Vindicated After a Wrongful Death - Chapter 7

The moment Gu Congxu took full control of Xiang Chongjing’s body, every beast in the secret realm pressed itself to the ground, surrendering to primal instinct.

Jin Chu’ling, being the closest, felt the crimson light in his eyes instantly scattered by the sheer pressure emanating from Gu Congxu. He blinked, momentarily dazed.

Gu Congxu remained expressionless. He tightened his grip on Jin Chu’ling’s hand. Even a body capable of withstanding a blow from a cultivator in the Great Ascension stage was no match for this strength. With a sickening crack, the wrist bone was crushed.

Jin Chu’ling snapped back to his senses, staring at him in shock.

In that brief lapse, Gu Congxu had already shoved his hand away and was stepping gracefully out of the stone coffin. Every movement he made was draped in regal elegance. As a true dragon, his arrogance was such that he didn’t even deign to look at a mere “worm” like Jin Chu’ling. His head was held so high it was practically defiant.

Within the sea of consciousness, Gu Congxu said to Xiang Chongjing, “I’ve avenged you.”

Xiang Chongjing was currently leaning back against the massive dragon in his mind, legs crossed. He lazily brushed his fingers against his lips and said softly, “Silly dragon, you got the wrong one. The person who wounded my left hand was the one with the sword.”

Gu Congxu, “…”

Trying to maintain his dignity, the dragon doubled down. “I didn’t make a mistake. I plan to break the hands of all three of them.”

Xiang Chongjing, “…”

Song Youqiu, still clutching the coffin, sneezed and felt the secret realm growing colder by the second.

Xiang Chongjing propped up his head and said calmly, “You can’t sustain my body for more than a few minutes. Our priority is getting out of this secret realm. There will be plenty of chances for revenge later.”

Since it wasn’t his own grudge, Gu Congxu didn’t feel like wasting time. He flicked his sleeve, and the ghost fire erupted around him, burning more fiercely than ever. However, upon closer inspection, the flames were actually trembling with fear.

Jin Chu’ling glared at him, casually snapping his shattered wrist back into place as if he couldn’t feel pain. His expression turned sinister. “Where is Xiang Chongjing?”

Gu Congxu ignored him entirely, focusing only on finding the way out of the secret realm.

Su Cansheng watched in a daze before finally reacting. “You possessed him!” he asked, incredulous.

Xiang Chongjing had suffered from an unstable soul since childhood, making him a target for vengeful spirits. Sixty years ago, Su Cansheng had frequently helped him exorcise countless entities. He never would have imagined that Xiang Chongjing would be possessed by a demonic dragon.

But he seemed fine just a moment ago.

Su Cansheng gripped his sword, his killing intent wrapping around the blade. He was going to kill this dragon!

Just as Su Cansheng’s fury reached its peak, he heard Gu Congxu let out a cold laugh.

“Possession?” Gu Congxu looked at him like he was a pathetic ant. “Xiang Chongjing gave me this body willingly.”

Su Cansheng froze. The sword intent swirling around him shattered like glass, falling to the ground in shards. “Impossible!” he blurted out.

Given Xiang Chongjing’s pride, how could he ever offer his body to a demonic dragon? Unless…

Su Cansheng’s face went pale as a thought occurred to him. Unless Xiang Chongjing had done it just to avoid them.

Gu Congxu smiled with interest. “Sixty years ago, when Xiang Chongjing conspired with the dragon and formed a life-and-death contract, you people were just as ferocious as you are now.”

The two men were stunned.

Gu Congxu opened his right hand, his tattered sleeves dancing in the wind. He allowed the dragon-patterned seal to crawl up his face. “Ignorant humans. You couldn’t distinguish a life-and-death contract from a dragon seal sixty years ago, and you haven’t improved a bit. You can’t even tell the difference between possession and a voluntary offering.”

Su Cansheng began to tremble, his grip on his sword failing. The murderous intent toward Gu Congxu began to dissipate like mist.

While Su Cansheng looked like he had lost his soul, Jin Chu’ling wasn’t nearly as sentimental. Acting as if he were immune to pain, he flicked the blood from his hand onto the ground, forming a crude array.

“Whether it’s possession or a voluntary sacrifice…” Jin Chu’ling’s crimson eyes were full of madness. Two lines of bloody tears ran down his face. He actually smiled, looking like a demon but sounding as tender as a lover whispering in someone’s ear. “As long as I keep him here, I’ll find a way to drag you out of his body eventually.”

Gu Congxu looked at the array with disdain. “Try it.”

Xiang Chongjing interrupted his posturing. “Cut the talk. You can’t hold out much longer. Run!”

Gu Congxu snapped, “I am a true dragon! How dare you use the word ‘run’!”

Xiang Chongjing, “…”

Finding the dragon’s pride exhausting, he changed his phrasing. “Great Dragon, will you please make your departure?”

Since Xiang Chongjing hadn’t officially agreed to give him the body, Gu Congxu couldn’t control it for long. He huffed and reluctantly “departed.”

Seeing him try to leave, a murderous light flashed in Jin Chu’ling’s eyes. He slammed his palm into the center of the array, fueling it with spiritual energy. The droplets of blood instantly connected into a massive formation, and pitch-black chains erupted from the light, lunging toward Gu Congxu.

In an instant, the body Gu Congxu was trying to move was ensnared.

Xiang Chongjing tilted his head in his mind. “Oh boy.” He sat up a bit straighter, ready to watch the show. A little snake fighting a true dragon? This was going to be brilliant.

Gu Congxu hadn’t intended to fight Jin Chu’ling, but this “worm” was too persistent. The chains bound his limbs, and two wrapped tightly around his waist, pulling hard as if trying to squeeze his soul out of the shell.

Finally losing his patience, Gu Congxu wrenched his wrists. Without appearing to use much force, the chains of the array shattered into pieces, falling to the ground and dissolving into red smoke.

Once again free, the ghostly hands and chains rising from the ground posed no threat to him. He turned his golden eyes, now cold and sharp, toward Jin Chu’ling.

The pressure of a true dragon was overwhelming. Though Jin Chu’ling wasn’t afraid, the instinctual submission bred into his bloodline made his body lock up uncontrollably.

Gu Congxu parted his lips, his voice sounding as if it came from the heavens. “Kneel.”

Jin Chu’ling nearly ground his teeth to dust, but he couldn’t withstand the pressure. With a heavy thud, one knee slammed into the ground. He resisted with such force that his knee actually left a dent in the branch of the tree.

Humiliation flooded Jin Chu’ling’s mind. He looked up with a hateful glare, wanting to tear the man before him to pieces.

Gu Congxu let out a curious “Oh?” He had only used half of his pressure, but usually, anyone in the Three Realms—even the most pure-blooded beast, would bow to him. This little snake had some backbone to still be resisting.

Su Cansheng finally snapped out of it. Looking at that familiar yet foreign face, he quickly shoved his conflicted emotions aside. Although he and Jin Chu’ling didn’t get along, he agreed with the demon’s logic.

They had to keep Xiang Chongjing’s body here to save him from the dragon. If Gu Congxu managed to leave, they would never find him again, no matter how hard they searched the Nine Provinces.

Su Cansheng’s expression turned cold as he gripped his sword once more.

Watching from the sidelines, Song Youqiu was so excited his legs were shaking. A true dragon, the Lord of the Demons, and the Chief of the Three Realms all fighting at once? What a spectacle. He felt incredibly lucky to have a front-row seat to Xiang Chongjing’s drama.

Xiang Chongjing was also watching. Seeing the frenzied Jin Chu’ling and the cold, unhesitating sword of Su Cansheng, he finally let go of his last shred of hope. These two truly didn’t care for him. Had they even considered that if they destroyed this body, not only would the dragon die, but his own soul would be wiped out too?

Xiang Chongjing leaned lazily against the dragon’s cold scales and said quietly, “Stop playing. Let’s go, you’re about to lose your grip.”

Before Gu Congxu could argue, Xiang Chongjing added, “Great One, it’s time to depart.”

Gu Congxu, “…” The retort died in his throat.

Xiang Chongjing’s body was beginning to reject him. He let out an annoyed “Tsk” and swung a wave of spiritual energy, colliding head-on with Su Cansheng’s sword.

Su Cansheng lived up to his reputation as the Chief of the Three Realms, holding his own against the dragon’s strike. Meanwhile, Jin Chu’ling had managed to withstand the pressure. Blood was pouring from the corners of his mouth, but he wiped it away with a crazed, terrifying look in his crimson eyes.

Gu Congxu raised an eyebrow.

Xiang Chongjing looked at his hands, which were becoming transparent. He sighed, “If you don’t leave now, we’re going to be sitting ducks.”

Gu Congxu snorted, shattered the remaining array on the ground, and lunged in a random direction.

Seeing this, Song Youqiu ignored the venomous snake on his shoulder and shouted, “That’s not the way down the tree!”

Xiang Chongjing, “…”

Gu Congxu, “…”

Jin Chu’ling and Su Cansheng had no time for Song Youqiu. They were focused entirely on stopping Xiang Chongjing. Countless colorful snakes slithered out from nowhere toward Gu Congxu, while Su Cansheng’s sword intent followed closely behind.

Even though Gu Congxu knew he was heading toward a dead end, there was no turning back. Two seconds later, he landed on a branch and skidded to a halt. The two ghost fires barely managed to stop in time, nearly flying off the edge.

Ahead of them was a bottomless abyss.

The San-du Secret Realm and the Spirit Tree had a unique restriction: even those with the highest cultivation had to use the tree to ascend. If one jumped from the top, no matter how powerful they were, they wouldn’t land safely.

Gu Congxu frowned at the darkness below.

Xiang Chongjing saw the eerie black void and panicked. “Wait, wait! Don’t jump!”

Gu Congxu replied, “If I don’t jump, you’re going to die here.”

Xiang Chongjing snapped, “Then I’ll die! Just don’t jump!”

Gu Congxu was losing control of the body, and the two pursuers were closing in. If he didn’t jump now, he wouldn’t get another chance. Ignoring Xiang Chongjing’s protests, he prepared to leap, but in that moment, he lost control completely. His consciousness was yanked back into the sea.

Gu Congxu, “…”

Xiang Chongjing regained control of his body. Standing on the edge of the branch and looking into the pitch-black abyss, his legs went weak. He instinctively took a half-step back as he heard footsteps behind him.

He looked back in a daze, meeting the eyes of Su Cansheng and Jin Chu’ling. His previous composure had vanished. His eyes were red and shimmering with unshed tears, his long lashes trembling.

Gu Congxu thought he was acting, but the normally calm sea of consciousness was suddenly churning with massive waves crashing against the dragon’s body. The dragon was stunned. Was Xiang Chongjing… afraid?

Of what? He wasn’t even afraid of death.

Su Cansheng and Jin Chu’ling reached him, both pausing when they saw his state. While Jin Chu’ling was still acting crazy, Su Cansheng remained clear-headed. “Chongjing?” he asked tentatively.

Xiang Chongjing’s vision was blurring. Hearing the familiar voice, he felt as if he had been transported back sixty years. “Cansheng…” he murmured.

Su Cansheng was overjoyed. He moved forward, then stopped, afraid of scaring him. He held out a hand. “Come here. It’s dangerous there.”

Xiang Chongjing tilted his head, confused.

But Gu Congxu’s voice roared in his mind, “Don’t go! They want to kill you!”

The ringing in Xiang Chongjing’s ears stopped. Gu Congxu’s shout brought him back to reality. He clutched his bleeding left hand, and the momentary attachment he felt vanished.

The look in his eyes made Su Cansheng freeze.

Gu Congxu said, “Jump. I’ll catch you.”

Xiang Chongjing took a deep breath. “Give me a second. Just a second.”

Gu Congxu asked, “For what?”

Xiang Chongjing didn’t even know what he was waiting for. Looking at these two made him feel sick, but jumping into the abyss felt like a pathetic way to escape. He was stuck in a dilemma.

As he hesitated, Gu Congxu saw the others about to lunged. “Close your eyes,” he commanded.

Xiang Chongjing was confused. “What?”

“Close them!”

Knowing their lives were linked and that Gu Congxu wouldn’t gamble with his own survival, Xiang Chongjing closed his eyes.

Using the last of his spiritual energy, Gu Congxu manifested as a ghostly spirit from Xiang Chongjing’s soul. Invisible to everyone else, he looked at the two pursuers with a smirk, then unhesitatingly shoved Xiang Chongjing.

Caught off guard, Xiang Chongjing fell forward, plunging from the spirit tree into the endless darkness. To the others, it looked like he had jumped of his own accord.

Su Cansheng and Jin Chu’ling watched him fall, unable to react in time.

The sensation of weightlessness hit Xiang Chongjing’s chest as his hair whipped around him. He opened his eyes after a moment, watching the light of the ghost fire on the tree grow smaller and smaller. The darkness felt like ghostly hands dragging him into a swamp. His pupils dilated.

No one knew that his greatest fear was the dark.

It took him a moment to realize he had been pushed, and then he let out a furious roar.

“Gu Sangeng! I am going to kill you!”

His words drifted up through the wind, reaching the ears of Su Cansheng and Jin Chu’ling as he and the ghost fires vanished into the depths of the abyss.

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