Lou Yunxiao Killed Himself

"What a perfect vessel..."

"Once I possess him and cultivate for another decade or so, even this seal will struggle to hold me."

Lou Yunxiao dimly heard those words, then woke. He tightened one hand around his sword and felt around him with the other.

What he touched were bones. Countless bones.

There were the skeletons of demonic beasts, as well as human skulls.

The stench of blood filled his nostrils. Lou Yunxiao pressed a hand over his wound, only to hear a boy screaming nearby.

"Are you Lou Yunxiao? Fellow Daoist Lou, save me!"

Lou Yunxiao followed the voice, using his sword to prop himself up.

He did not know why he had survived his encounter with that Demon he could never hope to defeat.

But as long as he still drew breath, he had to fight and do his best to live.

"Wait for me."

He severed the chains binding the boy with a single slash and said gravely, "I can't see. You'll have to guide us. We must leave this place as quickly as possible."

The disciple nodded. "This place is full of bones. Red Willow dragged me in here three days ago, and I thought I was going to die here. Thank goodness I met you, Fellow Daoist Lou."

Relief filled his face. Though he was still wounded, he brimmed with hope that he would survive.

Lou Yunxiao had a vague feeling that he had forgotten something.

Something felt wrong.

But for now, getting out was their best option.

They ran out of the side hall without encountering a single obstacle, as though the Demon Lou Yunxiao had met earlier had been nothing but a dream.

When they finally reached the entrance to the underground palace, the disciple cried out in delight, and Lou Yunxiao's lips curved into a smile.

"Let's hurry back to the surface."

As he said this, all he could think about was A Ke.

He wondered whether Xiaoxiao had found A Ke. He hoped his junior brother would not worry too much or come after him.

He would be out soon, ready to give him a surprise.

He wanted A Ke to know that he had survived, safe and sound.

But in the next instant, a voice suddenly rang out in his sea of consciousness.

"You're far too naive, boy."

In the blink of an eye, Lou Yunxiao lost control of his body.

The Pale Silver Sword plunged straight into the disciple's chest!

The disciple fell to his knees in disbelief, choking up mouthfuls of blood. With the last of his strength, he clutched the hem of Lou Yunxiao's clothes and asked, "Wh-why, Fellow Daoist Lou..."

"Weren't we... going back together..."

"I don't want to die... I still... don't want to die..."

"Hahaha! Now this is fun!" The voice in Lou Yunxiao's sea of consciousness laughed. "Give you hope, then send you to your death. That makes your resentment all the stronger, and you all the tastier!"

Only then did Lou Yunxiao realize what he had overlooked.

The Demon had not vanished. He had entered his body!

"Get out!"

Lou Yunxiao's eyes nearly split with rage, his expression twisting fiercely.

He rarely flew into a rage.

But now he looked like a madman.

He summoned the origin foxfire Ning Ke had given him.

He made it burn through every meridian in his body, forcing the Demon out from within.

"You actually have this fire?" The Demon sneered. "But it's far too weak. You can't do anything to me with this."

Still, he returned control of Lou Yunxiao's body to him.

He coaxed him patiently. "Your body is the best vessel I could ask for. Cooperate with me and escape this underground palace, and even the position of ruler of this plane will be ours."

"Now listen to me. I'll teach you how to drain this little cultivator's blood. You can dig out his golden core and eat it too. His flesh is delicious as well, and it will greatly benefit your cultivation..."

But Lou Yunxiao seemed not to hear a word he said.

He merely remained silent.

He crouched down.

His fingers brushed over the Pale Silver Sword.

He slid the blade beneath the boy.

As though sensing something, the Pale Silver Sword began to hum.

Lou Yunxiao said only one word.

"Go."

The Pale Silver Sword swiftly enlarged and carried the boy out of the underground palace at tremendous speed.

Lou Yunxiao waved his hand, and the palace gates closed.

"What are you doing, you brat!"

The Demon immediately tried to seize control again, only to discover in the next instant that Lou Yunxiao had already driven an ice sword into his own heart and viciously shredded it without the slightest hesitation!

Already gravely wounded, he could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

Blood spread across the floor, painfully bright.

Behind the silk ribbon, Lou Yunxiao's gray-blue eyes remained open.

His consciousness gradually faded.

No one wanted to die.

Neither did Lou Yunxiao.

But he had once sworn never to harm his own kind, even unto death.

That was his code.

And he knew that with his meager strength, once a Demon with such powerful cultivation possessed him, he would hurt more of his own kind in the future, whether he wanted to or not...

So he chose to kill himself.

Only...

In the end, he still wanted to go back.

He wanted to go back and find A Ke.

He wanted to tell him he was still alive.

He wanted revenge...

He wanted to thank his sister...

He wanted to restore the Flowing Cloud Sect...

But even the most brilliant genius would eventually fall.

And so, he could only go to the netherworld and beg his parents' forgiveness...

"Damn it, damn it!!" The Demon burst out of Lou Yunxiao's body, his aura surging. With strength approaching the Mahayana stage, he blasted open the underground palace gates, but could not break through the layer of golden runes enveloping the palace.

He had tried to beguile Lou Yunxiao because he had discovered that Lou Yunxiao was different from everyone else.

Lou Yunxiao carried the scent of their enemy-Heaven's Way.

That was why he had wanted to tame Lou Yunxiao into his puppet, occupy this body, and cultivate in the underground palace for another decade or so. Then he would likely have a chance to break the seal and escape!

But he had never imagined that this man would rather kill himself than submit to his control!

"Heaven's Way!!!!"

The Demon grew several dozen feet tall and hammered crazily at the glowing barrier of runes. The suppressing stone stele at the center of the underground palace shook along with it.

"Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years! How much longer are you going to keep me imprisoned!!!!"

After roaring and shouting like this for a while, he turned to look at Lou Yunxiao's lifeless body.

He stretched out a hand, and a vast tide of demonic energy surged straight into Lou Yunxiao!

"You want to die? I won't let you have your way!!!"

"Even if I can't bring you back to life, you'll still serve me as a walking corpse!"

He was talking about the living dead.

Their hearts no longer beat, but they retained a measure of human awareness.

They could move and speak, and do his bidding.

Only demons could create such living dead.

Ten thousand years ago, another reason the Human Clan and the Demon Clan had been unable to defeat the demons was the sheer number of these living dead. It had been difficult for the humans and demons, who still possessed emotions, to strike down their own kind.

Dense demonic energy enveloped Lou Yunxiao's body.

It poured into him without end.

The previously faint demonic markings at the outer corners of the boy's eyes gradually grew distinct.

Little by little, their color deepened.

Like the sinister, alluring flames of hell...

Meanwhile, on the surface, Ning Ke clutched his aching heart and looked at the Red Cloud Sword, which had seemed to be crying all this time.

He clenched his teeth and cradled the sword in his arms.

Only by struggling to breathe deeply could he keep the tears from spilling from his stinging eyes.

He could feel it.

Lou Yunxiao was resisting. He was suffering.

It was like having his bones scraped bare, the agony piercing his heart.