Chapter 2456: Entering the Demon Path

Shangguan Biao shivered.

Making a major mistake in other sects might at most result in broken limbs and stripped cultivation, but in Fengfeng Valley, even the useless have their uses.

He did not want to become a medicine person, nor did he want to become a writhing maggot on the kang bed!

He could not entrust his fate entirely to others!

Shangguan Biao murmured: "It has nothing to do with moral character, everything to do with strength."

Never before had he so desperately craved power!

No, that's not right! When Zhao Dongyang framed him, when Master Tang Lin Zi rebuked him, he too had especially wished for power and status, so he would not be at the mercy of others.

But back then, the situation was not yet this dire, and his resolve was nowhere near as strong as it is now!

"Exactly, that's it!" the Red Ghost praised, "You first gain power, then wish to return to goodness—is that impossible? When you possess the power to say 'no,' yet insist on saying 'yes' to others, only then will they feel grateful and devoted to you!"

"You've always been chasing me, bewitching me!" Shangguan Biao looked up at it, "I want to sign a contract with you; after this incident is resolved, we shall go our separate ways!"

He still wanted to struggle, unwilling to become deeply entangled with this Red Ghost.

The Red Ghost laughed boisterously, shaking the entire house, yet passersby outside felt nothing, only sensing that tonight's wind carried an especially fishy, salty tang.

"Without such ability, don't dream of such blessings!" the Red Ghost mocked, "Me chasing you? Hahahaha, my every appearance has been in response to your summons!"

"What?" Shangguan Biao exclaimed, "I summoned you?"

"Last time, you freed that lowly slave, yet he turned and bit you, earning you five lashes from Overseer Zhao. How despondent were you then?"

"The time before, you exposed Zhao Dongyang's embezzlement, yet he suffered no harm, instead successfully accusing you of stealing the monthly exam papers for profit. At that time, you hated your own insignificance and lack of influence."

The Red Ghost chuckled: "Before each of my appearances, what was the situation? You know it better than I do."

Shangguan Biao remained silent.

"Even my origins and identity—do you truly know nothing of them deep down?"

Shangguan Biao's lips twitched, but he could not speak.

He had suspected it.

"You must understand: right now, I am your only savior! Besides me, no one will come to save you!" the Red Ghost chuckled, "Before my arrival this time, hadn't you already made your choice? And yet you claim I bewitched you?"

It pressed on:

"In the Earth Mother's nest just now, how did Wang Qing die?"

"How do you plan to save the Earth Mother? Still using that useless dew water? It can only ease her suffering, but cannot cure her!" the Red Ghost declared bluntly, "Before you sought out the Xu-surnamed one, had you already decided—right or not?"

"Shut up!" Shangguan Biao suddenly roared, clapping his hands over his ears and bowing his head.

"After passing this trial, you may compensate your family in a hundred ways; but if you fail this trial—"

"——then all is lost!"

Shangguan Biao fell silent for a long time before asking it: "How can you help me?"

"Your moral character is the very culprit that placed you in this predicament!" the Red Ghost raised its long, sharp nails and lightly tapped the cellar door, "As long as you invite me to cross this threshold, I will sweep away your useless vanity, pity, unease, unnecessary guilt, empathy, and righteousness into the trash bin, burn them to ashes, then convert the remnants into more useful qualities—"

"Qualities that will let you escape your predicament and return to the bright path!"

It appeared mighty, yet had always been kept outside by Shangguan Biao, lacking only an "invitation."

Shangguan Biao's voice came from between his fingers: "What kind of qualities?"

"To treat others as they treat you." the Red Ghost said lowly, "Why can Zhao Dongyang, Tang Lin Zi, and Li Yun secure a place in Fengfeng Valley? Why can they feed on the flesh and blood of your kind and thrive? You wish to take revenge, you wish to surpass them—merely learning their skills is not enough; you must be fiercer, more ruthless……more adept at playing the weak when advantageous!"

"Otherwise, perhaps this time next year will be your memorial day!" the Red Ghost continued, "And your Shangguan family will continue to decline, with no hope of revival; your mother is already dead, carrying to her grave the regret of being unable to aid you in life!"

"You and your family are nothing but a nest of ants crushed under Fengfeng Valley's heel—born insignificant, died humble! No one cares!" the Red Ghost's voice grew ever louder, "Is this what you want? Shangguan Biao, answer me!"

"No! No! No!" Shangguan Biao slammed his fists into the ground three times, "I want to clear my name, I want to escape injustice, I want to reclaim all that is mine! I want, I want……I want revenge!"

"Those who look down on me—I will make them crawl before my feet, eagerly vying to flatter me!"

"Those who have bullied me—I will make them die badly! I want them to suffer the torment of scorching flames and thunderous soul-shocks after death, never to find release!"

Shangguan Biao roared until his eyes bulged, his temples swelled high, and his gaze turned like that of a mad tiger.

The entire small house echoed with his voice, hoarse from exertion.

Strangely, his voice did not reach the outside; just moments ago, several people passed by outside, yet heard not a whisper.

His surging grief and anger poured out like a flood, his emotions gradually stabilizing, yet he appeared all the more despondent, brows and eyes drooping, he murmured faintly:

"I had wished to walk the righteous path, but Heaven has betrayed me!"

If given the chance, who would not want to be a good person?

Having spoken, he covered his face with his hands, and water traces slowly seeped from between his fingers.

After a long while, Shangguan Biao spread his hands, his eyes still slightly red and swollen, yet his face bore the ashen resolve of death.

"Come!" he extended both hands toward the great ghost at the cellar door, "I need your power! I invite you, to aid me in facing our enemies together!"

Having received his formal invitation, the Red Ghost laughed to the heavens, then transformed into a wisp of smoke, about to enter through the window.

With the invitation, it could now enter.

Shangguan Biao did not dodge or evade, but instead gritted his teeth and met it head-on.

From now on, he would be utterly different—he would become strong and resilient.

But at this very moment, a flash of cold light suddenly arrived, exploding with unmatched power near the window, reflecting a sheet of frost and snow in Shangguan Biao's eyes.

The Red Ghost's red smoke had not yet touched the window when it was cleaved in two by a sharp blade-light.

It only had time to emit an unwilling roar before dissipating slowly.

"This……" the Red Ghost was slain, Shangguan Biao stunned, "You, you what did you do!"

Was not this person before him the inner-sect disciple who had earlier delivered the blood vat to him? And he could still see the Red Ghost.

How then did he come here to slay ghosts?

"To save you."

This uninvited, meddlesome person was naturally He Lingchuan.