PID Chapter 122

(5/5) Extra Update ~

---

As Qiuqiu and Xiao Mo disappeared simultaneously, Chu Jinglan stood his ground without dodging. Though he appeared to be within reach, neither Su Baimo nor Fenxiu could immediately touch him.

 

A flood of illusions surged forth, instantly separating Chu Jinglan’s figure from their sight.

 

Su Baimo summoned his contract beast—a ninth-tier Soul-Eating Python—which he had successfully contracted during its molting phase using information left behind by the old Heaven’s Will.

 

Illusions that lacked substance or intent were nothing more than hollow facades. But Xiao Mo’s illusions were far from such inferior creations.

 

As Su Baimo and Fenxiu charged forward, the scenery before Su Baimo shifted suddenly. He saw himself being expelled from Lingxiao Sect—the moment his disgrace was laid bare.

 

Earlier, Xiao Mo had carefully observed Su Baimo’s reactions and spiritual fluctuations during their conversation. This allowed him to pinpoint Su Baimo’s weaknesses.

 

For cultivators skilled in psychological tactics, those words weren’t wasted—they were weapons.

 

Fenxiu had hoped to exploit Xiao Mo’s weaknesses but failed due to targeting the wrong direction. Meanwhile, Su Baimo’s past false identities turned out to be an unexpected vulnerability.

 

As Su Baimo absorbed the celestial demon blood from his mark, he gritted his teeth and forced himself through the illusions—pretending not to see them.

 

But the images layered upon one another. Passing through one scene only led to another.

 

After walking through the hall where he had been publicly condemned by countless people, Su Baimo found himself facing the memory of his humiliating descent down the mountain.

 

At that time, he had been overwhelmed with fear—stumbling and staggering—completely unaware of how others perceived him. Now, through Xiao Mo’s illusion, he saw himself from an outsider’s perspective.

 

…Like a stray dog. Ridiculous. Pitiful.

 

Unbridled rage struck Su Baimo’s mind like a hammer. Even a momentary distraction in a battle between experts could prove fatal.

 

A cold sword pierced through Su Baimo’s illusory form and aimed directly at his real body.

 

Fenxiu roared: “Su Baimo!”

 

The Soul-Eating Python loyally moved to protect its master. However, Qiuqiu charged forward at lightning speed—its fiery wings colliding with the python’s tough scales and knocking it aside. Su Baimo snapped back to reality and tried to control the blood puppet but was still half a step too slow.

 

Chu Jinglan’s sword severed the blood puppet’s arm and left a deep, bone-revealing wound on Su Baimo’s shoulder.

 

The massive arm of the blood puppet fell to the ground, shaking the surrounding rocks. However, writhing, snake-like blood-red vines sprouted from the severed limb, reconnecting the massive arm to the puppet’s body.

 

Yet, the blood that had spilled onto the ground turned black in an instant and could no longer be used by the blood puppet.

 

Su Baimo immediately retreated several meters, shrouding himself in mist to conceal his form. Fenxiu, also affected by Chu Jinglan’s sword energy, glanced at Su Baimo with disdain. “Can’t stabilize your spiritual consciousness?”

 

“Kill that Divided Spirit cultivator first!” Su Baimo growled through gritted teeth. “He’s a huge problem!”

 

Fenxiu sensed Su Baimo’s spiritual energy growing increasingly unstable and agitated, and he sneered inwardly.

 

The blood contracts and control techniques Fenxiu had placed weren’t limited to Su Baimo alone. However, it was Su Baimo who had used his exceptional concealment skills to rescue Fenxiu—only to drag them both into an even more troublesome situation.

 

Su Baimo was not a reliable partner. Even with his cultivation boosted, his instinctive tendency to avoid direct confrontation made him inherently weak. In critical moments, this cowardice could be fatal. Fenxiu quickly calculated his chances of surviving in the secret realm and escaping Yaori Sect if he abandoned Su Baimo here—

 

Not high.

 

What a nuisance.

 

Xiao Mo’s flute melody lingered in the air as the illusion realm shifted. The sun and moon moved across the sky, casting ever-changing light and shadows. In the darkness of the illusion, Fenxiu saw himself with his shoulder blades pierced through, kneeling on the ground and imprisoned in a lightless abyss.

 

But Fenxiu merely chuckled coldly. A few years ago, such a vision might have affected him—but not now. His greatest strength was that he was far more unhinged than most people.

 

A madman fears nothing.

 

Fenxiu’s cultivation suddenly surged again as he gripped the blade Su Baimo had given him and charged toward the chained version of himself within the illusion. Su Baimo realized too late that his spiritual energy was being rapidly drained—siphoned away by Fenxiu.

 

The control technique had this effect?! Caught off guard, Su Baimo quickly concealed his presence again. If nothing else, his ability to hide in dangerous situations was indeed top-notch.

 

Meanwhile, Fenxiu tore through his own illusion without hesitation, forcing Xiao Mo’s figure out into the open.

 

“You think you’re the only ones who can manipulate environments?” Fenxiu laughed maniacally as he continued to drain Su Baimo’s spiritual energy while burning his own blood. Black demonic energy surged skyward like a storm, shaking the entire illusion realm to its core. Sensing imminent danger, Xiao Mo dodged to the side just as an invisible blade slashed through the ground where he had just been standing. The annihilating black edge shattered the entire illusion realm into pieces.

 

With a deafening roar and violent tremors, light from both sun and moon disappeared. When the illusion collapsed, it didn’t reveal the secret realm but instead a blood-red void-like space.

 

Xiao Mo could sense Chu Jinglan nearby but realized he had clearly been pulled into another dimension. Spreading out his spiritual consciousness, Xiao Mo found himself blocked on all sides by invisible walls that hindered his exploration.

 

From within the dim area ahead of him, footsteps echoed as someone approached.

 

When Fenxiu saw Xiao Mo emerge instead of Chu Jinglan, his expression darkened with displeasure. “Why is it you? I clearly intended to drag Chu Jinglan in.”

 

Burning celestial demon blood and having absorbed part of Su Baimo’s spiritual energy, Fenxiu had forcibly elevated his cultivation to peak Great Perfection stage. After a century without power, regaining such strength—even temporarily—was enough for him to dismiss Xiao Mo entirely as a threat.

 

That meant Chu Jinglan was outside dealing with Su Baimo.

 

Xiao Mo raised his flute to his lips and said calmly: “I’m enough to deal with you.”

 

“You?” Fenxiu sneered mockingly. “Just you?”

 

Just as Fenxiu finished speaking, his pitch-black blade seemed to devour the very space around it, appearing before Xiao Mo in the blink of an eye.

 

Xiao Mo’s pupils contracted sharply. He immediately condensed his jade flute into a sword to block the attack, but the force of the strike still sent him flying several meters back. He heard the distinct sound of his wrist bone fracturing.

 

Fenxiu let out a surprised sound.

 

He had assumed that even if this strike didn’t kill Xiao Mo, it would at least consume another of his protective marks. Yet, to his surprise, Xiao Mo managed to block it.

 

The pain in Xiao Mo’s bones was excruciating, but he showed no reaction on his face. Calmly, he twisted his dislocated wrist back into place and used spiritual energy to temporarily mend the fractured bone so it wouldn’t hinder his movements.

 

There was no fear or retreat in Xiao Mo’s eyes; instead, they glimmered with a peculiar light—one he didn’t even realize was there himself.

 

Fenxiu’s attacks only took moments, but with his blood ignition technique, he had mere minutes left before burning out. Xiao Mo, however, wasn’t just thinking about surviving those few minutes.

 

The system had once told him that the innate talent of his current body was comparable to Chu Jinglan’s. If Chu Jinglan could kill across cultivation levels, then… so could he.

 

Xiao Mo still had three protective marks left. Unlike the one he had activated earlier to summon Chu Jinglan, these marks couldn’t teleport him over. However, each one could withstand three fatal attacks from a peak Great Perfection cultivator.

 

He also had plenty of magical artifacts and pills at his disposal. Killing a peak Great Perfection cultivator as an early Great Perfection cultivator wasn’t impossible.

 

With Qiuqiu trapped outside this space, Xiao Mo opened his spirit pet pouch and released Xiao Cai.

 

“Xiao Cai, grant me your blessing.”

 

The Fortune Spirit Butterfly fluttered its wings gracefully, surrounding Xiao Mo with beautiful spiritual light. As a contracted Fortune Spirit Butterfly, Xiao Cai provided an even greater enhancement to its master. Xiao Mo immediately felt lighter and stronger.

 

With a wave of his hand, Xiao Mo summoned dozens of Heaven-tier magical artifacts and advanced directly toward Fenxiu without taking a single step back.

 

Fenxiu grinned wickedly. “You’ve got guts.”

 

He loved watching people with unyielding spirits crumble in terror before their deaths.

 

Tearing away their righteous facades—seeing their fear only made it more satisfying for him!

 

Fenxiu initially thought killing this pill-enhanced cultivator would take no more than an instant. But as strike after strike landed heavily, not only did this “ant” refuse to be crushed—it began biting back at him instead.

 

The grin on Fenxiu’s face gradually faded.

 

…Why isn’t he dead yet?

 

Why isn’t he dead?!

 

What should have been mere moments stretched into an eternity.

 

At three minutes, Fenxiu shattered one of Xiao Mo’s protective marks. In response, Xiao Mo used the blood he coughed up to form an array that momentarily restrained Fenxiu and detonated two Heaven-tier magical artifacts—blowing off one of Fenxiu’s arms.

 

At five minutes, Xiao Mo’s melody finally began disrupting Fenxiu’s sea of consciousness. Another protective mark was broken in the process. Blood poured from Fenxiu’s seven orifices as his mind grew muddled and overwhelmed by unbearable pain.

 

By seven minutes, Xiao Mo still had one protective mark left that could withstand another attack. But Fenxiu managed to grab him by the neck—his grip tightening mercilessly.

 

Both Xiao Mo and Fenxiu were drenched in blood. Xiao Cai, unable to withstand a Great Perfection cultivator, had still managed to block two attacks for Xiao Mo before fainting in a corner.

 

Fenxiu’s vision blurred as he used every ounce of strength to crush Xiao Mo’s neck. The golden light of the protective mark flickered desperately. If this mark shattered and Fenxiu didn’t stop, he could kill Xiao Mo.

 

But just as Fenxiu tightened his grip further… the light of Xiao Mo’s protective mark began to dim.

 

The protective mark hadn’t been broken.

 

Fenxiu’s blood ignition technique had finally reached its limit, and his power began to rapidly decline. His entire body trembled, and no matter how much force he exerted, his fingers could no longer strangle Xiao Mo.

 

The blood-red space Fenxiu had created started fracturing from the ceiling, shattering like a spiderweb into pieces—like a broken mirror scattering into countless stars.

 

Xiao Mo raised his hand and sent sword energy straight into Fenxiu’s chest.

 

The pills boosting Xiao Mo’s cultivation began to wear off, causing his aura to recede from Great Perfection stage. But what fell first was Fenxiu’s hand.

 

Xiao Mo’s lips, stained bright red with blood, looked fragile yet stunningly beautiful. He smiled brilliantly: “…I won.”

 

Fenxiu had always thought that if he died, it would be at Chu Jinglan’s hands. He tried to move his lips but couldn’t utter a single syllable.

 

Victory or defeat—he had lost. Dying at the hands of someone he hadn’t even considered worthy before… there was nothing left to say.

 

The blood-red space was torn open from the outside by Chu Jinglan.

 

Fenxiu’s cultivation burned out completely. The moment sword energy pierced his heart, he died instantly, unable to sustain even the smallest trace of life force.

 

His corpse fell to the ground as Xiao Mo staggered slightly—but he didn’t collapse onto the floor.

 

Chu Jinglan caught him from behind.

 

He placed a pill into Xiao Mo’s mouth. Xiao Mo gasped sharply for air, his chest and lungs aching fiercely. Chu Jinglan wiped the blood from the corner of Xiao Mo’s lips with his fingers. The first thing Xiao Mo said was: “…I wasn’t reckless.”

 

Indeed, Xiao Mo hadn’t used up all his life-saving techniques—he hadn’t gambled with his life recklessly.

 

As he relaxed, his vision temporarily blurred. Unable to discern Chu Jinglan’s expression clearly, Xiao Mo reached out to touch Chu Jinglan’s face—but Chu Jinglan caught his hand midway.

 

Xiao Mo heard Chu Jinglan sigh softly.

 

His heart tightened immediately, and he tried to open his eyes wide to see better. But Chu Jinglan leaned closer and kissed the corner of his eye gently.

 

Xiao Mo was forced to close his eyes again.

 

“I trust you,” Chu Jinglan said quietly.

 

Xiao Mo’s tense heart finally eased completely.

 

…What was with all that buildup before speaking? He scared me half to death.

 

Still feeling reassured, Xiao Mo raised his hand again to touch Chu Jinglan’s face. Once his vision cleared, he used his spirit pet pouch to retrieve Xiao Cai before looking at Fenxiu’s lifeless body—and then at Su Baimo, who was barely clinging to life.

 

Su Baimo lay on the ground with blood and tears mingling on his face. Just moments ago, he had been crying and begging Chu Jinglan not to kill him.

 

He had foolishly believed that being at peak Great Perfection stage in the secret realm gave him a chance to kill Chu Jinglan.

 

Reality proved otherwise—he never had a chance.

 

Lying there helplessly, Su Baimo could feel the life draining rapidly from his body. Whether it was due to the gaping wounds or Fenxiu’s death didn’t matter—he was powerless either way.

 

Su Baimo’s pleas were cut short the moment Chu Jinglan’s sword fell. Now, in his final moments, he used the last of his strength to cry out hoarsely, though his words came fragmented and broken to those listening: “I was supposed to be… above everyone—Chu Jinglan! Why couldn’t you… help me like you did when we were young?!”

 

If Chu Jinglan had helped him once, why couldn’t he help him for a lifetime? Why did he have to stand in his way, kill the Heaven’s Will that had protected him? It was all Chu Jinglan’s fault—and all those people like him—they were all to blame!

 

He was the most pitiful person. Su Baimo’s vision blurred as tears and darkness slowly consumed him. He was unwilling to accept this fate. All he wanted was for everyone to protect and cherish him, to let him live comfortably and enjoy life. As long as people treated him well, he could care about them too—he could smile at them. What had he done wrong?

 

“I didn’t… do anything wrong… it’s all you… all of you…”

 

Chu Jinglan carried Xiao Mo in his arms. Xiao Mo leaned against Chu Jinglan’s chest and noticed Su Baimo’s unfocused eyes desperately chasing after their retreating figures.

 

It was filled with resentment and unwillingness.

 

“Even now, you still blame everything on others.” Xiao Mo lowered his gaze, looking coldly at Su Baimo. “Do you remember? In Mu City of the lower realm, Chu Jinglan told you—your path is your own choice, and you should walk it like a human.”

 

Xiao Mo saw a flicker of confusion appear in Su Baimo’s venomous eyes.

 

…Those words were probably long forgotten.

 

A person who never believed they were wrong wouldn’t suddenly repent in their final moments. But because of Xiao Mo’s words, Su Baimo’s thoughts weakly followed along, making one last attempt at reflection.

 

Mu City of the lower realm… what kind of scenery did it have?

 

…He couldn’t remember.

 

Su Baimo stared blankly ahead until his pupils turned gray and lifeless, and his final breath stopped.

 

Chu Jinglan carried Xiao Mo past Su Baimo’s lifeless body.

 

Xiao Mo withdrew his gaze.

 

Some people take one wrong step and continue down that path until there is no turning back. Su Baimo wasn’t without people who cared for him in the past.

 

Dai Zisheng, who once considered him a benefactor, and other fellow disciples he encountered later—all treated him well. But it was Su Baimo’s insatiable greed that led to his downfall—a consequence of his own actions.

 

In this life, Chu Jinglan hadn’t originally cared about Su Baimo. But Su Baimo chose to become a demon cultivator, using innocent blood for sacrificial rituals. Then, upon seeing Xiao Mo with a Du-E Sect identity token in the secret realm, he even tried to place a blood contract on him.

 

For both public justice and personal reasons, Xianzun Chu could not let him go.

 

Chu Jinglan carried Xiao Mo out of Crimson Cliff. Clear streams flowed gently beneath their feet, babbling cheerfully as they danced over rocks—a carefree melody echoing through the air.

 

Far from the battlefield and free from the stench of bloodshed, everything from before seemed to fade away like smoke. The scenery before them was perfect.

 

Just as they had walked out of Mu City in the lower realm together before, Xiao Mo and Chu Jinglan continued walking their own paths—and each other’s paths.

 

Leaning against Chu Jinglan’s chest, Xiao Mo suddenly remembered something after mentioning Mu City earlier.

 

In the cultivation world, Dao companion ceremonies didn’t involve traditional wedding rituals like bowing to heaven and earth. But still—it seemed appropriate to inform one’s closest family members about it.

 

“Chu Jinglan, before the ceremony, let’s make a trip to the lower realm,” Xiao Mo suggested.

 

Chu Jinglan paused mid-step, their thoughts perfectly aligned. He already knew what Xiao Mo wanted to say.

 

“I had the same thought,” Chu Jinglan replied.

 

He wanted to visit his mother’s grave and say something—

 

“Mm,” Xiao Mo said from within his arms, his eyes curving into a soft smile. “Let’s go tell your mother that we’re becoming Dao companions.”

 

To say: Mother, the one I’ve been waiting for has returned. From now on, we will never be apart again.

 

---