Ch. 969 - The Will of All Beings, Here To Slay Demons

Ji Ruobing seemed to sense Xu Zimo’s seriousness and stopped joking like usual.

“Then I’ll wait for you at the lineage. If anything happens, you can always find me,” Ji Ruobing said.

Xu Zimo nodded slightly.

“By the way, be careful of that Holy Son in your lineage.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve fought with him for a long time, and neither of us has won,” Ji Ruobing smiled.

Xu Zimo nodded again. He felt a bit weary of conversation, so he rode the Darksky Tiger and slowly left the City of Destruction.

Leaning against the Darksky Tiger’s back, he gazed up at the sky above.

The sky of this land of destruction was always black.

“Back then, was the Ancient Demon Race also facing such a scene?” Xu Zimo chuckled softly.

The whole world against them.

He didn’t quite understand. So many imperial lineages and ancient races, those with grudges against him he could understand, but most he didn’t even know.

Whether or not their ancestors really gave them dreams, he didn’t know, but at this point it no longer mattered.

Heaven's Will was close at hand, and they didn’t want him to touch it.

So they wanted him dead before that.

Or perhaps, once he carried Heaven's Will itself, no matter what they wanted, they would no longer be his match.

That meant this period was the final chance.

And the best timing.

“The mortal world is like drifting duckweed, and we are all but ants...” Xu Zimo murmured to himself.

The Darksky Tiger walked lightly, carrying him as he sought only a quiet place to cultivate.

The entire world was itching to kill him.

Factions were stirring in the shadows, some even proposing to pressure True Martial Sacred Ground to hand Xu Zimo over.

Yet, the one at the center of all this suddenly vanished without a trace.

As if he had disappeared.

Not a shadow, not a sound.

The whole world had the feel of a storm about to break.

…………

“Heaven and earth manifest, the body follows the heavens, the head is the sky, the belly the earth. Even the ancient sages were no more than this!”

In the dark abyss, a figure shifted endlessly.

All kinds of godly powers took form at his fingertips. His body sometimes grew to ten thousand feet, shaking heaven and earth.

Other times, space-time rippled, a finger creating and destroying, swallowing and binding, yin and yang twisting, the heavenly dao collapsing.

Heaven and earth seemed to teeter on the edge of ruin. The figure grew blurry, swallowed and released by darkness.

…………

Eastern Continent, Western Region.

The city of Fallen Phoenix had a simple origin. It was said that long ago a divine phoenix once descended here, crying three times as if seeking its mate.

A city was later built, taking the phoenix as its totem. Its history was long.

Inside Fallen Phoenix City,

“Waiter, bring wine,” a crisp voice called.

A young man carrying a blade sat by the window facing the street.

Xu Zimo sat quietly, watching the bustling, lively street outside.

From the Land of Destruction, he hadn’t hurried. Walking calmly for over a month, he finally reached the Western Region.

He wondered how his lineage was now.

“Sir, your wine,” the waiter placed a jug on the table, waiting for instructions.

“Waiter, let me ask you something,” Xu Zimo said.

“Please, sir,” the waiter nodded.

“Lately here, has anything major happened?” Xu Zimo asked.

“No big events,” the waiter shook his head slightly, then added,

“But recently a group called the Demon-Slaying Alliance has been making a lot of noise, claiming they’ll destroy demons and such.”

“And what do you think?” Xu Zimo asked.

“What’s it got to do with me?” the waiter laughed. “All I want is for business to be better, so the boss pays me more. That way I can provide a good life to my wife and kids.”

Hearing this, Xu Zimo nodded slightly.

“Yes. For ordinary people in this great era, their desires are simple. They don’t care about immortals, gods, emperors or demons. Even if the sky collapses, so what? They care about themselves, about their small plot of land. Those in power, to satisfy their own desires, always like to drag the world into things, standing on the moral high ground...”

“Sir, are you all right?” the waiter asked doubtfully.

“Tell me, do you know the difference between good and bad people?” Xu Zimo smiled.

The waiter thought a moment, then said, “Good people are kind at heart. Bad people commit every evil.”

“That’s right and not right,” Xu Zimo replied. “Besides beasts who’ve lost all humanity, and the truly selfless sages, most people fall into two kinds. Those who kill under the banner of righteousness, and those who kill without pretense.”

“Sir, I don’t really understand your words,” the waiter shook his head.

Xu Zimo laughed loudly, drained the wine jug in one go, then left behind a cultivation manual and dozens of spirit stones, walking out without looking back.

“Take these for your children’s cultivation.”

“Sir!” the waiter called, but Xu Zimo’s figure was already gone.

Since ancient times, what joy is there in life? To steal half a day of leisure and happiness in this fleeting world, what is better than that?

…………

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, autumn gave way to winter.

Xu Zimo warmed himself with a jug of wine, then left Fallen Phoenix City, heading toward True Martial Sacred Ground.

Fallen Phoenix City wasn’t far. Half a day’s travel brought him there.

On the ancient path outside the sect, immortal trees of great age stood tall.

These trees had been planted long ago by Grand Emperor San Dao before going to war.

Neither snow nor blazing sun could affect them.

The immortal flowers on them always bloomed, crimson like blood soaking a blade, trembling faintly.

Snow drifted along the ancient path, silence deep.

In the distance, the mountains of True Martial Sacred Ground loomed, covered in snow and mist, like celestial peaks.

Snow piled thick underfoot, mingling with immortal flowers, the flowers again buried by snow.

Xu Zimo stopped on the ancient path. Ahead, at some unknown moment, a figure had appeared.

Cold wind cut like knives.

“I’ve been waiting for you a long time,” the figure raised his head and said calmly.

He wore a scholar’s robe and held a gentleman’s sword.

His brows radiated uprightness, his eyes clear.

“Waiting for me, why?” Xu Zimo asked.

“I am Lu Gongjin of the Southern Continent. I’ve come to slay demons and destroy evil,” the man in scholar’s robes declared with righteousness.

“If I truly am a demon, and you truly are a man of justice, then I am willing not to fight back and let you slay me,” Xu Zimo said. “But you must wait a moment.”

“Very well,” Lu Gongjin nodded, waiting quietly.

He didn’t ask why. There was no need.

Xu Zimo slowly closed his eyes. His soul entered the world of true fate, controlling the Primordial Chaos Bead, stepping into the River of Fate of the Primordial Heartlands.

He began to examine Lu Gongjin’s river of fate.

Time ticked away. Snow from the heavens buried him whole, until he seemed like a proud ice statue standing tall.

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