Chapter 353 344: No One Can Cross Celestial Dragon Mountain at Night

In front of the ruins of the Mountain God Temple, Song Ciwan listened as eleven non-human existences took turns telling their stories.

As she listened, one of her hands formed a seal, continuously maintaining the Wind and Thunder Technique and causing a sea of lightning to submerge the ruins before her.

Despite the lightning strikes, the ruins remained stubbornly intact. All the ruined materials—

such as the dilapidated wall panels, scattered bricks, and roof tiles shattered into countless pieces—should have long been pulverized by the lightning...

But the truth was, beneath the sea of lightning, these things were indeed being destroyed, but at an extraordinarily slow rate.

Song Ciwan knew this was an invisible contest of power.

She and her hidden opponent had, in fact, become locked in this invisible struggle.

Meanwhile, her other hand was still holding up the Mountain God Statue.

The tall Mountain God Statue rested in her palm, emitting a strange fluctuation from top to bottom.

This fluctuation was indescribable, possessing a sense of weight that was difficult for a human to bear. It was quite similar to what Song Ciwan had felt when she endured the curse of the Tiger-headed People, yet it wasn't entirely the same.

In Song Ciwan's understanding, this was likely a type of power unique to the "Divine Spirit" system.

It existed outside of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. As for what it was, specifically, Song Ciwan still couldn't quite grasp it.

She simply used immense Giant Power to grip the heavy Mountain God Statue tightly, preventing it from flying back into the Mountain God Temple.

As for the statue's weight—though it was clearly too heavy to be lifted by conventional human strength, Song Ciwan was somehow able to grip it firmly. On what basis could she do this?

The secret was rather profound—she was relying on the Heart Demon Seed in her Sea of Consciousness!

Yes, that Heart Demon Seed, which had extended a tiny sprout, suddenly began emitting a strange power at this very moment.

This strange power carried a keen sensitivity that touched the very soul, allowing Song Ciwan to maintain her firm grip on the Mountain God Statue!

Furthermore, while she was listening to the stories of Chang Wei and the other "people," her Heart Soul seemed to have detached from the immediate situation, observing everything from a higher perspective.

Chang Wei finished recounting his death, then looked at Zhou Feng with hatred. With a sob in his voice, he asked Song Ciwan, "Fairy, please judge. Did I truly deserve to die?"

Song Ciwan shook her head. "Looking at this matter alone, you couldn't be called a good man, nor a perfect one. You were at fault, but to say you deserved to die... it didn't go that far."

Of the eleven "people," Chang Wei was the first to die. Next, it was Zhang Qing's turn.

Zhang Qing also spoke of his death. His tale was even more bitter and filled with more hatred. Then, he too shed two streams of bloody tears and asked Song Ciwan, "Fairy, I also ask you to judge. Were my crimes so heinous that I deserved to die?"

Song Ciwan said, "You could have been spared the death penalty, but you couldn't have escaped punishment."

Zhang Qing roared, "But no matter what, my crimes weren't punishable by death, and I certainly shouldn't have been killed by him—by Zhou Feng! Isn't that right?"

Song Ciwan didn't speak again. The gazes of all eleven "people"—everyone except Zhou Feng himself—fixed squarely on him.

Once again, they voiced the question that had gone unanswered in their lifetimes: Why? Just why?

Zhou Feng's expression had been rigid and cold, but now he just scoffed. "I already told you the reason," he sneered. "You all just refuse to accept it, relentlessly hounding me for more, always thinking you deserve some other kind of answer."

"Hah. Everyone, why be so hypocritical? The very things you think weren't worth dying for are, in my eyes, crimes that warrant ten thousand deaths. That's all there is to it. If you refuse to believe it, what do you want? Do you need me to make up some convoluted, fake reason to placate you?

"Instead of constantly questioning me, you should be questioning yourselves. I, Zhou Feng, am dead. All of you are dead too. Why is that? Go on, you tell me!"

He looked at his former companions with an indescribable, peculiar expression—one that seemed to hold sympathy, pity, and yet also schadenfreude. The sarcasm in his eyes was too complex to put into words.

Luo Jing said, "I was the fifth to die. Fairy, I died from poison. At the moment of my death, I was filled with confusion, indignation, doubt, and resentment. But after dying and reawakening, it seems I've figured things out."

Indeed, he was the fifth to die. Logically, he shouldn't know how the others died after him, or why their entire party was wiped out... He shouldn't have the answers to these questions.

Yet Luo Jing now seemed to possess a keen insight that saw through everything. He said impassively, "Boss Guo, you knew perfectly well what kind of person I, Luo Jing, am, yet you refused to trust me. I never had any dissatisfaction with the share we discussed."

"Just as you said, everything I, Luo Jing, achieved was thanks to your guidance, Boss Guo. I, Luo Jing, am not an ungrateful person, but you didn't believe that. Just because someone stirred up trouble with a few words, you insisted on putting me to death."

"Are you really so easily provoked? No, you're not. You must have already been secretly suspicious of me. After Zhou Feng sowed his discord, you simply went with the flow and used it as a chance to kill me! Boss Guo, I, Luo Jing, died because of your deliberate scheming. I don't feel wronged at all!"

After he said this, all eyes turned to Guo Laojiang.

A grim solemnity settled over Guo Laojiang's weathered and once-kind face. He seemed about to say something, but Luo Jing cut him off.

Luo Jing continued, "As for what happened after my death, I'm guessing... Zhang Ashan, Ning Gang, Shi Meng—the three of you tried to avenge me, didn't you?"