Then whose memories was Master going to erase?
Zhiyi did not dare think about it. He looked at the spiritual power in Xiyu’s hand, moisture gathering in his long, narrow phoenix eyes.
“Master, don’t… Don’t do this to me…”
No. He couldn’t. He mustn’t…
His life existed for Master. Master was the one who had saved him. He could die for Master, but he could not forget him!
Zhiyi cried and pleaded, stumbling on his knees toward Xiyu. He bent down and pressed his head against Xiyu’s boot.
“Master, you can’t do this to me… This is too cruel.”
Within the enormous Lanxing Hall, Zhiyi’s intermittent sobs echoed through the silence.
Xiyu’s hand was trembling.
Suddenly, someone appeared beside him.
It was him…
It was himself from within the illusion.
‘Lanxing’ crouched down, seemingly wanting to comfort Zhiyi, but he was merely an illusion and could not even touch him. He sighed and raised his eyes toward Xiyu, his voice carrying a seductive persuasion.
“Do you really still want to erase his memories again?”
“Your beloved little disciple is crying so miserably. Can you truly bring yourself to do it?”
“Didn’t you regret it? Haven’t you always regretted it? Back then, after you erased Zhiyi’s memories, didn’t you dream every time you had a nightmare that Zhiyi asked you why you had been so cruel, why you hadn’t even left him the slightest thing to remember you by?”
“Now you have a chance. You can make amends. You can make sure things don’t happen again.”
“Look at him. He’s crying so miserably. Even I can’t bear it. Don’t you want to hold him?”
“Hold him. Haven’t you always regretted not apologizing during your final meeting, and instead making Zhiyi’s last sight of you one filled with hatred because you used such a cruel method?”
“This is only an illusion. You don’t have to carry that burden anymore. Lanxing, crouch down and hold him.”
Xiyu’s eyelashes trembled.
The next moment, the strength suddenly left his hand, his spiritual power dissipating completely. As though bewitched, he crouched down.
Zhiyi raised his head, his eyes red from crying.
“Master, don’t be so cruel to me. Don’t make me forget you. Please… Don’t do this to me, okay?”
Xiyu’s Adam’s apple moved.
An overwhelming bitterness condensed in his heart.
In this lifetime, there were almost no things Xiyu regretted. In the first layer of the illusion, he blamed himself for leaving, but he could not regret leaving.
If he had not left, he would have died there as well. How else could he have had the chance to avenge his mother?
So he hated himself, but he did not regret what he had done at the time.
If he had to name something he regretted, then what he had done to Zhiyi a thousand years ago would count as one.
He shouldn’t have…
He should never have treated Zhiyi that way.
He had been far too cruel to Zhiyi. He should never have treated him like that.
This was an illusion. Everything here was fake. It seemed that he could make amends for the things he had done wrong.
Xiyu raised his head, seemingly wanting to touch Zhiyi.
‘Lanxing’ smiled and continued to tempt him.
“Yes. Go touch him.”
Xiyu looked at Zhiyi gently yet nervously. In the end, his trembling fingertips landed at the corner of Zhiyi’s eyes, wiping away the tears on his face.
Zhiyi blinked and pleaded softly.
“Master…”
“He’s still crying. You have to tell him that you won’t erase his memories anymore, and that from now on, you’ll stay by his side. Then he’ll smile. Don’t you love seeing him smile so freely and boldly?”
Xiyu’s heart pounded like thunder.
He had no resistance whatsoever to Zhiyi’s tears. He stared blankly at Zhiyi, as though he had been convinced, and spoke hoarsely.
“I’m sorry.”
He had actually wanted to say it long ago.
He had wanted to say he was sorry.
I shouldn’t have treated you this way.
In truth, a thousand years ago, both Xiyu and Zhiyi had understood each other perfectly. Zhiyi knew that Xiyu’s harsh words, beatings, and rejection were all meant to stop him from sacrificing himself to the arrow.
Zhiyi knew this, which was why he had never held any resentment toward him.
It never should have come to this.
He never needed to say those words that had hurt Zhiyi.
Xiyu had always wanted to apologize, but he had died. He thought he would never have the chance.
“I’m sorry.”
Xiyu repeated himself. He caressed Zhiyi’s cheek.
“I shouldn’t have said those things. I should have talked things through with you calmly. Don’t blame me, okay? Don’t blame me.”
And don’t hate me.
Hearing this, Zhiyi’s face filled with overwhelming joy. He shook his head.
“I don’t blame you, Master. I know you had your reasons. I—Master!”
Zhiyi’s words abruptly stopped. His pupils contracted as he cried out in shock.
Xiyu’s hand moved to the top of Zhiyi’s head.
As Zhiyi was speaking, he suddenly extracted his memories.
From beginning to end, the expression on Xiyu’s face remained apologetic and reluctant to hurt him, but the movement of his hand did not hesitate in the slightest.
His voice was gentle.
“Live well. That is my only wish.”
‘Lanxing’s’ expression, which had originally been filled with certainty of victory, suddenly stiffened.
He glared furiously.
“Why?! Didn’t you regret it?! You have such a perfect opportunity right in front of you now. Why are you hurting him one more time?!”
…………………..
Extracting memories was a very simple technique.
After Xiyu finished, he picked Zhiyi up and carefully placed him on the bed. He looked at him gently, and even thoughtfully straightened the hair stuck to his neck.
Even though he was only part of an illusion, being able to see him once was pretty nice.
After finishing all this, Xiyu finally looked at his hysterical counterpart.
“You’re using my face to throw a tantrum. I don’t like it.”
“You should return my things to me as well.”
After Xiyu finished speaking, he cut open his palm.
As spiritual power spilled out, ‘Lanxing’s’ body began to tremble involuntarily. He clutched his chest tightly, yet his body rapidly dissipated, transforming into a huge mass of black mist.
In the middle of the black mist, golden light spread outward.
A bracelet with a gold-and-jade ring clasp tore through the black mist and shot directly toward Xiyu.
“Impossible! Impossible! Didn’t you regret it?! You regretted it! There is regret in your heart, which is why the illusion exists!”
Xiyu caught Liuyun.
The bracelet instantly transformed in his hand into a golden long whip. Jade formed the whip’s core, while golden threads wrapped around it, emitting wisps of cold light.
“Did I ever say that I regretted extracting Zhiyi’s memories?”
No.
He regretted speaking harshly to Zhiyi.
He regretted making Zhiyi kneel outside Lanxing Hall for an entire night.
He regretted attacking him again and again.
These were the things he regretted.
But he had never regretted erasing Zhiyi’s memories.
This was the only way he could ensure that Zhiyi would not think about sacrificing himself to the arrow.
And this was the only way he could die with peace of mind, without worrying that Zhiyi might one day lose hope and follow him into death.
Xiyu stroked Liuyun.
Half of his spiritual power had returned. It would not be long before he could meet his disciple again.
Xiyu was in an excellent mood.
But while his mood was good, someone else’s mood was decidedly not.
The illusion demon let out a furious roar, raging helplessly.
“Give it back to me!”
Liuyun could nourish a demon’s soul. No matter how severe the injury, it could keep one alive and allow them to recover slowly.
“This was the reward I got for accompanying you through three illusions, and you actually want me to return it? You’re such an unreasonable demon.”
Besides, this had originally been his possession anyway.
It was merely an illusion demon. No matter how realistic the things it wove were, so what?
He had long since stopped being affected by these things.
Whether it was the first layer, his mother, or Zhiyi—
The illusions had brought him no harm other than allowing him to see the people he wanted to see.
Come to think of it, he was actually grateful to this demon.
It was just that the illusion demon’s illusions would progress layer by layer according to the emotional fluctuations of the person who entered them.
If he had not pretended to be enveloped by the illusion it created, how could he have entered the third layer so quickly?
The illusion demon realized from Xiyu’s words that it had been tricked.
It roared.
“I’ll kill you!”
Xiyu sneered.
The illusion demon was a great demon, but it relied on illusions to trap people and feed on their souls. If they actually fought, it would at most have been evenly matched with him when he did not have Liuyun.
But now Liuyun was in his hand, and half of his cultivation had returned.
Xiyu swung Liuyun and flew into the air.
The end of the whip shot forward like a sharp sword, striking directly at the mass of mist that was stirring up trouble.
One strike was enough.
The illusion shattered.
An incense stick’s worth of time passed, yet within the illusion, Lu Zhixing saw his Master extract his memories once again.
The Lu Zhixing within the illusion pleaded in agony, but in the end, Master still did not relent.
He actually knew.
He knew that no matter what happened, Master would never allow him to take the risk.
It was for his own good.
Master was doing it for his own good…
But why?
Why couldn’t he decide for himself whether he lived or died?
Why did Master have to decide for him?!
“Look. Even after starting over, he still made the same choice.”
A trace of jealousy flashed through Huaixi’s eyes, but it quickly settled back into calmness.
“He would rather die himself than let anything happen to you, yet you became the demon he hated most. Zhiyi, Zhiyi… What do you think he would feel if he found out? How disappointed would he be?”
The illusion had already shattered, and the water mirror before them could no longer reflect Xiyu’s face.
Only then did Lu Zhixing slowly shift his gaze to Huaixi’s face.
He said, “Then go tell him.”
Huaixi frowned.
“What?”
“Go tell Master now. Tell him that the memories he thought he had erased before his death were awakened by you immediately after he died.”
“Go tell Master that you placed the forbidden techniques of the demon realm before me and told me how to resurrect him.”
“Tell him that I extracted my divine bones, fell into the demon clan, became the new Demon Lord, and appeared before him.”
A mocking look appeared in Lu Zhixing’s eyes.
“Go on. Tell him, Heavenly Lord.”
Huaixi fell silent for a long while before letting out a cold laugh. A sword materialized in his hand, and he charged straight toward Lu Zhixing.
“You really do have a sharp tongue. I want to see how long you can keep being so smug.”
A barrier opened within the mist.
Huaixi’s attacks were vicious, and the surrounding demons were caught up in it as well, fleeing in all directions.
Huaixi said coldly to Lu Zhixing:
“The Extermination Formation can only be activated with the sword of the First Demon Lord. But tens of thousands of years ago, the First Demon Lord perished, and his sword was sealed away and disappeared without a trace. Finding it will be harder than reaching the heavens.”