Chapter 773: Self-Sacrifice

Whether we had missed our chance or not, the Copper Mirror remained completely unchanged from start to finish.

"Junsheng, what about the way out you mentioned? Where is it? What do we do now?" Uncle Xu's voice trembled. He had never seen anything on this scale before, and he was shaking so hard he actually hid behind the girl.

"You must be one of the survivors from back then. Utterly foolish. Did you really think eating meat would let you live? Didn't you end up right back in Longchang after you died? You can't escape! Only by seizing a living person's chance at reincarnation and being reborn can you ever walk out of Longchang!" The Security Guard tapped a finger in the air, and black threads darted toward Uncle Xu like venomous snakes. "I don't know what this kid promised you, but I know for a fact he lied. No one understands Longchang and the pitiful souls living here better than I do. I'm the one you should trust, not this outsider. Only I can get you out of here."

"Don't listen to his nonsense," I said, cutting the Security Guard off. "The real reason none of you can leave Longchang is because of them. These monsters were born from the fused malice and resentment of the dead. They grow inside the hearts of Longchang's residents—twisted and evil, to the point that even reincarnation refuses to take them in. If you join them, your own will is going to be devoured until you're nothing but a walking corpse. Then there really will be no turning back!"

Conflict flickered across Uncle Xu's face. Watching the black threads coiling around the Security Guard's fingertips, he shrank back and tucked in his neck. "How could I possibly stoop to their level? Don't worry."

"Stoop to our level? Why deny the craving in your own heart and slander 'freedom'?" The Security Guard's voice dripped with temptation. "We spent decades trying every conceivable method before finally finding a sliver of a chance at success. What guarantee can an outsider like him possibly give you?"

"If I actually joined you, I'd probably forget my own name. If I can't even be myself anymore, what's the point of being alive?"

Uncle Xu put on a tough front. The Security Guard merely grinned and said nothing more, yet his icy gaze struck terror deep into Uncle Xu's heart. He knew the brute in front of him was capable of anything.

"You'll regret this. The Longchang of the Yang Realm is the filthiest place in existence, and you'll never wash that filth off yourself. You only survived by eating the flesh of your own kind—I'm the only one in this world who will accept you!" The Security Guard crooked his fingers like a puppeteer working his strings, and the Longchang natives behind him crept forward without a sound.

He was thoroughly cunning. Sensing the threat of the jade box in my hands, he was trying to edge closer bit by bit, waiting for the right distance to lunge. I was certain his primary target was the White Bone Jade Box.

There was no point wasting another word on him. Uncle Xu had pinned all his hopes on me, and as he watched the surrounding Longchang natives close in, his calves began to shake. "Junsheng, where on earth is this way out you talked about?"

"The way out is right beside us; it just hasn't opened yet." Paying Uncle Xu no further mind, I took a step back toward the girl and turned to whisper in her ear. "You remember everything I told you earlier, right? No matter what happens next, don't stray too far from me."

The girl nodded, only half understanding. Worry filled her eyes, though her gentle nature kept her from asking any questions.

Her expression made my heart ache, but I couldn't explain anything to her. The more I said, the easier it would be for the Red Building Obsessions to overhear.

'Once she leaves the Animal Realm and returns to the Yang Realm, her memories of this place will be sealed away, as if none of this ever happened. She'll probably still open the door to the inner room every night to wait for Junsheng, except she may never see him again.'

My mind was anchored within Junsheng's remnant soul, and his own consciousness had yet to awaken. That was one of the reasons I had held back from using the Yellow Springs Token all this time—I had no right to decide whether someone else lived or died.

The standoff was razor-sharp, the tension mounting by the second. Driven by the obsession, the Longchang natives kept pressing closer until I could smell the foul stench rolling off their bodies.

'Is this really the only way?'

The corridor was packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could have slipped through. The air felt practically frozen solid, and veins bulged across the backs of my hands.

When I looked up, hideous pig faces filled my vision. This was the Animal Realm—a land of exile far removed from the mortal world, lying on the Other Shore of Reincarnation.

"You two, stay right up against the door and get behind me!" Steeling my resolve, I slid the White Bone Jade Box open another few centimeters, just enough to catch a faint glimpse of the token's outline inside.

The roar of surging waves rang out, mingled with the wails of ghosts and howls of beasts. In an instant, an unseen force enveloped the Longchang Main Building, and everyone present felt an unspeakable warning that seemed to echo from the dawn of time.

The black threads manifested from the obsession snapped like taut strings. The Security Guard's face turned thunderously dark. He was afraid too, yet after decades of preparation, he had also reached the point of no return.

"I'll devour anyone who dares turn back!" Still more black threads burst from him and the Room Four monsters, stabbing into the Longchang natives to stir up their darkest negative emotions—the very thing the obsession did best.

Jolted by the threads, the Longchang natives who had been terrified and ready to bolt suddenly went completely still. Stripped of their own thoughts, they began marching stiffly toward me like puppets!

"Come on, then! I don't like pointless sacrifices, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid to die!" Letting out a low growl like a wounded beast, I shoved the lid open the width of half a palm.

My arms began to shake uncontrollably. The power contained within the jade box was far too vast for me to wield, and the karmic toll of using the Yellow Springs Token inside the Animal Realm seemed even heavier than in the Yang Realm.

I could feel something vital being drained from this body—something like memory, yet also like emotion, an intensely fervent power buried at the very bottom of the heart!

It was warm and gentle, like a blazing sun buried deep beneath an ocean of ice!

Two completely contradictory sensations converged within Junsheng's frail body. This unspoken force now being consumed by the Yellow Springs Token had to be Junsheng's feelings for the girl.

In Old Granny's story, Junsheng was a quiet, reserved boy who had never once spoken a word of affection to her. Yet at the threshold of life and death, that seemingly timid, cowardly child had dropped to his knees before the Butcher and thrown away everything he had, all to trade his own life for the girl's.

Because my will was anchored to Junsheng's remnant soul, I alone could feel the depth of this emotion.

His affection was buried deep inside his heart, never once spoken aloud, yet it burned hotter than any love in the world.

Those were Junsheng's memories, and they were the very key that allowed him to hold on to himself across reincarnation.

My hands slowed slightly. Right now, the Yellow Springs Token was like a starving, wicked dragon, greedily drinking in Junsheng's memories—something that had never happened the first time I used the token.

Forced into use before its appointed time, the token was impossible to control. Once unleashed, it could just as easily target its wielder as the enemy.

Gambling both memory and life, wagering everything I had, my hands gradually slowed.

Dozens of eyes in the corridor were locked onto me. Sensing my hesitation, the Red Building Obsessions immediately drove even more Longchang natives to charge at us.

If they closed the distance and snatched the jade box away, I would lose every last chance of turning the tables.

Bearing down with my hands, the pull from the Yellow Springs Token tore at my will, devouring memories and emotions alike. More and more was slipping away as I watched the monsters surge toward me—now only a few steps away!

"You forced my hand!" With a hoarse roar, I cast aside all hesitation and threw every ounce of my strength into wrenching the lid all the way open.

Memories were being ripped to shreds and the remnant soul was scattering. Gritting my teeth, I clung to my last shred of will. Having come this far, there was no way I could give up now.

The Yellow Springs Token was like a monster that could never be fed enough. My own will was on the verge of giving out when, from the deepest reaches of Junsheng's soul, a will burning like wildfire suddenly blazed to life!

Caught completely off guard, my will was shoved out of his body and forced straight into Uncle Xu standing beside us.

Tempered through countless cycles of reincarnation, Junsheng's will was many times stronger than I had ever imagined. He forced me out before I even had a chance to resist.

"You... Wait, no!" The moment my mind steadied, it hit me why Junsheng had done this—he meant to activate the Yellow Springs Token all by himself!

I tried to stop him, but it was already too late. With unshakable resolve, his thin fingers hooked around the lid, pulled it open, and closed firmly around the token inside.

It looked like a simple motion, yet that alone was enough for the Yellow Springs Token to devour well over half of Junsheng's remnant soul!

At this rate, his soul would be scattered into nothingness, yet he didn't hesitate for an instant. Before the Red Building Obsessions could reach him, he raised the token high into the air.

As he offered himself up in sacrifice, a deafening boom thundered from deep beneath the earth of Longchang!

The ground where countless wronged souls, vicious ghosts, and sinners' bones lay buried split wide open, tearing a chasm that plunged straight down into the netherworld.

Countless birds and beasts I had never seen before fled Longchang for their lives. Swarms of insects darkened the air, black clouds pressed low overhead, and the roar of surging waves rose from the deepest netherworld below as that great river flowing across time struck awe into every heart.

Unlike when I used the Yellow Springs Token in the Yang Realm, the illusory ghost gate that had once stood on the horizon now towered deep within the abyss. As Junsheng's remnant soul was torn apart and scattered bit by bit, those grim doors finally groaned open by a crack!

"The Ghost Gate is open!" I stared at the sight before me, my mind completely blank.

The Ghost Gate had opened right inside the Longchang Grand Formation. Cold Yin winds howled as an irresistible pull surged out from within.

First, the natives of Longchang Neighborhood were sucked inside, and then the fierce beast wedged at the edge of the grand formation was dragged in as well. It thrashed with everything it had, yet all it could do was slow its plunge into the abyss.

Chaos erupted across Longchang. Save for Uncle Xu and the girl standing right behind Junsheng, everyone else was being dragged toward the Ghost Gate by that inexorable force!

Howls of despair filled the air as those sin-steeped monsters wailed to heaven and earth, begging the night sky for mercy. Only the Security Guard, puppeted by the obsession, stood silent amid the crowd, glaring at Junsheng with pure venom on his face.