When Long Yin saw that his reaction to meeting him was so big, he suddenly laughed unscrupulously and teased: “Seeing you so rilled up would only get me more excited.”
Feng Qingyun never thought that he would encounter his former enemy at the end of the world, in a place where even mountains and rivers ceased to exist. For a moment, he even thought it was an illusion. But the pain he felt coming from the wounds on his abdomen reminded him that everything was real. Seeing Long Yin materialize out of thin air in such a shocking manner almost made him believe that it was all the demon clan’s conspiracy. He even planned to draw his sword, but the next moment, his whole person was stunned to see the man’s appearance…
…In the darkness, the Demon Lord only had one arm left, weakly holding his sword. Under the faint lights of the cave, the demon that the entire cultivation world feared simply looked like a handsome and disheveled man. There were no three heads and six arms, nor blue fangs coming out of his mouth. If anything, as long as one was able to ignore the raging power surging around him, he looked more like a poor and unruly emperor than a demon.
However, no matter how handsome his face or how awe-inspiring and out of control his power was at the moment, it couldn’t hide the reality of his wounded body. The cloth that surrounded his missing arm was soaked in blood, and even the stone wall behind him was mottled with dried crimson.
It was no exaggeration to say that he looked embarrassed. Since Feng Qingyun first met him, he had never seen him look like that… So much so that when he laid eyes on that unexpected scene, he felt an absurd sense of loss.
However, more absurd things were yet to come.
After Feng Qingyun came back to his senses, he almost subconsciously extended his divine consciousness to check Long Yin’s situation, and…
… He actually felt boundless vitality, but that vitality was mixed with the breath of the abyss behind him.
Feng Qingyun was stunned all of a sudden.
It was painfully obvious. The strongest person in the cultivation world, the Demon Lord Long Yin, was barely a few breaths away from death, his entire consciousness already halfway gone. And the reason he was still hanging on was simply to support the collapse of the sky. Just like that, the life of the entire world fell on the shoulders of a demon. The huge absurdity of the situation suddenly overwhelmed Feng Qingyun, so much so that he forgot to sneer for a moment, just as if he had expected to join him at the end of the road.
And despite being that close to death, Long Yin looked like a normal person. Seeing Feng Qingyun’s stunned silence, he even had enough strength to laugh at him: “Why is your temper better than in the past today? Why, your good brother finally ran away with someone else?”
As soon as those words were said, Feng Qingyun suddenly remembered his last meeting with Mu Hanyang before the end of the world. At that time, the two had a big quarrel and broke up unhappily, and the direct cause of everything was precisely… The man in front of him.
No one expected that what Mu Hanyang was most afraid of would actually come true to some extent.
There was an indescribable subtlety in Feng Qingyun’s heart, but in front of that insufferable man, he still clung to his sword and collected his thoughts a little. Pursing his lips, he finally asked coldly: “Where is this?”
“In the back mountain of your own house, and yet you come to ask me?” Long Yin raised his eyebrows and said.
Feng Qingyun sneered: “I know that this is part of Xiān Gōng Sect… But what are you doing in the back mountain of my house?”
The master of the renowned Xiān Gōng Sect spoke to the Demon Lord in such a tone, as if he was not an enemy, but an old friend who was familiar enough to ignore all etiquette…
…And yet, neither of the two people who were unusually familiar with each other felt there was anything wrong with the way they interacted.
Long Yin answered righteously: “This land belongs to the world. I can come if I want to come, and I can go if I want to go. What can you do to me?”
Feng Qingyun was angry and subconsciously wanted to draw his sword, but after seeing the current situation that person was in, his heart suddenly became numb. In the past, he was domineering and defeated everyone in his path, but now he has become like that, only to resist the collapse of the sky. In the end, Feng Qingyun took a deep breath and forced his sword back. He frowned and looked at that strange place as if to divert his attention, but found that everything around him was just a simple, ordinary cave.
After a long time, he finally retracted his divine consciousness, then turned his head and asked: “…Long Yin, what on earth are you doing here?!”
Long Yin seemed to like seeing that angry look on his face. Hearing him call his name, he smiled and casually inserted his sword to the side. He then propped his head with his remaining arm and said leisurely: “You don’t know? I’m obviously waiting to ascend.”
Feng Qingyun’s heart jumped suddenly. “The Heavenly Dao has been silent for three thousand years. What are you talking about–”
“You have already felt its calling.” Long Yin interrupted. “Otherwise, don’t tell me you’re actually here for me?”
Feng Qingyun’s breath staggered for a second: “…What do you mean?”
“The Heavenly Dao has fifty paths, but the sky only shows forty-nine…” The Demon Lord said. “Just find the missing one[mfn]Oh god, translating this killed my poor, underdeveloped brain. So what he’s saying is: 大道五十，天衍四九, which maybe translates to “the road is fifty, the sky is four and nine, and the people escape one”. I don’t know, it seems to be an old Taoistic principle that says: “The world has fifty rules in total, and fifty represents perfection. However, the world as we see it only shows us forty-nine, so it’s up to humans to find the missing one and attain the perfect state. I think this might be what all cultivator novels mean when they talk about “finding the Dao”, and “seeing the Heavenly Way”. They cultivate in order to look for that single path that would lead them to perfection, to see the world as it truly is, and that path is different for everyone, as there are multiple cultivation methods that could potentially lead to enlightenment. As soon as you find the right one for you, you can ascend to an upper realm or something. Maybe? I don’t know, please don’t throw stones at me if I translated it wrong :)[/mfn].”
However, Feng Qingyun couldn’t swallow a single bit of that nonsense. After hearing his words and thinking for a while, an indescribable guess suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart, and his face became extremely ugly. He immediately put away his sword, walked to Long Yin and grabbed his blood-soaked clothes, asking with gritted teeth: “Ascending… Do you need the whole world to perish for you to succeed?!”
Long Yin paused, looking as if he didn’t expect his thoughts to go in that direction. Then he couldn’t help but laugh cheerfully, acting like he just heard something ridiculous.
However, Feng Qingyun couldn’t help but frown at his unexpected amusement.
“You’re really… I’m not your useless brother,” Long Yin gently grabbed the hand that was holding his collar and continued: “My way doesn’t need anyone’s help.”
There was a hint of weakness in his tone, but his unruly words still betrayed his arrogant nature. Feng Qingyun was stunned for a moment, to the point he even managed to ignore the soft touch on his hand. “What on earth do you mean?” He faintly asked.
However, Long Yin ignored his question. In the faint light, the man looked at him like a bird of prey, with unblinking eyes that belonged to a large beast with subtle malice. And as a spiritual plant, the resistance engraved in his nature made Feng Qingyun shudder inexplicably.
“It means… My ascension method is far away in the sky but close in front of me.” Long Yin smiled and continued. “Little Palace Master, as long as you die, ascending is a sure deal for me.”
Feng Qingyun failed to react for two seconds before he realized what the man was talking about. Then his eyebrows jumped, and he immediately shook off that one remaining arm, saying: “…What nonsense are you even talking about?!”
In fact, Feng Qingyun was so anxious that he couldn’t wait to give him a good stabbing. However, he was not angry because Long Yin randomly said he wanted his life.
That man’s vitality was being depleted as they spoke. He was obviously trying to resist the collapse of the sky but… It was simply ridiculous that the Righteous Path still needed the sacrifice of the Demon Lord to survive!
And it was also because of that that he patiently listened to Long Yin’s nonsense.
He was plenty familiar with his character, and he knew that his words were not to be trusted. After all, the Demon Lord hadn’t changed for a day in the past hundred years, so why would his last day on earth be any different?!
But Long Yin simply raised his eyebrows, and his expression didn’t look like a joke.
After a short period of absurdity, Feng Qingyun’s heart jumped violently, and then a more absurd and incredible idea emerged. Previously, he had been extremely sure that all of Mu Hanyang’s fears were in vain. After all, he was the only one in the entire world who knew the Demon Lord’s secret: Long Yin cultivated the Ruthless Path, a cultivation method that disappeared long before the death of the Heavenly Dao.
From time immemorial to the present, the Ruthless Path offered just one road to ascension: Cutting off one’s mortal attachments.
These attachments, or “fates,” did not only refer to romantic love as most believed but also included the bonds of kinship and friendship. However, while the latter was difficult to fully sever, love was a simpler fate to cultivate and, ironically, easier to cut off.
After all, relationships of gratitude or familial affection were rooted in a balance of give and take, and they could breed roots that would invite disaster when broken. Because of that, those who practice the Ruthless Path focused almost exclusively on cutting ties of romantic love, as it was the most straightforward to sever and had the least collateral cost.
There were countless examples of practitioners who succeeded in severing love, and among those who walked that path, there were two distinct approaches.
The first one involved a peaceful sort of severance, when two people simply parted ways on good terms, mutually agreeing to let go of their bond. And once that fate was severed, neither person had any further connection to the other.
The second one, however, spoke of a violent break when one cultivator decisively severed the bond, often with cruelty. In that case, the abandoned partner might even transform into a heart demon, following them through their ascension and remaining with them until the end of times.
Regardless of the approach, one condition must always be met: the target of the severance must be someone the cultivator was genuinely bonded to. A Dao companion with whom they shared a true and mutual connection.
In short, both sincerity and a rightful fate were indispensable for walking the Ruthless Path.
As for Feng Qingyun, his devotion to Mu Hanyang had lasted for more than 500 years, a well-known fact in the cultivation world. What’s more, their union as Dao companions was consecrated by heaven and earth and witnessed by the entire realm. There was no need to question the sincerity of his feelings.
Furthermore, the Ruthless Path required practitioners to sever their mortal attachments at the very start of their cultivation, not when they were ready to ascend. And so, for someone like Long Yin to claim that his ascension depended on Feng Qingyun was not only absurd, but it also exposed the fact that he was speaking nonsense, likely out of desperation or malice.
Thus, Feng Qingyun concluded that no matter how far the demon excelled in his cultivation, they couldn’t have possibly gotten involved since such a long time ago. Long Yin’s claims were nothing more than dying mockery, an attempt to toy with him in his final moments.
Feng Qingyun thought of everything, and a cold look appeared in his eyes. “If you don’t want to say it, just don’t. Do you find pleasure in making fun of me?” He asked.
“It’s obvious that I’m only speaking the truth, so true that you can’t even hear a trace of joking.” The demon shrugged his shoulders, which didn’t look quite normal with his missing arm and all. “As for the pleasure,” he continued, “Who made the Lord of Xiān Gōng Sect have a face that makes people want to bully him for fun?”
Feng Qingyun looked truly unkind, standing in the dark and watching the demon condescendingly for three seconds. Then suddenly, his sword came out of its sheath. The slightly cool and sharp blade came almost less than half an inch away from Long Yin’s neck when…
…He stuck it into the stone wall behind him and said in a cold voice: “I’ll ask you again, why are you here?”
In fact, that angry but lively expression was reserved for the man in front of him. But what he didn’t know was that his aggrieved look was like a piece of shiny jade, both gorgeous and amazing, to the point it had the complete opposite effect most of the time.
“It’s all for the sake of ascending.” Long Yin looked at him for three seconds, and then suddenly sneered: “It wouldn’t be because I care so much about the world that I want to sacrifice myself to save it, right?” After saying that and before Feng Qingyun could react, Long Yin pulled the distance between them closer without warning. Feng Qingyun’s pupils shrank, but he saw that the man was simply looking at him with eyes full of aggression. “If that were the case…” A subtle breath was sprayed on Feng Qingyun’s collarbone, and there was undisguised mockery and malice hidden in it. “Then what should you do with the reputation of the Righteous Path, and especially the face of that good brother of yours?”
Those words suddenly poked Feng Qingyun in the heart, and a trace of cracking appeared on his cold expression. He held the hilt of his sword and pushed it down, and blood appeared almost instantly on Long Yin’s neck.
However, the more he reacted like that, the more interested Long Yin seemed to be. “You and I are going to die here together.” He said carelessly. “Since you’ve already accompanied me both in life and death, Little Palace Master, don’t be so fierce.” As he said that, he raised his hand and pressed it on the blade of the sword. With a gentle push, the sword was pushed back, but his fingertips were frozen into frost by it.
However, he didn’t care. He seemed to be sure that Feng Qingyun would not be able to turn a blind eye to his words…
…And more than anything, he was certain that Feng Qingyun would accompany him to die for the sake of those who only knew how to look down on him.
As for Feng Qingyun, he was so angry that his soul almost left his body.
But something in Long Yin’s eyes touched him. After three seconds of stagnation, he really withdrew his sword without saying a word and went to the other side of the cave. Sitting down with a cold face, he decided that even if he were to die in there, he would do it as far away from that demon as possible.
However, when he suddenly released all his spiritual power to try and delay the inevitable end, his consciousness still intimately merged with Long Yin’s, filling the entire cave. And just like that, the move he had just made suddenly lost its practical meaning. No matter how far away he sat, it only looked like he was sulking…
…And when Long Yin saw it, he immediately showed a playful smile. Before his death, the demon managed to sneer with interest and say: “Speaking of which… I’m quite curious about what it feels like to be hanged on a crooked tree[mfn]I think it means to put all of your eggs in a particularly bad basket :))[/mfn], Little Palace Master.”
Feng Qingyun ignored him with a cold face. However, the colder his face was, the easier it was to attract the attention of the Demon Lord, a fact that never changed in the past three hundred years.
“Little Palace Master, I’m afraid your man is now confiding in that little friend of his, vowing to see you again in the next life.” Long Yin said carelessly and jokingly. “And you… You’ve been chasing after him for so many centuries, but in the end, you can only sit here with me and wait for death. How do you feel?”
Those annoying words kept chattering in his ears. In theory, Feng Qingyun should fight back, and no matter how bad the situation was, he should at least make the bastard shut up.
But Feng Qingyun was suspiciously silent…
…Because he could hear the weakness in his voice.
Every hero had a prime, only to inevitably fall in his twilight years. The Demon Lord failed to die at the hands of his archenemy, or even at the hands of any righteous cultivator.
Instead, he was about to die for the good of the common people.
…How utterly ridiculous.
Feelings that were inexplicably complicated climbed into Feng Qingyun’s heart, leaving a strange taste in his mouth. It was neither painful nor sour, just a little bit regretful. The kind of regret of finally meeting a worthy opponent, but only for a few seconds before witnessing him die in front of your very eyes.
And yet, Long Yin seemed to want to channel all of his remaining vitality into angering him. “I heard that your good brother left the mountain with his followers as soon as you had a simple disagreement…Tsk, won’t you become the eternal regret in his heart from now on? How pitiful.”
Before Feng Qingyun’s good feelings for the wounded man could even begin to manifest, the subtle compassion in his heart was soon occupied by anger.
Because Long Yin’s words followed closely, as he held his chin and smiled. “So, are you considering remarrying, Little Palace Lord?” He asked.
“Even a secret marriage is okay with me.”
……………………..
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![The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_2021-09-11_143139.png "The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao")
