Chapter 302: [Sisheng Peak] Wushang Palace of Broken Soul

The Wushan Palace was the former Loyalty Hall. After Taxian-Jun ascended to the throne, he adjusted the layout and divided it into three areas: the front hall, the middle courtyard, and the back hall.

The two Mei brothers did not go in immediately. They stood at the door and waited for Xue Meng to follow them. His eldest brother then told him, "This palace is not right. There is the Bewitching Miasma inside."

"What is the Bewitching Miasma?"

Mei Hanxue explained, "It is a kind of fragrant miasma similar to the Chimen Escape Armor. It can be found in the Plum Forest of the Taxue Palace, and will always be there."

With an ashen face, Xue Meng asked, "What can it be used for?"

"It will make it impossible for the invader to find his way." Mei Hanxue said, "This kind of miasma has no effect on your people, but for the intruders it can distort the scene and make people unable to find the real entrance. You know what people say about the Wall-Hitting Ghost, It's probably something like that."

Xue Meng, "…"

Méi Hánxuě said coldly, "They are trying to stall for time. Most likely, someone is fighting in the rear palace."

Mei Hanxue asked, "What do we do? Can we get around it?"

Méi Hánxuě shot a glance at him. "You've lived in the Taxue Palace for more than twenty years, and you're asking me?"

"… Cough." The younger brother was somewhat embarrassed. He turned to Xue Meng and said, "There's no other way. I can only enter and find the source of the miasma and disperse it." After glancing at Xue Meng's expression, he consoled,

"But don't worry, I'm most adept at this. I often use the Taxue Palace's Bewitching Miasma at the back of the mountain to avoid the female cultivators who come looking for trouble. Give me an incense stick of time and I should be able to break it."

At the mention of this, his big brother's face turned black, and his voice dropped like ice.

"You really have the face to say that."

At this moment, Xue Meng was not in the mood to listen to their idle chatter. He took two steps forward, and with a creak, he pushed open the front door of the Martial Palace.

Just like a ghost opening its stinky mouth, the carved lacquer door slowly opened, the interior was lit up by candles, it was completely silent. As Xue Meng stepped in, he could indeed feel the faint fragrance of flowers permeating the air.

When he turned around, the Mei brothers were already gone. It seemed that before the miasma dispersed, the three of them would see a different scene, and would not be able to see each other at all.

At this moment, a familiar voice came from the high throne in the great hall.

"Xue Meng…"

A chilly wind blew, and the black gauze curtain fluttered. Shocked, Xue Meng shouted, "Mo Ran?!"

The voice sighed, "It's you, right? Are you here?"

Xue Meng's throat moved as he tightened his spine. He lifted his sword and walked towards the dark depths of the hall.

The tip of the sword lifted the curtains, and then he saw it.

Sitting on the high seat, there was a handsome, pale man with his eyes closed. The man was reclining in the Cinnabar chair, wearing the crown of the Nine Bones. His eyebrows were pitch black, and his nose was sharp. Although his nose was high, it had a very fine curve to it. A pair of light colored lips were pursed, but not much of an expression could be seen on his face.

It was Taxian-Jun.

Taxian-Jun's face was pale, his white corpse had a tinge of green, as if he had been poisoned. In front of him was a plate of fruits. The grapes were dark purple, the apples were thin, and the mountains and rivers were painted on a silver plate, but the man on the throne didn't even lift his eyelids. He wouldn't look.

Illusion? Real?

What was divided was not really true. Xue Meng's mind was buzzing. When he came back to his senses, he heard himself say, "Mo Ran, you…"

It seemed as if Taxian-Jun still hadn't woken up from his dream. He still had his eyes closed, but he still replied, "… What?"

Perhaps the man in front of him was too weak, or perhaps in the torrential rain, Xue Meng had already vented out his boundless anger. At this moment, facing the illusion on the seat of honor, exhaustion was greater than anger.

He also did not know if Mo Ran would answer, nor did he know what the meaning of his actions were. He only mumbled numbly, asking those questions that were accumulated in his chest and were about to crush him:

"Why are you doing this. Did you come back from a new life? You. You and Shizun… You all really…"

Of course, Taxian-Jun didn't reply. He merely snorted, then slowly opened his eyes.

In the midst of the bright lights, he glanced at Xue Meng and said, "It seems like you and Shizun have not seen each other since the Taxue Palace two years ago."

Xue Meng froze for a moment. "What?"

Taxian-Jun smiled and continued, "Xue Meng, do you miss him?"

Xue Meng was stunned and asked, "What Kunlun's Taxue Palace? What two years' absence? What kind of nonsense is this?!"

This blurry illusion was actually the last conversation that he had had with Xue Meng when he had taken the poison in his previous life. It was also the last words that Taxian-Jun had left behind in the mortal world.

The illusion came up at random, and coincidentally happened to show the time before the two of them parted ways in their previous life.

But at this moment, Xue Meng didn't know. Blank and angry, anxious and frightened, he stared at the man in the seat and asked, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Taxian-Jun's eyes were looking at him, but it also seemed as though he wasn't looking at him at all.

It was as if through this real Xue Meng, he was looking at another shadow that did not exist.

He talked to the shadow by himself, "Return it to you? Stupid words. You should think about it, why would I allow Shizun to live in this world with such a deep grudge between us?"

Xue Meng was speechless.

Right… This was all an illusion. Even if he didn't say anything, Taxian-Jun would continue speaking without stopping. He was talking to someone he couldn't see.

What was he talking about?

Because Xue Meng could not understand the words of Taxian-Jun, he did not remember too much. But the eyes of the man on the throne were crazy and cold, stubborn and contradictory. This made Xue Meng's entire body turn cold — this was not his brother. He did not recognize it.

Taxian-Jun was still vicious, "You wanted to remind me that he beat me to a pulp and made me kneel down in front of everyone to plead guilty? Or was it to remind me that he had stood in front of me for your sake, for the sake of someone unrelated to him, repeatedly stopping me from doing good deeds and ruining my great cause?"

Like a blind, clawed dragon, the Emperor retained his final ferocity, exhausted, in the mud.

He could not stop mumbling as if he was crazy or foolish like a demon. He looked very vicious, but he was actually very tired.

He said, "But we were master and disciple once. His corpse is resting at the Red Lotus Pavilion on the southern peak. Lying among the red lotuses, I have preserved it very well, as if he had fallen asleep."

He added, "His corpse was sustained by my spiritual force, so it will not rot. If you miss him, then stop wasting your breath on me. Hurry up and go before I die."

Xue Meng took a few steps forward as Xuehuang tightly gripped its hand. It was sweating profusely as it muttered, "What are you talking about…"

In his previous life, who died?

Whose body was resting in the Red Lotus Pavilion?

Whose corpse would have to rely on the spirit energy of Taxian-Jun in order to not rot… Who?

In fact, from Taxian-Jun's words, from the grave he saw in front of Heaven-Piercing Tower, Xue Meng already had an answer in his heart. However, his mind felt as if it was filled with ice, and his upper and lower lip constantly trembled.

Who died… Who died!

Suddenly, his face distorted, he rushed up to the hall. He reached out to tug at Mo Ran's clothes, but his five fingers directly passed through the illusion.

Taxian-Jun's face in his hands, he said hoarsely: "Go. Go see him. If I die and my spiritual power is cut off, he will turn to dust."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man closed his eyes in disappointment. The poison had already taken effect.

As for Xue Meng, his eyes were wide open as his entire body trembled…

How did all this turn out like this? What kind of nonsense had happened in the mortal world?

"You killed him?"

Xue Meng's voice rustled as if about to destroy everything. "It was you who killed him?"

"…"

"Do you know everything about your rebirth? Do you have all your memories?"

Naturally, no one would answer him, but Xue Meng still asked.

In this world, there were many answers. Knowing them would not make people happy, and would only make them suffer. Yet, despite knowing these answers, they still had to ask.

Cruel truth and tender lies, which is love and which is hate?

"If you knew… Why did you lie to us? Brother… How could you bear it… How can you bear it…"

The other's face looked as though it was about to spasm. No one would look good when poison was acting up. Fresh blood flowed out from the corner of Taxian-Jun's mouth. He stood up, staggered and stood up, then walked unsteadily out of the hall.

"Where are you going?"

Xue Meng stretched out his hand towards that illusory image.

"You want to —"

Suddenly, his five fingers fell into a ball of warmth.

Xue Meng quivered, and the fragrance of the flowers disappeared from his nose. At the same time, the black and gold figure of his back that was walking towards the sunset disappeared.

"Mo Ran?"

He was gone.

With the illusion gone, Xue Meng's eyes and expression were very blank and shattered. Dreams and illusions, his previous and current lives, which one was real, which one was fake? The life and death gate of time and space split open, causing the once red world to be thrown into chaos. What was the real thing that happened, the Mo Ran that was the true Mo Ran, who was the real self?

His gaunt face had a pitiful, shattered expression, and even his eyes were glazed.

After a long time, his eyes gradually focused.

In the brown pupils, Mei Hanxue's silhouette was reflected.

"Wake up." Mei Hanxue released his hand and flicked his forehead, causing Xue Meng to experience pain.

"It's over."

"…"

Xue Meng froze for a while before he finally regained his senses. He muttered to himself, almost exhausted, "I'm sorry…"

Mei Hanxue pursed his lips, "There is nothing to be sorry for. This type of confusion is very mysterious, and the more you worry about it, the more frightening it will become."

Xue Meng raised his eyes and looked at him with his slightly moist black eyes.

He actually didn't like talking to Mei Hanxue, but the person in front of him right now was like the only real and stable existence in the midst of an illusion. He couldn't help but ask in a hoarse voice, "What about you? What did you see?"

Mei Hanxue did not answer immediately. He paused for a moment and then revealed a smile, "Over ten years, there have been over a thousand girls who have harmed me. Sigh, what a nice scene, I'm really worried about this."

"…"

At this moment, they suddenly heard an earth-shattering explosion from the rear hall.

Méi Hánxuě's gaze froze as he drew his sword and said, "Let's go."

Xue Meng and Mei Hanxue followed him through the torrential rain of the courtyard. When they arrived at the back hall, they first saw a white-gold figure swimming up to the roof of the corridor. When the figure saw the three people who had barged in, he froze in his steps and lowered his eyes. A thunderclap illuminated her face.

Méi Hánxuě's brows sank as he coldly asked, "Mu Yanli?"

A shout came from the front, "Sister Mu, don't bother with them. Run!"

Although she was unwilling, she still quickly left. By the time Xue Meng and the others arrived, the rear hall was in ruins. There were broken pieces of wood and tiles everywhere, and flames were licking the broken beams of the house.

In the ruins, two flashing white shadows were slashing against each other, the strong winds were sent into the air, and sparks of fire were ignited! The two figures were as fast as lightning, colliding and separating in the air at a high speed.

A metallic sound was heard as the golden light flashed by in succession. With a boom, the tiles were lifted up. A thick wooden log lying in the middle of the crushed rocks and sand was pulled up high, as if it had awoken. On the other side, a blue wave formed from spirit energy gushed out of the broken golden bricks, surging violently.

Figures of people could be seen standing on the top of the giant tree and the top of the wave from the left and right.

Xue Meng's face suddenly paled. "Shizun!"

No matter what the truth was, it was Xue Meng's natural instinct to worry about Chu Wanning in the face of danger.

Méi Hánxuě narrowed his eyes as he faced the wisps of mist and muttered, "Shi Mingjing…"

The two people who had been fighting against each other were none other than Shizun and disciple of the previous timeline, Chu Wanning and Shi Mingjing.

However, the strangest thing was that a layer of powerful spiritual energy that clearly belonged to Taxian-Jun covered Shi Mingjing's entire body. Black incantations crawled all over his exposed skin, and his meridian channels were even more terrifying.

Xue Meng rushed forward: "What's going on?! Shi Mei, Shi —"

With a bang, Xue Meng was ejected out of the battle circle. He struggled to get up and saw that a golden Haitang Barrier had been placed in front of him.

Chu Wanning looked pale as he said, "Don't come near me."

Mei Hanxue walked forward a few steps and stood beside Xue Meng. He stared at Shi Mei's unusually strong spirit energy flow and frowned: "… Strange. He used his own water style techniques before, but the power the emanate is completely that of another person now."

It was just that after a short pause, Chu Wanning and Shi Mingjing started to fight again. At this moment, both of them had completely released their spirit energy. The powerful aura forced the other three to the point that they couldn't breathe.

The sword light flashed past, illuminating his eyes which were sharper than the tip of the sword. His body was as light as a swallow, and he suddenly swung his sword towards Shi Mei!

"Chu Wanning!"

Shi Mei's angry shout was almost warped.

"I have never killed you in my two lifetimes — and this is how you treat me?!"

With a loud bang, he raised his hand and formed a seal. A dark blue barrier suddenly appeared in front of Shi Mei, blocking Chu Wanning's attack.

However, upon closer inspection, one could see that the barrier was not formed out of thin air. Instead, it was formed by a sheathless saber — Bu'gui! All that flowed in Shi Mei's body were the ruthless spirit streams of Taxian-Jun. So much so that he even recognized the wrong master and listened to his summons to serve him.

Chu Wanning's eyes darkened, he said, "No, you've already killed me in both lives."

The golden sword was drawn back and a faint crack appeared on the barrier created by Shi Mei. He saw Chu Wanning somersault in the air, his long legs kicking towards the fissure, borrowing the force to leap backwards, and then throwing Huaisha in his hands towards him! He could only hear the sound of thunder erupting as rumbling black clouds rolled across the sky. In the midst of the storm and thunder and lightning of the Nine Prefectures, Huaisha suddenly broke through the barrier of Shi Mei!

Shi Mei raised his hands to block the attack, but he was not Mo Weiyu after all.

He could not bear the power of Huaisha, so he let go of the blade and stabbed it into the ground. Then, the holy weapon Golden Sword pierced towards Shi Mei's chest!

"Ugh…" Shi Mei barely managed to avoid the fatal blow on his heart. With a 'swoosh' sound, blood splattered in all directions. Huaisha penetrated through Shi Mei's shoulder and returned to Chu Wanning's palm dripping with blood.

Shi Mei fell back to the ground, falling among the broken bricks. He was still trying his best to cover his wounds as he got up.

His eyes flashed with extreme anger and malevolence. "Why did you stop me!? What's the use of stopping me?! Those who died can come back to life? Do you think you'll stop me and your days will be fine again? Will you be able to return to the past?"

Chu Wanning jumped down from the mountain, landing on the ground with his toes, then he stood in the middle of the ruins.

His entire body was drenched in sweat. There were wounds and blood, and his expression was indifferent. He did not look like Chu Wanning at all.

What he had said was true.

The Eight-Sufferings-Long-Hatred Flower had devoured his lover, so he had died in Shi Mingjing's hands for two lifetimes. Two lifetimes.

"No matter what you do, it's too late! Do you know what you could have done to stop all this?!" The rain poured down beside the two of them, but it did not extinguish their hatred, "You should have opened the Gate of Life and Death in your previous life, gone back to the past, killed Mo Ran, and ripped his corpse into pieces and burned it into ashes! You should have killed him!"

"…" Chu Wanning's eyes were ice-cold.

"What do you mean, starting from the beginning, what redemption!? What a joke! It's because you want to save him, and you don't want to kill him, that's why I got his new and powerful spirit core! It is only because of this that I have been able to reforge Emperor Taxian-Jun that the situation has developed so far!" As Shi Mei spoke, he burst into laughter.

His eyes were like the eyes of a snake, like the pincers of a scorpion, like a beehive of venom.

Shi Mei gritted his teeth and said, "Because of you... because you couldn't do it. Didn't you want to stop me? If you had killed them earlier, then everything would be over. What about me?!"

"You're the one who implicated these two worlds!"

"Don't think that you are the immortal Yuheng, what did you do? You didn't do anything! I used the crack in space and time that you left behind to master the mysteries of the First Forbidden Technique and reopen the Gate of Life and Death. Hahaha, hahaha…"

The laughter was as sticky as a spider's web and as sinister as a vulture's.

He rolled back and forth, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. The magic lines on his body were slowly fading away, but he did not care. He did his best to use the most vicious words to insult and curse the people in front of him.

Whether infatuation or love…

They all disappeared in the torrential rain.

He must have underestimated Chu Wanning, or thought too highly of himself. He used to be full of himself, thinking that Chu Wanning could become his plaything. As long as the chain was tight, it would be fine to raise it for fun. His life was unnecessary. But at this moment —

"If I were to start over…" The eyes of the peach blossom flashed with anger and cold light. "I'd definitely kill you."

The last of the magic prints disappeared.

The strong flow of spirit power in Shi Mei's body suddenly disappeared.

The one that was lying on the ground had turned back into an ordinary Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast.

Shi Mei gasped for breath as he looked at Chu Wanning through the rain.

He had just used his final killing move – Borrowing the Divine. He had used this move before in front of Mo Ran after his rebirth, on the night of the Linling Yu Inn.

Although it was called a technique, it was actually more like swallowing a spiritual medicine. This pill was refined using the blood of Taxian-Jun. It allowed him to obtain Mo Ran's power within the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

The power was however not the true power of Mo Ran, it was still lacking. It was nevertheless sufficient for him to use in a lot of necessary situations.

This time, his failure to defeat Chu Wanning in a short period of time meant that he was at his wit's end.

He knew very well.

Watching from the side, Xue Meng's scalp went numb, and he was also at a loss as he said hoarsely, "Shizun?… Shizun?"

Although his voice was weak, the place where Shi Mei fell was not far away from Xue Meng. He heard his voice and turned his head. Their gazes met, and Xue Meng's mind grew increasingly blank.

Shi Mei looked at him for a while. Suddenly, his eyes flashed. Then, a trace of a sad smile appeared on his handsome face.

"Young Lord…"

Xue Meng trembled violently.

In a trance, Shi Mei's eyes were still the same as before, and his face was still the same as before. He was in such a sorry state, yet so weak. He didn't say anything, and only extended his hand towards Xue Meng.

Xue Meng stood at the edge of the barrier. As long as he couldn't help but take a step forward — No, half a step would be enough, then…

However, right at this moment, an intense flash of light suddenly burst forth from Bu'gui, which was impaled on the side! Everyone was stunned. Their gazes all landed on the Hundred Fighting Fierce Blade. Without any warning, it started to shine with a fierce light. The light alternated between scarlet, green, and blue for more than ten times before it suddenly erupted into a strong current!

Mei Hanxue said, "Be careful!" He pulled Xue Meng, who had almost stepped out of the barrier, back.

Soon after, they saw an indomitable spirit rise up into the storm. It was like a bright shooting star, shooting straight towards the forbidden area at the back of the mountain!

This scene was witnessed by all of the cultivators who were attacking the mountain and fighting against the pawns that filled the mountain. Everyone was shocked, "What is that?"

"What's going on?"

Shi Mei narrowed his eyes and looked at the red light that suddenly suffused the mountain behind him. The red light penetrated into his pupils and he pinched the tip of his finger. He then closed his eyes to sense the light. After a while, Shi Mei suddenly understood what had happened. He opened his eyes with a look of ecstasy on his face.

"Taxian-Jun!"

Suddenly, Chu Wanning turned around, his face was pale.

Shi Mei laughed out loud, and then said with a fierce look in his eyes: "He's not dead… Hahaha… He actually did not die!" With strength that came from nowhere, he crawled up from the ground, and before anyone could react, he pressed several acupuncture points on his body to stop the bleeding. With the spread of his bloody robe, he instantly landed on the roof tiles, jumped a few steps, and dove into the garden.

"Shizun…"

Chu Wanning could not stay. He turned and looked at Xue Meng, then said to Mei Hanxue, "Please take care of him." He flew up to the ground and followed closely behind Shi Mei.

Shi Mei's movement technique was light, and he was not inferior to his Shizun in terms of movement. The two of them stood in front of each other, but Shi Mei could not get rid of Chu Wanning, and Chu Wanning could not catch him for the time being. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had arrived at the back of the mountain.