If Lu Pianpian wants Huan Changming to turn back into Agana, she must first fulfill Huan Changming's wish and make him willingly become Agana. However, Huan Changming's wish is completely opposite to Lu Pianpian's original intention in doing this.
Is he going to repeat the same mistake and submit to Huan Changming again for Agana's sake?
Lu Pianpian was unwilling to accept this, and even less willing to do so.
"Huan Changming, don't be so presumptuous as to think you still have room for maneuver with me."
Lu Pianpian had said those resolute words countless times, but Huan Changming seemed to have paid them no heed. Today, he intended to say the final words and extinguish all of Huan Changming's hopes.
"You think I still have feelings for you, you think I still have lingering feelings for you—that's all just your wishful thinking! When I first met you, your name was Changming, a weak and helpless woman. I admit I felt pity for you, and I genuinely wanted to marry you. But your womanhood is a joke! You're a man! And a despicable scoundrel who fooled me like a clown!"
"After I learned those ridiculous truths, the last bit of pity I had for my junior sister Changming was completely destroyed by you, Huan Changming."
“I can still respect and honor you if you are a woman, but you are not even a woman now.”
"What makes you think that you, as a man, can win my affection?"
Huan Changming stared blankly at Lu Pianpian. He had a thousand and ten thousand questions he wanted to ask her, and he wanted to get her to refute his words about not loving him. But when the words were about to come out, he suddenly felt a familiar stinging pain in his body.
He clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot, and asked Lu Pianpian, "I'll only ask you one question... Have you ever had any feelings for me, not even the slightest bit?"
"No." Lu Pianpian said firmly, "No before, no now, and certainly not in the future."
This answer was exactly as expected.
Huan Changming released his palm, the pinch marks on his palm hidden by his sleeve. He chuckled softly, "Thank you for informing me, Immortal Lord."
After he finished speaking, Lu Pianpian watched him turn around and walk out of the Underworld. When he reached the bank of the River Styx and stepped onto the small boat, his body swayed and he almost fell into the River Styx.
He boarded the boat, his shoulders visibly trembling, as if he were suppressing something.
But what exactly he was suppressing, Lu Pianpian had no desire to find out.
He didn't want to investigate Huan Changming's meaning in the slightest.
Seeing this, the Underworld King shook his head and sighed, "Why has the Divine Child come to this?"
Extinguishing Huan Changming's hope is tantamount to sending him into the abyss of despair. Given Huan Changming's personality, this action will undoubtedly cause his obsession and desire for the Divine Child to grow wildly, perhaps even more mad than in the past two hundred years.
Lu Pianpian withdrew her gaze and looked at Mingjun, "Now it's just the two of us, are you still going to hide it?"
The Underworld King feigned ignorance, saying, "I don't understand what the Divine Child is saying..."
“You control the life and death of all living beings in the Three Realms, and even the gods and Buddhas of the heavens cannot escape your eyes, the eyes of the Underworld.” Lu Pianpian approached the Underworld King. “If you tell me that the only way to make Huan Changming reborn as a Buddhist is through salvation, then you should no longer be the Underworld King.”
The boat was still floating on the River Styx, but Huan Changming could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the boat.
He was curled up, his arms tightly wrapped around himself, his face pale and sweating profusely. He had bitten his lower lip until it bled, but he still wouldn't let go, afraid that if he did, he would scream in pain.
He tried his best to restrain himself, but the stinging pain was inescapable, as if it wanted to burrow into his bone marrow, take root and sprout, and devour his bones and flesh completely.
Huan Changming was in excruciating pain. His veins bulged as he gripped the boat plank, trying to use the force to relieve the pain. However, the small boat could not withstand his strength and overturned him, causing him to fall into the River Styx.
The river water was murky and the light was dim, and the wandering ghosts gathered in the river emitted a ghostly green light.
Terrified of Huan Changming's aura, they fled to the bottom of the river, howling and screaming, hoping to escape him.
Huan Changming let himself sink to the bottom of the Styx River. The Styx River carried the weight of his body, and for a moment it seemed to wash away his pain.
He forced his eyes open, and a halo of eerie green light gathered, with all the ghosts huddled on a rock at the bottom of the river, emitting mournful wails.
The water carried Huan Changming's body toward the rock, and the ghosts scattered again, revealing the rock intact, with a long ribbon wrapped around one of its broken corners.
The long silk was torn to shreds by the vengeful ghosts and spirits, its color dull, and it could only be barely discerned as red by the dim light from the riverbed.
It is a wedding ribbon.
Huan Changming landed on the rock, and the silk ribbons splashed onto his face with the water.
He opened his eyes and grasped the wedding silk, triggering the memories it carried.
Huan Changming saw Lu Pianpian.
Lu Pianpian, her white clothes charred and covered in blood, her eyes empty.
That was two hundred years ago, when Lu Pianpian died.
He saw Pianpian walking aimlessly in the boundless darkness, without purpose or direction, surrounded only by darkness from which no light could be seen.
He seemed to have lost all sense of the world around him; pain, resentment, anger, sorrow—none of these emotions were visible to him. His once passionate and vibrant heart, along with his body, was burned to ashes in the crematorium.
Without a heart, he was left with only a wisp of a soul.
Even trapped deep underground, the heartless and soulless remnant feels no sorrow.
It's pathetic, laughable, and even more pitiful.
Huan Changming clutched the silk cloth to his chest; the pain he felt there paled in comparison to the pain he had given Pianpian.
He even shamelessly tried to beg for Pianpian's forgiveness. He doesn't deserve to be forgiven at all. People like him deserve to be despised.
Huan Changming lay motionless on the stone. Although the aura emanating from him frightened the ghosts, his cultivation level made them drool with desire.
Seeing him lying motionless on the rock, the ghosts began to tentatively approach Huan Changming. First, they tugged at his clothes, and when he did not resist, they let go of their nature and began to gnaw on this excellent food.
Huan Changming closed his eyes and let the ghost devour him. His body was soon torn to shreds, and his beautiful face was shattered.
He didn't struggle, but gripped the faded wedding silk tightly with both hands, imagining that the immortal lord he had once been betrothed to was still by his side.
Amidst the starlight and moonlight, a single star emitted an incongruous red glow.
The Celestial Lord Juntian stared intently at the star with profound eyes. Suddenly, a burst of spiritual energy condensed at his fingertips and struck the star. The star was instantly covered by a layer of frost, and its color dimmed considerably, but it still refused to stop shining.
Jun Tian controls the star chart, and all the stars and moon are under his command and control. This star does not obey his orders and would rather go against his will than break free from his restraints. It has obviously chosen a path that is not under his control.
Juntian lowered his eyelashes, his eyes showing neither joy nor sorrow.
A-Fen sat in the Demon King's seat, cupping her face in her hands as she looked down at Lang Xu, who was gathering the demon race.
"The Heavenly Realm has suppressed our demon race for a long time. Today, with the help of the Demon Lord, let us attack the Heavenly Realm together! Let us kill those gods and Buddhas and spread the glory of our demon race!"
The Demon King gave the order, and his demon race echoed in unison: "Kill those gods and Buddhas to glorify our demon race!"
"Slay those gods and Buddhas to glorify the demon race!"
The demons' voices were as loud as drums. Ah Fen covered her two pink pig ears and frowned.
Langxu ordered the leaders of each demon clan to count the number of people. He walked up to Afen and said with a smile, "Did I disturb you?"
A-Fen glared at him playfully, "Lang Xu, I don't want you to go."
She had never met any of the gods or Buddhas in the heavenly realm, but she was certain that each one was incredibly powerful.
"Don't worry, this time we demons won't be fighting alone. The people of the Demon Realm will also lend us a hand. With the two races working together, even the Heavenly Realm can't do anything to us."
"Demon Lord?"
Ah Fen is on good terms with the Demon Lord's illegitimate son, so she naturally knows the Demon Lord. But she clearly saw the Demon Lord entangled with the Heavenly Prince last time, willing to risk his life for him. Why would he agree to join them in attacking the Heavenly Realm this time?
Langxu gently touched Afen's ear. "He has always been stubborn and mad. He was heartbroken by Lu Pianpian. Extremes beget their opposites, and love turns to hate. The reason he was able to join us in attacking the Heavenly Realm this time is simply because his obsession was too deep. If he couldn't have it, he would destroy it."
"really?"
"You don't believe me?" Langxu took Afen's hand. "Come on, I'll take you to see. He's already brought people to our doorstep."
A-Fen was pulled outside by Lang Xu, where countless demon generals and demon soldiers filled the entire area outside the hall.
The cold moon hung low, and the night sky was filled with stars. A tall figure stood on the high eaves.
Ah Fen looked toward the figure and saw that the other person's clothes were covered with dried bloodstains, and a few strands of messy hair fluttered in the night wind on their deep profile.
He noticed A-Fen's gaze and turned his eyes towards her. A-Fen saw a pair of deep, blue eyes.
"Changming!" Langxu laughed loudly, "I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
Huan Changming's eyes were lifeless, as if he had just escaped from the jaws of a vengeful ghost, and his body still exuded a chilling ghostly aura and killing intent.
He said, "The Buddha-Slaying Pestle can grind me to dust. If I take the lead, the Heavenly Realm will not leave this Buddhist weapon unused. We should attack the Pagoda first and take the Buddha-Slaying Pestle."
Langxu's eyes shone with an astonishing light. "Good! All soldiers, obey the Demon Lord's command! Attack the Floating Pagoda first and seize the Buddha-Slaying Pestle!"
Qu Surou obtained the Spirit Dew from a fairy she was on good terms with, and food made with the Spirit Dew would taste much better.
Knowing Qu Fuyi's favorite foods, she specially cooked some delicious dishes for her.
However, knowing that she was not a good cook, she asked a fairy she was on good terms with to teach her how to cook.
"We're all gods, why would we need to cook ourselves? You can just use a spell to get by, right?"
Qu Surou said, "He's very picky about food, and whatever you make up on the spot definitely won't satisfy him."
"Could it be that you're sending it to Lord Juntian? I don't recall him having such a hobby."
"Don't talk nonsense! There's nothing between us, nothing at all!" Qu Surou quickly clarified, picking up the spiritual dew. "This is for my master in the mortal realm. He's so good to me!"
Seeing her beaming with excitement, the fairy whispered, "This doesn't seem like something you'd give to your master..."
"Who does it look like it's for?"
The fairy smiled and kept her in suspense, saying, "I'm not telling you!"
Qu Surou clicked her tongue and picked up the dew to pour it into the bowl. Suddenly, her hand slipped, and the whole bottle of dew fell to the ground and shattered. The shards she picked up flew up and cut the back of Qu Surou's hand.
Qu Surou stared blankly at the broken pieces on the ground, "I messed it up..."
"It's alright, it's alright, I still have some!"
Qu Surou used her spiritual power to wipe the wound on the back of her hand and breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."
Chapter 64
Inside the pagoda, the Buddha's light permeates the air.
Qu Fuyi sat cross-legged on the futon, holding a square handkerchief in her hand, carefully wiping her sword.
He used to be a quiet person who was devoted to the pursuit of Tao and did not care about worldly affairs. Later, his cultivation stagnated, so he had no choice but to step into the mortal world to temper his heart and refine his emotions.
Qu Surou was the first disciple he accepted into his sect, but it was more like picking her up rather than accepting her.
The little girl was an orphan, without parents. He took her in and raised her, and she even took his surname. The master and apprentice spent several years together before Lu Pianpian and Huan Juntian were born.
Qu Fuyi witnessed his three disciples grow from little children into adults. Although he was not their biological parents, his feelings for them were no less than those for their biological parents.
Now that he saw the three of them, who were among the best of the celestial deities, Qu Fuyi felt even more gratified and proud. Even though he was in this secluded and quiet Floating Pagoda, he felt genuine joy for the three of them.