Yue Xiuzhi stood at the foot of Jiuhuaxiao, facing the majestic Jiuhua Cloud Stairs, yet he couldn’t move for a long time.
Today, he shed too many tears, and now that he was truly facing farewell, he found himself unable to shed any more.
After what felt like an eternity, he let out a long sigh.
Yue Xiuzhi, it’s time to go.
There’s a fool waiting for you up there.
He started ascending the Jiuhua Cloud Stairs, but with each step, the scenery around him changed rapidly.
First, there were disciples bustling about, then it became deserted, followed by scenes of battles, and finally, it descended into silence once again.
When he reached the highest level, all he saw was a bustling crowd of demons who enjoyed themselves.
But when he turned around, the Jiuhua Cloud Stairs had disappeared.
This was Jiuhuaxiao who had turned into a demon’s den.
Having ascended the nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine steps of the Jiuhua Cloud Stairs, he had also walked through Jiuhuaxiao’s vicissitudes for decades.
After Jiuhuaxiao became a demon’s den, its appearance changed drastically, and the original buildings were all demolished. Yue Xiuzhi even found it hard to pinpoint the location of Liu Ya Peak.
The demons didn’t seem surprised by Yue Xiuzhi’s sudden appearance. When Yue Xiuzhi approached to inquire, he found that the demons he asked completely ignored him.
Feeling something was amiss, Yue Xiuzhi watched as the demons in front of him suddenly walked towards him, and then completely passed through his body.
Yue Xiuzhi looked down at his abdomen, realizing he wasn’t physically present here.
They couldn’t touch him, and he couldn’t touch them either.
Suddenly, Yue Xiuzhi noticed that all the demons were kneeling down in unison.
With bowed heads, they chanted in unison, “We respectfully welcome, Your Majesty!”
Yue Xiuzhi saw a young man dressed in dark golden robes, handsome and sharp like a knife, walking towards him from a distance.
Pei Ming.
He walked past the multitude of kneeling demons and approached Pei Ming.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“A-Pei…”
Lf aglfv ab mjii tlw rboais, yea atf qfgrbc lc ogbca bo tlw rtbkfv cb gfjmalbc.
Tef Wlehtl gfjmtfv bea tlr tjcv, mjealberis abemtlcu Ufl Zlcu’r yjmx, yea tlr tjcv qjrrfv atgbeut.
Tef Wlehtl’r fzqgfrrlbc vlwwfv, yea atfc tf gjlrfv tlr tfjv, rwlilcu jr tf jrxfv atf qfgrbc cfza ab tlw, “C-Ufl, ktfgf jgf sbe ublcu?”
There was no response.
The youth continued walking forward without looking back.
Yue Xiuzhi followed him, constantly talking to him. Although there was never any response, Yue Xiuzhi seemed tirelessly engaged in conversation.
Eventually, Pei Ming entered a place that looked extremely strict.
Yue Xiuzhi’s expression gradually stiffened.
Pei Ming descended a staircase and arrived in front of an iron door.
The iron door was engraved with layers of formations. With a wave of Pei Ming’s hand, the iron door opened automatically.
Pei Ming walked in, and although Yue Xiuzhi felt a bit timid, he ultimately followed him inside.
Inside, he saw a young man dressed in a thin white robe, covered in bloodstains, his weak and frail figure dragging a long iron chain, lying on the ground.
That was the former Yue Xiuzhi.
Seeing someone approaching, the young man struggled weakly to sit up, but ended up falling even more embarrassedly to the ground because not only was his cultivation crippled, but his tendons were also severed.
“Got nothing to say to me?” Pei Ming spoke.
“I only regret not killing you back then, instead of keeping you alive till now, causing harm to myself and to the entire Jiuhuaxiao Sect,” the young man’s voice was sharp, yet very weak.
“Yeah,” Pei Ming’s face revealed a sinister smile, “who let you not kill me directly back then?”
“Does it feel good to stay here? You’ve only been here for a month, but I’ve been here for a whole six years,” Pei Ming walked up to the young man and suddenly stepped on his hand, crushing it, “but you might not wait for six years anymore.”
“With all your meridians severed, maybe in less than a year, you’ll turn into a pile of flesh… There are still eleven months left, I’m really looking forward to it.”
He looked down at the young man on the ground, seeing deep fear in his eyes.
Beside him, Yue Xiuzhi bowed his head in sadness.
So, this was Pei Ming’s inner demon.
He looked at Pei Ming, who was laughing wildly in front of him, but he wanted to kiss his eyes that could not hide his despair even though he was smiling.
A-Pei, why do you have to do this to yourself?
Then, the scene flashed before him, and Pei Ming disappeared from the spot.
Yue Xiuzhi looked down and saw that the “himself” on the ground was even more seriously injured, his figure becoming even weaker, and his wrists and ankles were worn to the bone due to the long-term binding of the iron chains.
It must have been some time later.
Yue Xiuzhi bit his lip tightly, trying hard not to recall the despair at that moment.
Then, there was a commotion outside the door, and Pei Ming walked out from behind the door.
He remembered that during the year he was imprisoned in the dark room, Pei Ming visited him five times. The first month, the third month, the seventh month, and two more times, just before Pei Ming subjected him to “Bone Erosion Drug,” and nine days later, to take a final look at him.
Yue Xiuzhi felt like he had only been here for an hour, but Pei Ming had already come and gone five times.
He saw Pei Ming subjecting “him” to the Bone Erosion, and “him” writhing in pain, his face devoid of color, with only broken moans escaping his throat.
Nine days later, “he” turned into a pile of bones, staring with eyes that seemed unnaturally large due to extreme emaciation, until the moment Pei Ming arrived, and then he breathed his last.
Memories roared at Yue Xiuzhi like a ferocious beast, the despair of that entire year making his fingertips tremble.
He was in a daze and even his form became blurred.
Yue Xiuzhi knew that Heavenly Way’s remnants were devouring his primordial spirit.
He clearly knew, yet found it difficult to escape from this desperate emotion.
For so many years, he seemed to live lightly, but in reality, he never let go, and never dared to recall those painful days.
Yue Xiuzhi’s form became increasingly blurred. He knew that this couldn’t go on, but found it difficult to stop his descent into despair.
Until he saw…
Pei Ming was smiling, but suddenly tears streamed down his face.
Yue Xiuzhi’s heart felt like it was being pricked by needles.
The pain, however, prevented his descent into despair.
Yue Xiuzhi forced a smile, a very ugly one, and his eyes reddened.
He cursed, “You fool…”
But he saw Pei Ming’s expression becoming more sinister, he struggled to control himself and walked forward, picking up the dead pile of bones. However, in the blink of an eye, the bones disappeared.
In the vast dark room, only Pei Ming remained, and Yue Xiuzhi, who couldn’t be seen.
Pei Ming still maintained the posture of holding the bones, but his arms were already empty.
He looked somewhat dazed, then tears blurred his eyes.
He suddenly took out a dagger and stabbed his wrist repeatedly, one strike after another, until his wrist was mutilated, his white robe dyed crimson.
He seemed oblivious to the pain, murmuring incessantly, “Not enough… not enough…”
Yue Xiuzhi rushed forward, unable to bear the heartache, wanting to shake Pei Ming awake, but could only futilely pass through him time and time again.
What Yue Xiuzhi didn’t know was that Pei Ming was also like this, wanting to touch but unable to, suffering for thirteen years.
“A-Pei, don’t do this…” knowing that Pei Ming couldn’t hear, Yue Xiuzhi couldn’t help but advise him over and over again.
A stronger sense of despair surged in his heart.
What should he do?
How could he save Pei Ming?
He became more and more desperate, but then he saw Pei Ming suddenly stand up and walk out of the dark room with a numb expression.
Yue Xiuzhi followed him, walking out of the dark room together.
Just as he stepped out of the iron door, a strong white light suddenly lit up around him. After the white light, the scene in front of him made Yue Xiuzhi even more stunned.
He almost doubted whether he had stepped out of that door.
Because the place in front of him was still that dark room.
The difference was that the person who was imprisoned had changed from “Yue Xiuzhi” to the young Pei Ming.
The youthful figure of Pei Ming in front suddenly became transparent, walking towards the young Pei Ming, and then merged into one.
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Thank you for the chapter
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