Xu Xian gave a bitter smile. "Heh..."
If he were his younger self, he probably would have said something like: 'Ah, being too exceptional is its own kind of trouble.'
But he was no longer young, and things were no longer as they once were.
He knew that the Twilight Emperor still hadn't given up.
Perhaps,
In the eyes of a powerhouse of this level, they were extremely unwilling to accept their own failure.
The Twilight Emperor did not mind Xu Xian's contempt. It leaned closer to him, its tone as playful as ever. "How does it feel to be imprisoned?"
Xu Xian remained silent.
"Years ago, I was inside the cage and you were outside. Today, you are inside the cage and I am outside. I told you—if you fought me, you would lose miserably. Do you believe me now?"
Xu Xian continued his silence, even closing his eyes.
He had no desire to acknowledge its arrogant triumph. The sorrow in his heart still echoed with endless vitality.
The Twilight Emperor was used to being ignored. "I actually quite admire you. Even in such a desperate situation, you didn't use the five sword spirits before the Sky Gate. Tsk, tsk. The Sky Gate must open eventually, and darkness will descend. If I were you, I would have slaughtered them until the sky turned dark and the earth grew dim. That way, you would have had a slim chance of survival. I truly don't know if you're stupid or if you're just intent on seeking death?"
Xu Xian's eyes flickered open slightly as he glanced sideways.
The Twilight Emperor was right.
If,
If he had used the five sword spirits, he certainly could have fought and slaughtered everyone in all directions.
But the outcome would have been the same.
The Sky Gate would open.
Darkness would descend.
Just as it was now. The moment he closed his eyes, the five sword spirits had already returned to the swords and into the tower.
Yet Xu Xian had not done it.
Was it because there is no sorrow greater than a dead heart?
No!
For some unknown reason, he spoke, his voice raspy as he explained, "I can die, and this world can be destroyed. It can even be destroyed because of me, but it should not be destroyed by my own hand."
His voice trailed off as he looked at the Twilight Emperor and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Heh... why am I telling you this? You wouldn't understand anyway."
The Twilight Emperor froze.
To be told by a junior, a tiny mortal soul, that it didn't understand... that was truly...
It was hard to describe.
It gave a disdainful laugh. "Tch... Not understand? What's there not to understand? You just don't want to be the culprit. To put it nicely, you're preserving your integrity and maintaining a noble character, wanting to leave a legacy of purity in the world. To put it bluntly, you're just stupid and foolish..."
"Who would care?"
"No one cares!"
"You think they can see? They can't see anymore. They're all dead, long dead..."
It unleashed a barrage of mockery, laced with an inexplicable fury.
It was as if it hated those who could achieve what it could not.
Whether it was jealousy or loathing, only it knew for sure.
Xu Xian did not explain. Some things could not be explained clearly, and some things simply didn't need to be said.
When paths and principles differ, even half a sentence is too much.
Five hundred years ago, he entered the Wendao Sword Sect. Through twenty years of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, he reached the end of the mortal Great Dao. It was his master and four senior brothers who gave him that final push.
They allowed him to reach that height.
The Wendao Sword Sect.
Established in the Northern Borders.
From beginning to end, it bore the heavy responsibility of protecting all living beings.
His master had even placed the hope of the entire Cangming on his shoulders.
It would have been fine if he hadn't accepted it.
But he had.
Whether for personal gain or for the public good of the world,
Ultimately,
He had promised.
To inherit their will and continue the journey...
For the sake of that Sky Gate,
His master and four senior brothers had sat in meditation for ten thousand years, eventually severing their own reincarnation and sacrificing their divine souls.
For the sake of this world,
The ten-thousand-year heritage of the Wendao Sword Sect and hundreds of generations of people had followed one after another, disregarding life and death.
Fighting against humans,
Fighting against demons,
Fighting against fiends,
Fighting against the world.
In the end,
The entire sect fought to the death.
From the ancestors down to the newest disciples, not one retreated, not one wavered...
For ten thousand years,
What they protected was never just a mountain gate or a single region of the Northern Borders, but the entire world.
The catastrophe begins in the mortal realm.
It reaches Wendao first.
When Wendao falls,
Darkness descends.
Xu Xian knew the inner truth, so he understood.
Something that so many people had risked their lives to protect—how could he destroy it with his own hands at the very end?
If he did,
Even if he lived, how could he face his master, his senior brothers and sisters, the hundred thousand disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect, or the million heroic spirits upon Burial Sword Peak...?
He could accept failure, and he could meet death with composure.
But he would not allow himself,
To personally bury everything those he cared about had cherished during their lives.
It stemmed from a certain obsession.
Even if it wasn't understood by the world.
But that was what he did.
Xu Xian's silence did not drive the Twilight Emperor mad, but his persistence made it irritable.
It understood everything Xu Xian was thinking.
It simply didn't want to say it aloud.
It said to Xu Xian, "You still have a chance. Drink that cup of Emperor's Blood, and I will break the seal for you."
Xu Xian closed his eyes once more.
Though he seemed bored, thoughts were swirling in his mind.
He didn't understand,
Why it was so persistent.
Persistent about making him drink that cup of Emperor's Blood...
No,
It should be said,
It was persistent about making him betray his former self.
Could it be,
Truly just because he was exceptionally gifted?
Was an emperor,
Really that bored?
He pondered...
He remained silent...
The Twilight Emperor continued its persuasion.
"Things are already like this; how much worse could they get? You already have nothing left. Except for this broken body, you have nothing more to lose."
"Don't you want to seek revenge for them?"
"At the very least, you could collect their remains..."
"..."
"Also, with the darkness descending, don't you want to see what that world outside has become?"
"Five hundred years."
"You've only lived for five hundred years."
"To die just like this."
"Are you willing?"
"The world is vast, and the starry rivers are infinite. Do you really not want to go see them?"
"After all,"
"Since you're already here in this life?"
"..."
Xu Xian's eyelashes trembled slightly, his brows furrowing and relaxing as a look of annoyance gradually appeared on his pale face...
It was really loud.
Xu Xian was really annoyed.
Because his heart was being dismantled piece by piece by its words, and his firm choice was slowly beginning to waver.
Even if he was unwilling to admit it.
That was why he was so annoyed.
His thoughts involuntarily followed the sound of its voice.
[The wise adapt to the circumstances.]
[Things are already like this; how much worse could they get?]
[I've already lost everything; what else is there to fear?]
[Don't I want to see the mortal realm after the darkness descends?]
[At least I could collect their remains?]
[Since I'm already here...]
He listened,
He agreed,
He wavered,
In his chaotic internal world, the thought of drinking that cup of Emperor's Blood arose more than once.
Drink it.
He could live.
By living,
There would still be hope.
He even fantasized that perhaps in the distant future, he could be like the characters in those novels he had read and resurrect the people he cherished.
He hadn't been to the High Above yet.
He had promised to bury the remains of his masters back in their hometown.
He hadn't properly loved someone yet.
He hadn't reached out to pluck the stars from the sky.
Countless regrets began to overflow at this moment.
So many regrets.
If he hadn't died, was it because it was the will of heaven?
Why not just follow this destiny?
At least,
He could still be alive.
By living,
There was hope.
He remembered Senior Brother Yun Zheng's words: 'You are Xu Xian first, and only then are you the Little Grand-Uncle of the Wendao Sword Sect...'
He remembered Master Taibai's words: 'You are the Sword Bearer. What you want to do and how you should do it—don't ask me. You should ask yourself...'
He was in a daze.
His annoyance doubled.
Xu Xian's face became pained and distorted as a battle of heaven and man played out in his mind.
He only felt a sharp pain in his head, and his mouth kept muttering incessantly, as if he were possessed by madness,
"No..."
"That's not right..."
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