Chapter 75: The Tribulation of Dao Heart
A scream, a thousand times more painful than the torrent of memories that had just flooded in, pierced the empty stone chamber. The moment three golden beams penetrated his body, Chu Yun felt no longer a human, but a fragile vessel forced into three volcanoes. His skin cracked inch by inch in an instant, and scorching golden light mixed with blood burst forth from countless cracks, transforming him into a terrifying golden blood-stained figure. Within the sea of consciousness between his eyebrows, the fragment transformed into a scorching sun, madly burning his spirit. Within his heart, another fragment pulsed like a star, forcibly transforming his blood vessels. Within the sea of qi in his dantian, the third fragment transformed into a swirling nebula, brutally widening his already resilient meridians. "Chu Yun!" Li Ge and Mo Li were terrified by this sudden and horrifying sight. They tried to rush forward, but were blocked several feet away by an invisible wave of air. They could only watch helplessly as Chu Yun writhes and twitches on the ground in agony, emitting inhuman screams. This torture wasn't just physical. As the fusion intensified, every detail of his father Chu Jiang's "Return to Origin" ritual, every agonizing moment of soul-burning pain, every moment of worry about the future, replayed over and over in his mind, as if he had personally experienced it. Then came the images of the eyes of the uncles and uncles from the Evil Suppression Division, filled with grief and resentment, as they shielded themselves from the "Evil Suppression Seal" during the betrayal battle, only to be mercilessly pierced by Xuan Chenzi's sword. The combined effects of excruciating physical pain and mental torture finally shattered his nerves, which had been tense for thirteen years. "Puff!" A mouthful of boiling blood spurted out of his mouth, spilling onto the cold black jade bed. The physical pain gradually subsided, but a deeper, spiritual collapse began. He huddled on the ground, his body still shaking violently and uncontrollably, but his eyes had lost all focus, becoming empty and vacant. "Revenge..." A voice echoed in his mind, the voice of himself over the past thirteen years, filled with hatred and paranoia. "Do you still want revenge? You hate the wrong person. Your father is a hero, not a victim. Your thirteen years of persistence are a joke." "No... That's not it..." Another voice struggled within him, the voice of himself who had just glimpsed his "fate," filled with fear and resistance. "Father is a righteous man, but Xuan Chenzi is a true traitor! They were the cause of the downfall of the Evil Suppression Division! This revenge must be avenged!" "Revenge? And then what?"
A scream a thousand times more painful than the torrent of memories that flooded in just now rang out shrilly in the empty stone chamber.
The moment the three golden lights penetrated his body, Chu Yun felt like he was no longer a human being, but a fragile vessel forced into three volcanoes. His skin cracked inch by inch in an instant, and scorching golden light mixed with blood burst out from countless cracks, dyeing his entire body into a terrifying golden blood man.
In the sea of consciousness between his eyebrows, the fragment turned into a scorching sun, madly burning his soul; inside his heart, another fragment was like a beating star, forcibly transforming his blood; in the sea of qi in his dantian, the third fragment turned into a rotating nebula, savagely widening his already tough meridians.
"Chu Yun!"
Li Ge and Mo Li were terrified by this sudden and horrifying scene. They tried to rush forward, but were blocked several feet away by an invisible wave of air. They could only watch helplessly as Chu Yun rolled on the ground in pain, twitching and uttering inhuman roars.
This wasn't just physical torture.
As the fusion intensified, every detail of his father Chu Jiang's "Return to Origin" ceremony, every soul-burning pain, every worry about the future, all replayed in his mind over and over again as if he had experienced it himself.
Next, there were the eyes filled with grief, indignation and unwillingness of those uncles and aunts from the Evil Suppression Division who used their bodies to block the "Evil Suppression Seal" in the battle of betrayal and were ruthlessly pierced through by Xuan Chenzi's sword light.
The combined effects of severe physical pain and mental torture finally completely destroyed his nerves that had been tense for thirteen years.
"Puff—" A mouthful of boiling blood spurted out of his mouth, spilling onto the cold black jade bed. The excruciating pain in his body gradually subsided, but a deeper collapse, originating from his soul, began.
He curled up on the ground, his body still shaking violently and uncontrollably, but his eyes had lost all focus, becoming empty and blank.
"revenge……"
A voice rang out in his mind, the voice of himself from the past thirteen years, filled with hatred and paranoia.
"Do you still want revenge? You hate the wrong person. Your father is a hero, not a victim. Your persistence for thirteen years is a joke."
"No...it's not like that..."
Another voice was struggling in his heart. It was him who had just glimpsed his "destiny" and was full of fear and resistance.
"Father is a righteous man, but Xuan Chenzi is a true traitor! The destruction of the Evil Suppression Division was caused by them! This vengeance must be avenged!"
"Revenge? And then what?" The voice representing fate sneered. "After you've avenged yourself, you'll take on your father's burden, becoming the next Daoshu, embarking on a path destined for self-sacrifice. Look at your father, look at those predecessors of the Evil Suppression Division. This is your future. Are you willing? Are you willing to die as 'greatly' as they did?"
"I..." Chu Yun's heart was deeply hurt.
He doesn't want to die.
He longed to live more than ever. Together with Li Ge and Mo Li, he traveled across mountains and rivers, seeing all the sights in the world. He didn't want to be a savior, nor did he want to bear the burden of a heavy fate.
This strong desire to survive and the irresistible fate of inheritance fought and tore fiercely in his heart, plunging him into an endless abyss of confusion, anger, pain and despair.
He no longer roared, but just curled up on the cold ground, uttering suppressed and painful whimpers like a wounded beast.
“Why…why is it like this…”
"Dad... why did you lie to me... why did you leave me with a reason to 'hate'..."
"Do you know... how I've been through these past thirteen years..."
He questioned it over and over again, questioning his father who had long since passed away, and also questioning his own ridiculous past.
Li Ge and Mo Li stood quietly by, looking at the backbone who was always indestructible in their eyes, now curled up on the ground like a helpless child. Their hearts seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand.
Mo Li opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but found that any rational analysis was so pale and powerless when a person's beliefs completely collapsed.
Li Ge said nothing, silently walking forward and slowly sitting down at the edge of the invisible wave. She didn't try to help Chu Yun up, nor did she offer any words of comfort, but simply stayed with him quietly. It was like returning to that desperate night in the past, when she had tried everything but still couldn't heal her loved one. She could only sit alone on the cold ground, feeling the loneliness of being the only one left in the world.
Time passed minute by minute, and the only sound left in the stone chamber was Chu Yun's suppressed sobbing like a trapped beast.
After an unknown amount of time, when the sobbing gradually subsided, leaving only the heavy breathing like a bellows, Li Ge finally spoke slowly. Her voice was very soft and faint, as if she was telling a story that had nothing to do with her.
"I have a sister. She is my only relative in this world."
"She is very gentle and kind. When I'm bullied, she's the first to stand up and protect me. When I'm sick, she can stay awake for three days and three nights to take care of me. She will secretly save all the delicious food for me... She is the only light in my life."
"But one day, she got a very strange disease that no doctor could cure. I could only watch her grow weaker day by day, and drift further and further away from me."
"I refused to give up. I searched through all the medical books and visited all the famous doctors, but nothing worked. Just when I was about to despair, I accidentally came across a damaged ancient medical book that recorded the 'Ghost Healing Technique' that could reverse life and death."
"I know it's a forbidden technique. Once you practice it, there's no turning back. But I can't lose her. So, I didn't hesitate for a second."
"I succeeded. I used forbidden techniques to pull her back from the brink of death." Li Ge's voice paused here, and a sadness colder than ice emanated from her.
"...But, I also failed. What I saved was just a 'living corpse' that had her appearance and her body temperature, but had lost all its soul and emotions."
"Since that day, I've been living in a state of great contradiction. I used the most 'evil' method to do the most 'good' thing; I saved the person I loved most, but I also destroyed her with my own hands. I don't know if what I did was right, nor do I know how far I can go on this path. In fact, I am also confused and in pain."
She slowly turned her head and looked at Chu Yun, who had stopped trembling. Her clear eyes were as calm as a mirror that could reflect all the scars in a person's heart.
"But, Chu Yun, I know there is one thing I absolutely cannot do, and that is 'giving up'."
"Because once I give up, my sister, there's really no coming back."
"And if you give up, then your father, and all the seniors from the Evil Suppression Division who sacrificed their lives to protect you...their deaths will truly be in vain."
"She's right."
Mo Li, who had been silent the entire time, also came over. She wasn't as good at comforting as Li Ge; she only trusted her own eyes and brain. She walked up to Chu Yun, looked down at him, and said in the unquestionable, decisive tone of a craftsman:
"Chu Yun, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you answer them."
"First, was your father's 'Return to Origin' ritual treacherously interrupted by Xuan Chenzi and Elder Zhang, and was he killed by their ambush?"
Chu Yun didn't answer, but his fists, clenched until the knuckles turned white, said it all.
"Secondly, did your evil suppression department suffer the annihilation of their entire family because of their despicable actions, and have you borne their injustice for thirteen years?"
Chu Yun's body began to tremble slightly.
"Third!" Mo Li's voice suddenly rose, and every word was like a sharp hammer, hitting Chu Yun's heart fiercely. "Is that old scoundrel Xuan Chenzi currently in the human world, using the lives of countless innocent people to perform evil blood sacrifice rituals in an attempt to subvert the Three Realms? Answer me!"
"yes……"
A word filled with endless hatred finally squeezed out from between Chu Yun's teeth.
"Isn't that the end of it?" Mo Li said coldly, "Your 'revenge' hasn't disappeared, it's just been replaced with a clearer and more damning 'target'!"
"Your father, with his 'sacrifice', ignited the 'flame' of protecting the world for you. And those scumbags like Xuan Chenzi, with their 'betrayal', preserved the 'hatred' for you to continue fighting! These two things have never been contradictory!"
"What you need to do now is not to lie here like a whining coward, questioning a long-dead father! Instead, stand up! And walk out! Carry forward your father's unfinished 'will' and personally end the 'hatred' you've carried for thirteen years!"
"Go tell Xuan Chenzi! Tell the entire Tianshi Mansion! Tell this bullshit world!"
"You, Chu Yun, are not anyone's 'sacrifice'! You are your own... 'Daoshu'!"
Mo Li's last words were like thunder from the sky, fiercely splitting the boundless darkness of "confusion" and "despair" in Chu Yun's heart!
Yes, what is he suffering from? What is he confused about?
His father's sacrifice was a noble cause, and Xuan Chenzi's betrayal was a great vengeance! He could, and must, bear the burden of both!
An unprecedented, immensely powerful force surged forth from the depths of his nearly dried-up heart. He reached out and grasped the Evil-Suppressing Sword, which had accompanied him for thirteen years. Using the sword to support himself against the cold ground, he slowly, bit by bit, attempted to stand.
The movement was slow and laborious. Every time he rose an inch, the countless wounds on his body, which had just healed, tore open again, sending piercing pain through his bones. But he gritted his teeth and held his back straight, like a spear that had weathered the most violent storm, yet still refused to bend!
Finally, he stood up completely.
He raised his head, and a fire rekindled in his once empty eyes. It was no longer a simple, personal flame of hatred, but a deeper, more restrained fire, carrying the legacy of his father, the hopes of his companions, and the responsibility to protect the people of the world!
He looked at Li Ge and Mo Li's faces that were full of worry and encouragement, and slowly revealed a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Thank you..."
His voice was husky, but every word was powerful.
"us……"
However, before he could utter the last word "go", something strange happened again!
The three fragments of the Evil-Suppressing Seal within his body, which had just settled down, seemed to sense his reshaped Dao Heart and burst into brilliant golden light again! A fusion force more powerful than any before erupted with a bang!
"puff!"
Chu Yun spat out another mouthful of blood and uncontrollably knelt on one knee. He felt as if his internal organs were about to be shattered by that force!
At this moment, the black jade bed, stained red with his blood, suddenly emitted a low humming sound. Ancient and mysterious golden runes lit up on the bed's surface and began to flow slowly and rhythmically, as if an ancient being, dormant for eternity, was awakening!
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