Chapter Sixty-Nine: Irreversible

  The wind, endless wind, comes from the end of the world, swirling and whistling, gently touching my face. Red and white, intertwined in front of me, forming a twisted color, bright and vibrant, flowing slowly down along my fingers, on the pure white wrist and arm, winding out a deep red and beautiful pattern, silently disappearing into the wind-filled sleeves.

  Blood?

  Xuan Zhen stared blankly at his own hand, as if looking at a strange object. It was still the slender and delicate outline, but why...why was it stained with bright red blood, and even the fingertips still had a hint of...familiar warmth?

  What's that underfoot... No, it should be said who is that... Familiar blue and white Taoist robe, familiar scabbard, familiar...

  Xuan Zhen's gaze slowly shifted over that still warm and soft body, inch by inch, crawling up the person's face.

  It's Xuan Ting... A voice in his mind seemed to be telling him so. But who is Xuan Ting? ... Is the disciple of Zong Lian Shifu, his own... younger martial brother...

  Why is he lying there? Why isn't he moving at all, as if... dead?

  His thoughts were more chaotic than ever, each idea emerging with a slow creaking sound, gradually appearing in his mind. Xuan Zhen gently shook his head, trying to shake off the intangible burdens in his brain, but this was destined to be futile. In the swaying gap of blue silk in front of him, he caught sight of a large patch of blood color with the corner of his eye, which finally stopped these useless movements.

  Xuān Tīng's chest... why is there a hole in it... so much blood is flowing out...

  The thrill of piercing something soft and resilient with the tip of one's finger, the warmth of a bloody heat gushing over one's hand, as if reborn between one's fingers. Xuan Zhen lowered his gaze in a daze, re-examining his own hand, a dark light flashing at the edge of his purple-red sharp fingernails, like a knife blade, almost scratching his eyes, and like a shooting star in the dark night, crossing his mind.

  Ah, I see... So it was this hand that pierced through Brother Xuān Tīng's chest, and this blood is also...

  A thread of joy at having found the answer flashed across his long-numb heart. Xuan Zhen looked at his own hand, slowly flipping it over in front of his eyes to examine it, but suddenly froze.

  In other words, it was actually myself... who killed Xuan Ting, my own... fellow disciple?

  The wind, like a ghostly spirit wandering in this purple-red sky, suddenly burst out. The fierce gusts howled, the whistling sound was like a mournful cry, but Xuan Tong clearly heard a faint, mournful laugh amidst the rustling of the wind.

  Who... is laughing?

  He was vaguely thinking, but his ears picked up a shout again, and the voice, muffled by the wind and the countless chaotic noises in his mind, was so vague: "......Senior brother...... have you gone mad!?"

  Has someone gone mad?... Is it myself?

  The sound of that mournful laughter grew clearer and clearer, as if it was echoing through his mind, mixed with a chaotic mess, making Xuán Zhèn feel unbearable pain. He suddenly raised his head, looking around blankly, but saw the figures standing nearby, whose faces he couldn't see clearly, retreat a few feet in unison with his movement.

  Why did they retreat, were they escaping from themselves? Xuan Zhen thought vaguely, feeling as if there was a layer of gauze in front of his eyes, making everything look like flowers in the fog, hazy and indistinct. But the fear on those blurry faces had almost become tangible, and could be sensed by intuition alone.

  A voice in the back of his mind sneered at himself: Yeah, they must be terrified... because their senior brother, Xuan Zhen, has gone mad. If he wasn't mad, how could he have killed his own junior brother?

  The laughter grew more mournful and desolate, with a hint of coldness in its ethereal tone, yet it made Xuan Zhen realize that there was something familiar about it. He lowered his head to look at himself, only then did he find the source of the laughter - it was none other than himself.

  He's gone mad... He must have gone mad! A normal person, in the blink of an eye, turned into a demon, a living and carefree demon, who mistakenly took himself for a human, and had such a dream for nineteen years. How ridiculous, how pathetic, how could he not go mad?

  For nineteen years, from youth to young adulthood, the master was like a father, kindness as heavy as a mountain, fellow disciples were like brothers, close as hands and feet. Now it has all turned into an illusion, when I wake up from the dream, I find myself disappointing my master's expectations, betraying the kindness of my school, and even killing my own brothers with my own hands!

  Forgot his original demon body, forgot the enemy who killed his mother, even recognized the enemy as his father, and joined a Xianmen sect that specialized in killing demons. He abandoned all his past, lived with his enemies in the same sect, and even respectfully treated them as seniors. Moreover, he took the precepts of killing demons to save people and being an enemy of demons as the principles he adhered to in his heart, and even killed countless of his own true kin!

  Xuan Zhen almost burst out laughing, how could there be such a pathetic person, how could there be such a ridiculous demon?

  Offspring of a demon...

  The ears still seemed to echo with the words of that young man who was a fellow student but not very familiar, and the nose was even more entwined with a bloody smell thicker than smoke and fog. Was it the blood of humans or the blood of demons?

  Bastard...

  If they knew that their revered senior brother for nineteen years was actually a demon and human hybrid, I wonder what kind of thoughts would they have?

  Wouldn't he immediately change color, and wouldn't he rather kill himself with a sword like those other monsters? Probably after his own death, he would still kick his own corpse and scold in pain: "This is the fate that such a monster who dares to sneak into a prestigious family deserves!"

  Hmph...

  The wind had not yet subsided, and a few strands of hair were stuck to his face. Xuan Zhen reached out to brush them away, but as soon as his palm touched his cheek, he felt a chill.

  You, can also cry... The corners of his lips were even more sorrowful. Isn't it as the master said that those demons are inherently cruel and ruthless, without a hint of warmth?

  He stood there, lost in thought, while the crowd of Qinghua disciples on the other side had already fallen into chaos. The deceased Xuan Tong was not an ordinary disciple, but the only personally taught disciple of Cheng Tian, the eldest elder, and a top-notch figure who had been carefully nurtured by the Qinghua Sect. Now that he was dead, not only did Cheng Tian lose his lineage, but all the effort and resources the Qinghua Sect had invested in him were also wasted. Thinking about how furious Cheng Tian would be when he found out that his only disciple had died, these young disciples turned pale with fear.

  What made them even more astonished was that Xuántīng had a good private relationship with Xuánzhèn in the Qióng Huá sect, but this close relationship also ended up dying at the hands of this senior brother. Looking at Senior Brother Xuánzhèn's expression, it was extremely cold and ruthless, completely different from his usual gentle and elegant demeanor. When they saw clearly that Xuánzhèn had a head full of silver hair with red stripes on his forehead and eyes stained with blood, they were shocked to the point where their mouths were wide open and couldn't be closed.

  The thick, pungent smell of blood wafted from the still-warm corpse on the ground, enveloping their nostrils. Since the start of the great war with the demon realm, they had long been all too familiar with this stench, but neither the scent from their fellow cultivators nor that of the demonic beasts could compare to the nauseating blood smell they were smelling now.

  "......monster......you monster!"

  At last, a low cry ran through the crowd, and the sound of it made them tremble with fear, yet awakened those who were still immersed in extreme astonishment.

  A young man standing in front turned around and shouted at the trembling boy: "What nonsense are you talking about? That is... that is Master Xuan Zhen!" Although so, but just now Xuan Feng had died in front of him under the hands of this master brother, so even in scolding, there was a hint of weakness.

  Xuan Yun was startled by his senior brother's sudden shout and took a few steps back. Another senior brother standing in front of him suddenly muttered, "Wait, look at Senior Brother's expression... he, he and that demon, how, how do they resemble each other?"

  This sentence was almost like a soliloquy, but it echoed in the ears of everyone, and yet it was no different from a thunderclap. Almost simultaneously, everyone couldn't help but glance at Gui Xie who was standing far away, looking over here, and then they involuntarily glanced at Xuanyuan Zhen who was standing still in front of Xuanyuan Shi's corpse. The result of the comparison made them secretly astonished.

  The same white hair, the same eerie and mysterious markings, the same eye color, even the aura of evil that surrounds them is somewhat similar. Clearly one was a monster they detested and feared, while the other was a senior brother they were familiar with and respected, but at this moment, it seemed as if they were the same...

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay, but couldn't help but whisper to themselves. Almost simultaneously, a thought flashed through their minds and appeared on their faces.

  "Could it be... Could it be that Master Xuan Zhen is actually a demon?"

  Finally, someone couldn't help but speak out, although the tone was filled with incredulity. As soon as the words were spoken, it was as if a gust of wind had blown away the doubts that had been shrouding these young disciples for years. Many of them looked enlightened, though it was unclear what they had suddenly understood.

  "No wonder Eldest Brother appeared with that demon, it's because of this reason..."

  "Ah, so it's like this, Master Xuanfeng actually died unjustly!" Another person immediately exclaimed.

  Someone else said: "But Master Xuan Zhen has been in the Qinghua Sect for so many years, how could the sect leader tolerate a demon like him for so long?"

  As soon as the name of Tai Qing Zhen Ren was mentioned, the voices of these disciples became much lower. One of them frowned and said: "It must be, it must be that the demon has used evil magic to deceive the master and the elders, and even deceived us!"

  "Yes, it's actually been so many years since we called him our senior brother... Bah, what kind of senior brother is he? He's clearly a demon! And who knows what kind of intentions he had when he secretly joined the Qinghua Sect?"

  "What's going on? Anyway, it's not good intentions. Now that we're at odds with the demon world, this is when the fox... no, the demon tail appears!"

  After all the discussions, the "Big Brother" that was still on everyone's lips suddenly turned into a "Demon" who deserved to be punished. The eyes of those Qionghua disciples looking at Xuanzhen also changed from initial shock to disgust and hatred.

  Xuan Zhen originally just stared at them blankly, but those hateful and detestable eyes seemed like a knife, making him feel it clearly even in his blurred vision. His already numb heart was covered with an air of desolation.

  It's all over, the Qionghua Sect... with this appearance of mine, how can I still return there? Moreover, I mistakenly killed my own fellow disciple and junior brother... perhaps it would be best to just forget about each other in the jianghu.

  He turned his head and looked at Gui Xie, from afar he saw the same answer in the eyes of that man. Humans and demons were always on different paths...

  Xuan Zhen lowered his eyes, let out an inaudible sigh, filled with pain and confusion, and silently turned away.

  Who would have thought that at this moment, a burst of sound came from behind his head, he hurriedly turned back, and in front of him was a dazzling array of colors, among which were various spiritual energies and true powers, stabbing towards his vital points.

  As the sword pierced into flesh with a slight whoosh, as blood splattered and crimson pupils suddenly contracted into two thin lines, extreme astonishment and agony collided in his heart, ultimately transforming into boundless fury and madness.

  So it was they who refused to let themselves go!

  Xuan Zhen covered the wound, and the scorching pain burned all over his body. Even though he had dodged in time to avoid the fatal blow, the bloodstains on his clothes were still shocking. What was even more astonishing was that his fellow disciples had launched a sneak attack from behind!

  "Monster, accept your death!"

  Another shout came from the crowd.

  This sound was like a pair of scissors, cutting off the last string that Xuan Zhen's brain was desperately clinging to.

  The author has something to say: Thank you for the messages from Yishuihan, Lulu, Suimianxie, Cheng, Weixiao, Huawu, Chengzi, Shimeng, Jiwushuang is a sister, Fuchengxiuke, Ko, Yizui Nanhuang, Mingfei Tai, Qinyouyin, Fengyou, CJ's Xizi, Feiyangde Ye, Sanman de Filuoji, Yunhai Piaoping, Shuixin, Lixia Liangu (Traditional Chinese is unable to... what is the third word?) and others~~~ Special thanks to CJ's Xizijun and a certain unnamed person (this...) who threw down landmines, here's a gift (づ￣3￣)づ~~~ one

  P.S. I'm really sorry for making everyone wait so long, but I'm super happy because the annoying mid-term exams are finally over!!!