Fifty-six: Kill Evil and Forget Love
Many years ago, after Lu Yinche was seriously injured and disappeared, Ding Zhu once approached Gong Jin and said he wanted to tell his fortune.
Gong Jin refused him: "I don't want a fortune teller, it would be better to find me a doctor."
"You too?" Ding Zhu realized he had slipped up, swallowed the rest of his sentence, and changed his tone, "That's not contradictory. Ah Jin, I observed the stars at night and felt that you have a serious problem and a turbulent fate. If you don't let me take a closer look at you, do you still consider me a friend? Have all those years of drinking been in vain?"
Gong Jin said, "Friend? Lu Yinche, I've already said I'll sell you, and you still dare to be my friend?"
"How did it get to him? We all know about his affair—" Ding Zhu was helpless, but he saw that Gong Jin's expression was unusual. He wasn't joking. On that beautiful face, his brows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes were deep and distant. "You, do you have anything to say?"
Gong Jin put away the expression on his face for a moment, pretended to be relaxed, and asked him, "What do you think of Ah Che?"
"He's the bravest of us all," Ding Zhu replied quickly. "He's smart, kind, and has a heart for the world. He's a good man. No one can deny that."
"Yes." Gong Jin sighed, "But I feel that he has always been like that, seemingly affectionate, but actually heartless."
Gong Jue loves him, doesn't he know?
He doesn't know.
I love him, doesn't he know?
He doesn't know.
But I won't tell him.
I knew I couldn't win his favor. He was a man who would keep moving forward, always moving forward, never looking back, thinking of the path he had chosen. How could he turn back for me, for someone who had already reached the end and a dead end?
He wouldn’t. Lu Yinche wouldn’t.
So, I can't love him. I'll be jealous to the point of going crazy, jealous that Yan Yanshu can catch up with him. Perhaps Yan Yanshu is the only one who can catch up with him. I'm so jealous of Yan Yanshu, jealous that he can get his love.
But I didn't.
I will always be just one of his friends.
So I can only hate him. That way, my emotions will surely last the longest. I will continue to hate him until my life comes to an end, and I embrace the eternal future in this world that he has brought me.
How could Lu Yinche know such a thing? He was just a fool who couldn't even understand the deep meaning of Gong Jin's eyes on him. He kept all his love for Yan Yanshu alone, and only opened the door of his true love to him.
He stared solemnly in the direction of the incident. The gloomy northwest sky gradually turned to a dark, inky black. A biting, chilling wind howled across the withered snowy peaks, bringing with it waves of teeth-grinding wails, the sound of resentment. Lu Yinche raised his hand to block the wind and snow mixed with tiny ice crystals and ash, and heard Wei Qi say, "The one we captured in Yaocheng is being held there along with several spies from the Yang family."
Lu Yinche turned to Gong Jin and asked, "Do you know Shang Jiao—does this person practice the same evil arts as Gong Jue?"
Gong Jin replied, "Maybe. Birds of a feather, none of them are good."
Lu Yinche was scolded and tried to continue questioning, but the sound transmission spirit stone beside him lit up, and it was a message from Yan Yanshu. His voice was cold and calm, sounding balanced, and the content was also the usual evasive, but Lu Yinche still frowned after listening to it.
He said, "The Yang family manipulated several disciples of the sect to kill Shang Jiao. Many of the wronged souls within him have yet to merge, leaving them unchecked. My brothers and I will suppress them here, so don't worry." His words were concise and to the point, revealing the root cause of the disaster. Lu Yinche's heart sank. His apprentice, who had few memories, had, after all, met the same fate.
Gong Jin didn't comment, but Wei Qi did remark that Yan Yanshu truly cared about Lu Yinche, reporting everything to him. He even had a playful air, clearly not regarding the disaster as a serious matter. This was true, given the strength of Yan Yanshu and his head brother. While Gong Jue had seemed able to hold his own against Yan Yanshu that day, it was also due to the power of secret treasures like the Guansheng Flute. Even if Lu Yinche didn't intervene, a few more rounds would have made Gong Jue a match for him.
At this time, too, as the wind and snow intensified, the sky shifted even more dramatically. If one looked closely at the murky sky, one would see several twisted, tormented black shadows of souls struggling and churning, converging into a foul torrent like an overturned inkstone.
The mountain protection formation of Cheng Xiao Sect was activated naturally, and the spiritual energy flowed as usual in the light golden barrier. The last time this thing was troubled to work was probably three hundred years ago when Lu Yinche was here.
The vengeful spirits attacked the formation frantically, their accumulated resentment unfathomable. Each impact shook the earth and mountains, and the light of the formation flickered. Yan Yanshu's pale figure stood in mid-air, facing the raging spirits, his expression as cold as eternal ice and snow.
He put his fingers together like a sword, and casually pointed. The clear sword sounded like the sound of the great way, and the sword energy was like the Milky Way pouring down, splitting the turbidity and creating a ray of heavenly light.
Lu Yinche's mind moved, and he sent his barely recovered spirit out, completely forgetting who had sworn to Yan Yanshu that he wasn't someone who enjoyed watching the fun. He was simply taking advantage of Yan Yanshu's lack of attention to control him. Besides, if he wasn't curious, what was the point of practicing Taoism? He might as well go home and sleep.
Yan Yanshu naturally sensed the fluctuations in his lover's spirit, his expression slightly resigned. He could only continue to observe closely with his spiritual awareness, hastening the resolution of the present trouble. With a slight twist of his wrist, countless tiny fragments of sword intent precisely struck down the scattered powerful spirits. His movements were fluid and effortless, revealing the demeanor of the world's greatest swordsman.
Lu Yinche marveled at the sword's sharpness, imbued with the power to determine life and death, and to unify yin and yang. He almost thought it was an advanced version of the Seven Pagodas. Therefore, Yan Yanshu was the true darling of the Heavenly Dao. Although his soul wasn't born naturally, he possessed such power and could even comprehend such a Dao. The Heavenly Dao must be so pleased with him that they wanted to hold him in their hands and give him a kiss.
He also wanted to kiss her twice.
However, just as the sky almost returned to its original state and the storm gradually subsided, a cold current came from the bottom up, completely avoiding Yan Yanshu's sword intent, and carried with it a crazy and cold wronged soul, rushing straight towards Lu Yinche's consciousness that was passing through the chaotic soul tide.
The perception transmitted was faster than vision. Lu Yinche's scalp instantly felt numb and he said "not good" in his heart, knowing that such extreme emotions were definitely directed at him.
It is Shangjiao.
An emotion mixed with resentment, anger, madness and obsession.
He had no time to reflect on what he had done to provoke such a madman, and immediately withdrew his consciousness. Yan Yanshu, who was always paying attention, also swung out a sword flash, splitting the wronged soul in half.
But it was too late.
The remnant soul disappeared on the spot, but in the next second it seemed to cling to Lu Yinche's rapidly withdrawing spiritual consciousness, penetrating through space like a ghost, ignoring the protection of Kuxue Peak, and rushed straight to Lu Yinche's face!
"Be careful!" Gong Jin and Wei Qi shouted simultaneously, their mind aroused as they prepared to build a defense. Lu Yinche also subconsciously reached into his sleeve, pulled out the Guansheng flute, and swung it out in an arc of light.
The extremely dim residual soul that was directed at him began to evaporate violently the moment it touched the Guansheng flute, but it did not disappear immediately. Instead, it flickered with an ominous red light. At the same time, the flute in Lu Yinche's hand, which had been quiet, began to shake and heat up. The wind passed through the sound holes, making a shrill buzzing sound and generating a strange suction force, which carried Lu Yinche through the defenses of Gong Jin and the others and approached the boiling residual soul.
【To offer sacrifice to the souls of the world】
In a flash, Lu Yinche thought of the origins of the Guansheng Flute. He feared it wasn't some sacred treasure, perhaps tied to the resentful spirits. He instinctively wanted to let go, but this sudden loss of control disrupted his rhythm.
The residual soul exploded rapidly, and the air waves surged towards Lu Yinche.
"Ache!"
Yan Yanshu rushed over quickly and witnessed this scene. His face turned frosty. His body flashed and he broke through the space in an instant and appeared in front of Lu Yinche. He stretched out his hand to block the attack.
However, just as Yan Yanshu's hand was about to touch the remnant soul whose power suddenly increased due to resonance, Lu Yinche saw that the strange red light in the center of the remnant soul stopped beating.
"Buzz!"
The next second, a deafening sound came from under their feet, and the cold and hard rocks of the Withered Snow Peak exploded, bursting out with several deep red light beams. A dark mist rose up from the snow without warning, and a strange and complicated formation could be vaguely seen flashing in the air, then twisted and dissipated, leaving only the ghostly energy rising into the sky, covering Yan Yanshu's figure from behind.
"Yanshu! Be careful!" Lu Yinche's pupils suddenly shrank and he cried out in surprise.
Yan Yanshu's brows knitted tightly together, his sword energy surging through him, nearly breaking free from his restraints. However, the formation, from which he couldn't see the way out, was truly eerie. The bloody, decaying aura seemed to penetrate every pore, clinging to him like spider silk, the end of which pierced his chest at an extremely fast speed.
The remnant soul that had intended to attack Lu Yinche just now immediately changed direction, wrapped in filthy blood, and slammed into Yan Yanshu's chest.
"Hmm..." Yan Yanshu groaned, his body shaking violently. The protective sword energy and the evil energy clashed fiercely, making a "sizzling" sound. Pain crossed his face, and his eyes quickly dimmed.
Lu Yinche didn't care about anything else and was about to rush forward, but was ruthlessly bounced back by the ghost energy.
He could only watch as Yan Yanshu's figure slowly fell in the black and red light. His white robe was stained with dirt, and he fell on the cold snow like a crane with broken wings.
The wind and snow continued, and the world lost its sound and color.
Lu Yinche's vision was tightly grasped by the dark red that swallowed Yan Yanshu. An uncontrollable golden lotus blossomed in front of him. The sounds of the world seemed to fade away in an instant, leaving only the beating of his heart and the cry of reason due to extreme anger.
"Evil and rebellious, damn it!"
He raised his hand, his body swaying slightly, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead due to the violent concussion of his sea of consciousness. But his eyes were terrifyingly bright, reflecting the lotus sword intent around him and contrasting sharply with the ghostly tricks before him.
"Lu Yinche! Your mind is unstable, don't move rashly!" Wei Qi realized something was wrong and shouted urgently. At the same time, he looked anxiously at Yan Yanshu who was lying on the ground, his life or death unknown. The faint light of spiritual power he used could not penetrate the barrier of ghost energy no matter what.
Lu Yinche pretended not to hear, and his fingers were like swords, with his fingertips trembling violently due to the force.
The surrounding Qi seemed to be solidified by the formation, and the spiritual power in the surroundings had been completely sucked away by the previous incident. He could only gather strength with difficulty in his sea of consciousness, as if he was struggling to walk through the slag of broken glass. The pain made his eyes go black.
But he didn't care.
One petal, two petals, the spiritual power was forcibly compressed at his fingertips, gathering into an extremely pure double-petaled phantom. The edges were even slightly twisted and flickering due to the unstable power, but it was more murderous than any other petal around it, and carried a roaring anger.
He stared coldly at the ghostly energy surrounding Yan Yanshu, seemingly about to devour him completely. He gently thrust the swaying golden lotus at his fingertips forward. The small golden lotus suddenly exploded, not with a deafening roar, but with a strange, clear sound like shattering glass. The Guansheng flute, thrown from his hand in the chaos, floated in the air, its jet-black outer shell vibrating violently, and a sharp hum replaced the clear sound.
In an instant, thousands of golden sword intentions, as thin as cow hair but dazzling, spread out rapidly and silently with the lotus as the center, like ripples caused by a stone thrown into a calm lake.
Wherever the sword passed, the evil had nowhere to hide. Wherever the golden light swept, the ghost energy was annihilated into nothingness, and only Yan Yanshu was left in the void.
Lu Yinche's body trembled violently, and the last breath he had been holding was released, but he swallowed back the blood rushing to his throat, his back was straight, and except for his pale face, he did not show any sign of shaking.
"Did the Yang family take action?" The sect leader hurried over, followed by several disciples of the sect, escorting several people who might be hostages. Lu Yinche didn't look to see who they were. All his attention was fixed on Yan Yanshu. He pushed away Gong Jin who wanted to support him and moved over step by step.
Wei Qi was much quicker than him. He rushed forward in a few steps and transferred a stream of pure medicinal power into Yan Yanshu's heart meridian. His face was extremely solemn. He suddenly looked up and saw Lu Yinche's face as pale as gold paper. Wuxu sensed the precarious state of his soul and was immediately shocked and angry. He shouted at him: "Yan Yanshu's soul is destroyed, don't you want yours too?"
Destroyed?
Lu Yinche's pupils shrank suddenly. He ignored all the reprimands and only grasped those two words. He suddenly knelt beside Yan Yanshu and reached out to feel his pulse, but his fingertips trembled violently. An unprecedented panic gripped him.
No, they could share souls, that was possible. He didn't care about much else, nor about the fact that his own soul had already been scarred. He immediately focused his mind and tried to emulate the successful precedent Wei Qi had mentioned—forcibly separating a strand of his remaining soul fragments and transferring it into Yan Yanshu's body, attempting to use this as a trigger to ignite a glimmer of life.
However, he was not lucky.
The soul was like a drop in the ocean. As soon as it entered Yan Yanshu's sea of consciousness, it felt a heart-wrenching emptiness and dead silence. There was nothing there, no response, no fluctuations, not even a trace of a remnant soul could be sensed, only absolute nothingness.
Lu Yinche didn't dare to take his eyes off Yan Yanshu's tightly closed eyes, and said to Wei Qi in a hoarse voice: "Where is your Liuli Resurrection Pill? Give it to him, give it to him." He was breathing heavily, but Wei Qi was unmoved.
"Feng Ling's situation is different. His meridians are all blocked, and his sea of consciousness seems to..." Wei Qi frowned, unable to find a good word, "shows signs of heaven's punishment. No soul can remain."
Lu Yinche ignored him and insisted on continuing to transport his remaining soul. This was extremely painful for him, but he could only find joy in the midst of suffering, thankful that what he had were already fragmented pieces, so he didn't have to endure the pain of being torn apart again.
Gong Jin stepped forward and grabbed Lu Yinche's wrist: "Don't try!"
Lu Yinche shook off his hand, unable to speak. He could only breathe heavily and wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth with difficulty.
"I've completely destroyed the formation," Gong Jin said coldly, the seriousness in his tone clear to everyone. "Just now, under the influence of the flute, the formation connected heaven and earth and suddenly took effect, attracting the attention of the Heavenly Dao. His soul is of unknown origin and is deemed unacceptable by the rules of the Heavenly Dao. It's like a lock, destroying every bit of it. How many souls can you give him?"
If I don’t do it, will Heaven tolerate it?
Lu Yinche seemed to understand what Gong Jin said, but he was not sure whether he could really understand the meaning of those words. The extreme emotional impact, coupled with the fact that his soul had been overdrawn to the limit, caused his eyes to suddenly go black.
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