Chapter 1070: Giving His Life for Hers

Zisu fled all the way to the summit of Heavenly Mountain.

Her gaze landed on the mask beside the Altar. She broke into a run, intending to snatch it.

But Changshan caught up to her at that exact moment.

He grabbed her outstretched hand. "Junior Sister!" he pleaded. "Don't do anything stupid! Mister is here—you can't escape!"

Zisu’s gaze was ice-cold. "Let go!" she spat through gritted teeth.

She flung his hand aside.

Zisu tucked the half-mask into her robes.

She immediately raised a hand to cast her Arts and Techniques, preparing to flee.

"Seal Heaven and Lock Earth."

An edict rang out.

The Daoist rhythm of heaven and earth descended, sealing the upper and lower bounds of Heavenly Mountain.

Zisu slammed headfirst into the barrier and abruptly whirled around.

Only to see that Mister Qingshan had already arrived.

She gritted her teeth, refusing to give up.

Raising her hands, she formed incantation seals, summoning the wind and snow.

"Go!"

The Arts and Techniques transformed into a barrage of ice spikes that shot toward the barrier.

Yet the barrier showed no signs of shattering.

Failing once, she prepared to strike again.

But Mister Qingshan was already standing directly behind her, quietly watching her cast her spell.

Zisu took a ragged breath and looked back at him.

She knew she wasn't escaping today.

.

.

Atop Heavenly Mountain.

The Magical Power and meridians within Zisu's body were completely sealed, leaving her unable to move.

Mister Qingshan raised his hand and swept it out.

The clouds below parted, revealing the desolate and tragic state of the Shengxue Kingdom.

"Look closely," Chen Changsheng said.

Zisu gave a bitter smile, but her expression quickly turned callous. "Grand Mister, isn't this all of their own making?"

"Greedy and selfish people are indeed ugly, but those who exploit that nature are no nobler," Chen Changsheng told her. "You single-handedly brought all of this about."

Zisu let out a breath and did not reply.

Changshan stood to the side, his gaze complicated. He agonized over the disaster his Junior Sister had provoked; countless people had lost their lives tonight, and endless tragedies were unfolding right beneath them.

"You deserve death," Chen Changsheng stated.

Zisu froze for a moment, then seemed to realize something. "Grand Mister..."

"Will you truly show no regard for our past ties?"

Chen Changsheng looked at her. "Do you think that if This Chen lets you go, you can escape this calamity?"

"You will be despised by the world. Having fallen into the demonic path, you will only ever hide in the shadows. Whenever heavenly lightning strikes, it will seek you out. In the end, you will either die at the hands of cultivators or be reduced to ashes beneath the heavenly lightning, your soul completely annihilated."

"As things stand, your fate is already sealed."

Chen Changsheng's tone was calm as he laid out these facts.

"The merit and karma of this world might seem inconsequential, but once matters cross a certain threshold, everything becomes powerless to reverse heaven."

Hearing those words, Zisu only found them ironic.

"Whether I do good or commit evil, it is my own choice. Whatever my end may be, I will accept it. But right now, I cannot die."

Zisu took a deep breath. "This life of mine cannot be wasted for nothing."

Changshan parted his lips, wanting to say something.

But he heard Mister speak instead: "It's impossible."

Chen Changsheng sighed softly. "There is no method to bring the dead back to life in this world, and Nanxing's soul has long since returned to the heavens. You engineered a massacre without dirtying your own hands, causing the deaths and injuries of tens of thousands, all to offer a sacrifice and summon his soul. But did it ever occur to you that this was a trap from the very beginning?"

"A... trap..." Zisu muttered under her breath.

Chen Changsheng raised a hand, and the broken half-mask hidden in Zisu's robes floated out.

Zisu stared blankly, her gaze falling upon the mask.

"Just as I thought..." Chen Changsheng murmured. Things were exactly as he had expected.

Those demonic cultivators had exploited Zisu, intending to use her to sacrifice the flesh and blood of tens of thousands and summon the Demon Sovereign.

"Did you really think that sacrificing the flesh and blood of tens of thousands would be enough to recall Nanxing's soul from between heaven and earth?"

"And what made you so certain that the one returning would be Nanxing, and not some demonic fiend?"

"That's impossible!" Zisu declared. "That person clearly told me..."

As she reached this point, Zisu suddenly froze.

Chen Changsheng said, "Your Senior Brother, your current Master, and even the many others who tried to advise you—you didn't believe any of them. Yet you listened to the words of a demonic cultivator."

Zisu lowered her head. Gritting her teeth, she spat, "I don't believe it!"

She remained stubbornly fixated on this.

Chen Changsheng asked, "What did they tell you this mask meant?"

Zisu replied, "It is a vessel to carry a soul."

"Is it?"

Chen Changsheng said, "As far as This Chen knows, in ancient times there was a demonic cultivator turning the hand to summon clouds, flipping it to bring rain. He threw the entire world into chaos and caused the rise of the evil path. He was commonly known as the Demon-Summoning Divine Lord. According to rumors, this person always wore the painted mask of The Opera Actor. This mask is identical to his."

Zisu went rigid, stumbling back a step.

The demonic energy on her body rippled once more, eroding her sanity along with it.

"You're lying!" Zisu suddenly glared at Chen Changsheng. "Nothing like that exists! There is no Demon-Summoning Divine Lord. You made it all up! You made it up!"

Chen Changsheng's expression remained placid. "Then consider it something I made up."

Zisu grew dazed. She spun around and ran to the edge of the Altar.

She panted heavily, her eyes darting frantically back and forth across the text carved into the Altar.

"It can't be, it can't be..."

It seemed she couldn't accept the fact that she had been used.

"Junior Sister!"

"Zisu!!"

Changshan's roars brought Zisu slightly back to her senses.

But she was already lost in a stupor, endlessly muttering under her breath as if she had gone mad.

Chen Changsheng walked over and looked at Changshan. "The demonic energy has already addled her mind. It has seeped deep into her flesh, bones, and Sea of Consciousness. Even This Chen has no way to eradicate it."

"As her former Senior Brother, and her current fellow disciple, take her back. Whatever the final outcome may be, it is something she must bear."

After saying this, Chen Changsheng added, "This Chen should also be going."

Seeing that Chen Changsheng was about to leave, Changshan instantly panicked.

He hurriedly stepped forward and fell to his knees.

"Mister! Mister!"

"Changshan begs you to save Zisu! She only briefly strayed down the wrong path, which is why she..."

Chen Changsheng cut him off. "This Chen has already made it very clear. You have excellent comprehension, Changshan, so it is impossible you didn't understand. Why must you keep asking?"

Changshan crawled forward on his knees and grabbed the hem of Chen Changsheng's robes. "Changshan is already a dying man. If my Junior Sister hadn't saved me back then, I would have died on that execution ground long ago. I beg Mister to show mercy and save her."

He looked at the deranged Zisu by the Altar.

A look of absolute resolve suddenly surged in Changshan's eyes.

"Changshan is willing to give his life for hers!"