But by midnight, Chu Wanning still hadn’t come.

     Taxian-Jun first felt irritable, then turned gloomy, and then became worried.

     His black robe trailed across the gold tile floor, and as he paced back and forth, he couldn’t help but wonder—what happened to Chu Wanning?

     The Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death had been torn open. Whether it was to ask for the truth or try to stop him, he should come to Wushan Palace to find him. Based on his personality, Beidou Immortal would have come for him, even if he were missing an arm or a leg.

     Why didn’t he come?

     Was he sick?—That’s impossible. That man would definitely come, even if he was sick.

     Was he unaware?—Perhaps he didn’t know before, but when the two worlds were connected and the earth and sky changed color, how could he not know?

     So…

     Suddenly, he stopped, his dark shadow appearing rugged and ghastly under the candlelight. It was extremely terrifying.

     Was he dead?

     Before he could even think too deeply about this possibility, his nails had already sunk into his palms. Taxian-Jun gritted his teeth, and tremors coursed through all the muscles in his body.

     Eight years of company in Wushan Palace and two years of dependence on his remains. He and Chu Wanning had spent most of their lives together. So when he returned to the world later on and saw that Chu Wanning didn’t even have ashes left, his madness intensified considerably.

     He could accept Shi Mei’s death and only try his best to attain the ability to bring him back to life.

     But he simply couldn’t accept Chu Wanning’s death.

     The night grew darker, and the only candle he'd left was nearly burned out. The flames dripped into a pool, but his moth hadn’t yet come.

     The fear in his heart grew deeper and deeper, like ink stains on rice paper that continued to spread. He paced back and forth like a vulture, back and forth, over and over again.

     Finally, he sat down on a soft couch, exhausted.

     But at this moment, he heard a barely perceptible thud on the roof.

     Taxian-Jun sat up suddenly, and the light and heat seemed to return to his body in an instant. His eyes were surprisingly bright and filled with hatred.

     If he were given a mirror to look at himself in this moment, he would find that his expression looked similar to that of Chen A’jiao, who would play her stringed instrument and sing a melody of deep-seated resentment—they were the same, both appearing like a resentful woman full of turbulent grievances as they sat and waited for the person who would never come.

     He gritted his teeth, and without even waiting for his opponent to make a move, he kicked the palace door open and rushed onto the roof in the pouring rain.

     “Chu Wanning!”

     He was like a crazy madman.

     “He’s already dead, and with one blow, you’re really unable to rise again? After he dies, do you not even want to take care of the mortal world that's so dear to your heart?”

     Before he could even see the person clearly, he slashed down with his blade, and three or four blows were exchanged in the rain with the sound of unyielding and cold metal weapons colliding against each other. 

     “Didn’t you say that all living beings come first and oneself is last?! You’ve been so depressed up to this point that you’ve only now come to This Venerable One for a critical battle. What Yuheng of the Night Sky? What Beidou Immortal? You’re nothing but this!”

     The other party spoke, his voice very muffled by the torrential rain: “What nonsense…”

     Taxian-Jun narrowed his eyes.

     He immediately recognized that the voice was not Chu Wanning’s, which gave him a sudden flash of clarity in his fury. When the other person slashed his sharp blade towards him again, with the intention to kill him, his eyes suddenly turned cold, and Bu’gui’s bluish-green light suddenly appeared. He raised his hand, and the blade fell.

     With a “clang,” his opponent’s weapon, which had never lit up with a holy weapon's splendor from beginning to end, broke into two pieces under Bu’gui’s brutal onslaught and fell on the eaves with a clatter.

     “...Who is this disgraceful thing?” Taxian-Jun became more and more furious after recognizing the wrong person. “You don’t even have a decent weapon, and you still dare to assassinate This Venerable One?”

     With a wave of his hand, Bu’gui was leveled with the stranger’s head, and his words were chilling: “Lift your face.”

     “...”

     The man slowly raised his head.

     With a sudden clap of thunder, light suddenly split the sky, illuminating his pale face.

     The bridge of Taxian-Jun’s nose wrinkled, and his expression was extremely dangerous. “It’s you again?”

     Xue Meng stood up, his hands shaking slightly. Following his gaze, Taxian-Jun saw the two broken pieces of Longcheng’s blade gleaming on the wet roof and slowly understood.

     He narrowed his eyes and looked at the soaked young man through his eyelashes.

     “It seems that ‘again’ shouldn’t be said.” Taxian-Jun said grimly, “It should be… It’s you, This Venerable One’s good younger brother.”

     Thunder rumbled, and it seemed as if one’s eardrums would be crushed.

     Xue Meng closed his eyes.

     “This is your first time fighting with This Venerable One,” Taxian-Jun said. “You’re so childish and innocent yet naïve at this age, much cuter than you became later on.”

     “...You return my…” Xue Meng’s voice was choked as he spoke, but he still said, “You return my mother and father’s lives!”

     “You’ve already said that to This Venerable One in your previous life.”

     He suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with rage and pain. “You return my brother’s life!”

     This time, Taxian-Jun didn’t say anything. Only after a moment did he sneer, “It’s good to be a zongshi; one then two, everyone is thinking about him.”

     “...”

     “But did he ever tell you that he was This Venerable One's reincarnation? That he remembered all the sins and hatreds of his previous life?” His eyes were cold, and his words were sharp. “He’s a liar!”

     Xue Meng and Taxian-Jun faced each other on the roof, like two dark beasts.

     The more Taxian-Jun spoke, the more indignant he became, and his expression became even more twisted. “That bastard, he lied his way to peace and stability in the world, lied to his family and friends, lied for the good reputation of Mo-zongshi—he should have died long ago. How is he any different from This Venerable One?”

     Xue Meng gritted his teeth and said, “You’re not the same at all.”

     “Ha! Ridiculous!”

     The rain flowed through the cracks in the tiles and formed a tide that rushed under their feet. “What’s different? What’s the difference? You think he’s so clean? Even if he soaked in the rain for a hundred years, his filth can’t be washed away!”

     Xue Meng’s long eyelashes were soaked by the rain. “He and you are two different people!”

    “Your fucking mother, both of you!” Taxian-Jun said disparagingly and maliciously. “You just pretend to be blind.”

     Madam Wang had just passed away, so hearing such a sentence was naturally jarring. Xue Meng shouted angrily, igniting spiritual fire in his palm, and sent the spell towards the emperor.

     Xue Meng from ten years later was no match for Taxian-Jun, let alone this little kid in front of him.

     Taxian-Jun dodged with an impassive face. The spiritual fire didn’t even touch his hair. Instead, he raised his hand and grabbed Xue Meng’s arm before he could pull it back, his pair of purplish black eyes slowly looking down.

     “The two of you under the eaves, appear before This Venerable One immediately. If you don’t move, This Venerable One will crush this little bird’s claws.”

     The Mei Hanxue brothers climbed up to the corner of the roof, one holding a qin and the other holding a sword.

     Taxian-Jun glazed at the two of them, unfazed, then sneered, “Your lives are quite interesting. No matter which mortal world you’re in, you will stand with Xue Meng unconditionally.”

     The eldest brother said nothing, while the younger Mei Hanxue brother smiled and said, “Otherwise, what? Does His Majesty think that everyone is like you, biting the hand that feeds you, cold-blooded and heartless?”

     This sentence somewhat touched Taxian-Jun’s sore spot. Before him flashed the faces of Chu Wanning, Xue Zhengyong, and Wang Chuqing one by one.

     Biting the hand that feeds you… cold-blooded and heartless…

     He was silent for a moment, squeezing out a hint of ridicule in the heavy rain, “You two are really not afraid of death.”

     The veins bulged on his arms, and he grabbed Xue Meng’s and said, “Xue Meng is at least the shidi whom Beidou Immortal personally defended with his flesh and blood. You two have nothing to do with This Venerable One, so This Venerable One won’t feel unwilling to chop you both to pieces.”

     At the mention of Chu Wanning, Xue Meng became even more furious. “How dare you mention Shizun? You evil beast! Beast!”

     “Why wouldn’t This Venerable One dare to mention him?”

     As Taxian-Jun spoke, he lifted Xue Meng up with one hand and stared at Xue Meng’s soaking wet face.

     He suddenly recalled those fragmented memories from Mo-zongshi. He thought of the moonlight on Feihua Island, the rainy night at Wuchang Town, and even the misty fog of Miaoyin Springs… and suddenly, jealousy bloomed like wild grass.

     He said coldly, “You say it. Why can’t This Venerable One mention him?”

     “...”

     “Who he is to This Venerable One, didn’t your upright and innocent elder brother tell you?”

     Xue Meng was stunned at first, then his eyes suddenly widened. “You, what nonsense are you spouting…?”

     “You’ve always had a feeling, right?” Taxian-Jun stared into his eyes and felt the thrill of having cornered his prey. “From your interactions with the two of them and the gossip of others.”

     Xue Meng stiffened, then began to tremble violently.

     His trembling excited Taxian-Jun to no end.

     Yes, that’s right; he dirtied Chu Wanning, tarnished Chu Wanning. Wasn’t that ghost, Mo-zongshi, so careful, afraid that his relationship with Chu Wanning would be known to the public?

    He wouldn’t let that hypocrite have his way.

    “What, you still don’t know?”

     “No… no, no, no, don’t say it.”

     “That means you know?”

     Xue Meng was trembling, and his scalp tingled. “Don’t say it!”

     Taxian-Jun laughed loudly, his eyes filled with ferocity and madness. “It seems that you know it well in your heart. You know it clearly.”

     “Mo Ran—!”

     “Chu Wanning is the person on This Venerable One’s bed.”

     Suddenly, he was in a daze, as if the sound of the torrential wind and rain had died down.

     Taxian-Jun stared at Xue Meng, whose eyes were vacant and quivering, and felt like he was drowning in delight. So he began to peck at the young man’s heart even more fiercely, baring his fangs and brandishing his claws. He sneered, “In this life and the previous life, your Shizun lay down on the bed to be fucked by This Venerable One. In Fengya Inn of Wuchang Town, Miaoyin Springs of Sisheng Peak, and the rooms of Taobao Villa, we made love countless times; you can’t even imagine it.”

     Xue Meng’s entire body had turned to ice, his eyes dark and ashen.

     “Oh, right.” He suddenly recalled another detail from Mo-zongshi. His eyes flashed with a cold and resentful light as his thin lips opened and closed. “The elder brother you protect has done this to your Shizun in front of you.”

     “...”

     “Just before you went up Mount Jiao, you went to Chu Wanning’s room to find him. At that time, you reached out your hand and touched Chu Wanning’s forehead, asking if he had a fever.”

     Xue Meng’s face became paler and paler.

     Taxian-Jun smiled slightly and said, “Can you imagine why Chu Wanning’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were full of waves back then?”

     “Don’t say any more!!”

     Of course, his infuriated shouts were useless and would only make Taxian-Jun even more cruel. “Because just a curtain away from you, under the quilt, your good brother took your Shizun with his mouth and was doing him.”

     Xue Meng’s face was white, then red, then blue, changing between them several times. Suddenly, he turned his head away, unable to bear the nausea. He spasmed and dry-heaved, with goosebumps all over his body.

     The devilish man was very satisfied by his reaction. He laughed loudly, with a fanatical light in his eyes. “So, do you still think your elder brother and This Venerable One are different? He did all these dirty deeds and just didn’t tell you. How much do you think he—”

     Boom! An explosive sound interrupted his words.

     Taxian-Jun suddenly turned his head and saw flames rising from the direction of Heaven-Piercing Tower in the west. Countless monsters turned into beams of light and flew into the sky, appearing out of nowhere in the storm.

     “...What’s going on?”

     As soon as he said these words, he heard the sound of a guqin in the distance, like the cry of a phoenix or the music of immortals. The monsters changed shape one after another, as if moved by the guqin melody, and pounced towards a certain place on the ground. Among them, the wood-type monsters were the most valiant and fearless.

     Taxian-Jun’s pupils shrank in an instant, and he murmured, “Jiuge…?”

     Without caring about Xue Meng, and not even bothering to give Xue Meng another glance, Taxian-Jun tore through the rain and leapt into the air. He raised his finger to summon Bu’gui and flew straight towards Heaven-Piercing Tower.

     In front of Heaven-Piercing Tower, there was already a sea of fire. Countless Zhenlong chess pieces with considerable cultivation were fighting against a group of monsters. The two main adversaries at the heart of the battle were both dressed in snow-white robes.

     One was Hua Binan, who stood with his hands behind his back, controlling the Zhenlong pieces.

     The other was Chu Wanning, who played the guqin and directed the battle with a murderous look in his eyes.

     Seeing Yuheng of the Night Sky with his sleeves fluttering in the middle of the sea of fire, Taxian-Jun felt relieved at first—because Chu Wanning finally came. Then he was angry—because even though Chu Wanning came, he didn’t come to confront him first, but went directly to Hua Binan.

     He had waited so long for him in vain!

     “What are you standing over there for?” Hua Binan’s spiritual power was naturally weak, and he was relying on those Zhenlong chess pieces to fight against Chu Wanning. He squinted his eyes at Taxian-Jun and said through clenched teeth, “Why don’t you quickly come and help me?”

     There was a dull pain in Taxian-Jun’s head, but he immediately agreed.

     He leapt out of the air and stood in front of Hua Binan. A faint light flickered in his hand, and he grasped the Bu’gui saber tightly in his palm.

     “You go first. This Venerable One will guard this place.”

     Hua Binan had already been badly beaten by Chu Wanning and had no way to escape. Seeing that Taxian-Jun had made a move, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

     “You be careful.” He instructed, “Lock this man up after the fight. Don’t let him ruin this crucial matter again.”

     With this, his shadow disappeared into the night.

     Taxian-Jun turned back and said, “Chu Wanning, This Venerable One knew you wouldn’t stand idly by, but it was unexpected that you would know to find him first to defeat him immediately.”

     “...”

     Chu Wanning’s face was pale, and the emotions in his eyes were not clearly visible. No one could tell what he was thinking.

     “Why didn’t you come to This Venerable One first, hm?”

     Chu Wanning didn’t answer. In fact, between him and Taxian-Jun, he was the one who looked more like a corpse at this moment. It was as if the soul within Beidou Immortal’s body had died, and only a layer of instinct held him together, allowing him to do one last thing for this world.

     Taxian-Jun leaped up and exchanged blows with Chu Wanning. The pieces under his control moved very quickly, through fire and rain. “Because you feel that you can’t beat This Venerable One?”

     “...”

     The sword light in his hand slashed and collided with the spiritual power of the guqin’s melody. “Because you don’t know how to face Xue Meng?”

     “...”

     The pain became more and more severe, causing him to grow increasingly vicious. His blade technique was extremely swift, and his momentum was ferocious. Because he had absorbed Mo-zongshi’s spiritual core, he was even sharper than before, and in a matter of moments, he had already closed the distance between him and Chu Wanning’s guqin.

     “Or is it because…”

     Jealousy and hatred seeped out from between his teeth.

     The golden and bluish-green light met at this moment. The saber fell and Jiu’ge resounded. With a pluck of Chu Wanning’s fingertips, an indestructible protective barrier appeared.

     In a flash, a spiritual current crackled and poured out, his saber pressing against his barrier.

     Their eyes met across the thin barrier flowing with haitang petals.

     “Or is it because…” Suddenly, the light in Taxian-Jun’s hands faded, and when it lit up again, it was no longer the bluish-green of the wood-attribute but the red of the fire-attribute.

     This was the color of spiritual power Mo-zongshi usually used.

     Chu Wanning was startled.

     The fiery and golden light were still in a stalemate, and the splashes of splendor were like the pouring rain at this moment. Behind the barrier, Taxian-Jun’s handsome face suddenly turned gentle.

     “Or is it because, Shizun…” His gaze was affectionate and sorrowful under his thick curtain of eyelashes. “you can’t bear to see me die a second time?”

     With a twang, the wrong string was strummed, and the light of Chu Wanning’s barrier suddenly weakened. Bu’gui struck down with such force at this moment that the golden light split in two in an instant, scattering into a flurry of falling haitang flowers.

     The overbearing spiritual power threw Chu Wanning toward the ground, and just as he was about to fall into the muddy water, a hand reached out and wrapped around his waist. Chu Wanning knew that he had fallen into his trap and couldn’t help but shout in a low voice, “Mo Weiyu—!”

     Under the relentless downpour, Taxian-Jun burst into laughter at the success of his crafty trick. His mouth curled with satisfaction and cruelty, having finally gotten what he wanted.

     He was no longer gentle, and when he spoke again, his face was full of rage. “Very good. You’re finally willing to pay attention to people.”

     “...”

     Taxian-Jun pinched his cheek, their noses and lips nearly touching. He said heavily, “If you don’t say anything, This Venerable One will be afraid you aren't able to.”