"They had ambition and strength. I don't believe I'm the most special one. Is it simply because I survived the first day? With enough luck, among dozens of climbers, perhaps… one or two might have discovered some special rule, even one I missed, and survived, leading others to safety through the first day, preventing a complete annihilation."
"With enough time, enough samples, it's bound to happen."
"Clearly, before meeting me, you must have encountered similar individuals. Why didn't you choose them, but chose me instead?" Li Mo asked directly, deducing the past events even without witnessing them himself.
He had a clear understanding of himself.
Nothing was special, especially not humans.
Everything came at a price. Li Mo knew this well.
Su Mei's eyes curved into a smile, her gaze filled with admiration.
They knew the leaders of the climbing groups were exceptional individuals. After all, they were the ones who released the ghosts onto the Heavenly Path.
However, those individuals weren't qualified, not nearly enough.
Often, individual strength and vision couldn't save the day.
"Because He is watching you."
"He?"
Su Mei raised a hand, about to point to the entity on Li Mo's shoulder.
But she hesitated, lowering her hand with a helpless sigh.
It wasn't time yet…
"The test ends here. You have one choice."
"Either learn half the truth or leave."
Su Mei and the others looked at Li Mo expectantly.
"If you choose to leave, we will pretend this conversation never happened."
Unwilling to give up, Li Mo tried to glean more information. "Nothing more you can reveal?"
Su Mei shook her head quickly, glancing at Jiang Wanru, a subtle denial in her eyes. "No."
Suddenly, Jiang Wanru blurted out, "Yes, there is! Master ate someone, a woman who looked exactly like her!"
Li Mo instinctively wanted to look up but quickly suppressed the urge.
He knew Su Mei was setting a trap.
Learning the truth would require him to accomplish some incredibly difficult tasks.
But Li Mo couldn't refuse. He had to find Hua.
After a brief hesitation, Li Mo answered resolutely, "In that case, I will handle the reality you fear."
"Tell me everything you know, now."
A woman who looked exactly like Jingwei? It could only be Hua.
No wonder the Fenghuang Down was unresponsive. If Jingwei had taken it, it would explain everything.
As fellow wielders of the Fenghuang Down, if Hua could hide within it, so could Jingwei.
Hua had been consumed by Jingwei…
That's why he couldn't find any trace of her.
But… what did "consumed" mean exactly?
If it was Bizzare contamination, she could still be saved by bringing her back to Elysia. If it was literal consumption, then she was likely long gone.
Su Mei smiled faintly, looking up at the radiant sun in the clear sky. The bright light illuminated every corner of Taixu Mountain, washing away the filth.
With her schemes exposed, she no longer hid anything.
How long had it been?
How long had she waited for this day, for him?
Centuries of hardship, millennia of tragedy, finally coming to an end.
Expressions of relief appeared on their faces, as if freed from their shackles, their burdens lifted, their freedom reclaimed.
Sometimes, death truly was a luxury.
Seeing their expressions, Li Mo's tension eased slightly, though he didn't let his guard down completely.
He waited quietly for the truth.
Su Mei: "Where should I begin? Hehe, I've forgotten. Our memories are fragmented; we can't remember many things."
Li Mo: "..."
Lin Chaoyu: "We have no intention of deceiving you. We will tell you everything we know."
Cheng Lingshuang: "From the moment we regained our human consciousness, we've been trapped in these flimsy human skins, without any freedom."
"Only when someone climbs Taixu Mountain can we take human form during the day, forced to greet and entertain the guests."
"However, most climbers don't survive the first night. They are killed by ghosts, becoming nourishment for Taixu Mountain."
"Their blood flows into the clear streams; their bones are ground into sturdy table legs; their flesh fills the tree trunks; their eyes become the leaves on the branches; their skins are peeled off and cover the bark…"
"As you can see, the summit of Taixu Mountain is a graveyard for countless talented individuals. No matter how exceptional they are, they cannot escape this tragic fate."
"Yet, their deaths are celebrated as 'sacrifices for the righteous path, for the ultimate pursuit, for their beloved'…"
"These tales, combined with the legend of the Immortal granting wishes, attract countless people. Taixu Mountain is littered with corpses, rivers of blood…"
"We are bound by some force, unable to harm or drive away the guests. We can only watch as this happens."
"Over time, Taixu Mountain has become a mountain of ghosts, their numbers increasing. The more people die, the more come to die. It's a vicious cycle."
Jiang Wanxi: "To break this cycle, we came up with a solution: release the ghosts onto the mountain to stop others from reaching the summit."
"Because ghosts are unkillable and their rules trigger instant death, they can effectively stop those without true strength. Even if a few slip through, the numbers are manageable."
"We, the Seven Swords of Taixu, died many times to find the most suitable ghosts, placing them on the Heavenly Path, hunting those blinded by desire and arrogance."
"Even the food we offer you is made from those corpses. You see delicacies, but it's just rotting, disgusting flesh. We cannot dispose of it, so we let the newcomers consume it, turning them into new corpses. This is the only way to control the number of ghosts on Taixu Mountain."
"During the day, we are harmless elders, entertaining guests; at night, we fight the ghosts for bodies, dismembering the living who have eaten the corpses, peeling off their skins, mincing their flesh, preventing the ghosts from reviving uncontrollably."
Jiang Wanru: "Hee hee, this was actually Eldest Senior Sister Su Mei's idea, and Senior Sister Lingshuang did most of the work. Big Sister and I didn't contribute much. But maybe because we died less, our memories are relatively intact. Our role is to remember these things and tell Eldest Senior Sister."
"In my memory, not long ago… maybe half a year? A woman who looked exactly like Master appeared, identical except for her hair and eye color."
"She had blue-gray hair and green eyes; Master has white hair and red eyes. Although different, their appearance was strikingly similar, as if carved from the same mold."
"That woman was incredibly powerful. She single-handedly reached the summit of Taixu Mountain and even managed to contain a few incomplete ghosts. We were all shocked, thinking Master had regained her senses and changed her appearance…"
"We spoke with her, but she clearly wasn't Master."
"Her demeanor and aura were completely different, so we dismissed it as a coincidence."
"She didn't eat the corpse banquet we offered. She stayed on Taixu Mountain for three days, as per the custom, saying something about completely solving the source Bizzare Entity."
"And she actually managed to stay for three days, amidst countless ghosts, and even entered the temple, meeting Master."
"Then… Master grabbed her, strange, wriggling hands emerging from her back, holding the woman tightly, preventing her from leaving."
"After that, we lost consciousness. When we woke up, we only heard Master saying things like 'He's back,' 'He will come'…"
"Ah… it seems… we're about to die."
They spoke of their impending demise, yet their expressions were filled with relief.
Their bodies were visibly withering, their skin losing moisture, their beautiful faces becoming grotesquely distorted.
By acknowledging their death, they were hastening its arrival.
Ghosts didn't die, so only their consciousness and memories would fade. Perhaps this was the reason for their fragmented memories. They had died many times, each death taking a piece of their memories.
When they revived, their minds were blank.
The next time they awakened… they would likely forget even more, until they remembered nothing. That would be the true death of the Seven Swords of Taixu.
Su Mei: "As you can see, we're about to die. This is why I'm only telling you the truth now. Because I wasn't sure if you were the one, the one capable of shouldering this burden, this mess that has rotted to the core."
"Since Sister Suyi has chosen you, we have no reason to hide anymore. We only hope you can fulfill your duty and deal with what comes next."
"After we die, there will be no one to suppress the ghosts at night, no one to control them on the Heavenly Path. They will roam freely, slaughtering innocent people."
"But if we cling to life, only concerned about our own survival, when the day comes that Taixu Mountain can no longer contain these ghosts, the situation will become uncontrollable."
"Ghosts will overrun the land, bringing chaos and suffering…"
"This goes against everything we were taught."
"That's why I said, once you know the truth, the lives of all people will be in your hands. One wrong step, and you will doom countless innocent families, causing untold suffering and destruction. You will have to bear this heavy burden alone."
"I know this is a difficult task, but we have no choice, and neither do you."
"There's a forest of human skin behind Taixu Mountain, filled with scholar trees, used to contain the human skins."
"Once a human skin encounters its corresponding flesh and blood, a complete ghost is born, incredibly difficult to contain."
"After we die, we will also appear in that forest, but we will stay at the outermost perimeter, using Taixu Sword Qi to prevent other ghosts from entering."
"That's usually the case, but there's one exception: the Zhongyuan Festival in mid-July. During the transition between summer and autumn, yin and yang shift, and we can no longer stop the other ghosts. Even we will lose control temporarily."
"In the past, the corresponding 'flesh and blood' couldn't reach the forest because they couldn't find the way."
"But now, it's different. With each passing year, they keep trying, and last year, they almost found the path."
"I fear that this year, those 'filthy things' will enter the human skin forest and unleash the ghosts within."
"Remember this: absolutely… absolutely do not let any incomplete ghost near that forest."
"Absolutely not! If that happens, there will be no turning back."
Su Mei's tone was grave. Li Mo nodded.
Others might be confused, but Li Mo, experienced in dealing with Bizzare Entities, understood the principle.
Incomplete Bizzare Entities instinctively sought to complete themselves.
The Seven Swords of Taixu, using their Bizzare-tainted Taixu Sword Qi, had divided the Bizzare Entities, keeping them in a relatively unstable, weakened state.
The separated human skins couldn't act independently, and the scholar trees could effectively contain them.
Combined with Taixu Sword Qi interfering with the paths and obscuring the ghosts' vision, the human skin ghosts couldn't easily complete themselves.
But during the Ghost Festival, Bizzare characteristics intensified, and the incomplete ghosts desperately sought completion.
So they searched relentlessly until they found the way.
After countless attempts, they had finally found it. During the next Ghost Festival, they would be able to enter the human skin forest and become whole.
By then, the Bizzare would spread, countless ghosts would revive, and thousands of rules would overlap, making the situation almost impossible to resolve, unless Li Mo could once again borrow the Herrscher of Sentience's power and lock all the ghosts in a state of permanent death.
Or, eliminate the Bizzare source.
Li Mo's expression turned grim.
"I believe you understand the gravity of the situation."
"Forgive our incompetence, for you must walk this path alone."
"When we meet again, treat us as enemies you cannot trust."
"Indeed, you can only trust yourself."
"Before you die, remember this one thing—"
The remaining six swords spoke in unison, their expressions grave, delivering their final warning.
"He, our master, the Jingwei the Immortal, revered and worshipped by all, has fallen!"
Their words were sharp, their voices filled with a deep resentment.
As their words faded, their flesh and blood vanished completely, leaving only dry, thin human skins on the ground, lifeless.
Li Mo walked forward, his lips moving.
"This… is the truth."
Li Mo remained silent for a long time, his gaze fixed on the human skins. "How… cruel."
Those already dead couldn't truly die, sacrificing themselves repeatedly to contain the terrifying ghosts on Taixu Mountain.
Knowing the situation was almost hopeless, they had placed their hopes on him.
As the Seven Swords had said, the price of knowing the truth was heavy.
Li Mo had lost his chance to escape this world. If he left, the Bizzare Entities would overrun this world, spreading rapidly.
Thousands of years of accumulated deaths, transformed into countless ghosts, would unleash a merciless slaughter upon the innocent.
He could imagine—
A kind mother, sitting by the window on a cold, rainy day, knitting a warm sweater for her son studying diligently far away, her calloused fingers pricked countless times by the needles, blood oozing from the wounds. She would smile, picking up a worn bowl and drinking the thin porridge within.
A hardworking man, carrying heavy loads under the scorching sun for his sick wife, his shoulders covered in red welts and bloodstains, his face flushed with exhaustion, yet he would persevere, rushing forward at the foreman's call, shouldering even heavier burdens, his legs trembling under the strain.
A valiant general, leading his soldiers in a brutal war, repelling the enemy, defending his homeland, even with arrows piercing his chest, collapsing on his horse, yet still shouting, urging his troops forward, waving the banner of their army.
In this gray world, there were always those who picked up a brush, using themselves as the paint, adding touches of their precious faith to the pale canvas of the world.
If the Bizzare spread, everything would be lost.
The mother would collapse by the window, her knitting scattered on the floor; the man would become hunched, cat whiskers sprouting from his face, his beloved wife assimilated; the general, his eyes bloodshot, would turn on his own men, slaughtering them in a frenzy.
Such an ending, such a conclusion, such a curtain call.
Such a story.
Could he accept it?
Would he accept it?
Should he accept it?
"I don't accept this," Li Mo said, his voice flat, yet resolute. "Nor will I allow it."
This wasn't the ending he wanted. Even if the world was destined for destruction, it shouldn't be at the hands of Bizzare Entities.
Resistance might not bring dawn, might not bring victory, but it was never meaningless.
On the dusty ground, the withered human skins formed grotesque smiles, as if mocking Li Mo's naive answer.
What good was his refusal?
Those who were meant to die would still die. The destined tragedy would still unfold.
His refusal, his defiance… what did it matter?