Chapter 72

Lin Du often wondered why people wanted to live.

Life seemed devoid of meaning, yet when one truly wished to die, the fear of it was intense.

So, to survive and live well, some people would throw away all their bottom lines, forsake all their conscience, and deprive others of their lives and advantages.

To the heavenly path, these 197 people who entered the Lan Ju Realm were all people who should have died long ago, things that should not exist, and would inevitably be erased.

Lin Du couldn’t even use the formation to send ghosts to the underworld because the underworld refused them.

She asked, “Why must you live?”

“Is it worth living in such a way, devouring the flesh and blood of innocent people, becoming neither human nor ghost, enduring endless suffering, and living in such a manner?”

Qi Zhun spoke up, “Aren’t you also desperately trying to live? Otherwise, wouldn’t your body have died long ago?”

Lin Du nodded, “Yes, I should have died long ago.”

As she spoke, her expression remained emotionless as she withdrew her spiritual sense and then raised her hand to completely erase the ghostly soul.

It was at this moment that Mo Lin arrived. He hurriedly made his way with his sword staff, following the direction indicated by the disciple’s token, and was accompanied by the drifting figure of a white-clad woman.

During winter, he was sweating profusely, which was quite rare for a cultivator of the Cloud Treading Realm.

“Uncle Junior Master! I came to save you—”

But the sight before him made him halt in his tracks. The tone of his anxious and urgent voice abruptly stopped, even taking a sharp turn at the end.

“You—what is this…”

The young man in the gray robe stood in the golden formation. The metallic dark embroidery on his robe reflected a chilling light under the golden glow, depicting a pine and crane pattern. Although the robe was loose, it still conveyed a straight, upright posture.

The young master, known for lacking grace and propriety, seemed casual to others, but on him, it appeared elegant and carefree, likely due to that straight spine.

Not far from her, there was a “corpse,” lifeless and with a sunken chest, showing signs of extreme shock and suffering before death.

Compared to this scene, Mo Lin would rather believe that “Big Brother, Uncle Junior Master was captured by a monster.”

When Lin Du heard his question, she lazily turned her head to look at him, her voice unconsciously tinged with a bit of hostility, “Hmm?”

Sha Fei was about to speak but met Lin Du’s cold gaze.

That gaze was icy, devoid of warmth, with eyes as stark as black and white, yet the depth was as desolate as a winter night’s snowstorm. No one could directly face the harsh wind from the northern winter.

Sha Fei was startled and saw Lin Du raise a hand, revealing the formation before her and the thin layer of dense black pressed by the formation.

Mo Lin, seeing that look, mistakenly thought that his Uncle Junior Master had been possessed. He instinctively pointed his sword staff at Lin Du, “Come out! Which monster dares to take over our sect’s direct disciple?”

Lin Du shifted her gaze from Sha Fei to Mo Lin, her expression impassive, neither sad nor happy, her tone cold, “Which monster? It’s your weak and helpless Uncle Junior Master who was captured by a monster.”

Mo Lin put away his sword staff, relieved, almost thinking that his Uncle Junior Master had been possessed by a monster. The voice was unmistakably that of his Uncle Junior Master.

Although the tone was cold, the words were definitely something only his Uncle Junior Master would say.

“Uncle Junior Master, you’re not possessed by anything, right?”

Lin Du stroked her fingers, “There is.”

Mo Lin was about to step forward when he heard this and instinctively pointed his sword staff forward again.

Lin Du laughed, looking down at the sword staff that almost swept under her chin, “Nephew Master, I know you’re straightforward, but sometimes, could you be a bit more perceptive?”

Mo Lin saw the nonchalant smile on his Uncle Junior Master’s face, accompanied by a hint of impatience. He confirmed it was indeed his Uncle Junior Master.

She had smiled like that on New Year’s Eve in the inner room, with the same expression.

There was no mistake; it was indeed his Uncle Junior Master.

He put away the sword staff. The staff was long, with a wide sweeping range, and he was used to practicing with it, so he naturally performed a sweeping arc. With his straightforward personality, the staff was put away with a gust of wind.

Lin Du merely tilted her waist slightly to avoid it, but those behind her were not so lucky.

After a muffled sound, Mo Lin felt an obstruction. He turned around instinctively and saw the white-clad Sha Fei lying in the wind, falling to the ground.

This scene looked familiar but uncertain. He looked again.

“I’m sorry, Dao Friend Sha Fei, are you okay?”

Sha Fei struggled to get up from the ground, her palms aching from something pressing against them.

“I’m fine…”

Who would have thought there could be such risks from being so close.

“It’s good that you’re fine, but your fellow disciple seems to be in trouble,” Mo Lin clarified, “He seems… not well.”

Not just not well. His chest was caved in, and the ghostly soul was nearly compressed into a thin layer by Lin Du’s formation.

Although the ghostly soul did not have a definite physical form, it still occupied the space of a person. Now, it was being crushed into a thin piece of paper, and it was blackened paper at that.

Sha Fei said, “I am not his fellow disciple but merely a servant under his command. If not for the fellow Taoists of the Supreme Sect being here today, I would have risked seeking help, only to become a slave to this villain for the rest of my life. I must repay today’s kindness…”

While she spoke, Lin Du suddenly sensed something wrong, “What did you just touch?”

A corner of the formation’s power had skewed slightly.

But the formation’s calculations were extremely precise. When Sha Fei was thrown out, she instinctively used her qi to protect herself, which slightly altered the final weak point of the formation.

So, the previously balanced downward force had skewed.

Lin Du immediately mobilized her spiritual power, rapidly trying to correct the skewed force and restore the balance of the formation.

But the thousand-year-old ghost, being a seasoned veteran, erupted with its original power in an instant, breaking free from the restraints and quickly entering the body.

“Mo Lin! Kill!” Lin Du shouted, her voice echoing in the cold night, each word like falling hailstones.

Mo Lin acted immediately. Despite Sha Fei’s doubts, if this person had indeed captured the Uncle Junior Master, and the Uncle Junior Master said to kill, then it must be done.

The Xuanjin sword staff erupted with golden light, accompanied by a righteous and formidable wind, heading straight for the person on the ground.

In a flash, Sha Fei cried out in anguish, blood flowing from all seven orifices. She struggled to raise her hand to form a seal, and at that moment, the person on the ground also struck out a palm.

It was an ordinary palm, lacking any real force.

The sword staff struck the person’s face without any obstruction. With a cracking sound, the sword’s aura, like dark thunder, penetrated the person’s divine palace.

Lin Du had already concentrated all the formation’s power on Qi Zhun’s location, channeling all the formation’s energy into him with her folding fan.

The physical body was shattered, the divine palace destroyed, and the ghostly soul obliterated, leaving only dust settling.