They were bound by the life-force curse, so at the very least, he had to break it.
As Yu Zaixi fell completely into the illusion, this was his only remaining thought. He was utterly bewildered and desperate for answers, but he could no longer withstand the overwhelming exhaustion sweeping over him.
After Yu Zaixi slipped into a coma, his body remained under the control of the illusion. His eyes were tightly shut, yet his hands moved with lethal grace, wielding the Wuxiang sword in a flurry of strikes.
In the pitch-black night, Jiang Yan waved his hand dismissively, easily reducing the demon behind him to dust. The suppressive power of a Mahayana-stage cultivator was terrifying; he did not even need to use a real technique.
There was another person hiding in the darkness, but Jiang Yan had no time for them. He frowned, staring at the man in front of him who was currently caught in a delirium. He had no idea what Yu Zaixi was encountering in his illusion, but the man’s expression grew increasingly grim, and every move he made carried the force of world-shattering destruction. Just as Jiang Yan was about to use a method that would not hurt Yu Zaixi to wake him, the latter suddenly snapped his eyes open. He glared at Jiang Yan, his pupils dilating as he spoke through gritted teeth, every word dripping with profound hatred: “You want to kill me? By what right do you kill me?”
In that moment, the hatred rising from the depths of his heart overpowered the illusion, forcibly waking Yu Zaixi. His eyes were bloodshot. The emotions he had suppressed for days finally erupted. The Wuxiang sword instantly turned a dark, bruised red. As it swung, it carried the most feared and terrifying thing in the surrounding darkness: the Void.
Everything struck by the Void would vanish into thin air, leaving no trace behind. It was a calamity left over from the chaos of the primordial era, accessible to anyone who burned their own soul as a sacrifice.
Jiang Yan was stunned. He only reacted when the Wuxiang sword was right before him, forcing his own sword, Wushang, to rise and defend automatically. As the two blades collided, Wushang emitted a groan of unbearable strain. Jiang Yan’s brow furrowed tightly. He raised his other hand to form a seal, casting a Calming Talisman, but it was swallowed into the Void by the dark red flames spreading from Wuxiang.
Even though Jiang Yan had reached the Mahayana stage, he was powerless against Yu Zaixi, who had become a madman, burning his soul regardless of the consequences to break through his cultivation. By burning his soul, his power reached a near-godlike level for a fleeting moment, to say nothing of the assistance of the Void.
A violent wind howled in the night. Dark red pressed against cyan light, and in the blink of an eye, they traded a hundred blows. Jiang Yan was forced into a retreat, unable to predict where Yu Zaixi’s next strike would land. He was left disheveled, and between ragged breaths, he shouted urgently, “Yu Zaixi! Wake up!”
Wake up?
Yu Zaixi had never heard anything so absurd.
He stared fixedly at Jiang Yan, his eyes almost weeping blood, every word laced with dark resentment. “Is it my turn to wake up? Should it not be yours? You knew perfectly well that I did not come into this body willingly. By what right do you want to kill me? If you had not known who I was in advance, perhaps that would be one thing, but you knew I was not Yuan Qi, and you knew I was not the Demon Lord. Then what were those two hundred years in the Buzhu Prison for? Why must I suffer for the mistakes they committed? Why must I be sent to that sunless place to be tortured for two hundred years until I am barely human? Why me?”
A mocking smirk tugged at the corner of Yu Zaixi’s mouth, as if he wanted to nail his words into Jiang Yan’s mind, one by one. “You wanted to kill me the moment I arrived. Are you going to tell me you knew who I was back then, and you just wanted to throw me in there to be tortured? Why should I be the one to wake up? I came out of that prison with my soul intact after two hundred years of torture; is that not awake enough? Aside from holding you in bone-deep hatred, what else have I done? I never even thought about taking revenge on you; I just wanted to get as far away from you people as possible and find a way to get back. I cannot afford to provoke you barbarians!”
“Stop!” Jiang Yan shouted again, watching Yu Zaixi’s face grow paler by the second. If this continued, he would face the annihilation of his soul, disappearing from the world for eternity. “Stop, now!” Jiang Yan’s tone was filled with profound helplessness.
Self-burning of the soul could not be stopped by external force. If Yu Zaixi was determined to fight him to the death, the only outcome would be mutual destruction. There were too many things between them that could not be clarified, an abyss stretched between them that was impossible to cross, and honestly, there was no need to clarify them.
Jiang Yan tried calling out to Yu Zaixi two more times, but the man continued to attack with ruthless precision. Sand and stone flew as a hurricane erupted. Jiang Yan’s own techniques grew severe; he had to stop Yu Zaixi quickly.
Unfortunately, it did not go as he wished. Even as his techniques turned ruthless, he remained careful not to strike Yu Zaixi directly. Yu Zaixi always found an opening to break the move. The two swords tore through the air with shrill howls, red and cyan lights intertwining. When they struck, the earth cracked for dozens of feet beneath their feet. In the duel, both men began to cough up blood.
Jiang Yan was clearly on the defensive, but Yu Zaixi was visibly reaching his limit. The flames on his sword grew more vivid, like sulfur fire rising from hell, making his face pale as paper.
Yu Zaixi watched Jiang Yan retreat, his mind occupied by only one thought: Kill him.
He only wanted Jiang Yan to die. He wanted Jiang Yan dead at any cost! Centuries of grievances and hatred accumulated and erupted in a single moment, devoid of all rationality, and there was no need for it. Jiang Yan owed him everything, and Jiang Yan deserved to die!
Yu Zaixi’s sword hilt rotated, moving with the speed of lightning. As he lunged, crimson talismans spread like tiny streams, slowly covering his face and down to his neck, continuing to spread downward. The Wuxiang sword’s wind grew ever more resolute, delivering a horizontal slash that carved out a Void of dozens of yards.
It was a dead, silent darkness. Even the dark red flames of the sword vanished into it. Jiang Yan was forced to use his full power to block the strike, knowing full well he could not delay any longer.
Wushang’s sword light shone brilliantly, a cyan glow pressing down on Yu Zaixi. It lost more than half its power when it hit the Void, but it still carried a fierce wind.
Yu Zaixi was growing weaker, the backlash from the forced soul-burning already setting in. He was pushed back a few steps by the cyan light. Before Jiang Yan could react, a thread of dark red surged silently from the Void. Taking advantage of Jiang Yan’s move, it transformed into a blade and pierced through his right shoulder with piercing force.
Jiang Yan froze, instantly swept back dozens of feet by Yu Zaixi’s intent. He drove Wushang into the ground to steady himself, blood spurting in a torrent from his right shoulder. The dark red, formless sword pierced through him, the red flames painting half his face like a demon’s.
“You are dying!”
Jiang Yan could not help but whisper, biting his tongue immediately after. Yu Zaixi had always wanted to die, and knowing this would only make him more reckless.
Sure enough, when he looked up, Yu Zaixi was charging at him with even more frantic malice, completely disregarding the fact that his three souls and seven spirits were beginning to dissipate.
Blood from his shoulder dripped onto the ground along the tip of the sword. Jiang Yan ignored it, pressing two fingers to his acupoints, and resolutely pulled the sword out. The blade dissolved into red smoke. He only spared it a glance before focusing, raising his sword to block Yu Zaixi’s overhead slash.
He had to stop him.
When Yu Zaixi lunged again, Jiang Yan grabbed the hilt of the Wuxiang sword. His long, strong fingers gripped Yu Zaixi’s hand tightly, forcing him to drive the sword through his right shoulder again, the same spot as before. The dark flames seared his flesh. Jiang Yan did not seem to feel the pain; as Yu Zaixi applied force, Jiang Yan pulled him closer.
“Jiang Yan!”
Yu Zaixi let out a roar of dissatisfaction, raising his other hand to strike, but Jiang Yan ignored him, staring straight into his eyes. “All that happened before, it was my fault. Stop this now!”
“You are just afraid I will ruin this body, aren’t you?” Yu Zaixi began to cackle, his face like frost, his aura chillingly cold. “Do not be afraid,” he whispered, as if coaxing a child, though there was no warmth in his eyes. “I am going to let my soul dissipate. It will not affect this body in the slightest. But you, you must die.”
As he spoke, Yu Zaixi raised his hand and clawed toward Jiang Yan’s heart. The movement was so fast that Jiang Yan could not stop it; his fingertips sank into flesh with a wet thud. Jiang Yan gripped his wrist, forced to summon his spiritual energy to resist, but as the energy flowed through his meridians, his right shoulder erupted in unbearable pain. Yu Zaixi’s energy was burning his body through the sword. Suffering on both sides, Jiang Yan was suppressed and unable to break free for a moment.
But he could not die.
If he died in the illusion, he would only be severely injured in reality. Yu Zaixi, however, would truly die, his soul annihilated.
“I…” Jiang Yan exhaled slowly, whispering, “I care about you. I do not want to see you treat yourself like this.”
The hurricane in his ears stopped for a few seconds. Jiang Yan looked up to see Yu Zaixi sneering at him. Seeing his gaze, Yu Zaixi asked, “You care about me?”
“Yes.” Jiang Yan closed his eyes in defeat.
“Heh,” Yu Zaixi nodded slowly. “Cheating.”
Jiang Yan did not seem to understand the meaning of the word, but seeing the disdainful mockery on Yu Zaixi’s face, his brow tightened. “I truly care for you; I have never deceived you.”
“Then what about Yuan Qi?” Yu Zaixi applied sudden force to his hand, pulling the Wuxiang sword out of Jiang Yan’s shoulder, while his left hand withdrew from Jiang Yan’s chest. He turned nimbly, sweeping his sword in a horizontal arc. Jiang Yan was forced to meet the attack, the two swords clashing with a deafening roar. Sword intent rippled outward, sending dust into the air.
Jiang Yan’s injury was not fatal, but the wound on his shoulder was being consumed by the Void. The scope of the tearing and burning sensation expanded, then quickly faded into numbness, a sign that the flesh had been devoured. This injury would not change once they left the illusion; his shoulder was destined to have a hole, and half of his cultivation would be lost.
Yu Zaixi had reached his limit. The bright red talisman was spreading from the back of his hand to his fingertips. Wuxiang was a soul-sword; as its master’s soul was damaged, it, too, was affected, erupting with a final, resplendent flame of resolution.
Jiang Yan struggled to stand, calling out in a low voice, “Little Fish.”
Yu Zaixi did not respond.
“Little Fish.” Jiang Yan smiled bitterly, reaching out toward Yu Zaixi, who was charging at him with his sword. He seemed to want to touch him, but withdrew his hand before making contact, afraid of disturbing him.
Jiang Yan’s movements were swift. When he raised his hand again, his fingertips bloomed with snow-white light. Cyan glow coiled around them, as holy as a deity. Meeting Yu Zaixi’s Wuxiang, he actually managed to pinch the blade between two fingers. With a flick, he struck with his palm, sending Yu Zaixi stumbling back. The Wuxiang fell from his grasp, and the man reached his limit.
Jiang Yan gripped the Wuxiang, his expression sorrowful as he looked at Yu Zaixi. In the illusion, there was only the endless night. His body was interlaced with blue and white light, his palm gripping the air. When he spoke again, his tone was soft, tinged with a smile: “I will accompany you.”
Yu Zaixi looked at him, stunned. He had never seen such a Jiang Yan before.
Yu Zaixi’s gaze shifted from his face to his body, and he suddenly realized that Jiang Yan, too, was burning his soul.
So that was what he meant by accompanying him.
It was disgusting, Yu Zaixi thought, his consciousness growing increasingly chaotic as he sank into the bottomless Void. His final thought was that Jiang Yan was doing this just to spite him.
But what Jiang Yan saw was that, just as Yu Zaixi’s soul was about to dissipate, his eyes suddenly turned sharp, his expression no longer weak. He sat down in the mud, forming a seal, and just before his soul could fully dissolve, he cut off the soul-burning curse. Using some unknown secret art, he gathered back the dark red, star-like motes of light, bit by bit, to reshape Yu Zaixi’s soul.
Jiang Yan immediately extinguished his own soul-fire, his expression grim as he stared at the man sitting on the ground. However, his words were not directed at Yu Zaixi.
“Have you been the one making him fall into these illusions all along?”