Chapter Twenty-One: The Master Has a Grand Vision (But He Has Amnesia)

Ye Chi's keen senses detected something amiss. He reacted quickly, instinctively raising his sword to parry, but the dense, black fog seemed to mock his overestimation of his abilities, easily piercing the fragile wooden sword. If Ya Feiyu hadn't pulled him away in time, the fog might have pierced more than just the sword.

A black mist swept by, accompanied by an intense chill. Ye Chi's face turned pale. He felt a strange, almost primal fear, like the fear a prey has of its predator—an instinct etched into their genes. He instinctively grabbed Ya Feiyu's sleeve. Shi Bai was in slightly better shape; demons were better able to adapt to this unknown yin energy, but he wasn't much better off, his face equally pale.

"Master, I feel... very bad, so cold." Shi Bai's voice was barely audible. If he hadn't been conscious and knew he couldn't offend his master, he would have already clung to Ya Feiyu without any regard for his image. "Linglong Pavilion... is it such a cold and gloomy place? Your disciple is foolish and thought... at least it wouldn't be that dangerous."

Ya Feiyu glanced at him, her silver-blue spiritual energy flowing and erecting a protective barrier. She said, "No. Your guess is correct. This place wasn't always like this... In just a hundred years, could something have happened here...?"

This thick, dark aura gave him a strong sense of familiarity.

It was so intense that it was unsettling.

This surging gas was like the demonic energy he had dealt with for hundreds of years. Although it was mixed with other evil energies of unknown origin and was slightly colder, it was still so familiar that he could not ignore it, just like a shadow that always followed him and clung to his thin back.

“I don’t know what happened here, but…” Ya Feiyu lowered his eyes and said slowly, “Let’s go take a look.”

In his previous life, he was not the leader of the peak, so he did not know about this part of the story. However, he heard that Cen Dao had encountered a powerful figure who guided him, which led him to obtain one of the four treasures, the Linglong Sword. This laid a good, albeit unsurprising, foreshadowing of the later plot where he, the main villain, was killed by the sword.

Ya Feiyu's hands, hanging by his sides, slowly clenched. If he could, he would naturally want to interfere with the plot; no one could accept dying again, especially someone as proud as him. A dark glint flashed in his silver eyes; he bit his lower lip, his gaze falling on Ye Chi.

This person is the biggest variable in his life. It is because of him that he has avoided the possibility of falling into demonic possession countless times. Although the inner demon has a great influence on him, it is not as painful as being torn apart by a thousand knives in his previous life. Instead, it is like being slowly cut open by rusty iron. Blood gushes out. It hurts, but it is not fatal. He even feels that he can survive this ordeal.

Since I've already avoided the plot point of becoming a demon, does that mean...?

Is it possible that he could avoid the plot of his own death?

So far in the story, the villain is still missing. He knows how much influence the so-called author has on the plot. His "settings" can easily change the whole world and make the world serve the protagonist he has created.

What if he creates a huge, irreparable contradiction?

The book fans in that world seem to call this contradiction a "bug." If the bug is too big and there are too many flaws, many readers will choose to abandon the story. Therefore, in order to continue to please the audience, will the author of the story make some corresponding modifications to the setting in order to eliminate the "bug"?

For example, change his villainous role and replace him with someone else...

That way, he can survive.

The idea was quite wonderful, but Ya Feiyu had to admit that putting it into practice would be far more difficult than he had imagined. Creating a massive "bug" that could trigger the Heavenly Dao was no easy feat; he would have to ensure that the current story's development deviated drastically from the plot of his previous life, making it impossible to find a way out.

But this is no easier than ascending to heaven.

But he was willing to try, even though the chances were slim, even though it might all come to nothing.

You only know if it's possible after you try.

Now that he had set his goal, the first thing he needed to do on this trip was definitely not to find a suitable weapon for his apprentice. The Linglong Pavilion had been open for quite some time, which was enough for Ya Feiyu to find a suitable weapon.

His first task was to find the whereabouts of the Linglong Sword.

And for this goal...

He looked toward Cen Dao in the crowd.

...

Ya Feiyu provided them with some weapons to protect themselves and withstand the first wave of Yin energy attacks. Cen Dao and the others struggled up the mountain, witnessing many corpses and skeletons along the way, some buried deep in the ground and others exposed in the wilderness. Xu Miaomiao, who was not very brave, was so frightened that she clung to Cen Dao's arm. Shen Rong watched from behind, her eyes darkening slightly.

The male protagonist, who was right in the middle of the chaotic scene, seemed completely unfazed. He neither shook off Xu Miaomiao nor said yes, his attitude ambiguous and unclear. He walked ahead, glanced around briefly, and said, "There shouldn't be anything here."

The young girl who cultivated the artifact was taken aback and said, "Junior Brother Cen's cultivation is so advanced that he can tell at a glance that there is nothing here? It seems that my skills are not good enough, and I can't see anything at all..."

Upon hearing this, Cen Dao's expression went blank for a moment, then he covered his mouth and coughed lightly, trying to cover up his misunderstanding: "Ahem, I have Elder Tianxue's spiritual power in me, so my senses are naturally more sensitive than ordinary people."

"I see." The weapon-cultivating girl nodded in sudden understanding.

Seeing that the girl didn't seem to care much, Cen Dao breathed a sigh of relief. It was quite strange; despite having the lowest cultivation level among those present, he seemed like an indispensable member of the team, leading everyone.

As they passed through a thicket of bushes, the smell of blood suddenly intensified.

Cen Dao frowned. The stench of blood was so strong it was almost impossible to ignore, and it even carried a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy. He couldn't help but part the grass and look over. He saw a familiar figure lying among layers of bones, eyes closed, face pale.

Everyone was shocked: "Elder Tianxue?!"

—The figure lying among the white bones was none other than their revered peak master.

At this moment, he was sleeping soundly, like a dying man.

Xu Miaomiao disregarded her fear for a moment, rushed forward, put two fingers together on Ya Feiyu's slender neck, and said with a solemn expression: "Elder's condition is not optimistic... It seems that he has been possessed by a demon."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent in unison.

Cen Dao stepped forward and helped Ya Feiyu up, finding him a relatively less steep spot where he could sit against a tree trunk—better than lying among a pile of bones. Shen Rong squatted down in front of him, her brows slightly furrowed, and said, "Ye Chi and Shi Bai... weren't with him."

Xu Miaomiao took out the medicine, and upon hearing this, her eyes flickered slightly, and she couldn't help but look over.

Cen Dao was much more direct: "You don't mean to say..."

Shen Rong's expression was solemn. She slowly shook her head, looked at Ya Feiyu's pale face, and said, "I don't know what they went through."

Just then, the heavy atmosphere was suddenly broken by a muffled cough. Cen Dao immediately looked over and saw that Ya Feiyu had opened her eyes. Her silvery-white eyes were always breathtakingly beautiful, and coupled with her blood-stained face, they gave her an inexplicable sense of fragility, like a porcelain doll, making one unconsciously speak with caution.

"Peak Master, you're awake," Shen Rong said respectfully.

"...Who are you?"

A look of confusion appeared in Ya Feiyu's eyes, which did not seem fake. His thin body was tense, and he was wary and fearful.

Everyone was taken aback at the same time.

"Peak Master, do you still remember who you are?" Xu Miaomiao reacted quickly and asked in return.

Ya Feiyu tilted her head, looking somewhat confused. After a pause, she replied, "I am Ya Feiyu..."

Then came a long silence.

Cen Dao, growing impatient, urged with a hint of anger in his voice, "Peak Master?"

Ya Feiyu looked at him, and for some reason, he felt a strange unease about this man, which made it difficult for him to relax. Now, urged on by this man, he tensed up even more, his small face pale, and after a long pause, he stammered, "I...I...I don't know..."

His voice was weak, drifting lightly through the air: "...I think that's all I remember."

Xu Miaomiao's expression immediately hardened. Even a sweet and lovely girl can be quite intimidating when she's serious. She slowly walked over and gave Ya Feiyu a porcelain bowl filled with a thick, dark, unidentified liquid, which made Ya Feiyu stiffen and his back tense.

Unfortunately, Xu Miaomiao did not notice his resistance to the bowl of medicine and said, "Peak Master, please drink it."

The little girl's aura was much more approachable, at least to him, she was much closer to him than Cen Dao beside him. So he followed her words, stretched out his pale and thin hand, and tremblingly took the somewhat worn bowl. When he drank the medicine, it was so bitter that he accidentally choked and some of the medicine came out and slid down the corner of his mouth.

Cen Dao stood silently outside the crowd, gazing intently, a hint of unease creeping into his expression. Shen Rong and Xu Miaomiao, however, didn't think much of it; one looked around, the other observing Ya Feiyu's condition. Seeing this, a young passerby frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Cen, who... could have injured the elder like this?"

"I have no idea."

The young weapon-cultivating girl sat beside him, also looking worried: "The elder's situation isn't looking good. What should we do? If this person really has malicious intentions towards us... even the elder has fallen for his tricks, what about us little shrimps..."

Cen Dao's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, a sudden surge of resentment rising in his heart. He stared intently at the slender figure beneath the tree, his eyes filled with gloom.

Ya Feiyu... How are you still alive?!