Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When the Formation Fire reached its peak, the sky went completely dark.

It wasn’t the darkness of night; it was the Abyss of Demons opening its eye.

A rift cracked open beneath the Heavenly Inquiry Platform, and black miasma surged outward.

I heard many people weeping.

Men, women, the elderly, and children.

There was also a youth calling out for his Senior Brother.

Master’s frame swayed.

I knew he heard it too.

The Grand Elder shouted, “Jiang Heng, enter the formation!”

I lifted my foot to step inside.

Master suddenly seized my wrist.

His grip was so powerful it felt as though he might crush my bones.

“You promised to let me choose.”

I looked at him.

“I have made my choice now.”

The red in his eyes was terrifying.

“This isn’t a choice. This is suicide.”

“No.”

I turned my hand to grasp his back.

“This time, it isn’t one person dying. It’s trading one life for the peace of many.”

I placed the Bone Bell Wen Zhi had given me into the Formation Eye.

Then, I laid Xie Wuchen’s shattered jade slip beside it.

Finally, I took out the Cabinet Plaque from the Ash Chamber that bore my name.

“I want them all to come out.”

The Sect Leader’s expression shifted drastically.

“Jiang Heng, what do you think you’re doing?”

I ignored him.

The Pill Core burned hot within me. I sliced open my chest with my fingertip and let my blood drip into the Formation Eye.

The black miasma suddenly stilled.

The weeping stopped as well.

I heard Xie Wuchen’s voice.

He said, “Senior Brother, don’t cry.”

Master’s hand, still holding mine, trembled violently.

I stared into the rift.

“You are not evil thoughts.”

My voice was soft, yet it was carried deep underground by the formation.

“You are the ones who were wronged.”

The black miasma billowed.

The Grand Elder’s face turned deathly pale.

“Shut up!”

I continued, “Today, I will not open the furnace, nor will I mend the seal.”

“I am here to collect a debt.”

The Bone Bell shattered.

Xie Wuchen’s jade slip shattered.

Every Cabinet Plaque in the Ash Chamber flew out simultaneously, like a long-overdue funeral.

The Abyss of Demons did not lunge toward the mountain below.

It lunged at Kunwu.

Countless Resentful Souls poured from the rift, passing through every person who had ever been tainted by the blood of sacrifice.

The Sword-Holding Elder collapsed with a scream.

The Grand Elder’s white hair turned grey inch by inch, his flesh rapidly withering.

He reached out to grab me, fear appearing in his eyes for the first time.

“You have destroyed Kunwu.”

I looked at him.

“You destroyed it first.”

The Sect Leader did not run.

He stood where he was, looking as though he were finally tired.

Xie Wuchen’s Soul Shadow stepped out from the black miasma.

He looked like a youth, his eyes clear and bright.

He looked at Master, then at me.

Finally, he spoke to the Sect Leader. “It really hurt back then.”

The Sect Leader’s lips moved.

He seemed to want to speak of some greater righteousness, some unavoidable necessity.

But Xie Wuchen simply reached out and pressed a hand against his heart.

“Give it back.”

The Sect Leader’s body turned to ash.

There was no scream.

Only a very soft sigh.

Master stood beside me, his eyes fixed on Xie Wuchen.

Xie Wuchen walked up to him and smiled.

“Senior Brother, you’ve grown old.”

Master’s throat tightened.

“Wuchen.”

“Don’t make that face.”

Xie Wuchen still spoke with that youthful tone.

“I don’t blame you.”

The light in Master’s eyes finally shattered.

Xie Wuchen looked at me.

“She is more formidable than you.”

I said, “Thank you, but I can barely stand.”

Xie Wuchen let out a laugh.

He raised his hand and tapped my forehead.

“Then don’t force yourself.”

A gentle warmth flowed into my soul.

He turned and walked toward the Abyss of Demons.

Master suddenly spoke.

“Where are you going?”

Xie Wuchen looked back.

“To where I belong.”

He paused.

“Senior Brother, stop guarding a living person like a grave.”