Liu Sumeng s.h.i.+vered at such a tone but he couldn't tell if it was from anxiety or excitement. He nodded.

Xuelan's spiritual energy was already depleted and Liu Sumeng's left arm was as good as useless now. They didn't have much of a choice. But why was it that the way adrenaline hummed was always so addictive? So pleasing? Liu Sumeng had utmost trust that they would make it out of this. That daylight would greet them on the morrow. Not a single smidgen of doubt could be found in his heart.

Yuan Xuelan pulled out the last resentment-infused talisman he had. But instead of releasing it, he held it in his hand and drew in more power that streamed out of Cao Hong's stump.

Liu Sumeng charged forth, gathering the attention of the warrior corpses. He had only one arm to work with, leaving half his mobility. But Liu Sumeng was undaunted by the challenge, his focus sharp and narrowed as he labored to attract their attention.

There was no hope for him to cut all of them down on his own, but that wasn't the Ivory Sword Saint's goal. Instead, he only kept them busy in a smaller compact s.p.a.ce where it was not only difficult for himself to move around, but for the corpses as well. When he dodged when cleave coming for his head, the blade wedged itself into the shoulder of another. When he sidestepped a thrust, it got stuck between another corpse's rib cage.

Cao Hong lunged at him as well and Liu Sumeng did not hesitate to grab one of the nearby corpses and use it as a rotten meat s.h.i.+eld. Cao Hong's intelligence was no better than a ravenous gorilla. She tore through the corpse as though it enraged her.

"Sumeng!" Yuan Xuelan called before releasing the talisman that was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with resentful energy. 

The power was condensed so tightly that it was threatening to spiral out of Yuan Xuelan's control, he gritted his teeth, holding onto it just long enough for the Ivory Sword Saint to get out of the immediate blast radius.

The Temple shook. 

Fire burst out from the talisman and the blast engulfed the whole hall. Yuan Xuelan was getting a little too consistent with underestimating the power of his own tools.

But he had no time to dwell on his own miscalculations.

Liu Sumeng had taken it upon himself to s.h.i.+eld Yuan Xuelan from the blast. His muscles had moved on instinct and he who was closer should no doubt shoulder the burden. He was also about to form the hand seals to erect a barrier.

But Yuan Xuelan had other plans. He grabbed the Ivory Sword Saint by the fabric of his robe and flipped him over.

"Don't be foolis.h.!.+" He heard those words tickle the sh.e.l.l of his ear as debris followed flames. Liu Sumeng wasn't sure if the heat he felt was from the explosion, Yuan Xuelan's body pressed close, or himself.

The Ivory Sword Saint still managed to erect a barrier to protect them both but it came a breath later than he intended.

And while dust a.s.saulted their vision and debris coated the room, Liu Sumeng kept his eyes open, locking with Yuan Xuelan's. There was a deafening ringing that prevented words to be heard. In that suspended moment, he saw that Yuan Xuelan's brows were furrowed and his lips stretched taut. Those deep brown eyes seemed as though they were searching for Liu Sumeng's soul and made his breath stutter and stop.

A fluttering feeling churned Liu Sumeng's guts but he didn't dare break off eye contact and only waited until the dust settled and the ringing noise to filter away.

"Are you okay?"

Yuan Xuelan licked his lips, his voice was a little tight, "Yeah." He slowly peeled himself away from the Ivory Sword Saint.

The floor had completely collapsed into the one below and Liu Sumeng and Yuan Xuelan found themselves in the crevice of debris. When they looked they saw evidence of blood splattered and bits of gore. There was a hand twitching from below a fallen pillar. There was one still standing with half of its body blown apart, ugly strings of muddy rotting gore spilling out with each stumbling step.

But among the rubble was a familiar sobbing voice, Liu Sumeng squinted through settling dust. A boy hunched over a mangled corpse, his desperate pleads mixed with curses.

"f.u.c.k you! f.u.c.k you, I'll f.u.c.king kill you!��� These curses merged into ugly wet sobbing. "Uwwuuuu, mother, mother, I'm so sorry, Huan'er will patch you up, okay? Mother, I'm sorry...!"

The corpse in his arms twitched in response but it was barely recognizable by then, with matter spilling out of the missing side of her head. Almost the entirety of the right side was missing with globs of gore hanging on, twitching and spewing out more gunk.

Liu Sumeng climbed to his feet, unsure if he should be feeling disgust or pity. This idiot boy was insane and beyond all reason. He couldn't help to wonder if it would have been possible to save this fool from his idiocy if there was a point in his timeline where Liu Sumeng could have stepped in. Was this his fault as well, should he have been less calloused to others?

There was no way of knowing now.

Yuan Xuelan was unlike the Ivory Sword Saint and had already expended all his sympathy for his piece of trash cousin. And if his loyalty to this trash was not worth anything more than betrayal and hurting his beloved, Yuan Xuelan was more than eager to wipe his existence off the earth.

His mind was stuck on a single blaring thought, deafening and vicious, 'How dare you betray me!'

And even when his spiritual energy was startlingly low, Silei sizzled in his palm. Each step he took toward was heavy. He no longer had any love for Peng Jipei and only sought blood.

Peng Jipei squeaked when he finally noticed his cousin approaching. "You f.u.c.ker! Trash, piece of s.h.i.+t! Look what you've done! After everything that Mother has done for you, after every kindness she gave and this is how you repay her? You monster!"

Yuan Xuelan's laughter was hollow, "I'm the one who's a monster?" The anger inside flared even brighter, "Seriously now, I'm the one who's a monster?!"

Kind words and patience were wasted on this fool and Yuan Xuelan raised Silei to execute him.

Peng Jipei instantly paled. "Wait, Zhang please think about this. My mother has done nothing wrong! And I can fix her I can. She has done so much for me and you as well. She's kind, seriously. My mother deserves to live don't you think? Zhang we're cousins! Friends! We're brothers!"

"Shut up!"

Liu Sumeng's heart was hesitant and he called out, "Xuelan-" There was no doubt that Peng Jipei had a mind beyond saving but he still felt pity. And he felt fear. Fear that this would be the harbinger to Yuan Xuelan's madness as it was in his previous life and that Yuan Xuelan himself would not become any better than Peng Jipei.

Yuan Xuelan was unhearing and swung down.

Peng Jipei was spared. Silei cleaved into the broken corpse of Cao Hong. From her torn, broken state she had somehow managed to wedge herself between the blade's edge and her son. A final act of motherly love.

Silei cleaved through her and scorched her into an unrecognizable char. Not even Peng Jipei's devil cultivation could put her back together again.

Peng Jipei���s cries were sharp, loud, and not human-like. He stumbled and backed away.

Yuan Xuelan cursed and wound up again, not noticing how Peng Jipei's erratic movements stopped abruptly.

When the screaming stopped he looked up and made eye contact with Liu Sumeng. His eyes were gray. And there was the smell of peonies and ginseng.

Liu Sumeng could instantly tell that something was wrong, his spiritual energy suddenly felt wild and unbalanced, "Xuelan!" He called with warning and alarm.

Peng Jipei dodged the blow that came down at him and at the same time, Liu Sumeng felt his interspatial ring glow red-hot. Something tore through as it was summoned out of his ring...and it was not the Ivory Sword Saint himself who summoned it, but Peng Jipei! 

Stuttering from the sudden event, Liu Sumeng barely had the time to process what he was seeing. Peng Jipei's hand was equipped with a familiarly shaped blade, dark and jagged. The lumps that coated the handle blinked open. Dozens of eyeb.a.l.l.s swirled at him.

Just how…!

But there was no time to wonder. Liu Sumeng rushed forward, shocked to see how Peng Jipei was suddenly much faster and finessed in his martial arts and parried Yuan Xuelan's next blow. He could have also sworn he heard the ringing of a bell in his mind.

He swung Mingshui down, wedging himself between Yuan Xulan and Peng Jipei.

His left arm was completely useless but he still shocked at the force that was exerted against his sword, the shockwave so sharp that it threatened to numb his nerves. This was like a completely different person! The gray eyes that looked back at him were hollow and calm.

And when Peng Jipei flinched in a way that told Liu Sumeng he was going to retreat, the Ivory Sword Saint was about to counterattack.

He didn't expect to be bested at swordsmans.h.i.+p. For the slight movement was just a feint and with near impossible speed and agility. The smaller cultivator ignored Mingshui, allowing it to slice into his face and through his ear, closing in on the distance.

"Sumeng!"

Yuan Xuelan wedged himself between. Silei came in wide and Peng Jipei somehow had the agility of an eel. Unfazed, he easily switched his target.

Liu Sumeng couldn't react fast enough, even when he pushed Xuelan aside and thrust Mingshui through Peng Jipei's chest, piercing his heart.

There was no madness in those vacant gray eyes. The subtle smirk of victory was however clear, "I win this time, Ivory Sword Saint." When Peng Jipei coughed, it was violent and wet but Liu Sumeng already stopped caring. He didn't look back when Peng Jipei thudded over, dead in a pool of blood. The scent of peonies and ginseng faded.

He didn't even care about his own sword that he tossed aside in a panic.

"Xuelan!"

But it was too late then, wasn't it?

Xuelan's figure was slumped over on the ground, the Organ Eating Dagger was on the ground, red with blood. Its bulging eyes seemed crescented and mocking. It had already done its job.

Liu Sumeng couldn't breathe, like his whole world had slowed to a stop. He rushed to Xuelan's side and scooped him up in his shaking arm and hauled him atop his knees. It was the only way Liu Sumeng could hold him, with his left am lame.

"Xuelan…" and his voice came out broken. He didn't even know what to say.

His mind whirled and recalled a palace scorched in flames.

There was blood that seeped through his clothes and when Liu Sumeng pressed his hand there, the flesh was soft. As though the insides were hollow. It made a sickening squelching sound and Liu Sumeng's vision blurred.

No, not this. This couldn't be happening. How could he allow such a thing to happen? After being given a second chance, something like this shouldn't--

But the heavens did not listen to his pleas.

Xuelan's breath was light and his face was deathly pale. He forcefully peeled his eyes open and saw the Ivory Sword Saint who was holding him so gently. So lovingly.

"Sumeng," a strained voice croaked. With the last of his strength, he said, "Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?"

Liu Sumeng was frozen with shock but responded with a shake of his head. How could that even matter with Xuelan in a state like this?

But Yuan Xuelan only sighed as if relieved. "That's good then." 

His lashes fluttered closed.