Chapter 2031 - Grandmother, Free From Confinement

The purple full moon hovering beneath the dome of heaven split, and a dazzlingly bright, blood-red power flowed out of it.

The entirety of the towering Purple Moon Mountain split in two down the midline. Its slopes collapsed, and boulders fell like rain. Dust and smoke permeated the air, and an air of destruction swept outward.

Ghost God Golden Ape was badly injured. He dodged, then stood far away, breathing in ragged gasps. Terror and unease were written all over his face.

That terrifying, unparalleled sword force still permeated the entire stretch of heaven and earth.

When Ye Chunqiu came back to his senses, he saw Su Yi’s tall, upright figure standing in the sky. Every last inch of his skin had split, and his whole body gushed blood. His blue robes were stained completely red, and his vital energy was in complete disarray.

Moreover, the mysterious illusory Dao Sword in his hands showed signs of dissipation.

Ye Chunqiu’s heart ached, and he said hoarsely, “Ol’ Wang, are you alright?”

“Trivial injuries like these are nothing at all,” said Su Yi without so much as turning his head.

It hadn’t been long since a group of divine avatars of will had chased him through the Epoch Battlefield. He’d overcome countless perils, and he’d been as injured as he could possibly be. His body and soul were even pushed to the brink of collapse.

His current predicament seemed perilous, and he looked wretched indeed, but it was nothing compared to what he overcame then.

“Thank you for helping me shatter the fetters of the curse!”

Suddenly, a voice full of laughter boomed throughout the sky, and a woman shot out of the ruins of the blood-red altar.

She was an unparalleled, fair-skinned beauty in red, and her long, snow-white hair danced in the wind.

“Grandmother!” Ye Chunqiu looked stricken.

Su Yi looked stricken too, but for an entirely different reason. He’d expected the mysterious “Grandmother” to be a hideous, malevolent old crone. Who’d have thought she'd be a young beauty?

Moreover, Su Yi had seen her before! He’d crossed paths with her avatar of will in the graveyard. She'd been the one seated in that bloodied palanquin.

“Grandmother, your subordinate was inept. I couldn’t protect your Altar of the Five Aggregates.” Ghost God Golden Ape approached from afar, then bowed at the waist.

“If it’s ruined, it’s ruined. The Altar of the Five Aggregates is no longer useful to me anyway,” the woman in red said leisurely.

Her entire body was swathed in a resplendent rain of light, and her bearing was as aloof and contemptuous as a goddess gazing down upon the nine heavens. She was completely different from the Ghost Gods.

“Does that mean I just did you an enormous favor?” asked Su Yi.

“You did indeed,” said the woman in red. When she smiled, she was utterly radiant.

She glanced at the illusory Dao Sword in Su Yi’s hands and said slowly, “Shortly after you first entered the City of the Lost, you used the power of reincarnation. I immediately guessed your identity.

“Admittedly, you slew many of my subordinates to get here, and thus far, nothing has been able to stop you. Still, the bigger the disturbance you cause, the more advantageous it is for me.”

As she spoke, the woman in red walked through the sky and drifted onto the split peak of Purple Moon Mountain. She faced away from the purple full moon and gazed at Su Yi, nothing but smiles.

It was obvious that she was in no rush to attack.

Ye Chunqiu’s heart sank. Grandmother was the ruler of the City of the Lost. Now that the fetters of the curse had broken, she was unquestionably far more terrifying than before.

Compared to her, even the Nine Dao Protector Ghost Gods were nothing at all!

But Su Yi was as calm as ever. Even though he was covered in blood, and even though his vitality was rapidly ebbing, he wasn’t the least bit concerned.

He could tell that the woman in red wanted to stall for time, but Su Yi wasn’t in a hurry either.

“The City of the Lost is like a cage. Throughout the ages, everyone who enters is trapped here for all eternity. Some become Lost, while others become Ghost Gods,” sighed the woman in red.

“During my time here, I’ve seen far too many people trapped, unable to truly live, yet unable to die. Even when their bodies and souls are destroyed, the power of the curse restores them. No torment could be greater than being unable to die.”

Suddenly, she sharply changed tacks. “Fortunately, you’re here, and you’ve brought the long-lost power of reincarnation with you!”

Her eyes sparkled like pools of water, bright and resplendent, and she looked utterly gratified. “In a sense, you’ve saved my life. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call you my benefactor.”

Su Yi said flatly, “In that case, shouldn’t you kowtow before me to express your gratitude?”

The woman’s smile froze. A moment later, she shook her head. “I dislike verbal spats. Only the inept vent their fury with angry words.”

“In that case, why waste your breath talking to me?” said Su Yi. “Just attack already!”

The atmosphere was instantly stifled and tense.

The woman in red took a hard look at Su Yi and said, “I’ve been trapped here for a long, long time. Now, I’m finally free. I have no desire to risk myself any further.”

Su Yi jeered. “All that talk, but you’re really just too afraid to attack me.”

“You could think of it that way,” said the woman in red, not at all concerned. “After overcoming the torment of countless ages of captivity, living matters more than anything else. Thus, if it’s not absolutely necessary, I’d really rather not fight someone as dangerous as you.”

“...” Neither Su Yi nor Ye Chunqiu could have anticipated this. Both assumed that the ruler of the City of the Lost was sure to attack.

Who’d have thought she’d have no intention of doing any such thing?

“Are you surprised?” asked the woman in red with a cheerful grin.

Su Yi said calmly, “I am, but that doesn’t matter. You still have to die here today!”

The woman narrowed her eyes, then laughed. “And what if I said that Xu Fushi and Xiao Ruyi are still alive? Would you fight me to the death even then?”

Su Yi froze.

Ye Chunqiu, meanwhile, blurted, “They... aren’t dead!?”

“Ye Chunqiu, you’ve served me for a long, long time,” said the woman in red. “How could you have forgotten? In the City of the Lost, it’s almost impossible to die even if you want to.”

Ye Chunqiu’s expression filled with uncertainty. “But no small number of people have died by your hand over the years, right?”

The woman in red laughed and shook her head. “I can control the power of the curse, but I too am subject to its fetters. I cannot truly kill anyone within the City of the Lost.

“The people you thought died by my hand were simply sealed away completely. After all, they went against my orders. If I didn’t punish them, who in the City of the Lost would truly submit to me?

“The frustrating part is, even if I really want to kill someone, I can’t. All I can do is seal them away completely. From your perspective, they might as well be dead.”

When Ye Chunqiu learned the truth, his expression filled with uncertainty. He was happy, but also overcome with grief.

It was true. This was the City of the Lost. Here, everyone was indestructible, but all of them longed for death!

This was the power of the Curse of the Ancient Gods!

“In that case, why haven’t you let your hostages go yet?” Su Yi asked suddenly.

The woman in red said, “How could I possibly just let them go without testing you first? The very idea is ludicrous. In other words, if you hadn’t fought your way here, how could you possibly be worthy of demanding that I free the hostages?”

“So your subordinates died for nothing?” asked Su Yi.

“To them, death was a form of release,” said the woman in red, a jeering light in her eyes. “I wouldn’t have thought the man famous throughout the God Domain, the expert even gods feared, would become so kindhearted after reincarnating. I don’t care about the people you killed, so why should you feign compassion for them?”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘compassion,’” said Su Yi. “Still, I know I couldn’t simply watch as my subordinates went to their deaths.”

Waves of emotion coursed through Ye Chunqiu’s heart. It was true. Had Wang Ye been that kind of selfish person, how could he possibly have risked everything to find his friends in the City of the Lost? Why would he have fought his way to the peak of Purple Moon Mountain just to avenge Xiao Ruyi and Xu Fushi?

Grandmother’s methods were unquestionably cold and cruel by comparison. She was simply heartless! Who knew what her dead subordinates would have thought had they been here to see this?

“The Divine Dao is heartless. In pursuit of the Grand Dao, life and death, honor and disgrace, the seven emotions and six desires, and all worldly affairs are mere illusions,” the woman said with cold indifference. “Only your power of the Grand Dao is real! But then, our paths are different. It’s natural that we cannot understand each other.”

She raised her hand and waved. “Golden Ape, give him Xu Fushi and Xiao Ruyi’s souls.”

“Got it!” Golden Ape walked up and unfurled the bamboo slip in his hands. It was covered in densely scrawled surnames, all of them manifested from the blood-red power of the curse. He then tapped the surnames “Xiao” and “Xu.”

Weng!

Blood-red light fell, and two figures floated into view.

A woman covered in blood with disheveled long hair, and a beautifully handsome young man in ragged robes.

These were none other than Xiao Ruyi and Xu Fushi.

However, only their souls remained, and their eyes were bright red. They were obviously afflicted with the Curse of the Ancient Gods, and they’d joined the Lost!

Su Yi had anticipated this. Nonetheless, seeing his dear friends in such a state was hard to bear.

The Xiao Ruyi that Wang Ye remembered was a woman with the spirit to encompass the sun and moon. She was unrestrained and at ease, an unparalleled yao immortal at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao. The yao cultivators of the Immortal Realm revered her as Yao Sovereign Ruyi.

She often lamented that worldly affairs were flawed and life was full of regret. Better not to seek perfection. Seeking small joys was thus the path to great freedom.

Xu Fushi, meanwhile, was proud and unbridled. He too was a powerhouse at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, a dazzling talent who would have shone in any era!

Yet now, both of them had joined the Lost, and their awareness was muddled. Their situation was utterly bleak!

Fortunately, they were still alive.

This was already an enormous blessing, one entirely outside of Su Yi’s predictions. It was an unexpected delight!

“Do you still plan to fight me to the death?” The woman in red looked at Su Yi once more.

Su Yi swept his gaze across Xiao Ruyi and Xu Fushi, then said calmly, “Of course.”

This time, it wasn’t just Ghost God Golden Ape and Ye Chunqiu. Even the woman in red was unwittingly stunned.

“Did I show you too much sincerity? Is that why you think you can take an inch and demand a mile?” The woman in red frowned, and the smile vanished from her beautiful face. Now, her eyes glinted with icy light.

The atmosphere was suddenly tense!