Chapter 77 "You're Crazy" I want to bring you back.
"I only want what I want. What do I care whether others live or die?"
"So, is it really related to you?"
Fu Yunyao never expected that the first thing she heard after leaving the illusion array was this sentence.
Only then did she seem to finally understand the bewilderment they felt when she calmly admitted to killing Wan Yin with her own hands back then.
Wan Yin did indeed die at her hands, she admitted it.
"The demonic energy that was suddenly awakened in her soul, and the wooden plaque that could have protected her but did nothing—it's all related to you, isn't it?"
“Yes,” Shi Yubai replied. “It’s all related to me.”
Amidst the thunder, they stood facing each other.
Fu Yunyao spoke, her voice slightly cold, "Reason?"
Shi Yubai replied, "There is no reason."
Another thunderclap resounded, and the gate between the human world and the underworld was fully revealed.
Between light and shadow, Mu Shu slowly opened her eyes.
Mu Jiuqing gazed at her, and involuntarily took a few steps forward, calling out to her, "Master..."
Mu Shu blinked very slowly. Behind her was a terrifying aura from the underworld. She lowered her eyes.
The lightning bolts struck the formation, each carrying immense pressure and fury, yet each was blocked and absorbed by the formation.
Demonic energy emanated from her body.
Mu Jiuqing froze, then suddenly looked at the person beside him and demanded, "What's going on!"
Shi Yubai regained his original cheerful expression and replied, "Sect Leader Mu was only one step away from falling into demonic possession before her death. Now, it's just completing the process of her falling into demonic possession."
"How could Master be a demon!"
Shi Yubai looked at him in surprise, "Alliance Leader Mu himself is a demon, so why can't Sect Leader Mu?"
Mu Jiuqing's eyes were already bloodshot. "I can be one, but Master, she should be someone worshipped by thousands. She is to become a god, how can she be a demon!"
"Become a god?" As if he had heard something funny, Shi Yubai couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He laughed, but his voice was full of coldness. "Just a joke."
"Young Master."
Mu Shu finally spoke, picking up where he left off, "It's been a long time."
This one sentence stunned everyone around him.
"Long time no see?" Fu Yunyao's brows furrowed slightly. Mu Shu had already perished three hundred years ago, and three hundred years ago, Shi Yubai should not have even been born yet, right? Where did this "long time no see" come from?
Shi Yubai raised his eyebrows and said, "Your good disciple is eagerly hoping that you will become a god."
Mu Shu slowly raised her eyes, a smile in her gentle gaze, "Whether or not one can become a god, doesn't the young master know best?"
Shi Yubai remained silent, gazing at the furious thunder in the sky, and let out a soft sigh.
"Master..." Mu Jiuqing took a few steps forward, and under Mu Shu's gaze, he smiled. His eyes were slightly red, but he looked exceptionally obedient when he smiled.
Mu Shu stroked the spirit sword that had been forged for her and murmured, "It's my fault for not teaching you well."
Mu Jiuqing just stared at him with fascination and said, "As long as Master comes, nothing else matters."
"Since you know about the Soul Summoning Array, you should also know that once the array is activated, there is no possibility of reversal. Once the gate to the underworld is fully revealed, those vengeful spirits and remnants that linger in the sea of souls will descend to the world through it. At that time, not only the human world, but even the demon realm will be submerged by these resentments."
Driven by selfish desires, you disregard the entire human realm. Do you still remember your original aspiration when you embarked on the path of cultivation?
"My original intention?" Mu Jiuqing repeated, unable to help but laugh out loud, "My original intention has always been my master."
Silence fell, broken only by his laughing yet manic voice, "What does the state of the world matter to me? I only want you to live!"
"Mu Jiuqing!"
“Master, I know you love all living beings. If you are well, I can naturally pretend to be your obedient disciple for the rest of my life.”
But you loved all living beings, and what did you ultimately gain?
Mu Jiuqing's eyes were already bloodshot. "They all say that you were punished and killed by Heaven because you had developed a demon in your heart. A demon in your heart?"
He sneered, "Others may not know why you have developed a demon in your heart, but do you think I don't? That Star Gazing Pavilion, which enjoys a great reputation throughout the world, is nothing more than the eyes of Heaven to observe the world!"
Suddenly, lightning struck, its pale light illuminating his face.
He clutched his chest, spitting out blood, yet he still smiled.
“Young Master of the Star Gazing Pavilion, others may not know the reason, but do you not know it either? You look at those three thousand spirit tablets and white candles on the pavilion roof day and night, don’t you harbor any resentment?”
Shi Yubai simply stroked the wooden plaque in his hand, remaining silent.
"Fine, if you won't say it, I'll say it for you." Mu Jiuqing reached out and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Since the Demon Realm was sealed, the spiritual energy in the human world has lost its source of transformation and has gradually become thinner, with even the spiritual veins beginning to dry up. People have begun to hope for the appearance of new gods to bring blessings to the human world."
The Star Gazing Pavilion, a pillar of humanity that has stood for millennia, listening to the will of Heaven and glimpsing the secrets of the heavens, has activated a forbidden technique.
Overnight, all the more than a thousand people in the Star Gazing Pavilion perished, leaving only the young master. It was also on this night that the spiritual energy of the mortal realm began to revive.
He spoke excitedly, but Cheng Minxi, standing to the side, frowned. "This matter is not recorded in ancient historical records."
“Of course there’s no record of it,” Mu Jiuqing replied. “After all, everyone who learned about this developed a demon in their heart. Am I right, Young Master?”
He pronounced the last three words very slowly, drawing the attention of Fu Yunyao and the others to Shi Yubai.
Shi Yubai didn't answer directly; he simply asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Those so-called inner demons are nothing more than the scarcity of spiritual energy in the human world, requiring great beings to sacrifice themselves to replenish the spiritual energy."
To ensure a continuous flow of spiritual energy, the addition of descendants of the gods is naturally necessary.
Descendants of the gods?
Fu Yunyao suddenly looked up.
Amidst the raging wind and thunder, Shi Yubai, dressed in brocade robes, smiled calmly amidst the shocked gazes of others, saying, "It's just a body with a few strands of divine blood flowing through it; I can't be called a descendant of the gods."
"Without your bloodline, the gates to the underworld cannot be opened."
In the dim world, only the gate to the underworld, exuding an eerie and ominous aura, remained before them.
Beyond the door lay a void, where specks of dark red soul fire lit up, like scarlet eyes.
They crowded at the entrance, intertwining and fighting with each other, all vying to be the first soul to leave the underworld.
The crimson light reflected off Fu Yunyao's pure white dress as she spoke softly, "Shi Yubai, you've gone mad."
"Crazy?" he said lightly. "Yun Yao, I thought you could understand me."
Fu Yunyao paused, her hand gripping the sword still. She looked at the person in front of her who was still smiling, and closed her eyes.
From the time Shi Yubai could remember, he lived in the Star Gazing Pavilion.
The seventeen-story attic was the living space for the first half of my life.
He remembered that everyone in the pavilion had a red thread on their wrist, which grew under their skin until it pierced their heart, killing them instantly.
Life inside the pavilion was oppressive; they were trapped in a predetermined fate with no way out.
Shi Yubai was an exception; he was the only living being in this hopeless place. He hated the perpetually drowsy atmosphere and had thought about escaping many times, but he was always caught and brought back by the elder who had raised him.
The Grand Elder always had a gloomy face, and everyone in the Star Gazing Pavilion was afraid of him.
It is said that the Grand Elder has raised three generations of young masters and is the most prestigious figure in the entire Star Gazing Pavilion.
The days passed little by little as he fled and he tried to catch up, and those playful antics brought a touch of liveliness to the Star Gazing Pavilion.
But as time went by, watching his relatives and close friends dissipate into spiritual energy and return to the heavens, his once vibrant heartbeat gradually became numb amidst the repetitive scenes.
Shi Yubai sighed softly, "The young master of the Star Gazing Pavilion never represents just one person. Rather, it's because no one in the Star Gazing Pavilion has a name."
That night, he knelt before thousands of memorial tablets.
The Grand Elder walked in.
"Are you leaving too?" he asked softly.
"Yes." The First Elder responded, kneeling down behind him. "I've come to bid farewell to the Young Master."
Without turning around, he spoke without a trace of emotion, "Even you are leaving me."
“This is how my life is,” he replied, his voice unusually light.
"You can leave now."
He had seen this scene many times before, and he was already used to it.
"Young Master." The withered hand landed on his wrist.
When Shi Yubai looked up, he could only see the figure slowly disappearing in front of him.
He heard him say that.
"I also want to give Young Master a gift. My life has indeed been like this, but Young Master, I think you should have a different life than mine."
“He took away the deadly red thread hidden in my bloodline, and also gave me the freedom I had always dreamed of.” Shi Yubai clenched his fist, his gaze falling on the still fighting and injustice-ridden souls. “I named myself Shi Yubai. For many years, the longer the time has passed, the more I want to hear him call me again, Young Master.”
"Yun Yao, I just want to see my family."
Fu Yunyao spoke up, interrupting his recollection, "What about those who lost their lives in your scheme?"
Shi Yubai chuckled lightly, "What about the people in the Star Gazing Pavilion? Should they be sacrificed? Yun Yao, I am not a person who cares about the world. From beginning to end, I have never been."
"What about Wan Yin?"
Shi Yubai remained silent, his voice lowering, "Yes, I tampered with the wooden plaque she carried close to her body. I deliberately aroused her demonic energy, and I seduced you to kill her with my own hands. I admit it, I..."
“I apologize to you,” Fu Yunyao replied.
Shi Yubai was stunned. "You...apologize to me?"
“Wanyin was indeed killed by my own hands. No matter who did it in secret, and no matter what the circumstances were at the time, she did die by my hand. If I hadn’t been so ruthless back then, Wanyin wouldn’t have died, and you might not have ended up like this today.”
Her voice was soft, but when it reached Shi Yubai's ears, it was like a thunderclap.
The wooden plaque dug into his palm. After a long pause, he spoke again, "Yun Yao, are you making excuses for what I did today? When did you become so soft-hearted? This was all my plan, you don't need to..."
Fu Yunyao interrupted him again, "Only true friends would make excuses for each other's mistakes. You clearly still consider me a friend, and we shouldn't be at odds like this now."
"You consider me your best friend, but what about those who died because of me?" Shi Yubai threw this question back at her. "Yun Yao, between us, it's not just about Wan Yin's life. From the moment I decided to do all this, there was no turning back."
"But I am not a person who cares about the greater good of the world."
She chuckled softly as she spoke, and Shi Yubai looked up in disbelief.
She said, "I can help you with what you want to do. When it's all over, we'll atone together. Life is so long, we can atone eventually."
"You're insane!" Shi Yubai couldn't help but rebuke her. "What good will it do you to get entangled with someone like me?!"
Fu Yunyao's smile faded. "You want to see your family. I want to bring you back."
Bai was speechless. He couldn't reason with her. He looked at the person behind her who had been silently watching the girl's figure and said angrily, "Aren't you going to do anything about this?"
Fu Yusheng raised his eyes.
Liao Liao had no sense of right and wrong, something he had known for a long time.
She stands on a single log year-round, with a bottomless abyss below, where she could fall if she wasn't careful.
Fortunately, there was always a light in front of her, willing to guide her toward goodness.
He was the man she spent time with in Yaotai Realm many years ago, and also one of the close friends she made after leaving Yaotai Realm.
Now, the one who has stepped onto this narrow path and has already lost his footing is her best friend whom she has finally come to accept and acknowledge emotionally; she wants to bring him back.
Fu Yusheng cannot stop it, nor will he.
Under Shi Yubai's gaze, he spoke.
"If it weren't for you here today, he would be a dead man by now."
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