After Escaping From Death, He Went Even Crazier By Criticizing Black Lotus Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Breakup – What he craved his entire life but could never obtain was a heart…

The night was damp and cold, with only the flickering light of the bonfire offering a measure of warmth.

The disciples from the major immortal sects huddled around the fire, looking quite disheveled.

After a long silence, Hua Wuyou was the first to lose patience, angrily questioning the two Xuanji Sect disciples: “Is there really no way out of this secret realm?!”

His voice was as loud and noisy as ever. A vein throbbed on Xiao Jianming’s forehead. If he hadn’t known this was a phantom created by an illusion, he would have killed the man with a single sword strike long ago. He sneered, “So eager to leave? It’s not impossible, it just depends on what you are willing to sacrifice.”

Hua Wuyou froze, watching as Xiao Jianming finished speaking and his gaze fell upon the sleeping girl beside him, letting out an ambiguous laugh.

Everyone present heard him and followed his gaze. They noticed that Meng Qinghui, who was leaning against Hua Wuyou’s shoulder with a pale face, unconscious, now had a pair of crystal-clear white jade twin rings hanging from her waist. Engraved on them were the words “Ling Shu.” The immortal energy, which the owner had deliberately concealed, was now exposed, swirling around the rings, clear and cold as the moon.

This was the immortal artifact Meng Qinghui had just used.

Yue Jiusi’s eyes lit up upon seeing it. “That’s right! I didn’t expect your Myriad Manifestations Sect to be so secretive, possessing such an immortal artifact capable of tearing space and time!”

“Hey, when your Senior Sister wakes up, just have her take us out!” Since the immortal artifact recognized its master, Yue Jiusi, no matter how urgent he felt, could only wait for Meng Qinghui to recover her spiritual power before acting.

However, Hua Wuyou’s face paled. “No! Forcibly activating the immortal artifact twice in such a short period will kill her!”

The joyful expression on Yue Jiusi’s face vanished. He awkwardly scratched his head, not daring to mention it again.

Jiang Fei suddenly turned to Xiao Jianming. “Is there truly no other way?”

Xiao Jianming raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. “No, there isn’t.”

Perhaps feeling they were too despairing, he kindly added, “Unless you can find another immortal artifact equally powerful enough to tear space and time.”

The group fell silent again. Immortal artifacts were not common cabbage; even counting on one’s fingers, there were only three to five in existence. How could they easily find a second one?

Yue Jiusi glanced at the white jade twin rings on Meng Qinghui’s waist, sighing repeatedly with reluctance, which caused Hua Wuyou to stare at him warily, pulling his Senior Sister closer.

Thinking carefully, if Meng Qinghui could have used the artifact to leave, they wouldn’t be stuck here.

Xiao Jianming was clearly toying with them.

Yue Jiusi couldn’t help but sigh.

Nangong Yi, however, derived a possibility from this. “Since Daoist Meng’s immortal artifact could tear space here, it means the restriction isn’t too strong. Perhaps we can try to forcibly break through the boundary.”

Qi Zi scoffed. “Trying to forcibly break a Profound-tier secret realm with individual power is something only an Integration stage cultivator can achieve. We are already the elites among the immortal sect disciples, and we all know each other’s strength. Is there anyone here at the Integration stage? Stop daydreaming.”

As he spoke, his eyes swept over Su Huan, who was sitting in the corner. His brow arched. “I almost forgot there was someone I haven’t met. Could you be that Integration stage cultivator?”

Su Huan pursed his lips and slowly shook his head.

He only had half a Golden Core. Although he could rely on the Garan Secret Technique to fight beyond his stage against a Nascent Soul cultivator, he had long lost the possibility of further breakthrough.

Moreover, the gap between the stages was like an abyss, as difficult as ascending to immortality.

Even if someone wanted to break through on the spot, they would have to ask if the Heavenly Dao would grant them that opportunity.

And the person most likely to receive this opportunity… everyone involuntarily looked at Xiao Jianming.

Realizing it was impossible, they awkwardly shifted their gaze away.

Xiao Jianming let out a soft scoff, saying nothing, and left alone, clutching his sword.

Su Huan was startled. After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and followed him.

“Eldest Senior Brother.”

By the time he caught up, Xiao Jianming had already walked some distance. Hearing the voice, he stopped and turned to look at him. Su Huan instinctively took a step back, then steadied himself, looking up to meet his gaze. “Where are you going, Eldest Senior Brother?”

Xiao Jianming raised an eyebrow, his expression a half-smile as he slowly approached. “Are you afraid of me?”

Su Huan’s breath hitched. He exhaled softly. “…I am not.”

It was just a tiny bit of lingering trauma, that was all.

Xiao Jianming let out a long “Oh,” and said, “If that’s the case, why does Junior Brother’s spiritual power avoid me like a viper?”

He lightly hooked his finger, and two intertwining streams of spiritual power appeared in the air. One desperately tried to flee, while the other clung to it like a snake climbing a pole or a vine wrapping around incense, refusing to let go until death.

Su Huan’s pupils contracted sharply. He immediately cut off the spiritual power unconsciously radiating from his body, then gathered his courage and asked, “Does Senior Brother truly not know any way to send a message outside?”

The surrounding air fell silent.

Xiao Jianming chuckled softly. “Junior Brother is truly clever.”

He admitted it!

Su Huan’s pupils shrank, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him. The next second, however, he felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, chilling him to the bone.

Xiao Jianming was playing with the wisp of golden spiritual power that its owner had ruthlessly severed. His dark eyes held no trace of tenderness. He said, “Not only do I know how to send a message, but I also know how to escape. But everything has a price. What will Junior Brother offer in exchange for this answer?”

Xiao Jianming was using this to threaten him.

Su Huan understood the implication beneath his words, and his eyes widened with disbelief. “Are you insane? There are so many immortal sect disciples here whose lives are in danger!”

Xiao Jianming smiled dismissively. “What does that have to do with me?”

He continued, “You are the one who wants to save them, not me. You want to be a great Samaritan, but I do not.”

Su Huan was incredulous. “They have no enmity with you. Since you know how to leave, how can you just stand by and watch them die…”

Xiao Jianming interrupted him. “Why must I save them?”

Su Huan was momentarily stunned.

Xiao Jianming’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and his smile held a hint of mockery. “Since you know I am from Lingxi, you should also know that it was precisely because this group of self-righteous hypocrites stood by and watched Lingxi die that our clan was slaughtered by the demon race and ultimately annihilated…”

The words he spoke were like ice and snow. A flicker of hatred crossed his eyes until he noticed the confusion on Su Huan’s face as he listened. Then, Xiao Jianming realized something. “Ah, I forgot that since you entered this illusion, you no longer remember who you are.”

The thought of this made Xiao Jianming even more annoyed.

He hadn’t remembered who he was either initially, only acting according to the identity the illusion had created by peering into the deepest desires of his heart, which led to many embarrassing situations.

As for how he recovered his memory, that had to start with the stupid thing he did five years ago.

*

Five years ago, the day after Xiao Jianming received those two slaps, he went to see Su Huan again.

“Junior Brother.”

A smile flickered in Xiao Jianming’s dark eyes, yet it was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, chilling Su Huan to the bone. He continued the words he had left unfinished that day, “I told you, if you don’t agree, I will break your limbs, lock you in a room that never sees the sun, and enjoy you daily until you hate me.”

At that moment, Su Huan was planting flowers for his younger brother Su Chao’s grave. He was suddenly seized by the wrist by Xiao Jianming and caught off guard by these shocking words. His heart trembled, unable to believe that the Eldest Senior Brother, who had always been upright, friendly, and kind to him, would say such things.

Also, according to Eldest Senior Brother’s ‘dark room’ theory, shouldn’t he end up loving, not hating, Eldest Senior Brother?

Su Huan had woken up after a night’s sleep, and the mixed feelings in his heart had dissipated considerably. Hearing these words didn’t make him angry; instead, he began to seriously consider his relationship with Eldest Senior Brother.

He believed that Eldest Senior Brother’s previous words were not truly meant to humiliate him, but rather that he didn’t know what love was.

Therefore, he decided to clarify things with Eldest Senior Brother. Confessing to someone shouldn’t involve threats about making them a forbidden plaything. Instead, one should tell the person, “I am fond of you and want to become your Dao companion,” and proceed slowly.

Once Eldest Senior Brother came to his senses, he would explain that he only felt friendship and kinship toward Eldest Senior Brother, not romantic love. If Eldest Senior Brother was still willing to be friends, then all would be well. If not, then they would go their separate ways.

However, before he could open his mouth, Xiao Jianming suddenly lunged closer, his spiritual sense forcefully invading Su Huan’s spiritual platform!

“Mmm…”

Su Huan had been careless and unprepared against the person he had once been closest to. He was easily breached in the most vital and secret part of a cultivator. Stimulated, he trembled all over and couldn’t help but raise his hand to push him away, which only caused him to accidentally fall backward, landing completely covered on the ground.

“What are you doing…” Su Huan struggled to speak, his widened eyes tinged with crimson.

Xiao Jianming pressed closer, a smirk playing on his lips when he heard the question. “I never speak empty words. Since I have captured you, naturally I must brand your spiritual consciousness with the mark of a forbidden plaything.”

Su Huan was horrified. “…What?”

His soul in the spiritual platform was touched and entangled by the unfamiliar soul, instantly causing an indescribable sensation. Su Huan couldn’t suppress a muffled groan of discomfort, but his heart felt like it was plunging into an ice cave, and he began to struggle violently.

Xiao Jianming warned, “You had better not struggle. If your soul is damaged because of this, you will become an idiot at best, and die at worst.”

Su Huan’s movements paused, but the next second, he began to struggle fiercely, regardless of the consequences. His entire spiritual platform shook as if mountains were collapsing and seas were splitting.

This was Xiao Jianming’s first time sending his soul into someone else’s spiritual platform, and he was also suffering. Drops of sweat fell from his forehead. The soul mark was half-etched when it was completely disrupted, a total failure.

He couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, “Are you trying to kill yourself!”

Su Huan remained silent, only trying his utmost to expel the extra soul from his spiritual platform. The spiritual manifestation gradually showed signs of collapse.

A hint of surprise flashed in Xiao Jianming’s eyes. Normally, this level of struggle would only damage the soul, but Su Huan’s soul was surprisingly weak.

He had no choice but to turn and protect the entire spiritual platform for its owner, cursing under his breath, “Idiot!”

Gradually, the invasion changed meaning. The souls constantly complemented and merged with each other, the sensation so exquisite that it was intoxicating and irresistible.

As he delved deeper, the soul seemed to hit a restriction at the bottom, and Xiao Jianming was abruptly bounced out. Simultaneously, a white light suddenly struck his mind, like a whip lashing his soul, bringing him back to full consciousness.

By accident, Xiao Jianming recovered his memory. He remembered that he was not some flawless, upstanding Chief Disciple, and Su Huan was not some poor victim bullied by a debt collector. Su Huan was the son of an aristocratic family from the Gilded Continent, a self-righteous hypocrite.

And the stupid, ugly creature that had caused him to lose his memory, reduced to only a head, was actually the legendary divine beast, Chi Jing.

When he realized what had just happened, Xiao Jianming’s eyes were sinister, and he almost wanted to skin that beast head alive.

Not only had he fulfilled the stupid beast’s wish and saved the dying Su Huan, but he had also—he had cultivated with this hypocrite!

So, as soon as Su Huan woke up, he was grabbed by the neck, nearly suffocating.

Unlike the previous coercion and temptation, this time, he saw genuine killing intent in those dark eyes!

Su Huan was horrified, his eyes turning red and tearing up from the pressure.

Xiao Jianming almost ground his teeth. “If it weren’t for you, how would I be trapped here…”

The next second, as if sensing something, he abruptly withdrew his hand. The look in his eyes as he stared at Su Huan was astonishment, disbelief, and complex confusion.

The Dream of Chi Jing was tied to the dreamer’s deepest knot. Only by granting the dreamer their heart’s desire could the dream be resolved.

This should have been a simple matter, but Xiao Jianming knew clearly that what he craved his entire life but could never obtain was a true heart.

A genuine, sincere heart that favored him without any hypocrisy.

And because of Su Huan’s intervention, this desire had become tied to the other party. Therefore, he had to obtain this hypocrite’s heart to break through the boundary.

If this person died, he would be eternally trapped in this Heart Tribulation Illusion.

Xiao Jianming’s blood and energy surged within him. He couldn’t help but cover his face with his hand.

Su Huan stood up, equally furious. “Eldest Senior Brother, you…”

“Get out!”

Xiao Jianming suddenly yelled. When he looked up, the expression revealed through the gaps in his fingers was terrifying.

Su Huan froze.

The sound of human voices drifted from the mountain path not far away, recalling his senses.

Su Huan took a deep breath, picked up the spiritual sword that had fallen to the ground, and abruptly raised it—

Snap!

Su Huan used all his strength to break the spiritual sword that Xiao Jianming had once gifted him, the one he had cherished the most.

This caused the voices on the mountain path to fall silent.

Only Su Huan’s voice could be heard throughout the entire forest—

“Xiao Jianming, if I ever try to be friends with you again, I’m a dog!”

“From this day forward, you and I are like this sword—our relationship is severed, and we are strangers to each other!”