Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 78

As the saying goes, “A lone tree cannot withstand the storm.” Lan Chaoyao was already at a disadvantage. Surrounded by those attacking him, any plan he could devise to break the stalemate was quietly neutralized by the “Twin Fox Asuras” hidden in the shadows.

He had long lost any chance of victory; his defeat was only a matter of time.

Before long, his last protective talisman was shattered by a blade. He barely managed to twist his body and instinctively reached out to grab the incoming sword, only to feel a sudden pain in his abdomen.

Blood dripped along the blade; Lan Chaoyao’s palm holding the sword was covered in blood, and the black clothing he wore began to soak through.

Once blood appeared, it was as if a chain reaction had begun.

The remaining attackers drew their deadliest weapons, discarding all skill and sorcery, and plunged them straight into him. Some of the body cultivators simply swung their fists.

Sometimes, those seeking vengeance prefer this kind of direct, physical, bloody confrontation, to vent their anger.

Lan Chaoyao had only one sword left, but before he could swing it to defend, something gripped his wrist. Looking down in shock, he froze at the familiar green hue.

—It was Lan Fengqing’s Wood Spirit power?!

Delicate vines coiled around his wrist, rooting deeply into the ground. By the time he realized and tried to break free, the momentary pause had already cost him his last chance of counterattack.

Countless blades stabbed into his body from all directions, like a thousand arrows piercing his heart.

Just as Lan Chaoyao gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out in pain, a heavy fist struck his face, filling his mouth with the taste of blood, reminiscent of the agonizing moment two years ago when a snake demon had beaten him mercilessly.

He felt his heart racing; the system warnings blared in his mind, reminding him that if this continued, he would die.

…Yet, he did not die. He could not even faint from the pain.

A force surged from within his body just as he thought he was about to collapse, granting him a lifeline and keeping him barely alive—but its source was unknown.

The useless system could no longer help him; the only explanation was an enemy intervention.

—Perhaps the Twin Fox Asuras watching in secret did not want him to die easily!

In a flash, various desperate schemes to pull others into his predicament ran through his mind.

The Twin Fox Asuras did not want the Ghost Sword Cultist to die; the younger sister of the leader of Qingxu Sect conspiring with the Asuras to kill her brother—the Asuras would intervene if the Ghost Sword Cultist neared death; they were all on the same side…

Before he could speak, a system prompt appeared in his mind:

[To prevent the host from accidentally biting his tongue, silent mode has been activated.]

Lan Chaoyao: ?!!

“Don’t get in the way!!” he screamed at the system in his mind, only to suddenly realize—systems could betray him.

When he bound with the 7364 System, the person in charge had told him that this system had once rebelled. If he detected any signs of betrayal while on a mission, he was to report immediately to the mainframe and not indulge in sympathy.

He had remembered these words, but over years of missions, the 7364 System had only seemed slow or clumsy at times, fussing over minor details—it had never shown signs of rebellion.

Every mission, the 7364 System had assisted him to the fullest. When he returned to the Book Management Bureau after completing missions, it would even congratulate him on getting closer to home.

He trusted no one in any world, yet he had never doubted the 7364 System.

He remembered a senior once saying: if you cannot trust your own system, who can you trust?

Years of isolation can drive a person mad, but perhaps it was precisely the clumsy companionship of the 7364 System that allowed him to maintain some semblance of humanity, enabling him to think rationally and calmly during missions.

“…Are you going to betray me, 7364?” he asked involuntarily.

[I have never betrayed you, Lan Chaoyao.]

Even as the system spoke his name, he sensed a distance he could not ignore.

“What are you doing now?!” he demanded anxiously.

The 7364 System no longer responded.

In that instant, Lan Chaoyao felt a tension snap.

His body felt like fish meat on a chopping board, and his heart plummeted into an abyss.

“Help me! Please! 7364! I cannot die here!” he begged, attempting an emotional appeal. “I must return alive! Even if punished, it’s better than dying in this world! There are people waiting… waiting for me back home!!”

[This is the home you have longed for, isn’t it?]

Yet the system’s next words left his mind blank.

His ears rang, whether from a blow or a neurological malfunction, he couldn’t tell.

He remembered receiving this mission. The target world was rated SSS difficulty by the Bureau, yet the mainframe personally assured him that completing it would restore his full memory and allow him to return to his original home.

From years of missions, he knew even the mainframe’s advice could be a trap. Perhaps he was sent as cannon fodder, perhaps merely a pawn in a grand design.

Yet he had resolutely accepted the mission.

He had accumulated over a thousand items, hoping to seize a chance.

If he lost, he would die; if he won, he would regain freedom and never serve the Bureau again.

Whether he could live in a normal society with a normal mindset—he didn’t care. First, complete the mission!

—For these reasons, motivated by personal interest, he had brought the 7364 System to this world that had broken countless missioners.

Yet now, the system claimed this was originally his home?!

What of those he held dear…

“Everyone, hold your weapons.”

A calm yet authoritative female voice suddenly rang out.

Lan Chaoyao’s eyes snapped open. Through his bloodied vision, he saw an incredibly familiar silhouette.

It was the “original owner’s” sister. After the incident in the Ghost Realm, she was the only remaining blood relative.

The original owner had always protected her carefully, never abandoning her no matter how sickly she became.

For some reason, he also found himself willing to obey her.

“The Ghost Sword Cultist has possessed my brother for two years. Today, everyone has witnessed his methods. My brother’s spirit may finally rest in peace!”

Lan Fengqing spoke clearly, yet Lan Chaoyao realized he could hardly comprehend her words.

“Conspiring with a Spirit Master, killing and looting, raiding secret realms for treasures, attempting to reconstruct demonic talismans and open the seal to the Demon Realm—each of these crimes has irrefutable evidence!”

Her voice drew closer; the crowd parted to make way.

“My brother’s reputation and the peace he struggled to maintain were completely destroyed by this demon!”

With a swift motion, vines erupted from the ground, ensnaring the bloodied Lan Chaoyao and the weapons embedded in him.

“If not for my recovery aided by Sister Qin, and my thousand-mile plea for help to the Divination Star Pavilion, I would have remained in the dark forever!” she said sternly. “Now, what words of excuse do you have?!”

Lan Chaoyao finally understood who his most important person had been all along, but it was too late.

As the mysterious voice had said, not only had he lost crucial memories, but through endless missions, stirring conflicts and battles, marking anchor points in each world with blood, his soul was already tainted and exhausted.

The 7364 System had silenced him; even if he could speak, he could not utter a word in front of Lan Fengqing.

—Indeed, he had become a mass murderer “demon” in every sense. To complete missions and anchor points, he could act ruthlessly.

He was no longer “Lan Chaoyao,” in every way.

The man lowered his blood-soaked head, the illusion of his visage fading.

His face returned to that of Lan Chaoyao.

“Help me… give her…”

As he neared death, he weakly instructed the 7364 System, “Transform the ‘few cold pastries’ into items… she… they… will still need them…”

—If it were the original Lan Chaoyao, this would have been his instinctive action.

Ruo Yansha, at a safe distance, held Bifang and watched the feedback from Grey Moth alongside Yue Tingxi.

At first, it was satisfaction; though she had not acted personally, she could sense the joy and relief from vengeance being exacted.

But now, she was completely dumbfounded.

“What on earth is happening?!” she asked, staring at Qin Suoliu, who was closest to Lan Fengqing.

She was then told a previously unknown truth.

Ruo Yansha felt as if falling into an ice pit; her body went cold, tears flowing uncontrollably from empathetic grief for the lost Lan Xiaojie.

She thought, if she were in this situation, and the most important relative was possessed, she would shred them limb by limb, even destroy their soul!

“…So, what are you planning to do with the possessor?” she asked. “Killing seems too lenient… but can he really be safely removed and subjected to ongoing torment?”

“Lan Fengqing will execute him in front of everyone. The recording bead she brought will capture everything,” Qin Suoliu explained. “As for his soul, we have our methods to silently separate it.”

Ruo Yansha, Bifang, and the two elders of the Star Pavilion could only watch the live scene. Those in the know could hear every conversation between the invader and the 7364 System.

Ironically, the invader, having no real connection to the original Lan Chaoyao, came to truly see himself as the original after learning the truth.

But these were minor matters.

Sister Tingxi had been tortured by eighty cycles of memory; the invader’s soul punishment would only be harsher.

Before launching a full-scale attack on the Book Management Bureau, they would gradually carve up the invader’s soul, burning it with spiritual fire, leaving him unable to live or die until cognition and soul alike turned to ash.

Having once consistently sparked wars and conflicts, causing countless deaths, it was only fitting that the reckoning of cause and effect brought the wrath of this world upon him.

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