Chapter 58: Farewell

What was going on?
Could it be that the Soul-Piercing Arrow had failed?
How was that possible?
Didn’t the Emperor say that once the Soul-Piercing Arrow was released, it never missed its mark?
So how could it not even kill a Twin-Tailed Scorpion?
“What else can you do?” Afang asked coldly.
Before I could answer, she spoke again.
“Or should I invite that thing inside your body to come out as well?”
At her words, my heart skipped a beat.
Could it be she wasn’t even afraid of the Crimson-Eyed Demonic Pupil?
If that was true, weren’t we all doomed today?
Seeing my silence, Afang sneered, “You have ten seconds left!”
For their sake, I had no choice but to call upon the Crimson-Eyed Demonic Pupil.
But it was as if the demonic power had vanished from my body, showing not the slightest intention of emerging.
Was it possible the Crimson-Eyed Demonic Pupil was afraid?
I tried several times, but still, it would not answer my call.
It seemed even my final trump card had deserted me; my fate was now left entirely to the heavens.
In a blink, the ten seconds had passed.
Afang charged at me without mercy, and Lin Weiyan still stood in front of me.
This time, Feng Zimo also stepped forward, shielding me.
But Afang’s power was overwhelming; even as Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo put their lives on the line, they could not stop her.
Was I truly fated to die this time?
Looking back on the things I’d experienced recently, it all felt like a dream.
How I wished that with death, the dream would end.
But I knew well enough—this was only wishful thinking.
All I had gone through was no dream, and in the end, I would not escape death.
For reasons unknown, at that moment, my thoughts drifted to my parents, to my brothers and friends; now, any words seemed far too late.
So death comes—
What’s the big deal? Damn it all.
If I must die, let it be a death worth remembering.
With that thought, I steeled myself, forcibly driving the Jiugong Nether Art to its highest level, regardless of the consequences.
Just then, one of Afang’s claws darted toward me. Feng Zimo met it with his Heaven-Piercer Halberd—there was a clang, and Feng Zimo was sent flying.
The Crimson Dawn Sword in Lin Weiyan’s hand shone with a dazzling red light as she thrust it at Afang, but Afang’s body was wreathed in a cloud of violet energy, blocking the strike.
Meanwhile, my blood felt as though it was flowing backward, filling me with agony.
There was power at my core, struggling to break free, but I could not release it.
That force was about to tear me apart.
My hands clenched so tightly that my nails pierced my flesh, yet I felt no pain.
With a roar, my body suddenly grew light, and I began to rise slowly into the air.
It was the first time I’d ever flown without borrowing any external power.
I floated up to more than ten meters above the ground, then stopped.
Below, Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo were still risking everything to stop Afang.
Though my life might be short, I owed them far too much.
Even if I lived a hundred lifetimes, it wouldn’t be enough to repay them.
So, hovering in midair, I called down to them, “Brother Feng, Weiyan, thank you for being at my side all this time. After I die, you must go on living—promise me.”
Feng Zimo looked up at me, cursing, “You bastard, what nonsense are you talking? I won’t let you die.”
As he spoke, he was caught off guard and seriously wounded by Afang, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Lin Weiyan’s hand, gripping the Crimson Dawn Sword, trembled, but she pressed on undaunted, saying nothing to me as she threw herself desperately against Afang.
But Afang was simply too strong; Lin Weiyan was no match for her.
Fatty lay on the ground watching me. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn’t make out his words.
Wu Xin was still holding the lesser demons at bay, but called to me, “Brother Chu Yun, don’t do anything foolish… Hold on! We can win this!”
At that moment, the force within me broke free—the ninth level of the Jiugong Nether Art erupted.
The night sky filled with thunder; bolts of lightning crashed down from above.
Wu Xin’s formation was instantly shattered, and chaos broke out among the lesser demons as they scattered in terror.
Some of the weaker demons were struck by lightning and turned to ash in an instant.
Sensing things were turning dire, Afang tried to flee, but the lightning refused to let her go.

Struck by lightning, Afang’s hair was in wild disarray, but she did not perish as the lesser demons had.
She bared her fangs and let out a furious roar, transforming into a massive Twin-Tailed Scorpion to withstand the storm.
Meanwhile, my strength was utterly spent, and I fell from the air.
Lin Weiyan risked being struck herself as she caught me, but by then, my vision had already faded to black.
After a long while, my soul slipped free from my body.
I drifted in the night sky, circling aimlessly; a gust of wind swept me away.
I gazed down at Lin Weiyan cradling my body in anguish, and at Feng Zimo turning away to wipe his tears.
I knew I was dead. Yet, thankfully, Afang—the Twin-Tailed Scorpion—was ultimately destroyed by the lightning, her soul scattered to nothing.
I do not know how much time passed as the wind carried me to the city where I had once worked.
Looking down on the familiar yet distant place where I had once rented a room, my heart was filled with emotion and an inexplicable sorrow.
Another gust blew me into someone’s home.
She lay sleeping—still as beautiful as ever.
To think that after two or three years, she had remained in the same city as I, and I had never known.
If only fate had brought us together sooner, I might have summoned the courage to say those three words to her.
Perhaps we were destined to meet, but never to be together. Now, separated by life and death, there are no more ifs.
All I can do is silently wish her well in my heart.
Another gust blew me out into the night sky, above a moat that was both familiar and beloved.
I remembered how, as a child, I would often bathe in that river; gazing at my long-lost hometown, memories of childhood surged within me.
It was as if just yesterday I was swimming there with my friends, only to be scolded by my parents when I got home.
Never did I imagine I’d return home in this way today.
The wind blew again, carrying me over the open sea, the moonlight casting an air of mystery over the midnight waves.
The fish in the water seemed to have stilled; only the rhythm of the surf disturbed the silence.
I did not know why I had come here—perhaps, deep down, I too yearned for the sea.
A sea breeze swept me onward, and soon I found myself above the Demonwood Forest, where Elder Jiang was buried.