Chapter 178 Night Candle Rules 56 "Take us home."...
A strong shiver flashed through Zhang Jin's eyes. He subconsciously stared intently at the judge's back, his eyes filled with disbelief.
No, it's impossible. He killed Nanmen Yu with his own hands. Her cold, mocking eyes before she breathed her last are still vivid in my mind. How could she possibly come back to life?!
The judge's back remained unchanged. Having lost her command, she stood frozen in place, showing no reaction to Nanmen Jue's words.
She remained the same dead, useful tool, and no miracle occurred despite Nanmen Jue's familial plea.
Zhang Jin's expression softened slightly. He looked at Nanmen Jue, trying to discern whether she had become mentally unstable due to excessive stimulation.
Nanmen Jue is very weak. The judge's attack was also a fatal blow to Jin Ming. The fact that Nanmen Jue is still alive is the result of using an unknown number of items.
The blood from the hole in her chest and abdomen had stopped bleeding, but it remained completely exposed, and you could even see her writhing internal organs inside. Her face was pale from blood loss, but her expression was very gentle.
She was looking at the judge.
Zhang Jin couldn't figure out what she wanted to do, so he cautiously refrained from making any move.
The supreme deity was still saying, "What are you still hesitating for? Kill them now!"
Zhang Jin's fingers twitched slightly, and the still judge began to move again. She tried to pull the scales from Nanmen Jue's hand, but she couldn't.
"Ying Yao!" Nanmen Jue suddenly called out the name.
Ying Yao was startled, his face still frozen on the horrified look on his face after realizing he had attacked Nanmen Jue, and he simply raised his head by instinct.
"In this world, you are the person who loves me and my sister the most, right?"
Nanmen Jue was locked in a tug-of-war with the judge. The scales were the only thing she could touch the judge, their sharp points deeply embedded in her skin, yet she did not let go.
Driven by instinct, Ying Yao answered firmly, "Yes, I love you all."
Nanmen Jue grinned and smiled happily, "I knew you could handle this."
Before Ying Yao could react to what those words meant, he heard Nanmen Jue say loudly, "Then promise me you'll take both of us home!"
After she finished speaking, a dark blue flame burst forth from Nanmen Jue's body, engulfing her entire body in flames.
Before she was completely engulfed by the flames, she reached out and pushed Yu Wanyan, who was closest to her, out.
Yu Wanyan stared blankly at the fire, and when she was just brushed by the residual heat, she cried out in pain.
"What's this?!"
Nanmen Jue's move was firm and resolute, and no one reacted in time. Even Zhang Jin showed a surprised expression.
What is that? What is burning Nanmen Jue?
The supreme god recognized it and tried to entangle the raven, but the raven did not struggle; it simply looked down calmly and with pity.
"You actually gave him this?" The chief god leaned close to the raven's ear. "Then you're doomed, Nocturnus. Once he dies, you're doomed too."
The scene unfolded so suddenly that everyone was stunned. It wasn't until the flames had completely engulfed Nanmenjue that Terra cried out in alarm.
"That's the effect of Nirvana essential oil!"
"What... what is Nirvana essential oil?" Deng Erhuai asked unconsciously.
Everything that is happening now is far beyond the imagination and tolerance of an ordinary person. She subconsciously feels that something very bad has happened, but her brain cannot react.
“Nirvana oil… is something that transforms physical objects into other energy bodies.” Fine beads of sweat appeared on Terra’s nose, but her body, drained of energy, remained motionless. Facing some unbearable gazes, she forced herself to explain, “Energy bodies are divided into physical bodies, etheric bodies, astral bodies, mental bodies, and spiritual bodies… Different Nirvana oils produce flames of different colors. This blue flame represents his body transforming from a physical body into a spiritual body.”
"What...does this mean? What does 'spirit' mean?"
Is it that a brain stretched to its limit is unable to think about problems, or is it that it is subconsciously unwilling to think about the intentions behind them?
Terra's lips trembled slightly as she looked around at the translucent human figures that had stopped attacking for some unknown reason. "These... should be part of the spirits. The so-called eerie things are also a variant of the spirits."
"Is it a soul?" Lu Yunxiao asked softly.
“No, it’s not the soul,” Terra said. “The spirit is the vessel, the soul is the core within.”
The others will understand.
Nanmen Jue is transforming himself into the bizarre.
Why would she do that? Did she think that by killing herself, her sister could be brought back to life? In the end, they would both die!
Someone was screaming the question with all their might. Mo Gui took a moment to realize that the voice was coming from his own mouth. He couldn't move his body, but he was trembling all over, screaming out incoherent words.
"I...I won't accept it, I won't accept it!"
“This is the only way he can save the judge’s soul,” Zhou Yiming said softly. “The strange soul is bound to the strange realm. To leave this strange realm, the judge must die. Nanmen Jue will devour the judge’s soul in the form of a spirit and protect her with his own spirit.”
"Is this...is this even possible? I mean, can two souls fit inside a person's body, no, their spirit body?" Wei Chongru had no idea what he was saying.
“Others can’t do it, but Nanmen Jue can,” Terra said. “Xiao Huai said that he obtained the item that can refine souls and achieve symbiosis, right? There was already an extra soul in his body.”
"Zhang Zhi," Mo Gui remembered.
Nanmen Jue sealed the girl's soul inside her body, taking her out of the confinement of her original world. This was the only way to free her from the world.
"But what about him? Becoming a spirit... wouldn't that mean he'd die?"
No one answered the question.
Mo Gui's heart trembled violently. He suddenly remembered someone, someone he secretly cared about, someone who undeniably loved Nanmen Jue, and someone she trusted.
What about Ying Yao? Ying Yao would absolutely not—
Mo Gui suddenly turned his head and found Ying Yao crawling towards the direction where Nanmen Jue was.
He tried to stand up, then collapsed to his knees, crawled a few steps, stood up again, staggered a few steps, and then knelt down again, repeating this cycle over and over.
Stop! Stop! Stop!
Ying Yao was approaching Nanmenjue. He was using all his strength on this short yet long journey. He gritted his teeth, suppressed his shouts, and just wanted to get one step faster, one step faster!
Seeing this scene of all living beings struggling, the chief god let out a hissing laugh.
"Don't stop him!" He said. "So much despair, so much fear, so sweet and delicious emotions... My power is growing stronger and stronger, Nocturnus, can you feel it?"
Zhang Jin withdrew his hand, his gaze fixed on Nanmen Jue with a complex mix of emotions.
He knew about this tool, and he knew even more about the pain of forcibly converting energy bodies.
The transformation of the physical body into a spiritual body is equivalent to cremating a person alive, burning away the muscles and bones, and burning away this mortal shell.
Even more cruelly, one must remain conscious throughout this transformation process; otherwise, the soul will be unable to maintain stability and will completely disintegrate the moment the astral body is born.
Why did Nanmen Jue choose to do this?
Doesn't he want to live?
Since the judge is already dead, does it really matter whether or not her unconscious soul is brought back to the real world?
Zhang Jin couldn't understand it; no one in his world had ever done this before. He recalled the expressionless, reprimanding faces of the instructors on the training field.
"Survival is everything. How do you survive? Master power, become the strongest, make yourself useful, and you will survive."
"Don't try to help others; the only person you can help is yourself!"
He had never had family, friends, or loved anyone. He couldn't understand Nanmen Jue's choice, nor could he understand Yu Wanyan and Ying Yao's choices.
"Why suffer like this? What's already lost can only be looked forward to," he murmured.
If they were struggling to survive and resorting to any means necessary, Zhang Jin didn't find it strange.
He pressured Nanmen Jue to kill the judge, just to make her kill her own sister. Whether she chose to kill the judge to save others, or not to kill the judge and sacrifice others, so that everyone would be turned into spirits and remain in this strange realm forever, he could understand.
But Nanmen Jue made the choice that he could least understand.
Why? He doesn't understand.
This was a long execution. He could have intervened and killed Nanmen Jue as soon as possible, but the main god deliberately prolonged the suffering.
He looked at Nanmen Jue; the flames were burning her face, and he couldn't see her expression clearly, but he inexplicably felt that her face was smiling.
To commit suicide while laughing amidst such suffering, Nanmen Jue was the madman who truly made him submit.
Yu Wanyan stood there stunned. She tried to reach out and touch the flames surrounding Nanmen Jue, but as soon as her fingertips touched him, she convulsed and collapsed to the ground.
"It hurts...it hurts so much!"
She looked at Nanmen Jue in fear. Just touching him caused her so much pain. How could this man burn his whole body like that?
How can I help him?... How can I help him!
Suddenly, a hand reached into the flames with unwavering determination and grasped Nanmen Jue's wrist, just as firmly as when he answered "I love you all."
Ying Yao rushed over and grabbed Nanmen Jue.
The flames didn't spread to his body, but half of his arm was submerged in the flames. His facial features contorted and twitched for a moment, and then he gripped Nanmen Jue's wrist even tighter.
“Xiao Jue, wake up.” He said in a trembling, hoarse voice, “Nanmen Yu will not want to see you die for her. When you go down and see her, she will blame herself.”
Nanmen Jue finally moved. She slowly turned her face, and in the dim light of the flames, Ying Yao saw a pair of blood-red eyes.
I don't know if it was from pain or from crying.
"Let go."
Nanmen Jue's voice sounded unlike her own; it seemed to come from a very far place.
“Xiao Jue.” Ying Yao certainly wouldn’t let go. His voice trembled even more. “Let’s think of another way. I can still launch one more attack. As long as we kill the main god, we can find a way to break the connection between Zhang Jin and her.”
Even if he didn't know before, when he saw Nanmen Jue risking his life to protect Zhang Jin and the judge, he knew how big a mistake he had made.
His all-out attack struck the person he loved most.
“I said, let go.” Nanmen Jue’s voice became distorted. “I have done everything I can. Now I just want to save her soul. If you love me, let go.”
Ying Yao suddenly looked up, all the sounds stuck in his throat, his heart felt like it was being tightly bound by invisible ropes, causing it to bleed.
Do you know... I love you?
Then why did you choose to die in front of me in this way!
No……
Ying Yao understood.
"So you knew...you knew everything." His voice trembled uncontrollably. "You knew I love you, so you deliberately gave me this task."
Nanmen Jue stared at him, his gaze twisted, pained, and cold.
"Have you ever considered what if I don't listen?" Ying Yao's expression turned fierce. "What if I die here too?"
“You won’t,” Nanmen Jue said.
"Why wouldn't I?" Ying Yao's voice was initially soft, then suddenly rose to a roar, the loudest sound he could muster, "Why do you think I wouldn't? Because you think I'm always rational, always calm, and wouldn't even utter inappropriate feelings, so I'll always make the most appropriate choice? Nanmen Jue, do you think I have no heart?!"
"Then what can I do? Ying Yao, I don't want to provoke anyone, I don't want to save anyone, but you're all here, so many people are here, what am I supposed to do? If it were you, could you just watch everyone die here?" Nanmen Jue's voice also became agitated, as if some emotion could no longer be suppressed and burst forth, "If I die, Nanmen Yu will be sad, of course she will be sad! If it weren't for me, she wouldn't even have come in, let alone died! But what if she knew that so many people died because of her?"
"No……"
Ying Yao, who had been struggling to tip the scales in his heart toward goodness, felt something collapse. His selfish desires grew wildly, overwhelming his inhuman balance. A deep despair appeared on his usually calm and indifferent face, and tears streamed down his pale face.
He could no longer stand. He grabbed Nanmen Jue's wrist and slowly knelt down on the ground. He looked up at Nanmen Jue, like a broken believer begging for God's mercy.
"Please...don't do this."
"Stand up." Nanmen Jue suddenly grabbed him, trying to drag him up. "I'm not what you think I am at all. I don't have any great benevolence or love. I never thought of sacrificing myself to save anyone! The kind of good person you think you know doesn't exist. You've fallen in love with just an illusion!"
"How could I not tell whether I've fallen in love with a person or a fantasy?" Ying Yao gave a bitter laugh. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Nanmen Jue's hand. "If I can't stop you, then let me help you."
As he spoke, he took out something and was about to drink it down.
Nanmen Jue flew into a rage. Unable to free herself from the scales with one hand, she kicked Ying Yao's hand.
"Where did you get Nirvana essential oil from!"
She roared hoarsely, "Why do you have to force me? Do you think I don't want to keep you all here to save her? I've saved so many people, why can't a few die for the people I love? Do you think I haven't thought about it? But... I can't, Ying Yao, no one in my family does things like this. Even if I'm the only one left in my family, they're all watching me. My sister's spirit is watching me. I can't do this."
Her tone softened, tinged with a faint sob.
"Please don't do this... I'm begging you, only you can take us home."
Ying Yao stared at her blankly, when suddenly he noticed that the judge in front of him, who had been expressionless, had moved his lifeless eyes.
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Author's note: I wasn't slacking off when I wasn't updating; I was constantly racking my brains (slowly slumps down).
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