Chapter 365

Chapter 365: I Am Willing to Be Cursed for You

Zhang Yang felt as if his head was about to explode.

What on earth was happening?

First, there had been a cracked grave with a half-celestial, half-demonic being that seemed connected to Bing Yuyan’s past life. And now suddenly Yaoruoxian?

And she was inside a lotus.

The lotus was in full bloom, and Yaoruoxian lay at its center, sleeping peacefully, like a sleeping beauty.

Instinctively, it felt as if she was one with the lotus—or perhaps the lotus had shaped her. The entire scene was both mysterious and unfathomable.

“Is that really Yaoruoxian?”

“No… it can’t be. Yaoruoxian is undergoing her ultimate transformation, how could she appear here?”

“Not her, then. Could it be… another past life?”

“But… are past lives even real?”

Zhang Yang’s thoughts spiraled into chaos.

The Stone Monkey. The half-celestial, half-demonic figure. This lotus-bound Yaoruoxian.

It all felt like fragments of a single story of past and present lives intertwining.

But he, too, had experienced glimpses of past and present lives in the Abyss of the Buried Immortals.

Not long ago, he had even heard the words: “the end of reincarnation.”

His mind reeled.

Suddenly, a word emerged in his thoughts: “Tribulation.”

Tribulation?

Nine Battles Tribulation.

The phrase came to him instinctively, as if guided without him even considering the Ascending to Heaven calamity or the Opening the Sky calamity.

Just then, the lotus Yaoruoxian seemed to emit a voice, cold, proud, distant from the world exactly like her own.

“What is the tribulation?”

“Is this another tribulation meant for me?”

“Am I already caught within one, without even realizing it?”

“I… Ah!”

Lost in thought, Zhang Yang suddenly felt a sharp pain on his rear, snapping him back to reality. He turned toward the grave, but the lotus Yaoruoxian had vanished.

He turned to see Bing Yuyan glaring at him.

“Why are you shouting Yaoruoxian’s name?” she snapped. “With me right here, you’re still talking about other women? Do you want to get hit? Next time, I won’t hold back!”

Zhang Yang blinked, finally snapping out of it.

How had he been so thoroughly distracted by a seemingly ordinary grave? Was it the connection to Yaoruoxian’s Nine Battles Tribulation? Had it thrown him off that much?

But then again was there really a lotus in that grave? A woman who looked exactly like Yaoruoxian?

He wasn’t sure anymore.

“Quick, let’s get out of here,” he said, barely able to stay calm.

He had no idea what was happening, only that something dangerous was pulling him in.

Bing Yuyan seemed to sense the same.

Their pace quickened. They coordinated flawlessly, working together to overcome the graveyard’s lingering effects, no longer pausing, no longer glancing at any other graves.

Until they came upon a path that was blocked by another grave, one they simply couldn’t ignore.

This grave also had cracks.

But unlike the others, it appeared oddly peaceful inside. No strange illusions or oppressive forces, only a strange sense of awe and surprise.

“…The sun?”

They spoke at the same time.

Within the grave, a massive sun hung suspended in the sky.

But it was dimmed, covered in deep cracks, as if weighed down by sorrow stretching across eons.

The moment they realized what they were seeing, they quickly looked away, refusing to gaze any longer.

Because a sound echoed all around them, soft, broken… as though the sun itself was weeping.

They pressed on, not daring to look back, moving past the grave swiftly.

But just as Zhang Yang rounded the grave, he felt dazed. Visions of the sinking sun and extinguished flames flashed through his mind.

The illusion lasted only an instant.

He felt the fourth lamp within his bloodline world flicker in the starlit sky bringing his mind back into focus.

In his heart, the image of the dying flame continued to flicker.

It was a flame that longed to burn to live, to blaze brilliantly once more.

He felt a powerful connection to it.

And, somewhere deep inside, he understood.

He immediately sat down, and a fiery energy erupted around him.

Baxiang Saintly Fire!

Originally, his Baxiang Saintly Power had only been partially developed, but this time, his insight was extraordinarily sharp.

To Bing Yuyan’s astonishment, he advanced rapidly, his power reaching full development and stepping into Great Perfection.

The entire process unfolded before Bing Yuyan’s eyes. She watched with intense focus, her heart filled with excitement.

This breakthrough was yet another glimpse into the mysteries of the saintly path, deepening her comprehension of her own Realm of Thunder and Ice Path.

She almost couldn’t resist the urge to enter seclusion herself.

She knew she had gained immensely from this journey.

Once they returned, she would definitely retreat into seclusion to cultivate further.

In contrast to Bing Yuyan’s previous secluded cultivations, Zhang Yang awakened far more quickly within half a day.

Achieving full development was one thing; reaching Great Perfection was an entirely different challenge.

Even with the foundation of his fully developed Slaughter Thunder Saint Power, it still felt difficult, and that was how it should have felt.

The earlier ease had unsettled him, making him wonder if something had been left unresolved within him.

Zhang Yang stood up and extended his hand.

Bing Yuyan naturally reached out as well.

Their fingers intertwined.

Together, they moved forward.

The light ahead grew brighter, and a faint warmth in the air hinted at sunlight, prompting them to quicken their pace.

Yet, the faster they moved, the more cautious they became more reluctant to pay attention to the surrounding graves.

They pressed on, drawing ever closer to the land of sunlight.

Just then, an abrupt voice echoed in their ears.

“Entering this place without being possessed by madness makes it difficult to reach the sunlit land. Only one can embrace madness to help the other pass through the Chaos Demon’s calamity. Who among you is willing to accept madness for the other?”

As the voice faded, an elderly man, frail as a candle flickering in the wind, appeared beside a grave, blocking their path.

Bing Yuyan froze. Then she turned to Zhang Yang and smiled.

“I am willing to be possessed by madness for you.”

Zhang Yang’s heart raced. Was this femme fatale trying to make him cry?

Then, smack! He suddenly slapped the back of Bing Yuyan.

The sound echoed loudly.

Bing Yuyan blinked, stunned.

Zhang Yang shouted angrily, “Are you crazy? Don’t fall for his words! Don’t forget, you’re a femme fatale! If he tries to force us, we’ll just get rid of him!”

Bing Yuyan immediately snapped out of it. The true nature of the femme fatale surged forth as she responded, “Get rid of him!”

When they looked again, there was no old man, only a dark stone tablet shaped like an elderly figure standing before them.

“This must be the way out!” Bing Yuyan exclaimed joyfully.

Zhang Yang laughed heartily. “We made it out!”

They remembered what Tiger Howl Wind had once said about the Chaos Demon’s Graveyard, how a stone tablet sealed the darkness within and protected the Falling Star Mountain Range.

This had to be it.

A stone tablet that was a terrifying force within, yet a guardian from the outside, a perfect embodiment of yin and yang in balance.

Filled with joy, the two stepped past the stone tablet, leaving behind the dark and frigid place.

Outside, the sun hung high, its rays warm upon their skin.

They exchanged excited glances, their hearts surging with exhilaration.

They had safely exited the Chaos Demon’s Graveyard.

Together through life and death, hand in hand, they had crossed what seemed like a simple path—but one filled with deadly trials.

Gazing at one another with excitement, Bing Yuyan warned:

“Don’t you dare mention that I almost accepted madness, or I’ll make you regret it.”

Zhang Yang blinked, grinning. “How would you deal with me?”

Bing Yuyan’s cheeks flushed a soft, charming red.

Heavenly Reaching Mountain.

Everything appeared the same as before. No one knew that Zhang Yang and Bing Yuyan had just survived a deadly calamity.

They chose not to speak of it, but deep down, they were left with pressing questions, about the Spirit Saint Stone veins, and the tribulations within the Chaos Demon’s Graveyard.

Who was behind all this?

Could it be the moon-returning dragon?

Though there was no direct evidence, scattered clues surrounded them.

Bing Yuyan had already gone into seclusion.

Yet Zhang Yang still found himself pulled into one situation after another, leaving him speechless, almost as if the luck he’d received from the Four Lamps had vanished right after his fully developed Slaughter Thunder Saint Power and the awakening of his Divine Gold Holy Body.

In its place came only misfortune.

So unfortunate, he couldn’t even focus on his cultivation.

Unfortunate enough that the Spirit Saint Stones became lethal traps.

Unfortunate enough to be transported into the deadly depths of the Chaos Demon’s Graveyard.

Fortune and misfortune had both arrived with the moon-returning dragon’s invitation.

And now, it seemed even that fortune had taken a pause.