AUOF - 151

Sang Li quietly listened to all of it. “You knew I would come?”

His smile held an elusive depth. “Guess?”

Sang Li fell silent.

She had a head full of questions, but from Di Qi’s current demeanor, he probably wouldn’t tell her everything. After a moment of contemplation, Sang Li asked again, “Who is the Destroyer?”

Di Qi countered, “Who did you see in the Spirit-Gathering Box?”

Who did she see...?

Sang Li lowered her gaze, deep in thought. In the illusion, the world was overturned, and everything devolved into chaos. Only one shadow stood high above, looking down with cold disdain.

Sang Li suddenly grasped something, and her sea of consciousness instantly cleared. “I know him?!”

Di Qi’s lack of an answer was, in Sang Li’s eyes, an affirmation.

Her thoughts were still a messy tangle. Sang Li pressed her temples hard to calm herself, then closed her eyes to concentrate on organizing the clues. “Is it the person who arrived here before us?” Sang Li quickly shook her head, denying it. “That’s not right either.”

She didn’t know who had come to Longzhong, nor could she be sure if she knew him.

But the only close acquaintances she had were a few people; Yue Zhu, Qing Si, Tu, and the others could be ruled out first.

Who else could it be?

Di Qi waited patiently for her to utter that name. He wasn’t in a hurry; he was already confident.

It was then that a name surfaced.

Sang Li’s pupils constricted. She opened her mouth, then tentatively spoke, “Ji... Hengyu?”

She wanted to glean something from his expression, but Di Qi must have already known. His lack of rebuttal was an affirmation. He looked straight ahead: “Beyond this door is the Washing Pool. Once immortal bones are cleansed, one completely transforms into a fallen demon.”

Sang Li followed his gaze.

At the end of the room, a mysterious door appeared out of thin air—somber, oppressive. A single glance made Sang Li inexplicably gasp for breath.

“He already obtained the demonic pill and demonic bone from Yan Jinglou beforehand, so it will be easier for him.”

Sang Li became even more confused.

Yan Jinglou?

So Ji Hengyu had already killed Yan Jinglou and obtained these items a long time ago? He had been planning this for a while?

But why?

Sang Li couldn’t understand.

In her view, Ji Hengyu was the Immortal Venerable of Guixu. He adhered to his identity, suppressing the Guixu Sea single-handedly for three thousand years. Even in the original plot, Ji Hengyu never thought of releasing these demons to wreak havoc; in the end, his revenge was only directed at the Divine Realm.

Sang Li quickly refuted Di Qi. “No, Ji Hengyu wouldn’t do that.”

Di Qi chuckled softly. “Whether it is or isn’t, you’ll know once you go through.” He said, “However, life and death in this world are in your hands. You are the last key I left in the mortal realm, and the only chain that can restrain Ji Hengyu. Now... I will give you my remaining divine power. You will know how to use it.”

Before Sang Li could grasp the situation, the illusion before her suddenly vanished.

The next moment, the Spirit-Gathering Box behind her rushed into her chest. The immense impact made her stagger. She tightly clutched her chest; there seemed to be a dense ball of fire burning within. Then, her spiritual sea opened, and thousands of spiritual energies poured in like a flood. Her body temporarily couldn’t bear such heavy spiritual energy. Sang Li closed her eyes and fell into a brief晕厥.

Her sea of consciousness felt like it was about to explode, pulling with it a throbbing, suffocating pain in her temples.

Fortunately, this pain lasted for only a breath. When she opened her eyes again, the surroundings were so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Sang Li breathed rapidly, vaguely touching her chest.

She didn’t understand the meaning of Di Qi’s words, nor did she even fully grasp what he had specifically left behind. Her body didn’t seem to have changed at all.

Sang Li temporarily pushed this matter to the back of her mind, looking at the door suspended not far away, her gaze gradually firming.

She ran over and pushed it open.

Behind the dark iron door was like a void, the sky and earth dim and empty. Silver-white stairs led downwards, and at the very bottom, a water mirror hung.

The water mirror was clear, its surface rippling like a lake.

A person stood before it, their back long and upright, standing motionless before the water mirror, their back inexplicably exuding a sense of loneliness.

It really was Ji Hengyu...

Sang Li’s heart pounded. She descended the steps, and through the reflection in the water mirror, Sang Li saw another appearance of Ji Hengyu.

The person was draped in ghostly flame scales, a demonic mark burned on their forehead, their expression devoid of sorrow or compassion.

Blazing flames entwined around him; he was within them, utterly devoid of divinity.

Sang Li incredulously covered her mouth.

This appearance suddenly merged with the scene she had witnessed in the Spirit-Gathering Box. In an instant, the color drained from her face, her legs went weak, and she nearly lost her footing.

Ji Hengyu seemed not to have noticed her, raising his hand to touch the Washing Pool.

“Ji Hengyu!”

Sang Li snapped back to her senses, crying out sharply. His raised fingertip immediately froze.

Ji Hengyu slightly turned, his peripheral gaze dismissive of the shock on her face.

Sang Li still refused to believe. “Are you truly going to become a demon?” Could it be that Di Qi hadn’t lied to her, and Ji Hengyu was indeed the Destroyer?

But why?

Sang Li couldn’t find the answer, her brows furrowed with deep confusion and unease.

“I am in a dead end, heaven does not tolerate me, and even the Dao has abandoned me. As things stand, I have no way out.” Ji Hengyu calmly finished speaking. “Sang Sang, you won’t blame me, right?”

No, no...

Thinking of all she had seen before, of the dead beings and countless tragic scenes, a violent wave of grief wrenched her stomach, making her feel nauseous.

Sang Li quickly regained her composure, desperately suppressing the surging emotions in her chest, still maintaining a calm demeanor: “Ji Hengyu, you can’t go in... That’s the Washing Pool. Once you enter, you won’t be able to turn back.” Sang Li cautiously tried to persuade him, “Let’s go out now and find a way to get the Sword Jade back, okay?”

“Don’t you understand?” Ji Hengyu smiled. “There is no Sword Jade at all.”

Sang Li was startled.

Ji Hengyu turned around, his gaze piercing, his clear voice echoing in the emptiness, “The Jade of Death is the Sword of Salvation.” He looked into Sang Li’s eyes, questioning her word by word, “Who is the Jade of Death, and who is the Sword of Salvation?”

Sang Li suddenly understood.

Her body instantly stiffened, her face pale, staring blankly at Ji Hengyu. Unbeknownst to her, tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.

She didn’t wipe them away, like a puppet, her limbs having lost the ability to move.

“My initial goal was the Washing Pool, but I didn’t want to go against your wishes, so I thought it best to let nature take its course; it’s better if you found out later.” Ji Hengyu stroked the reflection in the water mirror from a distance. “Sang Sang, as long as I go in, I can live and stay with you.”

Sang Li’s eyes flickered, and she murmured to herself, “Are you doing this... for me?”

As if hearing something amusing, Ji Hengyu couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “Saying it’s for someone else is just a nice excuse to seek something for oneself. I, Ji Hengyu, never make excuses for myself, and I certainly won’t let you bear the infamy of this lifetime for me.” His smile faded, his gaze fixed on her. “Everything I do is only for myself.”

“No--!” Her reason shattered. She hissed in protest, throwing herself forward to grasp Ji Hengyu’s wide sleeve, her hands sliding down to tightly clasp his large palm. “But I don’t want you to become like that, and I don’t want the world’s creatures to suffer. Let’s go retrieve the Sword Jade; there must be another way, okay? There must be.”

Ji Hengyu looked down at her. Faced with Sang Li’s tear-streaked and helpless face, he for the first time did not offer comfort, instead saying calmly, “There isn’t.”

Sang Li was stunned.

Ji Hengyu’s fingertip wiped away her tears, his tone gentle: “Sang Sang, there isn’t.”

Ji Hengyu then took Sang Li’s wrist, pulled her to his side, forcing her to stand with him, facing the Washing Pool, making her look at her own reflection becoming a fallen demon.

Ji Hengyu looked directly into the mirror and said to Sang Li, “For three thousand years, I suppressed Guixu with my own demon-slaying blood. I’ve been depleted to the point of exhaustion. The only two outcomes awaiting me are: one, karmic retribution, descending into an evil spirit; two, submitting to the Divine Realm, becoming a Heavenly Suppressing Spirit Stone.”

His voice was close to her ear. Sang Li’s shoulders trembled; she couldn’t speak, and her tears fell even more fiercely.

Ji Hengyu continued, “But Sang Sang, I’m not reconciled.”

“I climbed step by step from the abyss of Guixu to the Ninth Heaven’s peak. When I drew the Queshie Chilio sword, my sole thought was to secure righteousness for all beings. I wanted to use the sword in my hand to make the gods in the Purple霄 Palace look up to me! I believed that with enough strength, I could leave Guixu and change the fate of the Kui tribe. But what was the result? The result was that I could only be eternally bound to the Guixu Sea by that invisible Soul-Binding Chain, just like my father’s tribe.”

“And I don’t want to truly be like my father’s tribe, I don’t want to die early and leave my beloved alone in the mortal world. Sang Sang, those years in Zhuxi Village were the happiest time of my life. I just wanted... I just wanted to live, to live like a mortal, guarding a humble home, a single oil lamp, and sleeping until dawn with you.”

He finally said—

“Sang Sang, I have no way out, and no way back.”

Sang Li’s face was pale, cold tears soaking her cheeks.

She held Ji Hengyu’s hand tightly, refusing to let go, and whispered hoarsely, “...I don’t want you to become a demon.”

“Then I will die.”

She lowered her head, stubbornly: “I don’t want you to die either...”

Ji Hengyu fell silent.

He gazed deeply at the rather disheveled Sang Li, who was crying. “Sang Li, the world isn’t about getting whatever you want. There’s never been such a good thing under heaven.” Ji Hengyu slowly pushed her hand away, pointing at the Washing Pool. “I’ll give you one last chance. If you say no one more time, I’ll turn around and leave with you.”

Sang Li turned to look at the Washing Pool.

The Washing Pool couldn’t reflect her current appearance, only Ji Hengyu standing alone in the thick mist.

Was this what Di Qi meant by... the chance to restrain him?

But how should she choose? After witnessing that fiery hell, she couldn’t disregard the living beings of the Six Realms; nor could she heartlessly abandon Ji Hengyu.

How to choose? How to choose.

Ji Hengyu saw her dilemma, lowered his hand, and gave a self-deprecating smile: “Just think of me as a coward who fears death.”

With that, he retreated step by step, then finally looked at Sang Li one last time, spread his arms, and unhesitatingly plunged into the Washing Pool, completely merging with the reflection within.

Instantly, Sang Li lost all strength, collapsing to the ground.