Chapter Sixty: My Heart is Free of Guilt

  Killing intent!

  This is a very vague and elusive thing. It can't be seen or touched, yet it exists in reality. Whether you want to kill someone, an animal, or even just step on an ant, as long as the thought of killing arises in your mind, then what's called "killing energy" will definitely be produced, without exception. Of course, the intensity of the killing energy produced by killing a person and stepping on an ant is absolutely not the same. And the killing energy specifically directed at a specific target cannot be fully sensed or felt by a third party, it's possible that they won't feel anything at all. However, for someone like Jiu Qian Sui who is an extremely skilled master, there is no difference between the two.

  Yang Zhao's boundary was not yet at that level, so naturally he didn't know anything about it. However, Fan Qinghui could be considered one of the top masters of this generation. Even though her strength was much weaker than before, in terms of mental state, vision, and experience, she still surpassed Young Master Wang by a lot. Therefore, as soon as Yang Zhao wanted to kill that egg-stealing lizard, she already knew it wasn't good and hurriedly reached out to stop him, but it was too late.

  As expected, the egg-stealing lizard's neck bone was crushed, and the red light monster and the black dragon king had already sensed something amiss from a hundred meters away. Fang Qinghui's mind turned rapidly as she exclaimed, "Let's go!" She grabbed hold of Little Wangye's arm and sprinted forward with all her might. Yang Zhao lacked experience but wasn't an idiot. As soon as the red light monster shouted out in inquiry, he immediately realized that he had inadvertently made things worse. He silently cursed himself for being a brainless fool, then mustered his spirits to turn the tables by wrapping his arm around Fang Qinghui's slender waist. With infinite electric energy coursing through him, they shot towards the dense forest like lightning. Just as they escaped about seventeen or eighteen meters away, there was suddenly a deafening explosion behind them, and a massive fire pillar shot up into the sky like a giant needle, scorching the thick cloud cover beneath the dark night sky until it turned red like blood.

  He felt it, Yang Zhao strongly felt it! It's hard to describe that feeling, if you must force a description, then it's like having a large basin of cold water poured over your head, from head to toe, chilling to the bone; at the same time, it's also like having a fierce fire burning in the five viscera and six bowels, burning and melting all the meridians, bones, flesh, and blood from the inside out. It makes one's lips dry and tongue parched in an instant, yet their clothes are soaked with sweat; their heartbeat is like a drumbeat, but their blood vessels are frozen stiff. This is killing intent, and it's the unique spiritual energy that only belongs to that red glow monster, one of a kind, unmatched!

  "It's over, we can't escape." This thought suddenly emerged from the deepest part of his mind. It wasn't a spiritual crack caused by fear, but a solid fact. The overwhelming killing intent had already locked onto the two fugitives, and even if they escaped to the ends of the earth, they couldn't shake off the pursuit. Before Little Wang could think of what to do, he suddenly heard the one-armed, one-legged monster in mid-air let out a long, piercing cry. The cry was like the heavenly phoenix's call, not only echoing through the mountains and fields for hundreds of miles, but also containing an unstoppable, imperial majesty. The fierce flames of the sky-high fire wings surged upwards, condensing into a vivid, living phoenix bird in the nine-layered clouds, carrying the power to scorch the heavens and boil the seas as it dove straight down towards the two fugitives.

  In the blink of an eye, a fierce red light burst forth like the rising sun, tearing apart the darkness between heaven and earth. The temperature soared, causing searing pain to the flesh, as if it was about to incinerate the entire primeval forest. The sound was deafeningly loud, striking fear into the hearts of all who heard it. Under the intense pressure, the two fugitives simultaneously stopped in their tracks, knowing they had no choice but to fight back with all their might. If they didn't, their only fate would be to be burned alive into charcoal.

  Two fugitives stopped in their tracks and looked back at each other. Little King Wang let out a long sigh and said in a low voice, "Let's do this!" He raised his head to gaze up at the sky, determined to make a last stand. But just as he was about to unleash his inner energy, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, like a series of stabs along his "Du Meridian". In an instant, seven or eight of his acupoints were sealed off. Not only could he no longer circulate his internal energy, but his entire body had become numb and stiff, like a wooden puppet.

  The one who is good at mental arithmetic is Fan Qinghe!

  Astonishment, anger, indignation, doubt, and surprise. Thousands of thoughts flooded his mind at the same time, but not a single one could answer the question in Little King's heart. Jing Zhan transmitted a mournful voice: "Little King, Qinghui will return everything to you." Before he finished speaking, he slapped his palm on his waist with great force. Yang Zhao involuntarily soared into the air like a cloud, flying diagonally at high speed. His eyes widened in incredulity, and the reflection of Qinghui's eyes showed the same astonishment. The power of the Ice Qilin True Yuan inner elixir was instantly mobilized to its peak, and a dark blue divine beast appeared, spewing out a massive amount of freezing air that carried endless cold currents, rushing towards the Undying Phoenix Bird that was diving down from above.

  In the blink of an eye, the two opposing forces clashed violently, yet surprisingly, no sound was emitted. This was because the ice kirin's form suddenly disintegrated on its own and transformed into a massive, rotating wheel of dazzling blue stars. The raging flames that could have destroyed the heavens and earth were almost entirely consumed by the star wheel, ultimately vanishing into nothingness. This was precisely the "Sword Spirit Universe" technique from the "Sword Canon".

  The sword's power was already earth-shattering. At this time, Fang Qinghui abandoned his offense and defended with all his might, using the flexible and clever sword moves to their fullest extent. Moreover, he used ice to break fire, perfectly in line with the principles of the five elements' mutual generation and restraint. In an instant, he actually managed to hold off that phoenix bird which had dived down head-first, unable to land. The one-armed man in red light let out a low cry of surprise, then excitedly burst into loud laughter. Amidst his laughter, the firebird flapped its wings and let out a fierce cry, its body expanding rapidly as it transformed into an endless sea of flames that brutally suppressed everything.

  The swordsmanship was again gentle and clever, but under this overwhelming tyrannical power, it was equally unable to display its skills. In an instant, whether it was a person or a star, everything was submerged in it, and no trace could be seen. The crimson rain poured down from the sky, and at the moment it hit the ground, the undying phoenix bird-like creature also collapsed with a loud crash, and the flames turned into a flood of water that simultaneously surged out in all directions. Scorched earth cracked stones, extinguishing all living things, its momentum became a raging wildfire! Within tens of meters in diameter, regardless of trees, flowers, or grass, everything was instantly burned to ashes.

  The fierce flames dissipated in an instant, and as I looked around, all that was left was desolation everywhere. A large area of empty land had been forcibly cleared out among the dense forests, with wisps of smoke rising slowly, and countless glass-like crystals scattered on the charred black soil, making one's heart skip a beat. The one-legged, one-armed monster stood like a mountain, holding up the few remaining tattered clothes on his body, his head hung low, it was unknown whether he was dead or alive. Fang Qinghui burst out laughing and said: "The three-legged cat's kung fu actually dares to show its ugliness in front of me, damn it, it's simply unheard of." He casually threw her away and shouted: "Xiaohei, I'll give her to you as a reward."

  The black tyrant king hovering in the air let out a loud roar, looking forward to the incoming momentum, opening its long and bloody mouth full of fangs. Before it could even close its jaws, a dazzling flash of lightning suddenly appeared in front of it, crossing the sky. The two rows of teeth on the dragon's mouth "clanged" against each other, biting into thin air. The figure in the lightning caught up with Fang Qinghui, bent his waist and body, following the momentum, spinning around in a circle, using both feet to push against the dragon's abdomen with great force.

  With a single push, he had the strength of a thousand pounds. The Black Tyrant let out a shrill roar and lost control, tumbling to the ground, but the figure used the reaction force to accelerate in the opposite direction of the strange man on the ground, flying away into the distance. As soon as he landed, he sprang up and sprinted wildly with his legs. To complete this series of movements from start to finish, he only took half a snap of his fingers. In the blink of an eye, it seemed that he had almost completed the impossible task of escaping from the one-armed monster's clutches.

  Miracles... aren't that easy to come by. Especially when the gap in strength is so great that it's impossible to compare, there's even less chance of a miracle happening. The strange man raised his head and looked up, his eyes shining brightly as he said: "Haha, there's still one more." His right shoulder moved, and a true essence flame condensed and solidified, actually reviving a right arm that seemed almost real. With a thought, the condensed energy formed into a giant spirit palm, first steadily catching the pet Black Emperor that had been thrown to the ground, then swooping down to capture the two fleeing figures. The divine and mysterious technique was already beyond the realm of mortal martial arts, like an unbelievable magical spell.

  It's really impossible to escape! The five huge fingers, like the Buddha catching Sun Wukong, pressed down, and even before they closed in, they could already crush a person so hard that they couldn't breathe. In desperation, the ferocious Fire Qilin shape appeared around his body, with electric lights swirling around his fists and thunderous roars, as he exerted all his strength to punch upwards. Amidst the deafening explosion, a shockwave burst out like a tsunami, its destructive power almost comparable to the simultaneous detonation of hundreds of kilograms of high explosives.

  In an instant, outside the large black empty space centered on the one-armed monster, a smaller space was opened up in the dense forest. From top to bottom, it was exactly like a small circle at the top of a large circle, shaped like a gourd. After the flying dust settled, all the electric lights and qilin shapes disappeared cleanly. The figure's true appearance was suddenly exposed.

  The one who saved Long Kuo was Yang Zhao. He held Bing Qinghui in his arms, his legs trembling slightly, and finally couldn't support himself and fell to the ground. That unreserved "Merciless Thunderbolt" had barely defeated the giant hand of Yang Huo's condensed aura, but it had also exhausted every last bit of strength in his body. At this moment, he didn't even have the energy to stand up again. Trying to escape was no longer possible. Falling into the hands of the one-armed monster would be a fate worse than death. But he looked dazed, as if he didn't care about the predicament in front of him, and suddenly had an epiphany, bursting out laughing. The laughter was filled with joy and pride, free and unbridled, like the wind.

  Just now, Fang Qinghui's move was actually very measured. Although he sealed off Yang Zhao's acupoints, it could only last for a few seconds. Originally, the plan was to send Little Wang out of the Not-Dead Phoenix Bird's attack range, and then the acupoints would automatically unseal, allowing Little Wang to take advantage of the opportunity to escape danger. Unexpectedly, he not only didn't show any gratitude but instead ran back even more recklessly, throwing himself into the net. If Fang Qinghui weren't dead, she would definitely be so angry that her silver teeth would clench tightly and scold him as a brainless idiot.

  But Yang Zhao didn't think that much. What benefits and losses, what this woman had kidnapped herself to imprison for a lifetime, even more wanted to kill herself and so on past things, he didn't remember them in his heart at all. The young master only knew that she was the companion who had been with me in the dark underground, and also the only person who accompanied me through the difficulties.

  That's because before crossing over, Yang Zhao was only nineteen years old, and now after crossing over, he is even younger at sixteen. Ji Zijian is young and hot-blooded, his passion has not yet cooled down. He can easily remember the "good" that others have done for him, but it's hard for him to put the "bad" that others have done to him in his heart. Even though he has seen many dark and dirty things, he absolutely refuses to believe that this world really doesn't have any light. No matter what, if someone is willing to sacrifice their life to give himself a chance to escape, then no matter what this person had previously done to him, how can the young master just view this sacrifice as a matter of course and accept it with an easy heart?

  Perhaps those who have been rolling in the red dust for half their lives, and have already ground all their edges into maturity, will mock his impulsiveness and naivety, ridiculing him for being unable to make swift decisions and speak directly from the heart. They will say he is indecisive and weak-willed, destined to fail and be abandoned by the world. And Yang Zhao, who was once surrounded by the red dust and bewildered by countless words, may still try his best to distinguish himself, putting on a pretentious air of maturity, attempting to use so-called "adult methods" to manipulate situations with laughable tactics, drifting aimlessly like dust in the wind. But...

  At this life-and-death boundary, at this extreme situation where there was no room for anything else, and he could only act on instinct. Yang Zhao finally thoroughly, truly saw his "true self".

  Who says that being true to oneself must put benefits above all? Who says that being true to oneself must be so clever, calculating every gain and loss with precision? Who stipulates that being true to oneself must be selfish and self-serving, viewing everyone except "me" as insignificant and exploitable tools? Can't we prioritize the interests of others over our own, can't we be a little foolish, and can't we view those people outside of ourselves as equal existences with flesh and blood?

  All roads lead to Rome, and all things in the universe ultimately return to their origins. If one insists on being ruthless and decisive, twisting their own heart's intentions, forcing themselves to become someone they're not, then even if they're revered as a god, they'll still be ignorant of who they are and what they truly want, trapped in their own cocoon, unable to escape.

  Yang Zhao thus came to a realization and couldn't help but laugh. Now, he can stand up straight and say to those who point and whisper without any shame: This is my true self.

  My heart is clear of guilt.

  I think good people shouldn't be synonymous with idiots or have a negative connotation.

  So if the word "good person" has changed, it's not the individual's fault, but rather a mistake in societal values. What do you think?