1426 Duty-bound

Apparently, Yun Xiran could never have thought that the twelve men would respond with those words. The blood was boiling in his veins and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He hurriedly took out a lot of dan beads and swallowed them all at once. After a while, he had rested and calmed down. With a hoarse voice, he said, "Do you even know what you are talking about? No matter who you were, who I was in the past, we are now in the same boat… We are all hiding in the dark! Don't you care?"

The other man in black clothes was still sitting quietly and blandly said, "It is your own business whether you should care or not. Also, it is my business whether I care or not. I don't care what you do, but why do you have to judge me?"

The man angrily shouted and said, "We are in such a situation now, yet you still care so much about your goddamn face. Only people who are alive have the right to talk about the future, while the dead cannot."

The other man in the shadow seemed to smile and blandly said, "You said it yourself. Only people that are alive have the right to talk about the future. Tell me, are we still people? No. I am still a human being. Although my body is manipulated, my mind is clear. I am not controlled! I can say this, but you can't!"

He finally raised up his head, staring at the man who was spitting blood with two sharp eyes. His voice became even calm and cold, and he said, "Yun Xiran, answer me. Do you want to know why I didn't go to help you?"

The man was actually Yun Xiran, the prime master of the Saint Starlight Sect!

Yun Xiran was shaken, staring at the man who sits cross-legged, and said, "So you know who I am!"

The other man in black clothes coldly said, "It is not proud to me to recognize you."

Yun Xiran fiercely said with a deep voice, "It truly is not. Yue Changtian, do you think you can hide from me? I recognized you too!"

The other man was shocked. His eyes looked like he was pretty painful about it, but he returned calm and indifferent. He said, "So you recognized me. So what?"

"So what? You and me, we are not so different. You know that. Do you really think you are still the prime master of the Cold Moon Palace?" Yun Xiran viciously said, "Yue Changtian, you don't need me to tell you this, but you and I, we are both pathetic men who are controlled by others. We are just two slaves."

Yue Changtian looked extremely painful again, but he tried to hold down the raging anger in his heart. "That's true. What you said is true. Well, however… I, as a slave, do not want to save you, the other slave. Is that a problem?"

"I like to see you and your people die over there!" Yue Changtian sounded a bit vicious too. "Yun Xiran, you, Saint Starlight Sect and Saint Sunlight Sect have been bullying the Cold Moon Palace for a long time. Now it is time you take the fruit that you planted. Now it is time!"

Yun Xiran shouted, "Don't you think it is pointless to say this now? The Saint Sunlight Sect and Saint Starlight Sect are both gone. So what? What are we into here? Even if the Master gives you back your freedom, do you think you can still make it back to the Cold Moon Palace alive to be the prime master?"

Yue Changtian calmly said, "No. That is the truth we both know!"

"Do you think the Cold Moon Palace is still yours? Do you think the Saint Starlight Sect still belongs to me?" Yun Xiran seemed to be desperate. "We are all here now. Maybe some of us are worse, maybe some are better. So what? Why don't we just face it and do what we should do?"

Yue Changtian seemed to be sorry about it. He blandly said, "I think you have gotten it wrong at one point. The Cold Moon Palace is absolutely different from the Saint Sunlight Sect and the Saint Starlight Sect. Your sects are gone, but the Cold Moon Palace will live forever!"

Yun Xiran finally burst into fury. "Yue Changtian, do you have to immerse yourself in your own lies?"

Yue Changtian's eyes looked calm and still sharp. He said, "Lies? The truth is that the Saint Sunlight Sect and the Saint Starlight Sect are gone… The Cold Moon Palace is growing… We will shine till the end of the world…"

"Yun Xiran, watch it then. Perhaps the war will be ended by us, the Cold Moon Palace!

"I may have become a disgrace to the sect myself. However, the name of mine, Yue Changtian, will remain the respectable prime master of the Cold Moon Palace!" Yue Changtian felt sorry but also proud about it. "Do you think I can do those dirty business with you just for my own survival?"

Yun Xiran angrily said, "You are lying to yourself. Do you know that the genius disciple in the Cold Moon Palace, Ye Chongxiao, is actually the Xiao Monarch, Ye Xiao! He is our enemy! He is the enemy of the Saint Sunlight Sect, the Saint Starlight Sect, and the Cold Moon Palace! He is on the other side against you! Do you really want to watch the Cold Moon Palace in his hands? Do you just watch it and do nothing?"

"I am just watching it. So what?" Yue Changtian was calm. "Ye Chongxiao is Xiao Monarch, Ye Xiao. So what? I don't care who he is. Ye Chongxiao is a disciple of the Cold Moon Palace now!"

"Not in his hands, we are Cold Moon Palace. In his hands, we are still the Cold Moon Palace!"

"If he can lead the Cold Moon Palace to rise and become a great name in history, I would love to give him the sect!" Yue Changtian's eyes were full of fever. "What does it matter who he is? Even though he is our enemy, I don't care!"

"As I said, we are a bunch of demonic creatures. We are a bunch of slaves. Enemies? We don't deserve to be anyone's enemies anymore."

Yun Xiran humphed and coldly said, "Yue Changtian, you've got guts! You should wait and see what is going to happen to you. When I go back, I will report everything to the Master… I wonder how tough you can be. Show me your dignity, your backbone, your pride… I want to see how long can you hold these things in front of the Master."

Yue Changtian slightly raised up his head, with his eyes in a sneer, he blandly said, "Do you really think we can still go back?"

Yun Xiran was shaken up. He said, "What the hell do you mean?"

Yue Changtian blandly smiled and weirdly said, "Wu Huitian couldn't make it back… Your people couldn't make it back… You are the only one who survived. Which means… They are all dead, aren't they?"

Yun Xiran humphed and said, "What do you want to say?"

"What do I want to say? I say they deserve it. They died for good!" Yue Changtian's eyes were filled with cold, and he said, "Your men are all dead. Yun Xiran, as their leader, do you really want them to go to hell alone?"

Yun Xiran took a few steps back, and loudly said, "Yue Changtian, what are you doing? I am warning you. Do not take reckless moves. Whatever you are going to do, remember what the Master may do to punish you. Besides, you can't defeat me, can you? Even though I am injured, you still can't beat me in a fight!"

Yue Changtian smiled and said, "Can't we just focus on the present? I really don't care what the Master will do. Well, I can't defeat you in a fight by myself… That could be true. However, why are you so sure that I am alone? Why don't you take a look behind you?"

Yun Xiran took five steps aside and then looked over.

Behind him, there were three men in black clothes, standing in a triangle, blocking his way to escape. As he turned to look at the three, about eight of the other men in black clothes all quietly stood up, slowly walking over to him.

These people moved silently, but they are all full of murderous intent!

Yun Xiran was terrified. He said, "You… Yue Changtian, You… What are you doing?"

Yue Changtian sat on the floor cross-legged and blandly said, "Why do you have to ask such a stupid question even though things have been so obvious now? Tens of thousands of years ago, the Saint Starlight Sect, the Saint Sunlight Sect, and the Cold Moon Palace were one. Now things have become so painfully disgraceful. In case our ancestors are disgraced, today, I will represent the ancestors to cleanse the filth."

"Wu Huitian is dead. You two are tight. I think he must be waiting for you on the way to hell." Yue Changtian said, "Yun Xiran, you shouldn't let him wait too long. You are best friends! You should go now!"

Yun Xiran took three steps back and angrily said, "Yue Changtian, do you think you are still the prime master of the Cold Moon Palace? Don't you know you will suffer the reverse impact from your own soul and get your brain burned if you dare to attack your teammate?"

Yue Changtian blandly smiled and said, "I do. I know what will happen! Come on, tell me. Do you think I am afraid of the reverse impact? The punishment?"

"You… Don't you dare!" Yun Xiran furiously said.

Yun Xiran's face turned blue. He surely knew himself the best. He was now severely injured, life energy greatly consumed, which meant he had no power to fight against Yue Changtian at the moment.

If Yue Changtian truly wanted to kill him, it wouldn't be difficult even if Yue Changtian had to fight alone, not to mention all the others who were helping Yue Changtian!

Yun Xiran could never have thought that Yue Changtian would choose to fight him at this moment.

What surprised him more was that at least three people among the people under Yue Changtian's lead were from the Saint Sunlight Sect and the Saint Starlight Sect. Yue Changtian actually turned them against their own sects!

"Yun Xiran, you have disgraced the Saint Starlight Sect!" One of the people in black clothes, whose clothes were glittering in starlight said. It was exactly one of the people from the Saint Starlight Sect. However, at the moment, as he talked to their own prime master, he only sounded full of anger and grief. "Do you still remember how our sect was saved? The leaders sacrificed themselves to save the last bit of our inheritance. If people recognize you, there will be no more Saint Starlight Sect…"

"You were controlled, manipulated… It was fine because you didn't want to do what you did. However, now I see, you never want to resist the manipulation… You actually enjoyed it! You kneel down and bow to the demons… You enjoyed being their slave… You… How could you still call yourself the prime master of the Saint Starlight Sect?"

Yun Xiran loudly said, "Do you think I want to bend my knees? I am forced by the situation. I am only pushed by reality. We have to kneel before the absolute stronger power. Do you really think there is anything else we can do? All of you, do you really think there is still turning back for us?"

"Turning back? No, we certainly don't have hopes for that!" The cultivator from the Saint Starlight Sect seemed painful. Word by word, he said, "But we still have another choice. We can choose death!"

We can choose death!

Those were four powerful words.

The others all had their eyes filled with glaring fever.

"Since we fell to the trap on the Heaven's Terrace, we have been waiting for an opportunity…" Yue Changtian's elegant voice sounded determined. He said, "What we want to do is to die with you, Wu Huitian, and all the others! We want to end this restraint with death!"

"The reason why we were cooperating, following their orders, is that we want an opportunity to show up. We were waiting for this day when we temporarily avoid their supervision! We want to come out together, and die together!

"We won't let those who are still alive disgrace us!"

"We can't choose to live with dignity anymore." He looked up to the sky and peacefully said, "But we can choose to die with honor."

"Gods must pity us. We finally have the chance we have been waiting for." He quietly said, "Now I am comforted. Not just me, we all are comforted."

Yun Xiran heard it and he was stunned like he was stricken by thunder.

"Wu Huitian wouldn't escape." Yue Changtian blandly said, "He would find Han Bingxue, and let himself die in his sworn enemy's hands. I know he won't come back this time."

"He deserves to die!"

"He is always a treacherous and cunning person. I don't see anything of him that could make him a good man. However, this time, his death will bring him dignity. I must say that I am impressed!"

"But you, Yun Xiran."

Yue Changtian's eyes were sharp like arrows. "Let's do it!"

"Wait!" Yun Xiran rolled his eyeballs and then suddenly laughed. He said, "In fact, we all have the same thought. I have been thinking the same as you. We have…"

Yue Changtian's eyes looked still and determined. He blandly said, "Even if you are, you have to die today. We have decided to die together. No one will make an exception!"

As he gave the order, over a dozen superior cultivators in black clothes moved at the same time.

Yun Xiran's face was colorless. He kept dodging the attacks from everywhere. However, he was already injured, which meant he was half dead already. How was he supposed to defend himself against all those superior cultivators' attacks?

After a while, he was already wounded all around the body. His bones were revealed under the blood and flesh. He was powerless to stand, waiting for death.

Yue Changtian dashed and showed up beside Yun Xiran. He raised up one hand fiercely and then slashed down with the glow of the moonlight from deep upon the sky!

That was a killing strike!

However, at this moment, a figure of a slim man suddenly rushed over and stood between Yue Changtian and Yun Xiran.

Yue Changtian was stunned and stopped his moving hand. The slim guy had already raised up his hand and hit Yun Xiran's head in overwhelming power. Yun Xiran's head was broken into pieces.

With a sound, the palm hit even destroyed the soul of Yun Xiran.

"We talked about it. I should be the one who made the last strike." Yue Changtian seemed to be in pain. "Tian Laojiu, why did you do this?"

Tian Laojiu smiled bitterly and said, "Prime Master Yue, Yun Xiran was the prime master of our sect, the Saint Starlight Sect. We should do the cleansing by ourselves… Besides, you can't die yet. You have to lead us to do what we planned to do earlier!

"At least, for now, it is better to have you alive than me!"

At the same time, Tian Laojiu suddenly looked painful with a twisted face. His eyes were filled with madness and desperation. "Brothers, do not forget our deal. I am going to leave now. I don't need to suffer the pain anymore!"

As he spoke, some black blood ran out of his mouth and nose. The blood was actually boiling hot.

It was steaming.

Tian Laojiu staggered painfully and then hit himself on the head with a palm strike before he lost his mind. At the same time, somewhere in his dantian sounded a rupture.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere.

His body fell down and hit the floor.

Apparently, he was dead. His soul and body were both destroyed.

However, his body was still twisting and shaking. The dead body was still suffering the unspeakable and unendurable pain!

The others all have tears in the eyes.

Yue Changtian made a long shout and then destroyed Tian Laojiu's body with a fierce palm strike. With tears in the eyes, he said, "Brother, you are alone down there. Slow down a bit, and we will be there with you soon!"

The secret organization's manipulation method was extremely vicious.

The members of the organization were free to fight against each other but never allowed to kill one another. In other words, two members could fight however they liked as long as no one got killed. The cruel rule gave the individuals a way to solve the problems between each other, but made no deduction on the organization's power!

When two men were fighting, there were always mistakes. However, two members of the secret organization would definitely not make any mistakes. They would do whatever they could to avoid it. If one member killed another, the death energy from the dead man would trigger the same death energy inside the killer's body. When the two energies were both rising, the restraint inside their heads would be awakened.

The boiling blood would burn the brain!

Boiling blood burnt the brain. The blood in the body would all rush to the brain and boil like hot water. The scorching blood would steam inside the brain, but it wouldn't kill the man immediately. The burning and steaming would bring extreme pain that never ended.

Even though the man killed himself because he couldn't endure the pain, his dead body would still suffer from it. It wouldn't stop until the body was completely rotten!

It wouldn't leave the body in good shape.

The restraint would disappear after that.

In other words, once the restraint was triggered, alive or dead, the man would have to suffer the pain.

It wouldn't stop until the body, the heart, and the soul were all destroyed!

That was why Yue Changtian broke Tian Laojiu's body by a palm hit.

Tian Laojiu stopped Yue Changtian and killed Yun Xiran himself, claiming to cleanse his own sect. However, he knew he would die after that. In fact, he did it to save Yue Changtian's life!

Yue Changtian broke Tian Laojiu's body to return the favor. When he did it, he wasn't sure if the restraint would hit him too or not. After all, Tian Laojiu was also a member of the secret organization. Nobody knew whether the restraint would remain in a dead body or not!

An honorable man did what he should do. Tian Laojiu died for Yue Changtian, and Yue Changtian certainly couldn't see Tian Laojiu's body in pain!

"Perhaps… In this vile organization, we are the only ones…" Yue Changtian looked so sad but still proud. He looked around and said, "Maybe we are the only people… who still have…"

He didn't finish.

These men's eyes were all glowing.

Apparently, they all knew what Yue Changtian was going to say. It was humanity, wasn't it?

No matter what, they knew they deserved it!

"Everybody get ready. We will attack Ye Xiao's base at night!" Yue Changtian took a long and deep breath. "Tonight, we will say goodbye to the world… Qing-Yun Realm."

He looked up at the sky. His eyes looked profound. He seemed to have a strong attachment to the world. Staring at the bright moon in the starry sky, he stayed quiet and still.

Everybody was in silence, staring at the sky.

At this moment, they realized that this world was actually so likable. Even a single plant of grass was so lively in their eyes.

Even the single plant of grass was lively enough to make them jealous.

The grass could still healthily live in the world, yet these men would no longer be alive after the night.

…