On the other side of the battlefield, Di Zang charged toward Xuanyuan Dao with his lifebound beast. Currently, the power of Nine Dragon Formation and Dreamheart World was concentrated on Jiang Wuxin alone. His Regal Specter Bloodline had made him so much stronger after consuming fifty million lifebound beasts. Needless to say, the crown prince of the specters definitely had a similar bloodline, the only difference being that he hadnāt consumed a single lifebound beast before. Who knew how many generations of specters had come and gone in the two hundred thousand years they had been imprisoned. They were all malnourished and starved in the Ninefold Hell, so they were far from their peak strength.
Di Zangās arrival immediately broke the coordination between Xuanyuan Dao and Li Caiwei.
āCome with me to kill this person so I may take the key!ā Di Zang shouted to Jiang Wuxin, who poked his head out of Li Caiweiās Dreamheart World. Shocked, he blankly looked at the surroundings.
āJiang Wuxin, obey your master!ā Di Zang hollered once more.
Finally, Jiang Wuxin managed to break out of the Dreamheart World, though that only caused Li Caiwei to use it on Di Zang instead.
āJiang Wuxin!ā Di Zang was getting more and more furious at seeing Jiang Wuxin blanking out like that. This was the perfect chance for them to take the key!
Right at that moment, Jiang Wuxin shot a glare to where Po Suo was; that was where the white-haired youth fought. Almost immediately, Jiang Wuxinās eyes began to bleed a stream of bloody tears. āAaaaah! Aaaaaagh!ā
He pressed his head as he writhed and cried in pain. Then he charged to where Tianming was fighting.
āJiang Wuxin, come back and help me!ā Despite Di Zangās roars, Jiang Wuxin could see nobody but Tianming.
āHehehe⦠heheheheā¦.ā He giggled like a madman as he charged, only to be stopped by a sudden longsword that came thrusting from his flank. He immediately deflected it with the Firmament Godsword, sending sparks flying, but was sent stumbling away.
A green-robed swordsman appeared before him, exuding such boundless sword ki that it made him difficult to even look at. The man glared at him in pain and rage. It was none other than Feng Qingyu!
āOut of my way!ā Jiang Wuxin growled like a beast as he glared at him.
āWuxin, stop acting. The fact that you reacted like that after seeing him means youāre no longer under their control. The Hexascript Sword Mantra managed to snap you out of it. Youāre far more resolute than I imagined.ā Feng Qingyu then pointed the Hexafirmament Eradicator at his former disciple.
Jiang Wuxin wiped away the blood from the corners of his eyes. Though clarity seemed to return to his expression, the light from his four irises still seemed savage and feral. āMaster, I only want to avenge them. Donāt stop me, alright?ā he said with a hoarse voice, his unshaven jaw shaking.
Feng Qingyu looked at Tianming and back at Jiang Wuxin. āTell me one thingāwhy did you kill Jian Wuyi?ā His hands shook at the mention of the name.
āMaster, Iāll give you one last chance. If you make way for me, Iāll still respect you. Iām in a huge rush now. My chance for vengeance is gnawing at my flesh like countless bugs. Iām sick. My destiny⦠my antidote⦠is ending his sorry life. Please allow me to at least do that.ā His teeth began chattering as he peeked at Tianming past Feng Qingyu, both of his hands shaking with rage.
āYouāre giving me a chance?ā Feng Qingyu said, taken aback, then chuckled. āIf I donāt move aside, do you think youāre capable of killing me? Your own master? Wuxin, Iām asking you one last time. Why did you kill Jian Wuyi? You knew what he meant to me! You knew what our relationship was like!ā
āKilling my master?ā Jiang Wuxin laughed maniacally before he turned to lock gazes with Feng Qingyu. Tightly gripping the Firmament Godsword, he pointed it at Feng Qingyu. āMaster, Iāll answer your question. These were your own words. You said that people without hearts know no pain. You said thereās no room for sentimentality on the way of the sword.
āThose were your teachings, Master. Those were the words that saved me from falling past the edge of despair. That was how I managed to live through all that suffering and struggling. It was all for the day Iād finally get my revenge. Can you even imagine what I had to go through, spending all those days in the Blood Cauldron?
āYou really had it easy, didnāt you? You tricked me and traded me for a starmap, then casually taught me the Hexascript Sword Mantra, thinking that would solve all my problems. You were the epitome of a heartless person! Do you think that mantra helped at all? No way in hell!ā His shoulders shook from another bout of manic laughter that forced even more bloody tears out.
āYou will never understand this feeling. In a time of peak despair and agony, only boundless rage and hate could sustain me! Sustain my being! Allow me to remain as myself, Jiang Wuxin! Master, you were the one who trained me in the way of the sword! You were the one that made me a monster! Thatās why I both love and hate you! Even though those choices were my own to make, I knew deep down that you cared more for the starmap than my life!
āHow I wish I could just cast my sentimentality away and focus on the way of the sword! No matter how heartless, itās the path you chose to tread! The path you preached, right? So Iām very curious as to how a purportedly heartless swordsman like yourself can even feel pain for the death of Jian Wuyi.
āThe only reasonable explanation is that youāve abandoned your way of the sword! Or, donāt tell me you were never practicing what you preached in the first place? If even you canāt do it, how can you expect me to, you hypocrite?! Do you have the answer you want now? I killed Jian Wuyi to mess with you and expose your hypocritical falsehoods! Youāre someone that can care about someone after all! But like all the other dogs, you never cared about me!ā
Jiang Wuxin grasped his head and started laughing like mad once more. āBut thereās one thing you were right about, even if you didnāt do it yourself. Someone that casts away their heart will never lose sight of their goal. Theyāll never be swayed, nor will they ever feel hurt. Thatās why I came to an epiphany! My suffering in the Blood Cauldron felt like it lasted a thousandāno, ten thousand years! Since being a human is so painful and hard, why bother? The only good thing about this ugly, dirty, and cruel world was them. Only they cared about me, nobody else! So now that theyāre gone, why should I care about any other humans at all? The world owes me too much, and the debt shall be paid!
āAnd now, itās perfect. Iām a royal specter. Perhaps one day, Iāll even be king of the Ninefold Hell. Iām no longer human and can no longer be hurt. Thereās no reason I shouldnāt start enslaving you and treating all of you like livestock! Since itās all going down anyway, Iāll take everyone down with me.
āOnce I finish dealing with Li Tianming and avenging my girlsā deaths, Iāll no longer have any weaknesses. Thatās why, Master, if you donāt stop me here, I might even consider leaving your corpse intact. Thatās right, I was planning to kill you after Tianming! You want to know why? Thatās because youāre the largest obstacle I still have to face in this world. Your death will be my eternity.ā
He began approaching Feng Qingyu with his sword raised. āDid you forget what you told me back on that snowy day at Taiji Peak Lake? You said youād sell your soul to demons with me. It mustāve been easy to tell a plain lie like that. However, Iāll make sure to hold you to your word. Your death will complete me. Do you dare to make that sacrifice? Do you know how painful it was to eat fifty million lifebound beasts? Can you imagine eating your own swordbeasts? If you canāt, donāt even bother lecturing me about good and evil.
āI said that Iād be loyal to the Hexapath Divine Realm in life and in death, but what I am now canāt be called alive! Iām not even human anymore! Iāll ensure that the whole world dies with me. Doesnāt that just sound wonderful?ā
It didnāt sound like he was looking for a genuine answer at all.
āMaster, you might not understand what I mean. No worries, you will after I show you my true form.ā He giggled wildly and immediately began expanding into a gigantic mound of flesh five kilometers wide above Xuanyuan Lake. Countless tentacles sprouted from his body, all covered in countless suckers. Apart from the gigantic, bloody mouth, he looked like a fusion between a sea urchin and a squid.