The Burning Barren Mountain
The Emerald Swan's wings gleamed with a warm luster under the moonlight. The feathers were not solid colors; each one flowed with shades of green, from the pale yellow-green of newly sprouted buds to the dark green of the deep pool, layer upon layer, like a living forest.
Her eyes were amber, and she gazed quietly at Gu Yue.
"My Lord."
Bi Ji's voice was very soft, not the kind of soft that floats, but the kind of soft that sinks in, like a fallen leaf on the surface of water, without ripples, but you know it has fallen.
Gu Yue stood on the shore of the Lake of Life, looking at Bi Ji.
She seemed to want to say something, but her lips moved only slightly, without making a sound.
Her hands hung limply at her sides, blood still dripping from her fingertips. Under the watchful gaze of the Emerald Swan, the open wounds began to heal slowly, not through healing Soul Skill, but by being nourished and moistened by the life force emanating from the Lake of Life.
"My Lord."
Gu Yue turned her gaze to Di Tian, awaiting his reply.
"A thousand years ago, before you awoke, a man appeared named Zhao Yunhong, known as the Calamity Moon, the Son of the Plane."
Di Tian stood beside Bi Ji, his golden-black dragon eyes reflecting the shimmering waters of the Lake of Life.
His voice was deep, like muffled thunder from the depths of the earth, each word carrying an ancient weight that had transcended countless years.
He's been here before.
Gu Yue did not move.
Her fingers were still dripping blood, which fell onto the soil by the Lake of Life, seeping in. The withered grass roots shone slightly the moment they touched the blood.
"He came to this forest a thousand years ago."
Di Tian took a step forward, his golden-black dragon eyes gazing at the surface of the Lake of Life, as if looking at a past event that had sunk to the bottom of the lake.
"The Star Dou Great Forest was much larger back then than it is now."
He said, "The tree canopy is so dense that it would take a month to walk from the outer perimeter to the core. The number of Soul Beast there was three times what it is now, and even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast were not as rare as they are now."
His voice paused for a moment.
"Everything changed after he arrived."
Bi Ji's wings tightened slightly.
"He killed many Soul Beast."
Di Tian's voice was devoid of any emotion, as if he were reciting a death list.
"It wasn't for the Soul Ring, it wasn't for the Soul Bone. He just wanted to kill."
Gu Yue raised her head and looked at Di Tian's profile.
His handsome, almost unreal face was expressionless, but something was churning deep within his golden-black dragon eyes—not anger, not sadness, but something he himself couldn't quite explain.
"He single-handedly carved through most of the Star Dou Great Forest."
Di Tian said.
"He fought his way from the outer perimeter to the inner perimeter, and from the inner perimeter to the core. Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast couldn't last three moves against him. It wasn't that their cultivation was insufficient; it was his sword, the thing attached to that Blood Moon Sword, that naturally countered all Soul Beast."
Gu Yue's fingers curled slightly.
The silver lines shone for a moment in her palm, then dimmed again.
"Di Tian".
Bi Ji's voice was soft, carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry.
Di Tian didn't look at her, but simply raised his hand to indicate that she didn't need to worry.
"I don't hate him."
Di Tian said.
These words made Gu Yue raise her head and look at him.
"He was the Son of the Plane, bearing the will of the Plane Master. The things he did—killing people, slaying Soul Beast, massacring cities, annihilating clans—were all, in his eyes at the time, acts of 'purification'."
Di Tian's voice was calm.
"At that time, he felt that the Divine Realm was polluting this plane, and that Soul Beast were the product of human ascension, and that human Greed fueled the ferocity of Soul Beast."
"He later felt that Soul Beast shouldn't exist, that this forest should be burned down, and that all the Soul Beast should be killed. This way, humans would have no way to obtain Soul Ring, would be unable to ascend to the Divine Realm, and the plane would not continue to be eroded."
When Di Tian said these words, his tone was as calm as if he were recounting an insignificant piece of history.
But Gu Yue noticed that his fist was clenched at his side.
The fingernails dug into the flesh of the palm, without drawing blood, but the veins on the back of the hand bulged out one by one.
Did he fail?
Gu Yue's voice was very soft.
"It failed."
Di Tian said.
"He didn't burn down the Star Dou Great Forest, nor did he kill all the Soul Beast."
"It wasn't because he couldn't do it, it was because he discovered something that shattered him halfway through the killing."
Di Tian paused for a moment.
The golden-black dragon's eyes gazed at the surface of the Lake of Life, where a tiny water insect glided across the water, its slender legs creating ripples on the surface.
He discovered— the Divine Realm didn't care.
Gu Yue stopped breathing.
"No matter how many Soul Beast or people he kills, it has no impact on the Divine Realm. Those beings who call themselves gods haven't even given him a second glance."
Di Tian's voice finally showed a slight fluctuation.
"Every person he killed, every Soul Beast he slaughtered, every drop of blood he shed—in the eyes of the Divine Realm, it was nothing more than a farce on earth."
"He thought he was fighting a war."
"Actually, he was just burning down a barren mountain that nobody cared about."
The surface of the Lake of Life remained calm. The water insect had glided to the center of the lake, and ripples spread outwards in circles before disappearing into the distance.
"That person possesses the authority over the moon, but he is an Evil Soul Master."
"In that battle, he fled, the Moon Authority was suspended, and Yun Jingheng inherited it."
Zi JI took a step forward and knelt down before Gu Yue.
"My Lord..."
Gu Yue glanced at her.
"You still haven't given up on that idea?"
Zi JI nodded slightly. "His Martial Soul is complete. If his Soul Ring didn't contain the power of the opposite side of the moon..."
"He will eventually face a backlash, and a second Zhao Yunhong will emerge, or even surpass him."
Gu Yue took a deep breath, "A backlash of power?"
Zi JI continued, "The moon has its phases, and right now, the positive aspect of his Martial Soul is definitely greater than the negative aspect..."
Gu Yue continued her thought, "Does everything reach its extreme and then reverse?"
"Yes."
"So, Zhao Yunhong from a thousand years ago did it for this reason?"
Di Tian's expression was distressed. "Yes, Lord, his first eight Soul Ring were all positive moon rings, and he started to become paranoid around the time of... the eighth ring."
Gu Yue didn't speak again, but just looked up at the moon hanging high in the night sky.
It's late at night.
The candlelight was still burning in Yun Jingheng's room.
Ya Li leaned against the pillar at the head of the bed and fell asleep.
Her posture was awkward, her body half-leaning, one hand still resting on Yun Jingheng's wrist, three fingers pressing on his pulse, not letting go even in her dream.
Her brows furrowed slightly, and her lips moved as if she were saying something, but no sound came out.
Yun Ming sat on the chair by the bed, not asleep.
He looked at Yun Jingheng's face, that pale, expressionless face.
He looked at his nose; it was straight.
He looked at his lips; they were dry and chapped, but the color was no longer the ashen gray of before; they had a faint pink tinge.
Yun Ming stretched out his hand, his fingertips hovering above Yun Jingheng's forehead, paused for a moment, and did not lower his hand.
He was afraid of waking him.
But he wanted to make sure his forehead was still warm.
"Dad's here."
Yun Ming's voice was very low.
He stared at Yun Jingheng's face for a long time.
Then he closed his eyes.
The candlelight flickered.
When he opened his eyes again, Yun Jingheng's eyelashes fluttered.
Yun Ming stopped breathing.
He stared at that eyelash, at his tightly closed eyelids, at the faint pink tinge on his lips.
His eyelashes fluttered again.
Like a butterfly flapping its wings.
Yun Ming did not move.
He wasn't even breathing.
He just watched, watching Yun Jingheng's eyelids tremble slightly, watching his eyelashes slowly part as they trembled.
Those eyes opened.