Chapter Ninety-Six
Ayin, no matter what, I will protect you.
Yuan Qi silently repeated these words in his heart, just as he was about to speak, Ayin’s voice rang out first.
“Divine Lord Yuan Qi, on that day, Ayin assisted the Demon Emperor in escaping the Immortal Locking Pagoda, causing the chaos in Rakshasa Land today and leading to the death of High Immortal Quan Lin. Ayin is guilty and is willing to bear full responsibility for the wrongs she has committed. On that day, the Divine Lord delivered Divine Punishment. Today, above Rakshasa Land, I ask Divine Lord Yuan Qi to summon Heavenly Thunder, strip Ayin of her immortal bones, and remove her from the immortal registry.”
Before all the High Immortals of the realm, Ayin slowly knelt toward Yuan Qi’s direction. “From this day forward, Ayin will no longer be of the Immortal Tribe. All past grievances, rights and wrongs, shall no longer implicate the Great Marsh Mountain sect or the Divine Lord.”
Seeing Ayin kneel, Yuan Qi’s hand hidden in his sleeve slowly clenched, his lips pressed into a silent line, his gaze deep and inscrutable.
The child he had cherished and raised with such care, the person he had longed to protect for a lifetime, was now forced to kneel before him in front of all the immortal dignitaries, pleading like a sinner for him to strip her immortal bones and remove her from the immortal registry.
If it were possible, he would sweep across the Eight Wastelands to protect her. Her mistakes, he would bear; her sins, he would shoulder. But now… he could no longer protect her. Removing her from the immortal registry, allowing her to withdraw from the turmoil of the Three Realms and remain in Clear Pond Palace, was the only thing he could still do for her.
The reluctance and pain in his eyes were buried deep within. Yuan Qi raised his head and looked down at Ayin as he spoke. “Are you truly determined to endure the Nine Heavenly Mystic Thunder Punishment in Rakshasa Land?”
Yuan Qi did not know that Ayin had already suffered Hua Shu’s Six Paths Heavenly Thunder in the Heavenly Palace. Now, relying on the lotus Immortal Power left by Dong Hua to break through Kong Que’s whip, she was barely clinging to life with her last breath of Immortal Qi. In his view, after Ayin consumed the Divine Transformation Pill refined by San Huo at Purple Moon Mountain, she had already ascended to the peak of High Lord. Even if she endured seven Mystic Thunder strikes and had her immortal bones stripped, she would only lose half her cultivation, with no threat to her life.
“Yes. I ask the Divine Lord to deliver Divine Punishment. Ayin’s mistakes, I am willing to bear alone.” Ayin bowed her head, no longer looking at Yuan Qi.
After speaking, she rose, her immortal sword unsheathing and drawing an Immortal Barrier in mid-air, clearly signaling the separation of the immortal and demon armies. Hong Yi, fearing she might be harmed, immediately ordered the Demon Monarchs to retreat several meters.
Ayin walked step by step toward the Immortal Barrier. As she turned, the sorrow in her eyes could no longer be concealed.
She knew she and Yuan Qi could never return to the past. From the moment she saved A Jiu in the Nine Nether Purgatory, today’s outcome was destined. Whether A Jiu’s actions at Great Marsh Mountain were intentional or not, it was ultimately her moment of misplaced mercy that led to the annihilation of the entire mountain.
Hundreds of lives at Great Marsh Mountain—those living beings and the scattered bones… She dared not even recall them. She knew Yuan Qi wanted to save her life, to keep her in Clear Pond Palace forever, free from the turmoil of the Three Realms. But he had never considered that if her mistakes today brought further disgrace upon her sect, how could she, for centuries or millennia to come, face returning to Great Marsh Mountain to pay respects to her fallen comrades?
He was not the only disciple of Dong Hua—she was too. Those who died tragically at Great Marsh Mountain were her senior brothers, her junior disciples, her family. That was the place where she was born and raised.
Yet, in her brief and naive life, her sect had become her heaviest sin.
If my solitary self could take all the sin and sorrow with me in death, perhaps that would be for the best.A Jin, that year at Purple Moon Mountain, you said you would one day take me to see a moon more beautiful than the purple moon. I fear I cannot fulfill this promise with you.
I once gave everything to live and stay by your side, but now I understand that staying alive is the hardest thing of all.
We cannot return to the past. Mountains and rivers cannot reverse their flow, the sun and moon cannot turn back, and the dead can never return to life.
Ayin stepped into the immortal barrier, concealing all the turbulent emotions in her eyes, leaving not a single ripple behind. The immortal sword hovering above the barrier in midair descended as if sensing something, standing beside her and emitting a clear yet mournful sound.
She turned and performed an ancient salute to Yuan Qi, her eyes devoid of any emotion. "Ayin, the guilty immortal of Great Marsh Mountain, requests the Divine Lord to deliver Divine Punishment."
Within the white immortal barrier, the Lady in plain robes stood alone, gazing at the immortal realm. Though bearing the guilt of a sinner, she shone as brightly as the blazing sun.
Her request for Divine Punishment silenced the High Immortals who had been filled with righteous indignation and disdain just moments before.
Hong Yi, standing behind Ayin, had sensed her weak aura earlier. His face filled with urgency, he wanted to prevent Ayin from receiving the punishment, yet he dared not speak out again, restrained by her earlier words.
In midair, Yuan Qi silently gazed at Ayin, remaining wordless until the oppressive silence made the immortals uneasy. Only then did he slowly speak.
"Very well. Today, I shall personally deliver the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder, strip you of your immortal bones, and remove you from the immortal registry. Henceforth, Ayin, Lady of Great Marsh Mountain, shall no longer belong to the Three Realms and shall be confined to Qilian Mountain! On the day Great Marsh Mountain is reborn across the Nine Provinces and Eight Wastelands, Lady Ayin shall step out of Clear Pond Palace. Primordial Spirit Sword!"
Before the immortals could fully grasp the deeper meaning of Yuan Qi's words, the Primordial Spirit Sword in his hand shot toward the sky. Vast Divine Power enveloped the sky above Rakshasa Land, and the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder suddenly descended, coiling around the tip of the Primordial Spirit Sword.
"Seven Heavenly Thunders, all upon you. From this day forward, you shall be free of guilt! Go!"
As Yuan Qi's words fell, the Primordial Spirit Sword, carrying the power of seven Nine Heavens Profound Thunders, shot toward Ayin within the immortal barrier. At that very moment, a voice filled with shock and sorrow rang out from afar.
"Divine Lord! You must not!" In the distance, a golden eagle flapped its golden wings, flying like lightning, but it could not outpace the Profound Thunder atop the Primordial Spirit Sword.
Yan Shuang transformed into human form, watching helplessly as the world-destroying Profound Thunder struck Ayin. She opened her mouth, stunned by overwhelming grief as she looked at Yuan Qi, who was equally shocked. With great difficulty, she slowly spoke, "Divine Lord, Ayin has already endured six Heavenly Thunders from Hua Shu. This Nine Heavens Profound Thunder of yours will take her life."
As Yan Shuang's words fell, Hua Shu and Hong Que finally arrived at Rakshasa Land. Hearing Yan Shuang's words, Hua Shu almost instantly understood what had happened. She looked at Yuan Qi in panic but froze slightly.
The Divine Lord, the most revered across the Nine Provinces and Eight Wastelands throughout history, now appeared as if dead, his face devoid of any color. He did not even notice her arrival, his gaze fixed on the immortal barrier with near panic.
Following Yuan Qi's gaze, Hua Shu saw Ayin standing within the barrier. Even she was shocked by the devastation of that moment.
Inside the immortal barrier, the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder slowly dissipated, and the young woman still stood there.
But her plain robes were almost entirely stained crimson, red as blood.
Torrents of blood gushed from her mouth, splattering onto her plain dress and blooming into horrifying, vivid petals.The Primordial Spirit Sword was also stunned by this scene. Hesitantly, it approached Ayin’s side and let out two soft whimpers, filled with indescribable guilt.
Ayin seemed to be brought back to her senses by the sword’s sound. With all her strength, she gently touched the blade of the Primordial Spirit Sword.
“It’s not your fault. It was… my own choice.”
As soon as she spoke, the blood in her mouth surged even more violently. The Primordial Spirit Sword trembled slightly, utterly helpless.
“Ayin!” Hong Yi roared from behind the immortal barrier, about to charge forward, but he was stopped by the girl’s almost powerless voice: “Your Majesty, do not forget what I said earlier.”
Hong Yi halted, his eyes filled with sorrow.
The Primordial Spirit Sword before Ayin suddenly snapped back to attention and let out urgent cries toward Yuan Qi’s direction.
Awakened by the sword’s cries, Yuan Qi rushed toward the immortal barrier, his face drained of color. Yet, just outside the barrier, three steps away from Ayin, he could advance no further.
Ayin’s shattered immortal sword stood trembling and fragile before him, blocking his path.
He dared not move. It wasn’t that he couldn’t pass the sword—he simply knew this was Ayin’s will.
“Ayin…” he called her name, his voice so low, so soft, afraid of startling her, afraid of startling the blood-soaked figure before him who still stood tall and unyielding.
He watched as Ayin’s blood-stained fingertips slowly turned transparent. In that fleeting moment, even his panic was forgotten.
“Don’t be afraid. I will… I will…” save you.
Yuan Qi’s final two words never left his lips. Ayin’s gaze, extinguished and silent, turned toward him, yet it seemed to look past him, toward a place far more distant.
With just that one glance, Yuan Qi knew she was looking in the direction of Great Marsh Mountain.
“It’s no longer needed. I have borne my sins, Divine Lord. Great Marsh Mountain is gone, and I will be gone too. I can no longer walk this path with you. Take care…”
Ayin’s broken voice echoed, but no one could discern the depth of affection, regret, sorrow, and reluctance hidden within those few words. She concealed all her profound emotions, leaving only the final two words to scatter with the wind.
“Farewell.”
The moment those two words fell.
Yuan Qi watched the person he loved most in this life, just a foot away from him, turn to ashes, bit by bit.
Where fate begins, it ends; where bonds form, they scatter.
He had never imagined that, despite exhausting everything to protect her, in this lifetime, she would leave before him.
A hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years, countless millennia—Ayin, without you, how am I to walk this path alone?
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