Chapter 486 – My Master Is Not Human – Despair and Rebirth (32)
“So, whose death day is it, exactly? We don’t know that yet.” Bai Tang stepped forward with puffed cheeks. This was the person who had been framing both him and A-Yi all this time. What a despicable bastard.
During the earlier confrontation, Wang Cheng’s hood had been knocked off, revealing an unbelievably hideous face.
His original appearance had never been particularly handsome, but neither had it been ugly. His current grotesque appearance was the result of recklessly pursuing power through cultivation.
The skin on the right side of Wang Cheng’s face was as wrinkled as the bark of an ancient tree. The left side was covered with dense, unknown patterns that spread across his features. His facial proportions were completely distorted—his face was far too large while his features were too small, making him look like a flattened pancake, the moldy kind that’s long past its expiration date.
Bai Tang couldn’t imagine how Wang Cheng’s subordinates managed to work under him while looking at that face. As for Bai Tang himself, he found it utterly revolting.
“Blegh… Ugh…”
Bai Tang bent over and gagged. Raising a hand to stop Wang Cheng, he stammered, “D-Don’t come any closer.”
Pei Boyi gently rubbed Bai Tang’s back before taking out his favorite lemon-citrus candy—the homemade snack Bai Tang always liked whenever he felt nauseous.
“Tang Tang, open your mouth.”
“Ahhh—”
“A-Yi… he’s so ugly,” Bai Tang mumbled around the candy his husband had lovingly made for him.
Pei Boyi coaxed him gently, “Be good. We won’t look at him anymore. Ugly people aren’t worth looking at. I’m better-looking—look at me instead.”
“A-Yi, you’re the best~”
Wang Cheng nearly choked with rage.
What the hell is this?!
As the greatest villain, he was supposed to be the most imposing man on the battlefield. Yet Bai Tang and Pei Boyi ignored him so completely that he might as well not exist.
Every humiliation he had ever suffered came flooding back.
It had all started because of them.
If they had shown him just a little more tolerance back then, he never would have ended up like this. His family… those cultivators who had died resisting… they had all died because of them.
“Cherish this last chance to flaunt your love,” Wang Cheng sneered, letting out a sinister cackle. “You won’t have another.”
“You should cover your face again.”
Without warning, Bai Tang struck first.
He flicked the vine in his hand toward Wang Cheng.
Instinctively, Wang Cheng sidestepped to dodge. At that exact moment, a thick woolen cloth fluttered through the air and landed squarely over his face.
“That’s much better.”
Looking at the “headless” demonic cultivator standing before him, Bai Tang turned to Pei Boyi with an expression that practically screamed, Come on, praise me!
“Tang Tang is amazing. I think it’s much better too. I don’t feel sick anymore.”
Pei Boyi happily played along.
As long as Tang Tang was happy, nothing else mattered.
Bai Tang immediately beamed with satisfaction.
“Of course!”
Wang Cheng ripped the cloth from his face.
Seeing the two of them still chatting and laughing as though he weren’t even there made his teeth grind with fury.
Ignored again.
Did they really think he was still the powerless, inexperienced youth he had once been?
Enraged, Wang Cheng swiftly formed a series of hand seals and launched an attack at Pei Boyi.
Centered on Wang Cheng, a ring of fire erupted with a radius of ten meters, encircling everyone within it. The roaring flames surged to the height of a grown man.
Bai Tang’s expression immediately darkened.
All animals feared fire, and fluffy creatures like him were especially instinctively afraid of it.
Dark clouds gathered overhead as thunder rumbled across the sky.
Black qi and golden light poured from Wang Cheng’s body, intertwining into a dark golden aura. He had seized the True Dragon’s Aura for himself. The dragon’s aura, once a symbol of righteousness, had now become something evil—a source of Wang Cheng’s power.
“Tang Tang, stay behind me.”
Pei Boyi gently pushed Bai Tang behind him.
Summoning his longsword, he unsheathed it with a sharp ring. The flying sword hovered vertically in midair before splitting into ten identical swords, each attacking Wang Cheng from a different angle.
Wang Cheng remained completely unfazed.
With the protection of the True Dragon’s Aura, ordinary spells and techniques could not harm him at all.
The battle quickly mirrored Wang Cheng’s earlier fight against Yue Xiyin.
No matter how many techniques Pei Boyi unleashed, none of them could even touch Wang Cheng.
After exchanging more than a hundred moves, sweat covered Pei Boyi’s forehead. Anxiety was written all over his face, and beneath it lingered traces of fear and hesitation.
Judging that his opponent had run out of options, Wang Cheng burst into laughter.
“You’re out of tricks,” he mocked. “But I haven’t even used my full strength yet.”
Without warning, he hurled his giant wheel into the sky.
Drawing in bolts of lightning, the massive wheel began circling around Pei Boyi and Bai Tang. It spun faster and faster, while the ring it formed steadily shrank, threatening to crush them inside.
“Tang Tang, get out first.”
Pei Boyi shielded Bai Tang while desperately searching for a way to break through the encirclement.
“No! I’m not leaving!”
Bai Tang refused without hesitation.
“Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be. Don’t even think about sending me away again.”
Again…?
In that instant, countless images flashed through Bai Tang’s mind like streaks of lightning.
Yet he couldn’t make out a single one clearly.
An overwhelming flood of memories surged toward him, causing a splitting headache that felt as though his head would burst apart.
“Tang Tang… trust me.”
Pei Boyi wrapped an arm around Bai Tang’s waist.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a tiny white point.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he hurled his sword.
The flying sword tore open a narrow gap in the rapidly spinning ring of lightning.
Seizing the opportunity, Pei Boyi threw Bai Tang through the opening.
The sword could not hold the breach for long.
The instant Bai Tang escaped, the blade was violently snapped in two, and the ring of lightning continued to contract.
The air filled with the acrid smell of something burning.
“A-Yi—!”
Bai Tang turned around, but all he could see was the scorched smoke rising from the sphere of crackling lightning.
“Die… Die!”
Bathed in the firelight, Wang Cheng’s already hideous face twisted into an even more grotesque expression.
Just then, Sect Master Siyuan and the others arrived, bringing with them the demonic cultivators who had been besieging them.
The black-robed demonic cultivator dared not lift his head to face Wang Cheng.
His mission had failed.
Not only had he failed to seize the Sect Keystone, but he had also been captured and interrogated, revealing Wang Cheng’s location.
In truth, even if the black-robed cultivator had remained silent, Sect Master Siyuan would still have learned where Wang Cheng was.
The disciples who had escaped to gather at the main hall had already reported everything that had happened in exact detail.
Even so…
They were too late.
By the time they arrived, Yue Xiyin had been gravely wounded, Du Ting’s life hung by a thread, Bai Tang was crying out in despair…
And Pei Boyi was nowhere to be found.
There was only one explanation for the overwhelming despair radiating from Bai Tang—
Something had happened to Pei Boyi.
Pei Boyi’s personal sword lay broken in two, further confirming the grim truth that his chances of survival were slim.
The Fourteen-Star Alignment had arrived.
During the solar eclipse, the world’s righteous energy—the source of Heaven and Earth’s balance—was at its weakest. The Heavenly Dao’s power was also at its most fragile, making this the perfect moment to tear open the void.
The grand formation Wang Cheng had set up had finished absorbing the cultivators’ blood.
The Evil God from another dimension sensed the summons and was now battering against the barrier separating the two worlds.
Wang Cheng intended to use this opportunity to shatter the barrier from within and open a passage.
The earth trembled violently.
Mountains shook.
Volcanoes erupted, spewing molten lava.
Wherever the lava flowed, everything it touched melted instantly.
The mortal world had become a living hell.
Walking to the center of the formation, Wang Cheng extended a hand toward Sect Master Siyuan.
“Hand over the Keystone, and I’ll spare your lives.”
The True Dragon’s Aura would allow him to break through the dimensional barrier.
Once the barrier was breached, however, the aura would be exhausted.
After ascending to the Upper Realm, he would need the power stored within the Keystone to restore his strength.
Forty-eight Keystones had already been placed within the formation.
Only the Le’an Immortal Sect’s Keystone remained.
“You’ve turned the mortal world into a living hell. Do you really think I’d believe a single word you say?” Sect Master Siyuan refused without hesitation.
Wen Leng and the others also took up battle stances, ready to fight at any moment.
Wang Cheng smiled coldly.
“So you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit.”
Without warning, he made his move.
His figure blurred like a phantom as he instantly appeared beside Bai Tang, seized him by the throat, and dragged him back to the center of the formation.
“Since Sect Master Siyuan refuses to cooperate, then I’ll simply take Daoist Heyi with me. If I run into any trouble along the way, I’ll offer him as a sacrifice to the Evil God.”
Wang Cheng’s grip tightened mercilessly.
Bai Tang’s face quickly turned blue from lack of air.
He clawed desperately at Wang Cheng’s hand, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t pry those fingers loose.
“You insolent wretch! How dare you?!” Sect Master Siyuan’s expression changed drastically as he roared in fury.
“Let Xiao Tang go. If you do, I’ll spare your life.”
Fu Maiwen’s heart ached at the sight of Bai Tang’s suffering, and his hatred for Wang Cheng only deepened.
“What is there for me to fear?” Wang Cheng sneered. “Give me the Keystone, and I’ll return Daoist Heyi to you. So, Sect Master Siyuan… do we have a deal or not?”
The sky grew darker and darker.
Above the formation, a massive vortex slowly began to take shape.
With great difficulty, Bai Tang turned his head.
The sphere of crackling lightning had already disappeared.
A-Yi was dead.
Not even his body remained.
Bai Tang’s mind went completely blank.
Even his soul trembled as boundless grief engulfed his heart.
A-Yi… A-Yi…
Sect Master Siyuan took out the Keystone.
Hesitation filled his face, along with unmistakable guilt.
On one side stood all the lives under heaven.
On the other was his most beloved junior martial brother.
Between righteousness and personal attachment, there had never been a choice that could satisfy both.
A-Yi… avenge him!
Hatred consumed Bai Tang’s consciousness.
Inside the Main System’s space, the announcement system sounded an urgent warning.
[Warning! Warning! The host is about to lose control. Transferring the Power of the Heavenly Dao. Transfer successful. Conversion failed. Bzzzt—]
The announcement system had no idea what had gone wrong.
It only knew that Bai Tang absolutely could not lose control.
It had attempted to transfer the Power of the Heavenly Dao that had been gathered from previous mission worlds, hoping it would suppress his power.
The transfer had succeeded.
But instead of suppressing Bai Tang…
He absorbed it.
A tremendous surge of power suddenly erupted from Bai Tang’s body.
With a sharp crack, the hand gripping his throat shattered into pieces.
The resulting shockwave blasted Wang Cheng more than a dozen meters away.
Avenge him… avenge him…
Bai Tang transformed into a little squirrel.
Moving so fast that he became a blur, he snatched up the Keystones scattered on the ground and swallowed them whole.
Everyone felt only a sudden gust of wind.
Then, the Keystone in Sect Master Siyuan’s hand was gone as well.
The little squirrel had stolen it.
Gulp.
He swallowed it in one bite.
“No—!”
Watching the scene unfold, despair flooded Wang Cheng’s heart.
Within the vortex overhead, a gigantic crimson eye slowly opened, as though searching the world below for prey.
Wang Cheng knew exactly what it was.
It was the Evil God’s eye.
The Evil God had already broken through the dimensional barrier for him.
There was no more time.
Scrambling to his feet, he sprinted toward the center of the formation.
“Pfft!“
The formation was only a few steps away—within reach.
But Wang Cheng collapsed before he could enter it.
Turning around with difficulty, he saw Pei Boyi standing behind him.
No one knew when he had appeared.
His expression remained cold and indifferent as he slowly pulled a vine free from Wang Cheng’s body.
I refuse to accept this…
This isn’t how it was supposed to end.
It wasn’t…
Standing at the center of the formation, Bai Tang was bathed in dark golden light.
The True Dragon’s Aura flew out of Wang Cheng’s body and shot into the enormous crimson eye overhead.
At the same time, Bai Tang slowly rose into the air, carried upward by the golden radiance.
Avenge him… avenge him…
Wang Cheng was his enemy.
The Evil God was his enemy as well.
The aura surrounding Wang Cheng resembled the Evil God’s.
Anyone who possessed that kind of power was his enemy.
Violent winds howled as sand and stones filled the sky.
Countless vengeful spirits of those Wang Cheng had murdered surged through the air.
It’s all the cultivators’ fault.
When immortals fight, it’s ordinary people who suffer.
We only wanted peaceful lives.
Why couldn’t we have that?
Why were we the ones who had to die?
Why should they live?
If anyone has to die… then everyone should die together!
Sect Master Siyuan, Wen Leng, and the others fought desperately against the charging vengeful spirits, leaving them unable to approach the formation.
Bai Tang was about to touch the gigantic eye.
Stepping across the swarming spirits, Pei Boyi chased after him.
Just as the enormous eye transformed into a monstrous mouth, ready to swallow Bai Tang whole—
A pair of hands reached out and shielded the little squirrel.
“Tang Tang… don’t go.”
The familiar voice snapped the little squirrel back to his senses for a brief moment.
He turned around.
His beloved, whom he had believed to be dead, was looking at him with the same gentle gaze as always.
“Squeak…” A-Yi.
The man and the little squirrel hung suspended in midair. An invisible barrier separated them from the monstrous mouth. Unable to devour its prey, the giant mouth let out a furious roar.
Suddenly, the little squirrel’s body began to twitch. Then he started spitting things out. It was the power stored inside the Keystones.
The squirrel had digested the Keystones themselves—the vessels that contained the power—revealing the energy hidden within.
That power did not belong to this world. It came from a higher plane of existence. The very world that Wang Cheng had longed to reach.