The Prefect of Mount Tai withdrew his gaze, glanced at He Feixu's body on the ground, then surveyed the sinister, desolate, lifeless Xuanyuan Mountain. Finally, he turned back to Xuanyuan, undisguised disdain on his face. "Look at yourself, neither human nor ghost! And this Xuanyuan Mountain."
He pointed at the black stone beneath his feet. "When I granted you this mountain, it was lush and green, brimming with life. Look what you've done to it!"
Xuanyuan had been expressionless, as still as an ancient well, but at the Prefect of Mount Tai's words, anger instantly flooded his face. His entire body shook uncontrollably, as though he might explode the next second. "Brother! We haven't seen each other in ten thousand years! And the first thing you say... is to mock me?!"
The Prefect of Mount Tai ignored his fury entirely. Instead, he looked at He Feixu's body, suspended in midair by a few lingering strands of Astral Wind, sighed softly, and shook his head. "You also caused your best friend's death."
"Was I the one who caused his death?!" Xuanyuan abruptly raised his head, gritting his teeth as he challenged the Prefect of Mount Tai, each word distinct. "Who gave him that 'Tai' talisman?! Who showed him the 'path' that brought him to Xuanyuan Mountain?!"
The Prefect of Mount Tai looked calmly at Xuanyuan, a trace of pity in his eyes. "Still refusing to see reason. I guided the three of them here hoping you would witness the absurdity of this Delusion Realm of Life and Death, see He Feixu's choice, and turn back from your wayward path... It seems I expected too much."
With that, the Prefect of Mount Tai said no more and took a square seal from inside his robes.
He sent the square seal into the