Chapter 315: The Truth of Cause and Effect Begins to Unravel

Inside the magical barrier, Lingyou struggled to move her body, while Xin Yi also tried his utmost to restrain the violent Deer Horn Blade; the two of them worked together with such effort, yet screams and curses kept ringing in their ears.

"I hate... I hate..."

"Kill her... kill her..."

Xin Yi knew these were the demon souls that had died under the blade, long suppressed by the Deer Spirit of the Deer Horn Blade, but the current situation was truly mind-boggling.

Could something have happened to the Deer Spirit?

Just as Xin Yi was pondering, Lingyou finally moved to the edge of the force exerted by the Deer Horn Blade. She called out to alert Xin Yi, and upon receiving his response, she suddenly pulled away and rolled to increase the distance between them.

"Boom!"

A loud noise erupted, and dust flew within the magical barrier; the Yanwu Stage had actually been smashed to pieces by the falling Deer Horn Blade!

Dust swirled wildly inside the barrier. Lingyou finally managed to steady herself, though she was shrouded in the flying debris. She tried hard to find Xin Yi's figure and finally saw him through the haze. However, strangely, Xin Yi was staring blankly, frozen in place as if he had been caught in a nightmare.

Xin Yi had achieved Spirit Communication with the blade!

In the midst of darkness, Xin Yi struggled to stand up. Not far away was a massive jade gate, which was emitting a "creak, creak" sound, and lying beneath the gate was a deer—a giant black deer.

It was the Deer Spirit!

But why did the Deer Spirit look so weak? And what was the deal with the ceaseless wailing in this darkness?

Xin Yi hurried forward. The Deer Spirit raised its head with difficulty, its eyes looking powerlessly at Xin Yi, like a dying old man.

The Deer Spirit stared at Xin Yi for a long time, as if it had finally seen him clearly, then slowly turned its head to look at the jade gate to the side. Xin Yi followed the Deer Spirit's gaze and saw that the stone gate had actually cracked open!

Countless wails came from behind the gate, crying, roaring, and moaning, as if they were vengeful souls suffering in purgatory, miserable and shrill.

"It is time for you to know the truth of everything..." the old deer said weakly.

Xin Yi was shocked to hear this. This gate sealed the memories of Maidong; regardless of what the truth was, if he let her recall it, wouldn't she collapse?

Seeming to see what Xin Yi was thinking, the old Deer Spirit only shook its head: "It is not that I am unwilling to keep this memory, but I am truly powerless to do so. Back then, I followed my promise to protect her life, but now, with outside interference, it is truly difficult to contend against it. If I insist on forcibly sealing it, I fear the demon souls suppressed for years will run wild, and then..."

The old Deer Spirit did not finish its sentence, but Xin Yi understood its meaning: if the demon souls escaped, it would inevitably lead to devastation. The Deer Horn Blade only had the power to slaughter demons, but no ability for Soul Transformation.

"Everything has a destined course; when the time comes, you will understand."

As the Deer Spirit spoke, it struggled to stand up. At that very moment, with a loud boom, the jade gate to the side suddenly opened, and a strong light poured out, instantly engulfing Xin Yi.

Xin Yi could not help but cover his eyes. A moment later, the strong light faded, and he discovered that he was standing in a room.

This room was not very large, and it even looked somewhat familiar, though Xin Yi could not recall where he had seen it. A round table was placed in the middle of the outer room, with four round stools underneath; on the wall was a painting of a fierce tiger descending a mountain. An ink-bamboo screen blocked the inner room, where a bed could be vaguely seen, and a person was sitting by the bed, looking like a woman.

Xin Yi was shocked at the sight and hurriedly apologized, but the woman in the inner room had no reaction at all, as if she had not heard the movement outside, or as if she did not care about Xin Yi's intrusion at all.

Seeing this, Xin Yi was about to turn and leave when the main door suddenly opened, and three men filed in, one of whom was actually...

"Father!"

The last man to enter was none other than Xin Yi's father!

However, the head of the Lu Family did not seem to see Xin Yi; he simply bowed toward the inner room with the two men who had come with him, and then they sat down around the round table.

Only then did Xin Yi realize that this place was likely just a memory revealed to him by the Deer Spirit, like an illusion, and he was merely a spectator.

Just then, the woman from the inner room came out. At first glance, Xin Yi could not find any words to describe her appearance; even flowery praise could not describe the woman's beauty.

Seeing the woman come out, the three heads of the Lu Family stood up again to bow, and then a man with white hair and beard hurriedly asked: "Fairy, how is my granddaughter?"

The woman shook her head but did not speak, only sighing.

Seeing this, the man looked anxious: "Fairy, you must find a way to save her! She is still just a child! She has a bright future ahead of her, she cannot just die like this!"

It was the Qiao Family; that being the case, the other man must be...

That's right, it was the head of the Long Family at the time, Long Qi's father, Long Feiyu.

"Old Qiao, do not worry. Tumi Xianzi is skilled in medicine; there will surely be a way." Although he said this, the head of the Long Family understood that these were just words of comfort, but he could not bear to see an old man so heartbroken.

Xin Yi finally understood that this woman was actually Lingxiang's mother, Tumi Xianzi.

Hearing this, Tumi Xianzi still shook her head. Just as the head of the Qiao Family sat down dejectedly, she sighed and spoke: "It is not that there is no way, it is just that this method is somewhat difficult..."

Hearing this, the head of the Qiao Family immediately stood up and prepared to bow: "Fairy, please tell us. No matter how difficult, this old man will certainly do it..."

Tumi Xianzi hurriedly reached out to help the head of the Qiao Family up: "This method is not entirely honorable. I fear it requires borrowing the power of the Dragon Qi to resolve it, but doing so will cut off that person's future; it is truly somewhat inappropriate..."

The three family heads looked confused upon hearing this. Seeing this, Tumi Xianzi hurriedly explained: "If Miss Qiao could be married into the royal family, one could borrow the Dragon Qi to live for a few more years. But in doing so, that person might not be able to sit on that golden chair. However..."

However, cutting off someone's future would incur a loss of merit...

Looking at the head of the Qiao Family, he seemed to have taken it in, but Tumi Xianzi changed the subject: "I imagine Old Qiao surely has some methods; what I am worried about is not this matter."

Seeing Tumi Xianzi's brows tightly locked, the head of the Lu Family hurriedly asked: "Fairy, what is so difficult? You might as well speak plainly."

"A few days ago, the ancient fierce god Zhuyan broke through the array; I believe you all know about this. The demon-slaying families combined the strength of the Daoist sects and exhausted their efforts to suppress it once again. The sacrifices in that battle were not small; the Kunwu Sect Leader, True Person Lanyuan, died in that battle, and the Yuanqing Sect Leader was also severely injured. If I had not arrived in time, he would have returned to the Great Void."

Tumi Xianzi said, looking at the three family heads.

"As far as I know, guarding the ancient fierce god was supposed to be the duty of the Long, Lu, and Qiao families. Why was Zhuyan able to break through the array?"

Hearing this, the three family heads remained silent. After a long while, the head of the Qiao Family sighed.

"This is a long story. A long time ago, the Long, Lu, and Qiao families were one, commanded by the Heavenly Gods. The Long Family was the mountain, bearing the duty of guarding; the Lu Family was the wind, possessing the power to eliminate disaster; the Qiao Family was the star, bearing the responsibility of resolving difficulties. Only when the three families were one were they a complete entity."

"However, during the chaos of the ancient gods, the Human King perished, and the Demon Race was born, gradually growing in strength. To prevent the Demon Race from harming the human world and disrupting the laws, the High Gods ordered the three families to stand apart on three mountains, forming the Three Talents Array, which finally suppressed them. But in doing so, the power that was originally concentrated became dispersed. Coupled with the current scarcity of Spirit Roots, no one can take on the responsibility of guarding the array, so the power of the array formation has loosened, which is why Zhuyan was able to take advantage of it."

The head of the Lu Family blamed himself: "This matter is my fault alone. I am too mediocre and have not been recognized by the Deer Spirit, unable to take on the responsibility of eliminating disaster, which caused the Three Talents Array to loosen..."

There was such a saying? Xin Yi had absolutely no knowledge of this.

"The Dao of the Deer Spirit requires enduring the suffering of the utmost darkness, but I am timid and afraid of trouble; I am truly unworthy of holding the position of family head..."

Hearing this, Tumi Xianzi finally understood the reason behind it. She pondered for a long time before speaking with a solemn face:

"Just now, I caught a glimpse of something from Miss Qiao's dream. I fear that the Demon Race will eventually bring disaster. If we do not make plans now, I fear that in the future, this human world will become a purgatory. I imagine the reason Miss Qiao is so weak is because she saw those things. The Heavenly Star Spirit Root is too overbearing for her; with her body, she simply cannot withstand the power of foresight."

"Does the Fairy have any good strategies?" the head of the Long Family hurriedly asked.

"Since the Three Talents Array is no longer secure, the Demon Race must also know the reason for it; I imagine you have all been targeted by them for a long time. Rather than being unable to attend to both the demons and the monsters, it is better to focus on one side. Disaster will eventually come, it is only a matter of time. Since that is the case, it is better to plan early, lure the snake out of its hole, and lay out a strategy for victory; that is the best policy."

Yes, since it is impossible to attend to both sides anyway, it would be better to take on one of the responsibilities and minimize the losses, but which side should they focus on?

The three looked toward Tumi Xianzi; Tumi Xianzi pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "The ancient great demons are an endless scourge; if left unchecked, the human world will surely be plunged into misery. The Demon Race has only existed for a thousand years, so relatively speaking, their threat is smaller. In my view, gathering the strength of the three races once more is the correct solution."

"But if we do this, someone will ultimately have to bear the infamy..."

Hearing these words, the three family heads all fell silent. After a long while, the head of the Lu Family finally sighed and spoke: "In the end, this is my responsibility, Lu's responsibility. Let me bear this infamy! I shall be the one to lead the Demon Race into the human world."

"Brother Lu..." The head of the Long Family could not bear it, yet he knew this was the only and best way.

The head of the Lu Family patted the head of the Long Family on the shoulder and smiled: "This world will eventually be passed to future generations; we cannot let them live in dire straits. This is our duty after all. Since sacrifice is unavoidable, let all the evil consequences be borne by me!"

With a flicker of light and shadow, the illusion dissipated, and Xin Yi returned once more to the front of the jade gate. At this moment, the stone gate was already half-open, and the ancient array on the stone gate was still stubbornly holding on.

In the illusion just now, Xin Yi had listened in a daze and did not understand what they were talking about, but he did understand one thing: his father was not a person who brought disaster, but a pioneer who sacrificed himself.

It was his mother and uncle who had misunderstood his father!

But what exactly had they been planning?

Just as Xin Yi was lost in thought, a deer's cry rang out, followed by a loud boom.

The giant jade gate...

Opened...