"Shifu… I… I'm real!" After choking out these words, the imposter collapsed, limply falling to the ground.
But strangely, this time the imposter's limbs didn't immediately turn into green smoke like the previous ones did. Instead, she laid motionless on the ground.
Xue Ranran was suspicious that she hadn't died, so she bent down cautiously to check for breath and a pulse—there was no movement at all. It seemed like she was quite dead!
Su Yi Shui also looked uncertainly at the red blood dripping off his sword, then shifted his gaze to the body lying on the ground…
Just then, Xue Ranran burst into laughter, "Surprised? Wondering why this imposter didn't turn into green smoke?"
Su Yi Shui slowly shifted his gaze to her. At this moment, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed slightly, and the moonlight spilled onto the earth. However, Xue Ranran's shadow under the moonlight gradually disappeared.
Meanwhile, a blurry shadow appeared under the fallen imposter…
Now, everyone was dumbfounded, unable to immediately understand what had happened.
Just then, from the distant town, the sound of drums rang out again, once, twice—clear drumbeats echoed, informing everyone that it was still midnight…
Why did the drums announce midnight again?
Everyone's expressions changed slightly, and they looked at each other in confusion.
The Medicine Immortal raised his head vigilantly to look around, only to find that where the moonlight reached, the surroundings seemed to distort slightly, like ripples spreading out. But in an instant, everything returned to normal.
He understood… the fierce wind just now was all an illusion! Duntian used the flying sand and rocks as cover, blowing them down the mountain, then set up a twisted mirror illusion for them!
The drumbeats from the village just now were obviously fake, so they hadn't actually reached midnight!
In this illusion, whether people had shadows or what appearance they showed was completely controlled by the illusion's master, Duntian!
Over these days, the constant appearance of imposters in front of the Xishan disciples reinforced the importance of using shadows to distinguish between real and fake.
Relying on this point, Duntian cleverly manipulated things, hiding the real Xue Ranran's shadow and giving the imposter a shadow, then using Su Yi Shui's sword to kill the real girl..
Hearing the Medicine Immortal's explanation, Qiu Xier screamed in despair, falling onto her junior sister in a pool of blood, frantically stuffing a pill into her mouth, "Junior sister, you have to hold on, wake up, wake up quickly!"
Wang Suizhi was in tears, crawling towards his master on all limbs.
Meanwhile, Su Yi Shui let go of his sword, which clattered to the ground, and ran over like a madman, pushing away the people who were crying and trying to reach her, tightly embracing the girl covered in blood in his arms.
However, Xue Ranran, with her eyes tightly shut, could no longer suddenly open them as before, playfully smiling at him…
Seeing the fake laughing arrogantly, Gao Cang and Bai Baishan were filled with grief and anger. After being forcefully pushed away by their master, they roared and pounced towards the fake.
The power of anger was exceptionally strong, and Gao Cang's fierce slash immediately chopped off the fake's head.
The limbs of the fake immediately turned into green smoke and dissipated in the wind, leaving only the head, still sporting a proud smile…
The people who have gathered here all had differences, different allegiances, but the only thing they had in common was their varying degrees of fondness for the young girl Xue Ranran.
So when they saw Ranran die, the grief of the disciples of Xishan went without saying. Even Dragon Island's goddess and the young dragon, as well as Wen Chun Hui, showed a sorrowful expression on their faces. The Medicine Immortal, as a friend of Mu Qingge, felt unspeakable regret. Even Wei Jiu and Tu Jiu Yuan felt embittered.
Especially Tu Jiu Yuan, who had always been grateful for Ranran's repeated help, and had complicated feelings towards Ranran. She never expected she wouldn't be able to repay the favor owed to Ranran now…
Just then, the deep voice of Duntian came from the sky again: "How is it? How does it feel to kill your loved one with your own hands?"
Su Yi Shui slowly raised his head, his eyes seemingly possessed by something, now bloodshot and his forehead showing the runes of the Netherworld Realm's spiritual spring again. He emphasized every word "Why did you plot against us like this?"
Duntian laughed desolately, "You couldn't understand why I built the Heaven-Defying Tower right? Fate is cruel, the heavens are unfair. Clearly, it's the thing you cherish most, but you can only watch it slip away before your eyes… How can anyone know this feeling without experiencing it? Xue Ranran was the fruit born on the Tree of Reincarnation. Her soul is inherently unstable. Even if you want to use the Tree of Reincarnation again, it's useless. For her to live again, there's only one way! That is for you to willingly become the blood sacrifice! Stand before the Eternal Tower, dig out your heart and sacrifice it to the tower! Then, maybe when time reverses, you'll have a chance to save your beloved…"
The Medicine Immortal's face changed instantly upon hearing this.
He finally understood Duntian's purpose behind all these scheming!
While the Spirit Tower could reverse time and space, Duntian's body had already decayed from demonic corruption. He wanted to return to the past with his current memories to make up for various regrets, but he needed a brand-new body. So he went to great lengths to obtain the unrefined bones of the Demon King which still retained his spirit, and then let Su Yi Shui, the demon's son, voluntarily sacrifice himself, and dig out his heart to exchange for the Spirit Tower to become a living tower. While reversing time, he would also obtain his own rebirth.
With the heart and soul of two demon lords, Duntian could also gain a larger force to control the Tower to reverse time and return to the moment of his lifelong regret, to make a different choice.
Thinking of this, The Medicine Immortal hurriedly shouted to Su Yi Shui, "Don't listen to Duntian's madness. If you die, how can you save your loved one?"
Su Yi Shui had been keeped his head bowed all this time. When he raised his head again, tears of blood dripped down his eyes, his tone sounded unusually calm, "It doesn't matter if I die, but she will live again, won't she?"
Su Yi Shui's tone was too calm, and if it weren't for the tears of blood that made people feel uneasy, it would have made people suspicious that he wasn't that sorrowful.
This was the numbness that only extremely grieving people could display.
Everyone in Xishan knew how deeply Su Yi Shui loved Ranran, and especially this time, Su Yi Shui had killed her with his own hands, he should have been on the verge of madness from the pain. So his calm tone made people feel extremely distressed.
Now thinking about it, that Duntian was hateful and terrifying. He had been delaying his action all along, waiting for Su Yi Shui to remove the effects of the Soul-Cleansing Talisman before he took action. His fear being that Su Yi Shui's love was not enough and it would be difficult to achieve the kind of pain, to regain something precious he lost, and destroy that which he had regained once more.
Only by using the heart of such a pained person as a sacrifice could enough grieve and resentment be generated to support the power of the tower to reverse fate…
Just then, Su Yi Shui finally slowly let go of Ranran, gently placing her on a soft grassy area, then covering her body with a cloak. He suddenly stood up and walked towards the direction of the Heaven-Defying Tower.
The Medicine Immortal became very anxious and shouted loudly, "Absolutely can't let him go to sacrifice himself at the tower, quickly! Stop him!"
Once time is reversed, chaos will ensue, and everything will change. By then, even whether Mu Qingge will be born is uncertain, let alone talking about rebirth?
But now Su Yi Shui was clearly dominated by regret, completely swayed by Duntian's temptation, and single-mindedly wanted to reverse time to give Ranran a chance to be reborn.
Once his sacrifice succeeded, the spirit tower would become active prematurely, and the Heavenly punishment and earth calamity might also come sooner.
The Medicine Immortal dared not think further, could only shout to everyone to stop Su Yi Shui from climbing the tower, not allowing him to ascend the tower.
Before the Medicine Immortal finished speaking, everyone had already rushed up, trying to stop Su Yi Shui.
Wei Jiu took the lead, trying to use his whip to pull Su Yi Shui down, but when his whip was pulled up, it was repelled back.
It turned out that Duntian had long set up a spiritual shield behind Su Yi Shui, isolating him from everyone, allowing him to dig his heart out without distractions. Even when the Little Dragon transformed into its original form and desperately rammed into the transparent spiritual shield, it couldn't get through.
In the end, everyone could only watch Su Yi Shui, step by step, slowly climb up the tower along the ladder of scattered bones, reaching the top of the tower.
This time, the Tower of Bones did not show any aggressive spikes, allowing Su Yi Shui to slowly ascend to the top of the high tower.
When he reached the top of the tower, he could see that the golden skull of the Demon King had already merged completely with the tower, even growing black flesh like the tower's body, and beneath the skull was a cavity that resembled a shrine.
Just then, Duntian's voice rang out again: "Don't hesitate anymore, quickly perform the blood sacrifice. As long as you are willing to sacrifice, Xue Ranran will once again gain life… This is the knife I used when I killed the Demon King back then. Use it to dig out your heart…"
As he spoke, a carved dragon knife floated to Su Yi Shui's side. Su Yi Shui, with tears of blood flowing, his eyes red, picked up the knife, and then slowly asked, "Is it only my heart that can be used for the blood sacrifice?"
Duntian said, "Do you still remember the marrow-cleansing pools on Tianmai Mountain? I left those pools back then, the real purpose was to select the person who could offer a blood sacrifice to the living tower. Choosing the Black Pool means voluntarily severing love and affection. Those who are willing to sever emotions, when they fall in love, they fall even harder than those who are easily sentimental! Over these years, many people have come and gone at that pool, but only you are the most suitable! Unfortunately, Mu Qingge disrupted everything back then, causing my plan to almost deviate… Don't hesitate anymore, once you miss this chance, Xue Ranran will truly be beyond saving. From now forth, there will never be such a clear and pure woman between heaven and earth."
This last sentence indeed moved the man with tears of blood slightly. Su Yi Shui closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently, then suddenly raised the knife high and fiercely stabbed towards his own chest.
"No! Master!"
"Master! Don't!"
At this moment, at the foot of the mountain, the disciples of Xishan were already in an uproar. Everyone was crying and desperately trying to stop Su Yi Shui.
But that sharp blow still fell fiercely… on the golden skull of the Demon King on the top of the tower!
The knife Duntian used was the one used by *Huangdi to kill the monster Kui back then, a holy knife blessed by the ancient sage to ward off evil. When this knife fell, the hard golden skull instantly shattered. The jaw of the skull made a cracking sound, as if emitting a painful howl, shaking the clouds in the sky.
*Classics of Mountains and Seas
And Duntian let out a thunderous angry roar, "Damn it! NO!"
With his roar, the bone ladder under Su Yi Shui's feet instantly collapsed, and thorns of defense grew again on the bone tower.
Unfortunately, as the skull of the Demon King, the soul of the tower, had already shattered, the crucial point of the tower had been struck. The black flesh covering the entire tower rapidly shriveled and dried up, revealing the original skeleton.
The towering bone tower that reached the heavens, instantly became unstable and shaky.
At this moment, Duntian finally revealed his true form, standing in mid-air, half of his face rotted and twisted, he roared in anger, "How dare you? Do you even know what you've done! You've destroyed the only chance for your beloved to be reborn!"
"Didn't my Shifu tell you from the beginning! His choice will never be like yours! Because he knows, I will never be willing to trample on the flesh and blood of others for a chance to survive!"
When everyone heard this clear voice, they turned their heads in astonishment, only to find that Xue Ranran, who had already stopped breathing and in a pool of blood, was… standing spiritedly behind them.
It's just that her chest was still oozing red blood, looking extremely eerie!
Qiu Xier's nerves was a bit lacking, suddenly seeing her junior sister coming back to life like a zombie, before she could think to be happy, she had rolled her eyes and fainted. Fortunately, Gao Cang caught her in time.
But Gao Cang also screamed together with second junior brother, and the three disciples held each other tightly.
Duntian couldn't believe that Xue Ranran had actually come back to life. His eyes widened slowly, "How is this possible! You clearly died!"
After Xue Ranran was stabbed, the hidden Duntian, had already controlled the fake Ranran and confirmed for himself that she had no breath.
And Duntian didn't need to get close to sense clearly that the motionless body had no signs of life anymore, and she had shed so much blood, which couldn't be faked!
Xue Ranran sighed as she looked at her timid fellow disciples, then patted the dust off her body and with a rather obscene action, reached into her bosom… to take out a leather water bag.
The "blood" she had just oozed was actually from the leather bag.
"My cheeks are so tired from chewing to get this bag of red sugarcane juice! How is it? The bright red color can easily deceive, right? Hey, don't stare at me with big eyes, I'm a person, not a ghost!"
It turns out that the "blood" from her was actually the juice of red sugarcane that she had been chewing all this while. Seeing Ranran playfully rubbing her cheeks, Qiu Xier, who had just come to, laughed as she cried, couldn't help but wonder, "Ranran… when I touched you just now, and there was no pulse! Am… am I dreaming?"
After saying that, Qiu Xier pinched Gao Cang's thigh hard, making big senior brother scream in pain, repeatedly shouting that he wasn't dreaming.
Ranran gave her a playful glance, then took out the talisman stuck to her chest and raised it, saying, "This is Elder Jiu's new creation, a sudden death talisman that can completely feign death. Although its effect only lasts for thirty minutes, it's enough for a performance."
When Elder Jiu drew this talisman for her, he solemnly told her that he had created it in order to escape from the Crimson Gate sect. But the wine they brought him was too good, he couldn't bear to feign death, so he didn't use it.
As he gifted this talisman to his little friend, it was to advise her not to be too stubborn. If she were to encounter a formidable enemy, it wouldn't hurt to use the talisman to fake death and bide some time.
Unexpectedly, this seemingly useless thing was put to use at this moment.
As for the sword that pierced through her heart, it relied on Su Yi Shui's skills. His sword was a soft sword crafted by Zeng Yi. As long as he used his ingenuity, he could puncture the water bag hidden in her clothes, bypass Ranran's body, and let the blade exit from behind.
In essence, it was a magic trick from the streets!
Of course, Su Yi Shui's horrifying blood tears, were also just red sugarcane juice. At this late hour, looking horrifying enough could cover up Su Yi Shui's somewhat lacking acting skills.
For a man who always had no expression, portraying the wretched sorrow of losing a loved one was quite difficult. Luckily, with sugarcane juice to back him up, he wouldn't falter!
Still not believing it, Duntian said coldly, 'Impossible! When did you figure out my plan?'
Ranran threw the bag containing sugarcane juice on the ground, then took out a handkerchief to wipe off the bright red sugarcane juice from her clothes, determined to thoroughly explain and dispel Duntian's doubts.
"Actually, I've been wondering all along, why did you send the fake Tu Jiuyuan and Wei Jiu to our doorstep that day? If it was just to capture us alive, you didn't seem very urgent about it. So what was the purpose of this move to alert us? It wasn't until I saw this…"
With that, she took out a small box from her sleeve, which was the one she retrieved from Dragon Island.
After the lightning bolt from the Heavenly calamity opened the box, Ranran and Su Yi Shui looked at what was inside the box together while they were sheltering from the rain under the tree.
At that time, Wei Jiu thought they were engaging in some romantic action and kept grumbling.
Inside the box was actually a page of "paper." It looked like paper but was not quite, with the words on it appearing and disappearing, as if they were constantly changing.
And when they looked at it, the paper displayed one shocking line of words: "In the sixth month of the Yi Kun year, at three-quarters past the hour of Hai, Su Yi Shui kills Xue Ranran..."
When they saw these words, they naturally exchanged surprised glances. But just then, the words on the paper blurred again, and then it read, "The Heavenly mandate revealed, the world awaits its fate..."
Su Yi Shui immediately understood that this "paper" should be a page torn from the Heavenly Book by Mu Qingge years ago.
Mu Qingge had violated the celestial rules, peeked at the Heavenly Book, and saw Su Yi Shui's destiny. That's why later on, she boldly changed his fate chart and used her own life to give Su Yi Shui a chance to escape the fate of the demonic path.
However, for some unknown reason, she hid this page on Dragon Island back then. It wasn't until Su Yi Shui and Ranran retrieved it that this paper saw the light of day again.
As for the recent sentence, it was obviously about something that was going to happen. Unfortunately, Su Yishui and Ranran had already seen it, so "the world awaits its fate" indicating there could still be changes!
Using just this one leaked line of information, the clever Ranran immediately worked out a plan with Su Yi Shui.
Even though they didn't fully understand what would happen, when Ranran was poisoned by the snake venom, and they exchanged glances, they immediately understood why Duntian had sent those two fakes to the inn.
Perhaps he wanted to use the fake Ranran to create confusion and cause some trouble.
So everything that followed went smoothly. The two of them didn't even need to rehearse. They cooperated calmly and orchestrated everything.
Su Yi Shui was actually a bit confused at the time and couldn't tell the real Ranran from the fake. But even if the Ranran at that time was a fake, he wouldn't have killed her.
When he manipulated his sword and saw Ranran acting according to plan, he immediately discerned the truth, and everything fell into place as they took up their different roles!
The Bone Tower was too powerful. Without playing some tricks to lower Duntian's guard, they could never approach it. So this master-disciple duo came up with this plan, and it worked. They managed to smash the crucial part of the Spirit Tower.
Just then, as the Bone Tower kept loosening and collapsing, making thunderous noises, Duntian, after hearing Ranran's explanation, felt immense disappointment and anger surge within him.
The opportunity he had waited countless years for was shattered, enough to ruin the mind of this person who had once been celestial but turned demonic.
He gave a loud roared was he swung his sword towards Su Yi Shui.
With the collapse of the Bone Tower, the Heavenly punishment also automatically ceased. The originally heavy atmosphere gradually dissipated, and the abilities of the Medicine Immortal and Dragon Island's goddess could be fully exerted.
So when Duntian rushed over, the two divine beings also flew to Su Yi Shui's side to help him withstand Duntian's divine attacks.
But Su Yi Shui gave a wave of his hand and said, "There's no need for you two to assist. Its better if I settle this matter with him on my own."
After hearing this, the Medicine Immortal looked at Su Yi Shui somewhat incredulously. Even if his talent was very high, he was still just a mortal. How could he contend with Duntian, who had once been celestial and now turned demonic?
Su Yi Shui had fought against Duntian before, so he should know how formidable Duntian's abilities were. Moreover, with the collapse of the Bone Tower and Duntian's increased fury, Su Yi Shui's decision to face Duntian alone seemed like a joke no matter how you looked at it.
Wei Jiu, who now had hope of recapturing Red Flame Mountain, seeing that Su Yishui had asked the two divine beings to stand down, suddenly became spirited and nervously shouted, "This is not the time to be stubborn! Defeating Duntian is tied to the safety of the world, and there's no room for error!"
For this righteous statement, to actually came from the mouth of the devil Wei Jiu, was quite shocking.
But Su Yi Shui seemed resolute, and would not change his mind. After asking the two divine beings to step back, he walked forward alone to confront Duntian.
The disparity in strength between the two sides was too great.
The next moment, Su Yi Shui was heavily thrown to the ground by Duntian's overwhelming force.
Seeing his master being beaten so severely, the disciples from Xishan couldn't help but gasp in fear. Gao Cang asked anxiously, "Junior sister, should we just watch our master being beaten without helping him?"
Ranran couldn't bear to see Su Yi Shui being beaten, so she simply lowered her head and looked at the "paper" in her hand.
At this moment, another line of words appeared on the paper – "In the sixth month of the Yi Kun year, at four-quarters past the hour of Zi, Su Yi Shui alone kills Duntian…"
The hour was just a little off, and Su Yi Shui was indeed facing Duntian alone. But how could he kill Duntian, Ranran couldn't figure it out.
Could there be a mistake in this page of the Heavenly Book? Or was there some lack of knowledge, and accidentally, the beginning and end of this sentence were incorrectly placed, and it actually meant "Duntian alone kills Su Yishui"?