Chapter 1025 - There Are Two of Me in This World

Ye Feng watched the child playing in the distance. He had seen Li Si’ang grow up, and the boy was not bad by nature. But Ye Feng felt the time was drawing near. Lu Tian would never let him go on living so carefree.

When Song Zhi’ang saw the handsome Lu Tian return, she immediately lowered her head and bowed. Ye Feng did the same.

Lu Tian stopped beside them and looked toward the black pool in the main hall. A faint, sinister smile touched his lips. “Finally, it’s almost finished. In three more days or so, I should be able to turn all four of them into Demon Bodies.”

His gaze casually passed over Ye Feng and Song Zhi’ang. He had evidently sensed the conflict between them. He produced a pitch-black demonic crystal from his palm and held it out to Song Zhi’ang. “With this, you should be able to reach the late Combined Body Realm.”

Ye Feng lowered his head, unable to meet either of their eyes. His fist clenched inside his sleeve.

However, Song Zhi’ang kept her head down and made no move to take the crystal. Lu Tian narrowed his eyes and snorted.

Boom!

Song Zhi’ang slammed into the ground. In the distance, Lu Si’ang saw her fall. He staggered and flew toward them, his eyes reddening. He clutched a short iron sword. “Don’t bully my mother!”

Lu Tian smirked. He spread his fingers like an eagle’s talons, pulling the boy into his grasp. His fingers pierced the boy’s neck. Li Si’ang cried out, and the sword fell with a sharp clang. He beat at Lu Tian’s hand, but his face soon turned a dark, suffocated red.

Seeing this, Song Zhi’ang flew into a rage. Her Daoist robes burst apart as boundless demonic qi condensed into countless spikes, hurtling straight toward Lu Tian’s face.

Lu Tian’s eyes turned cold. He raised a hand and shattered the spikes. As the fragments scattered, he brought his foot down on her back.

Crack!

Song Zhi’ang went limp. Lu Tian grabbed her hair and hauled her up. “You attacked me?”

The thumb-sized demonic crystal rose into the air and pressed against her brow, forcing its way into her head. Song Zhi’ang let out a muffled groan.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking,” Lu Tian said coldly. “You want to keep your humanity? Heh. Given the changes I’ve made to you, you should’ve become as strong as Ye Feng long ago. Why haven’t you made any progress? From now on, if you want Li Si’ang to live, you’ll do exactly as I say!”

Li Si’ang’s eyes were rolling back. Song Zhi’ang could only nod through her tears. “I’ll cultivate... I’ll give it everything I have!”

Lu Tian tossed the unconscious boy aside like trash. Li Si’ang’s cheek scraped against the ground, leaving several bloody marks. The sight pained Song Zhi’ang, but she dared not show it.

Lu Tian left Song Zhi’ang on the ground, demonic qi surging through her body. He approached Ye Feng and pulled back his sleeve, exposing the black patches on his right arm. “I haven’t given you much time. The Heavenly Demon Pavilion will soon step into the open. My Left Protector, that Ghost Arm of yours... You know I wouldn’t mind killing you. But...”

Ye Feng lowered his head, his pupils trembling slightly.

Lu Tian’s voice took on a strange excitement. “I’d rather see the look on Li Guanqi’s face when, after cultivating so desperately, he finally stands before me and sees you. Hahahaha!”

Ye Feng went deathly pale. His eyes held bitterness and helplessness, along with a deep sense of grievance and sorrow. On many sleepless nights, he had imagined what the future might bring.

He had wronged more than once. He had taken lives—innocent ones. To atone, he had severed his own hand. That night, he had seen his hands stained red, viscous blood dripping from his fingertips.

As if to mock him for it all, Lu Tian leaned close and seized his face with one hand. He whispered into Ye Feng’s ear, “I know everything the two of you are thinking. You’ll never escape my grasp.”

Lu Tian glanced at the unconscious boy. A bloodthirsty smile crossed his face as he turned toward the main hall. “Tomorrow, bring me some chickens, ducks, and other livestock.”

Song Zhi’ang trembled on the ground, her eyes widening. She understood what he intended to do.

Ye Feng sighed to himself. He had known Lu Tian would never let Li Si’ang keep living a carefree life.

The four people in the pool would awaken soon and become terrifyingly powerful. With the demonic worms inside them, they would obey Lu Tian’s every command. Their humanity would be stripped away, leaving behind nothing but bloodthirsty killing machines.

Once Lu Tian had left, Ye Feng picked up the boy and gently patted his back, steadying the chaotic energy in his body. His Ghost Arm drew the demonic qi out of Li Si’ang and absorbed it. Song Zhi’ang, still struggling against the demonic qi’s corrosion, finally relaxed a little. She looked at the boy in Ye Feng’s arms with tears in her eyes.

Ye Feng crouched beside her. “Absorb it. If you don’t, you’ll die.”

Song Zhi’ang glanced at his blackened arm. Her voice was hoarse. “I know. This is my fate. Yours too.”

Ye Feng sat beside her with the sleeping boy in his arms, his back against the stone wall. He stared up at the oppressive gray sky. “There are two of me in this world. One lives in my dreams, roaming the world with my sworn brothers, sword in hand, drinking and laughing without a care in the world. The other me? He’s stuck in filth.”

Song Zhi’ang closed her eyes in pain. This time, she didn’t know whether she could endure the demonic qi’s corrosion and keep her mind and humanity intact. Her talent was ordinary, and reaching her current level had been incredibly difficult.

Ye Feng gently laid the boy against her back. “Believe in yourself. You can get through this.”

Song Zhi’ang gritted her teeth and began absorbing the demonic crystal’s energy. With each breath, she endured the soul-searing agony of the demonic qi, fighting to keep its overwhelming bloodlust from consuming her mind.

Ye Feng leaned against the stone wall in silence. They were like two people caught without umbrellas in the cold rain of an early winter night, huddling together for warmth and hoping to make it through the winter.