Five minutes ago.
Wu Bei was hit by an oncoming bullet. His steps faltered for a moment, then the bullet pinged off his forehead and fell to the ground.
“Wh-what kind of person…” The Self-Defense Force member who fired the shot stumbled backward, his face filled with terror: “What kind of monster are you?!…”
Wu Bei casually grabbed two Tantric Sect disciples who were rushing towards him, twisting their necks and throwing their corpses behind him. Then, he approached the terrified Self-Defense Force member, delivering a kick to the chest. With a thump, the person flew back ten to twelve meters like a cannonball, landing motionless on the ground.
“Section Chief!” The Section Two barber kid hijacked a car and sped up, stopping right in front of him. He poked his head out of the window: “Deputy Yu ran towards the demon dragon! What do we do?!”
Wu Bei looked around. The Self-Defense Force members were mostly dealt with, the remaining ones scattered and fleeing. Even the Tantric disciples lay sprawled on the ground. Far in the distance, in the night, Zhou Hui was likely dealing with his son. In another direction, in the forest, the demon dragon was enveloped in green fire, letting out deafening roars.
“We don’t need to worry about Boss Zhou. Go support Deputy Yu.” Wu Bei opened the car door, about to get in, when his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the demon dragon’s direction, where two golden meteors suddenly rose. Wu Bei turned his head. The meteors streaked across the sky, reflected in his slightly trembling pupils.
“Get down…”
Wu Bei suddenly roared, “All Section Two—! Get down—!!”
—Boom!!
The first wave of explosions created a shockwave, sweeping outwards in all directions, causing countless curving ripples to undulate across the land.
Zhou Hui and Maha, their weapons clashing, simultaneously turned to look.
“Zhou Hui!” Chu He was almost pushed away by the furious wind, grabbing Zhou Hui’s arm: “Good luck charms! Your good luck charms exploded, both of them—!!”
Zhou Hui was startled for a moment. The next second, the shockwave slammed into them, like a heavy hammer, flinging him a hundred meters away. With a crash, Zhou Hui fell to the ground, stumbling several steps before grabbing the ground to steady himself, still holding tightly onto Chu He: “Are you alright?!”
Chu He had swallowed a lot of dust, shaking his head and coughing. Not far away, the mound had detached from the ground, like a pot of boiling chocolate sauce, completely shooting into the air. Further away, the second round of explosions was emitting light amidst the flying dirt, illuminating half the sky.
“Don’t worry, they’re not two positive talismans—!” Zhou Hui shouted into Chu He’s ear: “I gave him one positive and one negative talisman, their effects cancel each other out. They’ll stop after two or three more explosions at most—!”
Chu He finally spit out the mouthful of dust he had unexpectedly swallowed, pointed to a spot not far away, and hoarsely asked, “What about Wu Bei and the others?!”
In the open space far away, everyone lay prostrate on the ground. In the light of the explosion, one could see that everyone was covered in thick dust, making it impossible to tell if they were alive or dead. Even if Wu Bei was invulnerable, it would be difficult for him to withstand two or three more explosions of that magnitude, not to mention the several other Section Two members, who were mere flesh and blood. If the shockwave, carrying large rocks, swept over them directly, the Tantric Sect and Self-Defense Forces were one thing, but the Section Two brothers would have died in vain.
“Wait, help me open a space-time gate!” A flash of inspiration struck Zhou Hui, and he quickly said, “I’ll take all the explosion sources with me, let’s go to the Blood Sea!”
Chu He was startled, then immediately realized it was a good idea. Although the principle was complex, the operation was very simple: just rush over, grab the explosion source, enter the Blood Sea through the space-time gate, and throw it in. But this required precise timing; there could be no single error, otherwise, if it exploded in Zhou Hui’s hand, it would be extremely troublesome.
Without further ado, Zhou Hui shot towards the demon dragon. Chu He instantly transformed into a phoenix, and a second before the second explosion swept over them, he grabbed Zhou Hui, horizontally traversed the battlefield in mid-air, enduring countless trees and rocks shooting into the sky, and landed in front of the demon dragon.
“Where are Deputy Yu and little Yan—!” The phoenix landed and transformed into a human, letting out a roar that even he couldn’t hear amidst the deafening noise. All around, as far as the eye could see, was dazzling brightness. The mound had become a giant pit, and two figures were vaguely visible, tightly pinned at the center of the pit: Deputy Yu and Yan Lanyu.
No sooner had the phoenix spoken than a translucent figure slowly rose in the void before Deputy Yu. —It was a young man, his chest, arms, and thighs flesh literally gouged out, revealing gray, decaying bones, looking terrifyingly gruesome at first glance. But on his pale face, his expression was very calm, his eyes staring straight ahead, holding an irregularly shaped bronze mirror in his hand. In the snowy light, the bronze mirror suddenly transformed into a shield of light, like a towering protector, tightly shielding Deputy Yu and Yan Lanyu within!
Zhou Hui’s eyes reflected the magnificent light of the five-pointed star. He asked in astonishment, “This is… the worldly soul?”
“The worldly soul sacrifices to the Yata no Kagami!” Chu He shouted loudly, “Hurry! I’m opening the Human Realm Gate!”
Except for a few great Buddhas in the Formless Heaven, freely traversing the Six Paths was the privilege of the Great Demon King. However, this didn’t mean no one else could traverse the Six Realms. Ancient divine beasts like the Phoenix, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger could briefly travel between the Human, Divine, and Demonic Realms by distorting space, though the passage wasn’t stable.
Zhou Hui looked up and extended his hand into the air. In the light, two golden meteors flew against the sky, intertwining with each other, and returned to his hand. Then, the space in front of Chu He violently vibrated, as if the air was being cleaved by a grotesque fissure. The clear cry of the phoenix, carried by an ancient wind, echoed from all directions. The image of the Human Realm Gate appeared in the void, and its towering body rumbled open.
Zhou Hui grabbed the two meteors, turned, and charged towards the space-time rift!
Meanwhile, in the Blood Sea of Hell.
The sky, steaming with red smoke, was horizontally spanned by fissures, like a beast’s fangs shattering inch by inch, then collapsing with a roar. Following the fangs, the sky opened a dark maw. Zhou Hui’s figure plunged directly from the deepest part of that maw’s throat, throwing the two rapidly pulsing golden stars into the Blood Sea!
Whoosh—
Boom!
The golden stars let out a sharp whistling sound as they fell, then exploded with tremendous force, the entire Blood Sea seemed to be dragged into mid-air by an invisible giant hand, its turbulent waves breaking apart!
Just then, an angry shriek suddenly echoed from the space-time black cavity above Zhou Hui’s head. Immediately after, Maha the Peacock Wisdom King lunged forward, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in his hand imbued with countless electrical currents. Zhou Hui looked back, momentarily startled, then realized. Maha’s demonic nature was profound, and he preferred to reside in the Blood Sea, having claimed the surrounding ten thousand li of territory as his own. After the Great Demon King’s demise, the Demon tribe was severely wounded, and almost no one in the Four Evil Paths could stop the Peacock Wisdom King. Hell had practically become his dominion. And those two good luck charms, comparable to atomic bombs, he had just thrown into the Blood Sea.
“Go to hell—!”
The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi chopped down, and Zhou Hui blocked with a punch. A hurricane instantly erupted in the high sky, sweeping across everything! If the Phoenix’s combat power had been in a slump for hundreds of years due to heavenly retribution and nirvana, then his eldest son, the Peacock Wisdom King, was currently at his peak. These divine beasts, whose lifespans were measured in billions of years, were all like this, reaching their prime thousands of years after birth. Compared to Maha, even Jia Louluo hadn’t fully entered his best state yet. Zhou Hui had dominated the Six Paths for many years, possessing vast combat awareness and experience. His clash with Maha immediately caused earth-shattering earthquakes and tsunamis.
Zhou Hui bit his ring finger, summoning the Demonic Suppression, instantly sealing off ten thousand acres of rumbling thunder: “Big Feather—! It was Dad’s fault for messing up your home, how about I let you inherit that property on Mount Buzhou, alright—!”
Maha coldly retorted, “No thanks, you can keep it as a morgue.”
“That’s not right, Big Feather—! You’re a proper Wisdom King, how can you disrespect your parents like that?!”
Maha thrust his sword forward. Zhou Hui dodged like lightning, the blade grazing his cheek, the scorching heat instantly evaporating the collapsing seawater around them.
“You call yourself my dad?” Maha scoffed, “Didn’t you always want me dead?”
Surprisingly, Zhou Hui didn’t retort or show his usual sarcastic, mocking expression. His gaze darkened, but it was only for a fleeting moment. “…No,” he said faintly, “Not always.”
Maha sneered, flipping his sword. His entire body lunged at Zhou Hui from a very tricky angle, reaching him in a flash of lightning! At this moment, the wind was overwhelming, the sea and sky merged, and the world rolled up and down like beans in a sieve. Zhou Hui raised his eyes, his gaze following the sword aimed at him to Maha’s face, and tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade.
Just at that instant, the wind ceased, the tsunami stilled—
Maha’s sword paused in mid-air. The Peacock narrowed his eyes, looking back at the cold, powerful aura that felt like a thorn in the back of his head. Not far behind him, the whirlwind stirred Chu He’s collar and hair. The pure green arrow nocked on his bow was pointed remotely at Maha’s back.
In the ruined forest of Ise Shrine, Deputy Yu stepped back half a pace, cradling Yan Lanyu.
“So you’re the special agent little Lanyu let go back then,” the Master observed Yu Jingzhong, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Little Lanyu waited foolishly for over two years, you were quite heartless, you know.”
Yu Jingzhong’s facial muscles tightened, his gaze involuntarily sweeping down to the person in his arms. Yan Lanyu was unconscious, his body cold, blood constantly welling from the corners of his mouth. His condition was already very bad. He had to leave here as quickly as possible, otherwise Yan Lanyu wouldn’t survive until the Phoenix returned to save him.
“Let me introduce myself. I am the dark-hearted, ill-intentioned former one, always lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike. I am the villain you must defeat on your path to victory.” The Master blinked, watching Yu Jingzhong’s instantly ugly expression, and finally chuckled: “Now, I’m just kidding, don’t be so tense. Sit down and let’s chat like men.”
Deputy Yu didn’t move, standing rigidly and staring at him. In the darkness, Yu Jingzhong’s eyes were like those of a lone wolf. He himself might not realize it, but at this moment, no matter how profound the darkness, it could not conceal the terrifying, desperate glint in his eyes.
The Master, ignoring him, leisurely leaned against a half-broken dead tree, reaching into his pocket: “Oh dear, no more cigarettes… There are downsides to becoming a demon too.”
“What exactly do you want to say?” Yu Jingzhong asked in a low voice.
“Nothing special, do you want to know what happened after you left the Tantric Sect back then?”
“…”
“Little Lanyu waited for you all night, night after night. He thought no one knew. Every night, he sat on the long corridor, the moon rising on one side of the sky and setting on the other… He waited like that, motionless, for many, many repetitive nights. Sometimes I even thought that if you didn’t come, he might slowly die in that spot he guarded every night.”
The Master made a gesture of regret. His tone was actually a bit flippant, even as if he were joking, but for some reason, it suddenly caused a huge wave of bitterness to surge in Yu Jingzhong’s heart, as if his heart had been violently seized by sharp claws, even making his throat spasm. He could have guessed it, but guessing was one thing, hearing it firsthand was another.
“I really wanted to see how long he could hold on, when he would break down. I’ve been curious about that for a long time, but unfortunately, I never got to see it…”
“…You pervert…” Yu Jingzhong gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse.
“Hey, that’s too much, I was just curious.” The Master smiled: “Curiosity is inherent in everyone. You should respect a villain’s curiosity; it’s often the key for the protagonist to finally defeat the villain in a story.”
Yu Jingzhong’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, as if using this motion to forcibly conceal some emotion. With one hand, he supported Yan Lanyu, while his other hand secretly reached into his lower back.
The Master stroked his chin, wondering, “Actually, I’ve always wanted to know, hmm…”
“—What?”
“I wanted to know what special abilities you, Mr. Agent, possess that made our little Lanyu so infatuated, and whether his life would have been better if he had become a demon with me instead of meeting you?”
Yu Jingzhong coldly said, “Turning into a mindless monster that kills anyone on sight, do you think that’s good?”
“You, who have no desire for power, certainly wouldn’t understand, that’s why I want to know. Have you never considered if a certain event hadn’t happened, would the story’s outcome change? All causes and effects in this world are interconnected. Even the slightest change at the very beginning can lead to a completely different outcome.”
Yu Jingzhong gripped the cold gun handle at his lower back, his hawk-like gaze fixed on the Master’s face. The Master, however, seemed completely unaware, propping his chin and gazing thoughtfully at the sky.
“Sometimes I ponder such complex propositions. For example, if on a certain day nineteen years ago, I hadn’t gone out with that kid Aida… Or if later, I hadn’t been so bored that I ran out to drink every day…”
“Even if I had simply attended the celebration on New Year’s Eve, it probably would have been much better than this bleak situation.” The Master sighed, finding it rather amusing.
At that very instant, Yu Jingzhong drew his gun, and without any warning, pulled the trigger!
—Bang!
The bullet, inscribed with red talismans, spun as it exited the barrel. In slow motion, one could see a golden light condensing around the bullet as it shot out, sending a shockwave in all directions. Then, the bullet passed through the Master’s throat, the loud report echoing far into the night!
Success?
Yu Jingzhong stood still, then his pupils instantly constricted. Like lightning, he clutched his own neck!
