Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 241 - Wulei Platform (2)

Bu Jiang’s eyes flashed with a hint of pity. “People often say that the dao of heaven is unpredictable and full of traps, and it’s true. Back then, I thought that sealing your Demon King’s bloodline and hiding you in the human world would give you a chance at survival. Yet, after all these years, we still cannot escape the predetermined outcome.”

It was impossible for Gui Diaotang to come back to life as even gods couldn’t resurrect the dead. And with Zanxing’s current loss of cultivation, it was even more improbable that she could surpass Gui Diaotang’s Demon King power. The thought of lifting the seal and awakening the Heavenly Demon bloodline seemed like a fool’s dream.

But must it be as Bu Jiang said, to stay put and wait for a hope that might never come? Isn’t that just deceiving oneself?

Zanxing lowered her gaze to the unconscious Mimi in her arms. Even if she could wait, could Mimi endure it?

She did not want to sit idly by.

In the icy cavern, countless indistinct figures sat in silence, their gazes converging on the bedraggled woman before them.

Bu Jiang continued speaking, “The will of heaven is something that will happen no matter what, no matter how you struggle, the outcome won’t change..”

A figure, leaning on a staff, slowly rose from the ground.

Her fur cloak was covered with fine ice crystals, her long hair was a tangled mess from the fire, and her face was marred with deep scars, obscuring her original appearance. The hand gripping the staff was swollen and red from being burned and frozen, looking like a scabbed-over root, oozing faint traces of pus.

Zanxing looked at the woman bound by the massive chains and said firmly, “I am determined to change it.”

*

The Wulei Platform in Duzhou was a place that struck fear into the hearts of everyone in the cultivation world.

In the demon realm, there was the Abyss of Extreme Ice. It was said that no one thrown into the Abyss of Extreme Ice ever emerged alive. The Demon King Gui Diaotang had designated the Abyss of Extreme Ice as a prison specifically for confining demons with severe crimes.

In the cultivation world, there was the Wulei Platform. If a sect’s cultivator committed an unforgivable crime, they were bound to the Wulei Platform and subjected to heavenly lightning. Typically, if a sect’s cultivator made a mistake, it was dealt with within the sect. Only if they incurred the wrath of the masses did the major sects collectively decide to send the person there for punishment. The last person punished at the Wulei Platform was a sect leader from decades ago who had secretly practiced dark arts and deceived and abducted innocent children for cultivation. When his crimes were exposed, he was bound to the Wulei Platform and tortured for forty-nine days before being reduced to ashes.

After many years, the Wulei Platform finally welcomed another prisoner.

The young man, dressed in white brocade, had his clothes stained red with blood. His usually well-kept horse tail was disheveled, lacking the red ribbon that once held it in place. His body was covered in wounds and bloodstains. The only thing that remained unchanged was his gaze, which was as bright as ever.

His chest and spine were pierced by an iron chain, pinning him to the ground and preventing any escape. This was the Heart-Piercing Lock of the Yinfeng Sect. Once pierced, neither gods nor demons could escape. Even though he had lost half of his soul and was enduring five bolts of heavenly lightning every day, he could not withstand the torment, and his once-proud demeanor had turned into a state of disarray.

In the night, a figure had stealthily entered from outside.

“Gu Baiying, Gu Baiying!” The newcomer had called his name softly.

At first, he had shown no reaction, but then his ears had twitched slightly, and he had slowly opened his eyes to see the person in front of him.

Pu Tao had been kneeling beside the Wulei Platform. She could not enter the formation and had to stay at the edge of the platform. Upon seeing the injuries on Gu Baiying’s body, her eyes had immediately reddened, and she had asked softly, “Are you alright?”

“How did you come here?” Gu Baiying had asked. Though he had spoken with his usual impatience, the arrogance he had once displayed had faded, leaving him with a forced demeanor given his current disheveled state.

“I…” Pu Tao had bitten her lip. “Your fellow disciples were being guarded and could not leave. That junior brother named Men Dong had asked me to come and check on you. How are you? Can you still hold on?”

Gu Baiying had snorted, “It’s just five lightning tribulations. It’s just absorbing the world’s spiritual energy. Consider it cultivation.”

“Don’t be stubborn!” Pu Tao had rushed forward in distress, only to be struck by a bolt of lightning at her feet, stopping her progress. She had to stop and said urgently, “I overheard the conversation among the sect leaders. This matter concerned the demon race, and the major sects wouldn’t let you off easily. Even if Shaoyang Zhenren wanted to protect you, the disciples of the Chihua Sect had all died at the hands of that demon. Now that you have helped the demon escape, Daoist Lingxin has placed the blame on you. How could they let it go?”

Gu Baiying had frowned and said, “The disciples of the Chihua Sect weren’t killed by her.”

“Was there any room for doubt when it was witnessed by so many?”

“Did you see it with your own eyes?”

“I…”

“I’ve said it before. If you haven’t seen it with your own eyes and still spread rumors everywhere, what makes you different from those gossip mongers?”

Pu Tao, who had always been favored in the Xiang Ling Sect, had felt a surge of anger from Gu Baiying’s repeated ridicule. She had retorted without thinking, “I didn’t need to see it with my own eyes. On that day, she had been the only one present on Mount Gufeng. Besides, the demon king’s seal on her head wasn’t fake. A demon entering the sect with malicious intent—how could anyone know what she was planning?”

Gu Baiying had remained silent, merely staring at her coldly.

Another bolt of lightning had struck, pressing down on the young man’s back. He grunted, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Pu Tao’s heart tightened. Ignoring her previous anger, she urged softly, “The major sects were all watching. If you insisted on protecting Yang Zanxing, you would have to continue enduring at the Wulei Platform. At that rate, you’d be reduced to ashes! Just say something in your defense, that you had no connection with Yang Zanxing and were merely misled by her. This way, I could persuade my aunt to at least have you spared from the lightning punishment.”

Gu Baiying had raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips and countered, “Wouldn’t that just confirm Yang Zanxing’s guilt?”

“Even now you’re still thinking of her?” Pu Tao had been anxious and frustrated. “I just don’t understand. With so much evidence in front of you, why do you still choose to believe in her?”

“So much evidence?” Gu Baiying had murmured, suddenly lowering his head and smiling, “What evidence are you talking about?”

Just because Yang Zanxing had been present when the Chihua Sect disciples had died, and the only witness, Ziluo, was also dead with no one to testify, and Yang Zanxing happened to be a demon, did that mean she was the murderer?

Due to differing standpoints, preconceived identities, and the imposition of guilt, anything could become evidence. This arbitrary and unreasonable ‘solving of the case,’ this crude and unjust conclusion, what difference did it have from the shark demon case of Li’er Country forty years ago?

Since discovering that Yang Zanxing was a demon, he had tried countless times to recall in his mind to understand what kind of person Yang Zanxing truly was. He had not been blinded by personal feelings and disregarding the lives of his sect mates. He had earnestly sought evidence of Yang Zanxing’s malicious intentions and schemes, but he had failed. Discarding all personal biases and emotions, he had meticulously reviewed every detail, trying to find evidence of her sinister plans… but he had found nothing. Nothing at all.