Chapter 118: Don't Blame Me

"Combining this with the petal the old peach tree gave me, a hypothesis can already be formed: I am still within the illusion array. As for why the array persists even though the old peach tree is gone, I cannot say for sure, though I suspect you are the one pulling the strings behind it."

"That ancient box was likely not placed in the cabin by you. Part of the array's influence stems from that box, and surely you would not sabotage yourself. It must be the work of whatever is inside that box."

"To lure us to the next level—though I do not know what lies there, it is highly likely to be dangerous. Coupled with the glaring flaws in these arrays, I suspect the authority over that level has long since fallen into the hands of the thing that escaped, rather than yours. If I were to rashly proceed, I would likely die there rather than return to this place."

"You released the entity from the box and allowed it to influence the illusion array without interference, which only proves that you two are not on the same side. You even fear it; and one who can be feared by you is certainly not a simple character."

"Therefore, in my current weakened state, rather than becoming a burden and dying in vain at the next level, I chose to gamble. I gambled that my hypothesis was correct. I am too weak to accomplish anything on my own, so I had to stake everything on this."

Yu Daoyi voiced his series of deductions. He could not guarantee that every detail was correct, but having lost all his power, he had no other choice. Placing all his hope in others was a desperate, last-resort strategy.

He believed that even if his theory was thirty percent false, it was at least seventy percent true. A seventy-percent success rate was enough to risk it. If he had simply become a burden to others, he would have eventually died in this secret realm anyway, even without severing his own heart meridians.

"But how can you be certain that I am Baili Mo?" Baili Mo stopped drinking and looked at Yu Daoyi with amusement.

"At first, I only suspected it, without giving it much thought. But do you remember what you said?"

"'The killing array outside was activated the moment you entered. How much longer do you think your people can hold out?'"

"That was said by the resentful soul. He shared your existence. Although I do not know how you entered that array to become his second consciousness—the personality of Xiao Qian—I suspect that even if he did not know Xiao Qian was Baili Mo, he would have realized that the person sharing his body was no ordinary individual."

"That resentful soul was born of the blood array and existed within the illusion; he had never left. Even the old peach tree did not know about the outside world, so how could he? Even if he truly knew of the existence of the external array, how could he be so certain that my people were out there?"

"Forced into a seal by the old peach tree and possessing only Foundation Establishment strength, he could not have known unless you deliberately leaked the information to him. That remark was not only a probe at me, but also at you."

"It is a pity he did not live long enough to see the end before you dealt with him," Baili Mo chuckled.

"Furthermore, I clearly remember Yaoyao saying that Xiao Qian frequently visited the mountain behind the village. As the location of the eye of the entire array, how could someone within the formation visit it so often? You must have considered this, unless Xiao Qian himself was not part of the array."

"And finally, the first thing you said to me when I started this over—the answer is obvious, isn't it? Even as a guess, I had seventy percent certainty."

"You hid within that resentful soul, manifesting as Xiao Qian, becoming his second consciousness, his second personality. You are the cause of everything abnormal in Peach Blossom Village. Perhaps that is why the old peach tree discovered this at the very end and left me this petal as a hint."

"You have been deceiving us from the very beginning, deceiving Yaoyao and the others. You not only caused their deaths, but you have toyed with their lives, again and again, tormenting their very existence!"

"And you have just stood by, watching them suffer a fate worse than death!"

"Yu Daoyi, I did indeed underestimate you," Baili Mo said after a long silence.

"You shouldn't be underestimating me; you should be underestimating everyone in Peach Blossom Village!"

"There are things you do not know," Baili Mo said, his voice very faint.

"What? Do you still want to defend yourself? Or do you think trapping them here was for their own protection?"

"I know my own sins; they can never be washed away in this lifetime. But her—I have truly failed her. I can never make amends for it in this life, the next, or the one after that."

"You turned the people of Peach Blossom Village into neither human nor ghost! You caused Yaoyao to be covered in wounds every single day! What else do you want to do now!"

"I am merely a stray thought of Baili Mo, not even a remnant soul. By now, I have become far too weak; there are many things I can no longer control."

"Baili Mo! Do you think saying these things is useful now? As a pinnacle Nascent Soul expert, you should truly feel ashamed!" Yu Daoyi roared in anger.

"Nascent Soul? How much do you really know about me?" Baili Mo chuckled, showing utter disdain for the term.

"Do you truly believe a Nascent Soul cultivator could stand against the greatest sect in the Southern Province at that time?"

"What on earth are you talking about!" Yu Daoyi suppressed the fury in his heart.

Baili Mo took another large gulp of peach blossom wine, flung the flagon away, and jumped down from the tree. His appearance was identical to Xiao Qian, or perhaps he had always been Xiao Qian, but the look in his eyes was no longer the same.

Baili Mo looked deeply at Yu Daoyi, then turned and waved his right hand. Yu Daoyi saw the scenery around him blur as ripples began to spread.

When everything returned to normal, Yu Daoyi found himself standing on the peak behind Peach Blossom Village. Looking forward, Baili Mo sat beside a tombstone, his back turned, radiating a sense of vicissitude and sorrow.

"Will you sit?" Baili Mo did not turn around, his hand gently stroking the tombstone with infinite tenderness.

"Yu Daoyi, you are truly impressive. Many, even if they knew all of this, would not dare to sever their own heart meridians to prove it. Do you know that without this array and my intervention, you would have died the moment you severed your meridians?" Receiving no response from behind, Baili Mo did not seem to mind and continued to speak to himself.

"The blood array is indeed gone, as you said, but I took over the illusion array. Although it is dilapidated without the old peach tree, it is sufficient for my needs."

"You are right; you never escaped the illusion from the start. I manipulated you, using you as the eye of the array. This was my test, my opportunity for you."

"But you were wrong about what followed. That Xuan-Turtle Fire Spirit was a genuine trial, not an illusion. That Fire Spirit truly exists beneath these mountains, and that herb garden is real as well."

"Truth and falsehood, reality and illusion—they intertwine and intersect, yet they remain on opposite banks, unconnected. This is my array. You, while in the illusion, could still live in reality."

Baili Mo explained his pride and joy, a feat far beyond Yu Daoyi's comprehension. The connections and powers of these arrays were beyond the reach of his current understanding.

"Your brother and the others were also carefully selected by me to participate in the assessment alongside you. I did this to find one person—one who could achieve my goal."

"I gave you all many opportunities to see me, but they could not grasp them. Only you seized the chance, and you did not disappoint me. Severing one's own heart meridians takes more than just courage."

Baili Mo's words were filled with praise. Under normal circumstances, receiving praise from a powerhouse who might have surpassed the Nascent Soul realm would have excited Yu Daoyi, but now he felt only rage—at Baili Mo and at himself.

"Baili Mo, I cannot concern myself with such matters right now. My reason for this desperate gamble was simply to save my people."

Yu Daoyi brought the conversation back to the point. Regardless of the truth, there was only one thing he had to do.

"You don't need to worry about that. Your background seems significant; several people from within the external barrier have forcefully broken into my trial array. Your people are safe."

"Several people? Was this my father's arrangement?" Yu Daoyi let out a sigh of relief and shouted, "What about Qiuling and the others?"

"The moment you stepped in here, the trial ended. Truly ended. The girl with you is safe, and your brother is in no mortal danger. You can rest assured of that; I have achieved my goal."

"Goal? Then what about my brother? What about Xia Rong and the others?"

"Your brother is safe for now, but I cannot guarantee the safety of the others. As you guessed, I no longer have control over the later levels. That thing that escaped from the box is not under my command."

"Of course, if your brother discovers you are not in the herb garden and proceeds to the next level, I cannot guarantee his safety either. That creature from the box is not someone to be trifled with."

"Since this is all over! Why don't you send us out!" Yu Daoyi urged. He did not want to spend another moment in this hellish place.

"I can release them, but not yet. There is one final step."

"What exactly do you mean!"

"Yu Daoyi, use them as leverage and do one thing for me." Baili Mo stood up, turned around, and looked at Yu Daoyi with grave seriousness.

"Life or death—their fates are now in your hands. I will tell you everything: everything about me, everything about Peach Blossom Village. The price is that you must do one thing for me, one thing only you might be able to achieve."

"Baili Mo!" Veins bulged on Yu Daoyi's face. By using everyone's life as a bargaining chip, he never intended to let him go.

"Don't look at me like that, and don't shout at me. My sins can never be redeemed. If that is the case, why not let me sink deeper? But can you bear to let so many people die because of your decision?"

Baili Mo's eyes suddenly turned as black as ink.

A deep, flawless, infinitely hollow black.

In those black eyes, Yu Daoyi saw blood.

Black blood, filthy blood, unredeemable blood.

Countless people had died at his hands. Baili Mo was never a kind man. He had annihilated the Nanxuan Sect and slaughtered so many; his world was already steeped in sin.

He did not emit a shred of killing intent, yet as Yu Daoyi looked into his eyes, he felt a wave of terror—a primal, chilling fear from deep within.

For a long time, the two stood in silence, staring at each other. Finally, Yu Daoyi, unable to bear the heart-wrenching dread, looked away.

"Yu Daoyi, don't be in such a hurry to refuse me. It will be a long story. Perhaps you will change your mind after you hear it."

"Because I lost everything, I understood. But I understood too late. In his eyes, or perhaps in theirs, my life was merely a story, a topic of conversation—so insignificant."

"Yu Daoyi, never, ever become a pawn for others. If the ending is already written, then rebel. Rebel against everything you do not wish for; negate everything you are told to accept."

"And then, at the very end, come and shatter the constraints I have placed upon you."

"Come, kill me."

Yu Daoyi frowned, about to retort to Baili Mo's empty words, but he felt the world around him blur once more. The mountain peak beneath his feet shuddered violently, and as he looked up, he saw it collapsing.

He fell from the peak. The last thing he saw before the plummet was Baili Mo standing in mid-air, looking at him with a complex expression, his lips moving as if saying something.

"Yu Daoyi, do not blame me. I have no other choice."