Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 125: Equivalent Exchange

Fang Xiu struggled to keep his eyelids open, trying to see what was happening in front of him.

In truth, he felt absolutely miserable. The corruption from the Grave-Sealing E had drilled countless holes through his brain and then tossed it in a washing machine for a spin cycle. Combined with the high-intensity thinking throughout, his brain was practically reduced to powder.

If he still had a full body, he would’ve been vomiting violently by now.

In his expectations, Cen Ling didn’t have to die here.

From the Underworld’s perspective, keeping Cen Ling alive was more valuable than killing him. Mei Lan wasn’t stupid; she must have known this as well.

Now that the ritual was over, everyone might as well head back and rest and review. There were still two more rituals ahead. If Mei Lan could maneuver Cen Ling into participating once, he could do it again the second time.

But the way things developed still surprised him.

Even without the Substitution E, Mei Lan ignored her weakened body and charged at Cen Ling like a madwoman.

The silken scarf returned to her hand, transforming into a gleaming garrote. Cen Ling took two steps back, frowning, and a dagger silently slipped from his sleeve.

Neither of them said a word about returning to the Tower.

Guan He was the first to panic…

The “protection from all evil” shield had nullified everyone’s spells, stripping Cen Ling of his biggest advantage. But Mei Lan was a wounded woman without a strong build, and going up against a relatively healthy man wielding a blade looked suicidal.

Without thinking, Guan He put on the Jade Buddha and launched himself like a cannonball, trying to knock Cen Ling down before Mei Lan reached him. Cheng Songyun also put on her jade Buddha and rushed forward aggressively to help.

Cen Ling versus Mei Lan one-on-one was fine. One versus three, not so much.

Right in front of Ghost Immortal A’Shou, four humans devolved into a pure melee. A’Shou was exasperated. But everyone was still conscious, and no one had officially requested to return to the Tower. She couldn’t show bias.

Bai Shuangying gently patted the head he cradled in his arms and looked down with a questioning gaze.

“Don’t interfere,” Fang Xiu said firmly, eyes locked on the brawl in the distance. “Mei Lan isn’t stupid. She must have her reasons.”

Compared to the earlier explosions and spells, this fight was ugly. It looked more like a street brawl than a “battle”.

Guan He, headfirst, slammed into Cen Ling’s chest, grabbing for the dagger barehanded without thinking whether it was poisoned. Cheng Songyun dropped to the ground, wrapping herself around Cen Ling’s legs with a death grip.

The green glow had vanished from Mei Lan’s eyes. She stared fiercely at Cen Ling, her silken scarf aiming straight for his throat.

Cen Ling’s expression was stony. Using his strength, he shook off the underdeveloped Guan He, and without moving his feet, twisted his body at an extreme angle, dislocating Mei Lan’s left arm right off the bat.

Mei Lan bit back a scream.

Cen Ling’s eyes were red-rimmed, his rage no less than Mei Lan’s. “You betrayed us first. Then you got my younger brother killed. You will not leave here alive.”

Mei Lan sneered. “Wasn’t it you who sacrificed that little bastard? Didn’t you call that an ‘honor’?”

“Even if it was an honor, the time wasn’t right. If not for you, he wouldn’t have died so early.”

Cen Ling’s voice was cold and grave, his tone disturbingly self-righteous. “This is your sin. Your doing.”

“I must’ve been brain-dead to ever believe your bullshit.” Mei Lan laughed bitterly.

As she moved in close, Cen Ling’s gaze instantly locked onto the jade Buddha on her chest. Fueled by rage, he reached for it.

But it seemed Mei Lan had anticipated the move. She seized the opportunity to wrap her good arm around his neck and tightened with all her strength.

Cen Ling didn’t hesitate either. He drove the dagger deep into Mei Lan’s abdomen.

Already severely injured, her abdominal cavity was torn apart. Blood sprayed, and her organs began to spill out.

Still, Mei Lan clung to his neck as if her body weren’t her own.

Not far away, Bai Shuangying lost interest and looked away.

No matter how awe-inspiring the titles humans bore, their final moments of struggle usually devolved into something as primitive and savage as beasts tearing at each other. He had seen too many scenes like this. It bored him to no end.

In contrast, Fang Xiu was far more interesting.

Even as a severed head, he didn’t shout or try to intervene. Like Bai Shuangying, he watched in silence, with a strange sense of calm.

They watched Mei Lan and Cen Ling fall together, still tangled in each other’s blood and the shimmer of golden light. Mei Lan’s face had turned deathly pale from blood loss. Cen Ling’s face was blue from asphyxiation, his features twisted in agony.

Guan He scrambled over, used Mei Lan’s bloody fingertips, and activated his Jade Buddha, placing it on her. Mei Lan weakly blinked, showing a faint smile.

Cen Ling looked like he wanted to say something, but her stranglehold on his throat allowed not even a whisper.

No screaming, no explosions, no dramatic spectacle. The two just collapsed like that. Mei Lan finally lost all strength and released her grip. As soon as Cen Ling went still, Guan He looked about to celebrate…

“Ha.”

Cen Ling, who should have been dead, suddenly opened his eyes. “So this is what you were after.”

“Trading your life for a single move of mine—I accept that deal.”

A flood of yin energy burst from him, its strength on par with a ghost immortal. Even A’Shou furrowed her brow. This time, no one saw him draw power from any artifact.

On the contrary, despite using the Jade Buddha, Mei Lan showed no signs of recovery. She lay in a pool of blood, its radius expanding beneath her.

“I request to return to the Tower,” Cen Ling said coolly, rising amidst stunned silence.

A’Shou raised her hand wordlessly. A flash of light passed, and Cen Ling vanished from where he stood. The reversal had happened in an instant. Guan He’s joy hadn’t even fully appeared before it was gone.

Cheng Songyun panicked. She didn’t understand what it all meant, but she knew what to do.

“Come on, Miss, let’s get back to the Tower,” she said urgently, lifting Mei Lan’s head.

Cen Ling had run, fine, but Mei Lan was still alive. As long as she was breathing, the underworld could still save her.

Mei Lan gently shook her head.

A’Shou stepped forward and laid her hand on Mei Lan’s forehead. Her nails were painted, but her hand was broad and scarred.

After a moment, she sighed. “She can’t return.”

“Why not?!”

Guan He’s temper flared. “She’s still alive! You people said that if we’re alive, we can be saved! The jade Buddha was given by the Underworld too. Why didn’t it work?”

“Cen Ling somehow acquired a massive amount of yin energy and used it to temper his soul, bringing it close to the level of a ghost immortal,” A’Shou explained gravely, not bothered by Guan He’s attitude.

“When a mortal dies, the soul leaves the body and quickly deteriorates. But that man… his soul doesn’t even need a vessel after death.”

With a soul that powerful, it would be even easier for him to wield Immortal E and high-level spells.

No wonder Cen Ling hadn’t hesitated to force an Immortal E into his body and push toward ghost immortal status. Anyone else would’ve suffered massive damage doing so.

…That man wasn’t just a genius. He was a genius whose soul had been modified. A’Shou’s frown deepened. The Guishan Sect’s methods were stranger than she had thought. She would need to be even more cautious in the upcoming investigation.

“But what does that have to do with Mei Lan? Why can’t she leave?”

Guan He was nearly desperate, even reaching out to grab A’Shou’s sleeve.

A’Shou didn’t respond directly. She looked back at Mei Lan instead.

“If it weren’t for ‘protection from all evil’ blocking his spells, and you encountered that ‘resurrection’ move mid-ritual, you wouldn’t have stood a chance. You pushed him hard the whole time. Was it to force that ability out into the open?”

Mei Lan looked toward the collapsed tomb passage and nodded slightly.

“And… killing him… felt good…” she murmured.

“You must’ve known that the yin energy burst from his resurrection was extremely damaging to nearby souls. The others had their bodies to shield their souls. But in your case…”

Mei Lan, severely wounded and close to death, had an unstable soul. She had taken the brunt of that yin energy at close range. It was like standing naked in a snowstorm.

It wasn’t a spell. It didn’t even count as an attack. So “protection from all evil” couldn’t block it.

It didn’t damage her body. And Mei Lan hadn’t technically died yet. So the Jade Buddha couldn’t protect her either.

Her consciousness remained, but her soul was like a cooked bird egg. All that remained was to wait for it to rot.

A’Shou softened her voice and rephrased it. “Your soul is completely destroyed. Not even the Underworld can save you.”

“I understand,” Mei Lan replied softly.

Cheng Songyun looked shocked. Guan He looked from the conscious Mei Lan to A’Shou’s slightly shaking red veil, completely unable to accept it.

“But she’s still talking!”

He crouched beside Mei Lan, his face flushing red with urgency. “She’s just physically injured. Her mind is still clear. How can she be unsalvageable?”

A’Shou stood up. “In human terms, her condition is like someone who ‘drank paraquat’ or ‘received a fatal dose of radiation’.”

“She’s conscious, yes. But her body is unsalvageable. Replace ‘body’ with ‘soul’, and that’s her situation now.”

“Say your goodbyes properly,” A’Shou said softly.

Guan He stood there in a daze.

He had lost comrades before, but those had been sudden deaths, or deaths he hadn’t even witnessed. He had never experienced such a long, drawn-out farewell.

He instinctively turned to Fang Xiu. Bai Shuangying was approaching, still holding his head.

Yes. Fang Xiu. Maybe Fang Xiu could do something.

Fang Xiu twisted his neck with difficulty and looked at Mei Lan. He didn’t offer any miracle solution. He simply said, “Thank you.”

“I’ve already revealed everything I could…”

Mei Lan didn’t look at Fang Xiu. She kept her gaze up at the dark tomb ceiling. “I’m not as strong as Cen Ling. Not as smart as you…”

Fang Xiu, for once, didn’t deflect. “I truly didn’t know about his yin-soul cultivation. That’s critical information. If not for you, I would’ve suffered a major loss.”

Mei Lan smiled. “You really are… different… Even at a time like this…”

“You reported the Guishan Sect to the Underworld. You killed Cen Ling once. And you fought to expose one of his trump cards.”

Fang Xiu’s voice wasn’t mournful. It was as if they were having an ordinary conversation. “I don’t think you need my sorrow. You need my promise.”

“I’ll use the intel you left to completely destroy them,” he said firmly.

Mei Lan exhaled slowly. Some peace entered her eyes.

She moved her fingers and pushed the silken scarf toward Fang Xiu. “Let it… witness it…”

“Okay,” Fang Xiu said calmly.

Even Guan He, who idolized Fang Xiu, couldn’t help but find his calmness unnerving. He was about to say something when Fang Xiu spoke again, wearily.

“As one of the Guishan Sect’s victims, I’m willing to offer you one portion of forgiveness, and only one portion.”

“I will spare your soul, Mei Lan.”

“Thank you…”

She whispered, eyes still fixed on the collapsed tomb. Acrid smoke still filled the air, and the Samadhi Fire burned in the corners.

It was as if she had returned to the day of the car crash—the same darkness, the same smoke, the same fire.

…Now, finally, she could die on that day.

…With her parents.

Unfortunately, she had taken too many lives and committed too many sins. She probably wouldn’t see them again.

But at least, this way, her parents could believe she had lived a peaceful life.

That was enough.

“I’m sorry,”

She mumbled at the end, not even sure who it was meant for.

……

After everyone left, the tomb was empty. Not even half a ghost remained.

Mei Lan’s body lay in the ruined sacred ground. Nearby, a massive, bloodied evil spirit dragged itself closer. It was the dying Six Ghost Remnants Immortal.

Its huge body was mostly burned away, leaving only a deformed head and a charred torso. Drawn by the scent of a fresh corpse, it struggled forward, trying to devour her body.

Just as it reached out, a thunderous rumble echoed from the tomb. The sound seemed to come from the Underworld itself, booming rhythmically, shaking the entire tomb.

The Six Ghost Remnants Immortal didn’t retreat. It stood there, listening blankly to the terrifying knocking sounds.

Ah. That person.

That person…

As the resonance grew stronger, the tomb completely collapsed—not from an explosion or fire, but from total structural failure. The Six Ghost Remnants Immortal was instantly buried under thousands of tons of dirt and stone, completely immobilized.

Even buried, it maintained its upward-facing posture, staring longingly and sorrowfully into the darkness.

It had carried out its orders. Would he return?

Would he come back?

Inside the Disaster Relief Tower.

Having recovered his body, Fang Xiu turned over in bed and finally closed his eyes.

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The author has something to say:

This arc is over!

Two more arcs to go!!!

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