Then the Myriad Ghost King reminded him.
"Look at him, though his physique is enormous and his movements swift, his attacks are limited. If you want to deliver a fatal blow, then calm down and observe him carefully."
Upon hearing his words, I slowly calmed down, hovering in the wind to observe him closely. The Myriad Ghost King saw that Liu Shinian was struggling alone.
He then flew out to interfere with Tian Wu. The two of them, one above and one below, agitated Tian Wu.
Within the whirlwind, although Tian Wu could move freely, his large size also presented disadvantages.
His weakness remained his eyes; the shell was merely a protector for his eyes. If I could unleash my dual-sword ultimate move, I could deliver a fatal blow.
Having made up my mind, I quickly leaped and dodged through the wind, arriving before him. As soon as Tian Wu saw me, he swiped at me with his claws.
This time, instead of dodging, I flipped and landed on his sharp claws. Then, gathering all my strength, I twisted sideways and delivered a powerful kick, shouting, "Ah!"
I then kicked him squarely in the face, sending him flying. He somersaulted and landed steadily.
I smiled slightly and said to him, "Tian Wu, this is our battle. Let us settle it."
He let out a strange, cackling laugh, then opened his mouth wide and spat a mouthful of black blood at me.
I kept my eyes fixed on his uppermost eye, spread my feet, focused my attention, and then leaped forward, shouting at him.
"Take this, Dragon's Roar, Crimson Blood Break!"
Immediately, I swung my dual swords through the air. A white dragon flew out, accompanied by dark, vengeful spirits, both charging through the black blood and straight towards his eyes.
Tian Wu knew he could not evade it. As he received the blow, he swiped with a claw, piercing my left arm.
He was then struck by Dragon's Roar and Crimson Blood Break, shattering his uppermost large eye. He let out a painful, heart-wrenching scream, but he was not dead. He merely turned and leaped into the water.
At this moment, the strong wind also ceased. The immense black whirlwind immediately dispersed into four smaller whirlwinds.
I knew that if Tian Wu escaped now, it would be difficult to kill him again. Thus, I immediately jumped into the water, pursuing him.
Liu Shinian watched the drops of blood falling onto the water's surface with great concern, but he still leaped into the water with the Myriad Ghost King, following me.
I followed behind Tian Wu, chasing him down into the depths of the water.
Before long, I felt a chilling coldness emanating from my surroundings, as if I had arrived in an extremely cold, icy land.
At this point, I pursued him through an underwater tunnel with bioluminescent light.
Then, we arrived at a sealed stone cave. I surfaced, and what I saw before me was astonishing.
The entire circular cave had only a head-sized opening at the very top leading to the outside. Sunlight permeated from there, illuminating the entire inner cave.
However, the cave was frozen by millennia of ice, forming thick ice walls. Around the circular opening were piled countless human and mermaid skeletons of varying sizes.
I leaped onto the ice surface and reprimanded him.
"As an ancient river god, you should have protected this land. I never imagined you would commit such a heinous crime, killing so many innocent people.
Even if you were to die a hundred times, a thousand times, it would not be enough to atone for your sins against these innocent souls."
He laughed heartily and responded in his bovine voice.
"It's commendable that someone still remembers I am an ancient river god. So what? Have you ever seen true widespread death?
Have you experienced the helplessness of watching your people, your friends, die before your eyes?
I craved power. Only power could save them. For that, I would not hesitate to slaughter any unnecessary life."
"You madman!"
As I spoke, I moved to attack with my sword, but he spat a stream of ice from his mouth, blocking my path.
He roared, "In whose territory do you think you are? Don't be too presumptuous!"
With that, he took a deep breath, drew in the cold air from the ice, and transformed it into ice armor covering himself and encasing all his eyes.
At this moment, the Myriad Ghost King and Liu Shinian arrived in time. Seeing his new appearance, they couldn't help but exclaim.
"This, this is ice armor?"
The Myriad Ghost King looked at my injured arm and said, "Mu Ye, you're injured. Let me help you."
As he spoke, he flew to my arm. From the dark energy, a pair of small, short, and dark, cute little hands extended.
The little hands gently massaged my arm up and down, then attached themselves to it. The wound immediately healed and stopped bleeding.
The Myriad Ghost King said, "I'll stabilize your wound first and support you until the battle is over."
"Alright, thank you."
I turned my head to Liu Shinian and asked him, "Can you handle it?"
Liu Shinian shivered slightly from the cold, but he forced himself to appear calm and said, "No problem."
"Good, I'll go first. You watch for any openings."
"Alright, be careful yourself."
"En." I nodded at him and then flew forward to engage Tian Wu. Tian Wu was already as hard as steel.
Now, with the protection of the ice, he was even more incredibly tough.
However, I immediately remembered that the Dragon's Roar Sword also had an ice attribute. I wondered if it could absorb the ice from him.
So, I swung the Dragon's Roar Sword and flew behind him, slashing down.
At this moment, the cold air emanating from the Dragon's Roar Sword merged with the cold air from Tian Wu. The two streams of ice energy collided, causing an immediate explosion that blew a hole in Tian Wu's ice armor.
He turned around, furious, and swiped at me with his claws. I leaped to dodge and continued to attack him with the Dragon's Roar Sword.
Then, I heard cracking sounds from his body. Tian Wu rapidly inhaled cold air and spat a relentless wave of ice towards me.
Liu Shinian, watching from the side, was anxious. He raised his Willow Sword and flew to Tian Wu's side.
Just as he was about to stab Tian Wu's eyes, Tian Wu swiped at him with a claw, sending him flying and crashing into the ice wall. He then charged forward and began stomping on Liu Shinian.
"Shinian, be careful!"
Seeing him target Liu Shinian, I couldn't help but worry.
I immediately flew forward, stepped onto the ice wall from behind, and used it for leverage to deliver a full-power kick, sending Tian Wu tumbling to the side.
Then, I landed and dragged Liu Shinian behind a nearby ice pillar.
"Shinian, hold on, I'll be back." I held his hands tenderly.
Liu Shinian looked at the worried expression on my face and suddenly felt that being injured wasn't so bad. His heart warmed, and he nodded slightly.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me."
"I'll be back."
After saying this, I walked out from behind the ice pillar and approached Tian Wu, pointing at him.
"Your opponent is me!"
He laughed heartily and, without further ado, charged at me. I sidestepped and leaped into the air to dodge.
At this moment, the Myriad Ghost King reminded me.
"Tian Wu is still reveling in the joy of defeating Liu Shinian. You should deliberately pretend to be unable to defeat him for a moment.
Then, seize the opportunity to strike and deliver a fatal blow."
"Alright."
Following the Myriad Ghost King's advice, I acted sluggishly and panicked during Tian Wu's subsequent attacks.
Seeing my disheveled state, he was overjoyed and said, "After consuming you, my magical power will surely increase greatly. Then I will break out of this wretched place and go to Penglai Island to deal with those brats.
Hearing their cries and pleas for mercy will be wonderful."
I never expected Tian Wu to have his sights set on Penglai Island. If I let him escape, it would be a disaster for the mermaid tribe. I had to kill him.
A surge of blood rose in my heart. I immediately gathered all my strength, repelled his attacking claws, and then leaped, switching my dual swords and shouting, "Die!"
My dual swords swung down, unleashing Dragon's Roar and Crimson Blood Break. The Myriad Ghost King knew I was still a bit short of the mark.
So, he flew out, joining the sword moves, forming three immense forces that pierced through Tian Wu's body.
With a scream of "Ah!", Tian Wu exploded.
After his shell shattered, his original spirit flew out. The spirit landed and transformed into the appearance of a white crane.
However, before it could even open its eyes, this outer form was shattered, revealing a man whose body was entirely white and emitted a white light.
Perhaps he was the true Tian Wu.
The white-light man looked at us and spoke to himself, "I seem to have had a very long dream. Who has awakened me?"
I landed on the ground, and without the Myriad Ghost King's assistance, blood began to flow from my hand again. I asked him, "You are Tian Wu's true form."
I looked at us in confusion and said, "I am Tian Wu."
At this moment, Liu Shinian also slowly walked out and questioned him, "Do you remember what you have done?"
He looked at the blood dripping from Liu Shinian's shoulder and the blood dripping from my arm. Frightening images seemed to flash through his mind.
He then closed his eyes, and a large fire suddenly appeared before him. He murmured, "Fire, it was a great fire, a blazing inferno."
"And then?" I pressed.
His head suddenly ached. He clutched his head and saw corpses scattered everywhere and heard painful wails.
"And scattered corpses and painful wails."
Seeing his pained expression, Liu Shinian knew that he hadn't become this way on his own and that something terrible must have happened.
If we wanted to truly resolve this matter, we needed to understand his story.
"Can you tell us your story?" Liu Shinian asked.
The blood from the killings repeatedly appeared in his mind, and painful wails came from all directions. He shook his head, feeling as if his head would explode.
As his memories flowed backward, he finally remembered his past. He then calmed down and began to recount his untold past to us.
"I was originally a river god in a grassland east of the Northern Divine Capital. At that time, a great war had just ended, and chaos reigned everywhere.
Perhaps because my area was remote, it was fortunately not affected, and life was relatively peaceful.
Later, I even met a woman who traveled the land and practiced chivalry, named Huan Zhi."
"Huan Zhi, isn't that the girl who came looking for me the night I arrived at Penglai Island?"
At the time, I found it strange and didn't think much of it, but I never expected her to be related to Tian Wu.
I continued to listen to him.
"She was enthusiastic, cheerful, and lively, and a skilled swordswoman. Unlike me, who was timid and only knew how to tend to flowers and plants and manage water.
Having her company was the happiest time of my life. I could see her every day and hear her tell stories to the nearby villagers.
However, happy times are always fleeting. After the great war, the divine race declined, and the demonic race suffered greatly.
Ambitious individuals rose up to seize territory and food. Thus, during that period, there were always battles, large and small, with corpses strewn everywhere.
My peaceful haven was not spared. Many homeless minor demons came seeking refuge, and with them came many enemies.
However, my strength was limited, and I could not protect them at all. At this time, Huan Zhi stepped forward, repeatedly defending us and driving away waves of invaders.
Eventually, our area became known as a peaceful paradise in the outside world, which also attracted the attention of many powerful demons.
So, in the last battle, several powerful demons united and attacked our area. Huan Zhi fought fiercely amidst the crowd.
Finally, she was ambushed and severely wounded, falling to the ground. I could only watch from afar, powerless.
Thus, I came to hate, to hate all living beings, to hate their cruel and unjust ways.
I cried out in my heart that I wanted to save the people before me, to save Huan Zhi, to save the common people under my care. For this, I was willing to offer my soul and my life.
At this moment, a strange voice echoed from all around, asking me, 'Are you willing to give up your soul just to save them?'
I replied, 'As long as I can save them, I am willing to offer my soul and my life.'
He laughed heartily and said, 'I only need your soul.'
As soon as he finished speaking, my heart was enveloped in darkness, and a bloodthirsty desire surged from the depths of my heart.
The struggling, roaring desires that were about to break free from my body, to devour everything, roared like demons, 'Eat them, eat them.'
Thus, I went mad and rushed out, killing and devouring indiscriminately."
After hearing his story, I felt a surge of pity. If it weren't for the war destroying him, he wouldn't have become this way.
At this moment, a beam of light flew out from my Dragon's Roar Sword and landed beside Tian Wu, transforming into a human form. It was the maiden from that night, Huan Zhi.
Tian Wu was overjoyed and exclaimed excitedly, "Huan Zhi, you're still alive! That's wonderful, truly wonderful."
Huan Zhi sighed deeply and said to him, "I am already dead."
Tian Wu refused to believe it, shaking his head in disbelief. Huan Zhi then told him the incredibly cruel truth.
"You suddenly went berserk then, like a beast, killing indiscriminately. To stop you,
I, with my mangled body, delivered a fatal blow, and in turn, you devoured me. Afterward, you rampaged and fled to the south."
"Wha-what, I, I ate you?"
This news struck him like a bolt from the blue, filling him with terror. He couldn't believe that he had killed Huan Zhi.
However, Huan Zhi did not blame him. Instead, she gently stroked him and said,
"I know that the you back then was not the real you. You are gentle, kind, and pure-hearted.
How could that be you? I was destined to die sooner or later. Fortunately, I could still watch over you and stay by your side."
Tian Wu was moved by her words. A pang of pain and regret welled up in his heart, and tears fell. Huan Zhi gently wiped away his tears.
He sighed and lamented,
"I know my sins are deep. After my soul departs, I will never be reborn and can only remain in hell forever, enduring all sorts of torment.
But even then, I will have peace of mind, as it will at least alleviate some of my guilt."
It was evident that he was genuinely repentant, but the sins he had committed were destined to be repaid.