Ch. 1201Hatred
Chapter Summary: “Hatred”
Key Plot Points and Events
- Sect Leader Xuanyu and Tu Shan Jun leave the Central Land and enter the starry void to fight, preventing their immense power from damaging Heaven and Earth.
- Xuanyu reveals his ancient identity and immense power as a primordial natural being associated with Yin and Yang. He wields the Emperor Weapon Heaven-Propping White Jade Pillar.
- Tu Shan Jun manifests the terrifying form of the Soul Banner: a six-armed, black-and-gold Demon God whose aura embodies the Yin Sky Great Realm. His killing intent is so powerful that watching cultivators nearly fall into madness and slaughter one another.
- Xuanyu attempts to reason with Tu Shan Jun, offering justice and even the possibility of reversing past events through Space-Time. Tu Shan Jun rejects these ideas, declaring that he seeks only revenge.
- Tu Shan Jun explains that hatred is the foundation of his existence. As a fierce ghost and Soul Banner wielder, he inherits the hatred of every Banner Master and becomes stronger through vengeance.
- Xuanyu launches the Yin-Yang Divine Ability Origin Annihilated, locking down Space-Time and attacking Tu Shan Jun across past, present, and future.
- Tu Shan Jun counters with the Great Dao of Life and Death, using the Book of Life and Death to write Xuanyu’s Dao name and declare, “Life is exhausted!” Xuanyu visibly ages, while Tu Shan Jun paradoxically becomes younger.
- Xuanyu refuses to accept the loss of longevity and unleashes his full power. His Emperor Body becomes so overwhelming that the surrounding cosmos shatters, and his movements become impossible to track.
- Xuanyu eventually destroys Tu Shan Jun’s physical body, reducing it to blood mist. However, the Soul Banner and spiked hammer remain intact.
- Tu Shan Jun’s weapon suddenly reappears inside Xuanyu’s defenses and pierces through his chest, nearly bisecting him before driving toward his head and Divine Soul.
Character Developments
- Tu Shan Jun: Fully embraces his identity as a fierce ghost driven by inherited hatred rather than justice or morality. His cultivation and abilities are revealed to be tools developed to free the souls within the Soul Banner, while revenge remains his true source of motivation.
- Sect Leader Xuanyu: Shows both ancient pride and a brief recognition of Tu Shan Jun as a worthy successor. He initially attempts negotiation, but Tu Shan Jun’s refusal forces him to abandon restraint and reveal his full strength.
- The Observing Cultivators: Their fear and near-loss of control demonstrate the overwhelming spiritual danger posed by Tu Shan Jun’s killing aura and the battle between the two leaders.
Significant Themes
- Hatred as power: Tu Shan Jun’s hatred is not merely an emotion; it is the essential force sustaining his existence and strengthening his abilities.
- Revenge versus justice: Xuanyu frames events as natural law and offers justice, but Tu Shan Jun rejects moral or legal reasoning, insisting that killing in repayment is sufficient justification.
- Nature and inevitability: Xuanyu claims to embody nature, suggesting that suffering and destruction are simply natural selections rather than injustices.
- Life, death, and immortality: Their clash contrasts Tu Shan Jun’s Life and Death Dao with Xuanyu’s desperate defiance of aging and mortality.
- Appearance versus essence: Though Tu Shan Jun may wear a human form, Xuanyu recognizes him as a ghost driven by instinctive killing rather than ordinary human reasoning.
Character Interactions
- Xuanyu tries to calm and persuade Tu Shan Jun by offering justice and the restoration of the past, but Tu Shan Jun responds with a blunt declaration of revenge.
- Xuanyu dismisses Tu Shan Jun’s moral argument, calling tragedy merely the choice of the strong and warning him that resistance will bring regret.
- Their exchange ends in direct combat: Xuanyu attacks with Yin-Yang annihilation and overwhelming physical force, while Tu Shan Jun answers through Life-and-Death techniques and a surprise strike from his Soul Banner weapon.
- The chapter closes with Tu Shan Jun apparently turning the battle around after Xuanyu destroys his body, piercing Xuanyu’s chest and threatening his Divine Soul.