AUOF - 41

“She says that your eyes can die and regenerate, unheard of, and today I want to see it.”

Ji Hengyu flipped his palm, a strange blood-colored bead floating in his hand.

He flicked the bead with his sleeve, and it flew into his chest like an insect. In an instant, Shuang Mei’s face contorted as if in great pain, legs stiff, flailing in the refining water.

Then, Sang Li witnessed an incredibly shocking scene.

First, one arm separated from his shoulder, then the torso, head, identical in appearance but without hair or nails, bald and connected to him like a parasite.

Ji Hengyu was satisfied, revealing a slight smile.

He sat on the platform, one hand supporting his cheek, the other lazily beckoning, “This is the Heart-Eating Worm.” He paused, “To be precise, it’s a worm egg. Soon, countless Heart-Eating Worms will emerge, nibbling away at your heart bit by bit. Since you have two hearts, they should last a long time. If you’re not afraid of pain, that would be best.”

Ji Hengyu cast a Body-Freeze Spell on Shuang Mei; he couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, and could only watch as the worms hatched inside his chest, wrapping densely around his entire heart.

The pain quickly spread.

He vomited a mouthful of blood, red veins bursting in his eyes, making them look as if they were about to explode in terror.

For Shuang Mei, if one body suffered trauma, the other body would help share part of it; if both bodies were injured simultaneously, the pain naturally doubled.

He wasn’t afraid of death, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid of pain.

The Bone Imprisonment Chain buzzed, and the entire dungeon trembled with the sound of his limbs struggling.

Sang Li watched, sweating profusely, and plopped down onto the stool.

Ji Hengyu was already accustomed to such scenes. He brewed himself a cup of tea, seemingly asking Sang Li or perhaps addressing Shuang Mei: “What do you think, which heart will be eaten first?”

Sang Li couldn’t answer, only finding him terrifying.

Ji Hengyu sipped his light tea, watching the true form wither first, then a red glow emerged from his chest—his undying body attempting to save him.

Moments later, he gasped loudly, his withered eyes opening once again—

Ji Hengyu lifted the Silence Spell: “How did you sneak into Gui Xu, and how did you place Shu Si in the Long Mountain Illusion Forest?”

“Damn you, immortal! If you have the guts, kill me! Don’t even dream of getting information out of your grandpa!” Shuang Mei cursed him.

Ji Hengyu resealed his mouth and resumed the punishment.

Shuang Mei was indeed tough, showing no sign of submission to Ji Hengyu after two rounds, though his hatred deepened.

Ji Hengyu didn’t care whether he spoke or not. His fingers with distinct knuckles held the teacup, gently swirling the liquid within: “Sang Li.”

Sang Li looked over with a pale face.

He didn’t raise his eyes; the dim light in the water dungeon split his face, half in light, half in shadow.

“Can Shuang Mei survive if separated?”

“They... can survive...”

Shuang Mei was like conjoined twins; separating them meant becoming individuals. They could live, but the original benefits would disappear. For instance, one heart could no longer save another.

Realizing his intent, Shuang Mei shook his head desperately.

Separating them would be more painful than killing him outright.

Ji Hengyu aligned his five fingers, using his palm edge like a blade, slicing their two bodies apart directly down the middle.

Ji Hengyu levitated the severed body in front of him, “Do you want to watch yourself die?”

He controlled the speed of the Heart-Eating Worms consuming the heart. Shuang Mei glared with wide eyes, forced to watch the other half die right before him.

However, the next second, silver dust enveloped his residual soul, rewinding time. The dissipated body pieced itself back together, restoring to its original state before being devoured by the Heart-Eating Worms.

Shuang Mei wept, his expression clearly one of fear and astonishment.

Ji Hengyu spoke gently: “Although Di Qi severed my immortal marrow, I didn’t leave entirely empty-handed. For example… I inherited some of his ability to control the passage of time, allowing brief reversions of objects or life forms.”

The Heart-Eating Worms began a new round of consumption.

“You can endure this with me; I have plenty of energy to let you watch yourself die over and over again.”

Shuang Mei trembled all over, large traces of blood sliding down the corners of his mouth.

In his fury, he actually bit off his own tongue.

Sang Li’s fingers were cold, her intertwined fingertips trembling slightly.

She looked at Ji Hengyu.

The man’s posture was relaxed, his eyes emotionless.

Sang Li couldn’t help but suspect that Ji Hengyu had kept her there to make an example of her, as a warning.

After an unknown amount of time, Shuang Mei nodded in resignation.

Ji Hengyu lifted the Silence Spell, waiting quietly for him to speak.

He was still putting up a desperate resistance. Ji Hengyu wasn’t in a hurry to resume the torture, slowly asking, “Were you sent by the Yanjing Tower?”

Shuang Mei said: “Three hundred years ago, we followed the Yanjing Tower to the Unkind Prison to retrieve the Liu Flame Pearl from the prison eye. However, to obtain the Liu Flame Pearl, one must sacrifice the blood of a close person as an offering.”

Even as he spoke, Shuang Mei’s tone dripped with hatred. “That bastard from the Yanjing Tower… he killed our second brother. After we escaped the Unkind Prison, he used our eldest brother to evade pursuit by the gods. Our eldest brother sacrificed himself to save his subordinates and that’s how you immortals captured him! Neither your kind nor the Yanjing Tower is any good!”

Thinking back on those events, Shuang Mei became visibly enraged. “It doesn’t matter if I tell you. By the time my punishment is over, my eldest brother will have already fled Gui Xu.” He sneered. “On the day of the Heavenly Punishment, we took advantage of the chaos to sneak into Gui Xu. Luckily for us, all of Gui Xu’s disciples were sent to Huan Lang Peak, which gave us time to break the seal on the Abyss Prison. I am Shuang Mei, no different from any other person. You couldn’t track my movements, so I was the one who entered the Long Mountain Illusion Forest and placed the contaminated Shu Si inside. Then, during the ensuing chaos in Gui Xu, I helped my eldest brother escape.”

Ji Hengyu asked, “Where did you escape from?”

Shuang Mei replied, “The seabed.”

Ji Hengyu followed up: “Where did Fu Tianhou escape to?”

Shuang Mei clamped his mouth shut, refusing to say more.

Ji Hengyu closed his eyes briefly.

Shuang Mei struggled, shouting at him: “I’ve told you everything I know. If you want to kill me, then do it quickly and give me a clean death!”

Ji Hengyu opened his eyes and smiled. “Unfortunately, I’m not someone who likes to be decisive.” He continued, “Since Fu Tianhou is so loyal to his subordinates, he surely wouldn’t abandon you. I’ll hang your two bodies under the Demon-Sealing Stone of Gui Xu. If Fu Tianhou truly values your brotherhood, he won’t stand by and watch you die.”

He stood up, preparing to leave.

Shuang Mei froze in place. A moment later, the muscles around his mouth twitched, and he suddenly burst into wild laughter. “Hahahaha—! No wonder, no wonder the Yanjing Tower always said you weren’t much better than a demon god. Ji Hengyu, after seeing this today, I’m thoroughly convinced!!”

With that, his eyes filled with blood, and soon blood began flowing from his ears and nose, seeping out of every pore of his body. Within moments, his head slumped, and he stopped breathing.

This man had… forcibly severed his own spirit veins and died.

Sang Li collapsed weakly onto her seat.

Ji Hengyu’s eyelashes quivered slightly. Sang Li noticed his fingertips moving, as though he still intended to use that method again.

Coming to her senses, she mustered an unknown courage, grabbed his hand, and tremulously pleaded, “Enough… enough, Lord Ji… let it be.”

Ji Hengyu looked down at her, his eyes cold and detached.

Sang Li tightened her grip on his hand and summoned her courage to say, “He knew your abilities and still chose to seek death voluntarily, meaning he no longer fears your threats. Even if you tried again, he would still…” Her voice trailed off. “He would still die. No matter how many times you repeat it, the outcome will be the same. So why bother continuing…?”

Ji Hengyu remained silent and motionless, his gaze heavy and unreadable. Sang Li couldn’t decipher his emotions and found herself unable to continue speaking. She didn’t dare release her hold on his hands either.

She couldn’t determine who was right or wrong.

From Ji Hengyu’s perspective, demons who brought calamity upon the world deserved to die; he was merely carrying out his duty. But Shuang Mei had already received his due punishment. If even death wasn’t something one could choose…

Sang Li suddenly thought of herself. Compared to Shuang Mei, she wasn’t much better off either. A wave of inexplicable sorrow washed over her, and her grip on his hand slowly loosened.

Ji Hengyu quietly observed her face, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his voice fell heavily into the silence of the dungeon: “I let you stay behind to show you that if you’re ever caught, this will be your fate as well.”

Sang Li turned her head away, her mood sullen. “You don’t need to threaten me. I don’t have his courage, and even without your reminder, I already understand.”

“I meant…” Ji Hengyu knew she had misunderstood him. He furrowed his brow, then relaxed it, wanting to explain but finding his words trailing off into resignation. “Never mind.”

He sighed deeply, unwilling to say more, and continued walking toward the exit. “You’re about to descend the mountain for your training as a Demon-Subduing Guard. Use this opportunity to return to the Demon Realm. If you succeed in obtaining the blood of the Yanjing Tower, I’ll help you lift the Dual-Life Curse. If you fail, I’ll find another way.”

Ji Hengyu simply wanted to make Sang Li understand that since ancient times, immortals and demons could never coexist. Regardless of whether someone was good or evil, being captured meant enduring cruel torture.

Her success in the illusion last time had been sheer luck. Though she managed to deceive them, it also drew suspicion from Shen Zheyou. Coupled with the prison break incident, there was no guarantee Shen Zheyou wouldn’t keep an eye on her.

Now that she was about to become a Demon-Subduing Guard, her situation was far more precarious than before.

Ji Hengyu wouldn’t be by her side constantly as he had been in the past, nor could he falsify things for her again as he’d done last time.

He wanted her to see reality clearly—to understand that whether she followed the Yanjing Tower or stayed by his side, there would always be risks.

—Identity itself was a crisis.

But reflecting on it, perhaps there was no need to spell this out.

If he forced an explanation, it might seem like he was deliberately showing concern for her.

Ji Hengyu had long grown indifferent to being misunderstood. After thousands of years of misinterpretation, one more or less made no difference. It was best if, in Sang Li’s heart, he remained forever the villain.

Sang Li sat rigidly in place, slowly digesting his words.

Though she studied science in her previous life, her grasp of language was no less sharp. After going over his words twice, she understood what Ji Hengyu meant.

At first, she was surprised, then inexplicably delighted. She ran after him, blocking his path. “You’re telling me to be careful, aren’t you?”

Ji Hengyu flicked his eyelids.

Realizing she hadn’t guessed wrong, she felt an immense sense of relief and started hopping around happily. Her bright eyes sparkled like gemstones in the dimness. “Ji Hengyu, you care about me! You’re afraid I’ll be captured by others besides you, and you want me to be aware of the danger, right…?”

Before she could finish the word “right,” he abruptly clapped his hand over her mouth and slammed her forcefully against the thick dungeon door.

Sang Li’s breath caught, her back pressed against the cold surface. Her voice instantly died in her throat.