Chapter 1337: Showdown

Jiang Fan slightly frowned. He vaguely felt that Venerable Xin Nie’s tone seemed to carry a hidden meaning. This thought made him feel a touch of caution.

His eyes shifted slightly, and he said, “Understood, Master.”

“Let’s go. First, we’ll find the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar, then we’ll guide the Asura clan.”

***

White Horse Temple.

In the deepest part of the Buddhist hall, a monk, whose body emanated a faint spiritual glow, whose appearance shifted between male and female, young and old, sat cross-legged in mid-air. In his hand, he held the jade box handed to him by Venerable Zhen Yan. A cluster of ashes constantly swirled within it, seemingly trying to fly out. Its direction was precisely towards Jiang Fan’s location.

It turned out that Venerable Zhen Yan had seized the moment when Venerable Xin Nie and everyone else were distracted by the Buddhist chants. She had caught the ashes. Otherwise, the ashes would have landed entirely on Jiang Fan, and he would have been exposed on the spot.

The Bodhisattva’s voice was slow and magnetic. “Is it worth it? You are a descendant of Grand Venerable Xing Yuan; with his protection, you would be fearless in the face of the catastrophe.”

Venerable Zhen Yan replied with a sense of relief, “Grand Venerable Xing Yuan once said something in the Heavenly Realm: ‘Death can be lighter than a feather, or heavier than Mount Tai.’ If my death means someone more capable of resisting the Heavenly Realm survives, how could it not be worth it?”

Hearing this, the Bodhisattva pressed their palms together. “Benefactor Zhen Yan, your merit is immeasurable.”

Venerable Zhen Yan stood up and asked, “Does the Bodhisattva have any further instructions?”

“Yes!” The Bodhisattva opened their mouth and uttered a silent message.

Venerable Zhen Yan’s delicate body trembled, and her almond-shaped eyes widened in shock! She stood stunned for a long time before finally saying, lost in thought, “I understand. Thank you for the Bodhisattva’s reminder.” She departed absentmindedly.

Only then did the Bodhisattva look at the jade box in their hand, gently stroking it with their palm. The ashes gradually settled. But after a moment’s thought, they paused. With a faint smile on their face, they murmured, “It is time to welcome the return of the Buddhist Son.”

***

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan, having obtained the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar, carried it all the way to the northernmost part of White Horse Temple. He placed the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar on a large stone, referencing Vajra Fayin’s golden alms bowl.

“Above us is Wanxiang Village, which your disciple mentioned. I once entrusted their Nine-Incense Village Master to persuade the other Asura clan villages. Those willing to seek refuge in the Central Lands, I will guide them down. Now, we just wait for the Nine-Incense Village Master to descend.”

Venerable Xin Nie, with his hands clasped behind his back, watched Jiang Fan and said, “You seem quite considerate of Taicang Grand State.”

Jiang Fan nodded, “Taicang Grand State has my Tianji Pavilion, and also the Azure Cloud Sect where I started my journey on the mainland. And Solitary Boat City, the homeland where I grew up. If I don’t protect them, who will?”

Venerable Xin Nie said blandly, “I truly envy you. You have so many people and places worth protecting. Unlike me, my path has only led through a past too painful to recall.”

Jiang Fan said, “Master, you’re being modest. To have reached the Soul Transformation Realm, you must have encountered numerous opportunities and surely have many wonderful memories worth cherishing.”

Venerable Xin Nie gave a hoarse chuckle. Sitting on the stone, he gazed at the endless sky and reminisced: “I was born into a prominent family in Tianzhou. My father was a powerful cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage. And I was the most outstanding junior in the clan. My father loved me immensely, giving me the very best of everything! Whatever I desired, he would give me. Even if I fancied a woman I saw on the street, she would appear in my bed that very night. Without any unexpected events, I would have become the family’s successor under my father’s guidance. Until my father held a sword to my neck.”

Jiang Fan was startled. The sudden twist left him somewhat bewildered: “Since your father cared for you so much, Master, why would he try to kill you?”

Venerable Xin Nie said blandly, “Because he walked the Path of Ruthlessness. What is ruthlessness? It is to relinquish the person you cherish most. So, from the moment I was born, I was merely a tool for him to enter the Soul Transformation Path. Loving me deeply, only by killing me could he truly embody ruthlessness.”

Jiang Fan was struck with awe. To kill one’s son to attain the Dao—was there such a cold and heartless path in this world?

Venerable Xin Nie continued, “Fortunately, my mother protected me and allowed me to escape. But my father didn’t give up. If he couldn’t kill his son, he would kill his wife, kill his clansmen, exterminate the entire clan. This finally allowed him to successfully embark on the Path of Ruthlessness and achieve an Eight-Orifice Nascent Soul.”

Jiang Fan was at a loss for words. Venerable Xin Nie’s past could only be described as utterly tragic. His own father had killed all his close relatives, leaving him without a place to belong, despite the vastness of the world.

“What happened then?” Jiang Fan asked. Given Venerable Xin Nie’s ferocity, he would surely seek revenge on his father, right?

Venerable Xin Nie said, “Later, burdened by the profound blood feud of my entire clan, I cultivated with all my might. Those who obstructed my cultivation, I killed. Those who stole my resources, I killed. Everyone who stood in the way of my cultivation had to die! Along my path, I witnessed too much human treachery and countless dark aspects of human nature. Ultimately, amidst the slaughter, I embarked on the Path of Karmic Sin and achieved divinity!”

At this point, Venerable Xin Nie looked at Jiang Fan. “I truly envy you, my disciple. Your path has been filled with good people. As a result, your heart is bright and upright, brimming with righteousness. I see not a trace of darkness in you.”

Jiang Fan felt a surge of sympathy for Venerable Xin Nie. No wonder he had comprehended the Path of Karmic Sin. “Master, everything is in the past now. Look forward,” Jiang Fan said.

Venerable Xin Nie gave a hoarse chuckle, “The past? Can it truly be past?” He took out two dark bottles. One was empty. In the other, white flames burned, and a soul, curled into a ball, howled in agony within the bottle.

Jiang Fan’s pupils constricted, “Could this be...”

Venerable Xin Nie said blandly, “It’s my father’s soul. After I reached Soul Transformation, the first thing I did was seek revenge. He had already entered the Nine-Orifice Nascent Soul stage then, and was consumed by madness. Killing him would have been too easy. So, I extracted his soul, condemning him to eternal torment by the flames! Only by doing so can my heart find peace. Only then can I briefly forget the memory of my own father holding a sword to my throat, of him slaughtering my entire clan.”

He put away the dark bottle that tormented his father. He kept only the empty bottle out and observed: “I once swore that I would never again give anyone the chance to betray me in this life. Therefore, throughout my entire life, I have never trusted anyone else again. Not even the disciples I raised from a young age have I ever truly believed in.”

Hearing this, Jiang Fan’s heart pounded wildly. He subtly retreated a step. It seemed his feeling was not wrong. Venerable Xin Nie had already grown suspicious of him.

Indeed! Venerable Xin Nie slowly raised his gaze to Jiang Fan, his eyes gradually sharpening, and his expression turning grim little by little.

“But, what I didn’t expect was... My only trusted disciple, the only true-name disciple to whom I even entrusted my final inheritance... has been lying to me all along!!!”