Chapter 95: His weakness during his migration became the prelude to his death...
"She is dead, her soul returned to the sea of karma."
In the other world where Jiang Geyun lives, there are many exquisite metaphors related to death.
Some say it's like a black wall. You're walking in the wilderness, and suddenly you encounter this wall. It's infinitely high above, infinitely deep below, infinitely far to the left, and infinitely far to the right.
Some people compare it to a wasteland, "a desolate wasteland with no distinguishing features, where humanity is lost, and scientific research, cellular and molecular data, and endless survival data curves cannot guide us forward."
She hadn't thought about this question carefully in the past, but somehow she had a certain understanding of this insurmountable thing, this thing that makes all conditioned phenomena seem like dreams and illusions.
But after arriving in this world, she witnessed the so-called "soul-summoning ritual" and saw so many "dead souls," and the already overwhelming sadness was dispelled by a faint sense of anticipation.
She thought that Su Guang could come back.
A past that ends without incident will lead to a better future.
However, that's not the case.
Whether it's Cheng Jiao, Liu Zhuozhi, or any other spirit she encounters during her life as the Night Watcher, none of them bear any resemblance to their former selves.
Yes, if the endings of falling to death and attaining immortality are mostly similar, wouldn't becoming an immortal seem ridiculous?
Was our last encounter nothing more than a self-deceiving illusion...?
“Why do you think I would answer your question?” The kind young man clapped his hands, his tone full of confusion. “I’m not your husband.”
The surrounding air froze again.
Jiang Geyun did not back down. She stared intently at the young man, her right hand pressing against her lower back. Under her hand, Shouzhuo emitted a buzzing sound that only the two of them knew, a sound tinged with excitement.
Earlier, she didn't know where she would be taken, but she could still foresee that the journey would be fraught with difficulties.
Before leaving, she casually took over Shouzhuo's things.
Thump, thump—
The atmosphere before her, where the arrow was about to be released, made her heart pound.
The rhythm of her heartbeat wasn't the one she was familiar with, and this subtle sense of disorientation caused her heart to skip a beat again.
"You are now entirely composed of what I have given you."
An absurd yet plausible guess came to mind.
At this critical moment when life and death hung in the balance, an almost absurd thought flashed through my mind uncontrollably:
Wait, really no rejection reaction?!
In the blink of an eye, the killing intent arrived.
The young man remained standing with a smile, showing no intention of taking action himself.
He merely raised his fingertips slightly.
In an instant, the still phoenix tree in the courtyard was imbued with a strange vitality.
The once lush green leaves fluttered down, but instead of falling, they shot towards Jiang Geyun like dark green blades controlled by an invisible hand!
The blades sliced through the air, producing a sharp whistling sound.
Jiang Geyun retreated swiftly, wielding the Shouzhuo sword to parry and shatter the incoming leaf blades.
Fragments of leaves fluttered down, creating a green mist and carrying the bitter scent of broken plants.
A short blade was clearly not enough for her to block all attacks.
Golden flames appeared as if summoned, tracing an arc to protect her.
That was her natal fire, cultivated through the intertwining of life and death. Any evil spirit that touched it would be instantly extinguished. The dark green leaf blades were swept into the fire, instantly charred and turned to ashes.
However, this is just the beginning.
Amidst the falling leaves, the young man stood calmly with his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked over, showing not the slightest sign of panic at her successful defense.
Just as she cleared a safe zone with her golden flames, countless crimson flowers suddenly bloomed on the bare branches of the phoenix tree at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was as if all the life force accumulated throughout a lifetime had been burned away in an instant, and an ominous feeling lingered in the extreme splendor.
The next moment, those fiery red petals detached from the branches.
They paused slightly in mid-air—
Immediately, like a blood-red hidden weapon launched from a powerful bow and crossbow, ignoring the dazzling golden flames, it enveloped Jiang Geyun from all directions with a sound even sharper than a leaf blade as it tore through the air!
Jiang Geyun was startled and immediately gathered the flames, tightly protecting her body and raising her defensive stance.
The petals clashed with the dagger, making a crisp, ringing sound that made her arm go numb.
Each petal contained a strange power; instead of being burned, they were constantly consuming and eroding her life-bound fire.
Even the innate fire couldn't solve this problem, but the skill of keeping simple was still effective; it could break anything it touched.
Just as she was becoming exhausted from the new offensive.
"Chirp—!" "Chirp—!" "Chirp—!"
"Chirp—!" "Chirp—!"
"twitter--!"
All around, the birds that had been silent for so long, frozen on the branches and under the eaves, suddenly let out sharp, piercing cries.
The sound converged into an invisible, sharp needle that pierced straight into Jiang Geyun's sea of consciousness!
The intense dizziness and stinging pain made her vision go black, the golden flames protecting her suddenly dimmed, and her movements inevitably froze for a moment.
That's the fatal flaw.
Crimson petals pierced through the air!
Instead of attacking the vital points she was protecting, they were like red nails, carrying tremendous force, instantly piercing through her sleeves and hem, pinning her firmly to the pillar behind her!
The immense impact caused her to groan as her back slammed against the wooden pillar, the shock making her feel as if her internal organs had shifted.
Jiang Geyun tried to struggle, but found that the "nails" made of flower petals were incredibly tough, holding her firmly in place.
Once it was confirmed that she was completely under control, the offensive ceased.
In the courtyard, the red "sudden rain" hovered.
Shouzhuo was also suspended in mid-air, trembling to a degree invisible to the naked eye, trying to break free, but ultimately failed.
Looking around, one can see that after that battle, which was neither short nor long, the doors, windows, beams, pillars, and even the bluestone slabs underfoot are covered with fine cracks.
The courtyard remains structurally intact, yet it possesses an extreme sense of fragility, as if it might completely disintegrate at any moment.
Subconsciously, Jiang Geyun wanted to take out a talisman from her bosom or sleeve, or to perform a spell by making hand gestures.
However, as soon as the thought arose, her heart sank – when He brought her here, she had nothing on her, and even Shou Zhuo had just been taken from Su Heng's hands, and her nailed arm could not even bend her fingers at this moment.
Does an incarnation possess such power...?
Her current skill level is commendable among her peers, but it's not top-tier among all the Night Watchers. Let alone the Divine Lord in front of her, she couldn't even handle Commander Zhao.
But why?
His power is so unpredictable and immense, why does he always need to rely on external things?
From the leaves, petals, and birds to the courtyard itself, he seemed to be meticulously orchestrating a puppet show, yet he never actually stepped onto the stage himself.
Zhengyi had used puppets before, but that was to give her hints, and Zhengyi herself was lazy and easygoing.
Who is this person in front of me?
Could it be that she guessed right?
Yuan Tian Shenjun couldn't directly attack Su Heng; he couldn't touch her, and now... he still couldn't touch her?
“Ah Yun has quite a temper,” the deity said, lifting his robe to sit down and smiling at her. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but you wanted to kill me, so I had no choice but to fight back.”
A slight itch came from Jiang Geyun's cheek, probably from the cut.
She naturally didn't take his words seriously.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"
The young man tapped his fingertips lightly on the stone table, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, he calmly said, "Let's save the world."
Jiang Geyun: "...?"
The deity seemed oblivious to her astonishment, continuing to tap the stone table with his fingertips, producing a rhythmic, soft sound.
He suddenly stopped moving, leaned forward slightly, and stared intently at Jiang Geyun with his eyes filled with a compassionate smile.
"Do you know what your good husband... is doing right now?"
"Why do you think ghost towns appear? They are the cornerstone of his great 'ideal'," His voice suddenly rose, with a dramatic, almost chanting tone, "He is digging up the foundations of the world."
Jiang Geyun said, "...The Sea of Sin?"
"As expected of A-Yun! The Sea of Sin—the final resting place of all the ignorant souls of the dead, a chaotic ocean of love, hate, memories, desires, and despair accumulated over billions of years, is the deepest, darkest, and also the most... 'fertile' pool of power in this world..."
As he finished speaking, his voice trailed off, as if he were talking to himself, not caring whether Jiang Geyun had heard him clearly.
She does resemble Pei Xueyi quite a bit.
...That makes sense.
Jiang Geyun asked, "So, what did he do to stir up the Sea of Sin and cleanse this world?"
The youth's smile grew increasingly exaggerated. He said, "He is using the 'order' of the entire world as fuel to blur clear boundaries, to drive stable structures into chaos, and to push the living world step by step into that ignorant sea of evil, so that it may completely dissolve and return to the eternal, lifeless... 'One'."
Many creation myths contain the element of floods, and Jiang Geyun thought to herself, "I never thought that the destruction of the world could also be inspired by this."
His gaze locked onto Jiang Geyun, and his mask of compassion shattered completely, revealing the pure, insane malice beneath.
"This place is a microcosm of the entire world. Cracks are everywhere, and Su Heng is the culprit who is pushing it off the cliff."
He strolled to Jiang Geyun, bent down slightly, ignoring her cold gaze, and spoke in a tone that was feigned to be consultative but in fact brooked no argument, light yet eerie:
"So you see, the world is currently in such an interesting... well, I mean, critical moment, on the verge of utter destruction."
He tilted his head, and a bright, yet chilling, smile bloomed on his face.
"Thank you, Ayun, for helping me save the world."
A moment of silence.
Jiang Geyun raised her eyes and said, "It seems that Yingzhou is very close to the Sea of Sin."
The young man casually grasped Shouzhuo from mid-air, ignoring its resistance, and gently picked up a remaining petal with the tip of his knife, lingering his gaze on the petal for a long time.
Then, He looked up at her chest, which was rising and falling slightly from her struggle, where a heart that did not belong to her was beating, yet which sustained her life.
That place should have been a different place.
But she dissected it in an unimaginable way.
His smile deepened, carrying a hint of all-knowing madness.
"That's right, this is the ideal window to peer into the Sea of Sin."
“It’s time, Ah Yun, for the sake of this world, to become his weakness, the prelude to his death.”
Time has passed and things have changed; she heard those words again.
It doesn't come from the mind, but from the front of the body.
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Author's Note: I intended to update yesterday, but consuming Cao's food caused me great discomfort, and I'm still feeling unwell. Learn from my experience and don't do things you know are dangerous...
Note: The metaphor of the black wall comes from Liu Cixin, but I don't remember which book it is. I'll look for it and add the note later when I revise the text...! The metaphor of the wasteland comes from "When Breath Becomes Air," a book I quite like.
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