She is who she is, and she can never be anyone's substitute.
“From now on, I will keep you separate. Ah Chong, you will still be my disciple.”
You don't need to take such absurd talk about doomsday prophecies to heart. With me here, no one can touch you.
Suppressing her emotions, Lingyan stepped back into the position of a trustworthy master, issuing a declaration of protection, even though it seemed that Gu Zhong no longer needed her protection.
Gu Zhong remained silent. Even if he wanted to get closer, an invisible barrier was already deeply embedded in their hearts.
Perhaps this is the most correct position and the best outcome.
——
Because of Ling Yan, and because Gu Zhong's combat strength was truly formidable, the Star Luo Sect withstood the pressure from the various immortal sects and did not take any action against Gu Zhong. In fact, they even sent her to the Immortal-Demon Battlefield multiple times to eliminate the demon race that had become active again.
The words Ling Yan spoke that day to save Gu Zhong turned out to be prophetic.
On that day, Gu Zhong's sword struck the Demon King, who was severely injured and fled, but he was not completely dead.
Now it has not only recovered some of its vitality, but its intelligence is also growing at an extremely terrifying rate.
On the battlefield, the demon race became increasingly cunning and strategic, and the immortal sects gradually lost their previous great advantage.
The Demon King was not fully recovered from its injuries, so it hid in seclusion and did not easily appear. Finding it and taking its life while it was weak would be much more difficult than searching for it in Blood Phoenix Mountain.
This massive battle has once again reached a stalemate.
If there's anything that's more upsetting than the demon race lately, it's that Gu Zhong happened to run into people from the Pure Water Sect.
Those who used to bully and mock her now put on forced smiles and fawn over her with fear.
Her former master, who was likely the culprit who cut off her path to immortality, looked at her with a regretful and resentful gaze.
Seeing all this, Gu Zhong felt a strange sense of irritation and anger rising within her. She wanted all these people to disappear from her sight, as if that would erase the unpleasant past.
Having already cultivated to the peak of this realm, he should have a broad and open mind. Moreover, Gu Zhong is not a vengeful person and did not care about what happened at the Pure Water Sect.
She herself had not expected to have such thoughts now, as if something had gone wrong.
Before he could even think things through, he had to face the endless onslaught of monsters.
Although humans are the main characters in this world, their numbers are still far less than the countless other living beings that are everywhere.
Since the birth of the Demon King, another obvious change has been that all living beings can become demons.
This means that if they don't completely kill the Demon King, they either have to slaughter everything or wait for the cultivators to be wiped out, otherwise this war will never end.
The setting sun cast a glow on the blood-red landscape, but even so, it could not erase the cruelty it depicted.
After slaying another demonic beast with his sword, Gu Zhong suddenly felt exhausted and then fell into a brief daze.
Her thoughts began to wander, and she started to think about some issues that were not suitable for consideration at the moment.
With the spiritual energy of heaven and earth waning, cultivators will inevitably reach their end, so what is the point of this struggle?
Sensing something was amiss, Gu Zhong quickly shook his head, trying to shake off this inappropriate and dejected thought.
Cultivating immortality is inherently a matter of defying fate. Even in dire circumstances, one should strive relentlessly and fight for every glimmer of hope.
If you accept your fate, then what's the point of cultivating immortality?
—I wasn't like this before.
Gu Zhong reminded herself fiercely that, for some reason, she had been feeling increasingly exhausted lately, and an impulse to give up on everything and destroy everything would occasionally arise in her heart.
This unconsciously reminded her of the prophecy Xia Xiange had spoken of.
Words she thought she hadn't taken to heart had unknowingly become seeds of evil buried deep in her heart, silently taking root and sprouting. Vines soaked in venom gently entwined her emotions, drawing on all her firm ideals and beliefs as fertilizer, and were growing into a towering tree.
—Could I really be the one who destroys the world?
Thinking of this, Gu Zhong felt a chill run down his spine. He involuntarily gripped the smoke cloud in his hand and fiercely cleaved a demon beast in front of him in two, frightening a fair-skinned cultivator who was fighting the beast.
Is all destiny truly inescapable? No matter how many detours we take or how much we try to avoid it, will we inevitably follow a predetermined path?
After venting her anger, Gu Zhong finally calmed down, only to see a scene that made her eyes widen in horror.
Yao Yun was no match for a demon beast and nearly lost his life. He immediately disregarded everything else and summoned a magical artifact he had crafted many years ago, instantly killing the demon beast that had gained the upper hand.
This magical artifact is none other than the one forged from the spiritual root that Gu Zhong had extracted back then.
Others might not be able to discover the mystery, but only Gu Zhong could sense the connection between them.
All her previous guesses were confirmed in one fell swoop, and an uncontrollable killing intent surged into Gu Zhong's heart. Before she even realized what she was doing, she had already swung her sword and cleaved Yao Yun into ashes.
Having avenged the loss of her immortal path, she should have stopped there. However, the events at the Pure Water Sect vividly resurfaced before her eyes, reminding her of Gu Zhong's past grievances and resentment, further fueling the murderous intent in her heart. She only wanted to slaughter all living beings present.
Red blood vessels had somehow crept up her normally bright, obsidian-like eyes, making them look rather ferocious and eerie.
Her body was no longer under the control of her mind; the sword energy in her hand spread out, attacking everywhere it could reach.
The lingering thought in the sea of consciousness seemed to sense something was wrong and struggled to wake up and take over, but it was also fiercely suppressed and fell silent again.
"Gu Zhong! What are you doing?"
Until a sharp shout came from not far away, the familiar call that went straight to her soul made her shudder.
Once fully awake, Gu Zhong stared in disbelief at her blood-soaked hands and the corpses scattered around her. The cultivators who had escaped her sword looked at her with expressions of fear and hatred.
—I am truly the one destined to destroy the world.
Gu Zhong thought to himself.
Lingyan, who was not with Gu Zhong, had been feeling uneasy since today. As a cultivator with six senses, such a premonition was certainly unusual.
Aside from the sect leader, the only person she was close to was Gu Zhong. She immediately rushed to where Gu Zhong was.
Unexpectedly, she was still a step too late. She watched helplessly as Gu Zhong went on a killing spree as if possessed by a demon, managing to save only half of the people.
The scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood was exactly like the image she least wanted to recall.
Lingyan suddenly thought of Xia Xiange's prophecy and his nonchalant, dismissive attitude.
She simply couldn't believe that this woman wasn't involved.
Whatever the reason, Gu Zhong has now made a grave mistake, and his already difficult life seems to be getting even more miserable.
“A-Chong…”
Seeing that Gu Zhong had regained consciousness, Ling Yan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to step forward.
But then she saw Gu Zhong's lips curl into a bitter smile as he clasped his hands in a respectful greeting to his master. Ling Yan felt an increasingly ominous premonition rising in her heart.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Regarding the handling of split souls, here are some humble opinions. I've struggled with this for a long time... Well, everyone may have their own perspective.
(This software is terrible, it crashed again tonight, so I'm posting this much later than I expected, sob sob QAQ)
Ahhh, thank you so much to the little angel "Deeply in 75" for the landmine! I'm giving her a big hug and a kiss!
//Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:37:32 on November 19, 2021 and 00:53:12 on November 20, 2021!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Deep in 75 (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered my nutrient solution: all the couples I ship got happy endings (8 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 90 Astrologer and Defiant One (19)
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The next second, Gu Zhong held the smoke cloud across his neck, as if he was about to commit suicide.
"Smoke and Clouds!"
In a moment of desperation, Lingyan shouted out the sword's name. Yanyun paused for a moment, then broke free from Gu Zhong's grasp and ran joyfully toward her.
"Gu Zhong, are you crazy or stupid?"
Anger surged within her, and Ling Yan rushed to Gu Zhong, grabbing her collar and shouting sternly.
"Master, I once made a vow..."
Having never seen Lingyan so angry, Gu Zhong felt as if he had indeed made a big mistake, and couldn't help but stammer an explanation with a guilty conscience.
"What have you done that harms the common people?"
Knowing that Gu Zhong was referring to the solemn oath discovered at Blood Phoenix Mountain, Ling Yan couldn't help but feel a headache coming on from Gu Zhong's stubbornness.
"But···"
Turning her head slightly to look at the innocent cultivators who had lost their lives under her sword, Gu Zhong's face showed a look of shame.
"...Let's discuss this later. Gu Zhong, you were acting very strangely just now."
Lingyan pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing that this matter could not be easily resolved and that Gu Zhong would certainly not escape punishment from the immortal sect.
From what Lingyan had just observed, Gu Zhong's demeanor seemed as if he were possessed by a demon.
There is no such thing as a demon in this small world. If a cultivator is possessed by a demon, he will mostly die from his body exploding. It is unheard of for someone to go mad, lose his mind, and go on a killing spree like this.
Moreover, given Gu Zhong's resilient mindset, he would not easily succumb to demonic influence unless—someone deliberately taints him with demonic energy.
Lingyan thought of Xia Xiange again. No matter how she thought about it, this woman was the most suspicious.
"Xingxuan-jun, do you have to give everyone an explanation?"
As more and more people gathered at the sidelines, it was undoubtedly because the surviving cultivators had sent out a message, which attracted the leaders of various immortal sects to come one by one.
“Young Sect Master, I said long ago that the predictions of the stars cannot be changed.”
A long, drawn-out sigh followed.
The person Lingyan had just been talking about appeared, as expected.
"Elder Xia, why be so arbitrary? Perhaps there is some inside story?"
Ling Yan turned around and said slowly and deliberately, staring intently at Xia Xiange, as if trying to find some trace on her face.
Unfortunately, the result was destined to disappoint her. Xia Xiange just smiled slightly, without revealing any emotion. This woman was always good at hiding her feelings.