Chapter 64: The King of Hell’s Wedding
Jian Yuntai had never seen Cui Yu display such an expression—fragility wrapped in the haze of being utterly devastated by Jian Yuntai’s coldness. The crimson stain at the corner of his lips as he lowered his gaze, the single tear at the edge of his eye… every detail of his look was shattered, exhausted by suffering.
The relentless questioning, filled with unwillingness, seemed to fling his blood and tears mercilessly into the dirt.
“…………” The palace front fell into a deathly silence.
The ghost officials trembled as they knelt, as if an invisible hand had clamped their throats. The oppressive quiet made everyone feel suffocated, and none dared to raise their heads.
The longer Jian Yuntai remained silent, the sadder Cui Yu became. He shook his head through tears, as if unwilling to believe.
“The blood didn’t merge for some other reason.” His blood-stained lips curved into a stiff, faint smile. Though Cui Yu was smiling, he was surrounded by a sense of bloody, broken fragmentation.
His voice hoarse, he repeated over and over: “I only trust you. You tell me—just say it—and I’ll believe you.”
“…” Jian Yuntai’s face went pale, lips slightly parted.
Cui Yu stared unblinking, his pale eyes full of expectation. It was as if a single word could lift him to the clouds—or cast him into an abyss.
But the greater the hope, the sharper the disappointment. Soon, the expectations in his heart shattered, and his entire being plunged into a deep abyss, bearing the bone-chilling cold at the bottom.
Everything blurred. Cui Yu, grievously injured and weeping, could barely discern Jian Yuntai’s expression, yet the latter’s words still reached his ears on the cold wind:
“I don’t want to lie to you.”
It was as if all his strength had drained in that instant. That simple sentence sentenced him to death.
“? What happened to the so-called celestial love?” The new and old viewers in the livestream were already crying dumbfounded. “Why is it so cruel?!”
“So the trending keywords on Weibo were intentionally ironic to trick me into coming! That white-haired beauty is just too empathetic. I saw him cry and couldn’t help but cry too, sobbing with him…”
“Actually, not wanting to deceive proves Jian Dadan really had true feelings. If he didn’t, he would have just babbled nonsense. Remember the start of this instance? Out of ten sentences, nine were complete fabrications in front of Cui Yu.”
“My vision went black. I knew shipping an NPC and a player would end badly. Why didn’t I believe it?”
“Jian Dadan is about to exit the instance. Wuwuwu, just lie to Cui Yu! Even a lie is better than the truth! Otherwise, how could Cui Yu survive the rest of his life, sob sob sob…”
Rustling—
The shattered vital blood rose with the wind, suddenly flying toward Yan Luo, hovering in his left palm.
A beam of light shot up from afar, and the Record of Soul Contracts descended into Yan Luo’s right palm.
“I’ll give you a choice.” Yan Luo looked at Jian Yuntai, the smile on his face deepening slowly. Each word he spoke seemed to widen the astonishment in the eyes of the surrounding ghost officials. “If I destroy this vital blood immediately, Cui Yu dies. After all, he’s my brother—how could I bear to see him die before my eyes? So… I’ll give you a choice.”
Jian Yuntai’s face tightened as he looked at Yan Luo, then glanced back at Cui Yu. From his blood-stained lips, he could barely make out two words: “No.”
Before Jian Yuntai could react, Yan Luo seemed unwilling to allow any exchange between the two, speaking rapidly: “Jian Yuntai! Come over and alter the Record of Soul Contracts with me. I’ll spare Cui Yu. If you don’t come…”
He abruptly clenched his fingers.
The vital blood’s rotation accelerated, as if being roasted from below, shooting up in a surge of blood energy. Meanwhile, Cui Yu seemed to suffer excruciating pain for no reason, letting out inhuman screams from deep in his throat.
Jian Yuntai’s face changed drastically: “Yan Luo, stop!”
Sure enough, Yan Luo released his fingers, smiling brightly. “Well? Have you decided? I’m not interested in your matters with Cui Yu. I don’t care whether your heart moved for him. I only know he truly loved you—and that’s enough.”
Tilting his head toward Cui Yu, Yan Luo’s eyes darkened with fury. His crimson eyes smiled cruelly: “Cui Yu, when you killed Yan Xiang back then, did you ever consider me? You didn’t! So now, I’ll let you taste the loss of true love. I want you to watch as I marry the one you love most and steal away the fate that belonged to you!”
“…”
“…”
Absolute silence.
Cui Yu’s gaze never left Jian Yuntai’s back. Once the vital blood was released, he finally found enough strength to breathe. He propped himself up with difficulty, staggering toward the edge of the barrier, falling heavily multiple times along the way.
From that spot, Jian Yuntai could see him with just a glance back—but he never once turned.
“…………”
The wind howled, long and drawn out. Though they were in the old immortal palace, it felt like standing in a vast graveyard: sky black, earth black. Even hearts felt black.
Livestream viewers, seeing this, cried until their eyes swelled, panicked and desperate:
“Yan Xiang wasn’t killed by Cui Yu! That wretched Yan Luo, no matter what he says, I don’t believe him. If he can’t have happiness, he’ll destroy Cui Yu’s. It’s just like when he was a child in the Immortal Canon—knowing he was weaker than Cui Yu, he replaced Cui Yu’s spiritual flower seeds with stones, making him slower.”
“You can see this person’s character from childhood—flawed roots, rotten from the start!”
“Wuwuwu, I can’t bear to see Cui Yu, the beautiful one, drenched in blood, tears in his eyes. My god, the last time Moon Goddess died, he didn’t make me this heartbroken.”
“Jian Yuntai, I beg you! Just look back at him! You’re about to finish the instance! I can understand not having feelings, given your identity. I can understand not wanting to deceive Cui Yu—but can’t you just look back? For him, your leaving is a separation by life and death, sob sob sob…”
Amid the viewers’ frantic urging, Jian Yuntai’s consciousness had already ascended to a higher level.
From the moment he said, “I don’t want to lie to you,” until now, he ignored Cui Yu completely. Though he felt some pity, he forced himself to continue.
The instance’s background prompts sounded repeatedly in his ears:
【Player Jian Yuntai】
【You have successfully cleared King of Hell’s Wedding】
【Calculating instance rewards—】
【Your original remaining survival time: 4 days. Triggering side quests rewarded 3 additional days. Completion of step1: Consummate the marriage, step2: Three Taboos of Yin Officials: Do Not Speak of the Past, step3: Three Taboos of Yin Officials: Do Not Speak of Treasures, step4: Three Taboos of Yin Officials: Do Not Speak of Weakness. Total survival time reward: 60 days.】
【Your current remaining survival time: 67 days 02 hours 12 minutes.】
【Calculating additional instance rewards—】
There was no time to waste. He had to act fast.
Jian Yuntai’s heartbeat pounded violently, the ‘thump thump thump’ echoing like thunder in his ears.
He could not accept finishing the instance like this.
The main objective—the political elite’s son Sun Bin—had not been rescued. His roommates and colleagues remained trapped. And Cui Yu… Cui Yu would remain imprisoned in the dark, sunless Chenyue Palace, just after Jian Yuntai had “cleared” his childhood shadows, only to become the next abuser himself.
To leave this instance alone in style would not be a victory.
It would be a defeat, followed by a humiliating escape.
Could he give up the 63 extra days of survival time?
Yes.
Why not?
If Jian Yuntai could sacrifice completing the side quests for Cui Yu, he could also sacrifice these 63 days. Money and time may return, but he must remain true to his own heart.
And his intention was clear—
He must loop. He must loop again.
He could not tolerate pushing Cui Yu into the abyss, especially under such forced circumstances.
In a situation so close to completing the instance, how could he actively enter the instance’s cycle?
Jian Yuntai’s mind spun at lightning speed. His expression flickered like unsettled weather, and his heartbeat quickened with each passing second.
Think—quickly!
There was almost no time left!
※※※
In the main hall of King of Hell, no one even bothered to eat. Everyone had gathered outside the hall, staring at the towering beam of light in the distance.
“What the hell is that?!”
“It’s the Record of Soul Contracts. Only the Record could generate such a display. I just saw all the Ten Halls imps heading that way. Yan Luo must be over there too.”
“Where exactly is that?”
He Qingzhou immediately grabbed a ghost official to ask.
The ghost official’s face had turned deathly pale. He stared blankly at the distance, murmuring, “That’s the Kong Cave!”
Kong Cave?
Jian Yuntai had mentioned the Kong Cave before, saying that it was Cui Yu’s weakness. That meant Cui Yu had to be there!
“What exactly happened?” The players exchanged anxious glances, all recalling the horrors of the last run. Everyone had nearly failed to enter the instance’s loop.
Compared to last time, the terror was far worse. At least before, they could stay on site and see what was happening. This time, they had been thrown outside the storm’s center by the Boss. All they could do was speculate in panic.
“Cui Yu isn’t trying to stage a palace coup again, is he?”
“What if King of Hell dies? If he dies, what will happen to us? I’m not ready to die yet!”
“Don’t say nonsense. Jian Yuntai is part of the Livestream Team. With the Alliance backing them, there’s no way they’d abandon ordinary people like us.”
Amid the whispers, the players seemed determined to believe Jian Yuntai wouldn’t go too far. Only the livestreamers looked pale, their exchanged glances grim.
One livestreamer immediately collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain: “Ahhh, it’s over! I already heard that Jian Yuntai would be in this instance. I even asked ahead. His mental state is extremely unstable, and his crime rating is very high!”
“???” The players froze.
Crime rating—this was a rare term, usually only applied to Zhao’an Team members. And mental stability? That was unheard of. One of the basic requirements for joining the Livestream Team was an exceptionally stable mind!
How could this be happening?!
As everyone stared in fear, another livestreamer finally spoke up: “I’ve been meaning to tell you. You’ve been stuck in the instance for two or three months and don’t understand. Jian Yuntai transferred from the Xiang’an Team to Zhao’an Team just last month.”
“Yes, that’s right. The Xiang’an Team—the very Xiang’an Team you’re thinking of.” Another livestreamer, smiling wryly, shook his head amid the horrified stares. “Here’s something even scarier. You know the notorious members of the Xiang’an Team, right? Like the missile attack in Baihe City?”
“…” Yu Xingcao’s face froze. His brows knit tightly, and his color drained as he lowered his gaze.
No one noticed his change in expression. Everyone anxiously pressed for details:
“That happened just half a year ago. Of course we know! Wasn’t it caused by a hacker named Bai?”
“I heard hundreds of thousands died, an entire city reduced to ruins, and the area still has radiation that no one can enter.”
“Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
“Here’s a not-so-secret secret. The Livestream Team already knows this.” The streamer shook his head in awe and fear, lowering his voice. “Hacker Bai destroyed a city and killed hundreds of thousands. His crime rating was B. Jian Yuntai? He’s rated A.”
“…?!!!”
Everyone gaped. Many players’ legs went weak, collapsing to the ground, stunned into silence. Even livestreamers who only knew of Jian Yuntai’s transfer from the Xiang’an Team were shocked: “What on earth did he do?!”
This was top-level classified information; no one knew.
The streamer shook his head, about to speak further, when Fatty finally ran slowly over from his seat. His soul contract value was too low; he had to pause for breath every few steps. As he neared, he cursed loudly: “Are you all trying to die? Gossiping at a time like this! Hurry up and go help Jian Dadan!”
“…” The reminder snapped everyone awake. Of course! No matter what Jian Yuntai had done in the past, now they were all on the same team. The main quest had already proven that following Jian Yuntai was the only real chance to clear the instance.
But thinking it was easy; doing it was hard.
They were now, let’s say, not ten thousand miles away from Jian Yuntai, but the journey would take at least an hour. By the time they reached the Kong Cave, it might already be too late.
What should they do? What should they do?
Inside the hall, everyone paced anxiously.
……
……
In the real world, everything had already descended into chaos.
Within the Xiang’an Team’s villa area, people came and went constantly. Many researchers hadn’t slept in days.
Ordinary people’s mental pressure came from survival, loss of loved ones, and endless instance torment. The Alliance staff didn’t face everything ordinary people would, but their mental strain was no less.
Just like now.
Beep—
Beep—
The machines sounded, faster and faster. A group of higher-ranking Alliance personnel arrived. The little assistant’s aunt, had been assigned to wait on the first floor a few days ago.
She no longer had the ability to observe up close, only catching fragments of the urgent calls from below:
“Heart rate is rising! Wei Shenglu’s heart rate keeps climbing!”
“Vitals?”
“Stable!”
“Mental threshold?!”
“Rising slowly!”
Hearing “slowly,” all the researchers on the floor breathed a collective sigh of relief.
A higher mental threshold meant more instability. A normal person’s threshold ranged 20–30, peaking at 50 when extremely agitated. During the first run of the King of Hell’s Wedding instance, Wei Shenglu’s mental threshold had risen at a terrifying rate, eventually reaching about 148.
Everyone who had experienced that shadow, including Auntie, muttered, “Thank goodness…”
But just as she said it, a shout came from the second floor. The tone was so strained it almost warped: “Mental threshold rising sharply! Now at 112! Quick, quick, enter secondary alert status!”
Woo woo woo—
Woo woo woo—
Sirens blared instantly, from far to near. The entire Xiang’an Team was bathed in red light. Armored vehicles roared by continuously; helicopters circled overhead, engines never ceasing.
What had happened?!
Even Auntie had never seen such a scale. Her face was pale as she stared at the projections on the wall.
Tap tap—
Tap tap—
Heavy footsteps echoed as Jian Yuntai, back turned to Cui Yu, walked step by step toward King of Hell.
How could he trigger the loop again?
He would have to make his soul contract value plummet below 200 before finishing the instance—only then would he forfeit completion.
“Impossible!!!”
A nearly desperate roar erupted from behind him. Every step Jian Yuntai took felt like walking on a knife’s edge, pain radiating from his soles straight to his heart.
He would feel even worse than Cui Yu.
He was giving up completion.
Giving up 63 days of survival time.
Giving up the next round of instance missions. If he didn’t meet the performance requirements, he would even lose the right to unconditional treatment of Sinister Spirit Types and access to some items in the Central Marketplace.
He had given up far too many benefits.
Yet he did not regret a thing. If he had the chance to enter the loop again and start the third run, he would go to any lengths to give Cui Yu a relatively good ending.
And…
Jian Yuntai lifted his gaze to King of Hell, his eyes filled only with icy coldness and murderous intent.
Fortunately, his sacrifices were not in vain.
Soon, electronic tones sounded in his ears:
【Soul Contract Value decreased by 1】
【Soul Contract Value decreased by 2】 “…“
【Soul Contract Value decreased by 1】
Jian Yuntai’s mind shook violently. Why had it dropped so little? After everything he’d done, why didn’t Cui Yu blame him?!
Carefully recalling the two previous sharp drops in his soul contract value:
The first had been in the side hall when he lifted Sun Bin’s clothing, caught directly by Cui Yu. A player had accidentally said, “Be sure to hide this from Cui Yu!”
The second had been in the main hall when Sun Bin’s destined official, Zhang Zhiyan, revealed Cui Yu’s matricide from years ago. When Cui Yu punished Zhang in anger, Jian Yuntai’s soul contract value also plummeted.
Both times had been triggered by feelings of betrayal or impending abandonment.
By logic, walking to King of Hell now—even though he would be abandoning Cui Yu—should count as betraying and abandoning him.
So why had his soul contract value only dropped a little?
Even standing before King of Hell, Jian Yuntai’s soul contract value remained above 200.
If this continued, he would clear the instance!
Unable to endure it any longer, Jian Yuntai forced himself to glance back at Cui Yu. One look, and his chest tightened.
Through the thin light of the barrier, Cui Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, lips stained with red like pristine porcelain dotted with blossoms. His white hair hung at his sides, also streaked with blood, as if overnight he had lost all radiance.
Jian Yuntai had always loved Cui Yu’s hair. In the slum district, everyone’s hair was thin and lifeless—but not Cui Yu’s. His white hair was the most stunning Jian Yuntai had ever seen, unforgettable at first sight.
But now, perhaps shrouded by clouds and moonlight, that magnificent white hair had lost all its luster—almost as if it had lost its soul.
“You did very well.”
A hand grasped his. When he turned, he saw King of Hell’s eyes brimming with pride. King of Hell even rubbed his knuckles, saying, “I will treat you well.”
Hiss—
The skin King of Helln touched erupted in goosebumps. Jian Yuntai could barely suppress the disgust in his eyes.
And at that exact moment, he suddenly understood.
In Cui Yu’s eyes, he had come to King of Hell to save him, editing the Record of Soul Contracts alongside the king.
How could Cui Yu possibly blame him?
Cui Yu would only hate King of Hell—and himself.
Damn! Jian Yuntai’s expression darkened.
How could he have forgotten the most important point?
Just as his heart raced, the instance’s background audio cut like a knife:
【Player has 30 seconds to clear the instance】
【30, 29, 28, 27, 26…】
No time, no time!
【25, 24, 23, 22, 21…】
The countdown thudded in his ears, heavier with each number. Jian Yuntai had never imagined he would resist completing the instance so intensely. His entire body trembled.
Fear, tension… and above all, excitement at the sudden new idea flashing through his mind.
※※※
Beep beep beep—
Chaos had erupted in the Xiang’an Team. This was not unusual—they kept a few “lunatics” around—but this time even Zhao’an Team was in turmoil.
The little assistant had been pulled out of bed in the middle of the night, groggy, and loaded into an armored vehicle. By the time he registered what was happening, the vehicle had a clear path, speeding him to the Livestream Team headquarters.
Inside, people jostled anxiously. Some even ran through in pajamas, hair disheveled.
The little assistant was utterly confused. “What… what’s going on?!”
Manager Liang Yan, the normally decisive short-haired woman, looked completely frazzled. Guiding the assistant into the elevator, she explained, “If a livestreamer gets into trouble, everyone above, beside, or below them has to convene immediately.”
The little assistant stammered, “Who… who got into trouble?”
Liang Yan asked, “Whose subordinate are you?”
“Jian Yuntai!” he replied automatically.
“Then why do you ask who’s in trouble?” Liang Yan soothed him as he panicked. “Don’t worry too much. He’s not dead and technically isn’t in trouble. It’s just…”
“It’s just what?”
“His mental threshold has been rising! When I got the call, it was already at 87. A normal person’s highest is 50. He’s seriously exceeded the limit.”
The little assistant’s eyes widened in disbelief. His own mental threshold had never gone past 25. Jian Yuntai’s was triple that—and still climbing!
“I suddenly feel…” The little assistant hugged himself, shivering, “like I’ve been living with a superweapon for a month. It’s terrifying!”
When they reached the conference room, urgent voices called from inside:
“Mental threshold at ninety-two! Last time he hijacked military supplies, it was ninety-seven!”
“…” They stared at each other in shock. The little assistant and Liang Yan pushed open the door and quietly stood in the corner, silent as background.
“Since September 23, when Jian Yuntai was first noticed by the Xiang’an Team, nearly two months have passed. His mental state had remained stable. Even during the Six Suns instance deaths—cough—his mental threshold did not rise.”
“This is the first fluctuation in his mental state. All data must be recorded for future reference!”
“What about the diary he wrote after clearing the Six Suns instance? Pull up the detection report for that diary!” A researcher immediately asked Liang Yan.
Her mouth twitched.
God, the diary Jian Yuntai wrote was three thousand words. The first draft was a patchwork of copied bits and was rejected. The second draft ramblingly expanded one sentence into ten, like a vast ocean compared to West Lake.
What could a detection report even reveal about that?
Though Liang Yan had a lot of internal complaints, she still stepped forward with a heavy expression and pulled up the diary to display it on the public screen.
A group of elderly professors, all wearing reading glasses, gathered around the screen to examine it carefully. They muttered to each other, discussing the contents:
“This word uses ‘absolute,’ which suggests, from a psychological standpoint, that Jian Yuntai is a very goal-driven person.”
“Look here, he spent almost five hundred words describing the scene at that time, meaning he clearly remembers it well. Quickly, pull up the scene from then and compare it with now!”
“And this line, ‘It’s getting dark, I’m hungry,’ he repeats this several times with many words. There’s definitely something behind this. Let’s run it through the Alliance’s encryption system and see if we can derive any new phrases from the rearranged strokes!”
Liang Yan looked completely dumbfounded.
This was absurd.
The diary even included Jian Yuntai persistently pestering Fatty to scribble about three hundred words for him. Liang Yan had been aware of this and chose to turn a blind eye at the time.
Now, however, the expert group had started analyzing those three hundred words. Liang Yan feared that they would discover something unusual and accuse her of neglecting her duties. But… the experts didn’t seem to notice anything odd.
In fact, they even thought those three hundred words best demonstrated Jian Yuntai’s mental instability. The reasoning was just as absurd—because the handwriting was different, it might indicate dissociative identity disorder.
As Liang Yan felt like she’d been struck by lightning, a sudden cry came from the side of the conference table.
“What’s Jian Yuntai doing?!”
“Professor, stop reading the diary!”
“Come quickly, it looks like something’s going wrong!”
The professors jumped up, immediately abandoning the public screen displaying the diary. They hurried to the screen showing the group of researchers.
In the astonished gaze of everyone, Jian Yuntai reached out and grabbed King of Hell’s hand, and before King of Hell could react—
He violently stabbed King of Hell’s hand into his own heart.
“Madman! Madman!” several people cried out in shock in the conference room. Even the Xiang’an team was stunned by Jian Yuntai’s actions.
“Why would he do that?”
“Jian Yuntai doesn’t want to leave the instance!”
Despite being far apart, both teams were experiencing the same terrifying situation. The panic intensified with each passing second:
“Wei Shenglu’s mental threshold is rising rapidly!”
“127! 133! 140!”
“…!”
“179! He was at 179 when he was arrested! And it’s still going up! What do we do?!”
“Jian Yuntai’s mental threshold is increasing!”
“101! 123! 137!”
“…!”
“He’s gone mad! He’s gone completely mad!”
For the two teams who had long been competitors, if this had happened in the past, they might have secretly rejoiced when they saw the red alert flashing for the other side. But now, both teams were simultaneously triggering their red alerts.
They couldn’t even mock each other anymore.
They were too frantic to do anything but pace around.
Such a large-scale commotion obviously caught the attention of nearby residents. Many were startled awake from their sleep by the urgent sound of sirens. They stood by their windows, in shock.
The internet was in chaos:
“I feel like this Weibo post is about to be deleted any second, but… does anyone live near the Livestream Team? Did you see it? I’m shocked beyond belief!”
“What’s going on? I’m completely dumbfounded.”
“What’s happening? I stayed up all night and now I’m in the middle of this, what happened to the Livestream Team, tell me quickly, I’m so curious!!!”
“I can’t explain! I don’t know what happened either. Let me record a video for you all to see!”
Countless people clicked on the video.
As soon as the video started, the sound of loud sirens filled the air, followed by the roar of engines and the whirring of helicopter blades. A large number of armored vehicles split into two waves at an intersection: one headed toward the Livestream Team headquarters (Zhao’an Team’s location), and the other toward the Xiang’an team’s villa district.
There were also countless helicopters circling overhead, flying in an orderly formation, with red lights flashing on them. Soon, both areas were surrounded by barricades, with Inspection Team soldiers standing guard, armed and ready.
People had never seen such a scene, where the Livestream Team was under a full-scale threat. Even after the video automatically shut down, many people couldn’t snap out of it.
The hot search rankings were being bombarded, and the crowd was filled with wild guesses, unsure of what was really happening.
Meanwhile, the livestream viewers were just as stunned. They had no idea about the chaos building up outside. What shocked them was Jian Yuntai’s actions.
Yan Luo was equally stunned. “What are you doing?!”
Jian Yuntai didn’t even lift his head. He tightly gripped Yan Luo’s hand and, with a sudden twist in his peripheral vision, plunged it into his own heart.
Blood sprayed everywhere, droplets flying.
Yan Luo’s hand went straight through Jian Yuntai’s body, and the exposed knuckles were covered in blood.
“Don’t!!!”
Behind him, Cui Yu’s voice, nearly hoarse from desperation, cried out. Yan Luo instinctively turned to look at Cui Yu and locked eyes with his pale, frenzied gaze.
The day Lord of Dawn died, Cui Yu hadn’t reacted like this.
The day Moon Goddess died, Cui Yu hadn’t shown this expression.
When he was exiled to the Fallen Immortal Platform, Cui Yu didn’t look so terrifying. Yan Luo was so frightened that he held his breath.
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me. I didn’t kill him.” Yan Luo hurriedly shook his head, staring at Jian Yuntai in shock, “Why are you doing this? I never thought of killing you!”
“You didn’t think of it? But I’ve thought about killing you,” Jian Yuntai’s voice was faint, and he fell heavily to the ground. In his panic, Yan Luo was dragged to his knees by Jian Yuntai.
Staring blankly at Jian Yuntai, Yan Luo expected him to look deeply pained, but instead, there was only excitement and a strange smile on his face. After a few dry coughs, Jian Yuntai asked, “How does it feel to be wrongfully accused?”
“…”
Yan Luo froze.
Jian Yuntai leaned forward, and the faster his mental threshold rose, the faster the instance countdown ticked down. He paused for a moment, eyes glinting with even sharper mockery: “Yan Xiang wasn’t killed by Cui Yu. You’ve wronged him for over a thousand years.”
Yan Luo recoiled as if struck, his face paling. “You’re only doing this to prove that?”
“Of course not.”
【Player Soul Contract Value -50!】
【Player Soul Contract Value -50!】
“..…”
【Player Soul Contract Value -50!】
Thump… thump…
Cui Yu’s eyes were bloodshot as he slammed repeatedly against the barrier, but it didn’t budge an inch. He could only watch, helpless, as Jian Yuntai was pierced through the chest by King of Hell and began sliding slowly downward.
His white robes were soaked with blood, trailing to the ground in a crimson cascade.
“Yan Luo!!!” Cui Yu’s voice cracked with anguish, each word dripping with blood, and all traces of familial affection vanished from his gaze, replaced entirely by frenzied bloodlust. Without the barrier, he might have already torn Yan Luo to pieces, yet even that would not have assuaged the despair of losing a loved one or the sudden eruption of a millennium’s worth of hatred.
“It’s not me… it’s not me!” Yan Luo had no idea how to explain; he had never intended to kill Jian Yuntai. That very fact made the shock even greater.
In panic, Yan Luo suddenly considered a possibility—maybe Yan Xiang really wasn’t killed by Cui Yu?
Then, when Cui Yu had been misunderstood…
Yan Luo’s face went deathly pale, his mind blank. He could only stare helplessly at the bloodied youth before him.
【Player Jian Yuntai Soul Contract Value 17】
【Sorry, you did not successfully complete the side quest】
【Instance Restart Countdown】
【14, 13, 12, 11, 10…】
“I spent the entire day in Chenyue Palace and realized that all of Cui Yu’s tragedies, from childhood to adulthood, were directly or indirectly caused by you,” Jian Yuntai said, locking eyes with Yan Luo. Suddenly, a soft smile appeared on his face, though there was no humor in it. “The only way I can leave Cui Yu here safely is if you die.”
As the words fell, he relaxed his grip and ‘thunk’—dropped to the ground.
“Yan Luo! Yan Luo! Yan Luo!!!” Cui Yu seemed to go completely insane in an instant. His eyes were blood-red, like a demonic god incarnate. Countless streaks of wandering light appeared across the sky. The Heavenly Realm’s immortals looked down in shock, including the divine lord from years ago.
“What immense pressure… what’s happening?!”
Bang—
Cui Yu fell into a state of utter madness. A violent wind swept through, lifting and scattering his white hair. He unleashed all his heavenly powers at once, striking down the barriers once set by gods and Buddhas.
Nearby ghost officials were terrified, frozen in place, unable even to flee.
Yan Luo sat dumbfounded, stunned, his face drained of all color.
Whoosh—
The livestream abruptly went black, plunging into deathly silence.
Then, like an explosion, the barrage of comments crashed in, causing the livestream to lag and overload.
The viewers were left in shock and panic:
“Ahhhh I’m dumbfounded, what just happened? Holy shit, I… I’m going to lose it.”
“Black screen… Jian Yuntai’s heartbeat stopped!”
“Damn… pierced through the heart, not even immortals could survive that! Has Jian Dadan already died?!”
“No way wuuuu… I just bookmarked his livestream and was about to raise a new god… how did he die?”
“I don’t understand! Why did Jian Dadan do that in the end? Killing eight hundred enemies at the cost of a thousand… what the hell!”
On Weibo, the entry “Celestial Love” skyrocketed to the top of trending searches, followed closely by a “hot” indicator.
At midnight, during peak traffic hours, countless unaware netizens clicked the link.
And then… they saw nothing but a black screen.
“??? Has the livestream ended?”
“The streamer finished the instance?”
“What are you all wailing about?”
After several tens of seconds of chaos, new viewers finally realized what had happened, jaws dropping: “No way… this afternoon the hot search was all about celestial love, and by night the streamer’s dead? So ironic!”
“Damn, the Lin Fuxue tragedy is happening again. The moment I saw it trending, I knew it was impossible—players and NPCs can have all the celestial love they want, but it can never end well.”
“Seeing you all crying like this, I’m glad I didn’t check in during the day. Otherwise, I’d be crying along with you tonight.”
“Honestly, the authorities should probably take down the Weibo trending number one. No one wants to see this kind of tragedy, especially since it’s sending bad messages to minors who haven’t awakened yet—playing with NPCs is fine, but you can’t actually invest real feelings. Haven’t we learned enough from past mistakes?”
“You only get one life.”
“Sigh… I heard he was a new streamer too. What a shame.”
Compared to the new viewers sighing and lamenting, most of the livestream audience were fans who had been following him for days.
By now, the fans were almost crying themselves silly, constantly typing in the chat: “I don’t believe it!!!”
“How could Jian Dadan possibly die?”
“So sudden… it would’ve been better if they’d just cleared the instance, at least both of them would have survived wuuuu…”
The little assistant put his phone away, too afraid to read the chat anymore, worried he’d start crying too.
Everything felt surreal, like walking on clouds. After a long while, he finally couldn’t hold it and let out a loud, pitiful wail that echoed through the meeting room.
Whoosh—whoosh—
Every pair of eyes in the room instantly turned toward him.
Liang Yan panicked and clamped her hand over the little assistant’s mouth. “Why are you crying?!”
Tears streaming, the little assistant mumbled incoherently, “I… I’ve spent a whole month with Brother Jian Yuntai… he’s always been good to me… I can’t bear to see him die wuuuu…”
Liang Yan pressed his mouth even tighter so no sound could escape. The little assistant looked at her in surprise, then cautiously glanced at the room full of expert professors.
What amazed him was that no one seemed in any hurry to leave, and not a single person spoke.
Everyone was staring intently at the main screen. It was completely black, and the little assistant could only see his own reflection.
Yet over a hundred people in the room were fixated on the screen as if a monster might suddenly emerge from the darkness. They were on full alert, sweating nervously.
“…” The little assistant was completely dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Weibo’s public opinion was fermenting, and the livestream chat was filled with crying and wailing. More and more people were clicking into the stream from the trending page, all assuming Jian Yuntai was dead.
Why did the people in the room seem to understand silently, all fixated on the black screen?
It was as if… they were waiting for something.
Taking advantage of Liang Yan’s brief lapse, the little assistant secretly pulled out his phone again and reopened Jian Yuntai’s livestream.
It was still black.
But judging from the endless wailing in the chat, he could see just how heartbroken the fans were.
What made it worse was that new viewers kept emphasizing: “This is a clear warning! Don’t fall in love with NPCs—if you do, you’ll be the one who suffers in the end!”
“Stop spouting cold words!” someone shouted.
“Hey, this really isn’t cold words. I get that you’re attached to this streamer, but what can you do? He’s dead now, which proves you really can’t get emotionally involved with NPCs.”
“People can’t come back from the dead. Everyone, please mourn in peace.”
These words made not just the fans—who had stayed up all night following the stream—angry, but even the little assistant felt a surge of frustration, eyes reddening as he prepared to type a response.
Bang! A loud noise rang out as someone in the meeting room collided with a chair in excitement. Immediately, the room erupted with cheers and applause as the black screen suddenly lit up.
The light hit the little assistant’s face directly. Trapped at the back, he had no idea what was happening and could only stare blankly as a few tall people at the front shouted excitedly:
“I knew it! Get ready to record the third personality!”
The little assistant thought: “Third personality? What the heck?”
He was even more confused. The livestream feed the team had pulled up was delayed compared to what the public was seeing. But the few seconds of delay passed, and—whoosh—
On the little assistant’s phone, the once-black screen suddenly lit up as Jian Yuntai reappeared.
【Sss… sss…】
[Reconnecting to the livestream for you now]
“???”
The barrage of “wuwuwuwu” crying in the comments instantly turned into a flood of question marks. The viewers in front of their screens had red-rimmed eyes and blank minds, staring dumbly at the livestream interface.
They still hadn’t quite processed what had just happened.
Even those hindsight critics and people who had been making snide remarks froze as well. One by one, they hesitantly stared at the screen, their entire worldview on the verge of shattering.
If you like this novel and would like to show your appreciation, please head to my Kofi by (click here -> Kofi)—and if the cliffhanger demons are haunting you, join the membership tier to access advanced chapter access (up to 10!).
