Chapter 423: It’s Your Turn

No one cared about Ye Zhiyao’s opinion, nor did anyone believe she could escape from Cangming’s grasp.

Once Cangming and the others concluded their discussion, they added a few more clauses to the treaty. Then, without further hesitation, all four of them pressed their handprints onto the document.

In that instant, it was as if Heavenly Dao Power surged into the contract. All four felt it—a sensation of being bound by some unseen force.

For example, if Cangming were to try to attack Master Qian He and the others without reason, he would feel a faint sense of restraint.

Of course, this bond was not entirely unbreakable. But to shatter it, he would have to pay a tremendous price.

The same held true for Master Qian He and the others.

Seeing the contract finalized, Lu Sangjiu finally felt the great weight lift from her heart.

She looked at Xie Ningyuan with delight. "We did it!"

Xie Ningyuan returned her smile. "Yes, we did."

He looked at Lu Sangjiu, his smile genuine. But the heartache and sorrow behind it were just as real.

She had saved so many people, yet she couldn’t save herself.

Xie Ningyuan recalled the words of his master when he first embarked on the path of a Buddhist Practitioner.

Love all under heaven, but do not love one person alone.

It meant that he must love all people equally and show no favoritism.

Once a person has a favorite, it is easy to lose one’s sense of fairness.

’But now, he suddenly felt that it was enough for others to love the world. He only wanted to love her.’

’He wanted to disregard everything else, if only he could save her. It was just a thought, of course.’

’Because he loved Lu Sangjiu, he had to love what she loved.’

’She loved the world, so he, too, had to love the world.’

Knowing that Lu Sangjiu would soon have to return to the Western Demon Realm with Cangming, Xie Ningyuan’s mind was in turmoil.

Duan Xingyun, too, had his thoughts focused solely on Lu Sangjiu.

And so, none of them noticed the madness gradually gathering in Ye Zhiyao’s eyes as she stood to the side.

Having sealed the contract, Cangming had no intention of exchanging pleasantries. He turned directly to Ye Zhiyao, whom he had already bound.

A cruel smile touched his lips. "Now," Cangming said, "it’s your turn."

Terror filled Ye Zhiyao’s eyes. "No... wait! Don’t you want to know how I found out about Lu Sangjiu’s identity?"

Cangming was about to strike, but her words made him pause.

He tilted his head slightly, glancing at Lu Sangjiu.

Lu Sangjiu’s expression faltered. She stared at Ye Zhiyao and said, "Oh? Then by all means, tell us."

’Her first guess had been the Pseudo Heavenly Dao.’

’But seeing Ye Zhiyao’s reaction now, that didn’t seem right.’

’If it were him, Ye Zhiyao would surely be pinning her hopes on him for a rescue, not proactively selling him out.’

But Ye Zhiyao stared at Lu Sangjiu. "I can tell you, but... I refuse to die by your hands. I would rather let the Old Ancestor possess me and use my body to live on!"

Lu Sangjiu arched an eyebrow, giving Ye Zhiyao a strange look. "Since when did you have such an epiphany? Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly had a crisis of conscience and decided to sacrifice yourself?"

Ye Zhiyao gritted her teeth. She knew spouting some sanctimonious nonsense wouldn’t fool Lu Sangjiu.

So she said bluntly, "Of course not."

"I admit, I have no spirit of self-sacrifice, and I don’t want to die in the slightest."

"But..." She glanced at Cangming with a bitter smile. "Can I really escape now?"

"I’m not letting the Old Ancestor possess me for some noble cause. I just don’t want to die at your hands. At least this way, my body can continue to live!"

As she spoke, she let out a low laugh, her gaze toward Lu Sangjiu filled with malice. "You hate me so much. In the future, you’ll have to watch someone live on with my face. That must be agonizing for you, won’t it?"

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’Hardly.’

She didn’t immediately believe Ye Zhiyao, but instead sized her up, mulling over the credibility of her offer.

Ye Zhiyao’s lips twitched into a smirk. "Lu Sangjiu, are you that afraid of me? That you don’t even dare grant me this one little request?"

"Do you really not want to know how I found out your secret?"

"If you pass this up, you’ll regret it."

Ye Zhiyao’s taunts, one after another, genuinely piqued Lu Sangjiu’s curiosity.

’She had to know. Otherwise, she would always feel a pair of malicious eyes watching her back, without ever knowing who they belonged to.’

After a moment of contemplation, she finally looked at Cangming. "I want to know."

’She was agreeing to the deal, but she knew the final decision was still Cangming’s to make.’

’Lu Sangjiu knew she was special to Cangming, but it was hard to say exactly how special.’

’In any case, she didn’t feel she could just make the decision over his head.’

Cangming gave her a deep look, then lowered his gaze. "For things like this, you don’t need to ask me."

"You are not my prisoner... I was going to kill her for you anyway. You can make the decision."

’His heart ached a little. Lu Sangjiu’s current attitude toward him was worse than her attitude toward her own senior brothers and sisters, let alone Xie Ningyuan.’

’She asked him not out of respect, but out of distance.’

Lu Sangjiu found his words laughable, and she did indeed laugh. "Not a prisoner?"

She said nothing more, but the sarcasm in her tone was enough to make Cangming’s heart throb with a dull ache.

Taking a deep breath, Cangming said no more. He looked to Ye Zhiyao, his eyes once again a mask of indifference. "I agree. Now you can speak."

Ye Zhiyao wasn’t afraid they would go back on their word. After all, with the Immortal Gate present, they wouldn’t risk the shame of doing something so dishonorable.

Ye Zhiyao looked at Lu Sangjiu and said calmly, "He Guang told me."

She continued, "He Guang’s cultivation is profound; he can already communicate with heaven and earth."

"Your identity was revealed to him by the heavens."

Lu Sangjiu’s brow furrowed. She hadn’t expected it to be He Guang.

’But... guidance from the heavens? Could it be that, like her, he was visited in a dream by the Pseudo Heavenly Dao?’

’Lu Sangjiu found it far more believable than the idea that someone like He Guang could actually receive the favor of the heavens.’

As she lowered her gaze in thought, Ye Zhiyao’s lips suddenly curled into a smile. Her gaze shifted to the others. "One last thing... He Guang asked me to deliver a message to all of you."

"No new Spiritual Energy is being generated in the Spirit Void Realm anymore. The only way to achieve Ascension is to kill other Cultivators and return their Spiritual Energy to the world..."

"Silence!"

Ye Zhiyao rushed out the last sentence, knowing they wouldn’t let her finish.

So even though Hua Jianzhi reacted quickly and tried to cut her off, she had already said most of what she intended.

In his haste to silence Ye Zhiyao, Hua Jianzhi struck her with his palm. The blow wasn’t especially severe; Ye Zhiyao merely coughed up a mouthful of blood, appearing even weaker than before.

Coughing up blood, she looked at Hua Jianzhi and laughed. "Are you panicking? Heh... HAHAHAHA! Don’t worry, I was only delivering a message."

"It doesn’t matter if you kill me. It doesn’t matter if you all try to keep this a secret. Because... he will make sure this news spreads across the entire Spirit Void Realm."

She turned to Lu Sangjiu, speaking word by word, "You wanted peace, didn’t you? I’d love to see how you maintain peace now!"