Chapter 216: Love is Torment, Yet Also the Most Selfless

What is going on?

Li Zhenren's eyes widened.

A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth once again.

Watching Pei Yanzong, whom Lin Bai had retrieved with such ease, he felt so aggrieved he wanted to cry...

After two rounds of confrontation, he hadn't even managed to hurt a single hair on Lin Bai, yet he had already severely injured himself.

Having finally snatched his lover back from Lin Bai's hands with such difficulty, he hadn't even managed to touch him before he was snatched back again.

Moreover, he had suffered injuries to both body and spirit while snatching the person, whereas Lin Bai had done it with effortless ease.

It was too unfair.

If it weren't for his reluctance to part with Pei Yanzong, he would have had a mind to flee, heal his wounds, and return later to seek revenge!

But he was truly unwilling to accept this!

Is this the explosive speed of the Spirit Transformation stage?

Although Lin Bai had snatched Pei Yanzong back, he still felt lingering fear; if Li Zhenren hadn't saved Pei Yanzong and had instead attacked him directly, he really might not have been able to react in time.

For a fleeting moment, Lin Bai even wanted to use the Red Thread to bind himself to Li Zhenren.

Agility!

He needed agility!

Though panicked on the inside, Lin Bai maintained a calm expression and offered a Provocation: "Li Zhenren, is it as surprising as discovering on your wedding night that the bridegroom is a man?"

The crowd was speechless.

According to the marriage you arranged for him, a man wouldn't be surprising at all; only a woman would be a surprise, wouldn't she?

"Master, if you can snatch Pei Yanzong, why can't you just kill Lin Bai directly?"

Daoxu roared, hating his misfortune and angry at his lack of resolve.

The Resistance Arrow left him with an instinctive disgust toward Lin Bai, and his status as a Puppet left him feeling that life in the human world was hopeless; he had been honest for a while after being threatened by Lin Bai.

Now, seeing his own master break through the defenses of Lin Bai's Puppet and strike directly at Lin Bai's side, he immediately saw a hope for liberation, and his restless heart stirred once more.

"Master is finished!" Qingyu heard this and helplessly covered her forehead with her hand, "Lin Bai is petty; why must he be so self-destructive?"

Li Zhenren froze.

Lin Bai glanced at Daoxu, a faint, mocking smile crossing his lips.

Daoxu gave a violent start and involuntarily revealed a smile; hardening his heart, he instigated: "Master, only if Lin Bai dies can you be with Pei Yanzong forever!"

"..." Xin Shang and the others were speechless and sighed one after another; the Love Dao was like a demonic path, and the world was becoming increasingly chaotic.

Li Zhenren glanced at Daoxu, took a bottle of pills from his bosom without a word, poured one out, and sent it into his mouth.

Sigh!

Lin Bai said leisurely: "Daoxu! Have you ever heard of a love as stable as a triangle? Do you know what it means to enjoy the blessings of having both, which is sweeter than honey?"

He raised his Qi-Spirit-God to the highest level, watched Li Zhenren vigilantly, took out an Enlightenment Pill, and stuffed it into Pei Yanzong's mouth.

"No!"

Daoxu's eyes were splitting with rage; he reached out to stop Lin Bai, but because of the command to guard, he could do nothing and could only watch helplessly as Pei Yanzong swallowed that Enlightenment Pill.

Watching Pei Yanzong's eyes gradually become lively, Daoxu trembled uncontrollably.

The most terrifying thing had happened.

Damn it!

He had been impulsive!

Daoxu looked at Li Zhenren as if looking at his last hope: Master, you must be effective; whether the two of us can be happy depends on this one effort of yours.

"Daoxu, allow me to regulate my breath for a moment." Li Zhenren did not understand what had happened; he glanced at Daoxu, then looked at Lin Bai, and said coldly: "Lin Bai, today is the day you die."

Lin Bai smiled.

Li Zhenren smiled along with him; despite the threatening words, the involuntarily cheerful tone made it look like flirting.

"Daoxu." Pei Yanzong rolled his eyes, looked at Daoxu first, and smiled affectionately, "I'm awake; we can be together now."

"Get lost." Daoxu wore a smile, his hair standing on end, "If you speak to me in such a disgusting tone again, believe it or not, I will hack you to pieces."

"Daoxu, mind your attitude." Li Zhenren scolded with a smile, "How are you speaking to your master's wife?" Afterward, his tone turned gentle, "Little Pei, you're awake? You might not have met me; I am Daoxu's master!"

"You?" Pei Yanzong looked at Li Zhenren suspiciously. In that instant, his heart skipped a heavy beat, as if he had seen true love again. He looked at Li Zhenren, then at Daoxu, and subconsciously clutched his chest, "I... you two... why is it like this? Why did you let me encounter both of you at the same time?"

"Get lost and go find my master." Daoxu's face was dark as he waved his hand at Pei Yanzong in disgust.

"Daoxu, speak properly to your master's wife." Li Zhenren said angrily.

"Li Lang, don't blame him; he arrived before you." Pei Yanzong took the initiative to defend Daoxu.

"Go to hell." Daoxu.

"Daoxu!" Li Zhenren.

"It's all my fault; please don't argue." Pei Yanzong.

"Holy crap, what a bizarre development."

"Even romance dramas couldn't film such a melodramatic plot; it's too ridiculous."

"Why did you make me watch this?"

"@Game Officials, hurry up and manage your NPCs; it's so damn eye-searing."

"Pfft!"

"The Love Dao is basically just a powerful Hypnosis, right!"

"Lin Bai is confirmed to be an evil demon..."

"There's no need for Love Separation; once this scene gets out, any NPC who comes to provoke Lin Bai will have to weigh their options. They'd really be losing their heads over love!"

"I think we should find the Alliance Leader and state our position honestly," Xin Shang suddenly said out of the blue.

"Agreed," Zhao Tulong swallowed a mouthful of saliva and chimed in.

"Sect Leader Ge, if the two of us try to cultivate the Love Dao, do you think Alliance Leader Lin will let us off?" Shen Kuang looked at Ge Feiyun with hesitation and lowered his voice, "In the first issue of Justice Weekly, he once paired you and Pei Yanzong together. If he happens to..."

"Say no more, I agree."

Ge Feiyun gave a violent start and quickly agreed.

She did not want to have any more entanglements with Pei Yanzong. Who knew that using love as a weapon could be so disgusting?

Lin Bai watched the farce before him with curiosity, once again marveling at the power of the Yuelao System.

If not for the limited quantity of Red Thread and Love Arrows, he would have had a mind to tie Daoxu and Li Zhenren together again.

That way, the three of them could form three pairs, creating a perfect closed loop, and Daoxu wouldn't have to suffer being caught in the middle.

At this moment, Pei Yanzong's memories regarding Lin Bai gradually returned, and his expression changed abruptly: "Lang Li, we'll talk about our affairs later. Kill Lin Bai first and save me."

"..."

Daoxu's eyes lit up.

Encouraged by his lover, Li Zhenren felt his Spirit surge and once again channeled his power to forcibly activate Teleportation, aiming for Lin Bai.

But this time, he had no chance.

Lin Bai's attention was almost entirely on him.

The instant he moved, the Great Demon Dissolution was activated, and his entire body instantly scattered into fragments, falling apart.

Li Zhenren's meticulously planned strike immediately hit nothing.

Lin Bai's head saw Li Zhenren standing beside Pei Yanzong.

He immediately activated Moon Run against him.

Before Li Zhenren, who had failed his sneak attack, could recover, a massive force came from beneath his feet. He had already been forced into the posture of Moon Run and shot into the sky.

He vomited blood as he flew.

The cost of Flash was too high; even for someone in the Transformation Realm, using it repeatedly left his body unable to bear the burden.

"Oh, you Li Zhenren, as stupid as a roe deer, I am like the most resilient tardigrade—I cannot be killed!" Lin Bai's head laughed triumphantly, "I don't mind telling you, every piece of my body is like an earthworm; it can grow into a brand-new me!"

"Holy crap, that scared the hell out of me! I thought Lin Bai had been smashed to bits!"

"+1"

"Instant explosion; Shopkeeper Lin has gained another Skill."

"Every piece can grow into a brand-new body—what an evil demon's technique!"

"In the future, if you want to fight Shopkeeper Lin, you must make sure to grind his bones to dust, otherwise, who knows when this guy will come back to life."

"NPCs only have one life? Is the official side slapping its own face?"

"That's right! You only have one life, but didn't you fail to eliminate all of Lin Bai's life? You only eliminated ninety percent of it."

"No need to explain for the official side."

"Limbs growing into a brand-new body must come with a price."

"Nonsense, if there were no price, what we'd be facing would be a Lin Bai army..."

"Lin Bai!"

"Master!"

Jiang Qingqin and the little white fox exclaimed at the same time.

Jiang Qingqin leaped off the Hundred Flower Shuttle and rushed toward Lin Bai.

The little white fox poked its head out from his embrace...

In that instant, both of them thought Lin Bai had been killed.

Daoxu was ecstatic: "Lin Bai!"

But the moment Lin Bai's voice rang out, all the tension, worry, and joy instantly transformed into the opposite emotions.

"He really was hiding a trump card," He Qin shook his head and said, "Rebirth from a drop of blood—this is the authentic Heavenly Demon Method!"

Wan Qifeng and Ma Changcheng looked exceptionally grave. Seeing the disheveled Li Zhenren, there was a hint of relief on their faces.

It was fortunate that Lin Bai hadn't dealt such a ruthless hand to them; compared to Li Zhenren, being sent flying by Love Separation wasn't entirely unacceptable.

Killing someone is just a matter of a head hitting the ground.

To torture a Transformation Realm expert from body to mind is too cruel.

Lin Bai's body parts returned to their places, restoring his previous elegance.

He looked up at the Moon-running Li Zhenren and said: "Pei Yanzong, why not recall the experiences of these past days like a little baby? Think again, are you truly prepared to be my enemy? The Justice Alliance is like a rushing river; only by boarding a boat and going with the flow can you reach the vast ocean. And your hatred and prejudice toward me will only transform into sharp arrows shot at your lover, leaving him covered in wounds. Can you bear that?"

As he spoke, Lin Bai reached out and pointed at Daoxu. Daoxu began his Moon Run, soaring upward, roaring as he chased after Li Zhenren: "Lin Bai, I will not stand under the same sky as you."

"Me?" Pei Yanzong watched his two lovers Moon-running, feeling as if something important was leaving him, his heart aching like it was being cut by a knife.

"Persuade them to stay in the Justice Alliance, and you can..." Lin Bai stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering the metaphor task still in progress. He spat softly and continued, "You can be like a lion king on the grasslands, enjoying your beloved concubine to the fullest, and the rest of your life will be as brilliant as spring."

The Enlightenment Pill awakens the consciousness of card characters, but it cannot guarantee they will be one hundred percent obedient. If Lin Bai wants to handle Li Zhenren, he must first persuade Pei Yanzong.

"Although I love him, I hope even more to give him freedom," Pei Yanzong said through gritted teeth.

"Parting like swallows, you think letting go gives him the happiness of a bird, but is that really the case? Love is as selfish as a cub searching for food; letting go may seem noble, but what it brings to the other party will be pain like ten thousand arrows piercing the heart." Lin Bai exhorted earnestly, beginning to use metaphors recklessly.

He had to divert some of his attention to Li Zhenren in the sky. Time was tight, so he couldn't afford to think of appropriate metaphors and naturally said whatever came to mind, "Old Pei, do you know what love is? In the sky, we wish to be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, we wish to be branches intertwined. If you two became two fish in a place lacking water, moistening each other with saliva to help one another sustain life—mutual support in times of need is true happiness!"

Demon!

Xin Shang and the others all swallowed hard.

Jiang Qingqin wore a look of longing and said silently, "I will."

"You brat, go to hell." Li Zhenren, carrying monstrous rage, dove down from the sky; his whole person looked like a meteorite falling from the heavens.

Feeling Li Zhenren's terrifying might.

Lin Bai casually summoned Daoxu back.

Then.

He issued an order to Pei Yanzong to attack Li Zhenren, and then issued an order to Daoxu to attack Pei Yanzong...

Who said Puppets can't fight Puppets?

Let me show you what is called unwavering love!

What is called chain love!

"No!"

Realizing what he was about to do, Pei Yanzong screamed in panic, yet he could not control his own body: "Li-lang, hurry and dodge, I can't control myself."

"Pei Yanzong, go to hell." Daoxu had long been disgusted to the extreme by Pei Yanzong. Having finally found an opportunity, he grinned hideously and used his most ruthless move.

A Sword light stabbed toward Pei Yanzong.

"Rebellious disciple, how dare you!" Li Zhenren had originally been striking at Lin Bai, but seeing Pei Yanzong in crisis, he had to abandon Lin Bai and turn toward Daoxu.

"Master, kill me." Daoxu revealed a smile of relief; he had had enough of this damn torture.

"Li-lang, don't hurt Daoxu," Pei Yanzong shouted in panic. "If you hurt him, my heart will die too."

Li Zhenren's offensive immediately leaked seven-tenths of its power.

"..." The crowd.

"My head is a bit dizzy," Longxi swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Shopkeeper Lin is too ruthless, playing them in the palm of his hand!" Longxi said, "The Transformation Realm is nothing more than this; Shopkeeper Lin's laws are still the powerful ones."

"No, it's that Shopkeeper Lin's brain turns fast," Baiyin said, "And he is unscrupulous."

"In Shopkeeper Lin's words, he cultivates the Heavenly Dao; under the Heavenly Dao, all living things are equal," Wo Bushi Xiaohao said gloomily.

"Lin Bai, I'm willing, I agree to your request." Watching his own Blazing Sun Blade about to strike his lover, with one lover about to hurt the other, Pei Yanzong was in extreme pain and shouted anxiously.

He understood now.

What love?

What freedom?

It was all fake. If they didn't agree to Lin Bai's request, the three of them would fall into endless torture, never to be reincarnated for eternity.

Lin Bai is a true demon who toys with human hearts; his intent is the key.

Guard.

Lin Bai changed the order.

Pei Yanzong and Daoxu returned to his side.

The offensive stopped instantly!

Neither of them suffered much damage, but their complexions were decadent to the extreme.

Li Zhenren also stopped his offensive. He looked at Lin Bai in despair, swaying unsteadily: "What must I do for you to let us leave?"

He gave up.

Not only because of the injuries on his body, but also because of his love for Pei Yanzong; he could not bear to watch his lover be tortured like this by Lin Bai.

"Why leave? Stay by my side, and you can still be together as harmoniously as twin lotus flowers on one stalk," Lin Bai let out a long breath, forcing everyone to be happy with him. "Look around, your disciples and grandchildren are here like children, your lover is here like a flower. Li Zhenren, joining the Justice Alliance is like returning home; wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"..." Li Zhenren, wearing a smile, fell into silence.

"Master, let's go!" Daoxu's smile was full of despair. "Staying is a more painful torture. Lin Bai cannot do anything to you; go find more experts, eliminate Lin Bai, and come back to save Mistress..."

"Li-lang, stay, we can't get away." Pei Yanzong was even more helpless; although his smile was sweet, his voice was full of bitterness. "Staying means we can suffer less torture."

"..." Li Zhenren's face showed a look of struggle.

"Daoxu, I have a Separation Arrow as bitter as coptis, which can sever the relationship between you and Pei Yanzong!" Lin Bai looked at Daoxu and said softly.

Daoxu jolted: "Really?"

"Don't." Seeing his 'blessing of multiple partners' about to slip away, Pei Yanzong said in a panic, "Lin Bai, don't, I beg you, don't."

"As true as gold," Lin Bai said. Seeing Li Zhenren had yielded, if he added another love triangle to his side, that would just be purely annoying to himself.

"Master, stay, Pei Yanzong will be yours alone." Daoxu pondered for a moment, then suddenly sighed; he could not refuse the temptation Lin Bai offered.

"Daodao, you are so heartless," Pei Yanzong's heart turned to ash.

"Fine, I will stay." Love is selfish. Li Zhenren had long loathed Pei Yanzong's constant protection of Daoxu, and now that he had the opportunity to completely separate the two, he naturally would not give it up.

(End of chapter)