Chapter 19 Final Stage
"No, why are you kneeling down?" The expressions on Cheng Yuan and Chu Jianshan's faces were quite interesting.
However, Ji Shi really can't be blamed for this, because what he saw was his master, Jiang Yan, the current head of Changjin Mountain. The thing Ji Shi fears most in his life, besides ghosts, is his master.
The spirit beast transformed into Jiang Yan, who glared at him with a cold expression, his eyebrows and mustache sticking up high. Holding a ruler, he angrily shouted at Ji Shi, "Kneel down!"
Before Ji Shi could even process what was happening, his legs had already gone weak.
"Master...Master, please don't hit me, I was wrong, ahhhhhh..."
Seeing Ji Shi being chased all over the place by the spirit beast, Chu Jianshan took a deep breath, suppressed the anger that was about to burst out of his heart, glanced at his own injuries again, and felt that there was nothing seriously wrong, so he said to Cheng Yuan beside him, "Let's go together."
Cheng Yuan nodded and, together with Chu Jianshan, they went to flank them from two different directions. At this moment, the two of them saw different people: one saw Chu Qingyuan, and the other saw Xie Yin.
Despite the immense psychological pressure, the two did not stop their advance. Even though they desperately wanted to see the person in front of them, they had to repeatedly remind themselves that it was fake. Only by "killing" their obsession could they possibly return to the past.
The spirit beast, temporarily repelled by the two, regained its footing and slowly spoke in the voices of Chu Qingyuan and Xie Yin: "You... really want to kill me?"
"Ah Yuan, are you going to kill me...?"
"Ah Yuan, are you going to kill me...?"
The next instant, the Mo Yang Sword and the Liu Yin Sword pierced his chest simultaneously, and blood gushed out, staining both swords red.
"Why……"
Chu Qingyuan and Xie Yin couldn't understand why Chu Qingyuan, who was clearly the person they cared about most, could be so heartless.
"because……"
"You are not him!"
The two spoke at the same time, suddenly drawing their swords. They stood there watching the spirit beast slowly fall to the ground, lifeless. Then, without saying a word, they understood each other perfectly.
After passing this hurdle, the air between the three on the stairs leading to the last floor became noticeably heavier. They were each lost in the illusion they had just experienced, like drowning people who could not float to the surface no matter how hard they struggled.
Of course, Ji Shi was an exception; he was simply frightened by his master.
"The last floor..."
Chu Jianshan lowered his voice and placed his hand on the door, but he hesitated to push it open. He was only now beginning to realize how painful the injuries he had sustained on the previous floor were, and he was even feeling a little dizzy.
Cheng Yuan noticed his hesitation and slowly pushed open the door for him. Whether they could successfully return depended on this last floor.
What's puzzling is that after they went in, they didn't see any spirit beasts or anything else; it was just an empty room, eerily silent.
"Hello—is anyone there—?"
Ji Shi covered his mouth with his hands and shouted, his voice echoing repeatedly in the room until it gradually disappeared without anyone responding.
Chu Jianshan looked around, then raised his voice and said, "Sect Master, come out."
"Sect Master?" Ji Shi asked Chu Jianshan, puzzled, "Where did this Pavilion come from... Ah!!"
The pavilion master, dressed in pink peony attire, appeared beside Ji Shi at some point, looking coquettish. She smiled at Chu Jianshan and said, "You're always so boring; even hide-and-seek isn't fun anymore."
As he spoke, he reached out to touch Chu Jianshan's face again. Chu Jianshan, whether dizzy or not, did not dodge. Instead, Cheng Yuan reacted first, pulling Chu Jianshan to his side and avoiding the Pavilion Master's "harassment".
The Pavilion Master turned to look at Cheng Yuan, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotion. Then he smiled and took a few steps back, as if he understood something.
He turned his back to the three of them and said in a low voice, "You are always like this. I have tried my best to keep you here and let you enjoy the bliss of the spirit world, but one by one you want to leave!"
Chu Jianshan probably realized that the "you" he was referring to didn't just refer to the three of them. He guessed that before them, there were quite a few people who would rather break into the pavilion than leave this place.
"Did the Pavilion Master already guess that we are from the Yang Realm?" Chu Jianshan asked.
The pavilion master nodded and blurted out, "Your acting is way too outrageous."
"..."
Chu Jianshan suddenly felt like he had been scolded, but he still braced himself and asked again, "Then why won't the Pavilion Master let us leave?"
“I used to think that they disliked the Bliss Pavilion because they were all dead people, and they were rushing to reincarnate so that they could live the life they wanted in the next life. But you, who have already experienced countless hardships in the mortal world, why do you still want to go back?”
"Sect Master." Chu Jianshan looked up at him, paused, and said, "Everyone has someone they care about. Whether in the mortal realm or the spirit realm, whether separated by life or death, they will fight with their last breath to see them one last time. Even if they are reincarnated, they want to hold on to their last thought—what if they can meet them again?"
"They are like that, and so are we. We risk our lives to go back because there are people in my heart there."
The Pavilion Master listened attentively, slowly lowering his head as he pondered something. Seeing that something was amiss, Chu Jianshan took two steps closer to him and patiently advised, "The Pavilion Master must also have someone he cares about. I'm sure you understand what I mean."
“I don’t understand at all,” he blurted out.
"..."
Chu Jianshan realized that this person was very likely a creature born from the spirit world, without parents, siblings, friends, or lovers. It was really difficult for him to understand these things.
The sect leader said firmly, "No matter what, you cannot leave."
"Why are you acting like this?!" Ji Shi was completely enraged and shouted, "Once you're here, you can't leave? Who made this rule?!"
The pavilion master innocently replied, "I made the decision."
"you!"
Ji Shi was so angry that he was about to punch someone, but Chu Jianshan quickly pulled him back and asked, "What are the conditions for us to leave?"
"Fine, defeat me. If you can't leave this place, then die here."
His emotions shifted rapidly; his face darkened, and after a cold laugh, he suddenly disappeared from their sight again.
"Be careful, he's still here," Chu Jianshan warned.
The three of them kept turning around, trying to find him there.
Unlike the fox demon in Furong Town, which left behind a trace of its presence after disappearing, the person they were facing now seemed to have completely merged with the air, leaving them unable to find any trace of him and putting them in a completely passive position.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from behind, heading straight for Chu Jianshan. Cheng Yuan turned slightly, holding Mo Yang against Chu Jianshan's back, blocking the attack for him.
Chu Jianshan followed up, suddenly turning around and thrusting the Flowing Sound Sword backward, but the Pavilion Master disappeared again.
After this happened several times, even the good-tempered Chu Jianshan became annoyed and said through gritted teeth, "Is this all you know how to do?"
"I thought Young Master Chu liked playing hide-and-seek," the Pavilion Master finally appeared, speaking in a pitiful, coquettish voice.
"I like you, you're just being a jerk, aren't you? I'll fuck you!!"
Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi turned to look at Chu Jianshan at the same time, speechless with shock. Was this guy really that good at cursing?
Ji Shi raised his hand to soothe his chest, thinking that it was fortunate that he hadn't argued with Chu Jianshan even though he disliked him before, otherwise he really wouldn't have had the strength to do so.
Upon hearing this, the pavilion master frowned slightly, as if somewhat displeased, and remained motionless in place.
"Now!" Chu Jianshan shouted at the two men, seeing that his provocation had worked.
Cheng Yuan reacted first. In the next instant, Mo Yang Sword left his hand and rushed straight towards the Pavilion Master, who caught up with it. The Pavilion Master waved his hand, and Mo Yang Sword was directly bounced back. Chu Jianshan dodged to the side and used Liuyin Sword to meet him, but he immediately sensed something was wrong.
Although Chu Jianshan currently has no spiritual power, he can clearly sense that this person's magic is completely different from the spiritual power of the Yang Realm. No matter how much force he uses, it will be easily dismantled, like punching cotton, having no effect whatsoever.
Chu Jianshan didn't want to get entangled with him anymore and tried to retract his sword, but found that he couldn't draw it no matter what. Just as he was wondering, the Pavilion Master sneered and made a light gesture of waving away. Chu Jianshan was sent flying with his sword by a powerful force.
"Chu Jianshan!" the two called out to him.
Chu Jianshan struggled to his feet, feeling a distinct metallic taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood stuck there, neither rising nor falling.
"Tsk tsk tsk," the pavilion master said softly, seemingly with some regret, "It's such a pity that we finally get to meet people from the mortal realm, and they're going to die like this. I'll ask you one more time, are you willing to stay?"
"No... stay!"
Chu Jianshan stood up despite the excruciating pain all over his body. He couldn't stay here; he still had so many things to do, and so many people were waiting for him at Changjin Mountain.
Then he turned to look at Cheng Yuan, his eyes slightly red. He still owed his apprentice an apology.
"You don't know what's good for you." The Pavilion Master's eyes darkened, and he stopped wasting words with Chu Jianshan, raising his hand in a gesture.
In an instant, countless red threads shot up from the ground, wrapping around Chu Jianshan like seaweed and rushing towards him. Before Chu Jianshan could react, the Liuyin Sword trembled and slipped from his hand, blocking the red threads and giving him a moment to escape.
Chu Jianshan looked to the other side and saw Cheng Yuan. He got up and ran to Cheng Yuan's position, wanting to help him suppress the entangled red threads so that Ji Shi could attack from behind.
Sure enough, the red thread followed Chu Jianshan all the way to Cheng Yuan's location. The two drew their swords, intending to confront it, but unexpectedly, the red thread changed position halfway and charged straight at Ji Shi.
"Jishi, be careful—"
But it was too late. They couldn't reach Ji Shi's location. Ji Shi raised his sword to block, but the huge impact knocked him open, shattering the window, and he fell vertically down.
This is the nineteenth floor...
Chu Jianshan's pupils constricted, his hand holding the Liuyin Sword trembled uncontrollably, and he even had difficulty breathing. He staggered to the spot where Ji Shi had fallen, and looking down, all he could see was white mist.
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