Thunder and lightning shone through the open palace door, obscuring Shi Mei’s face between light and dark.

     In the overbearing light, only the eyes were dark.

     It seemed as if even the blessed heavenly flame could no longer light them up.

     Chu Wanning’s expression changed slightly, but he didn’t open his mouth to ask. It was difficult to fathom what Shi Mei’s evil intentions were with any words he said at this moment. But even so, the flames in his hands couldn’t help but dim.

     Shi Mei caught this darkness.

     As if grasping onto floating grass in a whirlpool, he said to Chu Wanning, “Shizun, you don’t really think Mo Ran is completely dead, do you?

     “Do you really think…” Shi Mei panted slightly, “Taxian-Jun is just an empty skeleton?”

     After a pause, he continued, “...Shizun, you should think about it carefully. How could there be a corpse in this world that can think so specifically and act so stubbornly…? Who can do it? What can do this? Even the Zhenlong Chess Formation can’t reach this level.”

     “...”

     “Do you know?” Shi Mei stared into Chu Wanning’s eyes and slowly spat out his buried secret, “Inside Taxian-Jun’s body, there is still a piece of the soul that remains.”

     “!!”

     Before these words, Chu Wanning’s eyes had been vacant, as if he were only a walking corpse. After saying this, Shi Mei clearly saw the ripples in those phoenix eyes and let out a sigh of relief, but still didn’t dare to be careless.

     “Shizun also knows that my spiritual core is weak, and I can’t cast any powerful spells on my own. I can’t control the Zhenlong Chess Formation myself, however the medical sect has its own methods.”

     When Shi Mei said this, it was as if he were seeing Taxian-Jun’s corpse after he committed suicide by taking poison, lying quietly in the grave under Heaven-Piercing Tower…

     At that time, he had no idea what had gone wrong, and his mind was blank. How could his sharp blade, his invincible weapon, die?

     Mo Ran’s consciousness should have long been devoured by the Eight Sufferings Everlasting Hatred Flower! What could torment his heart so greatly that he would commit suicide himself?

     “In the previous life, the ten great sects besieged Sisheng Peak. After seeing Mo Ran’s corpse, those people originally wanted to cut his body limb from limb.” Shi Mei said, “But I was in the crowd as the expert of the medicine sect and tried my best to persuade them. In the end, I was able to preserve the body.”

     He closely watched Chu Wanning’s expression change with every word he said.

     “I couldn’t lose his power, so I tried every method to turn him into a living-dead person. Although his abilities wouldn’t be as good as they were when he was alive, it would at least work for the time being… But you know, maybe it was because he was still missing someone before he died, but there was a strong obsession deep in his heart, and no matter how I emptied his soul, I couldn’t clear it out.”

     Shi Mei approached slowly. “No matter what method I used to force the soul out, that wisp of the soul would not dissipate. That wisp…” His words were clear. “sustained his constantly indistinct consciousness. The soul moved towards Heaven-Piercing Tower.

     “—a soul obsessed with your soul.”

     His footsteps stopped, and Shi Mei stood in the center of the hall.

     At this moment, he could already see the other person’s ashen face, tightly pursed lips, and the meridians bulging on the backs of his hands.

     He saw Chu Wanning’s pain and hesitation and relaxed completely. He slowly became calm and collected once again. “That soul didn’t reincarnate. It still lingers in Taxian-Jun’s corpse. That is why he was extremely stubborn towards you after his resurrection. As for Mo-zongshi… you should have sensed that he didn’t care about you much when he was first reborn. His affection for you arose again later.”

     As Shi Mei spoke these dusty truths, he watched as Chu Wanning’s expression changed continuously.

     “Inside Taxian-Jun’s body is his most stubborn love for you from his previous life.”

     He noticed that Chu Wanning’s fingertips were trembling slightly, so he licked his lips and took another step forward, speaking in a captivating voice, like a slippery snake.

     “Shizun, you see, right now, I only need the last thirty people. The lives of thirty people in exchange for Mo Ran’s life. Are you willing?”

     Outside, the wind howled like a group of demons dancing wildly.

     He waited for Chu Wanning’s reply, thinking, What a good deal this is.

     The man in front of him was seemingly cold and otherworldly, but in reality, his two lifetimes were ruined by the words “deep love.”

     He firmly believed that he would agree.

     After waiting for a while, Chu Wanning lowered his eyes. No one could see his expression clearly. “...You’re saying that, in his body, there is still a wisp of his soul?”

     “Mm.”

     “If you’re permitted the last thirty people and let him finish paving the road home for you, you’re going to just let him go?”

     “That’s right.”

     “...” Chu Wanning didn’t answer immediately but murmured, “So after I met him, much of what he said came from his sincere heart.”

     It was easy to convince a man with a weakness, even if he was Beidou Immortal.

     Shi Mei was almost certain of his victory and became increasingly relaxed. He said, “Yes, it’s all from his sincere heart. Although he isn’t the original, complete Mo Ran, he at least still has a soul, at least still has his own consciousness.

     “Shizun, please listen to me for once.” He advised gently, “Don’t do it. You, me, and him—all three of us will be much better off.”

     Chu Wanning still didn’t look up. He sighed. “...Shi Mingjing.”

     “Hm?”

     “Do you still remember what the last wish written on the apprenticeship post was when you were formally accepted as a disciple?”

     He was somewhat at a loss at being asked this question, but after thinking about it, he still replied, “I wish for you to be merciful and allow me to have a home to return to.”

     After he finished speaking, he had a sense of foreboding and added, “But at the time, I truly wanted to treat Shizun as family. I wasn’t talking about the matter of the Beauty Feasts returning home…”

     Chu Wanning didn’t deny it and asked again, “Then do you know what Mo Ran’s wish was when he formally became a disciple?”

     “What was it?”

     Chu Wanning finally raised his eyes. He looked at Shi Mei, and his gaze gradually became very cold, with a much deeper silence in his eyes than before.

     “He said he wished to have a holy weapon like Tianwen. This way, more lives could be saved.”

     The man spoke plainly and simply about his lover’s past cherished wish. Immediately afterwards, before Shi Mei could even react, he saw a golden light rise in the hall, and a strong spiritual power broke through the air like a huge wave, making it impossible for others to get even half a step closer to him!

     Shi Mei suddenly snapped back to his senses and shouted sternly.

     “Chu Wanning!!!!”

     Twisted, sharp shouts tore through the roof tiles and burst over the eaves.

     “Chu Wanning! Are you crazy?! You’re crazy!!!”

     Desperate and furious, Shi Mei pressed forward through the blinding light that made it impossible to open one’s eyes toward the man in white in the center of the room. Beside him, Mu Yanli was helping him, supporting him, and trying to soothe him.

     But what good was that?

     “Split the corpse; collect the coffin!”

     “No! Stop! Stop right there!” Hearing Chu Wanning’s voice in the golden wind, Shi Mei became more and more frantic, his eyes bloodshot. He yelled and raged, choked with sobs, and cursed in every way.

     However, the golden light rose and faded, and the dazzling brilliance pierced the pupils of his eyes, causing dappled light to flicker within. It was all over.

     The strong gale stopped.

     There was a dead silence.

     Chu Wanning, who was as pale as a corpse, stood, while Shi Mingjing, appearing haggard, was on his knees.

     The spiritual power gradually faded away.

     After a while, they all heard the dull rumbling of an earthquake coming from the direction of the distant back mountain—that should be the sound of Emperor Taxian-Jun’s corpse being broken into ashes.

     Shi Mei stared at Chu Wanning. Many intense emotions fought tooth and nail on his face, and after the war ended, only emptiness remained. His hatred and anger were broken, and a trace of fear appeared in the cracks.

     He didn’t know what he was afraid of either. Was he afraid of Chu Wanning, who could kill Mo Ran with his own hands? Was he afraid of the future? He was afraid… afraid of what?

     It already seemed to be doomsday.

     Shi Mei finally murmured, “...Dead? …He’s… dead?

     “Chu Wanning, you killed him… He once shielded in front of you at the Red Lotus Pavilion and begged me to use him instead of you… But you actually killed him so heartlessly… You’re so heartless…”

     His terror ultimately turned into laughter. Even though he had no intention of laughing, he just tilted his head back and laughed out loud. Mu Yanli cried beside him and coaxed him, “A-Nan… enough… enough…”

     Shi Mei only laughed—he laughed and laughed. And as he laughed, two trails of golden tears flowed and fell to the ground.

     “He’s dead. Taxian-Jun is dead… Good, it’s over. Chu Wanning, you’re able to bear it; you’re heartless; you can handle it.”

      Chu Wanning stood still in his original position, without any expression.

     He looked as if he were a corpse. He was surely a corpse.

     “Shizun, I’ve underestimated you.”

     Shi Mei’s voice trembled.

     “You are far more ruthless than I imagined.”

      Chu Wanning remained motionless, as if he’d lost his last bit of warmth. He’d thought Mo Ran had already died, but a moment ago, he also became aware that there was still a wisp of his soul in this world; there was still a fragment of Mo Weiyu.

     But he crushed this fragment into ashes too.

     Yes, he was heartless; he was unwavering.

     That youth, that young man, that man, who could smile and get angry, was his lover, whether he was whole or incomplete. He was the only person in the world who wasn’t afraid of him and respected him, a forgiving lover, a lover who used his own flesh and blood to shield him from calamity.

     The one who, in his place, was devoured by the Eight Sufferings Everlasting Hatred Flower, and in his place, had become the Lord of Darkness, the king of brutality.

     In the year before he turned sixteen years old, he gave up everything he had to protect this foolish person.

     Never to return.

     “When it rains, I want to save more earthworms.”

     “Shizun, it’s pear blossom white. Please drink it.”

     “The apprenticeship ceremony gift I gave you is ugly… very, very, very ugly.”

     Wanning. I miss you.

     He once learned how to write with a smile, If I could have a mansion with tens of thousands of rooms, there would be a great shelter for all the cold people of the world, together in joy.

     “Repay kindness; do not seek revenge.”

     But he floated amidst mountains of corpses and a sea of blood for two lifetimes.

     Do not hold grudges… do not hold grudges…

     “I don’t have any ambitions. Once I learn the spells well, it will be good if I can save more people if something happens…”

     This was the wish that Mo Ran had expressed to Chu Wanning when he was still young and his mind was clear.

     At that time, he had hoped very earnestly that more people would live.

     Before he fell and became Taxian-Jun, he was the type of person who loved every single beautiful living being so tenaciously and persistently that he was even willing to sacrifice his soul to express his gratitude and protect everyone who had treated him well.

     “Even though I’m stupid, I’ll try my best to learn. If I try my best, Shizun won’t blame me for being stupid, right? Haha.”

     In his memory, the youth scratched his head and smiled, showing such softness to Chu Wanning. At that time, his brilliant dimples seemed to be laden with pear blossom white, and from then on, his life was forever changed.

     Chu Wanning closed his eyes.

     His hands finally began to tremble.

     In the blur of dizziness, there seemed to be a cool breeze blowing across his face, kissing his wet eyelashes. He seemed to hear Taxian-Jun’s voice, which was a rare low and gentle tone that caressed his ears and sighed softly beside his temples:

     Renown, dreams, fresh blood, family, heart, soul, corpse, ashes.

     I’m sorry. I only had this much and have sacrificed it all.

     I tried my best.

     Wanning, you must be good to yourself.

     He suddenly opened his eyes and looked up. His phoenix eyes were already filled with tears, and in this profound emptiness, he really seemed to see Taxian-Jun’s soul floating in front of him, with a gentle and handsome expression and a smile filled with happiness and sorrow.

     “Mo… Ran…”

     The soul that should have been as pure as a winter’s plum emitted a bright radiance as he leaned over to embrace him, kiss him, and let the soul slip through his outstretched palm before it finally scattered in all directions like a Queen of the Night blossom in his arms.

     “Not good!!”

     Suddenly, someone from Tianyin Pavilion rushed in, shouting in a panic, “Not good!!”

     Mu Yanli was the only one in the room who could still be considered calm. She turned back with tears in her eyes and said sternly, “I know that something has happened to Taxian-Jun. Don’t—”

     “What?” The disciple was stunned, then stomped his foot in bewilderment and said, “It’s not Taxian-Jun! It's at the foot of the mountain! All the sects of the upper and lower cultivation worlds are approaching to attack together!!”