Chapter 75: How Can Mortals Resist Fate?

Lu Tianhe, Lu Qingyu, and Fang Jinxing followed immediately.

The distance between the funeral hall and Lu Yang’s courtyard was crossed in an instant.

Lu Yang pushed open the door to his room, his heart pounding restlessly as he swept his gaze across.

At this moment, Bai Qinglan was sitting on the bed.

But the moment Lu Yang saw her, his heart sank.

Her eyes were empty as she sat there motionlessly, her back slightly hunched, her white hair hanging loosely beside her face.

In her eyes, there was no grief or tears, not even the slightest trace of anger. Her face was expressionless, as if her entire soul had been emptied out, leaving behind just a husk.

Lu Yang slowly walked over, calling out in a soft voice, "Qinglan."

When there was no response, he called again, his voice unconsciously lowered even further.

"Qinglan?"

Receiving no response for a long time, Lu Yang’s heart tightened.

He stepped forward and sat beside her, his hand slowly reaching out to hold hers.

Her hand was extremely cold, akin to someone who had lost almost all vitality.

Lu Yang’s fingers trembled slightly.

"Qinglan..."

This time, Bai Qinglan slowly raised her head, her gaze finally falling upon him. There was no emotion in her eyes, like a statue.

Lu Yang’s heart ached at the sight.

"Do you recognize me?"

Several moments passed before Bai Qinglan slowly nodded, her lips moving.

"Husband..."

Her voice was terrifyingly hoarse.

Lu Yang’s fingers tightened around hers.

"I’m here."

Bai Qinglan stared at him for a long time, not saying anything.

Then, slowly, she asked in a quiet voice.

"Xue’er..."

Lu Yang’s body stiffened slightly, but he still held her gaze.

Bai Qinglan’s voice was barely audible as she spoke, almost as if confirming something.

"She’s really dead... right?"

Lu Yang’s pupils trembled at the question.

He had already answered it once, but he still couldn’t bring himself to answer it again.

Then, as though realizing something, Bai Qinglan once again muttered quietly.

"Yes, she’s dead..."

The moment those words left her mouth, Lu Yang seemed to have heard something.

*Crack!*

The sound was extremely faint, almost illusory, yet it appeared incomparably real, like glass shattering deep within one’s soul.

It was the sound of Bai Qinglan’s Dao Heart shattering, crumbling apart into pieces.

Lu Yang’s pupils constricted as he stated at her, his eyes widening helplessly.

For a cultivator, the Dao Heart was not merely an abstract concept, but a concrete, real thing.

It was the reason they cultivated, the reason they endured unimaginable pain, and the reason they continued walking forward despite knowing that the path ahead was filled with countless dangers.

A person’s cultivation could be crippled, their meridians destroyed and their flesh torn apart. Even their soul could suffer injuries that ordinary people could never imagine.

As long as they had a shred of breath left, there were always legends of miraculous medicines capable of healing even the most severe injuries, healing the soul and calming the mind, bringing the dead back to life.

But the Dao Heart was different. Once shattered, there was almost no remedy.

Dao Heart shattering, for a cultivator, could be considered the end of their path.

A cultivator without a Dao Heart was like rootless duckweed floating aimlessly upon water.

They had lost the reason to move forward, their purpose in life and the belief that allowed them to endure everything.

It was no different from an ordinary person who had lost all hope in life.

They could still breathe, eat, speak, and continue living normally as before, but they were no longer truly alive. It was only more extreme for cultivators.

Unless something or someone could once again stir their emotions and re-ignite that extinguished hope, there was basically no way to recover.

Lu Yang understood this immediately, causing his hand to tremble.

"Qinglan..."

Bai Qinglan didn’t answer.

Her heartbeat had slowed down, her breathing had become weaker, and her pulse was becoming increasingly faint.

Her Blood Qi, which should have been circulating through her body, had also begun to stagnate.

Lu Yang’s expression changed drastically.

"Qinglan!"

He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her firmly.

"Wake up!"

Bai Qinglan’s body trembled slightly as Lu Yang desperately injected his Blood Qi into her body and tried to stimulate her meridians.

But there was simply no response, how could there be?

Her body wasn’t injured at all, there was no poison, hidden technique, or external attack.

She was simply losing her will to live.

Lu Yang’s heart began pounding violently.

"No..."

He shook her shoulders again, with more force this time.

"Qinglan! Look at me!"

Bai Qinglan’s gaze remained distant.

Suddenly, she raised her arms and wrapped them around Lu Yang, hugging him.

Lu Yang’s body stiffened as he felt her tremble within his arms, her face buried against his chest.

"Husband..."

Her voice was weak as she spoke in a shaky voice, causing Lu Yang’s eyes to redden.

"Our daughter... she... she’s gone."

Bai Qinglan’s fingers tightened weakly around his clothes.

"That precious little girl... she’s really gone."

Lu Yang couldn’t help closing his eyes, suppressing his surging emotions as he replied.

"...Yes."

"We can’t bring her back." Bai Qinglan’s voice became increasingly faint as she continued.

"We’re too weak... revenge, for people like us, is only a distant dream, as distant as the heavens... even if it’s accomplished... she, she won’t come back... in the end, we’re only mortals born into this world... only people capable of watching helplessly as we’re swept along by the tides and waves of the world..."

Lu Yang’s body trembled as Bai Qinglan continued speaking, each word piercing through his heart and slicing his soul.

"Even though we’re cultivators... how can we resist the grand trend of destiny...?"

Her breathing became weaker, but there was still a trace of extreme unwillingness hidden in her eyes.

"How... can we resist fate?"

Lu Yang’s expression became increasingly ugly, a fear unlike any before gripping his heart.

Fate, fate, again that damned fate!

He had always hated that word.

He hated it in his first life as an orphan with nothing to rely upon, he hated it in his second life after being reborn with worthless talent, and he hated it when he realized that even in his third life, there were still countless things beyond his control.

But at this moment, his hatred for that word had reached its absolute peak.

How many times had fate taken something from him, and how many times had it forced him to watch helplessly?

He cultivated precisely because he wanted to escape that invisible hand.

Yet despite everything, his parents still died, his daughter still died, and his wife was now slowly dying in his arms as well.

What was the meaning of all his cultivation?

What was the meaning of three lifetimes?

What was the meaning of the Script of Reincarnation?

If he couldn’t even protect the people closest to him, then what exactly was he cultivating for?

Lu Yang’s breathing became heavy, and for a brief moment, it seemed that something inside him was also about to crack.

But at that moment, Bai Qinglan suddenly spoke again.

Her voice had somehow regained a trace of strength.

"Husband."

Lu Yang lowered his head, "I’m here."

"You have to... take revenge for Xue’er."

Lu Yang froze.

Bai Qinglan raised her head, her face pale and eyes already beginning to lose their focus.

However, there was a trace of almost imperceptible emotion within them.

"Promise me... p-promise me you’ll avenge our daughter."

Lu Yang stared at her. His mind was in complete, utter chaos.

He knew what she was asking, and he also knew that she didn’t truly expect him to defeat the Misty Cloud Sect.

She didn’t expect him to fight a Spiritual Platform Realm powerhouse, she knew the vast difference even though she didn’t understand that realm.

Lu Yang was only a Ninth Stage Spirit Awakening cultivator, and even if he broke through to the Essence Gathering Realm, so what?

How could an Essence Gathering cultivator contend against the Qi Sea Realm, much less a realm above Qi Sea?

The gap between realms was too enormous, like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Yet, she still wanted him to promise.

Perhaps she simply wanted to hear those words, Lu Yang thought.

At that moment, he only saw his wife staring at him wuth those terrifyingly bright eyes, waiting for an answer.

"Yes."

His voice was hoarse as he spoke firmly.

"I promise to avenge our daughter."

Bai Qinglan’s eyes trembled, a faint smile appearing upon her face.

It was an extremely weak smile, but it was also the first genuine emotion Lu Yang had seen in her eyes since she woke up.

"Good..."

Her voice was barely audible.

"Then... I can..."

Before she could finish, her body suddenly went limp.

Lu Yang’s arms tightened around her.

"Qinglan?"

He shook her gently as he called out.

When she didn’t make any movements, Lu Yang’s eyes widened, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

He immediately checked her heartbeat, her breathing, her pulse, her Blood Qi, any vital signs, only for all of them to be unresponsive.

Lu Yang froze. For several seconds, he simply sat there.

His arms were still wrapped around her, but his expression was already blank, and his mind had become completely empty.

"Qinglan..."

He called out softly, receiving no answer.

He repeated her name several times, as if in a trance, and still got no answer.

It was only then did he realize that she was dead.

His wife... was dead.

The person who had accompanied him for more than half his lifetime, the woman who had shared countless ordinary days with him, the woman who had stood beside him through his rise within the Lu Family... she, just like their daughter, had also left him.

Lu Yang lowered his head, his hands slowly tightening as his entire body trembled.

He felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

Lu Qingxue and Bai Qinglan, one after another.

They had both died before him, and he could do nothing.

Nothing at all.

His Dao Heart trembled violently, teetering on the brink of collapse before being forcibly stabilized by his sheer, astonishing willpower forged across three lifetimes.

He clenched his teeth, his Blood Qi surging wildly throughout his body as his heart pounded like a war drum, clearing away his hazy consciousness.

He couldn’t collapse yet.

There were still things he needed to do, he couldn’t fall here.

Outside the room, Lu Tianhe, Lu Qingyu, and Fang Jinxing stood silently.

None of them had entered, waiting for Lu Yang and Bai Qinglan to finish speaking.

But the silence had stretched on for too long.

Lu Tianhe looked towards the room.

"Let’s go in."

The three stepped inside, but the moment they entered, their feet were as if hammered to the ground, frozen in place.

Lu Yang was sitting on the bed, and his arms were still wrapped around Bai Qinglan, but her body was completely motionless.

Just from seeing her like that and sensing the subtle signs, they understood.

Lu Qingyu’s face became pale as she turned her head to the side, her eyes reddening.

Fang Jinxing’s pupils contracted, his fists clenched tightly.

Lu Tianhe stood completely still, his gaze lowering to the ground.

No one spoke for a long time.

Lu Yang slowly raised his head.

His eyes were red, but there were still no tears within them.

He looked at the three people standing behind him with a calm, almost numb gaze.

Lu Tianhe’s lips trembled slightly as he managed to speak with difficulty.

"Lu Yang..."

His voice was extremely hoarse, but Lu Yang didn’t answer.

He looked back down at Bai Qinglan again, his hand gently brushing the white hair away from her face.

His movements were extremely careful, just like when he had closed Lu Qingxue’s eyes.

Outside, the wind chimes let out a few gentle sounds under the increasingly strong wind as dark clouds began to gather in the sky.