Chapter 2209: Silver Moon vs. Death

Facing Priest Ao Gu Si, who spoke with an expressionless face, Vincent Taylor subconsciously took a step back. Even as an ordinary person, he could already feel the threat of death, though he did not understand how the old man before him intended to threaten him.

Priest Ao Gu Si then reached his right hand toward his side. Pitch-black mist surged from his palm, and then that black mist extended upward and downward until it transformed into a sharp, black scythe.

The Miracle—【Scythe of the Death Messenger】. When Xia De asked Priest Ao Gu Si about death miracles last year, he had heard him mention this. The effect of the miracle was to summon a spiritual weapon. Although Xia De already possessed the 【Moonlight Greatsword】 at the time, he still thought this miracle was very cool; it was just that, hindered by the high cost of the ritual materials, he chose not to learn it.

Priest Ao Gu Si, who had promoted to the Fourth Ring since Green Lake, clearly had fully mastered this miracle. The moment the pitch-black scythe appeared, the terrified Taylor had already collapsed to the ground. That scythe induced his deepest fear of death, and his legs, spasming from terror, caused him to lose his final chance to escape.

"I, you..."

He could not even complete a sentence. Priest Ao Gu Si flipped the scythe, directing the sharp, slender blade downward.

"I am very sorry, young man. Mortals must eventually die; may we meet again in death."

The scythe danced, leaving pitch-black light trails in the air. Vincent Taylor only felt a chill on his scalp, and in extreme terror, following a "clang" sound, he was thoroughly frightened into unconsciousness.

Because of this, he did not see the silver greatsword and the pitch-black scythe collide above his head, nor did he see silver light fragments and black light splashing in all directions.

The surface of the silver greatsword was covered in complex rune chains, and the ancient-styled blade shone in harmony with the moonlight. The Moonlight Greatsword blocked the scythe of death. Priest Ao Gu Si looked suspiciously at Xia De, who had blocked his fatal blow.

"Detective, what do you mean by this?"

He stared at Xia De's solemn face:

"Didn't we already discuss this? If this person's prejudice is already incurable, we should just eliminate him."

The priest did not withdraw his scythe while speaking, and Xia De naturally kept holding the greatsword in his hand:

"Priest, don't you... feel that something is wrong?"

"What is wrong?"

The priest was puzzled. The wind blew past the hems of their clothes, but neither of them cared about it.

"Priest, when I first met you last summer, although you were always inclined to think of things in the worst light as the doctor and others said, overall you were still compassionate toward the world. The you I met last year would never have set a trap to kill an ordinary person after just a few simple sentences of conversation."

Xia De lowered his eyes to look at Mr. Taylor, who had been frightened into unconsciousness on the ground:

"What does this person's life or death have to do with me? I don't care if he lives or dies, after all, I don't even know him. What I care about is your situation, Priest. Do you really feel that your decisive actions right now are okay?"

Even in the daylight, the ancient runes on the blade of the 【Moonlight Greatsword】 emitted a visible glow. The wind brushed through the forest, and amidst the rustling sound of leaves and branches rubbing against each other, Priest Ao Gu Si said to Xia De with great certainty:

"Detective, people always change. I understand what you mean; you are still suspecting that those bones have influenced me. But look, the elements within my body have regained their balance, and the circulation of my spirit is not agitated. I have long since had no problems."

"If one thinks that a person's psychology must be fine just because their elements and spirit are fine, then the doctor would have gone out of business long ago."

Xia De used Doctor Shi Nai De's profession as an example, and Priest Ao Gu Si shook his head gently:

"Detective, when did you become such a soft-hearted person? He has already been infected by a relic, and there is a ninety-nine percent probability that he cannot be saved. Killing him now is the best choice. There is no need for us to risk having more people infected by the relic for the sake of a one percent probability... Is it me who has a problem, or is it you?"

Xia De was certain that he did not have a problem, because he really did not mind killing, but he did mind such decisive actions:

"Priest, I will say it again, I don't care if he lives or dies. I care about your problem. The erosion of death on you is still too great. From your perspective, when you look at this world, is it really so gray and dark? Tell me, Priest, are the sentences you just said to him about the weaknesses of human nature and the flaws of living creatures thoughts from your heart?"

Xia De asked again, and Priest Ao Gu Si nodded:

"Yes. Do you think that people will one day understand each other?"

"Of course not. The doctor explained to me not long ago that the distance between human hearts, which is just about to touch, is the most distant distance in this world. I agree that human nature has flaws, but Priest, this is not a reason for us to kill him. His prejudice is also affecting us and expanding the dark side in our hearts. You have already been influenced, Priest."

The scythe in Priest Ao Gu Si's hand tightened, and the black mist surging around the scythe was trying to overwhelm the light of the silver moon:

"No, Detective, I have no prejudice."

"Then please tell me—"

Xia De's empty left hand pointed at the old priest's chest:

"Since returning from Ge Lin Lake, is there really no prejudice in your heart, the prejudice of the dead toward the living?"

Clang!

The scythe parried the longsword, and then the two clashed again in the air. Compared to just now, this time the old priest was rarely truly angry:

"Detective, aren't your words a bit too much?"

"Priest, I am asking you to answer my question. Tell me, do you still harbor the prejudice of the dead toward the living? Are you standing in that cold place, mocking those warm living beings?"

Priest Ao Gu Si seemed to refuse to answer this question, as he closed his mouth, held the scythe, and took a step back, then dissipated into the forest amidst a cloud of black mist.

Xia De stood beside Vincent Taylor, who had been frightened into unconsciousness, with the silver Moonlight Greatsword in his hand pointing at the ground. Closing his eyes to perceive as much as he could, he then suddenly turned and performed a spinning slash. The moonlight left dreamy light and shadows in the air, and the greatsword broke the death scythe in Priest Ao Gu Si's hand with one strike.

He tilted his head to dodge the fragments of the scythe blade, his right hand formed a hand seal, and the golden 【Xie Dun Dharma Seal】 shield that erupted from his body blocked the finger extended by the priest, and the expanding spherical shield forced the priest to take two steps back:

"Detective, I have always found it incredible; your talent for sun and moon sorcery is truly astonishing."

Xia De did not respond to this, and after actively canceling the Xie Dun Dharma Seal, the pitch-black chain in his sleeve shot toward Priest Ao Gu Si's right hand, but it was knocked away by him with a casual wave:

"The power of the Seven Deadly Sins is useless against me."

Scorched black feathers fell from the sky. The power of death brought by the half-scorched, pure white wings spread out from behind Priest Ao Gu Si directly caused the leaves of all the trees in a small area nearby to turn from emerald green to withered yellow in an instant.

He looked like he was going to get serious. The moment his wings flapped and his feet left the ground, ripples appeared on the original ground, and then the sky light dimmed, and the trees disappeared one after another. The uneven ground gradually transformed into a pitch-black water surface as the ripples spread. The temperature of the summer morning dropped suddenly, until white mist would be exhaled from one's mouth with every breath.

Sound and light sources disappeared completely in the darkness and silence. Above the calm black water, the appearance presented by the "angel" with spread wings was not just that of Lat Ao Gu Si; a one-third illusory skeleton overlapped with the old priest's body, but it only lasted for an instant.

This was not a Misuo, but something similar. The terrain advantage gave the airborne Priest Ao Gu Si more powerful strength, allowing him, who was only at the Fourth Tier, to level out some of the gap in the total amount of spirit compared to Xia De.

He knew how powerful Xia De was. Even if he didn't intend to fight to the death but just spar, he couldn't relax.

The black water in the dead silence took shape. Priest Ao Gu Si had thought that this fight, where both sides were trying to persuade each other, had just begun, but when he looked up at Xia De's position, he found that Xia De had not tried to move at all.

He stood very calmly on the pitch-black water, and as his arms spread forward, a half-submerged silver moon slowly appeared behind him.

The calm moonlight made Xia De's body outline look like it was glowing, and when the moonlight shone into Priest Ao Gu Si's eyes, the old priest was stunned for a moment.

There was not a single ripple on the water, but there was also no sound. The angel in the air and the young man who seemed to want to embrace him on the water looked at each other, and the scene, like an oil painting, became eternal in an instant.

The gentle moonlight gradually melted the cold heart infected by death. When the moonlight completely illuminated Priest Ao Gu Si's face, completely illuminated his wings and his current appearance, the angel lowered his head toward the young man in front of the moon, and then slowly fell onto the water.

The wings retracted, and as his feet touched the water, the water surface turned back into the solid forest ground. Trees appeared one by one around him, and the wind in the forest returned at this time, but it still could not blow away that faint, imperceptible chill.

The silver moon also disappeared behind Xia De. He stood there looking at the priest, and the priest slowly came to him. As he wanted to kneel down, he was supported by Xia De:

"Priest, what do you mean by this?"

"The angel of death eventually turned into bones, and there is probably a reason for that... It probably went crazy after the Ancient God left."

The Dark Moon seemed to have given Priest Ao Gu Si some revelation. He looked up at the young man in front of him, clearly feeling that what he saw was a newborn moon:

"Yes, I think I am indeed still being influenced by the power of death. Just now, I seemed to have walked into a dead end of thought, and only after seeing the Dark Moon behind you did I feel that I understood. You woke up Joey Barton, and your moon also illuminated me.

Detective, sorry for letting you see a joke. I am at such an age, yet I am still so impulsive in doing things. I know why you stopped me from killing him, I... cannot look at this world from the perspective of death anymore."