Nan Shan had never killed anyone until today.
She only realized now that when the tip of the knife pierces the heart, a slight misstep could cause it to get stuck in the bones, requiring great effort to pull it out.
The knife that once pierced Ji Yue’s body now radiated a dense killing intent, emitting a chilling aura in the dark night.
One by one, and again…
Terrified cries for mercy echoed in the temple, accompanied by the sound of piercing stabs.
The statue of the deity looked down in pity, its golden robe tightly binding its body, unable to protect itself.
The knife quickly dulled, becoming harder to use.
Nan Shan infused spiritual power into the blade, making it sharp again.
The people who had died three thousand years ago, only at this moment, were pierced by the blade and returned to their original withered bones.
Ji Yue quietly leaned against the altar, clearly feeling the speed of his healing slow down, which meant that the resentment was gradually decreasing.
For him and the people of Dongyi, the nightmare that had repeated for three thousand years finally ended on this ordinary night.
The temple soon piled up with skeletons, and Nan Shan, like a warrior from hell, stepped over the severed limbs of unknown people and appeared in front of Aunt Li.
“No, please…!”
Aunt Li was terrified, her mouth stained with blood.
The last time she escaped from the temple, her lips were stained with blood, but today she hadn’t been injured—why was there still blood?
Nan Shan silently stared at her for a long time, a trace of pity similar to Ji Yue’s flickering in her eyes.
“Aunt Li, it should be over now.”
Aunt Li couldn’t understand what she was saying and kept begging for mercy, “Madam, spare me! Madam, spare me! I made shrimp cakes for you before, do you remember? You often…”
Before she could finish, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her abdomen.
She looked up in shock and met Nan Shan’s gaze.
A flash of resentment crossed her eyes.
Blood poured out, splattering onto Nan Shan, but soon faded into something like dust.
Nan Shan twisted the knife handle, and the plump Aunt Li instantly turned into a withered skeleton, the remaining dry skin clinging to the bones, like overcooked cured meat.
But if one looked closely at her expression, it seemed to convey a sense of release.
She no longer had to endure the pain of being torn apart.
Nan Shan stood in silence for a moment, her exhausted hand once again gripping the sharp knife and stabbing it into someone still trying to bite Ji Yue.
Over ten thousand people from Dongyi Island had emerged tonight.
Even though the temple was piled high with bones, people kept coming, like moths drawn to the candlelight of Ji Yue.
Nan Shan stood at the entrance of the temple, blocking the way as if one person could stop a thousand. She killed until she was numb.
Inside the temple, Ji Yue weakly gazed at her back, wanting to go to her but unable to move.
This night seemed interminable, not until the dawn was about to break did the last of the Dongyi people fall.
The shield was finally shaking, fragile as if it would shatter at any moment.
But it wasn’t enough.
Nan Shan dragged her heavy steps and walked toward Ji Yue.
The two exchanged a silent glance, and after a long time, she smiled softly.
“How does it feel?”
Ji Yue’s lips moved, but no words came out.
He could only quietly look at her.
Nan Shan raised her hand to touch his face but paused when she noticed the dust on her hands, then withdrew her hand.
The dust was from the blood of the Dongyi people, and she didn’t want Ji Yue to touch it.
“The resentment is nearly cleansed, just one final step,” she said softly, with a hint of tenderness in her voice.
“Wait for me, alright?”
Ji Yue did not respond, still just watching her.
Nan Shan tiredly lifted the corners of her lips and turned to disappear from his sight.
A quarter of an hour later, she returned, holding someone Ji Yue was familiar with.
Uncle Zhong was thrown to the ground, grunting as he quickly got up and rushed to Ji Yue, kneeling and begging, “Immortal Lord! Immortal Lord, save me!”
Ji Yue closed his eyes.
The once gentle and kind person was now filled with strong rejection.
But Uncle Zhong seemed oblivious to his disdain, grabbing Ji Yue’s sleeve and begging desperately, “Immortal Lord, please save me! Remember, I made shrimp cakes for you! I’ll take care of you from now on, I’ll never let anyone harm you again…”
“Do you remember, Immortal Lord, when you were little, you didn’t like to eat, so I tried every way to make food for you? You loved the fish buns I made, you said it was the best thing in the world.”
“When you were ill, with a high fever that wouldn’t go down, I heard that human blood could prevent seizures, so I cut my wrist and used my blood for your medicine.”
“Immortal Lord, I know you resent me, but I’m just a mortal. I couldn’t protect you, they insisted on making you the Immortal Lord, what could I do…”
Uncle Zhong’s words were filled with tears, like an old, useless father pleading for forgiveness from his children.
Nan Shan clearly saw Ji Yue’s eyelashes tremble.
She didn’t waste more words and directly dragged Uncle Zhong over.
“Ji Yue, aren’t you going to open your eyes and take a look?”
She raised her voice.
Ji Yue was stunned for a moment and finally looked at her.
“You don’t hate those people, but don’t you hate him?”
Nan Shan laughed, mischievous and defiant, “Since you can’t bring yourself to strike him, let me help you, how about that?”
“Don’t talk nonsense! You’re talking nonsense!”
Uncle Zhong’s eyes nearly split with rage. He no longer held any respect for ‘Madam Immortal Lord.’
“I am the Immortal Lord’s father! I raised him, how could he hate me!”
“From the moment you tied Ji Yue up and poured water on him, you ceased to be his father. You’re a servant of the gods, using Ji Yue’s divine power to live forever. Raising him was your duty, not a favor,” Nan Shan said coldly.
Uncle Zhong wheezed like an old bellows, panting, “What’s wrong with being an Immortal Lord? The Immortal Lord is revered by all! He has divine protection! He can live forever! There were three orphans who were qualified back then, but it was I! I! I chose him, and that’s why he has what he has today!”
Nan Shan laughed absurdly, “So after all the suffering he’s endured these years, you expect him to thank you?”
“Shouldn’t he thank me?!”
Uncle Zhong’s bloodshot eyes turned red as he stared at Ji Yue, questioning him, “Shouldn’t you thank me?”
Ji Yue silently looked at Uncle Zhong, his eyes as calm as a still well.
Uncle Zhong was about to ask more, but Nan Shan suddenly said, “Since being the Immortal Lord is so good, how about you do it for once?”
Uncle Zhong was stunned for a moment, just about to ask what she meant when a sound like thousands of ants scrambling filled his ears.
“Please, Immortal Lord, bless my wife so she can give birth to a son…”
“Please, Immortal Lord, grant us some silver, our family is struggling…”
“U…”
“Please, Immortal Lord…”
“Ah!”
Uncle Zhong screamed in terror, covering his ears and frantically questioning, “Who? Who is speaking? Get out of my ears! Ah…”
He seemed crazed, rolling on the ground, trying to rid himself of the voices.
Nan Shan coldly watched him until he could barely breathe, then snapped her fingers to end it all.
“Just a moment of hearing and you can’t bear it, yet Ji Yue has to endure for thousands of years, and even after falling, he can’t find peace.”
Nan Shan’s face was expressionless, her voice as cold as jade.
“Now, do you still think he should thank you?”
“What’s wrong with being the Immortal Lord? Why can others do it, but you can’t? Why, after the divine power has waned, can others give up their blood and bones without resentment, yet you’ve gone mad and killed everyone? Why… why… why did you do this to me?”
Uncle Zhong had lost his mind, tortured by the voices.
He could no longer fake his kindness toward Ji Yue, only questioning him, wondering why, after being a god for so many years, his heart was still so narrow.
Ji Yue didn’t answer, but when Nan Shan raised the sharp knife, he suddenly spoke, “Don’t…”
Uncle Zhong turned back in a hurry.
The cold aura of the knife flashed before his eyes, and he scrambled to hide beside Ji Yue.
“Child, child, save me…”
“Are you still going to be soft-hearted?”
Nan Shan frowned.
Ji Yue remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, “I want to personally send my father on his way.”
Uncle Zhong froze, about to question what he meant when it felt like another hand pressed on his chest, stopping his heart.
Uncle Zhong’s face instantly turned purple, his breath becoming labored.
He stared at Ji Yue, gripping his arm tightly, trying to make him stop.
“Father, rest in peace.”
Ji Yue raised his hand weakly and covered his eyes.
Uncle Zhong quickly passed away, staring with eyes wide open, unable to close them.
Though his body was old and wrinkled, it did not turn to dust like others.
Nan Shan stared at his corpse for a long time, murmuring, “I knew it. He was the only living person on this island.”
Everyone else was reliving the scenes from before the island’s downfall, but only he had done something different every night.
Only he knew of Shou Xin’s existence, and it was he who had led everyone to Shou Xin’s bedroom.
Nan Shan used the last of her strength to toss Uncle Zhong’s body aside, then collapsed to the ground, resting her head on Ji Yue’s legs.
Ji Yue weakly lifted his hand and gently wiped the ashes from her face.
The temple was filled with dry bones, like a purgatory on earth.
In the midst of this purgatory, the two of them silently leaned on each other, neither speaking.
All resentment had dissipated.
The barrier above Dongyi Island first cracked with a small opening, and then the cracks spread out like a spider’s web.
When the entire barrier was full of cracks, there was a sharp sound, and the barrier completely shattered.
Countless fragments slowly fell, casting illusions of this island’s history and the faces of past immortal monarchs.
First was Ji Yue, then the previous generation, and then the one before that, until the first generation appeared.
It was a young man with great talent for cultivation.
When he first came to Dongyi, he saw how the people lived in hardship and exhaustion, so he stayed behind.
At first, he only helped treat illnesses.
Later, the people would ask him to fix even the smallest things, like a broken bowl.
Then, a plague broke out on Dongyi.
The young immortal monarch, in order to cure the people, gave up all his cultivation.
The people recovered, but their hunger could not be satisfied.
So, they killed the now useless young man, boiled his bones to extract the golden liquid, and applied it to the children, creating a new immortal monarch to continue serving them.
The selection of children was also very particular.
Their birthdates had to align, they needed talent for cultivation, and they had to be pure of heart.
More importantly, they had to be orphans, with no parents or family to protect them.
The thousands of fragments of the barrier continued to fall, turning into snowflakes in midair before completely disappearing without a trace.
A faint light began to emerge from the dark clouds on the horizon, but it seemed far from the dawn.
Firefly-like lights rose from the depths of the earth, slowly drifting toward the sky. Yet, not a single one appeared in the temple.
Nan Shan lay on Ji Yue’s legs, watching the soul lights float away.
After a long while, she murmured, “Is this all there is?”
“Mortals’ souls cannot endure the flesh and blood of the gods.
Their… souls have long been dissolved,” Ji Yue said softly.
Nan Shan remained silent for a long time before laughing softly, “Is this retribution?”
They had tried to consume the flesh and blood of the gods in pursuit of immortality, only to lose even the chance to be reincarnated.
So many people on Dongyi Island… yet only a few hundred could be reincarnated.
After Nan Shan smiled, her breath trembled violently.