Chapter 39#

Inside the underground palace.

The hissing sound of the poisonous mist, the swishing sound of the rain of arrows, and the creaking sound of the mechanism chains, in this dim light, mixed with fresh blood, composed a symphony of death.

Fresh blood condensed into round and smooth blood beads at the fingertips, and then dripped to the ground drop by drop, making a crisp and regular sound. Hua Qianjue still had that faint cold smile on his lips, but his feet rushed forward without hesitation. Even when fighting against the strongest enemy, he had never used his movement technique so unreservedly.

The falling rain of arrows was all deflected by the man’s protective true energy which was pushed to the extreme. But as his internal energy was rapidly consumed, the rain of arrows gradually began to cause damage to his body, with unavoidable scratches again and again. The wound that had just stopped bleeding would soon be torn open again by new arrow wounds. This intense pain made even the extremely patient Hua Qianjue frown slightly.

This pain seemed to have no end. It was unknown how long it lasted, and there were curved and dripping blood spots all the way. Finally, a huge dragon-carved screen wall appeared in front of him. Hua Qianjue’s eyes lit up, and he rushed over with the last of his strength, hitting the screen wall with his shoulder. The hidden door was triggered and opened silently. The man’s heart relaxed, and he flashed in without hesitation. In an instant, the hidden door closed silently again, blocking the rain of arrows outside.

Is it over? Hua Qianjue thought, but suddenly heard the gurgling sound of water in this stone hall. Hua Qianjue’s face changed, he reached out and touched the torch on the wall, took out a flint and lit it, and looked around, couldn’t help but snort coldly. It turned out that a huge pure gold dragon head was embedded in the stone wall of this small hall, lifelike. The old dragon’s slightly open mouth was continuously spitting out pale yellow liquid, emitting a fragrant smell, which soon filled the ground.

Hua Qianjue reached out and dipped a little liquid, sniffed it under his nose, and knew that what was flowing was top-grade sesame oil. He cursed secretly, saw a crossbeam on the top of the stone hall, and without further thought, used the gecko-walking-on-the-wall technique to quickly climb up and hide on the crossbeam. Not long after he went up, he saw a burst of flame spewing from the dragon’s mouth, which ignited upon contact with the oil. The entire stone hall was filled with flames, like a steamer, and the thick smoke was suffocating.

The fire burned more and more fiercely, and a layer of blood gradually appeared in the man’s eyes. The murmurs that had been following him since the secret room were particularly clear at this moment. Five red-clothed little ghosts with pigtails pointing to the sky kept darting around him. Below was a wave of heat from the burning flames. They played and frolicked in the heat wave. When they noticed his sharp gaze, they shrank their heads and called him one by one: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty…”

Hua Qianjue sneered, sat up halfway on the stone beam, tore off a section of his white inner garment, bit it with his teeth, and roughly wrapped his right hand, which was wounded so deeply that the bone was visible, layer by layer. He used his hand to press several acupoints on his right shoulder to stop the bleeding. Only then did he take out a silver ingot from his sleeve, circulated his internal energy, and threw it towards the stone door. The silver ingot whistled through the air and hit the hidden door open again. Hua Qianj’s was about to fly out, but was grabbed by the corner of his clothes by those little ghosts—they were actually solid? Hua Qianjue frowned unhappily, could it be that he was about to die—

Those red-clothed little ghosts trembled and held onto the corner of the man’s clothes, crying non-stop: “Your Majesty, there are arrows outside, don’t go any further.”

Hua Qianjue lowered his eyes slightly. He didn’t believe in gods and buddhas. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, how could he believe that there were such strange and chaotic ghosts and monsters in the world? He flicked his sleeve and smiled grimly: “Not leaving? Do you want me to stay here and be smoked to death?”

The five little ghosts replied in unison: “Your Majesty, since you have collected three Floating Pagoda Tokens, why don’t you see him?” Hua Qianjue was stunned and asked in a low voice: “See who?” Before he could finish his words, he saw everything in front of him shatter. The scene around the jade statue in the secret room suddenly appeared in front of him, the gold and jade floor, the purple jade flower platform, the statue shining with a strange red light. His line of sight moved forward uncontrollably and quickly. The statue became bigger and bigger in front of him, and finally he only saw a pair of huge blood-red eyes under the silver mask—

Then, the statue shattered, and the red light sealed in the statue rushed towards him.

There was a loud bang in his mind, and it was suddenly pitch black in front of him. The sound of wind whistled in his ears, and his sleeves were rolled up high. Everything became abnormally slow. In the depths of the darkness, a dark figure slowly walked over. “The past life does not die with the past life. You finally came to see me…” that person whispered with an evil smile.

Hua Qianjue looked at him in silence. In that person’s blurry figure, only a pair of narrow eyes shone with blood-red light.

That person laughed loudly and reached out to him. Hua Qianjue was silent, and was finally bewitched by this familiar feeling of flesh and blood connection. He also slowly raised his right hand. The moment their fingertips touched, the sound of the wind was so fierce that it could shatter eardrums. That person’s image was suddenly illuminated by a blood-red light, every detail visible—

That person looked up to the sky and laughed wildly: “I have been waiting for you here for four thousand years… Do you still not remember me? You are me, and I am you.”

A hurricane enveloped the two of them. Countless blood-red flashes passed through the wind, cutting the darkness into pieces. The pulse of the past life began to beat from stagnation, mixed with the power that changed the color of heaven and earth. Familiar and unfamiliar memories churned in his mind again with pain. That person stood in front of him, whispering something, Your Majesty, this life… the next life… five hundred years… another five hundred years… life after life, until death do us part.

The five little ghosts were playing in the sea of fire on the heat wave. Seeing this light, they couldn’t help but show some joy, and all shouted happily: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

With these few cheers, cracks began to appear on the stone wall, quickly weaving new patterns like a spider web. The cracks expanded at an astonishing speed. Then, countless patterns became mottled and blurred, gold and jade ornaments peeled off one by one, and dust fell from the top like rain. This magnificent underground palace, which had exhausted the efforts of countless people, the beautiful secret rooms and treasures, along with the few lives lost in this underground palace, everything was submerged in dust.

Outside the underground palace, a loud thunderclap exploded, followed by rolling thunder and a downpour.

The land for several acres around sank several feet with a tremor of the earth and a shaking of the mountains.

On the sky that was originally a vast expanse of green, gray-black clouds gathered from all directions. Purple-red lightning lurked in the thick clouds, instantly covering the bright sun overhead. A hazy mist rose around, dispersed by the pouring rain, and then slowly gathered again. Bean-sized raindrops, mixed with rolling thunder, descended on this post-disaster fertile land with the momentum of sweeping away a thousand armies.

Between heaven and earth, connected by thousands of silver threads.

In the depths of the mist, a person’s figure gradually appeared. When the giant net woven by the storm and rain rushed to that person’s side, it silently disappeared, almost like a desperate black hole. Behind him, several red-clothed little ghosts stumbled and chased, still muttering: “Your Majesty, since you were seriously injured by the Great Wish Bodhisattva, your demonic body was split into two, and all your demonic skills were sealed in that Heavenly Crystal Jade Statue, but your demonic soul was cast into the six paths of reincarnation. This is why Your Majesty has been reincarnated in the human world for several lifetimes. If it weren’t for that person following you life after life, accompanying you, and covering up Your Majesty’s戾氣 with his own spiritual energy, Your Majesty might not have been able to escape the heavenly tribulation and reshape your demonic body—”

That figure paused slightly and looked back. The mist slightly dispersed, and one could vaguely see that person’s hair, blacker than the night, surrounding his body like mist. A hoarse and low voice sounded word by word, cold and clear in the wind and rain, both like the sharp coldness of a divine weapon being unsheathed, and like the scorching heat of thunder and lightning. He asked grimly: “What exactly are you trying to say?”

When that person saw those red-clothed little ghosts, his face instantly turned pale, and he curled up and trembled non-stop. He suddenly remembered where he had seen them before. On a night when he was entangled with a woman, in that beautiful dream filled with a river of dark gold water and blood-red spider lilies, a group of ferocious ghosts in the sea of flowers carried a large red bridal sedan chair and swayed towards him. The few red-clothed little ghosts following behind the sedan chair chattered non-stop at him: “Be good to him, be good to him—”

“Do you think I’m good to him?” that person asked, sweeping his gaze over the group of little ghosts whose teeth were chattering, and suddenly sneered. His body moved, the mist scattered, and he instantly appeared on the river bank not far away. The shattered surface of the water, which was constantly being irrigated and beaten by the rain, was lightly touched by that person’s finger, and gradually condensed into a small patch of smooth water like a mirror, clearly reflecting the man’s black demonic armor, fair and thin face, and those dark red narrow eyes as deep as thick ink. A few strands of his forehead hair, combed back, showed a strange vermilion color, revealing a blood-red brand in the shape of a nether eye on his forehead.

This familiar yet exceptionally strange appearance looked exceptionally unsightly. That person repeated in a low voice: “Do you think I’m good to him?” The few little ghosts were speechless, shrinking into a ball meekly. The faint sound of footsteps gradually came from a distance. That person’s expression changed slightly, and he looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a figure in white clothes running over stumbling in the wind and rain in the dark night. His hair stuck to his thin cheeks, looking thin and haggard. It was Hua Jinian who had wanted to commit suicide not long ago.

As this young man ran, he looked around, his steps unsteady, and shouted in a low voice in the rain: “You’re out, aren’t you? Don’t hide, you’re out, aren’t you? This underground palace has collapsed, you broke the mechanism inside, didn’t you? Don’t hide, come out, don’t hide here and there!”

When that person heard Hua Jinian’s already hoarse shout, before he could think about what he was feeling, his feet had already unconsciously taken a step. When Hua Jinian heard the sound, he looked in this direction with extreme excitement and sharpness, but suddenly saw a pair of beast-like dark red eyes in the hazy mist, and was so scared that he took several steps back.

That person’s mind moved, and his left hand was about to form a seal when he heard those red-clothed little ghosts say in a low voice: “Your Majesty, you must not use the illusion technique. At this time, Your Majesty’s demonic body is not stable. If you rashly change your form, you will need to extend the time for recuperation by one month, during which you cannot use any demonic skills—”

Before they could finish, they saw a red light instantly float on that person’s body, and an illusion technique was used at will. The dark red light layer that separated him from the storm and rain gradually dimmed and finally dissipated. The raindrops instantly soaked his robe, but that person still strode forward, as if he could not bear the young man showing any fear towards him at all. He only stopped when the distance between the two was so close that even the painful downpour could not block their gazes. Hua Jinian stared blankly at the man who walked out of the mist and sudden rain in front of him, and after a long time, he squeezed out a sentence: “Father… you’re out, you’re okay?”

The young man said, staring blankly at the man in front of him. That person’s pair of black eyes were deep and sharp, his thin lips smiling. The layers of mechanisms that should have been a purgatory seemed to have brought no harm to this man. His robe was gorgeous, his attitude was calm, and even his hair was not messy at all. Compared with the young man’s anxious and disheveled state at this time, it was no different from the difference between clouds and mud.

That person looked at Hua Jinian. The original subtle and deep doting on Hua Jinian, plus the more or less emotion and rendering in the memories of several lifetimes, was mixed into a deeper and more fiery emotion. He reached out to hold the young man’s hand, but unexpectedly Hua Jinian took a few steps back and avoided it. A murderous aura flashed in that person’s eyes for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by a calm smile. He asked in a low voice: “Were you worried about me? Don’t worry, I’m already out.”

Hua Jinian looked at that person with an extremely complicated look, nodded, and then shook his head vigorously, but took another step back. That person was instantly furious, reached out and grabbed the young man’s hand forcefully, wanting to pull him over, but encountered hysterical resistance. Hua Jinian resisted with all his might, shouting: “Let go, don’t touch me—”

This heavy rain made people’s hearts grow cold, and the rain poured so hard that people couldn’t even open their eyes. That person asked grimly: “You actually talk to me like this, what are you angry about? Are you angry at me for what I did to you…” As he spoke, he stroked the young man’s chest in an erotic way.

Hua Jinian’s face turned cold. The small knife that was originally held in his palm stabbed over at once, cutting a long gash in that person’s palm. That person was stunned, and withdrew his hand somewhat slowly and sluggishly, holding it in front of his eyes to stare at it carefully for a while. He stretched out his blood-red tongue and carefully licked the bloodstains, while looking at his wound intently, he seemed to ask casually: “Why?”

Hua Jinian turned and ran, and soon lost his way in the heavy rain. That person stood in place and said to himself in a flat tone with a drawn-out voice: “Why are you running? Didn’t you say you liked me? I was trapped in the underground palace for you—you, weren’t you worried about me at all! Is this your attitude! Why! How dare you!”

Hua Jinian ran for dozens of meters. Just as he thought he was far from danger, he saw a flash of red light, and that person suddenly appeared behind him, raised his right hand, and forcefully pulled him down into the mud. Several little ghosts hidden in the depths of the darkness dragged out long and sharp voices and shouted: “Your Majesty, you can’t use demonic skills!”

The man coughed up a mouthful of blood in response, but wiped it clean with his fingers with an evil smile, grabbed the young man’s lapel, and asked fiercely word by word: “Say—why?” The young man laughed loudly: “No reason—” Hua Jinian seemed to be able to imagine his tragic end when the secret of his bloodline was exposed. That person would definitely use the cruelest methods in the world to retaliate against the flesh and blood of his mother’s killer—but he didn’t know that when the man heard it, it became another meaning—another kind of resistance.

In this pouring rain, Hua Jinian felt that the hope he had been waiting for in his heart was broken. He could imagine how beautiful the years they spent together would be, and he could also foresee how cruel the moment of disillusionment would be. At this moment, he suddenly had an impulse to disregard everything. Why should he wait for others to shatter all this? Why not cut off the thread of love with his own hands—let everything end, all the foolish thoughts, all the love and hate, all the cowardice and struggle! At this thought, Hua Jinian laughed even more crazily: “Why should I worry about you! I don’t want to see you come out safely at all—anyway, anyway, you are not my father!”

That person’s face changed color instantly. He looked at the young man’s eyes carefully, and saw his own appearance in his pupils at this moment. There was no mistake—black hair, black eyes, perfectly hiding the blood-red brand on his forehead and the long horns in his hair. At this moment, he was clearly in a perfect human form. He couldn’t help but laugh long, but the murderous aura in his eyes had long reached the edge of endurance, indicating that the owner might go on a killing spree at any time. That person laughed in a low voice and said: “What are you talking about, look again, look carefully, how am I not your father?”

Hua Jinian looked at him foolishly and laughed in a low voice: “I know, from today on, you are no longer my father.”

That person actually said nothing more, but in his ink-black pupils, a blood-red color like a red lotus slowly appeared. His chin was slightly raised, his thin lips were tightly pursed, and the hand grabbing the young man’s collar was so forceful that it almost lifted the young man up. The two of them were in a stalemate for a long time before that person forcefully threw the young man away. Hua Jinian stood up straight with forced composure, tidied up the messy wrinkles on his clothes bit by bit, and slowly repeated: “You are not my father…”