Chapter 122: For Jiang Niannian, He Would Do Anything

Yin Buqi stood in the sky, the fierce wind whipping around him, his fiery red ceremonial robe billowing. Nine black fox tails fluttered and scattered, his ink-black hair flying wildly, the red mark on his forehead glowing brightly. He paid no attention to the cries and screams from below. He was like a god of slaughter, a demon from hell!

Not just in Nian City, but all the fires seemed endless, growing fiercer and fiercer. It was like a purgatory. Everyone was desperately fleeing for their lives.

“Yin Buqi! Stop!”

Hu Feishuang, dodging the flames, screamed as her clothes began to catch fire.

She shouted, “This is the city Jiang Niannian worked so hard to build, and the people living here are her subjects. Do you want to destroy her life’s work like this? She would be heartbroken if she knew!”

Boom—

Another burst of molten lava erupted, shaking the heavens and the earth, drowning out her voice.

Countless mountains collapsed, and in this disaster, it seemed no one could escape. The sky was a mix of red and black, a rolling sea of fire engulfing everything.

In this chaos, the lava formed networks like human blood vessels, and on the river of blood, red spider lilies bloomed! Viewed from above, it was a breathtakingly beautiful yet terrifying sight—a true hell on earth.

Yin Buqi’s eyes reflected a ferocious hollow, illuminating his pale and withered face, with an indescribable strangeness: “Nian Nian is dead, I will die with her too, we will never be apart, never again…”

This world might as well be destroyed too.

The corners of his lips twitched, forming a faint, elusive smile.

Suddenly, a crack appeared somewhere, piercing through the darkness like lightning.

Behind Yin Buqi, a long sword shot through the air.

He turned, and a crimson iron sword materialized in his hand.

In the darkness, the two swords clashed, their blades grinding against each other, creating sparks like fireworks blooming in the dark.

The figure wielding the sword was unclear.

Yin Buqi’s crimson eyes were devoid of emotion, his mind consumed by a single thought—destroy everything! Burn it all! Destroy it all!

After the two swords separated, he swiftly swung his sword, striking as fast as a dragon emerging from its lair, slashing toward the crack in the void, sharp enough to seemingly split the sky!

In the next second, an aged sigh reached his ears: “You are the one I’ve been waiting for.”

A massive surge of spiritual energy flooded his heart.

After an unknown amount of time, the crimson in Yin Buqi’s eyes faded, and a moment of clarity returned to his consciousness.

The scenery around him abruptly changed.

There was no fire, no lava, no river of blood, and no red-black sky. The Nian City had returned to its original state, like a paradise on earth.

Except, there were no people.

Yin Buqi looked around and asked, “Who are you?”

A faint, translucent figure appeared before him. He wore a simple white robe, a wine gourd and a sword hanging at his waist, his hair gray, resembling a swordsman who had seen the world.

He didn’t answer Yin Buqi’s question, instead saying calmly, “Your obsession is too deep, your sins too heavy.”

Yin Buqi asked, “Are you Sword Monarch Lord Canghua? Lord Canghua had been slain centuries ago, so why was he here now?

The man smiled, “That’s not important. Do you want her to return?”

Yin Buqi was stunned, taking a deep breath, realizing his voice was trembling.

Blood seeped from his cracked lips as he slowly said, “As long as my Nian Nian can return, I would do anything, even give my life.”

He didn’t like killing for no reason, nor did he care about saving the world. But for Nian Nian, he was willing to do anything.

Even if it meant bearing the weight of eternal damnation, he would accept it.

The man seemed to understand his thoughts and waved his hand, saying, “I don’t need you to harm the world. I just want to tell you something about the Heavenly Dao.”

(T/N: Heavenly Dao/ Will of Heaven)

Yin Buqi’s mind was elsewhere, his heart burning with anxiety, “Do you have a way to bring her back? Do you?!”

His low voice trembled, his body shaking, his red eyes narrowing.

The man sighed, “Listen to me first, and I will answer you.”

He asked, “Do you know why I fell into demonhood?”

Yin Buqi remained silent for a long time, saying nothing.

For someone like Lord Canghua, who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation, half-step from ascension, with a firm Dao heart, to suddenly fall into demonhood—it was incomprehensible.

“Because I discovered the secret of the Heavenly Dao,” the man said word by word, “It was the Heavenly Dao that forced me into demonhood!”

“The Heavenly Dao…” Yin Buqi murmured, chewing on the words, then let out a bitter smile, “The Heavenly Dao again…”

“Exactly, the Heavenly Dao,” the man sighed, “After being slain, I desperately kept my soul trapped in this Nightless City. The void you are in now is a barrier I created with my soul’s power to hide from the Heavenly Dao.”

With a wave of his sleeve, a painting appeared before Yin Buqi.

On the left side of the painting, a puppeteer sat on the ground, manipulating a small skeleton with strings.

On the right, a child was drawn to the small skeleton, while a woman behind the child reached out, worried about any potential danger.

The eerie essence of the painting lay in the fact that the puppeteer controlling the small skeleton was not a human, but a large skeleton.

“Do you see anything?”

Yin Buqi stared at the painting for a long time.

The theme of the painting was the transformation of life and death and the cycle of cause and effect. The painting was divided into two, life and death on each side. The left side depicted a large skeleton, symbolizing death; the right side showed a child on all fours, reaching up, symbolizing the desire for life. Life and death were separate, yet attracted to each other.

The joys, successes, failures, and honors of the human world ultimately return to a pile of bones.

Could it be…

“After reaching the Great Ascension, passing the thunder tribulation, one ascends…”

Yin Buqi’s eyes widened in shock, “Does ascension not mean becoming an immortal or a god, but rather an inevitable death…”

“Correct,” the man rolled up the painting, “The current Heavenly Dao is not a benevolent deity that saves all beings, but a demon pretending to be a powerful god!”

“What?!”

“Back then, I accidentally discovered the truth of the Heavenly Dao and was forced into demonhood because the Heavenly Dao cannot tolerate those who know the truth. It wanted me destroyed!”

At this point, the man smiled regretfully, his figure growing fainter.

Yin Buqi grew anxious, “Sword Monarch, please tell me how to bring my Nian Nian back.”

The man suddenly changed his tone, asking, “For her, are you willing to give up your soul, endure the pain of having your bones and soul stripped in the eighteen levels of hell, never to be reincarnated?”

Yin Buqi didn’t hesitate, “As long as she can return, I am willing to give up my soul, descend into the eighteen levels of hell, be reborn, and never be reincarnated.”

“Good, good,” the man patted his shoulder approvingly, whispering in his ear, “Sometimes, death is another form of rebirth…”

His voice grew faint and ethereal.

Yin Buqi knew that Sword Monarche Lord Canghua’s soul power was exhausted, and he was about to disappear forever.

He said, “Thank you, Sword Monarch!”

The surrounding environment suddenly dissipated.

Yin Buqi stood on the land where the flames had not yet extinguished, momentarily disoriented.

Looking around, aside from the flames, the river of blood, and the lava, there was only charred earth.

The city was destroyed, and no human figures could be seen.

“Boom!!!”

Suddenly, a bolt of heavenly thunder struck.

Yin Buqi’s consciousness was pierced with sharp pain, his eyes bloodshot.

It seemed the Heavenly Dao had detected that he had learned some secrets and was now determined to kill him!