"What do you think, is there anything real left in this world?"
Xuan Yan's expression twisted for a moment.
After being suppressed for hundreds of thousands of years, he finally had the chance to speak of the injustice he'd suffered back then. His resentment surged uncontrollably, and he could no longer hold it back.
Even after all these years, he still couldn't let it go. The person he trusted most had dealt him a fatal blow, shattering his belief and destroying his Dao heart. He didn't die, but he'd turned into a monster consumed by inner demons.
Yet even so, he refused to give up. Bit by bit, he seized control of this body and regained his consciousness. Only he knew the pain of that long struggle.
Xuan Yan's emotions roiled for a long time before settling, and Song Wanníng's gaze also turned quiet.
She could feel everything he'd felt, because she'd experienced it once too. The only difference was that she'd been lucky enough to be reborn. But Xuan Yan wasn't so lucky. Trapped here for hundreds of thousands of years, it was no wonder his mind had gone twisted.
"I know what happened to you was tragic," she said softly, "but what's that got to do with the world? Why do you want to destroy it?"
Song Wanníng pressed her lips together, disapproval flashing in her eyes. If he wanted revenge, shouldn't his enemies be those from his sect?
"Heh…"
Xuan Yan let out a low, eerie laugh. "What's it got to do with the world? Those people committed countless crimes! They deserved hell, they deserved to die!
But what happened? Every single one of them lived well, better than ever!
Only me! Only I was buried here, with no chance to ever rise again!" His eyes went wild, burning with hatred whenever he mentioned the world.
"The Heavenly Dao is merciless, so it should be destroyed! Everything should be destroyed!"
Why do good people die young while the wicked live for thousands of years?
Why?!
His hatred spread toward the Heavenly Dao itself, and from that moment, vengeance became the only thing that kept him alive. Without that hatred, his mind would've shattered long ago, leaving only a mindless demon wandering the tomb.
"I know, you're working for the Heavenly Dao, aren't you?"
Xuan Yan suddenly spoke, his murky eyes flashing bright. The sudden gleam made Song Wanníng's heart skip.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Her tone was calm, her face unreadable.
But Xuan Yan only sneered. "Don't think I'm that stupid. I've been watching your actions for a long time. If you weren't working for the Heavenly Dao, how could you advance so fast?"
Even the most gifted geniuses couldn't possibly rise at that pace.
Song Wanníng's cultivation speed was unnatural, and paired with her mysterious past, it was enough for him to make a bold guess. He'd even used prophecy to lure her here.
So no matter what she said, he wouldn't believe a word.
Seeing that he'd already seen through her, Song Wanníng stopped pretending.
"You're right," she said. "I do serve the Heavenly Dao. But since you already know that, then you should also understand that fighting against it is pointless."
She looked at him with genuine pity. This monster had once been a man, a victim. She didn't want to see him fall completely into ruin. If he'd managed to break free of the demon's grasp and regain his mind, it meant his will was incredibly strong. Someone like that shouldn't have to end up this way.
But she couldn't judge what happened in the past. All she could do was try to make him turn back.
"Your enemies are already gone," she said. "Some are dead, some have ascended. Even if you keep fighting the Heavenly Dao, nothing will change.
Heaven gave you another chance to regain your mind, so instead of wasting it, why not rewrite your fate? You're not like those mindless monsters."
Song Wanníng didn't know everything about him, but she didn't want things to spiral out of control.
Xuan Yan, however, laughed again, bitterly.
"You're right, they've all ascended. Those culprits have probably become Xiānzūn by now!
And me? I'm still trapped here, rotting in the dark, clinging to life like a rat. Do you have any idea how that feels?
My only pleasure is creating those stone puppets…"
It had been hundreds of thousands of years, not just a few. He'd been trapped here that long, pitifully alone. How could he not go insane?
"You don't understand," he said coldly, eyes full of mockery. "That's why it's easy for you to talk."
Song Wanníng fell silent. He wasn't wrong. She hadn't lived through it. She couldn't truly understand. But even so, she couldn't let him destroy the world. For herself, for the Song family, she couldn't allow it.
When she didn't reply, Xuan Yan spoke again. "So, what's your decision? Are you really going to keep serving that heartless Heavenly Dao? It won't end well for you."
He'd taken an interest in her talent, or else he wouldn't have wasted so many words.
"Our paths are different," she said coldly. "I choose nothing."
Her brows drew together, and her sword flashed out of its sheath, gleaming with sharp light.
"Xuan Yan, the two realms are destined to merge. You can't stop me."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Xuan Yan smiled faintly, and the demonic energy around him began to surge again.
"Since you've made your choice, don't blame me for being ruthless."
He'd planned to leave her a way out, but that idea was gone now.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Song Wanníng said with a smirk. "You still don't know who'll win."
She lunged toward him, sword raised.
The little ones who'd been silent by her side suddenly moved too, charging straight at Xuan Yan.
"Fools."
His pupils darkened as demonic energy swallowed them whole. His aura climbed rapidly, growing heavier by the second. His body began to stretch upward until he towered over everything like a giant.
And Song Wanníng?
Her cultivation was sealed. All she had left was raw strength. What good would that do?
Xuan Yan straightened his massive form and lifted his foot, ready to crush her beneath it.
The pressure alone was suffocating, like facing a beast from primordial times. Song Wanníng's gaze sharpened. She stepped onto Yi'er beneath her feet and soared upward.
Even though he was restricted by the lower realm's rules, Xuan Yan's strength far surpassed the Mahayana stage. And she knew nothing about his abilities, so she had to fight blind, barely able to hold her own. Her only choice was to feign weakness and wait for the right moment to strike back.
With that thought, she met his descending foot head-on.
A deafening explosion followed.
The clash sent a wave of light across the chamber, and Song Wanníng was thrown back violently, slamming into the wall hard enough to leave a human-shaped crater.
Her body was half-buried in the stone.