The immortal and demon realms joined forces, charging toward Mo Xuanli one after another.
Fu Zhiyi led people on the outer perimeter and glanced at Gu Baiqing. In the end, he still chose to confront the Primordial Demon that made them tremble with fear.
That was the legendary Primordial Demon, no longer the Mo Xuanli with whom they could speak of feelings.
Everyone was menacing, almost gathering all their power to deliver a fatal blow to the Primordial Demon.
But at this moment, Mo Xuanli seemed not to see those people at all. He stepped forward, and from beneath his feet spread black light and shadow. Wherever it reached, everyone seemed to move in slow motion, completely unable to exert strength. With a light wave of his arm, Mo Xuanli instantly swatted aside the group blocking his way as if brushing away flies.
Mo Xuanli strolled leisurely toward the direction where the fragrance was coming from. He had originally been dressed in white, but the thick demonic aura seemed to have dyed his white clothes black, with black flames constantly rolling along the edges. With each step, the oppressive force was overwhelming. Wherever he passed, everyone fell one after another under the pressure of the vast disparity in power; only those with profound cultivation could barely hold on.
Very unfortunately, He Jingyuan was precisely one of those who managed to hold on, and he just happened to be blocking Mo Xuanli’s path forward.
Mo Xuanli lowered his gaze and swept it over him, as if seeing a pile of dog sh*t on the road, ruining his mood.
He Jingyuan’s body was stiff. He could only look at Mo Xuanli in terror and anger, unable even to lift a hand, when suddenly a figure flew over. “Dad, ”
He Zixiao had not participated in the battle from the start and had stayed very far away, so he had not been affected by the Primordial Demon’s pressure. Now, seeing his father in danger, he naturally rushed out.
But in just an instant, he was fixed in midair by an invisible force.
Mo Xuanli’s dangerous eyes slowly shifted, like the scythe of the god of death descending bit by bit.
That was absolute, irresistible force, no one could stop it. It was as if the moment Mo Xuanli’s gaze moved onto He Zixiao, He Zixiao would be separated from his head.
At this moment, He Jingyuan finally panicked, finally regretted it, and shouted, “Mo Xuanli, please don’t kill him, kill me, kill me, don’t kill my son, I beg you!”
“I was wrong, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have forced you, I shouldn’t have been so stubborn and inflexible. I truly know I was wrong.”
“Mo Xuanli, kill me to take revenge. It was I who forced you into this, it was I who harmed you.”
He Jingyuan cried and begged and regretted. How much of it was sincere was unknown, but at this moment his collapsing emotions were real.
How many people present, at the moment they saw Mo Xuanli turn into the Primordial Demon, felt a sense of vindication, thinking, see, we weren’t wrong, this person was bound to become the Primordial Demon. Protecting him was foolish.
But now, listening to He Jingyuan’s words, they suddenly felt that if they had not pressed him so hard, would Mo Xuanli still have been that radiant youth at the Immortal Sect Assembly, that white-robed genius who would desperately fight for them when the demon race invaded. At least within their lifetimes, would he perhaps not have changed at all? Maybe the Primordial Demon should not have awakened so early.
What use was it that they had proven anything, just like a group of people surrounding someone holding a sharp blade, pointing at him and saying you will definitely kill someone. Even if that person never intended to draw the blade, they kept pointing and saying you will kill, even going forward to provoke him, until finally forcing him to kill, and then lifting their brows in triumph and saying, see, we were right after all. What was the meaning of doing this? In the end, was it the one holding the blade who was wrong, or the ones who induced him to kill?
And now that they had grabbed onto this, what use was it? Could they deal with it? When even the God-Slaying Sword couldn’t handle it, what exactly were they jumping about for? What were they struggling for?
Yet there were still people unwilling to acknowledge that they had caused this situation. Sect Master Baili directly shouted, “He Jingyuan, why are you begging him? He’s already the Primordial Demon! I said long ago we should have killed Mo Xuanli earlier!”
Such a voice had initially sounded like a warning in everyone’s ears, but now it was like a death knell, hearing such words only made people feel irritated.
Jingzhan and Jingcheng couldn’t even move to cover Sect Master Baili’s mouth.
As a result, in just a flash of light, Sect Master Baili was sucked in front of Mo Xuanli.
Mo Xuanli no longer paid attention to He Zixiao, but instead looked at Sect Master Baili and He Jingyuan with calm leisure.
Sect Master Baili was suspended in midair, as if his neck were being strangled. “Wretched spawn, what are you trying to do?”
Mo Xuanli suddenly put on an expression of sudden realization. “So that’s why I suddenly woke up. Turns out it was thanks to your help.” Originally, only at the instant the main body demonized and lost control would there be a slight awakening.
“You… what did you say?” Sect Master Baili’s face stiffened.
Mo Xuanli seemed to retrieve certain memory fragments, a smug smile appearing on his face. “He originally refused to awaken his power. It was you who made him give up suppressing it. After all, if the main body actively suppressed it, I would never be able to wake up. You did very well, forcing him onto a dead end and giving me the opportunity. I really should thank you properly.”
As soon as these words fell, everyone was utterly shocked. So… so… Mo Xuanli really could have avoided demonization, really could have kept the Primordial Demon from emerging.
They… what had they done?
The people of the Hidden Gods Clan also looked grim. Their ancestral precepts told them to exterminate completely, but they had never said that this could truly be entirely decided by individual will. But then again, no one was a worm in another’s stomach, who could guarantee that a person’s will would never change?
At the instant Sect Master Baili heard this, his face turned livid, as if he had been slapped dozens of times in humiliation. “You’re talking nonsense. You were born a bad seed, turning demon is your own doing and now you’re finding excuses, you…”
“Back then, if you hadn’t targeted him, but instead persuaded your own younger brother and protected his wife and child, then the immortal–demon war would have been your victory. The Demon Venerable wouldn’t have been a match for you brothers joining forces, and your younger brother wouldn’t have died.” Mo Xuanli slowly pierced the truth as he recalled it, and for Sect Master Baili, his younger brother’s death was forever the most painful point. “Then I would have had even less chance to come out. Many thanks to you.”
Sect Master Baili finally couldn’t withstand such humiliation, struggling in fury. “You’re talking nonsense, you’re talking nonsense…”
Mo Xuanli, however, sneered disdainfully, his expression arrogant, with not a trace of his former respectful gentleness. “Enough. You helped me awaken, so I’ll reward you.”
Mo Xuanli raised a finger through the air and lightly flicked it. Sect Master Baili and He Jingyuan were both sent tumbling away. Immediately after, Mo Xuanli took a deep breath, the ground began to shift, and black patterns that had originally been present gradually surfaced. Seeing this scene, everyone’s faces filled with despair.
The demon-summoning array was reawakened with Mo Xuanli’s breath.
And this time, the demon-summoning array seemed different. It was targeted solely at those who had already shown signs of demonization, granting them the opportunity to directly demonize and advance into high-level demons.
And ironically, those people were precisely the ones who had been obsessively targeting Mo Xuanli back then, or whose nature had been flawed to begin with.
This was the reward Mo Xuanli gave those people. Of course, rewarding them by letting them become demons was only because the Primordial Demon thought demons were relatively better, so it counted as a reward. It didn’t mean that on a whim he wouldn’t wipe them all out, after all, those demons weren’t truly his kin either, just the slightly closer ants descended from them. And it seemed that this group of ants he had raised himself was no longer very obedient.
And the people who were forced to demonize were instantly plunged into extreme agony. Sect Master Baili and He Jingyuan almost completely demonized in no time at all, and this time there was no chance of redemption whatsoever. The sect disciples surrounding them were utterly stunned. This… this was beyond saving…
After demonization, their temperaments changed drastically as well. They went mad, still wanting to attack Mo Xuanli, yet were completely unable to approach the area paved by his demonic aura. They then turned frenziedly to attack those who tried to get close to them, like rabid dogs that had lost all reason.
For a moment, even without Mo Xuanli suppressing them, the cultivation world descended into chaos, slaughtering one another. As for the demon race, faced with such absolute power, they trembled in fear and lost all will to fight.
And Mo Xuanli continued heading in Gu Baiqing’s direction.
At the same time, Three Bean had already rushed out ahead with Ao Heng, leaping to Gu Baiqing’s side and saying worriedly, “Master, what should we do, Xuanli right now is so scary. We need to hurry and turn him back… will they kill Xuanli later?”
Facing the Primordial Demon’s aura, Three Bean had already been frightened into instinctively bristling.
“They can’t kill him…” Ao Heng said, but his expression was anxious. “But he will kill all of us, because there is no opponent for him here. The only thing that might catch his eye is probably the God-Slaying Sword. He should be coming for the God-Slaying Sword. But judging from his performance just now, he doesn’t seem like a true Primordial Demon.” A true Primordial Demon wouldn’t waste words with people; this one clearly still carried a trace of human emotion.
“Sure enough, fully evolving into the Primordial Demon requires a process. He should be in an intermediate, unstable state right now. There might still be a chance to awaken him.” Ao Heng frowned.
“It’s over, this is really over now.” Half-Step Mad supported Gu Baiqing from the side, anxiously muttering. “Gu Baiqing, is there any way to have the best of both worlds? Otherwise I’ll have to think of something… we have to… preserve this world.”
Otherwise the world would collapse once again.
Gu Baiqing suddenly asked Half-Step Mad, “What will happen if your mission fails?”
Half-Step Mad froze, then said firmly, “Failure is failure. If we can have the best of both worlds, that would be ideal.” His sons, he didn’t want to sacrifice a single one of them.
Gu Baiqing said to Half-Step Mad, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what the outcome will be either, but we have no choice but to gamble.”
Someone will help us. One round will decide everyone’s life and death.
Li Xiuran didn’t know what they were talking about. He set Gu Baiqing down and, gripping the God-Slaying Sword, was about to get up, but Gu Baiqing grabbed him.
Li Xiuran turned back and said firmly, “Big Brother Gu, I’m not trying to kill him. I just want to save him. He shouldn’t be like this, and he doesn’t want to become like this either. Maybe only by injuring him or trapping him will there be a chance for him to recover. If… if I can do it.” Facing such a powerhouse, even Li Xiuran, who had been enhanced by the ancient god within the Demon God Crystal, didn’t dare to speak in absolutes. For the sake of the world, for the sake of his brother, he could only give it his all.
“Li Xiuran, can I trust you?” Gu Baiqing suddenly said seriously.
Li Xiuran was startled, then suddenly became a little angry. “Big Brother Gu, I truly regard Mo Xuanli as my brother, I…”
Suddenly Gu Baiqing raised his hand and touched Li Xiuran’s eyes.
Three Bean and Ao Heng beside them both shook.
Li Xiuran looked at Gu Baiqing in astonishment, and Gu Baiqing said, “Use your spiritual power. Look at me!”
Li Xiuran instinctively did as told. In that instant, his pupils contracted as he stared at Gu Baiqing in disbelief.
Gu Baiqing also looked at Li Xiuran nervously, until Li Xiuran, wide-eyed from tension and shock, finally nodded firmly.
Gu Baiqing turned to look at Ao Heng. Ao Heng stared at Gu Baiqing in shock, not expecting him to have such an idea. But at this moment, he chose to trust Gu Baiqing, and nodded in understanding. Though nothing could be read from the dragon head’s expression, it seemed to reveal a trace of wild arrogance. He then communicated with Three Bean using spiritual sense.
Three Bean looked at Gu Baiqing in panic. Gu Baiqing patted Three Bean’s head, then stood up and was about to rush toward Mo Xuanli.
And at this time, Mo Xuanli was also heading in their direction. On the ground, Xuanyue watched all this with excitement in her heart. Being able to see Mo Xuanli slaughter the people he cared about before dying, even if she couldn’t witness the destruction of the world, was enough for this lifetime.
And at the instant Gu Baiqing gathered all his spiritual power with Morning Snow, drawing down heavenly lightning to strike Mo Xuanli, everyone watched this scene, hoping it would have some effect.
They only saw the heavenly lightning descend with the might to split heaven and earth. The enormous power even affected the demon-summoning array, yet it failed to detain that black figure.
No one had ever been faster than the speed of heavenly lightning. Not only the onlookers, even Gu Baiqing himself was shocked. So this was the true power of the Primordial Demon. All the ultimate techniques they took pride in were child’s play before the Primordial Demon.
Gu Baiqing didn’t even have time to react before his raised pale wrist was seized.
A familiar aura pressed close to his body, yet carried an unfamiliar sense of oppression.
Gu Baiqing stared wide-eyed at the disciple who suddenly flashed before him, truly feeling both unfamiliar and familiar.
What was unfamiliar was the way he looked at him, carrying curious scrutiny and strange desire. What was familiar was this body, and the warmth and aura it brought.
Gu Baiqing’s face was somewhat pale. He raised his other hand, wanting to press it against Mo Xuanli’s neck and enter his sea of consciousness, but felt blocked by some kind of barrier.
Gu Baiqing’s expression turned extremely ugly as he was about to force his way in.
Suddenly, Gu Baiqing felt his waist tighten. Mo Xuanli didn’t dodge; instead, he wrapped one arm around Gu Baiqing.
Gu Baiqing froze. Then he felt a wet, soft tongue slide from his neck all the way up to his cheek, like a hunter taking the first taste of newly caught prey.
Then came a satisfied inhalation. “As expected, so fragrant.”
Gu Baiqing’s brain completely crashed. Wait! What was going on?
Before Gu Baiqing could react, behind him Li Xiuran charged over with his sword.
But Mo Xuanli directly held Gu Baiqing and turned, then licked another circle around the other side of his neck. And this time, Gu Baiqing felt as if he had been numbed by some drug, his entire body no longer able to move.
And Mo Xuanli’s attention was completely drawn to Gu Baiqing. He didn’t care about Li Xiuran or the God-Slaying Sword at all. With just a wave of his hand, he trapped Li Xiuran.
Only then did everyone react, what Mo Xuanli had been wary of before was not the God-Slaying Sword at all. Coming over here was merely following Gu Baiqing.
And with this strange posture, was he trying to eat Gu Baiqing, or was he trying to “eat” Gu Baiqing?
Such an ambiguous posture was completely unlike someone about to kill. Wasn’t it said that the Primordial Demon only possessed the primal negative energy of destroying everything?
And such a Mo Xuanli naturally also stimulated Xuanyue, who had been preparing to watch the show before calmly going to her death.
Xuanyue almost exhausted her last bit of strength to unleash powerful demonic qi to attack Mo Xuanli and Gu Baiqing.
Because she was a hybrid, the demonic qi she released would naturally attract Mo Xuanli. Although such an attack was completely useless, being repeatedly disturbed made Mo Xuanli feel irritated, and he turned his head to look over.
Xuanyue was almost like a dying beast, roaring unwillingly, “Are you still the Primordial Demon? What are you doing? You should destroy everyone here, you should…”
Mo Xuanli, however, slightly narrowed his eyes, as if remembering something again. He raised his hand, and a pillar of light lit up beneath Xuanyue. Xuanyue thought Mo Xuanli was about to kill her, and sneered, “Fine, killing me is the first step. See how hypocritical and boring this world is. Hurry up and do it.”
But as the formation pattern formed by the pillar of light appeared, Xuanyue’s expression suddenly changed.
That was the Reincarnation Array!
“No… don’t!” Xuanyue reacted instantly, wanting to break free, but it was already too late. She looked up at Mo Xuanli, and only saw cold, emotionless eyes. In an instant, her pupils rolled back, and her entire body entered a meditative state, sinking into the array.
Immediately, one could see Xuanyue’s expression changing rapidly, as if she were experiencing extreme suffering. Tears continuously slid down her face, and at the edge there was indeed a counter, steadily climbing upward.
Gu Baiqing looked at everything in shock, and heard Mo Xuanli’s extremely indifferent voice by his ear: “She also helped me awaken, so I reward her, give her training. Since her bloodline is close, she might be able to evolve. If she’s trash, then let her die.”
Gu Baiqing turned to look at Mo Xuanli’s merciless smile and said in a trembling voice, “You… since you can remember so many things, do you still remember me?”
Mo Xuanli slowly looked at Gu Baiqing, gave a light laugh, and said, “Of course I remember. My good Master.”
Gu Baiqing’s face turned green.
Mo Xuanli leaned close to Gu Baiqing’s ear and said, “The good Master who killed me nine hundred and ninety-nine times. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to awaken. You are my great benefactor, I have to think about how to repay you.”
Gu Baiqing’s heart was completely carved to pieces.
Although he already roughly knew and understood that within the Reincarnation Array, the illusion must have transformed into his own appearance, constantly betraying and killing Little Mo Dog, which caused his later conditioned reflex, but nine hundred and ninety-nine times, Mo Xuanli never chose to commit suicide, instead being continuously killed by the illusion, because he still wanted to find a chance to get out. In endless harm, Little Mo Dog had actually gone mad long ago, only repeatedly trying to trust his Master again.
After finally being rescued, the Reincarnation Array, however, displayed one thousand times. No one knew whether Xuanyue had tampered with it, making Mo Xuanli mistakenly believe that there was still a thousandth time he hadn’t passed, resulting in the current situation.
All of this was really too…
Suddenly, the corner of his eye grew hot, and Gu Baiqing came back to his senses.
“Why are even your tears so sweet? Why are you crying? I didn’t say I would kill you right away. Afraid?” Mo Xuanli’s unfamiliar voice sounded. Suddenly, Mo Xuanli’s tone changed, and he laughed, saying, “I remember now, you’re not only my Master, you’re also… my dao companion!”
As his words shifted, Gu Baiqing felt the body holding him tighten. In the blink of an eye, heaven and earth changed appearance.
When Gu Baiqing landed on the bed, he felt that everything before his eyes was extremely familiar, it was actually… Luofeng Pavilion of Zixiao Sect.
But everything also appeared incomparably strange. The scenery outside the window was blurry, and nothing looked like the real world.
As if it were… an independently opened space.
Gu Baiqing tried to sense the spirit beast contract, but there was nothing. Could it really be an independent space?
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