In the void.
Da Xing the Mad Monk's face was flushed crimson, his eyes glaring with fury. One hand was planted on his hip, the other pointing the Great Compassionate Fan at the Demon Emperor Xuehe across from him. His imposing stance suggested he was ready to fight the Demon Emperor to the death.
In response,
Demon Emperor Xuehe was utterly speechless. His abyss-like eyes revealed a deep sense of helplessness.
Beyond helplessness, there seemed to be a very complex emotion—something like sympathy, yet also something like finding it all ridiculous.
Noticing the rather peculiar expression on Demon Emperor Xuehe's face, Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed to realize something. His heart couldn't help but skip a beat, and the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched unnaturally twice. He took a deep breath, bolstered his courage, then slowly turned around to look.
This single glance nearly scared Da Xing the Mad Monk so badly he forgot to breathe, almost fainting on the spot.
Behind him, a pavilion had appeared at some unknown time.
That's right.
A pavilion.
In this vast, mysterious void of the Kan Palace, this abruptly appearing pavilion seemed utterly out of place.
The pavilion's base looked like a black-and-white flower in bloom, its blossoming resembling the interplay of yin and yang, appearing profoundly mystical.
On the pavilion's four tall pillars were carved four patterns: one resembling an Azure Dragon, one a White Tiger, one a Black Tortoise, and one a Vermilion Bird. The patterns were vivid and lifelike, as if they were living imprints.
The pavilion's roof resembled the vault of heaven, containing within it a sun and moon, as well as countless stars.
This pavilion had simply materialized out of thin air, standing here, emanating a faint radiance, while the chaotic spatial currents around it gave it a wide berth.
Inside the pavilion were two women.
One of them wore a magnificent black gown, her long hair coiled high atop her head. Her features were stunningly beautiful, dignified, and majestic.
She was a woman of peerless beauty.
Her beauty was breathtakingly gorgeous, enchanting and captivating, beautiful in a myriad of charming ways, beautiful in a generation-defining manner.
Her aura was matchless in the world, both sacred and luminous like the Great Sun, yet also dark and tranquil like the hidden moon in the night sky.
Her existence was mysterious and elusive, like a celestial immortal from the Nine Heavens or a divine demon from the Nine Nethers—illusory and real, true and false, impossible to see through, giving one a very unreal feeling.
Every frown and smile, though seemingly casual, was like that of an empress descending from the heavens above, supremely noble, inspiring awe and reverence.
She sat on a stone stool, leaning against an Azure Dragon pillar, looking somewhat languid. She held a white jade cup containing half a measure of wine, a playful smile gracing her lips. Her enchanting eyes gazed at Da Xing the Mad Monk with a hint of amusement.
Beside her was another woman.
To be precise, a girl.
The girl appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a white garment, her long hair naturally cascading down her back. Barefoot, she sat casually on a stone stool.
This was a very ordinary girl.
Truly ordinary.
So ordinary that not a single shining point could be found on her. Ordinary like weeds on the plains, ordinary like a drop of water in the ocean, even more ordinary like a speck of dust in this world—insignificant, as if after closing one's eyes, one could never recall her appearance.
Her countenance was like this.
Her eyes were like this.
Her very person was like this.
From head to toe, even every strand of hair seemed utterly ordinary, as if indistinguishable from the ever-changing void of the Kan Palace.
She was like this void itself, constantly changing at every moment. Even now, as she stood there quietly, she gave off a very unreal feeling, like a dream or illusion.
Gazing at the two women in the pavilion,
Da Xing the Mad Monk in that moment felt as if struck by lightning. His face turned deathly pale, dizzy and lightheaded, swaying unsteadily as if he could barely stand.
The imposing figure he had been moments before deflated like a punctured balloon the instant he turned around.
He was terrified.
Scared out of his wits.
Because the two women sitting in the pavilion were the two existences he had always dreaded and feared most in his life, the two he least wanted to see.
One was the master of Langya Grotto-Heaven, Cang Yan.
A legendary woman of the Great Wilderness, also a Great Dao Empress.
She was both a Celestial Dao Empress and a Demonic Dao Empress, the only peerless Empress of both Celestial and Demonic paths in all heaven and earth.
That girl was none other than the legendary Lady of Heavenly Secrets, Genggu Wuming—the one said to know the past and future, wield fate and karma, deduce the cosmos and primordial chaos, perceive the mysteries of heaven and earth. She was the incarnation of karma, the envoy of fate, a woman revered as a deity by the myriad worlds for her omniscience.
Da Xing the Mad Monk had never imagined he would encounter Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan here.
Even less had he imagined it would be right after he had been cursing and swearing at Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan.
At this moment, Da Xing the Mad Monk stood dumbstruck in the void, completely stupefied, like a statue of a Buddha.
Before,
Da Xing the Mad Monk hadn't understood.
Hadn't understood why people would commit suicide.
Now he understood.
The moment he saw Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan, he attained enlightenment.
Because at that moment, he too felt an impulse, an urge to end his own life.
That regret, that fear, that helplessness, that frustration, that bewilderment, that utter despair, that extreme hopelessness—all these complex emotions surged up in him all at once. Da Xing the Mad Monk felt his life was plunged into utter darkness, with not a shred of light to be seen, not even the tiniest glimmer.
He wanted to die.
Besides death, he didn't even know what else to do.
It seemed only death could bring liberation.
If the current Da Xing the Mad Monk were his true original self, he truly would have wanted to end it all, to be free at last, never to suffer such humiliation again.
The problem was,
the current him was not his true original self, but an external incarnation. In other words, even if he ended this external incarnation, he could not achieve true liberation.
Not only would he fail to achieve true liberation, what awaited him might be even more humiliating agony.
He could even imagine that if he really ended this external incarnation in front of Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan, then he would never be able to hold his head up again.
He was already humiliated enough in front of Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan. If he ended himself in their presence, he would truly become a worthless coward.
Moreover, besides Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan, Demon Emperor Xuehe was also here.
He did not want Demon Emperor Xuehe to look down on him.
No!
Absolutely cannot end myself!
Absolutely not!
Even if I have to endure more humiliation, more frustration, more swallowing of pride, I cannot end myself in front of them. Otherwise, I'll truly never be able to hold my head up as a man again.
But...
If I don't end myself, what should I do?
Run away?
Turning tail and running the moment I see Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan—how is that any different from a mouse seeing a cat? Ending myself in front of them means I can't hold my head up later, but seeing them and running away isn't much better either.
Even if I cast aside all face and turn to flee, the key question is: could I actually escape?
The answer was certain.
I cannot escape.
He had tried before.
Once, he fell into Cang Yan's trap and was humiliated by her face-to-face. He couldn't beat her in a fight, so in the end, he could only choose to run. Da Xing the Mad Monk had thought he'd escaped, only to realize later he hadn't run at all. Instead, he had jumped right into a trap Cang Yan had prepared long in advance, leading to another round of beating and humiliation...
Cannot end myself, cannot run away—then what?
Fight?
Da Xing the Mad Monk dismissed the thought without even considering it.
He and Cang Yan had fought four times in total. Each time, he was thrashed soundly. Beaten so badly that now, he didn't even need to see Cang Yan; just hearing her name made his heart tremble involuntarily.
Inside the pavilion,
Cang Yan sat languidly against the Azure Dragon pillar on the stone stool, one hand supporting her head, the other holding an exquisite white jade cup. A meaningful smile graced her stunningly beautiful face. She swirled the white jade cup in her hand and said softly, "Nameless, I think I just heard him cursing you. And quite viciously too. I think he called you a little wench..."
Beside her,
Genggu Wuming, like an utterly ordinary girl, sat properly on the stone stool, head bowed as she perused an ancient tome. She responded, "I think I heard him cursing you too. Also quite viciously. I think he called you a crazy shrew, a little tramp..."
Their voices carried over.
Da Xing the Mad Monk felt on the verge of collapse.
He could tell Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan were deliberately saying this for him to hear.
What Genggu Wuming might do, Da Xing the Mad Monk perhaps couldn't imagine, but he had deeply experienced Cang Yan's methods.
What to do?
Should he bow his head and admit defeat, kneel and beg for mercy?
Although admitting defeat and begging for mercy would be somewhat shameful and humiliating, surely it was better than suffering Cang Yan's methods.
That crazy shrew had the heart of a snake and scorpion; her methods were as vicious as they came. Da Xing the Mad Monk had already tasted the torment a few times; he had no desire to experience it again.
Maybe...
I should give it a try?
Bow my head, admit defeat, and if that's not enough, kneel and beg for mercy?
Da Xing the Mad Monk hesitated.
He wasn't afraid of making a fool of himself. What he feared was that even if he bowed his head in defeat, even if he knelt and begged for mercy, he probably still wouldn't get through this.
Before, when he hadn't offended or provoked her, hadn't even known how he had incurred Cang Yan's wrath, he had been tortured half to death by her.
Now, having called her a crazy shrew and a little tramp to her face, Da Xing the Mad Monk reckoned merely bowing his head in defeat probably wouldn't be enough to make up for it.
Da Xing the Mad Monk's thoughts raced like lightning.
He kept pondering how to get through this ordeal.
He thought of many methods, considered many possibilities, but in the end, no matter how he thought about it, he felt he couldn't get through.
Finally, Da Xing the Mad Monk gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and simply stopped thinking. He resigned himself to fate.
Kill me, slice me up, do as you please!
This time, Da Xing the Mad Monk was going all out.
Since he had decided to go all out, he would no longer swallow his pride as he had before. He might as well take a hardline stance. Since he was doomed either way, rather than dying in humiliation and frustration, he might as well go out in a blaze of glory!
With this thought,
Da Xing the Mad Monk took a deep breath, as if psyching himself up. He steadied his mind, fixed his gaze on Cang Yan, mustered all his courage, and bellowed, "You heard right! This old monk was cursing the two of you just now!
So what!
Didn't hear clearly? Want this old monk to repeat it!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk snorted coldly, his back ramrod straight, and said disdainfully, "In front of Xuehe, this old monk dared curse you. In front of you, this old monk still dares to curse you!"