After Escaping From Death, He Went Even Crazier By Criticizing Black Lotus Chapter 46
byChapter 46: The Demon Race and the Aristocratic Families
The rain poured down suddenly and heavily, beating the leaves off the treetops and snapping the stems of the flowers along the steps, turning them into scattered mud.
Fresh red blood soaked into the rainwater, staining the muddy ground.
Xiao Jianming knelt on the steps, his face pale and drained of color. His dark eyes, black as stars, were filled with stubborn persistence.
He slowly curved his lips and said, “Brother A-Qing, we cannot be separated.”
Su Huan was stunned into silence. After a long moment, he slowly lowered his head to look. The rainwater washed away the blood, and the smooth core of the Golden Core emitted a faint golden light.
The Golden Core, forcibly pressed into his palm, still retained residual warmth, but mixed with the icy rainwater, it burned his hand painfully.
He couldn’t help but tremble, and the Golden Core rolled down the steps.
His gaze followed it down, but through the curtain of rain, it collided directly with those dark eyes filled with surging love and sorrow—an intense emotion that felt like a deep abyss trying to drag him into oblivion.
Xiao Jianming paid no attention to his own core; he only tightly gripped Su Huan’s wrist, his dark eyes fixed on him, suppressing his obsession and madness.
Su Huan’s lips moved a few times. Rainwater fell into his mouth, bringing a bitter taste, thick and heavy, almost making him unable to speak.
He turned his head and said, “…You don’t need to do this. Whatever was between us ended in the last life.”
The thought in his heart grew firmer:
Their relationship might have been wrong from the very beginning.
Regaining his composure, he said, “I’m begging you. Leave now, go back to the Sea of No Delusion.”
Right now, he needed to correct this mistake and put everything back on track.
The sorrow in Xiao Jianming’s eyes was almost overflowing. He gritted his teeth and managed to squeeze out a sound: “Brother A-Qing, how can you be so cruel…”
But then he heard a low sigh, and a hand covered his eyes.
Xiao Jianming’s consciousness plunged into darkness.
When he opened his eyes again, the surrounding scenery had changed into endless, boundless seawater, and he was inside an ancient, dilapidated palace.
The seawater outside the palace was clear and bright blue, without a trace of the black miasma of evil. It was pure, clean, and utterly silent.
All the wounds on his body were healed.
The power of a god—crossing the cosmos in a single step, healing white bones with a flick of the hand—was nothing more than this.
He stepped out of the divine palace in disbelief, wanting to return, but was shocked to find he could not leave.
Every time he swam toward the sea surface, the distance would infinitely shift, as if there was no end.
Xiao Jianming couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh, turning to look at the sea area beneath his feet.
This was the domain Brother A-Qing had personally bestowed upon him when he first ascended to godhood.
Brother A-Qing had said that he could not violate the oath that there would be no more gods in the world, but he also could not strip away the godhood Xiao Jianming had cultivated over a thousand years. Therefore, he gifted him this spiritless land and promised to stay with him, slowly creating life and all things.
At the time, he had been overjoyed, dragging Brother A-Qing through every corner of the Sea of No Delusion, happily building their shared home.
Brother A-Qing liked the color cyan, so he paved his divine palace with cyan jade stones.
Brother A-Qing had died because of evil, so he would not allow a single trace of evil in his domain.
But now, he had been trapped here by Brother A-Qing’s own hands.
This was truly, excellent.
…
On the day the Immortal Sect Grand Assembly officially began, Su Huan arrived at the Dao Discussion Arena.
Almost all the top combat forces from the Hundred Immortal Sects were present. This time, they would enter the secret realm along with the disciples.
When Su Huan arrived, Ji Heng, as the Ji family patriarch, had already taken his seat on the high platform. He was almost stingy about granting this “nephew” of his legal wife a single glance, failing to recognize that the soul housed within the youth was precisely the other half of Ji Buhuan’s divine soul that he had desperately sought.
Back then, Su Yu had caused a great rift with her maternal family to marry him, practically severing ties, and the two families had barely interacted since.
However, when his divine sense swept over the young man’s face, which bore some resemblance to Su Yu, his thoughts inevitably drifted for a moment, recalling that he and A-Yu had once been in love.
When Su Huan saw him, his eyelashes fluttered suddenly, and he lowered his gaze, walking into the Xuanji Sect’s formation.
Ji Buhuan’s short memory of a dozen years was not enough to leave a trace in the vast hundreds of thousands of years of Cangxuan’s memory, but hatred could.
Yet, killing Ji Heng would not solve the problem. Aristocratic families like Ji Heng were inexhaustible.
The Demon Race, the aristocratic families.
They had to change things from the root.
To the right of the Xuanji Sect was the Jianqing Sect’s team. Nangong Yi saw Su Huan arrive alone and couldn’t help but ask, “Fellow Daoist Su, why is Fellow Daoist Xiao not with you?”
Su Huan paused and said, “We won’t be seeing each other again.”
Yue Jiusi was surprised to hear this and exclaimed, “What?! Did he run away at the last minute?”
To the left stood the Myriad Phenomena Sect’s team. Meng Qinghui cut straight to the point: “Did you two have a falling out?”
Yinzhu, who was standing at the very front, turned back in surprise: “Did Junior Brother Su and Junior Brother Xiao quarrel again?”
Su Huan: “…No.”
Meng Qinghui was skilled at reading people’s tones and expressions. He gave a meaningful sneer upon hearing this, but didn’t ask further.
Yinzhu maintained his gentle, amiable appearance and kindly advised, “Junior Brother Su, quarrels between lovers are easily resolved. You must cherish this bond.”
In the Lingxiao Sect’s team, Qi Zi glanced at the few people whose conversation revealed a familiar intimacy and let out a light, contemptuous puff of air.
Aside from Yinzhu, no one dared to offer further advice, and silence fell over the group.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too quiet, even the thick-skinned Yue Jiusi felt a hint of awkwardness and scratched his head.
After a while, Nangong Yi quietly asked, “…Is it because of what happened that night?”
Su Huan looked at him strangely: “What happened?”
Nangong Yi suddenly looked at him, realized something, and let out a sigh of relief. He frantically averted his gaze: “No! Nothing, nothing at all.”
He then dared not look at Su Huan again, appearing flustered, as if he had done something to wrong him. He wanted to approach but restrained himself with immense shame, not daring to look twice.
Yue Jiusi was utterly confused, not understanding when his Young Sect Master had gotten involved in these two people’s messy affairs.
Although Su Huan was puzzled, he didn’t ask further.
No matter what it was, it was less important than stopping the Demon Race from causing a great catastrophe.
Soon, the passage to the secret realm opened.
The top combat forces of the various immortal sects led their disciples into the upcoming “battlefield.”
Before entering the secret realm, Yinzhu suddenly asked a strange question: “Junior Brother Su, do you think… are there really gods in this world?”
Su Huan: “No.”
Yinzhu seemed not to have reacted, subconsciously asking in a daze, “…What?”
Su Huan said, “The Divine Venerable already perished ten million years ago.”
Yinzhu recovered, his tone revealing disbelief: “But everyone firmly believes that the Divine Venerable did not truly die, but has always been protecting his believers from an unseen place… Why does Fellow Daoist Su say there are no gods?” Yinzhu looked at him: “How can you be sure he truly perished?”
The youth turned to look at him, the expression in his light eyes empty, yet seeming to see through all of Yinzhu’s secrets.
For a moment, Yinzhu felt a sense of dread.
Su Huan: “Historical records state it, it is common knowledge.”
Hearing this, Yinzhu was momentarily lost in thought, murmuring, “That’s right, everyone knows.”
He suddenly chuckled softly, whispering soundlessly, “It seems his hope is destined to be dashed.”
…
Su Huan stepped into the secret realm and was randomly dropped into a deep forest.
Just as he was about to follow his memory to find the demon who would first appear in the secret realm, a clear, gentle voice came from behind him:
“Fellow Daoist Su, please wait.”
Su Huan turned back. Nangong Yi had landed not far from his location. He had called out to him but did not approach.
Nangong Yi had always been upright, gentle, and polite, never rash or flustered. Yet, at this moment, his face showed a mix of hesitation and determination.
He looked at Su Huan with an indescribable depth in his eyes, and softly said, “After the Immortal Sect Grand Assembly concludes, please convey a few words to Fellow Daoist Xiao for me. Tell him that after the Assembly, I will return to Zhaoyue Continent… and never set foot on Huayao Continent again.” And never see you again.
After speaking, Nangong Yi took one last look at the youth, a hint of sorrow passing through his eyes.
The image of the youth’s bright eyes when they first met involuntarily surfaced in his mind, gradually overlapping with the words the youth had spoken while drunk that day, forcefully tearing open his heart, leaving him both sweetly willing and unbearably painful.
Burning incense and playing the zither, brewing tea with melted snow.
…If only the youth had met him first.
Thinking this, Nangong Yi’s eyes flickered. He cursed himself for being despicable and hurriedly turned to leave.
However, Su Huan called out to him: “I cannot help you convey the message. He is in the Sea of No Delusion. You can go tell him yourself then.”
Nangong Yi paused, giving a bitter smile: “I have no face to see him again.” Nor do I dare to disturb you again.
But then he heard Su Huan say, “I apologize, but I have dissolved the contract and separated from him. I have decided not to see him again.”
Nangong Yi froze, abruptly turning to look at him.
Su Huan looked at him strangely, not understanding why he reacted so strongly.
Nangong Yi stared blankly at the youth before him. A ringing sound exploded in his ears, and his heart pounded like a drum.
An indescribable, hidden emotion welled up from the bottom of his heart.
“Fellow Daoist Su… may I, may I travel with you?”
“Of course.”
After the two left, a figure stepped out from behind a tree.
The youth’s appearance was clean but not striking, and he wore the inner sect robes of the Xuanji Sect. His knuckles, gripping the tree trunk, were white and strained. His eyes were fixed on the direction the two had left—
It was Xiao Jianming, whose divine soul was possessing the body.
He had finally managed to send his divine soul out of the Sea of No Delusion, and finally managed to sneak into the Immortal Sect Grand Assembly, only to witness this scene.
His moist, scarlet dark eyes showed signs of madness. He whispered, “Brother A-Qing, you can only be mine…”
With that, his fingertips left the rough tree trunk, leaving several deep indentations.
He then quietly followed the two.
When Su Huan and Nangong Yi found the demon who was sacrificing himself to the formation, the demon was shrouded in a white mist, making his appearance unclear.
This demon was wrapped in a thick mist that eroded life force, and he was moving rapidly, seemingly knowing the secret realm’s terrain in advance. He was heading along a route that could encircle the entire secret realm, occasionally slashing the ground and leaving behind a cloud of white mist.
Su Huan flexed his fingers, and flying petals sliced the demon’s head.
The demon’s body stiffened. Blood spurted from the connection of his neck onto the grass, causing the contaminated vegetation to instantly wither and turn black. In a short while, the wilting spread slowly outward.
However, he did not immediately die. He slowly twisted his body, trying to see who had killed him, and met the gaze of a light-eyed youth, who was followed by a sword cultivator.
The demon slowly revealed a sinister, mocking smile, his voice whistling through the gaps: “I, one of the twelve great Demon Generals… ended up dying at the hands of you two brats. How shameful… But once I’m killed, the Demon Army will soon descend upon this place… Then soft-skinned little children like you will be buried with me, ha ha ha ha…”
He said this deliberately, expecting to incite panic in the two cultivators. Unexpectedly, Su Huan’s face remained calm. He slowly approached the demon and softly called out his name: “Yin Li.”
The demon’s eyes suddenly widened, but blood surged into his throat, blocking his voice. He could only make hissing roars, his eyes wide open as he breathed his last.
The youth recognized the last two words the demon had shouted, which were “Divine Venerable,” and couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Before the sigh could fully land, the flesh and blood on the demon’s body vanished in the blink of an eye, just like the illusion of the Heart Tribulation. Strange formation patterns appeared on the ground.
The entire secret realm began to shake.
Nangong Yi’s expression turned solemn, and he gripped his sword, ready for battle.
Su Huan put away his sword, bent down, and carefully gathered the scattered bones of Yin Li one by one. A golden light appeared on his fingertips, transmitting the remains to the Purple Gold Spirit Clan Tomb.
The moment the golden light dissipated, a voice that could charm all beings came from behind Su Huan: “Divine Venerable, you truly did not perish.”
Su Huan turned around. A huge abyss rift had appeared behind him.
A person walked out of the abyss, their face androgynous and radiantly beautiful, just as in the illusion of the Heart Tribulation.
Behind them followed thousands of demon troops, the sound of drums shaking the heavens.
Nangong Yi stared at the newcomer in shock, unable to believe it was the Demon Lord. His heart pounded with fear. He instinctively shielded Su Huan, sending a mental message for him to find a chance to escape.
Unexpectedly, Su Huan did not respond. Instead, he stepped out of Nangong Yi’s protective circle and walked forward to face the Demon Lord alone.
Just as Nangong Yi was about to step forward to stop him, before his fingertips could even touch the youth’s wrist, he was shocked to see the youth’s tied-up black hair rapidly lengthen to his ankles, instantly turning into snowy white hair. Golden light emerged in his light-colored eyes, and a golden divine mark appeared on his snowy forehead, identical to the image of the Divine Venerable worshipped and believed in by the Hundred Immortal Sects!
The transformed youth’s fringe lifted in the wind. His aura also seemed utterly unfamiliar. Holding a pure white, cold longsword, he spoke lightly, “Yin Li, long time no see.”
Nangong Yi was stunned, frozen in place.