Chapter 75: Yizhou’s Illusion (Part 3)

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Yizhou’s Illusion (Part 3)

The next scene took place in a vast open assembly ground. Rows upon rows of disciples had gathered around the spacious area, leaving the center completely clear. At the far end stood a tall stone platform, and above it hung a large signboard bearing the words Wenjian Sect’s Punishment Hall.

In the middle of the platform, Yizhou knelt on the ground. His battered body was restrained by Immortal Binding Ropes, leaving him unable to move. His outer robe had been removed, while his collar hung open, exposing his upper body and the wounds that had yet to fully heal.

Sui Sui stared at him in silence, already knowing what was about to happen.

"We hereby declare that Disciple Yizhou of the Wenjian Sect has committed grave crimes: colluding with demons, bewitching fellow disciples, and intentionally causing harm to his fellow sect members. In order to atone for his crimes, we must salvage what we can. Since he caused his Junior Brother to lose his Golden Core, then, as compensation, Yizhou’s Golden Core shall also be taken."

Acting Sect Master Jiang’s voice rang clearly across the assembly ground, leaving no room for objection.

As soon as his declaration ended, a single elder stepped forward, a crescent-shaped blade in his hand. This was Zhènmó, one of the Wenjian Sect’s divine artifacts, a weapon capable of easily cutting through demonic bodies.

The elder slowly approached Yizhou, the purpose of the weapon in his hand unmistakable.

Yet Yizhou remained kneeling on the punishment platform. He did not struggle or attempt to flee. He simply stared blankly ahead, as though he still could not understand what was happening—or perhaps had not even realized that the verdict was meant for him.

The elder in charge wore a cold, expressionless face as he stepped forward, the crescent-shaped divine artifact Zhènmó held firmly in his hand. He stopped directly in front of Yizhou and looked down at him.

"Today, I will carry out your punishment. I hope that you will repent for your sins."

With that, the elder began to chant.

"The Dao is vast, and all things return to it.

Karma has no form, yet none may escape it.

The righteous shall stand, and the demonic shall be subdued.

Heaven bears witness; the Dao renders judgment."

His voice was solemn, carrying across the entire assembly ground.

When the chant ended, the elder looked at Yizhou one last time.

Then Zhènmó was unsheathed.

A sharp hum rang through the air as the divine artifact was drawn. Sparks scattered from its edge, while golden light flashed across the blade and golden feathers drifted in all directions.

The dagger reflected the elder’s eyes, yet there was not the slightest trace of emotion in them.

Below the platform, some disciples covered their eyes, unable to bear the sight. Others stretched their necks, eager to see what would happen. A few even clapped their hands, as though they were watching a performance.

But no one said anything

The elder raised Zhènmó high.

"By heavenly punishment, your spiritual core shall be taken."

The blade descended and blood splattered across the platform.

The entire assembly ground fell into dead silence.

It was not until the blade pierced into his abdomen that Yizhou finally reacted.

His eyes widened, and his entire body instinctively struggled against the Immortal Binding Ropes. He twisted desperately, trying to escape, but he was already too weak to resist the elder. His cries rang across the assembly ground, becoming the loudest sound in the otherwise silent surroundings.

The elder remained unmoved. Zhènmó continued to cut through Yizhou’s flesh as he searched for the Golden Core. When he finally located it, he began to slowly pull it from its position.

At the same time, a female healing cultivator immediately stepped forward. She pressed her hand against Yizhou’s chest, continuously channeling spiritual energy into his body to suppress the bleeding and prevent his organs from failing.

They had been ordered not to let Yizhou die.

They still needed to interrogate him afterward.

Thus, the extraction and healing happened at the same time. As the elder slowly tore the Golden Core from Yizhou’s body, the healing cultivator continuously repaired the damage, keeping him alive throughout the process.

But the healing did not make it painless.

Every wound that was partially repaired was torn open again as the blade continued its work. The constant cycle of damage and healing only prolonged the agony, forcing Yizhou to endure the pain without being allowed to slip into unconsciousness.

His body trembled violently. His consciousness gradually became blurred, and the veins along his neck and arms bulged beneath his skin. His cries became increasingly hoarse, but the extraction did not stop.

Only when the Golden Core was finally pulled free did the elder withdraw Zhènmó.

Bloodied flesh still clung to the shimmering Golden Core. The elder placed it onto the silver plate held by the attendant beside him, while the healing cultivator immediately focused on stabilizing Yizhou’s rapidly weakening body.

The entire process had been carried out in front of everyone.

And Yizhou was still alive.

Sui Sui could no longer bear to watch, he was filled with anger and sadness as his eyes turned red.

Yet there was nothing he could do. This was an illusion of the past, and no matter how badly he wanted to intervene, he could not change what had already happened. In the end, he could only turn away and walk toward the back of the punishment ground, trying to clear his mind.

This could not continue.

He had to find a way to end the illusion as quickly as possible. If he remained immersed in it for too long, he might eventually lose himself in the illusion as well and become trapped inside Yizhou’s consciousness.

The first thing he needed to figure out was how to communicate with the people inside the illusion.

If his guess was correct, then as long as he could make Yizhou realize that everything around him was an illusion, he should be able to wake him up.

Sui Sui remembered Yizhou once telling him that the Qingmei Demons were especially skilled in one particular type of illusion—illusions that amplified a person’s desires. After all, those demons fed on the desires of others. The stronger a person’s desire, the deeper they could be drawn into the illusion.

Therefore, the best way to break such an illusion was to shatter that desire and make the person realize that everything they were experiencing was not real.

The problem was that Sui Sui did not know what Yizhou’s desire was.

If he based it on the original novel, then Yizhou’s greatest desire should have been revenge against everyone in the Wenjian Sect. After everything they had done to him, it would have made sense for hatred and revenge to become the desire that consumed him.

But the current illusion did not seem to be showing anything like that.

Sui Sui frowned, trying to figure out what he was missing.

Just as he was lost in thought, a commotion outside the punishment ground suddenly caught his attention.

Sui Sui turned toward the noise and saw a group of disciples gathered together. They seemed to be surrounding someone, their voices filled with mockery.

Then one of them shouted,

"Idiot! You still want to cling to your Senior Brother? He’s the one who killed your brother!"

---

The commotion on this side did not attract the attention of the other disciples, who remained focused on what was happening on the punishment platform.

"It’s useless. This fool was probably bewitched by that demon too."

"Hahaha, bewitched? I think he’s just stupid."

Hearing those words, Sui Sui suddenly had a strange hunch. He immediately moved closer to the commotion and saw three male disciples surrounding someone on the ground, kicking him repeatedly.

The person they were beating was wearing the light blue robes of the Wenjian Sect. His long white hair was scattered across the ground, while a familiar veil hat lay several feet away, probably knocked off during the beating.

Sui Sui’s steps slowed when he saw the person’s face.

He was instantly stunned.

It was a strange feeling, seeing his own face from someone else’s perspective. Even though he had seen his own reflection countless times, seeing himself lying helplessly on the ground, being beaten by three disciples, felt completely different.

This should be the little fool Bai Sui Sui.

Sui Sui never expected to see Bai Sui Sui here. After all, Bai Sui Sui was barely mentioned in the novel, aside from the few scenes where he followed Yizhou around.

Yet now, he was right in front of him.

Bai Sui Sui was sitting on the ground, his white hair disheveled and his eyes red from crying. His clothes were covered in dirt, and there were already several bruises on his arms. He kept trying to get back up, only to be knocked down again by the three disciples surrounding him.

Even then, he did not fight back.

He simply wiped his tears with the back of his hand and stubbornly repeated, "I want to see my Senior Brother..."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" the leader of the three disciples snapped. "Your Senior Brother is a demon! A demon! He’s a cancer to society!"

Bai Sui Sui, who had been quietly crying, suddenly stopped.

He lowered his hand and looked up at the man. His tear-filled eyes were still innocent, but when he heard the man’s words, he looked as if his feather had been ruffled "My Senior Brother isn’t bad." His voice was soft, almost as though he were simply correcting someone who had said something wrong.

The disciple sneered. "What?"

"My Senior Brother isn’t bad," Bai Sui Sui repeated, this time with more force.

The man clicked his tongue impatiently and stepped forward to kick him again, But before his foot could reach him, Bai Sui Sui suddenly lunged forward.

Caught off guard, the disciple stumbled and fell to the ground. Bai Sui Sui immediately scrambled after him and bit down hard on his arm.

"Ah!" The man cried out in pain.

Bai Sui Sui clung to his arm stubbornly, his teeth sinking into the flesh until blood began to trickle down.

The other two disciples were startled by the sudden attack. They quickly rushed forward and kicked Bai Sui Sui away.

His body rolled across the ground before coming to a stop. His white hair spread messily around him, and for a moment, he simply lay there with tears still clinging to his lashes.

"You—you dare bite me?!" the injured disciple shouted, clutching his bleeding arm.

Bai Sui Sui slowly pushed himself up.

His face was still streaked with tears, but this time, there was anger in his eyes.

"My brother Yizhou isn’t bad!"

The words came out in a loud, childish shout.

"He isn’t bad! He isn’t bad!"

The disciple glared at him. "You little fool! He’s a demon!"

"Shut up!" Bai Sui Sui’s voice cracked. "Shut up! Shut up! I Don’t Believe You! My brother isn’t bad, he is the best in the world!"

His shouting finally drew the attention of several nearby disciples, however no one came to help him, after all, this was just a fools tantrum.

The injured man’s expression darkened. He pointed at Bai Sui Sui and shouted, "Capture this fool! He’s been bewitched by that demon! better send him to the elder for some cleansing"

The other two disciples immediately moved toward him.

Seeing them approach, Bai Sui Sui’s anger vanished as quickly as it had appeared. His eyes widened and seemed to realize that they were going to catch him again and showed a scared expression again, and he scrambled to his feet before turning around and running.

Bai Sui Sui ran awkwardly, nearly stumbling over his own robes as he pushed through the crowd. He did not look back, only clutching his sleeves as he hurried away.

Sui Sui watched everything unfold from the side, keeping himself hidden from the surrounding disciples.

When Bai Sui Sui ran past his hiding place, Sui Sui felt something stir faintly within him. He paused for a moment, but the strange sensation quickly faded, and he did not pay it much attention.

He had never expected that, in a part of the story the novel had never covered, something like this had actually happened.

Sui Sui quickly followed after Bai Sui Sui.

To his surprise, the boy was not simply running away. He was heading straight toward the punishment hall.

Seeing this, Sui Sui’s thoughts shifted.

Could it be...

He suddenly had an idea of what Bai Sui Sui was trying to do.

Bai Sui Sui rushed into the punishment hall without slowing down. His disheveled appearance immediately caught the attention of several people inside, but he paid them no mind. He hurried straight toward the front of the platform, his destination clear.

However, his efforts were in vain, because by the time he arrived, it was already too late as Yizhou’s Golden Core had already been taken.

When Bai Sui Sui saw the scene before him, it was as though something inside him snapped.

His gaze fell on Yizhou, who was lying unconscious on the ground. A large wound had been opened in his abdomen, and blood was still flowing from it, staining his clothes and pooling beneath his body.

Bai Sui Sui did not seem to fully understand what had happened. He probably did not understand why Yizhou had been punished or why everyone was treating his Senior Brother like this.

But he knew one thing.

His Senior Brother was hurt.

Bai Sui Sui’s eyes suddenly flooded with tears. He stumbled forward, desperately trying to get closer to Yizhou, only to be stopped by the people guarding the platform.

"What did you do to my Senior Brother?" he cried, his voice trembling so violently that the words were almost difficult to understand. "Why did you hurt him? Give him back... Give me back my Senior Brother..."

His breathing became increasingly ragged, each breath coming in short, uneven gasps as though he could barely breathe. He stared at Yizhou in a daze, unable to accept the sight before him. His Senior Brother was lying there covered in blood. How could this be?

"Senior Brother..." He struggled against the guards, trying to push his way toward the platform. "Let me see him! Let me see my Senior Brother!"

His voice grew increasingly desperate. He seemed to have forgotten everything around him, ignoring the people blocking his path as he fought to get closer. His hair had come loose, his clothes were stained with dirt, and his tear-streaked face was twisted with grief.

He looked almost like someone who had lost half of his soul.

The commotion finally drew the attention of several elders.

"This is?" one of them asked.

One of the disciples in the onlooking crowd who was familiar with Bai Suichen immediately recognized Sui Sui and stepped forward to explain on his behalf.

"Apologies, Elders. This is Brother Bai’s little brother. Please forgive him. He is simply too distressed right now." As he spoke, he tried to pull Bai Sui Sui away from the platform.

"Distressed?" Chu Ran, who was also present at the trial, sneered. "More like he cannot tell right from wrong. Even now, he is still clinging to his brother’s killer. How utterly unfilial, really worthy of being a fool."

When he heard this, Bai Sui Sui went still.

The tears were still streaming down his face, and his breathing remained ragged, but the moment he heard Chu Ran insult Yizhou, something in him suddenly snapped.

His head turned sharply toward her.

The grief in his eyes was suddenly overshadowed by a fierce, almost animalistic hostility. His gaze sharpened like a wounded beast that had just caught sight of someone threatening the person it was trying to protect. He stared at Chu Ran, the look in his eyes so cold and piercing that it felt like invisible daggers being thrust toward her.

Chu Ran’s heart gave a slight jolt and for some reason, a shiver ran down her spine.

"Take that back..." Bai Sui Sui’s voice was hoarse from crying, but there was a sudden sharpness to it.

"You witch! Witch! Two-Faced-Witch! How dare you!" He suddenly lunged toward Chu Ran.

The disciple holding him was caught off guard and nearly lost his grip. Bai Sui Sui fought wildly, reaching toward Chu Ran as though he truly intended to attack her.

"Take it back! Take it back! You’re not allowed to say that about my Senior Brother!"

"Stop it Junior Brother!" The disciple hurriedly caught him around the waist and pulled him back before he could get any closer.

Bai Sui Sui continued struggling in his arms, his eyes still fixed fiercely on Chu Ran. "My Senior Brother isn’t bad! He didn’t do it! You’re lying!" His voice cracked as he shouted, tears still running down his cheeks.

Chu Ran’s face turned green with anger at being called a witch in public. She opened her mouth, clearly intending to retort, but Acting Sect Master Jiang spoke first.

"Enough." Acting Sect Master Jiang’s voice immediately silenced the commotion. The authority carried in his voice left no room for argument. "Take him back. Do not create any more of a scene here."

The disciple holding Bai Sui Sui immediately bowed. "Yes, Acting Sect Master." He tightened his hold and began carrying Bai Sui Sui away.

But Bai Sui Sui refused to cooperate. The moment he felt himself being pulled away from the punishment platform, he began struggling again, twisting desperately in the disciple’s arms.

"No! I don’t want to go!" His voice was hoarse from crying, yet he still forced the words out. His hands reached helplessly toward the platform, fingers trembling as though he could somehow grasp Yizhou from such a distance. "I want my Senior Brother!"

The disciple tried to hold him more securely, but Bai Sui Sui continued to struggle. His feet kicked against the ground, his clothes becoming increasingly disheveled as he fought to free himself.

The disciple had no choice but to strike the back of Bai Sui Sui’s neck. His body immediately went limp, and the disciple caught him before carrying him away.

Sui Sui stood to the side and silently watched everything unfold.

This part had never been written in the novel, probably because Yizhou had already been unconscious by this point and never knew what had happened afterward. Even so, Sui Sui had never expected Bai Sui Sui to be this loyal.

No wonder the readers had called him Yizhou’s white moonlight.

Unfortunately, this ship was destined to sink.

After all, Sui Sui was now Bai Sui Sui, and he absolutely had no intention of following the original character down that love-brained path. He could still be a good younger brother, though. He would work hard to become a competent one.

As for being Yizhou’s white moonlight...

There were other, better candidates for that role.

As Sui Sui was still lost in thought, the scene before him once again began to change.