The moment the demon cultivator fell into the formation, the trapped Xingyuan broke free from its final restraints and soared into the sky.
On the steps, Ming Fuhua was nearly thrown off. She hurriedly grabbed the railing to steady herself, and once the flight stabilized, she rushed forward to push open the door to Ming Zhu’s room.
The entire room reeked of blood. Half the window frame was destroyed. Yi Fuju lay on his side against the wall; perhaps due to severe injuries, he had already drifted into unconsciousness.
Beside the shattered window, the Red Lotus Sword lay in a pool of blood.
The instant Ming Fuhua entered, the bloody, severed left hand of Ming Zhu was swiftly incinerated by a cluster of Red Lotus Fire, leaving nothing behind.
Ming Fuhua cast a cursory glance around but saw no sign of Ming Zhu. Though she found it strange, seeing the unconscious Yi Fuju made her rush forward to help him up.
A short while later, the Xingyuan landed steadily on a desolate plain far from Biri Cliff. Several people gathered in Yi Fuju’s room, their faces etched with worry.
Shen Dian’s expression was grim as she withdrew her spiritual energy from Yi Fuju’s shattered meridians. "Second Senior Brother’s meridians have suffered severe trauma, and his cultivation is completely destroyed. I’m afraid..."
Ignoring everything else, Ming Fuhua asked urgently, "Can his injuries be healed?"
"Naturally," Shen Dian replied. "It will simply take time. His life is not in danger."
Only then did Ming Fuhua breathe a sigh of relief. She gently took Yi Fuju’s hand and pressed it against her cheek. A touch of tenderness appeared in her cold eyes—a look that only ever surfaced when she faced Yi Fuju.
At that moment, Zhou Fuxue and Lu Qingkong pushed the door open and entered, their expressions terrible.
Zhou Fuxue glanced at Yi Fuju and asked, "When will Second Senior Brother wake up? We’ve searched the entire Xingyuan and haven't found a trace of Eldest Senior Brother."
Shen Dian pointed to the Red Lotus Sword on the table. "Eldest Senior Brother’s sword is still here; he couldn't have gone far. Second Senior Brother likely told him to leave first to protect him. He’s probably hiding in some corner. Go look again."
Lu Qingkong frowned. "We’ve already searched three times. He’s not there."
You Nü whispered, "Seventh Senior Brother has already met with disaster. I hope nothing has happened to Eldest Senior Brother as well."
Zhou Fuxue, who could least bear to hear such words, immediately looked up and shot her a cold glare before turning to leave again.
A moment later, Gui Ning returned from Biri Cliff, his clothes stained with blood. As soon as he landed on the Xingyuan, he asked, "Where is Ming Zhu?"
Zhou Fuxue and Lu Qingkong, who had turned the vessel upside down several times by now, both shook their heads.
Gui Ning frowned. He opened his hand, using spiritual energy to condense a red string in his palm—this was the Concentric Knot he had placed on Ming Zhu. It served not only as a restraint but also as a means to locate him through spiritual energy.
However, the moment the Concentric Knot appeared, the string seemed to be pulled by something, spinning in place as if unable to find its target. Then, it suddenly snapped in the air, dissipating like willow catkins.
Gui Ning’s face instantly turned pale.
When a Concentric Knot breaks, it means the person it was placed upon has either untied it or has died.
Gui Ning possessed overwhelming spiritual power; no one could possibly untie a knot he had set. That left only the other possibility.
He clenched his palm tight, his face filled with cold, violent aura. "Where exactly did Ming Zhu go? Where is Yi Fuju? I told him to protect Ming Zhu—how did he protect him?"
This was the first time anyone had seen Gui Ning so enraged.
Leaving the others behind, Gui Ning pushed his way into Yi Fuju’s room. When he saw the man lying unconscious on the bed, he froze for a moment.
Lu Qingkong and Shen Dian followed him in, explaining in low voices, "Second Senior Brother is heavily injured and remains unconscious. He likely doesn't know where Eldest Senior Brother is either. However, Eldest Senior Brother’s Red Lotus Sword is still here, so he shouldn't be far."
Gui Ning looked down at the Red Lotus Sword on the table. He gritted his teeth and commanded harshly, "Go find him!"
The group was startled and about to leave when a crystalline, exquisite jade token suddenly drifted out from Gui Ning’s sleeve. It was carved with the intricate patterns of the Rizhao Mountains, with a silver tassel hanging from the bottom.
Gui Ning’s brow furrowed as he pressed his hand against the jade token. With a flash of white light, the divine sense that Gui He had infused into the token before they left manifested into a human figure.
Gui Ning asked coldly, "What is it?"
Gui He’s face was full of terror. He spoke hurriedly, "Senior Brother, where are Hongchuan and Zhu’er? Why have both of their Life Lamps gone out? What happened over there?"
As his words fell, the entire room plunged into a deathly silence. Everyone stared at Gui He’s illusory figure in disbelief.
Gui Ning’s expression remained unchanged as he asked coldly, "Ming Zhu’s Life Lamp is out? Since when?"
"Two quarters of an hour ago," Gui He replied.
Two quarters of an hour ago...
That was exactly when the formation had activated. And just before the massive white snake fell into Biri Cliff, it had opened its fangs wide and swallowed something falling from the sky.
Gui Ning hadn't paid it much mind at the time, but connecting the dots now, he realized with a jolt of horror that the person who had fallen was Ming Zhu.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet. Gui Ning felt a chill spread from the soles of his feet through his meridians, like a giant hand clutching his heart and squeezing slowly. The pain was dizzying.
After a long moment, he finally spoke. "I understand. Do not panic yet. I will speak with you when I return."
With that, he raised his hand to wipe away Gui He’s divine sense from the jade token, then lowered his hand to grip the exquisite jade.
Zhou Fuxue was the first to react. His mind was buzzing as he asked haltingly, "Master... Eldest Senior Brother’s Life Lamp... is out?"
Everyone knew what the extinguishing of a Life Lamp represented.
It was precisely because they understood so well that it felt impossible to believe.
The jade token in Gui Ning’s palm had been crushed into a pile of ash, which trickled down through his fingers. Upon closer inspection, one could see his hand trembling slightly.
Master Gui Ning remained expressionless. He took an imperceptible deep breath and said, "Lu Qingkong, repair the Xingyuan as quickly as possible. We are returning to Rizhao."
Lu Qingkong nodded dumbly, then stammered, "Then... Eldest Senior Brother..."
Gui Ning said, "A person already dead—there is no need to seek him."
Everyone froze in place, unable to reconcile the Ming Zhu who had been lively just moments ago with the phrase "a person already dead." They all looked at Gui Ning in shock, seemingly unable to understand why he could speak such terrifying words so calmly.
Leaving only those words behind, Gui Ning ignored the reactions of the juniors and swept out of the room.
The railings at the edge of the Xingyuan were mostly destroyed, leaving a bare, unsightly view. Ming Zhao sat on the edge, looking at the distant, cloud-covered sky, his head tilted back as if lost in thought.
Gui Ning walked over slowly and stood beside him, looking out into the distance as well.
Ming Zhao held a short segment of a candle in both hands. The blood-colored flame upon it had long since been extinguished, leaving only a charred, black wick.
That was Ming Zhu’s Life Lamp.
There seemed to be tears in his eyes, but upon closer look, there was nothing. His black pupils slowly split into two, a sight so eerie it chilled the bone.
"In this life, there were many things I wanted to protect," Ming Zhao said softly. "When I was young, I wanted to reach the peak of cultivation, to have boundless power, to achieve immortality. When I grew a bit older, I only wanted Su Yan."
Gui Ning did not speak, nor did he even look at him.
One sat and one stood, but their silhouettes were identical in their panicked desolation.
"I spent half my life with her, only to watch her die in the end."
"After I turned to the Ghost Path, I only wanted to protect the common people of the Five Continents that Su Yan was willing to die for, along with my own small, selfish desires." Ming Zhao gave a self-mocking laugh. He looked up slightly and asked, "Now I have protected the people of the Five Continents, so why couldn't I protect even that tiny bit of selfishness? Gui Ning, can you tell me why?"
Gui Ning’s lips moved slightly as he whispered, "I... I don't know."
Ming Zhao suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Is there anything in this world that you, Master Gui Ning, do not know?"
Gui Ning said, "It is fate. No one can change it."
This was the fate where things went against one's wishes—to love but never reach, to seek but never obtain. One dies when seeking life, and gains eternal life when seeking death; nothing ever goes as planned.
Ming Zhao looked at the vast earth and the boundless sky with a dazed expression. He stared for a long time before murmuring softly.
"Then can someone tell me... my son died without even a body left. Who exactly should I seek for revenge?"
"Heavenly Law? Fate?"
Gui Ning looked at him coldly.
Ghosts do not shed tears. Ming Zhao tilted his head back and took a deep breath, recovering in just a moment. He said softly, "I have lost everything I could lose and everything I couldn't lose at Biri Cliff. From now on, whether the people of the Five Continents live or die has nothing to do with me."
"Gui Ning, until we meet again."
Having said his piece, he clutched the extinguished Life Lamp and leaped from the Xingyuan, quickly vanishing into the vast, desolate plains.
A torrential downpour soon fell from the heavens. Each autumn rain brings a new layer of cold; the mist, laden with chill, struck the body with a stinging pain.
Gui Ning remained standing where he was, his head slightly tilted as he watched the dark, cloud-filled sky. Rainwater slid continuously down his handsome face.
In a daze, a youth dressed in red seemed to hop through the vast curtain of rain, holding an umbrella. Slender, white fingers gripped the handle, rotating it slightly as he lifted the umbrella to reveal a face with red marks beneath the eyes.
The youth smiled like a blooming flower, raising a hand to wave at him.
"Master!"
In the distance, Biri Cliff seemed like a bloody, gaping maw, suddenly swallowing the youth’s slender body whole.
Gui Ning couldn't help but wonder.
In the moment he fell off the cliff, was he afraid? Was he terrified? Did he struggle, hoping someone would save him? And did he, like countless times before, cry out for his Master?
Ming Zhu had been pampered by him since childhood and had never suffered much. Even a small fright would send him crying for his Master. When faced with the scene of a nightmare he had endured for decades, how much despair must he have felt?
From the rooms of the Xingyuan, the faint sound of sobbing seemed to drift out. Gui Ning continued to look up at the sky, thinking to himself: *What is the use of crying?*
The dead can never return to life.
In the late autumn of this year, the person Master Gui Ning had protected with trepidation for twenty years finally succumbed to fate. Just as in the nightmare, he died within the belly of the snake at Biri Cliff.
Thereafter, peace finally returned to the four seas.
***
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Is Everyone Else's Eldest Disciple Like This? | Chapter 72 | Peace Across the Four Seas | Novela.app | Novela.app
