Chapter 92: Self Destruct
The ancestor smiled warmly. "Ah, of course," he said with a nod. "Since you cleared the ninety-nine floors, you are entitled to the rewards." His transparent form shimmered slightly as he continued. "The tower decides your reward when you exit, so you don’t have to worry about that."
Li Yao nodded with understanding. She had been wondering why she hadn’t received anything after completing each floor. It made perfect sense now—rather than receiving low-level rewards for each individual floor, the system calculated everything at the end, providing a fitting cumulative reward upon exit. Much more efficient.
[Did you really agree just because of the benefits?] the Empress asked suspiciously, her voice echoing in Li Yao’s mind.
"Of course not," Li Yao replied with conviction. "If the demon escaped, it would be a danger to my senior brother, so there’s no way I could let that happen." She paused briefly before adding, "I just asked about the benefits for my senior brother’s sake."
The Empress seemed to accept this explanation, though something still felt off but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. These two kids...
Without warning, the Empress’s soul manifested beside Li Yao, her form glowing with a soft golden light.
Li Yao gasped, turning to face her. "You can manifest?" she asked, unable to hide her shock.
[Yes, I’ve recovered some energy,] the Empress replied, her form becoming more defined as she spoke.
The ancestor noticed the Empress’s manifestation and visibly recoiled, his eyes widening in recognition. He immediately bowed deeply, his aged form bending with surprising grace. "I greet the immortal," he said with profound respect.
[How did you know I was an immortal?] the Empress questioned, genuine curiosity in her voice.
"You have the same oppressive aura as the Demon God, though yours isn’t demonic," he explained, maintaining his respectful posture.
The Empress acknowledged this with a subtle nod. She then raised her slender hand toward the ancestor, causing streams of golden energy to flow from her fingertips into his spectral form. The light bathed him completely, purifying his essence.
The ancestor immediately understood what was happening. He dropped to his knees, his head bowed low. "I thank the immortal," he spoke, his voice thick with emotion.
[No need,] the Empress replied, her tone unusually gentle. [You did a good job resealing the Demon God. With this, your soul is now free of corruption. Unfortunately, it has already deteriorated too much to recover fully, but now that it’s free of corruption, you should be able to enter the river of reincarnation.] Her expression softened further. [I hope you become such a hero in your next life as well.]
"Thank you," Feng Tianxu whispered, gratitude radiating from his being as his form began to dissolve into motes of light. Gradually, his spectral presence faded completely, leaving only empty air where he had stood.
The Empress released a wistful sigh as the last of his essence disappeared.
"I didn’t think you had this side to you," Li Yao remarked with a mischievous smile playing across her lips.
The Empress merely scoffed. [Hmph, what do you know,] she retorted before vanishing back into Li Yao’s consciousness.
Within the vast expanse of her spiritual sea, the Empress contemplated in solitude. As the Empress, she could also be considered the ancestor1 of all humans. Seeing such a righteous human made her genuinely proud.
Her gaze drifted upward to the countless stars that illuminated her spiritual domain. "Senior sister, how are you doing right now? Did you also reincarnate?" she whispered, her voice uncharacteristically soft and vulnerable. "It seems that you were right after all." A pause. "But you’re not here to rub it in my face."
Tears formed in her eyes, glimmering briefly before dissolving into the ether. "It’s strange, I always hated when you did that," she continued, her voice catching slightly. "But I hate it even more when you don’t." A forced smile crossed her lips. "Strange, right?"
...
Elder Guo lay motionless on the earthen structure he had created, blood seeping from his eyes, nose, and mouth in thin rivulets. He had pushed himself beyond his limits, exhausting every last drop of energy for that final burst of strength. Within his spiritual sea2, he felt his golden core flicker weakly, blinking a few more times before fading to darkness completely.
His cultivation journey was over. After decades of dedication and struggle, he had become a mere mortal once again.
The only regret that weighed upon his fading consciousness was his failure. He couldn’t protect the master’s son or the sect that had been entrusted to him. He had let his master down. If they met in the underworld, he hoped the master wouldn’t scold him too harshly for his failure.
With that thought, his eyelids grew heavy. As consciousness began to slip away, the world around him dimming at the edges, a desperate cry pierced through the encroaching darkness.
"No! I won’t let you kill Senior Brother!"
The voice sounded familiar, though his mind was too clouded to place it immediately. Whose voice is that? I think I’ve heard it before... he thought hazily.
"Senior Brother, nooo!"
The anguished scream finally penetrated the fog in his mind. That’s right, it was his junior sister’s voice. How could he have forgotten? With tremendous effort, his eyelids fluttered open, allowing him to witness the scene unfolding before him.
Mei was stalking toward him with predatory intent, each step radiating malicious purpose. Behind him, Elder Huang clung desperately to his waist, her feet dragging furrows in the earth as she fought with every ounce of her strength to hold him back. Despite her valiant effort, she couldn’t slow his advance.
"Damn woman," Elder Mei snarled, his transformed face contorting with rage. "If you want to join him so badly, I’ll help you!" With a casual backhand, he struck Elder Huang with such force that she was sent flying several meters, her body tumbling across the courtyard like a discarded doll.
"No... Junior Sister..." Elder Guo’s thoughts formed the words, but his voice failed him. He raised his hand tremulously, fingers outstretched toward her fallen form.
"Still resisting?" Elder Mei sneered as he closed the distance between them, demonic energy swirling around his clenched fists.
Before he could reach Elder Guo, a tremendous explosion shook the entire sect grounds, the distant concussion powerful enough to create tremors beneath them. The sudden disturbance caused Elder Mei to pause, his head turning toward the source of the disturbance.
In that brief moment of distraction, a figure leapt through the air and crashed into him, wrapping arms tightly around his waist. The explosion had momentarily broken his concentration, causing his demonic authority to falter just long enough for someone to act.
"Sect Master, are you going to hug me to death?" Elder Mei mocked, recognizing his assailant.
"Father always treated the three of us equally," Wei Tianxu said, his voice thick with emotion. "I never thought that you would do this to us."
Elder Mei cleaned his ear with his finger in a show of contempt. "So what? I’m nothing like y’all," he spat.
Wei Tianxu maintained his iron grip, turning to look at Elder Guo across the courtyard. "Senior Brother, it seems that you’ll lose two brothers today," he said, a sad smile crossing his face.
Elder Guo’s eyes widened in horrified realization, his breath suddenly coming in rapid, shallow gasps. "Wait! No! Stop!" he tried to shout, but only a hoarse whisper escaped his lips.
Wei Tianxu paid no heed to the plea. His body began to glow with an intense golden light that grew brighter with each heartbeat. Elder Mei’s expression shifted from contempt to alarm as he finally understood what was happening, but his realization came too late.
The Sect Master used the last of his strength to lift both of them high into the air. For one suspended moment, they hung against the backdrop of the azure sky, a silhouette of golden radiance.
In the next instant, they both exploded in a blinding flash that turned night into day. The shockwave rippled across the courtyard, flattening everything in its path.
The Sect Master had self-destructed, taking Elder Mei with him into oblivion.
...
Author’s Corner:
1. Ancestor in that she led the human race a long time ago so she is the human ancestor.
2. Yes, spiritual sea. When your core becomes golden and you enter the golden core realm, the core is moved to the spiritual sea. It bathes in the essence of the spiritual sea for a long time, turning into an incubated egg that later cracks and bears the nascent soul.
Lol, this is why I didn’t want to get into the sect master too much