Chapter 122: Calamity Cannot Be Escaped

Duan Jiuzhang had already shut his eyes tightly, his face filled with grief.

Unable to bear the tragic sight before him any longer, he wished only for a swift death.

Although fear lingered in Li Qing's eyes, the fury burning within his chest seemed ready to burst forth from his body.

His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Zuo Yan, wishing he could tear the man apart with his bare hands.

But the gap in strength between them was simply too vast.

In the end, there was nothing he could do.

"Open your eyes..."

Zuo Yan looked at Duan Jiuzhang with an indifferent expression. His tone carried an unquestionable mockery.

No matter how desperately Duan Jiuzhang resisted, it was all in vain.

His eyelids were forcibly pried open by an unfathomable power of Creation. The corners of his eyes split apart as two streams of bloody tears slowly ran down his darkened face.

"I want you to watch with your own eyes..."

"...as your juniors are crushed one by one like insects."

Bang!

Without the slightest warning, Li Qing did not even have time to cry out before the immense force unleashed by Zuo Yan instantly detonated his body.

Scarlet blood mist mixed with shattered fragments of flesh rained down, splattering both Li Shun and Duan Jiuzhang from head to toe.

Duan Jiuzhang's throat convulsed violently. He seemed desperate to hurl one final curse, but his voice was completely choked off. Not a single word escaped his lips.

The light in his eyes faded away bit by bit, as though all hope had finally left him.

Seeing Duan Jiuzhang surrender to despair so quickly, Zuo Yan immediately lost interest.

But after carefully examining Li Shun, it seemed he had discovered a new toy.

"Why aren't you afraid?"

Tilting his head, Zuo Yan asked with genuine curiosity.

For the first time, a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.

By all rights, a mere ant at the Mortal Physique realm who had personally witnessed such a hellish scene should have long since lost all courage, collapsing to the ground to beg for mercy.

Yet Li Shun...

To allow him to answer, Zuo Yan even deliberately restrained the mountain-like pressure of Creation surrounding him.

Finally able to move again, Li Shun wiped the blood from his face before raising his head to meet Zuo Yan's gaze.

There was not the slightest fear in his eyes.

Instead, he said coldly, "You may break a man's body, but can you seize his will? Though we die, the Dao shall endure for eternity."

"As for you..."

"Those who walk against the Dao only climb higher to fall harder. Your dead end already lies before you, yet you still bark like a mad dog. Why should I fear you?"

Zuo Yan merely shook his head slightly.

Having reached his current realm, he was naturally beyond being provoked by a few sharp words.

"I thought you might say something interesting."

"But in the end, it's still the same worn-out Confucian rhetoric."

"No matter how eloquent your tongue..."

"No matter how beautifully you decorate your words..."

"This world has always belonged to the strong."

His interest in Li Shun instantly vanished.

Slowly raising a hand, Zuo Yan looked at him with open ridicule.

"If I kill you..."

"So what?"

"Where is your justice?"

"Where is your Dao?"

His fingertip slowly descended.

At that very instant, the dispirited Duan Jiuzhang, who had seemed to have accepted his fate, suddenly erupted with a violent aura of utter self-destruction.

It was the radiance born from igniting every remaining year of his lifespan and every shred of his cultivation.

At this moment, Duan Jiuzhang no longer resembled a dying old man.

Instead, he was like an endless sea of rice fields suddenly set ablaze, vibrant green life wrapped within flames capable of burning heaven and earth alike.

This desperate final strike actually tore open the Creation restriction Zuo Yan had established.

"Run!"

Duan Jiuzhang roared.

Grabbing Li Shun out of thin air, he exhausted the very last trace of his strength and hurled him toward the distant horizon.

At the same time, his own body transformed into an incomparably brilliant mass of light.

Carrying the final dignity of a Celestial Phenomena cultivator of the Agricultural School, he charged fearlessly toward Zuo Yan.

Within that radiant brilliance, Duan Jiuzhang's flesh rapidly dissolved and shattered before disappearing completely.

Only a boundless sea of dazzling light remained, attempting to carve out a sliver of hope for Li Shun's survival.

Yet in the face of the final life-burning attack of a Celestial Phenomena expert, Zuo Yan remained completely unhurried.

Only cold mockery filled his eyes.

He casually flicked his sleeve.

In an instant, the endless sea of brilliant light froze completely in midair.

Time itself seemed to stop.

Even Li Shun, who had already become a streak of light fleeing desperately toward the horizon, was abruptly seized by an invisible hand and suspended motionlessly in the sky.

"Now that I have attained the Dao..."

As Duan Jiuzhang's life-consuming brilliance faded, Zuo Yan's figure once more emerged.

He was completely unharmed.

Even his robes remained spotless.

"Where my cloud passes..."

"...all living things perish."

He spoke indifferently, without the slightest trace of emotion.

At the edge of the horizon, Li Shun's body exploded with a deafening blast, transforming into a cloud of blood-red mist that slowly drifted downward.

At the same moment, every last spark of life remaining within the entire Yunguan County was completely extinguished.

Silence instantly fell upon Yunguan County.

Not a single sound remained.

Zuo Yan stood quietly atop the ruins for a long time.

Only after confirming that no living presence remained did he finally turn around with lingering disappointment and drift away.

Yunguan County had become a true land of death.

Night descended.

The setting sun bled crimson across the sky.

At last, the day came to its end.

'I Examine Myself Thrice Each Day.'

The vast, ancient voice echoed once more.

Time reversed.

The Second Reflection.

...

Yunguan County.

In front of the granary.

Li Shun abruptly opened his eyes, his aura surging violently.

"Hm? Brother, what's wrong?"

Noticing something was off, Li Qing asked with concern.

Li Shun seemed to remain trapped within the hellish memories of the previous Reflection.

Only after a long while did he finally regain his composure.

"We can't interfere with what happens in Yunguan County."

"We leave. Right now."

Li Shun spoke in a low voice.

Li Qing froze in place.

His face filled with bewilderment.

"Brother, what's gotten into you? Why'd you suddenly change your mind?"

"And why are we running? If we leave, what about Senior Duan? What about all the people of Yunguan County?"

His voice was full of confusion.

Li Shun could only use the fastest method possible, transmitting everything through divine sense.

He explained the existence of Threefold Self-Reflection, along with everything that had happened during the previous Reflection.

"If we stay..."

"We'll only die for nothing."

"We'll only become a burden to Senior Duan."

Li Qing's face gradually turned deathly pale.

Looking into Li Shun's solemn eyes, he struggled for a moment before finally giving a heavy nod.

The brothers mounted their horses beneath the oppressive darkness.

"Hyah!"

The two steeds galloped side by side toward the city gates.

The wind howled past their ears.

They traveled through the night for what felt like an eternity.

When dawn finally began to break, Li Shun vaguely made out the outline of a city ahead.

His heart relaxed slightly.

But the instant he recognized it, his heart violently contracted.

The towering city walls...

The familiar aura of death...

"Yunguan County?"

"How did we end up back here?"

Li Qing's face also turned pale with horror.

Li Shun lowered his head to look at the Moonlit White Horse beneath him.

Realization struck immediately.

"Even this beast has had its mind clouded by the tribulation aura."

"It unknowingly ran us in a complete circle."

Li Shun immediately jumped from the saddle.

"Abandon the horses!"

"We run on foot!"

The brothers discarded their mounts without hesitation.

Although Li Shun could also fly, his speed was too slow and the consumption far too great.

Li Qing could only carry him on his back.

The two brothers raced along the path they had come from.

At last, they neared the boundary of Yunguan County.

"Faster!"

Sensing the distant fluctuations spreading from Yunguan County behind them, Li Shun's expression changed slightly.

But in the very next instant...

The two brothers were crushed to pieces by an invisible force.

Their bodies exploded into countless clouds of blood mist.