Chapter 78 Sacrifice "Not So Good"
"If it weren't for you here today, he would be a dead man by now."
Cheng Minxi helped Su Fuying, who had just woken up from the illusion, lean wearily against a nearby stone pillar and reminded her, "When you two were pouring out your hearts to each other, shouldn't you have forgotten about the gates to the underworld that are about to open?"
This sound finally drew Shi Yubai's attention back to his predicament.
He raised his head slightly and said, "The time has come."
Bolts of lightning fell, only to be absorbed by the seemingly real yet illusory gate at the center of the formation.
The eerie, dark red light intertwined with lightning.
The ancient bell at the top of Baiyu Mountain rang.
The souls that had been crowding at the door were finally freed from their restraints.
Countless resentful spirits attacked, instantly devouring the heavens and earth.
At the same moment, the jade steps of Baiyu Mountain lit up, and the light spread to Fuyun Yao's feet, as if calling her to come.
Fu Yunyao ignored the call. She looked at the person to the side and asked again, "Shi Yubai, I will only ask you once, how do you close this passage to the underworld?"
When the time was up, Bai did not answer, but only said, "Heaven is calling you."
Fu Yunyao gripped the Rangchen Sword tightly, its sword intent spreading out and forcing back the approaching undead. "Shi Yubai, answer my question."
"I don't know, but Heaven probably does. Are you really not going?" Shi Yubai asked with a smile.
“Alright,” Fu Yusheng said. “I’ll take care of things.”
Fu Yunyao's eyes flashed with coldness. "I know what you're thinking. I won't allow it."
Fu Yusheng simply smiled and said, "I will come back to see you."
"You've already made plans, haven't you?" His calm voice made Fu Yunyao's expression grow even colder.
“I am a dead man, and only I can enter the passage to the underworld.” Fu Yusheng’s expression was gentle. “Liao Liao, you can trust me.”
His gaze was focused and gentle as he quietly watched her, waiting for her answer.
Fu Yunyao gripped her sword tightly, and as the ancient bell tolled, she finally spoke.
"Wait for me to come back."
"Um."
Fu Yusheng chuckled and agreed.
As Fu Yunyao stepped onto the jade steps, he looked at her pure white dress and couldn't help but call out to her.
"That's it."
Fu Yunyao turned her head to look back at him.
Beneath the sky filled with the souls of the dead, she was the only color.
Fu Yusheng's light-colored eyes were full of tenderness. He tapped his wrist, and Fu Yunyao followed his gaze to touch the soul bell that belonged to him tied to her wrist.
He said, "I will stay with you."
She knows.
Fu Yunyao withdrew her gaze, slowly stepped onto the jade steps, and walked away into the distance.
The smile on his face gradually faded only after her figure completely disappeared from Fu Yusheng's sight.
The Spring Return Sword appeared in his hand.
The next instant, sword energy spread out, forcing the undead, who had been forced back by the sword energy, to retreat even further.
The undead kept crashing against the array barrier, while on the other side of the underworld passage, countless souls lingered, trying to leave the underworld.
Su Fuying asked with some doubt, "This barrier... it's trapping them?"
Wen Ci frowned, and Shi Yubai had already walked to the center of the formation without her noticing.
He reached out, and the wandering souls, as if guided, drifted toward him.
A black, ominous mist enveloped almost his entire body, and drops of blood fell from his palms as the undead devoured him.
But he was smiling, even smiling so much that tears welled up in his eyes.
Cheng Minxi remained silent after slaying a deadly creature that had tried to approach.
Has this person really gone mad?
The soul that tried to emerge from the passage was once again forced back by Fu Yusheng's sword energy. Just before he stepped into the underworld, Shi Yubai's voice rang out.
"No one who comes out wants to enter the underworld."
Fu Yusheng turned his head to look at him, "Isn't that because the passage to the underworld has never been opened?"
Upon hearing his reply, Shi Yubai chuckled, "If Yun Yao comes back and doesn't see you, she'll be angry."
“Of course I will come back to see her,” Fu Yusheng replied without hesitation.
"Really?" Shi Yubai didn't believe it. The underworld was full of such vengeful spirits. If someone went in alone, wouldn't they be devoured alive?
"By the way," Fu Yusheng spoke again, "did you see the relatives you wanted to see?"
His question caused Shi Yubai's smile to freeze. "My family..."
The dead souls wrapped around his hands were devouring his flesh without any awareness.
Cheng Minxi couldn't bear to watch any longer. He raised his hand and swung his sword, forcing the ghost back.
But his words were like poison: "If you want to die, can't you find a less bloody way?"
Shi Yubai let his blood-soaked arm hang down, his brocade robe already stained red with blood.
He said, "My family is right here."
Cheng Minxi, who was about to say something, stopped, and the harsh words that were on the tip of her tongue ultimately failed to come out.
A surprised exclamation came from the side, "Sword Master!"
When he looked up, the figure in red had already disappeared at the gates of the underworld, leaving only his smiling figure.
"Be careful, don't kill yourself."
"..."
Fu Yunyao stepped onto the last jade step, only to find herself in complete emptiness.
With each step she took, ripples spread out beneath her feet, and a gentle aura enveloped her, drawing her in.
When she looked up again, the divine mark in her eyes reappeared once more.
She spoke, her voice cold and clear.
"Didn't you say you were looking forward to the day we would truly meet? Now that I'm here, you're hiding from me?"
I know what you want to ask.
A figure slowly appeared behind her, the divine mark between his brows flickering. "My body vanished ten thousand years ago. Now, before you, it is nothing but an illusion."
Fu Yunyao turned around and gripped the Rangchen sword in her hand tightly. "What exactly is going on at the Star Gazing Pavilion?"
He raised his hand, and a begonia flower appeared in his palm. "With the Demon Realm sealed, spiritual energy and demonic energy cannot be exchanged. If this continues, spiritual energy will deplete, and the cultivation world will cease to exist."
Therefore, the group from the Star Gazing Pavilion, relying on the fact that they had some divine blood in their veins, actually activated a forbidden technique in an attempt to reverse the depletion of spiritual energy.
Since it is a forbidden technique, a price must be paid. I admire their perseverance and allow them to dissipate into the heavens and earth, transforming into spiritual energy to revive it.
He offered the crabapple blossom in his hand forward, like a kind elder.
Fu Yunyao frowned and did not take it. "How do we close the passage to the Underworld?"
"They are all a group of souls and remnants trapped for millions of years. Once they are free, how could they easily go back?"
He responded, released his hand, and the crabapple blossom in his hand fell and vanished in mid-air, along with his figure.
A water mirror replaced His original position.
Within the realm, a dark red and eerie array trapped the souls that had escaped from the underworld. Shi Yubai stood at the center of the array, bowing his head and spitting out blood.
"How strange. They went to great lengths to open the passage to the underworld, only to see their so-called relatives who no longer exist in this world."
The voice of the Heavenly Dao appeared behind Fu Yunyao once again. It seemed to be sighing, but its tone was completely flat. "However, by using its own bloodline as a sacrifice, it was able to trap these souls for so long. It is worthy of this divine bloodline."
Fu Yunyao turned her head and spoke again, "You can close the passage."
"Even the Heavenly Way is subject to the laws. Back then, in order to stop me, Shangxuan placed a seal on me, so I cannot interfere too much in human affairs."
Fu Yunyao chuckled, "In that case, your role as the Heavenly Dao must be quite boring."
"Interesting?" He countered. "That's how I've always been."
"Since there's no other way, I'll be leaving now." Fu Yunyao didn't want to discuss any philosophical questions with Him, so she left with these words and prepared to depart.
The Heavenly Dao waved its sleeve, and the water mirror disappeared once more. Fu Yunyao stopped in her tracks and turned back to look at Him. "Respected Heavenly Dao, is there anything else you wish to instruct me to do?"
"Just because I can't interfere too much doesn't mean I have no way to do anything."
He waved his sleeve once more, and a new water mirror appeared before Fu Yunyao.
Fu Yunyao looked up, but stopped when she saw the scene in the water mirror.
In the dim light, countless souls seemed to reach out, pushing and shoving, trying to devour the people trapped in the center.
He hung his head, kneeling on one knee on the water surface filled with stars, his hand supporting his sword pale and powerless.
Blood stained his clothes, and stray hairs covered his face. As if sensing something, he looked up, and his beautiful face unexpectedly came into Fu Yunyao's view.
"You are quite perceptive."
The Heavenly Dao spoke up in evaluation, and another water mirror appeared.
It was still that same dark red, eerie formation.
Inside the formation, everyone was covered in wounds, and the undead kept crashing into the barrier, causing cracks to appear on it.
Shi Yubai could no longer hold on and collapsed to his knees.
Fu Yunyao closed her eyes briefly. "So, what should we do?"
"Sacrifice".
Without even thinking, Fu Yunyao refused, "Impossible!"
"Don't rush, only two people are needed." Tiandao raised his hand and pointed to Fuyusheng in the water mirror.
“The soul is pure and intact; such offerings will satisfy the departed souls.”
He then pointed to Shi Yubai in another water mirror, saying, "Having exhausted his divine bloodline, he is now able to seal the Netherworld passage once more."
What if I refuse?
“You don’t have much time to think,” He warned. “This barrier doesn’t look like it can hold for much longer.”
Fu Yunyao sneered, "If this is the method, I refuse."
“Of course, there is another way.” The Heavenly Dao withdrew its hand and spoke again, “I said that I am sealed by the Supreme Mystery and cannot interfere too much in the human world, but you are not.”
Fu Yunyao raised her eyes, her gaze gleaming with divine light.
"If you become the new Heavenly Dao, you can forge new Heavenly Dao rules, not only this Netherworld passage, but also your bet with the Demon Realm. The peace you desire can be achieved at any time."
"Me? The Heavenly Dao?" Fu Yunyao found His words increasingly ridiculous.
He didn't care about her attitude at all. "You are the most suitable person I have found in the world over thousands of years. I originally gave you a wisp of demonic energy to accompany you as you grow. When you have grown to be good enough, I will summon you."
Unexpectedly, the demonic energy was captured by someone else and developed its own consciousness.
You may have developed some superfluous and useless emotions now, but that's alright. If you're willing, I can easily remove them for you.
Fu Yunyao stroked the soul bell on her wrist and said, "Back then, you didn't hesitate to become enemies with your friends of many years and defy the Father God to become the new Heavenly Dao. Now, are you willing to give up all of this?"
"Willing to part with it?" A smile appeared on his face, but his voice remained devoid of any emotion. "What do you think of my suggestion?"
"I think..."
Fu Yunyao spoke slowly.
"Not good."
He asked aloud, "You don't want to?"
“Of course I don’t want to,” Fu Yunyao replied. “I want to save people, but I can only be myself.”
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