"Alas!"
Tang Guangjun, trapped in the dreamscape of inner demons, was filled with regret. On Changming Mountain, he let out a sudden sigh, then abruptly drew his sword, Dengtian, across his neck, as if about to slit his throat. He gazed at the sky with a mournful expression and said, "I laugh heartily at the heavens with my sword in hand, to stay or to leave, my spirit remains..."
"Enough!"
Lin Zhao was anxious. He unleashed the full might of his Martial Warrior of the Desolate Realm, landing a fierce punch on Tang Guangjun's cheek. "Stop defiling someone else's poetry! Wake up now!"
Tang Guangjun, oblivious to the outside world, persisted in his attempt to end his life. Tears streamed down his face as he whispered, "Old man, your disciple knows he was wrong and is willing to sacrifice his life to atone. In the next life, Tang Guangjun wishes to remain Li Xin's disciple. I only hope your cultivation realm can be higher, otherwise, your disciple will lose face."
"Damn it!"
Lin Zhao directly summoned his flying sword, Xinhuo. If all else failed, he would have to strike this fellow with a sword!
In the end, while Gu Lingyu and Zhu Zhi's inner demons were heavy, their mental states were still relatively sound; at least, they hadn't reached the point of suicide. But Tang Guangjun's state of mind was truly abysmal, overwhelmed by a flood of guilt, beyond his control.
"Mountain Master Lin!"
Within the grand formation of the Sea of Books, someone stepped forward. It was Liu Chenqing, the Sect Master of Qingtian Sect. He raised his hand, and a ray of spiritual energy flowed out, transforming into a tender golden vine of life, which coiled around Tang Guangjun's sword-wielding wrist. "Leave Sword Immortal Tang to me!"
"Great, thank you!"
Lin Zhao was overjoyed. With Liu Chenqing, a Great Cultivator of the Twelfth Realm, assisting, Tang Guangjun would not die.
"Not at all..."
Liu Chenqing's face was etched with genuine guilt. As a Twelfth Realm cultivator of the Human Race mountains, Liu Chenqing had hardly ever directly clashed with the Old Ancestor of the Five Peaks. Compared to these particularly courageous cultivators of the Upper Five Realms at the peak villas, he truly felt insignificant.
...
Just then, Chen Ben, controlled by a black vine of an indomitable inner demon, suddenly felt his fist intent surge. His eyes glowed with black light; his mind had already been invaded by the inner demon. His internal fist intent erupted and ascended section by section, reaching an extremely terrifying level.
"Chen Ben!"
Lin Zhao leaped forward, placing a hand on Chen Ben's head to keep him within the protective embrace of the Sea of Books formation. He said sternly, "No matter what you see, it's all fake!"
"Mother..."
In the dreamscape of the inner demon, Chen Ben transformed into that mountain youth, clad in animal skins, appearing strong and robust, with an unblemished childishness in his features. However, he now possessed the combat power of a peak Eleventh Realm Martial Warrior. He stood before a wild village.
"Mother!"
Chen Ben shouted. He saw countless ghouls swarming into the village. Not far ahead, a middle-aged hunter, whom he seemed to recognize, was instantly engulfed by a group of giant-mouthed ghost soldiers.
The giant-mouthed ghost soldiers feasted. In less than a few seconds, they devoured the middle-aged man, leaving only bloody bones. They even licked clean the bloodstains and scraps of flesh from the bones.
"Mother!"
Chen Ben was utterly distraught. He rushed towards home, a not-too-large wooden house where Chen Ben had grown up, and a place he yearned for. But as he reached the door, he found it ajar, with several ghouls moving in and out.
Chen Ben was struck as if by lightning.
He raised his fist, turning the ghouls into a rain of blood, and rushed into the house. There, he witnessed a scene that would forever haunt him: a corpse lay by the bed, gnawed by ghouls into only a skeleton. Furthermore, the head was a bloody mess.
The clothes were clearly his mother's.
"Ah..."
Chen Ben felt as though struck by five thunderbolts. He rushed forward, and with a few punches, turned the ghouls into a bloody mist. He embraced his mother's skeletal remains and wept bitterly. After a short while, Chen Ben abruptly turned and walked out of the house, retrieved a piece of cloth, collected his mother's bones, and slung them over his back.
Having done so, his fist intent surged. He unleashed a barrage of punches, reducing all the ghouls in the village to a pile of minced meat. The moment he finished slaughtering them, Chen Ben's heart trembled. He quickly turned and looked towards the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, muttering, "Brother Lin Zhao..."
He suddenly realized that his mother was not the only one who had suffered a great disaster; Lin Zhao had too.
In this world, Chen Ben felt that his mother was the person who cared for him the most. Apart from his mother, it was naturally Brother Lin Zhao who treated him best.
He leaped into the air and soared towards the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake.
As Chen Ben streaked past the mountain peaks like a bolt of lightning, he saw the entire Snow Domain Heavenly Lake engulfed in smoke and fire. The demon race had already attacked the mountain. The White City, recently built, had been split in half by a sword strike from a great demon sword cultivator.
In the distance, Chen Ben saw half a mountain.
Within the mountain, there were lingering traces of Lin Zhao's aura. He had already fallen in battle.
"Brother Lin Zhao..."
Chen Ben lost himself completely. Crying and wiping away his tears, he flew down towards the mountain to find Lin Zhao. But in the wind, he sensed more residual auras.
"How could this happen?"
Chen Ben's tears flowed uncontrollably, and he knelt on Jiuzhangyuan. As he looked up, he saw wisps of residual souls drifting in the wind: Sister Xiao Jiu'er, Zhu Zhi, had all fallen. And that slovenly gatekeeper, Tang Guangjun, after killing several great demons, his body had turned into a bloody mist, and he too had fallen in battle.
Within the White City, Chu Yu, Mu Zha, Gu Lingyu, and others had all perished.
Almost the entire city's population was wiped out.
Countless demon soldiers swarmed across the White City, trampling over the devastation of the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, and charging south.
At this moment, Chen Ben's world completely collapsed.
How could this be?
Why did such good people meet such an end?
Chen Ben fell into a daze. Carrying his mother's remains, his hunched figure lay curled on the snowy ground of Jiuzhangyuan. The falling snow gradually buried Chen Ben's body. He lay curled up like a pitiful shrimp, tears streaming, allowing the heavy snow to bury him.
In this state, he had lost all reason to live.
...
"Chen Ben!"
Lin Zhao's eyes turned red. Seeing Chen Ben lost in a daze, his face contorted in pain, he knew Chen Ben's dream must be the most agonizing among them. After all, Chen Ben was the most simple-minded, arguably the purest-hearted person in the entire Peak Villa. The pain he endured would therefore be greater.
However, no matter how Lin Zhao shook Chen Ben's body, he remained still, as if his heart had died, letting the black vine of the inner demon devour his will.
"This cannot be..."
Lin Zhao abruptly turned, his flying sword, Hao Ran, stepped out, instantly creating a small world of righteousness, engulfing the Old Ancestor of the Five Peaks within it, severing his connection with everyone. But the flying sword Hao Ran hummed, seemingly unable to suppress the Old Ancestor of the Five Peaks in terms of power.
After all, his opponent was a genuine Fourteenth Realm cultivator!
Lin Zhao fiercely unleashed a sword qi collision, locking onto the Old Ancestor of the Five Peaks. Then, he consecutively employed skills with crowd-controlling effects such as Ascending Dragon Slash, Blazing Sun Imbued, and Imprisonment, but only obtained a series of large