Jiang Wang sped along within Si Yu'an's sword light. He had long since left the waters where the great battle had taken place, and had also crossed the Blood River waters regarded as the Boundary River of the rootless world... Ahead, the Gate of Red Dust was already in sight.
Hearing that voice—utterly chaotic, utterly clamorous, utterly inverted, yet unmistakably clear in its meaning—
A kind of "enlightenment" arose within him.
But this enlightenment was not an understanding of life's ultimate truths, nor a comprehension of the laws of the great Dao.
It was like sitting withered beneath a Bodhi tree, sitting until even the Bodhi shed dead leaves, until dust piled over his entire body—then, in some single instant, suddenly giving rise to a feeling of silent extinction.
All at once, he felt that every hope had turned to ash.
The so-called true meaning of life—was that life was joyless, birth was useless, seeking brought no gain, and living held no benefit.
At this moment, he understood Xiang Qian profoundly—perhaps even more deeply than Xiang Qian himself.
He only wanted to die.
With a single instant of enlightenment, his heart became dead ash.
Fortunately, Si Yu'an's sword light gave a gentle stir just then, cleaving apart the deathly stillness in his heart.
His body had already stepped onto the Gate of Red Dust, though the fear in his heart remained.
The Gate of Red Dust hung suspended above the Sea of Sin, surrounded on all sides by the Blood River.
At first glance, this gate did not appear particularly magnificent. Within shifting light and shadow was the appearance of an ordinary wooden door, with an upside-down "fortune" character pasted upon it. Even the red paper had faded somewhat with age.
The festive wish of an ordinary household was simply