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墨書 Inktalez
Baliang raised his hand, intending to end it all, but Zhao Yang stopped him.
Ghost Path turned his gaze from the sky to Zhao Yang and said, "From the very beginning, you could have broken through my Ghost Gate Space and Dark Exile."
Zhao Yang nodded and replied, "I had already achieved Enlightenment during my Qi Refinement Stage."
Ghost Path showed no sign of shock; instead, he smiled slightly. "I knew it. When I competed with the Heavenly Dao, his Enlightenment Realm could see through all my movements, yet he couldn't match your Ripple of Enlightenment, which is as powerful as a great wind. You are stronger than him in terms of Enlightenment. However, do not underestimate him. I lost to him not because of his ability to Enlighten; he possesses a unique power that relates to my affliction. The people I killed are nothing compared to what he has done."
"Thank you for the reminder," Zhao Yang said.
"You're welcome," Ghost Path replied.
After saying this, Ghost Path smiled happily. He had never had such a conversation before. Since childhood, he had been reclusive due to his extraordinary talent for controlling ghosts and seeing things he shouldn't have seen. This made him a monster in everyone's eyes, and eventually, even his parents abandoned him.
He had questioned life and everything more than once and had grown to despise this world. Despite having powerful cultivation and enviable strength, he was trapped within Heavenly Mechanism Mountain. He hadn't entered for the Ten Thousand Methods Conference; he had been there for four years already.
During his time in Heavenly Mechanism Mountain, he raised many Hand Demons in Hell's Abyss Mud, specifically to devour passing cultivators and harvest their souls for his own cultivation while also nurturing his deteriorating body. Day after day, year after year, he became increasingly lonely. Killing was no different from squashing an ant; in fact, it was easier. All he needed to do was glance at someone he found displeasing and cast them into darkness, then quietly watch as they slowly went mad until they either committed suicide or died of fright.
This might have been the only joy left in his life.
Cultivators of the human race practicing Ghost Gate Forbidden Arts would find their bodies decaying further. If he continued to seize souls and switch bodies, his ghostly techniques would regress—a sight he did not wish to see, nor did Genius Academy or the royal family.
Thus, the higher-ups decided to confine him within Heavenly Mechanism Mountain for cultivation until the royal family found a method that would grant him the strongest physical body while allowing him to continue practicing Ghost Gate Forbidden Arts. Consequently, he was taken from the academy and locked away here; if he dared to escape on his own, Divine General would pursue him across thousands of miles and kill him.
He waited here day after day, year after year, until one day he heard from a passing window of Genius Academy that the mentors could not devise a suitable Cultivation Method for him. He would never reach Divine Transformation Stage; even if he did, he would die immediately afterward.
This filled him with rage—extreme anger—because he felt deceived. From a young age, people from Genius Academy had told him that learning Ghost Gate Forbidden Arts would make him the greatest prodigy in the world and a candidate for the Twelve Divine Generals, allowing him to become the ruler of this realm.
However, after he learned the Ghost Gate Forbidden Arts, his body became increasingly frail. Now, they had silently abandoned him, leaving him to wait for death in this desolate place.
His body could not withstand the toll of the Ghost Gate Forbidden Arts. The life consumption at the Divine Transformation Stage was far more severe than at the Core Formation Stage, and Ghost Path had already reached the Great Perfection of the Core Formation Stage. If he were to break through, he might soar to great heights, dazzling the world like a fleeting flower, but he would die immediately afterward.
After accumulating power for so many years, he believed that stepping into the Divine Transformation Stage would make it easy to kill the four people before him. Perhaps this young man would not even be his match. Yet he hesitated because that young man had once said something—perhaps we could become friends.
And now he was about to die; he had never had a friend in his life.
"I'm going to die," Ghost Path said weakly, his gaze drifting away from Zhao Yang and towards the grass nearby, where vibrant morning glories bloomed under the spring sun. He was afraid of being rejected.
"I know," Zhao Yang nodded.
"It's not because of you; it's just that I was meant to die. I've been at Core Formation Stage Great Perfection for two years now. If I don't break through soon, I'll be consumed by the power of Ghost Path and die. But if I do break through, I will also die from the same consumption."
Zhao Yang was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Ghost Path to be in such a predicament.
"As I said, the world is fair. To gain one thing is to lose another. The immense power has brought me endless loneliness and darkness while robbing me of my life," Ghost Path's voice grew weaker.
"You deserve this; you've never regarded others' lives as valuable," Scholar Xiu interjected.
Ghost Path's face turned even paler. The Chaos True Qi had closed off his meridians, making it impossible for him to sustain the life he needed. Weakly, he said, "Yes, just as they do not regard my life as valuable. Isn't that how the cultivation world works?"
The cultivation world was indeed like this; human lives were as insignificant as grass. The strong could harvest the lives of the weak at will. No matter how talented one was, if an elder wished to suppress them or take their life, it would be easy. Without a powerful backing or strong influence for protection, how strong could a person truly be?
Could he argue with the Twelve Divine Generals? It was rumored that their cultivation was extraordinary, perhaps not weaker than the Central Sovereign. Some had even reached the Tribulation Period; they could kill with just a glance.
Ghost Path's consciousness began to blur. He looked up at the sky, his lips slightly parted, then turned back to Zhao Yang and softly asked, "Can I be your friend?"
Scholar Xiu was about to speak again about his unworthiness, for just moments ago, they had nearly perished at his hands. Each of them had been trapped in a dark space for months, their minds on the brink of collapse. This was something he could not forget, nor could he forgive Ghost Path. No one knew the terror and pain of that endless darkness and the absence of sound, but Zhao Yang stopped him.
Zhao Yang nodded in agreement, willing to befriend Ghost Path.
Tears streamed down Ghost Path's face as he looked at the boy before him. His gaze was pure as water, comforting to behold, like the bright light of spring—devoid of deceit.
"I still don't know your name," came Ghost Path's weak voice as he lingered on the edge.
"My name is Zhao Yang. What about you?" Zhao Yang asked sincerely, like two boys just starting middle school, sitting together for the first time.
"I forgot. I really forgot. I'm sorry," Ghost Path replied. He had been called Ghost Path by the people of Genius Academy since he was very young; over the years, he had even forgotten his own name. This was not how one should converse when making friends, and it might make the other feel he was insincere, so he apologized. "I don't like the name Ghost Path, nor do I like the Cultivation Method of the Underworld."
Nangong Wuxin, Song Baliang, and Scholar Xiu watched quietly, finally realizing how pitiful and sad Ghost Path truly was.
"It's okay," Zhao Yang said without concern.
"Thank you," Ghost Path's voice was barely audible as tears fell from his eyes. He slowly closed them, yet a faint smile lingered on his face, a peaceful expression settling over him.
Zhao Yang remained silent, watching as Ghost Path passed away, lost in thought. Nangong Wuxin, Song Baliang, and Scholar Xiu were unsure of what Zhao Yang was contemplating; they knew he possessed a strong sense of compassion and thus stood quietly behind him in silence.
With a flick of his fingertip, Zhao Yang summoned a wisp of Earth Fire that turned Ghost Path's body into ashes as it lay upon the rock. Then he turned with the three others and set off toward Heavenly Mechanism Mountain.
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