Chapter 72 A Tremendous Change in the Mountains (Part 1)
The two hurried up the mountain path on the east side of Gufeng City. It was dark at this time, and clouds were rising in the mountains. Layers of surging dark clouds covered the mountains, plains and forests, and the stars and moon were not shining. Everything was dark and gloomy, and the only sounds were the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves.
After turning a hillside and walking a short distance further, the mountain mists gradually dispersed, and the moonlight poured down, illuminating the forests and valleys, making them clear and picturesque.
Looking at the full moon hanging high in the mountains, Biyao suddenly realized that tonight was also a full moon night. Her worry for Qin Wuyan grew even stronger. If his backlash flared up and he encountered the Qingyun Sect, wouldn't he be caught in a pincer movement, his life hanging by a thread?
Thinking of this, Biyao quickened her pace and followed Zhang Xiaofan up another hillside. In front of them was a wide open space with sparse trees and strange rocks everywhere.
Biyao looked around, and all she could see were stones of different sizes and shapes. She asked, "Where is Qin Wuyan?"
Zhang Xiaofan stared at her silently for a moment, then asked in return, "You care about him that much?"
"yes!"
Although it is only one word, it is enough to pierce people's hearts.
Zhang Xiaofan asked again, "Biyao, if I hadn't killed your father, would you still treat me the same way as before?"
Biyao didn't know why he would ask this question. After a moment of silence, she said seriously:
"Xiao Fan, my father's matter is indeed an unsolvable knot between us. But the enmity between the righteous and the demonic cannot be erased simply by not killing my father. Having lived again, I finally understand that you and I were never meant to be together. But I will not regret what I have done. In my previous life, I was Bi Yao, who was willing to die for you. But in this life, I only want to be by Qin Wuyan's side and be Mu Yao, who will stay with him for life."
She spoke these words with remarkable calmness, and Zhang Xiaofan felt an unbearable heartache. He closed his eyes and asked again, "What if... Qin Wuyan dies?"
Biyao's breath hitched, her eyes widened abruptly, and she shouted sharply, "If you dare kill him, I will kill you!!"
Zhang Xiaofan suddenly said, "Then kill me now and avenge him!"
Biyao froze, unable to believe his words, her voice trembling: "You...you really killed him?"
"What do you think?" Zhang Xiaofan approached her, a cold smile appearing on his face, his expression carrying an unprecedented madness.
Biyao retreated repeatedly, drawing her ink-black sword, and asked warily, "You're not Zhang Xiaofan?! Who exactly are you?"
Zhang Xiaofan smiled: "Am I not? How could that be?"
The voice was arrogant and evil, completely different from his former self. Biyao was flustered and at a loss, not knowing what to do, and could only keep retreating into the open space behind her.
Zhang Xiaofan approached her step by step. Suddenly, he clutched his head with both hands, his face contorted in pain, and cried out, "Biyao!! Danger! Run!"
Biyao's face turned deathly pale instantly. Sure enough, Zhang Xiaofan had been controlled!
Without hesitation, her sword flashed, and she immediately thrust forward. But at that moment, lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap. Amidst the flashes and roars, several golden-purple rays of light cleaved down, forming an enormous golden magic array. The myriad rays of light, like incredibly hard iron chains, trapped Biyao in the center.
Biyao looked astonished, unable to move. Amidst the golden light, four figures gracefully descended, landing at the four corners of the magic circle.
Three of them are Tian Ling'er, Lu Xueqi, and Lin Jingyu, while the last one is the Soul Eater monster dressed in black with blood-red eyes!
Biyao finally realized that from the moment she met Zhang Xiaofan, or rather, from the moment she arrived in the East Sea, she had already fallen into a trap.
Biyao's eyes flashed with a chilling light as she coldly said, "I never imagined that the mighty Qingyun Sect would be in league with the Soul-Eating Monster!!"
Lin Jingyu couldn't bear it any longer and sighed softly, saying, "Biyao, I'm very sorry, but I really have no choice in this matter."
Lu Xueqi looked at Zhang Xiaofan and said, "The magic array has been activated. Why don't you leave Xiaofan's body quickly?"
Zhang Xiaofan sneered: "Now is not the time. If I leave, what if he causes trouble later?"
Tian Ling'er said, "Senior sister, stop talking nonsense and get started!"
The golden light that had trapped Biyao instantly transformed into countless long swords, aiming straight for her heart.
Biyao remained remarkably calm, not only because she was powerless to resist, but also because her Soul-Gathering Technique had been activated once again, blocking all the sword shadows.
She wouldn't actually die, but Qin Wuyan might lose his life because of her... Tears streamed down her face. At this moment, Biyao only hated herself for not undoing the Soul-Collecting Technique sooner.
The people guarding the four corners of the magic circle were all blasted away by the protective light shield emitted by the Soul Gathering Technique, only "Zhang Xiaofan" was still standing in front of the formation.
Biyao gazed at him silently for a long time before saying, "Zhang Xiaofan... no, perhaps I should call you Brother Tang?"
Zhang Xiaofan's body stiffened slightly, and a hint of approval appeared in his eyes: "You saw through it. Yao'er is indeed smart."
Biyao smiled bitterly to herself. If she were truly smart enough, she would have discovered his true identity much sooner, and things wouldn't have turned out this way.
On the day Qinglong regained consciousness, Biyao kept thinking that if her barrier had really blocked the demon that escaped from Qinglong's body, the only possibility was, as Qin Wuyan said, that the demon had possessed someone in the room at the time.
Later, everything was normal between her and Qin Wuyan, so all that was left were Meng Guang and Tang Yuan.
That day, the first person to suggest removing the barrier outside the room was Tang Yuan.
At first, she thought Tang Yuan might just be under control, and that the demon would leave him. But after encountering the Soul Eater, she realized that the black-clad man who used to appear with it had disappeared.
This man in black, whom she first encountered in this life when she was nine, and who later appeared in Xiaochi Town to tell her the truth about her resurrection, was someone who had never been by her side and knew her extremely well. It would have been impossible for him to have known about her and Qin Wuyan's situation at all times.
Therefore, the truth is that Tang Yuan is another man in black besides the Soul Eater, or rather... he should be the ghost general that the Underworld Emperor arranged to be by Qin Wuyan's side.
Qinglan had already seen through his identity, which was why she reminded him to be careful of the people around her before leaving.
Biyao said, "What exactly do you want? Is it the divine power within me? I can give it to you, but... stop! I promise you, I'm willing to undo the Soul-Gathering Technique, but please, don't let them attack again!"
She wasn't afraid of death, but she knew that every time someone hurt her, the consequences would ultimately fall on Qin Wuyan. And tonight was a full moon, so she dared not think about whether Qin Wuyan could withstand it.
She has already lost too many people; she cannot lose him, and she cannot accept losing him!
Zhang Xiaofan opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly his body swayed, and he uncontrollably began to frantically pound himself in place. His features were contorted as he muttered to himself, "Get out of here! Get out!! What did you do to my senior sister and Xueqi?!"
"Zhang Xiaofan, don't be ungrateful. They were the ones who begged me to cooperate."
Zhang Xiaofan froze, his eyes flashing fiercely as he said, "I don't believe you!! Don't try to fool me again!"
Tang Yuan's presence still lingers within him, so he is sometimes himself and sometimes Tang Yuan. But to outsiders, it appears as if he is talking to himself.
Tang Yuan, still using his body, said, "Don't believe me? Fine, I won't control you for now. Go and see for yourself who that person you call a Soul Eater is."
Zhang Xiaofan's eyes widened, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Who is it? Who is the Soul Eater?
At this moment, Tian Ling'er, Lu Xueqi, and Lin Jingyu had already surrounded them. Zhang Xiaofan stepped forward and grabbed Lin Jingyu by the collar, shouting angrily, "What exactly are you hiding from me? Why are you colluding with this demon? What are you planning? Why did you keep me in the dark?! Why?! Why?"
Lu Xueqi quickly grabbed him: "Xiao Fan, calm down!!"
Tian Ling'er shouted, "Hey, General Shahua, where are you? Why aren't you controlling Xiao Fan? Don't let him ruin our plans."
A thick cloud of black mist emanated from Zhang Xiaofan's body, gradually condensing into a tall and slender figure, dressed in black clothes and a black cloak, almost blending into the night. Although his face was not visible, his eyes, deep and unfathomable like stars in the sky, held a hint of malicious laughter, mysterious and eerie.
Tang Yuandao said, "I can't control him. I've already told you how to save him. The rest is up to you."
"You..." Tian Ling'er gritted her teeth and turned to say, "Xiao Fan, do you want my father to come back to life?"
Zhang Xiaofan was shocked: "Master has already..."
Tian Ling'er said, "My father isn't dead, but if you try to stop me today, he'll suffer more than if he were dead. Do you know that..."
"Ling'er!!" Lu Xueqi interrupted her sharply, "Enough, stop talking. General Shahua, since you also want to obtain the divine power from Biyao, are you just going to stand by and do nothing?"
Tang Yuan laughed and said, "When did I say that I wanted her divine power? I only wanted to remove the Soul-Collecting Technique from her. But she just told me that she was willing to let me remove it, so it seems that I have no need to help you anymore."
Lu Xueqi's already fair face turned even paler: "So, you don't want us to take your heart?"
Tang Yuandao said, "No, I just want to sit back and watch the fight. No matter who wins or loses, I'll be the beneficiary, so I won't help either of you. If you want to save Tian Buyi, then you'll have to do it yourselves!"
Zhang Xiaofan was even more confused. His gaze suddenly shifted to the Soul Eater behind the three of them. He leaped over, pounced, and ripped off the black cloak from its body with all his might.
Caught off guard, the black cloth and cloak covering the Soul Eater's face were pulled back, revealing a hideous and terrifying face under the silvery moonlight.
His face was incredibly swollen, and from his temples to his neck, it was covered with faintly visible blue scales. Combined with his bloodshot eyes, it looked even more sinister and terrifying in the moonlight.
Nevertheless, Zhang Xiaofan recognized him at a glance.
“Master…Master…” His lips trembled as he staggered backward in disbelief.
Is the Soul Eater Tian Buyi? Or his master? Is he really not dead?
"No!!...Impossible!! Absolutely impossible!! Who are you? Why are you using my master's body! Get off my master's body right now!!!"
Zhang Xiaofan instinctively resisted this fact, roared, and swung the Soul-Eating Staff, bringing bursts of sharp red light as he slashed down at the Soul-Eating Monster. The Soul-Eating Monster flashed and nimbly dodged.
Just as Zhang Xiaofan was about to strike again, Tian Ling'er flew forward and blocked him: "Xiaofan, stop right there! He is my father and the master who has raised you for more than ten years, but he has been devoured by the evil energy and has long lost his mind. He doesn't recognize you or me."
Zhang Xiaofan froze, and after a long while, he said, "Backlash from malevolent energy? How is that possible? He's been perfectly fine for the past ten years, how could he be suffering from a backlash from malevolent energy?"
His eyes widened suddenly, his gaze slowly shifting to the Soul-Devouring Staff shimmering with red light in his hand. His entire body trembled: "Could it be... the malevolent energy within me... is from my master... he..."
He dared not continue, his face turning pale and blue, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold onto the Soul Eater.
“That’s right. The reason why the malevolent energy on your body was able to be resolved was not because Senior Sister Lu helped you, nor because the Sanskrit incantations of Tianyin Temple were effective, but entirely because my father absorbed all the malevolent energy on your body, as well as the malevolent energy in your Soul Devourer, into himself. My father said that when he took you as his disciple, although he taught you, he failed to protect you. He blamed himself for betraying Qingyun for Biyao.”
"After the battle at Mingling Peak, although you returned to Qingyun, you suffered a backlash from the malevolent energy due to using Soul Devouring too many times. He had no choice but to cultivate the demonic sect's Azure Scale Technique, which absorbed all your cultivation. However, after you woke up, he made us lie and say that he had destroyed your cultivation so that you could start cultivating again. In reality, if it weren't to help you get rid of the malevolent energy, why would he have been willing to destroy your cultivation?"
“My father originally did this with the intention of dying, but the malevolent energy didn't affect him that much at first. It only became particularly severe during leap months, causing him to completely lose his mind. My mother couldn't bring herself to kill him, and I couldn't accept my father's death. Until Shahua found us and said there was a way for my father to suppress the backlash, and that was…”
Tian Ling'er cried and dared not say anything more.
But Zhang Xiaofan had already figured it out: the method was to absorb the souls of living people.
He looked at Lin Jingyu, tears welling in his eyes, and asked, "You knew about this too?"
Lin Jingyu remained silent, neither admitting nor denying.
Biyao, who was not far from them, also heard everything. She finally understood why, in the beginning, most of those whose souls were being drained appeared in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Qingyun Sect.
And now I finally understand why the Qingyun Sect has been investigating the matter of the people suffering from soul loss for more than ten years without finding the real culprit.
With their capabilities, how could they not find out? They're just covering up for the murderer.
Zhang Xiaofan looked distressed and asked, "Then my master's death that time... was also fake?"
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