Chapter 71
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Xu Shuangce had once wondered why, as the respected Mirror Immortal Gong Wei, even though his power would be greatly diminished after descending to the mortal realm, it wouldn’t be weakened to the point of being equivalent to ordinary mortal cultivators. Why was he forced into such dire straits on the Ascension Immortal Platform?
It wasn’t until this moment that he got the answer.
More than thirty grand cultivators couldn’t inflict serious harm on Gong Wei. The only one who could draw blood from him was Yuchi Rui, but even Yuchi Rui couldn’t hold him back for long — the truly formidable force was the Heavenly Ascension Path.
As if supported by the power of gods and demons, the Bai Tai Shou wielded his awe-inspiring power to strike at the magnificent staircase of golden light. Equal force would be transformed into a thunderous counterattack. Thunderbolts descended, torrents of electricity cascaded like waterfalls, and every thunderbolt that tore through the sky struck Gong Wei with full force, rapidly weakening him. Yet his pale face showed no change as he resolutely attacked the towering structure of the Heavenly Path!
Boom!
Under the thunderous assault, Gong Wei was pushed back a hundred feet, and the ground beneath his feet splintered, while more than ten swords around him simultaneously struck. With blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, Gong Wei mercilessly swung his sword to fend off the dozen or so cultivators, about to charge towards the Heavenly Staircase once again, when suddenly a sword pierced his abdomen.
Yuchi Rui was behind him, the Rakshasa Tower piercing through his body! Blood splattered everywhere, and Gong Wei’s eyes tightened as he swiftly engaged in a fierce battle, exchanging over a hundred moves like a raging storm. With a resounding clang, he firmly blocked the blade of the Rakshasa Tower. Yuchi Rui, caught off guard, saw Gong Wei’s two fingers closing in on his forehead, and he couldn’t help but let out a soft “Ah”:
“No wonder. The Southern Emperor Kirin, with a pure soul, will ascend after another sixty-year cycle.”
“What?” Yuchi Rui exclaimed.
Immediately, Gong Wei pushed Yuchi Rui back several yards, and his back crashed heavily into a golden pillar, spewing out a mouthful of blood on the spot!
Gong Wei said indifferently, “Let’s ascend in the next life.”
No one could understand what he was saying. Surrounding cultivators roared in anger, swords were unsheathed, and Yuchi Rui struggled to get up. However, his pupils suddenly contracted like needles —
All around, the swords were about to chop Gong Wei into pieces, but at that moment, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, both of his eyes were blood-red.
An invisible divine power suddenly erupted, freezing even time itself.
All swords froze in mid-air, and the deadly illusion caused everyone’s spiritual consciousness to tremble violently, as if their souls were being torn apart, and they involuntarily dropped their swords and fell backward!
There were simply no words to describe the terror brought by those blood-red pupils. Yuchi Rui’s mind went blank, his soul seemed to be torn apart by thousands of blades, and the intense pain engulfed his entire body, so much so that he couldn’t even hear the thud when his knees hit the ground.
Around him, people were coughing up blood, some were struggling on the verge of death, and others were so heavily injured that they couldn’t even tell if they were alive or dead. The terrifying divine power pinned Yuchi Rui down, rendering him unable to move, and he watched in horror as Changsun Chengfeng barely moved in the distance, as if trying to summon the mechanical soldier puppets with his last ounce of strength.
But immediately Gong Wei turned around, and in an instant, his hand rose and the sword fell, piercing heavily into his chest!
Thud!
Changsun Chengfeng fell heavily to the ground, his body emitting a dull sound, reflected in the widened eyes of Yuchi Rui.
Gong Wei’s indifferent face showed no change whatsoever. He turned towards the towering sky-reaching Heavenly Stairway in the distance, casually shook the blood off the blade, and said softly, “Your turn.”
At this moment, the spiritual power of the Heavenly Stairway became more and more abundant, and the radiance became more and more dazzling. The crack in the sky gate high above also widened forcibly, with layers of ominous clouds rapidly swirling, like a huge vortex on the sea’s surface.
Gong Wei took a breath, tasting the rust of blood, and with all his might, he swung his sword, the sword light violently shaking the Heavenly Stairway amidst thunderous roars. The next moment, even more ferocious thunder engulfed his entire body!
The earth shook and the sky changed color.
Gong Wei was swallowed by lightning time and time again, bathed in blood each time, rapidly deteriorating in visible speed, but each sword became even more ferocious and violent, and he poured all his strength into them.
He fought desperately against the divine power guarding the Heavenly Ascension Path, covered in wounds and blood, but his eyes showed no fear. Once again, the Bai Tai Shou wielded his divine power to strike at the towering staircase, and this time, the thunderous roar finally shook the Heavenly Staircase, cracks spreading from top to bottom.
It couldn’t hold on any longer!
A furious, piercing howl resounded from the sky, swept across the land with the cold wind, and rushed towards the sky.
Gong Wei tightened his grip on the sword hilt for the last time, took a breath tinged with rust, and with all his strength, swung his sword to unleash a blow that seemed to tear apart the heavens and the earth!
Boom —
The mountains shook too violently, engulfing everyone’s senses.
The golden staircase that pierced through heaven and earth couldn’t withstand this devastating blow. Finally, amidst a deafening roar, it broke inch by inch, turning into countless scattered dots of light.
And in the sky, the gate that was about to fully open abruptly closed, shaking the heavens!
Gong Wei was struck by an unprecedented rage of thunder, blood bursting from all over his body. The impact sent him flying hundreds of feet, smashing through two solid gold pillars before half-collapsing the third one, spraying a faint golden-colored blood.
That blood was different; it was directly spurted from his heart, indicating that his divine body had suffered irreparable damage.
No one could see, under the gloomy sky, the Xu Shuangce from sixteen years later was half kneeling in front of Gong Wei, trembling as he reached out to wipe the blood from his lips. However, his transparent fingers passed directly through Gong Wei’s cheek.
—He was just a strand of consciousness, unable to change anything about the reality that had already happened sixteen years ago, only able to watch the tragedy happen before his eyes again.
With a cracking sound, Gong Wei forcefully inserted the Bai Tai Shou into the ground and, using the force, staggered towards the nearby entrance of the underground palace.
However, he was too severely injured. After taking just a few steps, he collapsed, shattering two pieces of white jade bricks with his knees. He gritted his teeth and tried to get up again, but this time, before he could fully stand, he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with flesh, splattering on the ground!
“…”
Gong Wei closed his eyes, trembling all over, and for the last time, gritted his teeth and slowly stood up.
But at that moment, his right shoulder suddenly felt cold.
A sword tip pierced through his back, spraying fresh blood into Gong Wei’s bewildered eyes.
Then, the Bai Tai Shou fell to the ground with a clang, swept away by the newcomer’s sleeve, and fell straight into the entrance of the underground palace beneath his feet.
Gong Wei collapsed to the ground in despair, trembling as he turned his head back, hoarsely saying, “Xu Shuangce…”
Sixteen years ago, the Sect Master of Cangyang, standing high above, his expression cold and indifferent, raised his sword without hesitation, and once again stabbed Gong Wei in the heart!
Sixteen years later Xu Shuangce suddenly closed his eyes, blood filling his mouth, but it was of no avail. Only golden blood spewed from Gong Wei’s chest, and he trembled, opening his mouth but unable to speak steadily due to the intense pain:
“…You don’t even… remember me…”
The expression of the Cangyang Sect Master was obscured in the shadow, unchanged.
Not far away, amidst the ruins, Yuchi Rui finally mustered the last bit of strength and staggered to his feet. “….Quick, stop him!”
“All of this was done by him, and he killed Chengfeng!” Yuchi Rui pointed behind him, gnashing his teeth. “He killed Chengfeng!”
Following Yuchi Rui’s gesture, the entire Ascension Immortal Platform had turned into a h*ll of carnage, with cultivators lying on the ground, seriously injured or dying, blood soaking every inch of the floor, and Changsun Chengfeng lying on the ground, his life unknown.
Gong Wei seemed to want to explain something futilely, but his swiftly draining life was not enough to support him to do so. In the end, he could only shake his head weakly, “I must do this, I have my own duty. You…”
Xu Shuangce interrupted him, “What kind of duty requires the massacre of so many people?”
Gong Wei was speechless.
“You are not human, nor do you belong to this world.” Xu Shuangce looked down at him coldly. “I must send you away.”
He suddenly exerted force with the sword in his hand. However, at this moment, with a crisp sound, Gong Wei desperately grasped the sword, blood gushing from his palm. “Xu Shuangce, I like you, you can’t do this to me!”
That desperate plea was like an arrow, piercing through his heart as it left his mouth. The Cangyang Sect Master’s entire body froze instantly.
The cold wind carried a mournful whistle as it passed between them, carrying the scent of blood, rushing towards the sky.
Xu Shuangce finally moved, finally revealing his eyes, bloodshot with veins, from the shadows, and said word by word, “You don’t like me, nor do you understand what this feeling is…”
“You were just a mirror that allowed me to see how I fell into the trap of emotions.”
Gong Wei’s eyes, filled with tears, suddenly widened.
“We can’t let his eyes turn completely red!” Yuchi Rui’s face changed color, and he swung his sword down without hesitation. “Quick, stop him!!”
With a clang, Xu Shuangce raised his hand to block, and the Rakshasa Tower shattered the metal armguard!
Yuchi Rui’s long sword fell to the ground, and he knelt down with a splash of blood, only to hear Xu Shuangce coldly say, “I’ll handle this myself.”
Gong Wei cried out in despair, “Xu Shuangce!”
But it was in vain. Helplessly, the sword thrust towards his heart —
All the changes happened in this instant.
As if finally realizing the irreversible outcome, just before his heart was pierced, Gong Wei used all his strength to tightly grasp the sword, a force so great that even Xu Shuangce couldn’t advance a fraction.
At the same time, all his divine power burned to its limit, and a magnificent crimson light burst from his soul, like an unparalleled powerful formation, covering the entire world!
“Anyone who obstructs me shall die… Today, all the immortal sects shall be severed.”
Gong Wei looked up at Xu Shuangce, his eyes suddenly blood red, and he uttered the last words in despair: “— The butterfly dies and the dream is born.”
The present moment paused at this moment.
Xu Shuangce’s surprised expression froze, and the sword froze in Gong Wei’s chest, the sharp whistling wind disappearing into the sky.
The divine power turned into millions of peach blossoms, shining with brilliant spiritual light, sweeping across the heavens and earth.
At this moment, the souls of all cultivators in the world left their bodies, carried away by the surging torrent, leaving the mortal world, and plunged into the brand-new, vast dream world created by Gong Wei —
Time suddenly reversed, back to the early years of Taiyi.
Julu City, Changsun Family. A young Changsun Chengfeng suddenly appeared in front of the courtyard, inexplicably stunned, and instinctively placed his hand on his chest, feeling the warm and intact chest.
“Weird,” he thought in confusion, “Why do I feel like I was just stabbed by a sword here?”
Yejinmen, the Old Sword Sect Master’s Lingtang. Young Yuchi Rui stood in front of his father’s coffin once again, surrounded by endless wails. He turned around in confusion and saw the white-clothed madam of the Sword Sect roaring hoarsely, “It’s all your fault!”
“Mother?” The long-lost title appeared in Yuchi Rui’s mind, and there was an instinctive anticipation in his heart, but his outstretched arms froze in the next moment.
“It’s all because of you that he died, it’s all because of you that your biological father died!” Several people couldn’t hold back the frantic woman, tears streaming down her face, her heartbroken madness, “Why do you have such talent? It’s all because of you!!”
At the same time, Cangyang Sect, Peach Blossom Forest.
Sixteen-year-old Gong Wei was like a newborn baby, weak and frightened, curled up under the tree, looking at the friendly Ying Kai in front of him, then at the handsome, cold, sword-holding Cangyang Sect Master standing.
“Don’t be afraid. How long have you been hiding in the peach forest? Do you want to come out?” “He’s observing us. He’s learning how to be human.” “His soul is intact. Let’s take him to Brother Mu on the Golden Ship to have a look.”…
Is that Xu Shuangce? This thought suddenly popped into Gong Wei’s blank mind.
When he created the dream realm, he had forgotten everything, including his identity, the reason for coming here, and the fresh blood that hadn’t dried up on the Ascension Immortal Platform in the real world. He stared blankly at Xu Shuangce, and the residual sadness from the real world surged again, flooding all his senses like a tide, but he didn’t know where that sadness came from.
Butterfly dies and the dream is born, forgetting all thoughts, leaving only the instinct to kill Xu.
Leaving only the instinct to kill Xu—
Gong Wei was wrapped in clothes, leaning on Ying Kai’s shoulder, and looked at Xu Shuangce two steps behind him. He carefully revealed a pleasing smile.
“I like him,” Gong Wei thought.
“I’ll definitely cry when I kill him one day.”
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