Chapter 226

This name, which was once famous in the immortal cultivation world for a hundred years and was respectfully acknowledged in the generation of immortals, was now spoken from the mouth of the reincarnated Human Emperor at this very moment, and the expression of the crowd changed from shock to horror.

Fan Wu She, who had just shaken off from Hua Xiang Rong and was chasing after Xie Bi An, also froze.

On Qi Meng Sheng's old and rugged face, the icy look was as solid as sealed wax. No one could see through her emotions, but everyone felt an awful atmosphere emanating from her.

Lan Chui Han stared at Xie Bi An: "Bi An, you, what are you talking about?"

Xie Bi An looked at Qi Meng Sheng without moving his body: "This person in front of you guys, under the shell of Qi Meng Sheng, is the human soul of Xu Zhi Nan, the previous sect leader of the Chunyang Sect, whose physical body had died."

"How is this ... possible …?" Li Bu Yu let out a raspy sound, then coughed violently twice. His green crow* cultivator's clothes streaked with blood stars.

"It's too ridiculous, do you know what you're saying? Trying to slander Immortal Lord Qi, and not even letting off Immortal Lord Xu, who has passed away?"

"What shell and human soul? You’re probably making things unnecessarily complicated."

Xie Bi An turned a deaf ear to those outraged voices. His gaze swept over those silent yet terrified people, especially the Cangyu Sect's congregation. They could not have failed to notice the change in their own sect leader immortal lord and only defiantly concluded it as going off the rails previously, but what about now?

"Bi An, say it clearly." Lan Chui Han looked at Qi Meng Sheng. He clenched his molars and his face was a bit distorted. He grew up in the Chunyang Sect since childhood. Although he was not Xu Zhi Nan's disciple, he also received Xu Zhi Nan's teachings and praises. Xu Zhi Nan was of noble character and high prestige. Not only the Chunyang Sect disciples worship him like a god, the entire immortal cultivation world and the people of Chu land also revered him.

This kind of person who had a love affair with the demonic girl from the Cangyu Sect is already a stain on his life, and now Xie Bi An actually said that Xu Zhi Nan's soul is in Qi Meng Sheng's body?!

Xie Bi An took a deep breath: "This matter needs to be talked about from more than a hundred years ago. Back then, Chunyang Sect assisted me in capturing the core stealing demonic cultivator, Chen Xing Yong, who once sneak attacked me, and used Chen Xing Yong to lure out the human core buyer behind it. That person is the former Wuyun Sect leader, Yan Shu, also known as Lu Zhao Feng."

Fan Wu She's gaze dimmed.

These resounding names had all appeared in the chronicles of the immortal cultivation world. The vast majority of people sounded distant, but not unfamiliar, and for the few who had experienced everything firsthand a century ago, it was so heavy that it was hard to breathe.

"Lu Zhao Feng laid a Thunderfire Stone trap, and killed many people by blowing them up and injured the Chunyang Sect. Among them was Cheng Yan Zhi, who was also a disciple of the Chunyang Sect. He was seriously injured and was at his last gasp." Xie Bi An continued, "Xu Zhi Nan at that time still appreciated his disciple sincerely, and couldn’t bear to lose this outstanding immortal talent. Coupled with a guilty conscience, the Seven Stars Life-Sustaining Lamp was used to hang onto Cheng Yan Zhi’s life. The outside world thought that Cheng Yan Zhi had died of serious injuries, but in fact he had always been alive. He became a living corpse that could not be separated from the Seven Stars Life-Sustaining Lamp."

When the story was told here, it was frightening enough, and the crowd did not dare to breathe.

Qi Meng Sheng closed her eyes.

Xie Bi An revealed a tragic smile: "Xu Zhi Nan, I believe you really feel sorry and guilty for Cheng Zhen Ren back then, and also only really wanted him to live. You probably did not expect that your relationship would turn out like this. Why? Is it because of your infinitely inflated desire, or is it because you both fell in love with Qi Meng Sheng?"

"This ... Cheng Yan Zhi is already a living corpse, how is this ..."

"Because of the Seven Stars Life-Sustaining Lamp, other than being able to hang onto a person’s life who is going to die, there is a function that the outside world does not know, and that is it can exchange the human souls of people." Xie Bi An looked at Zhao Wen suddenly, "I believe you guys have also heard of it."

Zhao Wen gasped and nodded tremblingly. His gaze was drifting towards Qi Meng Sheng in a cowering manner.

"In the ten years that I was the Emperor Zong, the two exchanged human souls several times with the Seven Stars Life-Sustaining Lamp. Xu Zhi Nan and Cheng Yan Zhi had always been sharing Xu Zhi Nan's body. Not knowing what happened to the three people in the middle of the feud, Qi Meng Sheng wanted to dig my golden core and cure Cheng Yan Zhi's body, but she did not get her way. Five years ago, that night at Luojinwu, the one who died in the aging body of Xu Zhi Nan was actually the human soul of Cheng Yan Zhi. And not knowing what method Xu Zhi Nan used to exchange the human soul with Qi Meng Sheng, now, the real Qi Meng Sheng is actually sleeping in Cheng Yan Zhi's living corpse. That living corpse has always been by his side, and now, is in my hands."

The crowd was in an uproar.

"Qi Meng Sheng", or rather the real Xu Zhi Nan, slowly opened his eyes and stared coldly at Xie Bi An: "When did you know this? In Chidi City?"

"No, after escaping from Chidi City and returning to the Underworld, master had many doubts about the excuses Cheng Yan Zhi said. He settled him down in Yanluo Hall and did not reincarnate. I went to find him and had a long talk with him all night, and gradually found that his life experience was full of loopholes and was very different from what I knew to be the truth. And human souls cannot lie, so the only possibility was that he was also deceived." Xie Bi An said in a chilly voice, "I thought long and hard, and remembered the several times I've had contact with you, your look, what you did, and our conversation, and I gradually had this guess. After that, several points have been confirmed by Hua Xiang Rong. If you are Xu Zhi Nan, many things can be explained."

"Master ..." one of the elders from Cangyu Sect looked up at her Sect Leader with a face full of fear, like praying for a rebuttal.

Xu Zhi Nan said with a fake smile, "Your guess is right. Unfortunately, it's a little late."

Everyone from the Cangyu Sect’s congregation and the Chunyang Sect’s congregation has complicated expressions. Such an absurd truth made them not know how to handle themselves for a while.

"Is it late?" Xie Bi An said lightly, "You've deceived, used, and hurt all of those who've treated you sincerely. Have you achieved your goals?"

Xu Zhi Nan's gaze was apprehensive, "Emperor, you wouldn't understand."

"Why did you do this? Don't tell me you did it for Qi Meng Sheng. How did you treat her? You sealed her in the body of a living dead person, became evil, did evil, and left an everlasting shame on her name." Xie Bi An's chest rose and fell violently, "I trusted you so much once, and treated you as my right-hand man. Everyone betrayed me in my previous life, I thought at least there was you, you! Xu Zhi Nan, why did you do this!?"

Xu Zhi Nan's face was wrinkled. There was pain, and also madness: "I just want a ... perfect body."

"... perfect body."

"I practice the Chunyang Technique. Even though I have reached the peak of my life, the price is that I will never have offspring." Xu Zhi Nan's face became more distorted, "My Xu family are millionaires in Jiangnan. My Chunyang Sect is a big tree with deep roots*. Originally, I was able to build a foundation for generations in my hands. Even if I cannot, it should also be carried forward by the descendants of my Xu family, but ... but once I die, there will be nothing left, once and for all. I can’t cultivate to become an immortal, and can't pass on my family business. I've been working hard all my life for what?!”

"..."

Like cutting open a dry well that has been covered with dust for a hundred years, those shameful unwillingness and desires have been fermenting for too long, and have turned into a stuffy, filthy and stinky poisonous gas. Once it’s released, it can no longer be concealed.

Xu Zhi Nan trembled and said: "And Meng Sheng. I am head over heels for her, yet she likes Cheng Yan Zhi, who only borrowed my body for a short time. Why?! The world sees me as if I have everything, but in fact I have nothing. Nothing will remain."

"So you deceived them at the same time. You made Cheng Yan Zhi think that he had taken your love and felt guilty for you all his life, made him think that Qi Meng Sheng was playing with and manipulating your feelings and wanted to use you guys to take my golden core by force, and made Qi Meng Sheng think that you guys were the same person at first, and after things fell apart, you instilled in her that only my golden core could heal Cheng Yan Zhi's body and wanted to use her to dig up my core." The insidiousness and viciousness of the human heart made Xie Bi An's hair stand on end, "Xu Zhi Nan, this is your 'deep love' for her? You delayed her life, and until the verge of her death, you still want to use her body, her good reputation, her magical treasures, and her disciples to go through water and tread on fire for you. You want to take my golden core, refine it into the Absolute Human Emperor, and exchange your human soul back with Cheng Yan Zhi's body, so that you could get a young body with good roots and bones, and perhaps the Absolute Human Emperor could also free you from the restraints of the Chunyang Technique and let you have offspring, right?"

Xu Zhi Nan said gloomily: "I have a deep love for her, but she ... she is so stubborn. Who is she to like someone else through my body? For the Cangyu Sect to develop and grow to this point, I've secretly helped a lot. Letting me use it at this time is also justified. When I came back from the dead in Cheng Yan Zhi's body, I will naturally also find a young and perfect shell for her."

"Qi Meng Sheng will only despise what you have done." Xie Bi An shook his head, and his expression condensed like frost, "Seems like she is smarter than all of us, only she saw through your despicable nature and hypocritical personality, so she would rather like a living dead person, and will never like you forever."

Xu Zhi Nan's eyes are ferocious: "You are right. You and she may be the type of person living in a self-righteous illusion and adhering to the self-righteous Heart of Dao. Once you find the cruel truth, you would think that the world is collapsing on you. In fact, the world is originally so dirty and rotten, who are you to clear yourself?"

Upon hearing these words, Xie Bi An was stunned for a moment, and then sighed with deep feeling, "I once thought you were a dashing and understanding person, but unfortunately you have cultivated the Dao all your life, and are still mad about worldly merits. You've indeed cultivated in vain." After he had confirmed what Xu Zhi Nan had done, after he knew that in his previous life, from birth to death, he had not gotten a single sincere person, he had been numbed long ago, even he could hardly feel the sadness and indignation. Looking back, he was torn apart by everyone around him swooping up together, then he felt relief. He knew he had fallen into the bottom of the abyss and could never fall again.

Xu Zhi Nan slowly shook his head: "Zi Heng, I originally did not want to harm you, but I am unreconciled ah. You and I are both mortals. Since we can't become immortals, why bother to be bound by conventions?"

"There is one most simple truth in this world, far more important than cultivating the Great Dao and building a career. Do you know what it is?" Xie Bi An was clutching the Junlan sword, and cannot help but recall the friendship when Xu Zhi Nan gifted the sword. He felt sorrowful.

"... What?"

"To be a good person."

 

 ----

green crow* [鸦青色]--- see the color in chapter 159

big tree with deep roots*[树大根深]—powerful influence and stable foundation

 

Edited on 2 June 21 (Emzie)

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