Ye Sheng froze for a moment.

The night wind whipped through the clamorous Bright Moon Square, a place of both brightly lit prosperity and the Mortal World’s panicked disarray.

What was most peculiar was that, aside from the most chaotic streets, many of the mansions lining the roads were still filled with peaceful song and dance.

As Song Ciwan moved through the city using her Lightweight Skill, her ears were filled with the sounds of festive music and dance.

Mixed in were various eerie ditties about foot-binding, though they weren’t coming from the group that had charged into the market from Bright Moon Square’s North Gate. In truth, that group wasn’t fast enough; Song Ciwan and Ye Sheng had long since left them far behind.

This could only mean that Princess Chunshui’s influence had already permeated all of Bright Moon Square.

Amidst this bizarre world and its strange, eerie sounds, Ye Sheng’s pace slowed for a moment. It was as if he’d been stumped by Song Ciwan’s recent question.

A moment later, he looked at Song Ciwan with a profound gaze and said, "Brother Lu, from the day I began my Cultivation, I have understood that we Cultivators must make the welfare of the Mortal World’s people our responsibility. We are not mortals, for whom it is enough to live out a mediocre life, simply taking care of themselves."

"We who seek the Dao and cultivate truth, who seize the world’s resources to build our own great power—how can we truly focus only on our own Cultivation and ignore the Demon Fiends running rampant in the Mortal World?"

"Brother Lu, you said I’m used to being the protagonist and thus unwilling to play a supporting role. I cannot agree with that."

"I just want to do something. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Ye Sheng’s tone was light as he asked this final question, but the words were heavy with the dense, unshakable confusion etched on his pale face.

Although he was refuting Song Ciwan, it was as if he wasn’t entirely confident in his own rebuttal.

He was already questioning himself!

No, to be more precise, he had started questioning himself long ago.

That was why he seemed so full of contradictions when Song Ciwan met him this time.

He spoke again, "I’ve been thinking for a long time, why did we push open that door in Illusory Nether City, only to enter such a strange realm?"

"Is this a test from Illusory Nether City? Or a trick?"

"Brother Lu, when you find yourself powerless, don’t you feel pained by it?"

The night wind slipped quietly past them. Ye Sheng, sentence after sentence, was either asking himself or questioning Song Ciwan.

But no matter how many questions he asked, his pace never slowed again.

If anything, his speed only increased.

Subtly, it seemed to have become a contest between him and Song Ciwan.

But it was obvious that he couldn’t win—at least, not in this round of speed.

Song Ciwan always maintained an air of Lifting Heavy as Light, handling the difficult with ease. She was clearly using only the Low Level Lightweight Grasshopper Skill, a Cultivation Technique so common it was practically worthless. Yet, having reached the state of Returning to the Essence, the technique had clearly undergone a miraculous transformation.

With just a light tap of her toes, she would glide dozens, even hundreds of yards. It looked less like she was using a Lightweight Skill and more like a form of spatial traversal.

Ye Sheng posed one question after another, and Song Ciwan listened in silence. Only when he was finished did she speak. "Brother Ye, you’re overlooking one point. Though we are not ordinary mortals, we too are among the people of this world."

Ye Sheng was stunned again.

Song Ciwan offered a faint smile. "What? Does Brother Ye not consider himself one of the people of this world?"

Ye Sheng smiled bitterly. "Before today, I truly didn’t see it that way. But now that you’ve brought it up, Brother Lu, I find I have no rebuttal."

Song Ciwan said, "Brother Ye, you said you couldn’t tell if this is a trial from Illusory Nether City or a scheme. In my view, there’s no need to ponder that question too deeply."

"We only need to understand one thing. At any time, whether it’s you, me, or those seniors who stand even higher—Immortals, Buddhas, gods, and saints—there will be times when we are powerless."

"Admitting that you are sometimes powerless, isn’t that also a form of Cultivation, a kind of great courage?"

Her words struck Ye Sheng like a heavy beat on a booming drum.

In that instant, no one could have guessed where his thoughts had drifted.

He would never tell anyone that in this moment, his train of thought had suddenly diverged, connecting to what Ye Lingguan had once said about the Three Immortals of Kunlun!

’Even Immortals, Buddhas, gods, and saints can be powerless at times!’

Back when the news of the Su Yang City disaster reached Pinglan, Ye Sheng had gone to ask Ye Lingguan about the Dragon Maiden. He couldn’t understand why the Three Immortals of Kunlun would help Xiao Hong devise a malicious plot, using such an extremely shameless method to deal with the Dragon Maiden.

The Dragon Maiden was at fault, and Xiao Hong could take revenge, but there were a thousand ways to do so. Why that one in particular?

Ye Lingguan had not answered Ye Sheng directly, but explained the matter from another angle.

At the time, Ye Sheng was reluctantly convinced. For the grand, long-term plans of the Human Race, sometimes certain sacrifices are necessary.

The Three Immortals of Kunlun were highly respected and virtuous. How could he question them?

Yet now, in this moment, he heard Song Ciwan’s words echo in his mind—’Even Immortals, Buddhas, gods, and saints can be powerless at times!’

An uncontrollable thought suddenly surfaced in Ye Sheng’s mind. ’If even Immortals, Buddhas, gods, and saints can be powerless, that means they aren’t perfect. So... does that mean they can make mistakes, too?’

The moment the thought arose, it was like a tidal wave crashing down, one layer after another.

The massive, rolling waves crashed against Ye Sheng’s mind with a great RUMBLE, as if threatening to shatter all the invisible walls he had built up over the years. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Beside Song Ciwan, the Heaven and Earth Scale manifested and in an instant, collected a wisp of air: [human desires: The obsession, bewilderment, and shock of a Quasi-Celestial Pride Level, Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator. Two catties, one tael. Exchangeable.]

This time, the Heaven and Earth Scale had collected Ye Sheng’s aura.

And the description his aura received from the Heaven and Earth Scale was also unique; it came with a prefix: Quasi-Celestial Pride Level!

Ye Sheng’s pace didn’t slacken. He stared straight ahead, not looking at Song Ciwan, and his voice was soft as he asked, "Brother Lu, you said admitting one’s powerlessness is a form of courage. What comes after that admission? Are we just supposed to accept our fate?"

Song Ciwan replied, "Of course not. It’s simply that after admitting it, we can look upon the world’s other protagonists with a calmer gaze."

"Take this moment, for example. The city’s songs and dances, the cool night wind, the world’s loves and hatreds... whether we are here or not, whether we can take part or not, they will all continue to exist. That General Guo from earlier—is she not powerful? She is here, too."

"And the Third Transformation Expert General Guo mentioned—is that person not incredible? That expert is here, too."

"And there are many, many other people. The soldiers of the City Patrol Department, the Demon-slaying Captains and Demon Extermination Envoys of the Lantern Hanging Department, and many masters among the common folk... they are all here too."

"The world won’t stop turning without you and me."

"Brother Ye, impatience is useless, bewilderment is useless, and self-blame is most useless of all. It’s better to face our powerlessness head-on and then look for another path. If we find one, it’s a pleasant surprise. If we don’t, we can accept that with grace. Isn’t that far better than wallowing in dejected misery?"

"Look..."

They passed through street after street and, at some point, arrived before an area of chaotic, collapsed buildings.

Amidst the shattered buildings stood a Scholar, wielding a Doubi and writing characters in the air.

Characters shimmering with golden light flew from the tip of his brush, landing amidst the ruins ahead. There, countless long-tailed Demon Fiends scrambled on all fours, screeching as they fled in every direction.