Die with Unclosed Eyes

"God?"

"Hahahaha!"

Xu Zhu burst into mad laughter.

"Gods are beings of legend—perhaps not even real!"

"Stop with your scare tactics!"

His eyes burned with hatred as he glared at the black-robed figure before him, roaring, "If you're truly a god, then prove it! Make the Moonlit Isle collapse before my eyes!"

The black-robed man looked at him as if he were a fool.

With a mere flick of his hand—

BOOM!

A deafening roar erupted across Moonlit Isle.

The Moonlit Tower crumbled instantly, and as it fell, enormous fissures—like gaping chasms—spread across the island, swallowing the land at terrifying speed.

At the same time, towering tsunamis, as high as the heavens, surged from all directions like crushing mountains.

It was as if a colossal beast had emerged from the depths, intent on devouring Moonlit Isle whole.

The island shattered into ruin.

"What?!"

Xu Zhu’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

The elders of Moonlit Sect scrambled like ants on a hot pan, desperate yet helpless, their hearts drowning in despair.

"It’s a god… It really is a god!"

The crowd wailed in terror.

For Moonlit Isle to fall into such calamity in an instant—only a god could wield such power with a mere gesture.

Even a Sage’s influence over the world would take time to manifest.

"My lord, spare us! Have mercy!"

The people of Moonlit Isle knelt, weeping and begging like madmen.

Bai Ji, now reduced to nothing but a flickering Dao Heart, darted around in panic, his mind on the verge of collapse. "Father! Aaaaah! Save me! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I’m the next island lord of Moonlit Isle!"

Xu Zhu, still on his knees, trembled violently, his eyes bloodshot.

He seethed with resentment.

An unbearable, suffocating resentment.

He couldn’t fathom how things had come to this.

Lifting his crimson gaze, he snarled, "So what if you’re a god? Does that give you the right to slaughter the innocent?"

"Moonlit Isle has never crossed you! What ‘defiance of the God’s will’? This is just an excuse for your wanton killing!"

"Yes! Exactly!" Bai Ji, now just a Dao Heart, chimed in frantically. "You’re murdering innocents! Even gods will face divine retribution for this!"

Father and son, knowing they stood no chance, resorted to provocation—a desperate bid for survival.

The black-robed man’s lips curled in mockery.

"Very well. Let you die with clarity."

He waved his hand.

An image materialized above the crowd.

The moment they saw it, everyone froze in shock.

Xu Zhu and Bai Ji turned deathly pale, as if struck by lightning.

"Him?"

"It’s him… How could it be him?"

The father and son muttered in horror.

The figure in the vision was none other than Yi Feng.

Now, they understood why these black-robed men had come—it was all because of Yi Feng.

"My master personally appointed Feng Qianyue as island lord and commanded you to support her."

"Yet you defied his decree and conspired against her the moment he left. Tell me—do you deserve death?"

"Since my master has no time to deal with you, it falls to his servants to settle this matter."

As the voice spoke, Lu Benwei took a single step forward.

With that step—

BOOM!

The bodies of Moonlit Sect’s fleeing elders exploded into bloody mist.

From the carnage, countless Dao Hearts wailed and scattered like frightened locusts, each bearing a tiny, terrified face.

But the sky ignited with towering flames, trapping them all.

In that moment—

The Dao Hearts contorted in agony, their spectral faces twisting as they fled in vain through the inferno. The fire licked at their souls, reducing them to ash.

A symphony of screams filled the air, chilling to the bone.

Soon, the elders of Moonlit Isle—bodies and Dao Hearts alike—were erased from existence.

Of the once-mighty Moonlit Sect, only Xu Zhu and Bai Ji remained.

Xu Zhu’s heart twisted with regret.

He had assumed Yi Feng would never learn of their betrayal.

He never imagined it would bring such annihilation.

Nor had he ever guessed Yi Feng’s true nature.

No wonder… No wonder Yi Feng had effortlessly obtained the Death Legacy, untouched for countless ages.

Had he known, he would have gladly served Feng Qianyue. Perhaps then, the future might have been—

A single misstep had doomed them all.

"Mercy! Spare me, my lord!"

Bai Ji’s Dao Heart darted forward, his spectral face contorted in desperation. "This wasn’t my fault! I wanted Feng Qianyue as island lord! It was this old fool! He poisoned my mind! Without him, I’d never have made such a grave mistake!"

Xu Zhu spat blood.

"You—!"

"You ungrateful wretch!"

He never dreamed his own son would betray him at the end.

Though his path had been misguided, everything he’d done had been for Bai Ji. He didn’t regret it—only that fortune had not favored him.

But Bai Ji’s betrayal shattered his last shred of resolve.

His Dao Heart collapsed.

Though his body, soul, and mind remained, he was now little more than a hollow shell.

"You old bastard! You dare scold me? If not for you, I wouldn’t be in this hell!" Bai Ji’s Dao Heart flared with hatred. Seizing the moment, it shot forth like a blade—

THUD.

Xu Zhu’s forehead was pierced.

His life force drained rapidly.

His dying eyes fixed on the Dao Heart hovering before him.

He had never imagined his own son would kill him.

But the Dao Heart didn’t spare him a glance, still pleading for its life:

"My lord! Look! I killed him! I killed this old fool! See? I’m not with him! You have to spare me now!"

Behind him, Xu Zhu’s pupils dilated.

He collapsed, his eyes wide open—unable to close even in death.

The black-robed man observed coldly, his amusement laced with scorn.

A skeletal white hand reached out, and Bai Ji’s Dao Heart was yanked into its grasp.

"Spare you?"

"You weren’t so humble earlier."

"Besides… shouldn’t you experience firsthand what you inflicted on others?"

Beneath the hood, a sinister smirk formed.

With a flick of the wrist, an invisible domain enveloped Bai Ji’s Dao Heart.

Inside, lightning crackled, flames roared, and chaotic energies raged.

"No! My lord! You promised! I killed my father! You have to let me go—!"

Bai Ji’s voice, shrill with terror, echoed from within.

Then—

"AAAAAH!"

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air as the forces within the domain consumed him.

"Help!"

"Help!"

"I was wrong, I’ll never do it again—let me out…"

"Let me out… I swear I’ll never dare again…"

"It was all my fault, I beg you, spare me…"

Pleas and cries filled the air.

At this moment, he was like a pitiful insect trapped in a cage, engulfed in flames and frozen in ice, yet utterly powerless to break free.

Until, at last, the entire Isle of Moon and Wind fell, and in unbearable agony and torment, he sank into the depths of the sea alongside it.

The sky held nothing but the retreating silhouette of a figure clad in black robes.