Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

  "Big Brother, rest assured, we have already prepared to sacrifice everything. No need to tell it, we already know."

  Feng Yin said in a sinking voice.

  Liu Xian was also disheartened. "Living until now, my life is not my own anymore. This rotten life, if Big Brother needs it, then take it."

  Fang He said, "Yes, as long as we can overcome the Demon King, we can afford to lose our lives."

  Zhou Ming said with a bitter smile, "Originally, it shouldn't be us who survived, but Senior Sister Fei Ying and the others, so…"

  "Enough!"

  Ouyang Shang snapped. "What the hell are you guys doing? Who said you were going to die?"

  Feng Yin gawked. "But… But, apart from dying, what else can we, a group of mediocre people, do?"

  "Keep on living." Ouyang Shang said, "What I want you to do is this one thing: no matter what, keep on living for me. Right now, there are only you who are left in Spirit Sword Sect, but as long as you are still alive, Spirit Sword Sect will not die."

  Liu Xian said, "As long as you, Big Brother, are still alive, only then can we all have hope. As for us…"

  "There's no sect in the whole world that contains only one person alone!" Ouyang Shang once again shouted, "Moreover, they have all handed over their inheritance to you before they died, don't tell me it's to demand you to be careless in sacrificing your lives, so that all of their efforts would be thoroughly wasted? Your life is not your own anymore! Each and every one of you is burdened with the inheritance of others, so you guys have no right to talk about sacrifice!"

  "… Yes, I understand."

  "Remember, even if not for yourself, for those who have died… stay alive. Whatever happens, all of you must stay alive!"

  With that, Ouyang Shang turned his head and looked at Wang Wu.

  "I have some words to tell you privately."

  "What? Okay."

  After Ouyang Shang left with Wang Wu, Feng Yin and the others dejectedly slumped.

  "Why, why it's us…"

  On the other side, Ouyang Shang came to a secluded room with Wang Wu.

  After entering the room, Wang Wu looked a bit nervous. Looking at her, Ouyang Shang smiled, and then grimly said, "What I am about to tell you next, I have not said it to anyone, but you have to know."

  "… Me?"

  "Three days ago, I have gone to the Demon King's nest to single-handedly kill him."

  "What?"

  "Don't be so surprised. Previously, he had already been hit hard by the monster wolf Fenrir and Master and the other Uncles, so his strength had long been not in peak condition. And I…"

  Wang Wu lightly nodded. In fact, she had known for a long time that the true strength of Ouyang Shang was far beyond even the imagination of others. After more than ten years of experiential learning, Ouyang Shang was already far ahead of the others.

  "At that time, I found an exceptionally good set of opportunity. According to my calculation, I should have seventy percent chance to kill the Demon King. However, when I actually made my move, I didn't even have ten percent chance to win."

  "Why?"

  "Because my providence has been taken away… It even turned into a hindrance. You ought to know that I have always been under the care of mother earth, and the result of the earth element immortal technique is especially good. But in the battle against the Demon King, every step that I took seemed to be stuck in the mud, there were layers upon layers of resistance. During the fight, it was so much that I couldn't even feel the earth element spiritual energy, so when drawing the spiritual energy, out of the five elements, it lacked one. Moreover, my golden core sometimes trembled and won't listen to my order."

  "…?"

  "Do you remember I once told you all the origin of the so-called providence?"

  "You think Nine Regions can be regarded as a creature, and the providence is a kind of investment of Nine Regions?"

  "That's right, since it's an investment, of course it could be recycled." Ouyang Shang said, "At least, it could be understood in a way that the Demon King has a higher management authority for providence than me."

  "Higher management authority?" Wang Wu said in amazement, "How is this possible? Your providence is the blessing of Nine Regions for you, meaning that the entire continent recognizes you. How could the Demon King have sufficient management authority to recover the providence?"

  "It's probably because of the true identity of the Demon King is… the Fallen Immortal."

  "Fallen Immortal?"

  "Yes, but this is just my guess: the limit of cultivators is soaring to become immortals, and although the scene at the world of immortals has never been passed down to Nine Regions, it might be assumed that it's not a stagnant place. I think there will also be competition, conflicting views, contention, and wins and losses. The winner continues to live in the immortal world and those who are lost enter their version of hell. But, they are not willing to fail and want to make a comeback. Therefore, they make the tear in the sky. They want to occupy the Nine Regions, and through Nine Regions, they would return to the world of immortals. Although they are fallen daoist immortals, in the end, they are still daoist immortals, their strength level has surpassed that of the limit of Nine Regions. And since they can achieve immortality from the millions upon millions of cultivators, their understanding and application of providence are also far above that of the cultivators of Nine Regions. Thus, it means that the so-called heaven's favorite and all that is nothing when facing a Fallen Immortal."

  "… But, even so, he has been seriously injured, and his life is not long anymore."

  "Yes, we could ignore this fallen immortal, but I fear that the fallen immortal is not just one. He tried to open the passage at all cost, is it to welcome the cannon fodders into Nine Regions? Behind the passage, there is a big world."

  "But the tear in the sky has been mended."

  "Previously, when the tear in the sky has yet to appear, was he not able to enter Nine Regions? Even if he dies, it is still difficult to guarantee that there would be no next one. And at that time, would we still be as lucky as this time to stop it?"

  Wang Wu only felt that her heart was unusually heavy, and she remained silent for a long time. "Why do you have to tell me this?"

  "Because you have to know."

  When his voice fell, Ouyang Shang suddenly stepped forward and took Wang Wu's hands, which surprised her and caused her to unconsciously struggle, but she couldn't get away.

  If this was more than ten years ago, Wang Wu would be overjoyed. But at this moment, she was extremely scared.

  "… It seems like you already know." Ouyang Shang said with a smile, "Indeed the Junior Sister I think most highly of."

  "Big Brother, don't…"

  However, before her voice even fell, a gentle warm current was passed through the hands. Wang Wu struggled even more intensely, but under the absolute suppression of Ouyang Shang, she had no choice.

  After struggling for a while, Wang Wu finally gave up. The power that came from the hands became warmer and warmer, constantly immersed in her body, nourishing her flesh, Jade Mansion, primordial spirit… making her stronger, and her spirit root more formidable.

  This kind of improving the quality of other people's spirit root thing could even be said as unprecedented in Nine Regions. However, as the beneficiary, Wang Wu felt a heartbreaking sorrow. She raised her head high, trying not to let the tears to flow down. "Why me?"

  "Because only you that have this ability." Ouyang Shang's tone of voice had already seemed tired. "Other people don't know your true talent, but how could I not see it? Don't forget, I was the one who insisted in including you in the golden generation."

  "Senior Brother, I'm just…"

  "Yes, you're just a mediocre person with low-rank spirit root. Other people joked that your natural fifth rank spirit root had no foothold in the top level sect, but they didn't know that in fact, your spirit root is even worse than fifth rank… To have such an achievement based on your low-rank spirit root, was completely a miracle."

  "Sure enough, you have already seen it for a long time, Senior Brother."

  "Not only me, some of the elders had also noticed it. Otherwise, it should not be that difficult to enter the golden generation with your achievement then." Ouyang Shang said, "If the spirit root is not at least in middle rank, there is no hope to achieve Jindan in life, even if by a fluke you succeeded with large amount treasure resources and special experiences, it is impossible to reach Yuanying Stage. This is the common sense since the ancient times."

  Wang Wu bitterly said, "In that case, Senior Brother, why did you…"

  "Because I never believe in common sense. At least, I never believe merely a common sense can restrain you. From all the way to now, you have already broken through too many common senses."

  "How could this little achievement of mine be counted as breaking common sense?" Wang Wu shook her head. "Let alone compared to you, even with the other Senior Brothers and Sisters, there are many people who are stronger than me, and thus I'm not worthy of your attention."

  "External help should not be fully counted as ability." Ouyang Shang sighed. "In the golden generation, there are too many people who are favored by the heaven and the earth, having providence in their body, therefore, they could advance triumphantly, among which, I am considered as the most excellent. But not only you have no outstanding talent, you also have no providence in you; as a matter of fact, compared with ordinary cultivators, you are probably even more unlucky. But you still managed to reach your current achievement, and keep pace with the others who are blessed by the heaven and earth. Because your inner strength is far more powerful than the others: you are more hardworking than anyone, you are more resolute than anyone… and also smarter than anyone. Having true aptitude of low-rank spirit root, yet able to cultivate cultivation method of middle-rank spirit root, your ability to grasp method and your ingenuity had already long surpassed that of anyone, so much that even I am ashamed of being inferior."

  "It was just small little tricks. No matter how hard I try, I only went from low rank to middle rank… What's the point of this achievement?"

  "Is it really just small little tricks? Is it really not having any point? Why bother deceiving yourself? Junior Sister Wang Wu, you will one day greatly shine in Nine Regions."

  "Greatly shine? Senior Brother, you think too highly of me."

  "I never think someone as too high. In my opinion, there's just one thing missing in you."

  "What is it?"

  "Responsibility. What you lack is the sense of responsibility. You have been cultivating alone under the shadow of other Senior Brothers and Sisters, and was unconcerned with the matters of the outside world, so much that you even became reserved and autistic. This is not because you are not capable, but because you don't want to take on more responsibility and even take the initiative to evade all the opportunities to perform. If the golden generation can grow up smoothly, then there are people in the Spirit Sword Sect who support everything, and it doesn't matter if you are willing to just take good care of your own things. But now the situation has changed! There are no jade columns around you to hold up the sky, so you must stand up to support it yourself!"

  "I… I don't have the confidence." Wang Wu felt an even more influx of energy into her palms, and the panic and trembling inside her could not be suppressed.

  Ouyang Shang said, "I know you don't have it, but I won't give you the opportunity to shirk."

  With that, an unprecedented amount of energy flooded into Wang Wu.

  "I have given everything I have to you, so you have no way to shirk it right?"

  Wang Wu finally couldn't help but cry out, "Big Brother, you are too cruel! You know perfectly well I never want your bequest and inheritance, never want them! I just want to cultivate quietly and quietly be with myself in peace… How can you be so cruel? You want to destroy the Demon King, you want to revitalize the sect, you want to save the Nine Regions, then do it yourself! Why do you want to make things difficult for me? You think my own ability is not enough, then just take my everything away! If I alone am not enough, there are so many people outside who are willing to sacrifice!"

  "Sacrifice can't solve everything, only by living can we win!"

  "Then stay alive! Don't throw everything to me and sacrifice it all by yourself!"

  "Listen!" Ouyang Shang pulled Wang Wu's shoulder by force. "Listen well. I have to do what I have to do, and you also have to do what you have to do. You must go on living, and live happily. One hundred years, two hundred years… Live happily ever after!"

  "Live happily? Seeing you die while I continue to live happily? Big Brother, don't go too far!"

  "Yes, forcing you against your will, I indeed have gone too far… Therefore, I will give you some reward."

  In Wang Wu's astonished gaze, Ouyang Shang suddenly went closer to her and gently kissed her lips.

  At the same time, Ouyang Shang loosened his hands, and his face was plastered with a sly smile.

  "Sorry, since it's my first kiss, it might feel a bit awkward in technique, so if you don't like it then just forget about it."

  "…"

  "How about this, I promise you: as long as you live happily, then I will come back to look for you."

  "Come back to look for me? Do you think this tricking kid kind of promise…"

  "Uhm, although it does sound a bit nonsense, but ask yourself, have I ever lied to you?"

  "… Yes."

  "… Then at least it's not this time." Ouyang Shang smiled and hugged Wang Wu. "Believe me this once, I will definitely come back."

  Then he loosened his hands and staggered to keep standing up. After passing all of his power to Wang Wu, Ouyang Shang was like an empty shell. However, soon a new energy was ignited in that empty shell, which was his innate vitality.

  "There's still one thing that I have to do. Time is limited so I will not be able to say goodbye to Feng Yin and the others. Oh, I almost forgot, it would not be long before the reinforcement from the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals arrives. At that time, regarding the sect… Forget it, the sect exists as long as its people exist. As long as you guys are alive, then everything is fine. Fight for it if you can, just leave it if you can't, you guys should make good judgement and don't push yourselves too much when things are above your ability."

  With that, Ouyang Shang broke into the ground and disappeared without a trace. Wang Wu reached out to try to capture his back, but to no avail.

  Continue to live happily?

  You bastard, it sounds so easy if just by saying it… Wang Wu tried to pull her facial muscles, to show a smiling expression, but somehow, every time when her muscle shivered, it made her sore in deep heart.

  —


  After nobody knows how long, Feng Yin and the others finally found out that something was wrong. Thus, they rushed into the room, only to find a smiling Wang Wu whose tears had already dried for a long time.

  "Where is Big Brother?" Feng Yin bewilderedly asked.

  "Big Brother?" Wang Wu still had her smiling face. "He's probably tired of living, so that he went to throw his life."

  "What the hell are you talking about?" Feng Yin was furious, but then he realized the relationship between the two of them, especially the feelings of Wang Wu for Ouyang Shang for many years… she couldn't possibly say such cruel words.

  "Junior Sister, what's the matter with you?"

  Wang Wu smiled and shrugged. "Nothing, I'm really fine, just… being happy according to someone's request."

  "Being happy?"

  "Yes, the most important thing in one's life is to be happy, and then cook noodles for others to eat 1 … Oh right, Big Brother said that it will not be long before the reinforcement from the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals arrive, so you guys might as well consider how to argue with those people. Since most people of our sect have died, don't let them directly withdraw us off the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals."

  "What? The reinforcement from the Union of Ten Thousand Immortal?"

  "That's what Big Brother said, forget about it if you don't believe," Wang Wu said, and then shrugged. "I want to take a nap, Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers, please suit yourself."

  —


  At the same time, at the foot of a distant volcano, Ouyang Shang met the Demon King who had been waiting there for a long time.

  A few months ago, on this mountain, a rift tore the sky and opened the passage between two worlds, and the Elders of Spirit Sword Sect sacrificed everything to fill the gap. Now, the Big Brother of Spirit Sword Sect returned to this place, ready to make the final battle.

  "Haha, trouble you to wait for a long time."

  "Humph, with the great demon oath, I'm not afraid you're going to run! Looks like you already finish your last affairs, then let's begin."

  With that, the Demon King stretched out his incomplete left hand, crossing the space directly to press Ouyang Shang's forehead.

  Ouyang Shang's body shook, but his tone of voice was as steady as ever. "If you win, this body will belong to you, you will have a top class cultivator body, so the current injury will not be worth mentioning, and you will have the capital to continue to plot in Nine Regions. But if you lose, your memory will belong to me, and I'll have an immortal's knowledge, insight, and experience. Hence, I will then have boundless prospect."

  "And you won't have any chance of winning," the Demon King coldly said and began to flood in a huge force from his seriously injured body.

  The layer upon layer of defense made by Ouyang Shang's primordial spirit disintegrated, unable to delay the intrusion even for a bit. Soon, the Demon King's consciousness invaded in along the open passage.

  The next moment, the Demon King was furious.

  "You lied to me!"

  "Hahaha, with the binding of the great demon heart oath, how could I lie? If you win, the body and jade mansion will be yours. I did not lie, I just cleaned up the inventory before you came. When it comes to selling the house, when does it say it has to be furnished with furniture and decoration?"

  "You!"

  "Speaking of which, what do you think of my little disguise? Is it too eye-catching?"

  "Go to hell! If you want to die, just go die yourself. I have promised a girl to go back to find her, so sorry for not playing with you anymore. You can play yourself."

  "You dare! You have taken the great demon heart oath, once the fight begins, it will not end!"

  "Haha, I did not say that we stop the fight, this is just a strategic withdrawal. Wait for 100 more years until I regroup, it wouldn't be too late to take your dog's life away at that time. But I don't know if you can preserve this badly damaged soul of yours that long, hahaha!"

  With that, inside the swelling body, a primordial spirit seemed to want to go out of the body.

  "There's no escape!"

  A black rope firmly bound the escaping primordial spirit.

  "Hey, don't be so persistent okay? In any case, there are many of you fallen immortals, even if you die, there's still another one."

  The primordial spirit constantly tried to break free. Although the Demon King refused to let it go, the restraining power gradually loosened.

  "Stop trying, you have wasted your strength on the previous break through, but I have put all my bets on escaping… You can't stop me."

  "… Maybe so." The Demon King said in a sinking voice, "But don't think that you've won."

  The voice fell, and the innate vitality overloaded the flesh and exploded.

  This self-destruction unleashed an unprecedented terrifying force, that in a moment, the mountain collapsed, lava poured out, and the hundreds of miles of the surrounding area became deadly silent. Discoloration appeared in the sky, and a faint crack indistinctly re-emerged.

  Then, the world shattered and everything became pitch black.

  —


  "This movie is over?"

  In the darkness, Wang Lu, somewhat in a daze, shook his head. After reading the memory for so long, he felt that his whole person became somewhat sluggish.

  "Yes, it's over, any comments?"

  "… Isn't it a stupid bullsheet ending?" Wang Lu shrugged. "A big bang and then everything ends? There are still many things that haven't been explained clearly. Moreover, Big Brother, why do you want to show it to me?"

  "Because this is the essential review before the award ceremony."

  "Award ceremony?" Wang Lu asked questioningly.

  However, at this time, a little red dot lit up in the darkness, and then the Demon King whose half right of the body had been permanently damaged appeared in his field of vision.

  The Demon King looked tired and deteriorating, no longer full of spirit like that of his former self. But the face that he showed this time was more like a relief.

  "You won."

  With that, he handed over a round crystal ball to Wang Lu's hand and disappeared without waiting for Wang Lu to recover from the shock.

  The banter voice of Big Brother came from behind him, "Tsk-tsk, this old guy is really not an easy guy. Being made to hold resentment for more than a hundred years while keeping his incomplete soul not scattered is really exceptional."

  Wang Lu was silent for a while, feeling that everything that he experienced seemed way too weird. He asked toward the void, "Is the previous time travel, just a dream?"

  "Dream? That is not a dream. That is a war. A war in which you won."

  "I won?" Wang Lu felt more and more violated. "I don't remember what gambling activities I have participated in. The so-called victory should refer to the one that you set with the Demon King one hundred and fifty years ago, right? And the price of victory is his memory and knowledge as a fallen immortal, but…"

  But, it doesn't make sense. The person who made a bet with him is you, but the person who actually did the challenge is me, can this also count?

  Ouyang Shang let out a laugh and said, "One hundred and fifty years ago, I took advantage of the lie that I made to occupy the initiative. But the Demon King's natural disposition is so resolute, that he tried to self-exploded to perish together. A strong energy, by chance, struck a weakened corner in the Sky Mend Array and shook my primordial spirit into the shattered void… Can you guess what happened after that?"

  "… You were not traveling through the three thousand worlds, weren't you?"

  "Hehe, I was lost in the turbulence of space and time for a long time, and when I woke up, I found myself in the proletariat state under the rule of the bourgeoisie!"

  "…"

  "Oh, it was a dream-like life I got there, and all the wonderful things there are enough to make people too happy to think of home and duty, and I did hesitate and was indecisive about going back… But, in Nine Regions, I still owe her a promise. Moreover, letting my Junior Brothers and Sisters face danger in Nine Regions while I'm enjoying myself in the outworld is indeed making my heart heavy."

  "Therefore…?" Having heard until this, Wang Lu's mind had already violently jumped incessantly. The truth that he was about to face next seemed to be beyond the limit for normal people… However, deep within his heart, Wang Lu continued to hear his inner voice.

  Have you never wondered where you come from?

  Have you ever wondered from where the fuzzy memories of professional adventure come from?

  Have you never wondered if the so-called Void Spirit Root is really a gift from heaven?

  In this confusion, Wang Lu heard Ouyang Shang continued.

  "Therefore, I decided to return… Of course, it was not easy. But, I have learned a lot of things in another world. Even more, by chance coincidence, I obtained a peerless spirit root that is enough to be above of that fallen immortal. After that, taking advantage of a great shock among the three thousand world, I gave up most of my memory and primordial spirit power to ride the crack in time and space to come back."

  With that, Ouyang Shang came out from the void. However, the one that appeared in front of Wang Lu had a face that was exactly the same as him.

  "You…" Wang Lu frowned as he stared at the opposite party. There were many words that he wanted to say.

  But in the end, he couldn't say even one.

  After a long time, he just helplessly laughed.

  "A beautiful bromance, at this point has turned into a masturbation. I am so f*cked."

  …