Whether Life or Death, It All Comes Down to Fate

In the wilderness, tribulation clouds filled the sky.

The five strongest experts of the age stood with their clothes in tatters and their bodies covered in wounds, yet the pressure radiating from them was still enough to make heaven and earth bow before them. To Medusa and Ye Xiaoxi, they were nothing more than five somewhat larger grasshoppers.

They could kill them with their pressure alone, without even lifting a finger.

“Whatever the case, since they are his wife and daughter, we should still show them the respect they deserve.” Liu Shuyan’s eyes were cold as he gathered a strand of tribulation light in his right hand.

If you failed to eliminate the roots, the weeds would grow back when the spring wind blew.

“Do you have any last words?” Liu Shuyan asked icily, the tribulation light in his hand radiating an aura capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Medusa remained silent.

Her mind was in chaos. She simply could not believe that Ye Shu—the man who had battled heaven and earth, who always wore a smile as though everything was under his control—could actually have died.

How was that possible?

“Looks like you have nothing to say.”

Seeing that she remained silent, Liu Shuyan did not bother saying anything else.

He could not leave Medusa and Ye Xiaoxi alive. Ye Xiaoxi was still young, yet she had already reached the Void Refinement realm. Given enough time, she might become a second Ye Shu. It was better to kill her now.

He raised his hand and lightly tapped the air with his index finger.

A jet-black ray shot from his fingertip, flying straight toward Medusa.

“Mother, watch out!”

Ye Xiaoxi’s pupils contracted, and she immediately stepped in front of Medusa.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking stone rang out. A streak of golden light pierced through the incoming ray, snapping it into two before it vanished completely.

“Who is it?!”

When his attack failed, Liu Shuyan was both shocked and enraged.

How could there possibly be another opponent of his level at a time like this? Could it be… that person?

He abruptly turned around and looked toward the direction from which the golden light had come.

Medusa also raised her head and gazed toward it, her eyes filled with hope.

Was it him?

No—it was him!

At the distant edge of the sky, a middle-aged man with two horns growing from his head and dressed in a golden-black robe strode through the air. He walked toward them with a carefree, unsteady gait.

“Well, well. I almost arrived too late.”

Liu Shuyan’s pupils contracted, and his heart was filled with indescribable shock.

“It’s you?!”

“Ao Kun!”

The patriarchs of the other great clans also revealed looks of astonishment. They stared at him in disbelief, their voices trembling as they cried out, “You’re still alive? How is that possible?!”

“What?” Ao Kun spread his arms and smiled faintly at them. “Surprised to see me? While I was gone, you mangy mutts certainly got bold.”

He had clearly come with hostile intentions.

Liu Shuyan and the others narrowed their eyes, their expressions turning grim.

Their current condition was far from their peak. Although they had won the battle just now, it had been a dangerous and bloody victory. Ao Kun, on the other hand, was a pure-blooded true dragon whose body was comparable to that of a True Immortal. If a fight really broke out, the five of them together might not even be his match.

This was going to be difficult—very difficult.

At the same time, Little Fairy Doctor and the others finally arrived.

“Father, why didn’t you wait for me?” Ao Xue flew in from the horizon and shot Ao Kun an annoyed look. Then, she immediately spotted Medusa and Ye Xiaoxi below. Unable to contain herself, she landed in front of them and asked, “Where’s that bastard? Why don’t I see him? Don’t tell me your auntie arrived too late.”

“He… he…”

Medusa’s throat was unbearably dry, and her voice was heavy as she said, “He’s dead.”

“What… what?”

The sudden news struck the women like a bolt from a clear sky. They all stared wide-eyed, their expressions frozen.

“Who did you say was dead?”

Jiang Xin reacted the most violently. She rushed over and grabbed Medusa by the collar, her eyes bloodshot.

“I came all this way, went through countless hardships, and even freed this damn Dragon King just so I could come back and see him as soon as possible! And now you’re telling me he’s dead?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!!!”

“I’m telling the truth.” Medusa’s expression dimmed, her voice low and heavy. At this point, she no longer even had the energy to feel jealous. He was dead. What point was there in fighting over him now?

“He died protecting us. The people from the five great clans joined forces and killed him.” Medusa’s voice was filled with grief as she delivered the despairing news.

“What did you say?!”

Ao Xue suddenly turned around and glared at the patriarchs of the great clans in midair. Her teeth were clenched, and blazing fury burned in her eyes.

“These ugly bastards killed that moron?!”

She turned to Ao Kun and shouted angrily, “You old fossil, kill them for me!”

“Huh?”

Ao Kun looked bewildered. “That fast? You’re not even going to exchange a few pleasantries first? Very well.”

He shook his head, clenched his fists, and looked toward Liu Shuyan and the others, whose expressions had become even uglier.

“Then let’s have a little warm-up.”

……

At the same time, several thousand kilometers away, on a vast snowfield—

“Master, my junior brother’s wife and daughter are still back there. Is it really all right for us to flee with him like this? What if those people go after them? Shouldn’t we go help?”

Amid the ice and snow, a young man in a Daoist robe dragged a charred corpse on a sled behind him. He looked worriedly toward the ragged old Daoist walking ahead.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

The old Daoist reached back and smacked him on the head. “Go help them? Have you looked at these old bones of mine?”

“Are you actually trying to get your master killed?”

“Master, that’s not what I meant.” The young man rubbed the top of his head and glanced back uneasily. “I’m just worried that if we leave like this, they’ll be in danger.”

“Put your mind at ease.”

The old Daoist looked back toward the distant thunderclouds. “Someone will go protect them.”

With that, he cracked his whip against the young man’s buttocks.

“Move faster. Once your junior brother’s body goes completely cold, then he really will be beyond saving.”

The young man cried out and charged forward with the sled rope over his shoulder. The old Daoist followed at a leisurely pace, his gaze sweeping over the charred corpse on the sled as he let out a sigh.

“Young people these days… truly remarkable. Truly remarkable.”

The two hurried onward. The old Daoist’s whip cracked loudly through the air, and before the time it took to burn a stick of incense, they arrived at a towering snow-capped mountain.

Halfway up the mountain was a cave entrance. Inside the cave lay a hot spring, its water emerald-green and crystal-clear, steaming with heat. At a glance, it was obviously no ordinary spring.

After the young man dragged Ye Shu into the water, he looked at the old Daoist and asked, “Master, will this Heavenly Spring really work? No matter how miraculous it is, it can’t bring a dead man back to life, can it?”

“Who said your junior brother was dead?!”

The old Daoist glared at him irritably. “Stop saying such unlucky things. He’s only been dead for a little while. His soul hasn’t yet left his body. He may look cooked on the outside, but he’s still raw inside.”

“……”

The young man was speechless.

What kind of analogy was that? He might as well have said Ye Shu was a frozen roast pig—burnt on the outside, but still frozen within.

Suppressing his complaints, the young man asked, “Then does that mean Junior Brother can be saved?”

“That remains to be seen.”

The old Daoist shook his head and sighed as he looked at Ye Shu.

“They call him a peerless genius. He mastered the art of the Three Corpses, yet his good self perished while his evil self endured. With the fires of karma still burning and his sins not yet atoned for, whether he can truly come back to life will depend on his fate.”

“Everyone must overcome the trial within their own heart.”