Chapter 128: The Final Madness

The withered petals remained, yet the delicate white blossoms were gone forever. The scattered, resilient, faint white glow was the sole proof of their existence, but all of this had already become a thing of the past.

The flower of betrayal had, after all, failed to escape the destiny of being betrayed.

Everything in this world possesses its own unique trajectory; this is destiny, arriving with birth and departing only with death.

……

"Farewell, Manluo, the era you represent must now come to an end." A faint golden light shimmered in Makarius’s eyes as he looked with a mixture of emotion at Manluo, who was once again summoning the black datura. It was clear that Manluo was still attempting to resist, unwilling to perish in such a simple manner.

The black datura trembled slightly amidst the ice and snow, dense fractures reappearing across its form as if it were on the verge of shattering completely at any second, transforming into specks of black light—or perhaps something more akin to flying ash.

"Do you all want me dead this badly?" Manluo’s low voice emerged from within the black datura, unexpectedly calm, so much so that it was hard to believe it came from Manluo.

Luo Hanhai started slightly, his previously relaxed nerves tightening once more. He knew this was the calm before the storm, the unnatural tranquility that invariably precedes a final madness.

Makarius sighed and responded in a heavy tone, "I think you should understand better than I do. This is the raising of Gu; we were never meant to coexist."

"Then why did you do this! Why! Why not fight to the death! Why not devour him first!" Manluo roared in bitter resentment, utterly failing to comprehend the others' actions.

"That is because he conquered us." A relaxed smile graced Makarius’s face as he cast a deeply moved glance at Luo Hanhai. "Rock silkworm learned kindness from him, Little Wind received friendship, Phantom witnessed his steadfast resolve, and I am willing to share my wisdom with him..."

"You alone treated everyone with deception. You sought to control everything through schemings. It was you who opened Pandora's box, and from that all sins began..."

"Yet matters were not as complex as you imagined. The us you took such pains to deal with were far simpler than you thought. Simplicity breeds fearlessness, and fearlessness shattered all your original plans..."

"You cannot fathom why Little Wind was willing to risk her life for someone she had only met a single day ago; you cannot comprehend why Rock silkworm betrayed the very existence he feared most..."

"Of course, you were madness itself, evil itself, inherently adept at betrayal. Thus you grew strong—so strong that you lost yourself, reluctant to let go of your ego, and vainly attempted to swallow everything to become the King of Gu..."

"Yet you forgot, we were already dead to begin with. Even if we were granted a second life, what of it? It would be nothing more than fleeting mist or a vanishing dream. Since we never cared for life, why should we fear death?"

"Manluo! You were wrong from the start! We are fundamentally different! If we are spirits, then you are a malignant ghost. We are worlds apart; how could you ever hope to measure us by your own narrow standards!"

At this point, Makarius gently exhaled, as if speaking too rapidly had left him breathless. "Hoo... Manluo, you can now return to the void in peace."

"You... you all..." Struck as if by lightning, Manluo fell silent for a moment before crying out with venomous malice, "Don't even think about breaking my will! I still have one technique left unused. Isn't it far too early for me to die now?!"

"Luo Hanhai! Go to hell!"

The black datura could no longer endure the overwhelming ice and snow. It fractured, shattered, and dissolved into dust drifting across the sky.

In its nobility, it seemed to disdain the retention of the mortal world, and looked down with even greater contempt upon the sorrow of the erica born of betrayal. It had always looked down upon its host; in its heart, this passage through life and death was merely a fleeting experience, and next time it would be even more noble and beautiful.

And so it simply departed in silence, leaving behind and vanishing completely, without a backward glance, without a trace of attachment, melting into the endless darkness.

……

The black datura dissipated, leaving only Manluo beneath the snow and ice. His eyes were bloodshot, a bizarre smile plastered across his face as he laughed madly amidst the blizzard.

"Hahahaha, though I am dead, none of you have won!"

Even as he laughed, his form remained illusory, only to be instantly solidified by the piercing cold into a crystal-clear ice sculpture, which then shattered, leaving not a single trace behind.

……

"This... what is happening to me?" Manluo’s death brought no joy to Luo Hanhai; instead, he plunged into a deeper abyss of torment. Trembling, he stared at his own hands, watching as palms that should have been faintly yellow turned pitch black.

He instinctively wanted to blink, but his eyes no longer seemed to belong to him. His body gradually lost sensation, and his consciousness began to blur, as if something were devouring him in a single instant.

At the very last moment of lucidity in his mind, he seemed to smack his lips, recalling the sensation of a wave of heat instantly flooding his entire body, followed by a numbing and refreshing thrill piercing the crown of his head.

"That must have been the venom of the black datura. Quite a refreshing way to go, truly..."

This was the final shred of thought in his mind—truly foolish to the last degree.

……

Deep within his body, the bellflower trembled gently, emitting a clear and fleeting chime before shattering once more, transforming into a stream of azure-blue Qi.

The azure current emitted a fierce freezing mist that completely enveloped Luo Hanhai, locking him forever in this exact second—the very second the venom of the black datura erupted—thus barring the Reaper from claiming his soul.

……

The inn, which had previously returned to normalcy, was once again plunged into darkness for reasons unknown. At the center of the gloom, a faint golden light flickered, carving out a rare sanctuary of purity amidst the shadows. Rock silkworm and Makarius gazed at Luo Hanhai, who had been transformed into a massive block of ice, seemingly exchanging words.

"Is this destiny?" Rock silkworm’s split lips painfully twisted into a bitter smile as he questioningly looked to Makarius.

Makarius, however, remained quite optimistic. The gentle and warm smile he wore in ordinary days still hung on his face as he slowly replied, "Every one of us came into this world bearing a destiny. Whether you are aware of it or not, we walk along this preordained trajectory. Perhaps this time, all our destinies are tied to him."

"You mean..." Rock silkworm glanced around for a moment, looking at the darkness that surrounded them on all sides, feeling how utterly insignificant they were, as if the dark behemoth needed only to shift its body slightly for them to be swallowed into oblivion without a trace.

Makarius looked calmly into the boundless darkness and said softly, "Indeed, my destiny has appeared before me. I am about to face it, and along its path, I shall walk the remainder of this journey."