Chapter 124 Heading Towards Killing Me

"A hundred-eye mirror!" someone realized.

The crowd spread to both sides, surrounding the two people at the beginning and end. One circle of people stood in the hall, and another circle stood outside the door, half in light and half in darkness. Mingzhao and Lu Yuanzheng stood at the dividing line, half of their bodies illuminated by light and the other half in darkness.

It's time to choose sides.

Mingzhao looked at Lu Yuan, only to see her tapping her leg absently: "Why are you looking at me? I don't care who's real and who's fake. Let them fight like dogs, I'm happy to be free." She herself is the third way.

"I understand," Mingzhao couldn't help but laugh. What would the outcome be? She didn't know, but who cared? She'd do whatever she wanted!

"How will you prove that you are the real Shen Qingyan?" someone asked.

At this moment, Shen Qingyan, who was in the hall, suddenly raised his hand and said, "It can move even ghosts and gods to tears."

The air distorted, and a black sword appeared out of thin air in the hall, rippling outwards.

Shen Qingyan, standing outside the door, had a sudden tremor in his pupils and simultaneously raised his hand to summon: "Weeping ghosts and gods!"

The black sword remained stationary in the hall, held in place by the pull of two opposing forces.

"They can all summon the weeping ghost god?" The onlookers stared in shock at the scene before them.

"Ten Thousand Swords!"

"Ten Thousand Swords!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously. At the same time, ten thousand swords that had fallen in various parts of Kunlun rose up and flew towards the Discipline Hall, hanging high in the sky, their sharp edges aimed directly at the crowd.

"They can also summon ten thousand swords..."

As we all know, Shen Qingyan is the master of the Weeping Ghost Sword and has the ability to summon ten thousand swords. If this ability is no longer unique to him, then how can he prove that he is who he is?

Who is Shen Qingyan? Is it the appearance or the soul that matters?

This is what makes the Hundred Eyes Mirror so frightening. People use their eyes to see the world and form their own understanding. If what the eyes see is all fake, then what is real?

Which truly represents a person: the physical body or the soul?

As time goes by, people's appearances change. Similarly, a hundred-eye mirror can transform into someone else's appearance; appearances are deceptive and can fool the eyes of others.

But how can people see through a person's appearance to understand the soul beneath their skin?

It seems that apart from soul-searching, people have no other way to prove that someone is themselves, but once a person has undergone soul-searching, that person is finished. Using soul-searching to prove oneself is no different from cutting open one's stomach to prove that one has only eaten one bowl of rice.

No one can emerge unscathed after proving themselves.

"Why can this hundred-eye mirror replicate your abilities?" asked another version of Shen Qingyan in her mind.

Looking at the figure in the hall, Shen Qingyan realized that the same thing had happened in her previous life, except that their positions had been reversed: "She is Shen Cangyu."

Besides him, there is another person who can control ten thousand swords and manipulate the weeping ghosts and gods—that is Shen Cangyu. Everything she is doing now is to let him witness firsthand the situation she faced back then.

Years ago, he watched Shen Cangyu die in the Discipline Hall after being subjected to soul-searching. Now, Lu Yuan faces the same predicament in the Discipline Hall, and Shen Cangyu saves him, just as she saved herself back then, throwing the same problem back at him.

Everyone needs to pay the price for what they have done.

This is his retribution.

Perhaps someone else noticed the fleeting evasiveness in his eyes, because that person said, "There's something wrong with Shen Qingyan's eyes."

This sentence became a breakthrough, and everyone responded, with all eyes falling on Shen Qingyan.

He stared at the cold glint in the darkness before him and asked, "Is this your purpose in returning to Kunlun? To replace me, to take revenge on me, and to become the sole protagonist?"

The people in the hall rose and walked outside, their figures gradually disappearing into the morning light: "Do you have any last wishes?"

Shen Qingyan's blood grew colder and colder. Finally, she raised her head, trying to see through the person in front of her to the shadow behind her, thinking, "Is this your choice, Mom? Am I still the child you abandoned?"

With ten thousand swords hanging overhead, he released all control, closed his eyes, and waited for the blades to fall. He hadn't expected any response, but then he heard the person in front of him suddenly speak.

"Shen Chunrong, he's looking for you. Aren't you going to respond?"

Shen Qingyan suddenly opened her eyes and stared in astonishment at the person in front of her. The person peeled off a piece of paper from their face, revealing their true appearance.

"She is the one with the hundred eyes!"

"No, she is... Shen Cangyu! She's too cunning!"

Shen Cangyu shrugged and smiled at the people behind him: "Please, I never said I was Shen Qingyan. You guys are the ones who said a lot of things and pinned the title on me. Now you're accusing me of being cunning. You've said all the right and wrong things."

"No, this isn't right. Shouldn't you be..." Shen Qingyan touched his neck; it was still there. But according to the plot, Shen Cangyu should have killed him, and then overthrown the entire Kunlun clan to rebuild a new organization. Why is she revealing her true form now? What's going on?

What exactly do you want?

A voice appeared in their minds at the same time. This voice was the same as the one Shen Qingyan heard in his dream. He realized that this was the author, his creator, or rather, the "mother" he had been searching for.

Are you crazy? You've exposed your identity, how are you going to escape? Do you really want to die here? What will happen to the plot if you die?

Commands take precedence over thought.

Shen Qingyan blurted out, "You go first, I'll hold them off."

“Are you sick?” Shen Cangyu said. After a while, she remembered, “I forgot, you really are sick.”

Swords flew toward Shen Cangyu, who raised his hand and caught them, stopping them in mid-air: "This one can't hurt me, let's find another one."

The Binding Immortal Rope wrapped around them from the ground, but Shen Cangyu intercepted it halfway. No matter what skills they used, Shen Cangyu could block them with the same skill. She was like a mirror, replicating everyone's skills, and everyone saw their own reflection in her.

Just then, a large shadow fell from the sky, the fish cart blocking out the sun. They looked at the newcomer as if they had been saved: "It's Elder Huang!"

Shen Cangyu looked up and met Huang Menglu's gaze. She heard what Huang Menglu was thinking: "What are you still doing here, you brat? Hurry up and take the Spirit Pearl to Blind Mountain!"

At the same time, the distant sound of bells echoed, and a voice came from afar: "Activate the barrier!"

Why do we need to create a protective barrier?

"What's going on?"

Suddenly, a series of vibrations came from the barrier of Kunlun, and they realized that someone was about to attack Kunlun.

Are the Five Evils going to attack Kunlun?

"Where did those people come from?" someone said through gritted teeth.

Kunlun has long been infiltrated by many of the Five Evils, and now it's like a sieve. They thought the Five Evils had already filled Kunlun, but who knew there was a whole bunch of them waiting outside the mountains to launch a collective attack? Where did all these people come from? Are the Five Evils the only people left in this world?

Meanwhile, a child with coin-shaped eyes outside the mountain cast a mental spell on the barrier while looking at Wan Qianzhong with a puzzled expression: "Master, isn't there a path? Why don't we walk in through the mountain path instead of breaking this barrier?"

With his hands clasped behind his back and a mystical air about him, Wan Qianzhong said, "You all have a rare opportunity to practice the mental techniques you've learned, so cherish this chance. Without this shield, there won't be any targets for you to practice on in the future."

The child suddenly realized and understood the teacher's good intentions.

"I know three kinds of mental techniques!"

"I know five!"

Those around him were competing with each other, casting their mental spells on the barrier, comparing whose spell was more powerful. Someone standing behind Wan Qianzhong spoke up: "You're making them take action so they can break through the barrier between Kunlun and the outside world using their own strength, right?"

Hearing the voice behind her, Wan Qianzhong's smile faltered for a moment. She stepped aside, still not quite comfortable with this person's presence.

“If you’re not used to my presence, then I’ll go further away,” the person said, his tone sounding exactly like Pei Wenjing’s. Countless doubts arose that Pei Wenjing had inherited this person’s personality.

“Fine,” Wan Qianzhong said, “Stand wherever you want. You’ve been with me for so many years, it’s time to give you a proper title.”

She didn't want to become a second Kunlun.

Looking up at the brightening sky, Wan Qianzhong thought, "Besides, they don't know when this world will end, so let's enjoy ourselves while we can."

*

"Disciples of the Discipline Hall, listen to my command! Follow me to inspect the barrier." Qiu Sheng planted his spear on the ground, his voice carrying through the crowd.

"yes!"

"Wait, that..." Someone snapped out of their daze and pointed at Shen Cangyu not far away. Although there was still a group of Five Evils outside the mountain, there was also a large evil cultivator here right now. Were they really not going to arrest him?

Qiu Sheng said righteously and sternly, "You must be able to distinguish between what is more important and what is less important. Now the Five Evils outside the mountain pose a greater threat, so naturally we must deal with the Five Evils outside the mountain first. As for this evil cultivator..."

She looked at Elder Huang, who had landed in the distance, and said, "Let Elder Huang handle it." With that, she used the current of Feng Xu's wind to run out of the mountain.

As she brushed past Chu Xun, she turned her head and met his eyes, whispering, "I told you to stop him, but you didn't stop him and even had your cultivation taken away."

Chu Xun shrugged and remained silent.

[This is all messed up! No, this isn't how the story should be! Why did everything turn out like this? What kind of good guys and bad guys are these?]

"There are no inherently good or bad people in this world; everyone's stance is self-determined." Shen Cangyu, seemingly enjoying the spectacle, let the author rant and rave.

“But if you do this now, the plot will not be able to move forward. If there is no distinction between good and evil, and no villain that must be defeated, how can the story reach its ending?” Shen Qingyan frowned. “Only when one of Kunlun and the Five Evils falls can the story end. This is the inevitable trend of the ending. Otherwise, it will be a bad ending.”

“I don’t care,” Shen Cangyu said with a smirk. “You’re the one who’s obedient, not me.”

"You can't do this!" Shen Qingyan said anxiously. "You haven't experienced the world being restructured. You don't know that if the story can't move forward, the world will be deleted, and everything will start over. Then all our efforts will have been in vain!"

As he finished speaking, the sky, which had been turning white, gradually turned gray, and thunder rumbled from afar, accompanied by a fierce wind. He looked up and saw a familiar black hole appear on the horizon, mountains began to collapse, seawater poured in, and the hole, like a whirlpool, sucked everything away.

Shen Qingyan turned to look at Shen Cangyu, his voice filled with unprecedented determination: "Kill me!"

Author's note: The next chapter will be the finale. I'm still writing, so please wait a bit. You can read the next chapter along with "Riding the Crane to the West".