Lu Mingfeng single-handedly confronted Mu Qitian, Chuangfeng, and Xie Wanting, the three grandmasters. Later, members from the Chiyao Sect and the Wuji Sword Sect joined in. Added to this was Elder Qianyang, who had endured grievances and finally turned the tables. The outcome was obvious.

Hua Che wasn't worried about the battle within the secret realm. At this moment, he felt dizzy, weak all over, and lacked the energy to tell Chu Binghuan to "put me down." He had no choice but to let Chu Binghuan hold him.

The situation inside the secret realm spread throughout the Shang Qing Immortal Sect in half a day, shocking all the disciples.

The cultivators who had come to participate in the Martial Arts tournament felt their faith collapsing. The immortal they had deeply admired and revered had turned out like this. From initial shock to subsequent disappointment, and finally to outright anger.

The taste of being deceived was unbearable. Tens of thousands of disciples were furious, encircling the Shang Qing Pavilion on their own, waiting for Lu Mingfeng to come out so they could tear him to pieces!

Chu Binghuan carried Hua Che towards the courtyard where Lingxiao Palace was located. Passing through the Chui Hua Gate, the always straightforward Hua Che suddenly clasped Chu Binghuan's neck tightly and rested his head on Chu Binghuan's shoulder, showing an unusual intimacy.

Chu Binghuan trembled all over.

He heard Hua Che whisper in his ear, "Hold me tighter, okay? If you drop me, how will you father a chubby little son for me?"

Chu Binghuan: "..."

Chu Binghuan touched Hua Che's forehead and, as expected, it was burning hot.

Whenever he had a fever, this person would start talking nonsense, with disconnected words.

Chu Binghuan put him on the bed, pulled over the blanket to cover him. This sudden fever was overwhelming, and in no time, Hua Che drifted off into a half-conscious state.

*

He saw many people: Lu Mingfeng with a sinister smile, Lu Yao hoarse and exhausted, Yin Wuhui strange and ambiguous, and even Granny Jiang, tears in her eyes, comforting him gently despite her obvious pain.

After the catastrophe of the Shang Qing Immortal Sect, he faced the siege of various immortal sects, unable to defend himself.

He had given up. Ultimately, their paths were irreconcilable. He had tried to reconcile before, tried to coexist peacefully, but now he realized how naive he had been.

Yin Wuhui had long anticipated this. His tone was pitying, but his expression was filled with schadenfreude. "The son of the Demon Lord, daring to imagine joining hands with the immortal sects. How is it? Are you satisfied with their reactions? Are you still unwilling to give up in your current situation?"

Yin Wuhui said a lot, cursing the immortal sect cultivators to the high heavens. He tried to persuade Hua Che to stay in the Hall of Burning Affection and unite with him and his father to achieve eternal dominance.

Listening to this, Hua Che couldn't help but laugh. "I'll say it again. You haven't contributed at all, yet you would end up with a son. Where in the world are things so cheap?"

Yin Wuhui urgently said, "After all I've said, you still refuse to stay? They treat you like this, and you still won't give up?"

"I have given up," Hua Che said calmly. "But does that concern you, the Demon Lord? Just because I've given up on the immortal sects, does that mean I should harbour hope in the demonic path? My mother said my name is ‘Pure and innocent’, untainted by dust; my state of mind should be as vast and free as ten thousand miles of clear sky, without dark clouds or sorrowful rain, forever gentle and clear. Even if the heavens and earth reject me, even if the hundred sects of the immortal path besiege me, I will never ally myself with bloodthirsty demonic cultivators like you!"

And with that, Hua Che left.

He was unwilling to associate with Yin Wuhui's darkness and couldn't continue walking side by side with the immortal sects. He had thought about what to do next.

Since he had already been expelled from the sect, he might as well return to the mortal realm, find Granny Jiang, and join the drunken revelry of the inn for the rest of his life. After another twenty or thirty years, when Granny Jiang passed away, he would accompany her to the end of her life. After that, he would find a beautiful paradise, settle down peacefully, and quietly cultivate as a lone cultivator. If he was lucky, a hundred years later, he might ascend to immortality!

Hua Che's plan sounded good. Although the immortal sect cultivators hated him to the bone, shouting for his death, as long as he didn't provoke them and found a secluded corner to stay, they wouldn't be able to find him.

If you can't afford to provoke, you can hide?

But what surprised Hua Che was that he didn't go looking for trouble with others, yet others rushed to provoke him.

Hua Che returned to Hangzhou, and as soon as he entered the city gates, he overheard the murmurs of the townspeople. They were saying things like "so pitiful," "attacked by bandits," "all covered in blood, terrifying," and so on. Hua Che had a foreboding feeling.

In just a moment, he arrived at the Drunken Mansion and what greeted his eyes left him utterly stunned.

Blood.

Everywhere he looked, there was blood and bodies scattered around. Bodies lay haphazardly inside the rooms, in the courtyard, on the stairs, or slumped over broken tables and chairs. The bloodstains ranged from splattered, smeared, dried black long ago, to fresh crimson still trickling...

The entire Drunken Mansion was filled with a nauseating stench of blood. There were no cries or shouts, only silence, with the air thick with suffocating despair.

At the Drunken Mansion, even the chickens and dogs were not spared.

Hua Che's body trembled uncontrollably. He stiffly stepped forward, examining each body one by one. There were young girls, old men, laborers, and even kitchen helpers.

One hundred and thirty-eight lives, all lost.

Who did this? Who was behind this massacre?

Was it Yin Wuhui? Because he hadn't agreed to Yin Wuhui's demands, did he take out his frustrations on everyone at the Drunken Bliss Inn?

Hua Che felt his heart being torn apart once again.

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound from the ground.

Hua Che looked down in shock. There, lying at his feet, was someone who still had a hint of life... Granny Jiang!?

Amidst all the corpses, someone was still alive. Hua Che was almost ecstatic. He quickly helped Granny Jiang up and asked urgently, "Mama, who did this? Tell me who did this!"

Granny Jiang opened her eyes, blood and tears flowing. Her gaze was lifeless, her body motionless.

Although she hadn't died yet, she was no longer considered a living person. Only a trace of consciousness remained, which Hua Che promptly locked onto and delved into her memories.

Through Granny Jiang's eyes, he saw the face of a prominent disciple from a certain immortal sect, surnamed Miao.

"Speak! Where is Hua Qingkong? Quickly hand him over. If you shelter him, you'll be guilty alongside Hua Qingkong!"

Granny Jiang was petrified by this scene. Not just one, but several disciples from different immortal sects had barged in through the main gate. Judging by their attire, they belonged to various halls and sects, a formidable group encircling the Drunken Mansion.

"What's this about? I have no idea what you're talking about. Wasn't that child accepted as a disciple of the Shangqing Immortal Sect? If you want him, go to the Shangqing Immortal Sect. What does this have to do with me?" Granny Jiang retorted.

Several girls shivered behind Granny Jiang, joining in, "Exactly! We are just ordinary women. Your intrusion into private residences and intimidation is utterly unreasonable!"

Miao Jianxiu sneered, "Stop pretending to be clueless! Hua Che massacred the Shangqing Immortal Sect, heartlessly killing Sect Leader Lu and causing the untimely deaths of five thousand disciples. We are here to avenge Elder Lu Yao and demand justice for this criminal. We will tear this villain into pieces!"

"Impossible!" The courtesan upstairs hurried down, exclaiming in disbelief, "You must be mistaken. Che'er would never kill anyone, he wouldn't!"

Several other girls nodded in agreement, "That's right, we've watched that child grow up. How could we not know his character?"

"There must be a misunderstanding here, some grievance!"

Miao Jianxiu retorted, "Fine, all of you are speaking up for that villain. Your intentions are truly sinister. Are you all accomplices?"

Everyone's expression turned pale. "Immortal, please don't speak nonsense!"

"Nonsense? This young master knows well. When Hua Che was a child, starving and without food, didn't all of you lend a hand to that prostitute's son? But do you know who his biological father is? He's the bloodthirsty and wantonly murderous Demon Lord! Haha, you all knew this long ago, didn't you? You've been shielding the Demon Lord's son, and now that trouble has come, you're still trying to defend him. Do you think we're all fools?"

"Come! Round up all those under Hua Che's 'demonic influence.' If we don't eliminate them now, they'll become his allies in the future, wreaking havoc on the world!"

They were all mere mortals without any power. If the cultivators wanted to kill them, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.

Echoing in their ears were the desperate and pitiful cries, cries that shook the heavens. Blood repeatedly washed over the tiles, turning each living person into a lifeless corpse.

"Don't kill that old lady! Keep her alive, lure Hua Che out to face his death!"

Initially cowering under the table, trembling, Granny Jiang, upon hearing this, found courage from somewhere and lunged toward the cultivator's sword. If the cultivator hadn't reacted quickly, given the power of that immortal sword, Granny Jiang's head would have been relocated.

"Damn old woman, don't want to be used as a hostage, looking for death, huh?" The cultivator released a celestial binding lock, harshly grabbing Granny Jiang's hair and lifting her head up. "Your young master has crazily killed so many people. Even if we reduce him to ashes, it wouldn't be enough! And you, a criminal who nurtured the son of a demon, are equally guilty! Once we're done with Hua Che, we'll send you straight to the underground to join him!"

The fading consciousness finally dispersed, and old woman, with her eyes wide open, passed away.

Trembling, Hua Che struggled to his feet, unsure of what had tripped him, his body stained with blood. He staggered to the back courtyard where, on the shadow wall, words were written in fresh blood: "Shangqing Hall."

They had taken Granny Jiang to Shangqing Hall, where they intended to hold a ceremony to commemorate Lu Mingfeng and the souls of the sect's disciples with the blood of Granny Jiang and Hua Che!

Hua Che returned to Shangqing Sect with his sword. Guarding at the foot of Kunlun Mountain was Lu Mingfeng's senior disciple, dressed in mourning garments and glaring fiercely at Hua Che. He grabbed a bamboo basket nearby, tossed the spirit money forcefully into the air, and declared, "From here, kneel and ascend the mountain!"

The ancestral mountains stretched endlessly, and Shangqing Sect happened to be at the highest peak of Kunlun Mountain. The mountain path was rugged and arduous even for walking, let alone moving forward while kneeling.

Hua Che chuckled coldly, a chilling gleam in his eyes. "Who do you want me to kneel to? Lu Mingfeng?"

"To kneel to your deceased master and the five thousand fellow disciples you killed!" The senior disciple's heart ached with sorrow, trembling all over. "Your old servant is waiting for you at Shangqing Hall!"

Granny Jiang was above, no matter how much hatred he harboured or how much humiliation he endured, he had no choice but to comply.

Starting from the foot of the mountain, he knelt and moved forward. From sunrise to sunset, by the time he reached the Shangqing Platform, his lower body was a mass of flesh and blood, his knees like crushed watermelons. He attempted to stand up but fell back due to the pain.

He had no time to consider whether it hurt or not because his entire being was focused on Granny Jiang.

Granny Jiang was tied up tightly, kneeling in the center of the Shangqing Platform, covered in countless wounds. Along the way, Hua Che didn't know how much suffering Granny Jiang endured.

He only felt a fire burning inside him, growing hotter, almost consuming his internal organs.

"Little Master..." Granny Jiang sobbed uncontrollably.

The Shangqing Platform was bustling. Those involved in the massacre, intoxicated with blood, were present, as were the mourning disciples of Shangqing, each glaring at him with eyes full of resentment, disgust, hatred, and even nausea.

Hua Che said, "How many times do I have to say it? I didn't kill those five thousand disciples of the Shangqing Sect! If you hate so much, go burn the Hall of Emotions and seek out Yin Wuhui! What does it have to do with others or the drunk in the building?"

A swordsman named Zhang Shan angrily retorted, "Even if what you say is true, even if it was indeed Yin Wuhui's doing, so what? Does that prove your innocence? The debts of the father must be repaid by the son! The sins caused by Yin Wuhui should rightfully be borne by you!"

Debts of the father? Compensation by the son?

Just because he inherited Yin Wuhui's bloodline, he deserved to suffer this calamity, and the Drunken Mansion deserved to be implicated?

Hua Che chuckled, a chilling smile spreading across his bloodless lips. "Am I not wronged? Every one of you is filled with righteous indignation. If you want to torture me and reduce me to ashes, dare I ask, did I kill your parents or slaughter your entire family?"

An old Daoist closed his eyes. "A mosquito flies by you and doesn't bite, yet you still want to kill it."

Hua Che's eyes gradually dimmed, filled with desolation and sarcasm. He curled his lip in a prideful smile. "I understand now. I was born guilty, born to die! Even if there was no matter with Lu Mingfeng, no five thousand lives lost, I would still deserve death!"

Son of a demonic overlord, so outstanding, feared by all, preparing for the worst, eradicate potential threats.

Rather than saying they hated him, it was more accurate to say they feared him.

They feared Hua Che joining the Fen Qing Palace, feared him becoming Yin Wuhui's right-hand man. How could the head of the Martial Arts Tournament for three consecutive terms not be feared?

Hua Che let out a bitter laugh, his gaze unprecedentedly ruthless and malicious. "You want to eliminate future troubles. Come and kill me then! The Drunk in the building and Granny Jiang are both innocent!"

The cultivator seemed to have been waiting for this moment, roaring with fury, "What about the five thousand innocent disciples of Shangqing? They shielded you, were in cahoots with you, and are therefore guilty and must be punished!"

"Seeking revenge on me, destroying my refuge, killing my beloved." Hua Che's anger turned to laughter.

Is this the immortal path!?

Is this the renowned sect that everyone praises!?

Finally, the long-incapacitated Lu Yao was supported out by someone, shouting hoarsely, "Hua Che, the abandoned disciple of Shangqing, ambitious and treacherous, betrayed his master and ancestors, colluding with the Fen Qing Palace and Yin Wuhui to harm the five thousand disciples of Shangqing. Such crimes are intolerable and deserve the ultimate punishment!"

The Shangqing Platform was equipped with an ancient array, first to prevent demonic cultivators from attacking and to counterattack with this ancient array; second, to clean up the sect, specifically dealing with those unforgivable disciples.

An old Daoist held a sword against Granny Jiang's neck, threatening coldly, "Hua Che, don't even think about escaping!"

Hua Che, trying to retreat from the Shangqing Platform, paused his steps.

Unfortunately, Granny Jiang, who had been silently shedding tears, suddenly smiled warmly and gently, "Young Master, this old servant misses Miss, so I won't accompany you anymore."

With that said, Granny Jiang, without hesitation, threw herself onto the sword blade, blood flowing profusely!

"Granny!" Hua Che exclaimed in horror, disregarding the activation of the ancient array, rushing recklessly towards Granny Jiang, determined to take the life of the old Daoist.

Blood splattered all over, covering him completely.

Despite the excruciating pain deep into his bones, Granny Jiang continued to smile. She slowly raised her hand, gently caressing Hua Che's face, "Young Master, don't cry... This old servant is going to find Miss..."

True energy flowed continuously from Hua Che's palm into Granny Jiang's body, but it seemed like grains of sand falling into the ocean, leaving no trace, unable to fill her no matter what.

The ancient array had already been activated, but Hua Che felt no pain. The blood flow from his heart had ceased, turning into a lifeless lump that shattered into fragments, leaving behind only an empty blood hole.

"Hmm," Hua Che murmured softly.

Granny Jiang's soul began to dissipate. She lovingly touched Hua Che's face and smiled, "Everyone from the Drunken Mansion... is also on their way. This old servant is not lonely at all, especially since at the end of the road, there's your mother!"

"Hmm."

"It doesn't matter. They don't believe in you, but this old servant believes in you. This old servant has taken care of you for so many years. Even the midwife who delivered you was this old servant. Doesn't this old servant understand you..."

Since childhood, Hua Che had heard his mother mention Granny Jiang.

Granny Jiang was also a pitiful person. At a young age, she was sold by her foster father to a theatrical troupe and later ended up at the Drunk in the building. Because her appearance was not outstanding, she couldn't become a courtesan and could only be a maid.

For over thirty years, she worked there. Later, when Hua Mei’er entered the Drunk in the building, Granny Jiang was assigned to take care of Huamei's daily needs.

Granny Jiang sympathized with Hua Mei’er 's plight and admired her character. Over the years, she accompanied Hua Mei’er through thick and thin. After Hua Mei’er became pregnant, she redeemed herself and left with Granny Jiang.

Those days were truly bitter. To redeem themselves, they spent all their savings. They couldn't even afford a midwife, so Granny Jiang learned on the spot how to help Hua Mei’er give birth, awkwardly cutting the umbilical cord, bathing and dressing Hua Che with her own hands, and wrapping him in swaddling clothes.

Even after Hua Mei’er s death, Granny Jiang did not abandon Hua Che. She did rough work, odd jobs, using the meager wages to buy meat to nourish Hua Che's body. To save money, she ate only a steamed bun a day, and when she couldn't bear the hunger, she drank water to stave off starvation.

The old pimp couldn’t watch it anymore and asked her if she lived frugally to save up for the coffin board.

Granny Jiang's smile was exceptionally kind, her eyes shining with longing, "That's money for Young Master to marry a wife. Without any background, Young Master won't hold his head up high in someone else's home."

Granny Jiang never married in her life, never had children.

She regarded Hua Che as her own son, giving her heart and soul to him. She scrimped and saved, worked hard, fearing that Young Master would be looked down upon.

When Hua Che was lively and active, Granny Jiang could handle all kinds of heavy and rough work. When Hua Che was bedridden, Granny Jiang would neglect herself, stay up for two days and nights without sleep, stand by his bedside, wiping tears from time to time, praying to gods and buddhas to make Hua Che get well soon.

When she learned that Young Master had become a disciple of Shangqing, she was beyond excited, going door to door to tell everyone, afraid that someone wouldn't know that her Young Master had made it.

"Enough, rest for a while!" Granny Jiang's body grew colder and colder, and Hua Che instinctively hugged her tightly.

"Don't forget what your mother said." Granny Jiang looked at the sky, her eyes gradually losing their sparkle, "Pure and innocent, untainted by the slightest speck of dust, should be as vast and free as a clear sky for thousands of miles, without dark clouds, without rainy sorrows, forever gentle and sunny."

When Hua Che's last trace of true energy was exhausted, Granny Jiang smiled and closed her eyes.

Silence fell.

Everything was gone, everything.

What vast and free? Where was freedom, where could it be broad!

What gentle and sunny? What he saw and hears is only ferocity, only violence! Above him were dark clouds, facing blood rain and fierce winds, his state of mind engulfed in darkness!

Why!!!

Everyone from the Drunken Mansion was so innocent, so wronged!

Granny Jiang raised him from childhood, didn't enjoy a few years of peace, but was ruined by him, dying tragically in a foreign land!

One hope after another disappeared from his heart, one aspiration after another collapsed!

Dark clouds piled up in the sky, finally pouring down torrential rain, thunder and lightning roaring, the fierce ancient array devouring Hua Che completely.

Although dead and vanished, the deep-seated hatred and unwillingness engraved in his bones kept his spirit alive.

He fell into the underworld, the land where countless souls return.

It was said that the demon realm is gloomy with blood soaring to the sky, that was because they haven't seen it, they hadn't truly been to the ghost realm, so they didn't know this is the true purgatory.

The sky was black, the ground was red, the blood had settled here for thousands of years.

There was no light here, the air was filled with the rotten stench, underfoot were broken bones and lingering souls.

Countless evil spirits, boundless and raging madness, feasting together, excited roars, even more excited to welcome the influx of new ghosts.

They were the objects of their bullying.

The underworld had its own rules of survival, within seven days they could reincarnate, and during these seven days, they must do everything possible to ensure their survival.

It was nothing like what the folk tales say about the King of Hell, about Black and White Impermanence.

Here, there were no ghost servants, no judges. This was lawless territory, where ghosts killed each other; the weak were devoured by the strong. The strong, by absorbing spiritual souls to cultivate themselves, could transform from spiritual bodies to physical entities.

If one was lucky enough to survive seven days, they could be reborn into the mortal realm. If unwilling to be reborn and miss the timing, then the only fate left was one—becoming a ghost cultivator.

A hundred years to cultivate bones and blood, a thousand years to cultivate flesh and skin.

On the fifteenth of July each year, when the Yin Qi was at its peak and the Ghost Gate wide open, it was a chance to escape back to the mortal world.

Forget about the past, reincarnate?

How was that possible!

If the people from Drunken Mansion didn't die, if Granny Jiang were still alive, perhaps he would choose reincarnation, gladly remove the bloodline forcibly imposed by Yin Wuhui, and be an ordinary person in the next life.

But now, he sought revenge!

With this ugly and disgusting body, with an identity that Heaven and Earth couldn’t tolerate, he would make a comeback.

Bullying new ghosts was an eternal pleasure in the ghost realm. They guarded the entrance, devouring one after another. Although the spiritual souls were weaker, even mosquitoes were meat.

However—

A clear long sword pierced through the darkness, dazzling sharp light blinding countless evil spirits.

Thousands of ghosts wailed, ten thousand ghosts wept together!

The old seniors who had lived in the ghost realm for thousands of years learned that a formidable character had arrived here, not an ordinary mortal, but an immortal master.

And this immortal master, unlike other prestigious cultivators, was ruthless, merciless, with a ferocious and chilling momentum. His power was so formidable that no one dared to challenge his edge.

Ordinary spirits, even those with foundations as immortal masters, needed at least a hundred years to achieve ghost cultivation. But this newcomer was different.

He cultivated his skeleton in just fifty years, and flesh and blood in another two hundred years!

In less than three hundred years, except for a few places that haven't fully grown, he had become indistinguishable from humans.

The old ghost felt he had completely misunderstood before. He had thought this person called Hua Che was an immortal master in his lifetime, but judging from his ruthless and decisive actions, he must have been a demonic cultivator.

On the night of the Ghost Festival, all evil spirits shivered and gathered at the exit of the underworld.

They saw a figure exuding a fierce aura, with astral winds sweeping through the lingering clouds. Wherever he passed, grass and trees withered. Some souls were so frightened they forgot to flee, merely touching the Yin wind emanating from him and instantly turned into ashes.

Finally, that person walked out of the gate of the ghost realm, and the ten thousand ghosts cheered.

This ferocious evil spirit finally left!!!

 

Translator: DarNan