Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Only after the Resentful Souls had dispersed did the heavenly punishment truly descend.

The first bolt of lightning struck the edge of the Heavenly Inquiry Platform, shattering half of the jade steps into rubble.

Shen Zhaowei cursed under her breath, grabbing Wen Zhi and pulling him back.

Wen Zhi clutched his head and cried out, “I’ve never harmed anyone! Why is it hitting me?”

Shen Zhaowei gritted her teeth. “If the Heavenly Dao were reasonable, Kunwu would have collapsed eight hundred years ago.”

I stood at the center of the formation. The Pill Core in my chest had already shattered.

The fragments hadn’t vanished; instead, they were like tiny sparks of fire, stabbing into my meridians.

With every breath, it felt as though someone were scraping my bones with a knife.

Master reached out to support me.

I flinched away.

His hand froze in midair.

It was a slight movement, yet it seemed to weigh heavier than any sword wound.

I saw the light in his eyes dim.

But he didn’t force himself on me.

He simply stepped half a pace closer, using his body to shield me from the second bolt of lightning.

The lightning crashed against his back, and the Demon Mark instantly split open.

Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.

I clenched my fingers.

“Xuanwei, move back.”

His voice was hoarse. “I won’t.”

“I’m not asking you to die for me.”

“I know.”

He said he knew, yet he still didn’t move.

I trembled with rage.

“What do you know? You always say you know, but you always do exactly what you want.”

The third bolt of lightning rumbled within the clouds.

That was no ordinary heavenly lightning.

It was locked onto me.

Because I had destroyed the Return-to-Origin Formation, released the Resentful Souls from the Abyss of Demons, and torn open the veil that the Immortal Sect had used to hide their debts for eight hundred years.

Perhaps the Heavenly Dao cared nothing for good or evil.

It only cared whether the old rules had been broken.

Master looked at me and suddenly said, “Then command me.”

I froze.

He whispered, “If you say retreat, I will retreat. If you say kneel, I will kneel. If you say I am not allowed to die, then I shall not die.”

Hearing such words from the mouth of Immortal Venerable Xuanwei felt as absurd as a dream.

But there wasn’t a hint of a joke in his eyes.

He was truly handing the power of choice back to me.

My eyes suddenly burned.

“Then I command you… to live.”

He looked at me. “Fine.”

The third bolt of lightning fell.

This time, he didn’t stand in front of me.

He took my hand and pressed the Frostbloom Sword into my palm.

“Together.”

I was in so much pain I could barely grip the hilt.

He supported my wrist from behind, just a light touch.

“Strike it.”

I looked up at the lightning.

I no longer had a Spirit Bone, nor did I have a Pill Core.

But I still had one breath left.

I forced all my agony into the blade and slashed toward the heavens.

The lightning split down the middle.

Half of it fell upon the ruins of Kunwu; the other half crashed into the rift of the Abyss of Demons.

Countless cries echoed from beneath the earth, slowly fading into the sound of the wind.

I collapsed to my knees.

Master knelt beside me, not daring to embrace me.

He only reached out his hand, palm upward.

As if waiting for my permission.

I watched him for a long time before finally placing my hand in his.

His fingertips were terrifyingly cold.

I said, “Xuanwei, if you dare to die, I truly will never forgive you.”

He gave a small smile.

It was a faint smile, and a painful one.

“Then I wouldn’t dare.”