Chapter 332

Meanwhile, beneath the sandy dunes of Tianhe.

All the demon cultivators had been slaughtered, and He Zhizhou stared intently at Qing Heng’s corpse, listening as Ning Ning explained what had happened.

She spoke vaguely, mentioning she had fallen victim to a life-for-life spell, destined to die in another’s place. Though her death was postponed, even Ning Ning herself didn’t know when her life might end.

“So,” He Zhizhou’s mind was a jumbled mess, not even tending to his wounds.

“From the very beginning, the ‘system’ was a setup to have you bear all the misfortune?”

Ning Ning nodded, not daring to look at Pei Ji.

The atmosphere grew tense, and He Zhizhou avoided looking at him as well.

“Hey! Come out and face me!”

Frustrated and flustered, He Zhizhou almost jumped up, angrily hammering at his mind, “Are you also trying to take over my body?”

As a fellow transmigrant, He Zhizhou had a system of his own, named “Whetstone,” claiming to be sent by Heaven’s Will with a mission to put him through trials to refine Pei Ji’s skills.

He didn’t believe a word about Heaven’s Will or the so-called Whetstone.

The night wind wailed, almost like laughter, as a light sensation tugged at his chest, and He Zhizhou heard a faint chuckle.

“What are you thinking? If I were the original owner of this body, would I have this kind of voice?”

It was a soft, feminine voice filled with laughter.

It paused briefly, speaking with a hint of regret, “Her system showed signs of something wrong from the start, didn’t it? If it were truly a creation of Heaven’s will, it wouldn’t conflict with your mission.”

This referred to a time before He Zhizhou met Ning Ning, when both had separately hired people to surround Pei Ji, and the two groups ended up brawling in front of Pei Ji’s residence.

Steadying his nerves, He Zhizhou gritted his teeth and asked, “Then, what now? Is there any way to save Ning Ning?”

Before dying, one of the demon cultivators had said that to lift the curse, they would need substantial merits as compensation.

But where could they find such merits? Accumulating merits was as hard as scaling a mountain, and none of them were Heaven’s chosen. The only one Heaven seemed to care for was Pei Ji, and he’d suffered too many hardships to count—

Wait.

He Zhizhou’s eyelids twitched as his heart began to race.

Who said they didn’t have a Heaven’s chosen one here?

A system crafted by Heaven’s Will… wasn’t that inside his own mind?

“You once said that cooperating with Heaven’s Will would earn me merits as rewards—”

Suppressing his racing heart, He Zhizhou clenched his fists tightly. “So, I currently have merits, right?”

The woman’s voice went silent for a moment, then softly replied, “Yes.”

“How much merit have I accumulated from childhood until now?”

Finally, He Zhizhou felt a slight sense of relief.

For once, he was serious as he slowly and clearly declared, “I want to transfer all of it to Ning Ning… can you do that?”

“Are you insane?”

Whetstone’s tone was incredulous.

“Those merits are the result of years of accumulation. With them, you’d have a much easier path to immortality.”

Her tone sounded like she was trying to dissuade him.

But upon hearing it, He Zhizhou only grew more determined, grinning from ear to ear.

“So that means it’s possible, right? Hurry up! Don’t hesitate!”

Whetstone: …

Whetstone: “Are you really sure? Even with all your merit, it likely won’t be enough to offset the karma she bears.”

The voice paused as if choosing words carefully, then continued in a soft tone, “The original owner of this body has reincarnated countless times, with karmic burdens piling up far beyond what you could imagine. Even if you exhaust every bit of your merit… it might still not be enough to save her.”

“I don’t care! How can I accept failure without even trying?”

In his desperation, He Zhizhou’s face contorted, and he banged his head.

“Please, Sister Whetstone goddess! Just transfer all my merits to her! I don’t need a single drop!”

Lu Wanxing looked at He Zhizhou with a complex expression, watching him laugh and cry with an almost terrifying look on her face. She spoke up suddenly, “Ning Ning, don’t worry. I have an idea!”

What she didn’t know was that, at that very moment, a woman’s laugh echoed in the mind of the unreliable young cultivator by her side.

Whetstone yawned lazily, its tone devoid of emotion.

“Very well.”

It was a terribly unbalanced trade.

And this host of hers was as hopeless as ever, the type who’d be the only one to make such a request.

Luckily, she’d long grown accustomed to this idiot’s way of thinking.

Merit was intangible, so even if it was fully transferred, there wouldn’t be any drastic changes.

Only He Zhizhou and Ning Ning could faintly sense the gentle flow of energy within their bodies.

It felt as if his strength was slowly draining away.

He Zhizhou took a deep breath, leaning back against the sand dunes as he slid down.

Unable to speak, he used sound transmission to explain the situation to Ning Ning and Pei Ji, speaking weakly in his mind, “Now… how’s the karma inside her?”

“Defying fate is the ultimate taboo.”

Whetstone replied, “You and I have done everything we can.”

Pei Ji, who had heard the voice, radiated an even more intense aura of killing intent.

He Zhizhou’s heart skipped a beat.

“What does that mean?”

“Your merit reduced the disaster slightly, but compared to the karma weighing down her body, it’s still far from enough.”

The voice paused for a moment, then added softly, “Heaven’s Will will transform the unseen disaster into a visible one. Soon, six heavenly thunders will strike.”

“Heavenly thunder?”

He Zhizhou’s heart lifted, “If the disaster takes a physical form, doesn’t that mean it can be avoided? Isn’t this good news?”

Whetstone only let out a low chuckle.

“Do you truly believe that heavenly thunder, which defies fate and breaches life-and-death, can be so easily endured?”

Seeing his momentary pause, the woman’s voice grew more serious.

“Six heavenly thunders represent the six paths of reincarnation to purge sin. Each strike penetrates to the core, with each one more powerful than the last—and no one can survive the final strike, the Hell Path.”

After this statement, a flash of light streaked across the darkened sky.

The end was near; the heavenly thunder was coming.

Ever since Huo Qiao’s death, Ning Ning’s system has remained silent.

She had heard every word of the recent conversation, and perhaps because she’d prepared herself, now that the disaster had finally arrived, she wasn’t as tense.

… So, no one could survive this.

It was still a doomed fate.

She wanted to say something, but suddenly, a figure moved beside her.