confused. He frowned and said, “I didn’t hurt you much. How have you become so weak?”

     Seeing that Chu Wanning still didn’t speak, he frowned and seemed to want to say something. But before he could open his mouth, he heard a heavy cracking sound outside.

     Taxian-Jun’s expression changed slightly. “Someone forcibly broke Mount Jiao’s barrier?”

     His eyes were light lightning, and he suddenly turned his head.

     He saw an apricot-yellow shadow flying over with astonishing speed. The way it moved was strange and gloomy, erratic like a ghost.

     In the blink of an eye, Chu Wanning was caught in the palm of the man’s hand.

     Mo Ran: “Shizun!”

     Taxian-Jun: “Wanning!”

     “...”

     The two men who had shouted at the same time looked at each other with disgust, but soon, both Mo Ran and Taxian-Jun turned their heads again and stared at the uninvited guest floating in the air, his robe fluttering.

     Master Huaizui.

     Huaizui’s face didn’t look so good. Compared to five years ago, his expression was much more withered, but the sharpness of his eyes didn’t lessen in the slightest, still like a sea of light, rippling and surging.

     Mo Ran was relieved in his heart. He didn’t know why Huaizui suddenly appeared here, but since this person was willing to use the Rebirth Technique to save Chu Wanning, he wouldn’t harm his Shizun in the future.

     However, Taxian-Jun had never seen him before, so his expression became very dangerous. “What bald donkey came out of nowhere to be This Venerable One’s enemy?”

     Huaizui glanced at him, then his eyes fell on Mo Ran.

     He didn’t seem to be surprised by the appearance of two Mo Weiyus. The look on his face at the moment wasn’t surprise but worry.

     “Mo-shizhu.” Huaizui waved his sleeve. There were too many people here. In order not to let Taxian-Jun hear, he used a sound transmission spell to pass this sentence only to Mo Ran’s ears. “I can’t stay here long. Quickly come to Longxue Mountain to see me.”

     He paused, then added, “You must be quick.”

     Then, just as soon as he arrived, he left like a gust of wind and disappeared. Regardless of whether it was the Zhenlong chess pieces or the barrier that protected Mount Jiao, they seemed unable to stop him.

     There was even a moment when Mo Ran saw that a cultivator had already grabbed his arm, but in the next moment, Huaizui’s figure was already far outside of the palace door. The cultivator suddenly had nothing in his hand, only a mass of cold air.

     Taxian-Jun was about to rush forward and catch up, but suddenly a sharp whistle sounded in the sky. His expression froze, and he cursed under his breath, “Right now?”

     The whistle was sharp and ear-piercing, and his eyebrows furrowed. He glanced at Mo Ran, and although he was unwilling, he still pointed his finger in the air. “Consider yourself lucky. Next time, you and I will have a chance to fight.”

     After saying this, he led the rolling waves of chess pieces and quickly retreated in the direction of the Soul Summoning Platform.

     The fierceness of the battle had also left quickly.

     In a moment, Huaizui had disappeared, and so did Taxian-Jun. There was no one left in Dragon Soul Hall. Mo Ran followed him to the Soul Summoning Platform, only to see Taxian-Jun leap up and rush towards the center of the dark formation. The Zhenlong chess pieces followed him one after another, and in an instant, they were all swallowed up by the boundless darkness.

     After the last wave of cultivators entered, the formation immediately shrank and twisted before disappearing into the night sky, leaving only a crescent moon on the horizon, glowing with wisps of scarlet.

     The Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death closed.

     Mo Ran stood on the windy Soul Summoning Platform, looking at the boundless night sky and the wreckage of the ground. He felt a chill in his heart and was unable to recover for a long time. All of this was like a dream, but he knew it wasn’t. He knew clearly in his heart that everything that happened today was just the beginning.

     He… was a ghost who escaped death.

     Some things were bound to happen sooner or later. There was no way to escape.

     The heinous crimes he had committed were like a sharp sword hanging over his head.

     Finally, his crimes came to light and demanded his life.

     He seemed to see Taxian-Jun’s eyes that were so ferocious they seemed to glow red. He laughed sardonically. “Atonement? How can you atone? You and I are the same. You will never be able to wash away the blood on your body.”

     He saw Xue Meng in his previous life yelling at him with heartbreak, “Mo Weiyu! I hate that I can’t kill you with a thousand cuts! I won’t forgive you even in reincarnation!”

     He heard the terrifying sound of Song Qiutong falling into the boiling oil, her short scream. He heard Ye Wangxi saying that there was not a single man within the seventy cities of Rufeng Sect. He saw Xu Shuanglin defend Ye Wangxi, his face full of determination and anxiety.

     “Yifu!!”

     The sound pierced his ears.

     Blood flowed like a stream.

     Finally, he saw a figure in the flickering light and shadow, in the foul past, in the nightmare of yesterday.

     It was pure white and peaceful.

     Standing under the haitang tree, he turned his head and smiled faintly amidst the brilliant light of the sky and shadows of the clouds.

     “Mo Ran.”

     “...”

     “It was I who wronged you. I won’t blame you, in life or in death.”

     He suddenly knelt down. After experiencing an entire night of bloody battle, he was now in a sorry state, covered in blood. Under the reflection of the bright moon in the sky, he was stunned for a moment, then curled up like an ant and started to tremble with sobs.

     “Shizun… Shizun…”

     He wailed and choked. “It’s not like that… That’s not me… Please… please… that’s not me…”

     “I want to go back. I want to start over, no matter what price I pay, please…”

     “I’m willing to take out my heart, as long as you don’t let me die under the name Taxian-Jun.”

     “I really… I really don’t want to be that person anymore… please…”

     He thought of Xue Meng and Shi Mei.

     He thought of the stick of candied fruits Xue Meng had handed him when he was young as he arrogantly told him he didn’t want to eat it.

     He thought about how, before he left, Xue Meng tightly gripped his lapels in tears and said to him, “Ge, don’t lie to me.”

     He thought of his youth, when Shi Mei had come to him with a steaming hot bowl of soup and said to him, “Mo Ran, I don’t have parents either, so we’re going to be family from now on, okay?”

     He thought of Shi Mei on the Soul Summoning Platform, blood and tears flowing from his eyes. He said, “Actually, you have never understood me.”

     Then he thought of Xue Zhengyong and Madam Wang.

     He thought of how they died in his previous life and thought of Xue Meng’s face immersed in a sea of blood and hatred.

     He thought of Chu Wanning.

     He suddenly choked with sobs.

     His fingers dug into the ground so hard that his knuckles were scraped and his skin was torn.

     “What should I do… What should I do…?”

     He was like a trapped beast that had been whipped until his skin and flesh was torn and his bones were mangled, howling in despair and grief.

     At this moment, he suddenly understood. He had previously thought Taxian-Jun was an outsider in this world, but what about him? Wasn’t he the same? He suddenly didn’t know where peace could be in this vast world. He suddenly didn’t know if his old friends were still there and who could forgive him.

     He was an outsider.

     He was curled up, trembling.

     He wailed and hugged himself tightly.

     Just like many years ago in the mass grave, beside his mother’s rotting bones.

     At this moment, he was even more miserable than when he was a child—

     He suddenly wasn’t sure. He, Mo Weiyu, who was he?

     Emperor Taxian-Jun; Mo-zongshi.

     The seventh generation of the Nangong family bloodline; second young master brought to Sisheng Peak.

     An unforgivable devil.

     A kind and righteous zongshi.

     All of a sudden, he shattered to pieces. The edges of each fragment were sharp enough to slice him a thousand times over and completely destroy him.

     Dead.

     Alive.

     He was all alone.

     “I’m not Taxian-Jun…” he muttered. It was cold. The Soul Summoning Platform was too cold. Every inch of his muscles and bones were trembling. He closed his eyes, and tears fell. He sobbed, “I’m not Taxian-Jun… What should I do…? I really don’t know what to do… Forgive me… Forgive me…”

     But who should he beg? Chu Wanning? His past self? The countless ghosts and vengeful spirits that died at his own hands? Or the wandering fate?

     No one could give him forgiveness. No one could.

     He buried his face in his palms. In this desolate world, he sobbed.

     “Just what… what the hell am I supposed to do?”