"Ling...Hao?"
Qin Yan looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar person in front of him, feeling somewhat incredulous: "Demon Lord Linghao?"
When Jiang Yebai heard him say this name, he looked surprised: "Do you remember?"
"Impossible," Qin Yan shook his head and pointed his sword at Jiang Yebai. "You lied to me. My master is dead. You want to confuse me? You lied to me!"
"Did I lie to you?" Jiang Yebai said calmly, a hint of pity in his eyes. "Don't you know?"
"I didn't want to drag you into this," Jiang Yebai smiled. He walked to the table and sat down. With a raised hand, a jug of wine flew over from the side and landed in front of him. He then filled a glass from mid-air. Jiang Yebai watched the wine trickle into the glass and spoke slowly, "According to my original plan, after my death, you were to be accused of the murder and rejected by the immortal world. To avenge me, you became a demonic cultivator and killed Yuqiong and the other obstacles. After that, I would pacify Yunze, and you would be safe and secure under my protection."
Jiang Yebai said this expressionlessly and took a sip of sake.
Qin Yan was a little confused when he heard this.
In an instant, everything in his previous life was connected. He went back and saw that Jiang Yebai was dead. He was besieged by Yuqiong Zhenjun and his men. He thought that the people who killed Jiang Yebai were Yuqiong Zhenjun and his men, so he always wanted to avenge Jiang Yebai. He fell into evil and betrayed his faith, and later agreed to be an undercover agent for others and became a demon cultivator.
So was it Jiang Yebai who made him an undercover agent back then?
No, it's impossible, otherwise the other party would not have told Fu Changling the news as promised when Jiang Yebai opened the prison gate, allowing Fu Changling to attack the Wuque Palace and completely destroy Jiang Yebai's plan.
"So," Qin Yan tried to calm himself down. He controlled his emotions and stared at Jiang Yebai. "Your death was fake. It was just a trap to force me to become a demon cultivator?"
Jiang Yebai didn't say anything. He drank quietly. Qin Yan clenched his sword and asked, "What are you doing here now?"
"You didn't become a demon cultivator, yet you organized the Immortal Alliance and became its leader."
Jiang Yebai raised his eyes to look at him: "Yan Ming, you can't do this."
"Why not?"
Qin Yan stared at Jiang Yebai: "You are someone sent by Yeyu. You want to destroy Yunze. Shouldn't I stop you?!"
"I'm from the Karma Prison," Jiang Yebai stared at Qin Yan quietly, "Aren't you?"
Qin Yan didn't dare to speak. If it were in the past, he would probably think it was ridiculous and would directly scold him, saying that he was trying to disturb his mind.
But at this moment, Fu Changling's words were in his mind.
"I learned about an event in the past. Fifteen years ago, a child fell into the Blood Transformation Pool. He had a natural spiritual root and his destiny was Qin Yan."
"Brother, are you really from the mortal world?"
Qin Yan's hands trembled slightly. Jiang Yebai held the cup with a calm expression: "Fu Changling went to the Samsara Bridge and entered the Blood Transformation Pool. Didn't I tell you what he saw and heard?"
"So, what you mean is," Qin Yan didn't dare to ask, but had to ask, "I am also from the Karma Prison like you?"
Jiang Yebai remained silent. He looked up at the distant thunderbolts rumbling in the distance. "Three thousand years ago, immortals and demons fought a great war. At the end of the battle, the sky collapsed and the earth tore apart. I knew I was powerless to protect my subjects, so I discussed with Ye Lan and split the world into two. I would rule Yeyu and he would rule Yunze. After that, I fell into a deep sleep and never interfered with the affairs of the two realms again."
"Ye Lan agreed, but he demanded that Ye Yu repay Yun Ze's debt for two hundred years. So he built four Qi channels, and Yun Ze borrowed spiritual energy from Ye Yu to repair himself. After two hundred years, Ye Lan would close these four Qi channels, and then the two worlds would be divided and ruled separately, with no further connection."
Jiang Yebai's words had never been recorded in Yunze Xian's history. Qin Yan was also hearing this for the first time. He frowned and asked, "What happened next?"
"Then I fell into a deep sleep. One day, when I woke up again, I found that three thousand years had passed. Three thousand years had passed," Jiang Yebai said with a low laugh. "I have experienced a reincarnation, and Ye Lan has long passed away, but the four energy channels left behind have not been closed."
Jiang Yebai's eyes glared. "For three thousand years, Yunze has been absorbing the spiritual energy of the Karma Prison for a living. Yunze devoured the spiritual energy of two realms with one world, and the vegetation flourished, and talented people emerged in large numbers. It was a golden age for cultivation. And the Karma Prison," Jiang Yebai restrained his tone, "Do you know what the Karma Prison looked like before you and I came here? It was a wasteland stretching for thousands of miles, with no vegetation growing, the sun never setting, and the rain falling like a punishment from heaven. You told me when you were little, you said that the mortal world was a thousand miles of barren land, mortals exchanging their own children and eating each other, and that people might not even be able to eat a single steamed bun in their entire lives."
"That's not the mortal world," Jiang Yebai said in a hoarse voice, "that's the hell of karma."
Qin Yan's eyes widened. Jiang Yebai lowered his head and drank a glass of wine, seeming to be in some pain. "In the beginning, Yunze had abundant spiritual energy and rarely plundered spiritual energy from the Prison of Destiny. Before I fell asleep, I made the Prison of Destiny change its cultivation method. As a result, the Prison of Destiny once prospered and had its peace. Those who practiced Taoism could practice well, and those who didn't want to practice Taoism, like your mother, could just be a mortal. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Later, Yunze's spiritual energy became increasingly thin, and more and more spiritual energy was plundered from the Karma Prison. Droughts, floods, and the difficulty of growing plants made it increasingly difficult to survive in the Karma Prison. Then I heard them calling me, and I woke up. When I woke up, I saw this scene."
"Ye Lan lied to me." Jiang Yebai clenched his fists. "Yun Ze, those shameless people, didn't keep their promise. They didn't close the four energy channels. They lied to us! I swore I would come back, I would destroy Yun Ze, and make them pay! But I just woke up, my abilities are insufficient, and the Karma Prison can no longer wait for me. So we tried every possible way to find a breakthrough from these four energy channels. We worked hard for two years, and finally one day, I sensed that there was someone in Yun Ze, and she was calling me."
"Is it Yue Sinan?"
Qin Yan understood. Jiang Yebai nodded. "She didn't know what she was summoning, but I sensed her hatred for Yunze, so I sent her a message from the barrier and reached a consensus with her. I gave her my technique to help her break through quickly. She had a golden elixir of a sword cultivator in the Spiritual Transformation Stage, and my technique. Four years later, she built the Blood Transformation Pool in Wenjian City according to my request."
"We sacrificed thousands of cultivators and temporarily opened the passage between Yunze and Yeyu. However, Ye Lan's seal could only be opened by himself, so there were actually only two types of people who could pass through this meridian seal at that time: the first was someone who was strong enough, and the second was someone who was lucky enough. So we split into two teams. One team consisted of me and several powerful people from Yeyu. With the help of Yue Sinan's formation, we broke through the boundary and arrived in Yunze. The others with lower cultivation crossed the bone-eroding river to the vicinity of the meridian seal, and then directly threw their spirits into the meridians. If their spirits were lucky, they would be able to pass through the meridian seal and, after reaching Yunze, they could try to seize the bodies of cultivator Yunze."
As Jiang Yebai spoke, a specific picture appeared in Qin Yan's mind.
He vaguely recalled his childhood memories of coming to Yunze from the human world, his mother holding him in her arms, sitting on a boat, crossing the vast ocean, and then encountering huge waves.
The boat capsized and people disappeared into the sea one by one. His mother held him up and placed him on the deck.
These memories gradually became clearer as Jiang Yebai spoke. The originally blue sea turned into a pool of blood. One by one, the cultivators fell into the blood and immediately let out screams of pain.
But no one gave up. Every person who fell, no matter how painful or desperate they were, would push those who were still on the boat and strive to move forward.
Until every last bone is devoured, leaving no remains.
Qin Yan's heart began to tremble.
He felt something churning in his memory. He seemed to recall himself lying on the deck, his mother pushing him hard, shouting at him, "Go over, Yanming, go over!"
That is the only hope for Karma Prison.
After experiencing the depletion of spiritual energy, drought and floods, and watching the people around him die one by one, this road opened up with the lives of countless lives is the only hope for the Hell of Karma.
And what those small boats and each plank carry are the heavy and desperate expectations of the people in this world.
"Among the cultivators who followed me to Yunze, I am the only one who survived. They are all in the process of breaking through the barrier..."
Jiang Yebai paused, his hand holding the cup trembling slightly. He controlled his emotions and tried to stay calm. He looked out the window and spoke calmly, "When I came here, I thought I was the only one here, but I didn't expect you to come."
Jiang Yebai turned his head and looked at Qin Yan. He smiled, "You are really lucky. So many of them were lost. After passing through Ye Lan's seal, they were very weak and had no way to possess other bodies. Only you were left. You were only four years old at that time. Your mother and the other people in the Karma Prison carried you on their shoulders one by one and sent you to the Qi Meridian barrier. Everyone helped you and protected you. In the end, there happened to be a child whose body did not have a spirit. He was about your age, so you had almost no obstacles to enter his body, and so you became him."
"It's Qin Yan," Qin Yan's voice trembled, "right?"
"Yes." Jiang Yebai's voice was calm. "He originally had no spirit, so your possession of his body has no cause and effect in the Heavenly Dao Chart. You can practice the most orthodox magic without suffering Heaven's wrath."
"Actually, I should have taken you on the run back then. But Yue Sinan was surrounded by cultivators, and I had just arrived in Yunze and couldn't take care of myself. So I left a protective mark on you and asked Yue Sinan to arrange for you to escape first."
"You were still too young. I was afraid you would expose the Prison of Karma, so I sealed your memory. Yue Sinan had her high-level puppet, Guan Xiaoniang, escort you away, while Yue Sinan and I battled the cultivators and slaughtered them all outside of Wenjian City. Yue Sinan and I fled in separate ways. She was seriously injured and went into seclusion, while my spiritual power was completely depleted and my consciousness was damaged. When I woke up, I had forgotten everything about the past."
"After I woke up, the only clue I had to explore my past was the protective mark on your body, so I went to find you and took you in as my disciple. At that time, I didn't remember anything, I didn't know anything, but some voice in the dark told me to stand at the top of Yunze. So I took you with me and challenged hundreds of sects with my sword, wanting to see the depths of Yunze. Then I formed an alliance with the Sword Sect and, with their support, I became the Palace Master of Hongmeng Tiangong."
"When did you regain your memory?"
Qin Yan no longer dared to think deeply about anything. He controlled his tone and just mechanically tried to sort out what happened that year.
Jiang Yebai closed his eyes and said slowly, "When you were twelve years old, I went to the East China Sea to fight against the demon tribe."
"I met Yue Sinan, and then I remembered everything."
"Have you been planning to destroy Yunze since then?" Qin Yan's voice was low and hoarse. Jiang Yebai looked at the starry sky outside and he felt that dawn was about to break.
In fact, he loves such mountains and rivers very much.
He likes the wind in Yunze, the sun in Yunze, the people in Yunze, and the vibrant appearance of this world.
When he remembered nothing, he felt that everything in the world was full of joy, and he loved this world deeply. But when he remembered everything, every bit of beauty he saw would be reflected in the blood of the hell of karma.
But what did ordinary people like Yunze do wrong?
They had no idea what was happening. They just lived their lives diligently. When he was tired of challenging hundreds of sects with his sword, he would take Qin Yan to sit at the entrance of a teahouse, and an old man would hand them a bowl of water. When he carried Qin Yan on his back on the street, and Qin Yan stared at a rattle and refused to leave, and he had no money to buy one, a street vendor would give Qin Yan a rattle and say with a smile, "What a handsome boy! This rattle is for you, kid."
What a wonderful world.
But what did Ye Yu do wrong?
It was agreed that it would take two hundred years to atone for the sins, but after two hundred years, it became an endless three thousand years.
Three thousand years have passed, and the people of that time have long since reincarnated and passed away, but those who were born in the hell of karma are still tasting the never-ending evil consequences in their endless lives.
Until the end, when they reached a desperate situation, even surviving became a luxury.
So he fell into pain from then on.
"I don't want you to remember everything," Jiang Yebai said calmly. "I want you to live well. You're still a child and shouldn't be involved in all this. You should fall into the devil and become a demon cultivator. With your personality, if you become a demon cultivator, you will just hide away. You won't kill anyone from Yunze except those who hurt me. You just need to hide away, close your eyes, and stay in seclusion for a few decades. When you wake up again, everything will be over."
"But you won't."
Jiang Yebai turned to look at him: "You insisted on getting involved. Fu Changling asked you to be the leader of the Immortal Alliance. I have no choice."
Jiang Yebai said as he stood up and walked towards Qin Yan step by step. He looked down at him and said, "Yan Ming, your life was given by the people of the prison."
Qin Yan listened to Jiang Yebai's words in a daze. Jiang Yebai pressed his forehead against Qin Yan's, his voice filled with seduction as he gently said the cruelest words in the world: "Everything you have was paved with the lives of the people of Karma Prison. Back then, you walked step by step to Yunze, step by step, on the corpses of the people of Karma Prison. Only then did you have such a good life."
"Are you going to betray them?"
Qin Yan's lips trembled and he couldn't speak.
"Are you going to betray me?"
"You betrayed me!"
Qin Yan suddenly pushed Jiang Yebai away and pointed his sword at him. A strong wind blew in, causing Qin Yan's wide sleeves to hit the sword. "If it's as you said, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"If it's as you said, why didn't you tell me clearly earlier!"
Qin Yan shouted, "Why did you pretend you were dead, making me suffer, regret, and feel guilty for the rest of my life?"
"So are you happy now?"
Jiang Yebai stared at his sword: "Are you happy? Now you know everything. If I had told you earlier, wouldn't you have been less painful?"
"I can keep it secret for the rest of my life."
Jiang Yebai raised his voice: "You are forcing me, all of you are forcing me!"
"I asked you to learn the Way of Ruthlessness. Why do you think that is?"
When Jiang Yebai took a step forward, Qin Yan couldn't help but take a step back.
"I just hope that you can give up everything, whether it's Yunze or Yeyu, me or Fu Changling. Within the two realms, there's no one with better aptitude than you. After you achieve perfection in the Way of Mercilessness and ascend to the upper realm, neither Yunze nor Yeyu will have anything to do with you."
"I asked you to leave Fu Changling. Why do you think it was for?"
"I just hope you can stay away from him. He is inextricably linked to the affairs of these two realms, and I don't want you to be involved in this dispute. I hope you can live like Yunze and not take on any responsibilities."
"How could I not take responsibility for anything!" Qin Yan roared, "Whether you are alive or dead, Jiang Yebai is my master."
"My master, he cared about the world," Qin Yan said, his throat choking with sobs. "He taught me to be compassionate to the people, to help the weak and to fight the strong, and to change Yunze's habit of cultivating on his own and ignoring the people. Even though he is dead, he will always live in my heart."
Qin Yan raised his hand and grasped his chest: "As long as I am alive, my sword will follow my master's instructions and serve him for a day."
"As long as I live, I will uphold the teachings of my master and wield the sword for the rest of my life."
"I didn't lie to you."
Jiang Yebai said calmly: "It's just my world, my people, not Yunze."
"Then what should I do?" Qin Yan stared at Jiang Yebai and choked out, "What should I do!"
"I've told you everything I need to tell you," Jiang Yebai said, standing still. "You can choose what to do."
"Yunze or Yeyu, you have to choose one."
Qin Yan didn't say anything, he looked at the young man in front of him.
He was very thin, as if only a skeleton was left, supporting a blue Taoist robe. His handsome face looked very calm, and there was gentle pity in his eyes as he looked at Qin Yan.
He seemed to know this kind of pain, so his compassion was mixed with a bit of self-pity.
Qin Yan gripped his sword tightly. Jiang Yebai walked towards him. The moment he stretched out his hand, Qin Yan suddenly drew his sword and pierced through his body.
Jiang Yebai was not surprised. He moved his body towards Qin Yan's sword. He opened his arms and gently held Qin Yan in his arms.
"I'm sorry..." Qin Yan's tears fell, and his whole body trembled. "I'll accompany you."
"Master," Qin Yan closed his eyes and waited for Jiang Yebai's sword, "Kill me."
He had no way of wielding his sword against Yunze, nor could he betray the world that had brought him to the golden age of cultivation with countless lives after knowing the origins of Yeyu.
His only choice was to drag Jiang Yebai away with him, just like he did back then.
And Fu Changling will take care of everything else.
When this name crossed his mind, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Jiang Yebai felt Qin Yan's sword, he sighed, raised his hands and gently placed them on both sides of Qin Yan's head.
"Silly child, forget it."
As he spoke, he easily used his spiritual sense to penetrate into Qin Yan's soul.
Qin Yan's mind had long been in a mess. Jiang Yebai was already one realm higher than him, and now he had completely destroyed Qin Yan's state of mind. At this moment, invading his sea of consciousness was as easy as entering a child's.
In an instant, Qin Yan felt something rising up. His eyes were filled with blood, and snow-white arms were pushing small boats towards the unknown shore.
It was Jiang Yebai who pulled him up the stairs step by step, overlooking the beautiful mountains and rivers.
There was a severe drought, and his mother held him and stumbled forward.
He put his arms around his mother's neck and said in a childish voice, "Mom, where are we going?"
"Go to Yunze. Yanming," the woman's voice was hoarse as if torn apart by the wind, "Mother will definitely let you live."
At the same time, something in his mind quickly disappeared.
In the icy snow, a man followed him quietly, holding his sword;
In front of the Xuanji Secret Realm formation, a man once gave up his golden elixir to protect him, and told him "you will live";
During a sword fight at the Junzi Terrace, a man once used the Qinggu Fan to force a monk back, then asked with a smile, "Do you admit defeat, sir?"
In front of Jiang Yebai's tombstone, a man once sat opposite him, shared a glass of wine with him, then stood up, told him, "I won't fight you today," and turned away...
That person was reborn with him, went to the Xuanji Secret Realm together, became his junior apprentice, studied in the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace, shared life and death with him at the Wangu Cliff, and accompanied him hand in hand in Taiping Town.
They almost got married, and even though he knew he was lying to him, he would only say: "I will be good to my brother in this life, don't lie to me, that's enough!"
Such a bold and gentle person.
Being so beautiful in people's eyes is equivalent to being alone in their hearts for a lifetime.
"Forget all the good things about Yunze," Jiang Yebai said calmly, "and you won't be sad."
"And I can't forget," Jiang Yebai embraced Qin Yan, who had completely fainted. "The most beautiful thing I have in Yunze is you, Yan Ming."
*** ***
He wanted to kill this man before Jiang Yebai appeared in front of Qin Yan.
Fu Changling knew very well that if this person appeared in front of Qin Yan again, it would be better for Qin Yan than for him to die.
After this thought came to his mind, Fu Changling simply stopped controlling himself and frantically absorbed all the spiritual energy into his body. He closed his eyes and let the spiritual power continue to surge, while at the same time pulling his palm upwards.
One hand after another reached out from behind the meridians and grabbed Fu Changling's hands tightly.
Fu Changling didn't know how many people were behind him, he just felt as if a huge amount of gold was falling in his hand. The bone sword swung down madly under his control. Fu Changling got a chance to rest, shouted loudly, grabbed the sword in his hand, and slashed towards the entire blood-transforming pool!
This sword instantly destroyed the intersection between the scroll and the ground pattern of the Blood Transformation Pool. Fu Changling recalled the Qinggu Fan in his hand and quickly began to draw talismans in the air. One talisman after another flew to the pattern itself, separating the scroll and the runes of the Blood Transformation Pool.
From a distance, Jiang Yebai noticed that the formation was damaged. He held the unconscious Qin Yan in one hand and closed his eyes, calling out, "Sinan, move."
Yue Sinan, who had been hiding in the dark, hesitated for a moment and finally responded, "Yes."
After he finished speaking, Yue Sinan flicked his hand, and a mechanical flying insect flew towards Fu Changling. Fu Changling instinctively felt something flying behind him, so he raised his hand and fanned it in the direction of the flying insect. The mechanical flying insect hit the fan and instantly split into hundreds of flying insects, rushing towards Fu Changling. At the same time, the scroll on the ground and the formation carved on the blood pool began to merge again. Fu Changling realized his opponent's intention and said, "Heaven and earth enter the law, fire comes."
In an instant, all the mechanical flying insects were ignited by the fire. Fu Changling turned around and swung his sword at the intersection of the scroll and the blood-transforming pool.
Yue Sinan waved her sleeves to block and dissipated all of Fu Changling's force. At this moment, Fu Changling noticed Yue Sinan's position, and countless talismans rushed towards Yue Sinan. Yue Sinan quickly dodged to the side, and just as she left, the place where she was was exploded by the talismans.
Yue Sinan landed gracefully on the ground. Fu Changling raised his hand and thrust the sword into the ground. The sword energy instantly cut through the place where the scroll and the lines on the blood-transforming pool were connected.
"Aunt Yue," Fu Changling raised his eyebrows, "I hope you are well."
"I'll give you a way out," Yue Sinan said calmly. "You've done what you should do now. The Demon Lord will forgive your sins. For your mother's sake, I don't want to fight you. Move aside."
"Shouldn't you help me for my mother's sake?"
Fu Changling sneered: "My mother expected you to become like this?"
"You and your father are ruthless and heartless," Yue Sinan smiled gently as she listened to Fu Changling's scolding. The little man on her shoulder also smiled with her, tilting his head slightly, revealing a mouthful of sharp steel teeth. "If you dare not avenge Sister Lin, I will do it. Get out of the way!"
"What if I don't let you?"
Fu Changling opened and closed his Qinggu fan, raising his chin slightly. Yue Sinan smiled and said, "No wonder I disregarded your mother's face. Go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Changling felt the surroundings shaking. He frowned, and then saw the corpses of the monks who were previously on the wooden racks slowly appear in the surrounding fog and walk towards him step by step.
Fu Changling frowned. Yue Sinan sat down gracefully, suspended in mid-air. "These cultivators have retained their cultivation from their lifetimes, allowing the remnant souls of Karma Prison to possess their bodies. Little Changling, even if you are a Divine Transformation cultivator, practicing both magic and swordsmanship, two fists are no match for four. I want to see how powerful you are!"
"Aunt Yue," Fu Changling laughed, "You can't imagine how capable I am, but I finally know how capable you are."
As he spoke, Fu Changling raised his hands in front of him and bowed respectfully to Yue Sinan: "Please teach me."
When the battle in the Blood Transformation Pool was in turmoil, Fu Yushu grabbed the Tan Xin Sword and was dragged forward by the Tan Xin Sword.
"Slow down, ma'am, slow down."
Fu Yushu was a practitioner of Dharma, and he had never been dragged around by a sword like this before.
If the remaining soul in this sword was not Lin Chen, he would have melted the sword long ago!
"Madam, please tell me where you are going. Don't be in a hurry."
Fu Yushu knew that Tan Xinjian must have been in trouble because he was in such a hurry. After hearing what Fu Yushu said, Tan Xinjian finally stopped. Fu Yushu grasped the hilt of the sword, and the whole person was suspended in the air. He sighed: "The heaven and earth enter the law, ride on the clouds."
After he finished speaking, a cloud floated over and landed beneath Fu Yushu. Fu Yushu carefully let go of his sword, stood on the cloud, and panted, "Let me ask you, if it's you, hold it upright, otherwise hold it horizontally, okay?"
The sword was immediately raised.
Fu Yushu immediately asked, "Did something happen in Changling?"
The sword is upright.
Fu Yushu said again: "Write me where you are going."
The sword immediately moved in the air, writing out the location stroke by stroke.
Fu Yushu looked at the place written by Tan Xinjian, and his pupils suddenly narrowed. He inserted the sword into the scabbard, raised his hand and a teleportation array was formed, and said angrily: "Such a big thing, why didn't you discuss it with me? What are you running around for? Did he just go to that place casually?! This is nonsense!"
Tan Xinjian trembled with dissatisfaction, and Fu Yushu quickly said: "Don't be angry, I'm not saying you're stupid, you're straightforward, I'm mean, I have a lot of ideas."
"Don't worry."
Fu Yushu jumped into the teleportation array: "I'll take you there right away."
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