Whether it was Zhou Fuxue’s imagination or not, he felt as though his senior brother had changed in an instant.
Having seemingly resolved the knot in his heart, Mingzhu took a deep breath and walked slowly toward the ruins. Upon closer inspection, one could see that beside the unconscious man, several others had been bundled together by Mingzhu’s spiritual energy, which had transformed into a rope.
Mingzhu came to a halt before the trembling group. His eyes, though vacant, fixed upon them as he spoke. "I will not interfere with Na Lian’s affairs, but I will not let those who seek my life go free. I do not wish to kill; why must you provoke me?"
These youths were likely disciples of some great master within Yueyue Tower. Their faces were tender, carrying a stubborn streak and a vibrant vitality that Mingzhu had previously loathed to the core.
Though terrified to death, one youth still glared at him fiercely. "Demon cultivators are bloodthirsty! Anyone has the right to execute them!"
"Bloodthirsty?" Mingzhu repeated softly. "Bloodthirsty..."
He lowered himself, his golden serpentine pupils staring into the youth’s panicked eyes. He did not rush to strike, merely saying in a quiet voice, "Did I seek to kill without reason?"
The youth froze.
Mingzhu continued, "Was it not you who attacked without saying a word?"
The youth gritted his teeth. "That is because you... you intended to harm my Master first..."
Mingzhu replied, "Then did your Master ever tell you why we would harm him for no reason? Everything follows the laws of karma. If your Master had done nothing wrong, why would we target him?"
The minds of the young are the hardest to argue with. Mingzhu’s words left them dazed. They exchanged difficult glances, each seeing the same confusion in the other’s eyes.
"Karma... karma," Mingzhu murmured. He stood up and, surprisingly, did not strike again. He turned and walked directly toward the main hall of Yueyue Tower.
Zhou Fuxue truly could not understand what he was thinking at this moment, but he had no choice but to follow helplessly, lest Mingzhu lose his mind again.
***
Three days passed in a flash. Most of the great masters of Yueyue Tower had reached a decision. In their view, no matter what they suffered, at least their lives would remain.
Na Lian arrived early, sitting leisurely on a soft couch. The Spirit-Suppressing Lamp was placed on a wooden table in the center of the hall, its grey light flaring wildly like grasping claws.
The crowd gathered, their expressions grim.
Seeing this, Na Lian’s lips curled into a smile. "I assume you have all made your decisions?"
The crowd remained silent. Na Lian did not find the silence awkward; he gestured toward the Spirit-Suppressing Lamp and said calmly, "I shall not waste words. Those who agree to my terms need only walk to the lamp. It will naturally siphon your spiritual power and replace it with its own malice and death energy. As for those who refuse, I will not force you—I only hope you are prepared to leave your lives behind."
He spoke with such nonchalance, as if discussing a trivial matter.
Seeing no reaction from those around him, Zhou Mingzhong sighed inwardly. With an expressionless face, he stepped forward, intending to be the first to face the ordeal.
Linear strands of spiritual energy radiated from the wick of the Spirit-Suppressing Lamp. If they wrapped around a person’s pulse point, they would drain the body of all spiritual power. Zhou Mingzhong showed no fear, reaching out toward the vine-like tendrils without changing his expression.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on him.
However, just as the lamp’s energy was about to coil around Zhou Mingzhong’s wrist, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and snatched the lamp’s tendrils.
This sudden turn of events shocked everyone. Even Zhou Mingzhong hadn't noticed when this person had approached. He frowned and looked up, meeting a pair of cold, serpentine eyes.
Na Lian’s expression remained unchanged, but he let out a soft laugh. "Bu Hui, have you truly decided to obstruct me?"
The Spirit-Suppressing Lamp seemed to have developed a rudimentary sentience. Sensing the staggering spiritual power within Mingzhu, it didn't dare to siphon a single drop. Instead, it shivered pathetically, its tendrils trembling, not daring to move.
Mingzhu glanced at it and clicked his tongue. "Useless thing."
The human cultivators watched the tension between Na Lian and Mingzhu, completely baffled as to why these two were suddenly at each other's throats. However, if they truly started fighting, it wouldn't be without benefit to the humans. Thus, they remained spectators. Even Zhou Mingzhong watched Mingzhu with a look of great interest.
Despite Mingzhu’s defiance, Na Lian did not call him "Mingzhu" in front of so many people. True to his word, he gave Mingzhu the right to do as he pleased.
Mingzhu looked up at Na Lian and said flatly, "I have come to persuade you to stop."
Na Lian laughed. "Do you think I *can* stop?" he asked tenderly.
Mingzhu smiled faintly. His grip on the Spirit-Suppressing Lamp tightened, and he forcibly drew the death energy from the lamp into his own meridians.
Na Lian’s face finally changed. "Bu Hui!"
Mingzhu said calmly, "As you can see, this body of mine is that of a dead man, and it has weathered the Heavenly Tribulation. The death energy of the Spirit-Suppressing Lamp is nothing to me."
Na Lian gritted his teeth and whispered, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
Mingzhu blinked at him, then turned to face the human cultivators, whose expressions were unreadable. "I believe you all understand perfectly well," he said coolly. "Even if you lose your entire cultivation, your bodies—having passed the Tribulation—could still live for several centuries. But if death energy enters your bodies, there is no telling how few years you would have left. For me, however, the life-ending death energy you would suffer can be easily neutralized."
These people were all old foxes who had lived for centuries. They knew he wasn't saying this out of the goodness of his heart; there was bound to be a catch.
Zhou Mingzhong asked, "So, what is your price?"
Mingzhu said softly, "I want the Guifang demon cultivators to no longer suffer discrimination and misunderstanding across the Five Provinces. I want them to live openly in this world. We are all living beings of the Five Provinces; why must we be seen as inferior, to be insulted and trampled upon at will?"
Na Lian’s expression shifted drastically. He stepped forward and grabbed Mingzhu’s hand, hissing, "Bu Hui, shut up!"
Mingzhu replied tonelessly, "I am not interfering in your business. This is a matter between them and me."
Na Lian lowered his voice. "Do you have any idea how many souls the Spirit-Suppressing Lamp has consumed over the years? Do you know how much lingering resentment is inside? If you absorb it all, how can you possibly endure it? I don't care if the Guifang are accepted or not. I am only here for revenge. Once my revenge is complete, I will take my clansmen back to Guifang and close our doors to the world."
Mingzhu watched him quietly. Only after he finished did Mingzhu speak. "Why?"
Na Lian was stunned. "Wh... what?"
"Why must the Guifang hide from the world? No one in this world is born more noble than another. Why are you the one who has to retreat?" Mingzhu said. "I know what you truly want to do. But what if the Spirit-Suppressing Lamp fails to repair the Guifang ley lines? Do you intend to take your clansmen back to the bottom of the Sun-Shading Cliff to live that life that is worse than death?"
Na Lian was speechless.
Mingzhu brushed off his hand and turned back to the crowd. "I have only one requirement. Just as you once framed the Guifang demon cultivators as monsters who committed every evil imaginable, you must now clear their names. After all, you were the ones who sowed the seeds of this karma. Furthermore..."
Mingzhu swept his gaze across the crowd with a half-smile. "Whether the Guifang demon cultivators are truly bloodthirsty villains who slaughter the innocent... I believe you all, having lived so many years, know the truth in your hearts."
Zhou Mingzhong’s brow furrowed.
Mingzhu said, "I have said my piece. Gentlemen, choose."
Na Lian had never imagined that Mingzhu wasn't there to stop him, but was instead using himself to secure a path of retreat for the Guifang. The people present were considered highly respected figures throughout the Five Provinces. If they truly agreed to the demand, it would be far more effective than simply torturing or killing them.
The memory of Mingzhu arguing with him just days ago over a mere Yan Xueyu was still fresh. It would be a lie to say Na Lian wasn't disappointed, but having known each other for so many years at the bottom of the cliff, he cherished that old bond and would not strike Mingzhu.
Now that things had taken a turn he never anticipated, Na Lian found himself unsure whether he should even try to stop it.
Mingzhu lowered his eyes, idly twining the lamp’s tendrils around his slender, pale fingers. Without looking up, he said indifferently, "Na Lian’s revenge never involves the innocent. But you all should know clearly in your hearts whether you are innocent or not. Hundreds of years ago, demon cultivators and humans lived in harmony. It was you who, for your own selfish desires, persecuted the Guifang without provocation. Na Lian has already shown extreme forbearance by not taking his revenge out on the entire Five Provinces. Do you still expect more?"
As Mingzhu spoke, a massive white shadow slowly formed behind him. An illusory white snake manifestation appeared, flicking its tongue. Its wicked serpentine eyes stared down at the crowd, and its demonic aura was so heavy it was almost suffocating.
Mingzhu said flatly, "I do not have a good temper, nor do I have much patience. I hope you will make your decision quickly."
A moment later, Zhou Mingzhong was the first to speak. "I have no objection."
He had come here with the resolve to die to settle this matter. Therefore, no matter the requirement, he had no objections.
Hearing this, Mingzhu’s lips curled into a smile.
With Zhou Mingzhong leading the way, the other cultivators began to voice their agreement. Within moments, everyone present had consented.
Mingzhu let out a silent sigh of relief, though the demonic manifestation behind him did not dissipate. He said coolly, "Since you have all agreed, I shall trust you. But if you fail to uphold your word in the future, it won't just be the hundred or so of you who die."
This was a blatant threat. Seeing the faces of his old enemies turn green with rage, Na Lian felt a sense of gratification for the first time.
Na Lian’s cultivation had stagnated due to the severe injuries he suffered centuries ago. If these cultivators truly fought to the death and besieged him shamelessly as they had back then, they might have stood a chance. They were simply wary of this "Bu Hui," whose depths they could not fathom. By speaking these words, Mingzhu was openly siding with Na Lian.
Everyone present understood this, but no one dared to say more. After all, this was already the best possible outcome.
Seeing this, Mingzhu said nothing more. He guided all the tendrils from the lamp’s wick into his pulse point, drawing every bit of death energy from the Spirit-Suppressing Lamp into his meridians.
The entry of foreign energy into the body is never pleasant, let alone death energy that can wither a person’s life. Fortunately, Mingzhu’s body was exceptionally resilient. Even though the pain made him want to scream, he forced himself to endure it.
Mingzhu stood still for a moment. It was only when the demonic manifestation behind him listlessly closed its eyes and shrank back into his body that he withdrew his hand. He took a deep breath. His pale face was now tinged with a greyish-white hue; at a glance, he looked like a man already dead.
Na Lian watched him with a complex expression but did not stop him.
With the death energy completely absorbed, the previously dull lamp looked as if it had been wiped clean of dust. It began to glow once more with a crystalline, radiant light.
Mingzhu glanced at it listlessly. "You handle the rest," he said.
Na Lian hesitated. "You..."
Mingzhu’s entire body was in agony. He didn't want to waste any more words with Na Lian at this moment. He gave a casual wave of his hand, turned, and left the hall.
***
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