Lu Chukong wore his usual smile, and there was little change in his gaze as he looked at Zhaozhao. It seemed as if they had truly been apart for a long time, and this reunion was just an ordinary greeting.
But it wasn't like that. Zhaozhao knew that perhaps from a long time ago, no, maybe from the very beginning, things had been different. Everything had been premeditated since their first encounter.
The scene of the tragic deaths of the fifty disciples from the Xuan Sect was still vivid in her mind. As the maker of the talismans, she knew it only too well.
Those disciples had indeed died under the talismans she had made. There was no denying it. But she hadn't done it, so it could only have been Lu Chukong.
"It was you," Zhaozhao looked at Lu Chukong with a complex expression. If possible, she didn't want to point out that her former good friend would one day become the enemy who framed her.
Perhaps he had never seen such a look in the eyes of an innocent and naive girl before. Lu Chukong was rarely taken aback, and a brief look of confusion flashed across his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lu Chukong thought of someone and quickly regained his composure. He curled his lips. "But I once received some care from the Xuan Sect. So, when I heard about what happened to the Xuan Sect today, I came here specifically to offer something."
The so - called care he mentioned was nothing more than the fact that he had once participated in a competition in the Xuan Sect and visited the Tianbao Pavilion.
It hardly counted as care. It was just his excuse now.
"What are you trying to stir up?" Song Yao clenched her fists and stared at Lu Chukong expressionlessly.
"I..." Lu Chukong had always deliberately avoided meeting Song Yao's gaze, trying to avoid eye contact.
But at this moment, Song Yao spoke up, breaking the artificial sense of strangeness.
"Speak," Song Yao's face became even more unpleasant. She couldn't quite describe her current mood. Was it more surprise, or more anger and disappointment?
"His Excellency the Dragon Lord will surely not hand over the Resurrection Tree. But the disciples who died in the Xuan Sect must get justice. We are here by the order of His Excellency Taowu to offer our help."
Lu Chukong lifted the small sapling in his hand and murmured a few incantations.
The next moment, the sapling transformed into a living person who looked exactly like Zhaozhao.
"You..." Zhaozhao felt a pang of unease. Looking at that face that was identical to her own but full of disdain, she felt a sudden chill run down her spine.
Everyone present gasped in surprise. Su Yuan looked at the person opposite, his face extremely grim.
The atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point. Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky.
"Go. It's time for you to prove yourself," Lu Chukong smiled eerily and patted the girl beside him.
The girl's eyes sparkled with excitement. She slowly approached Zhaozhao step by step.
Su Yuan stepped in front of Zhaozhao and raised his hand, intending to deal with this imposter first. But his movement suddenly froze.
He couldn't move.
In this world, the only one who could restrict and control him, Su Yuan, was the Heavenly Dao. How did she manage to do it?
Even the Resurrection Tree shouldn't have such great power, and this girl clearly wasn't the original body.
Although they didn't know how Lu Chukong had created her, it was obvious that she was much weaker than Zhaozhao. They didn't know where she got the courage to confront the original body head - on.
"Surprised?" The girl walked to Su Yuan's side and laughed. "You should remember all the things you've forgotten in the past. Is the inner demon you've been suppressing so hard really just a result of that great battle?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she snapped her fingers like a naughty child. A blood - red vine appeared from her fingers and blossomed into a six - petaled flower that was red to the point of blackness.
A strange fragrance wafted from the flower. Su Yuan's eyes gradually became unfocused, and he fell into a state of confusion.
"Don't!" Zhaozhao finally understood what she was trying to do, but it was too late to stop her.
"Don't move," the girl with the same face as hers gently placed her hand on Zhaozhao's shoulder. "Don't you want to know how I came to be?"
Apart from the three of them, everyone else around seemed to be frozen, and everything came to a standstill.
"How did you come to be?" Not knowing the other's cards, Zhaozhao didn't dare to act rashly. She could only follow the other's words and ask, while constantly thinking of countermeasures in her mind.
"I won't tell you," she smiled cunningly, putting a finger to her lips. But the next moment, she relented. "Fine, I'll tell you."
"I'm the Holy Maiden worshipped by the Eastern Monster Clan."
The Eastern Monster Clan, the Nightless Cauldron, and that totem... All the previous clues were connected. In a flash, Zhaozhao thought of something, and her scalp tingled.
"Do you think the Heavenly Dao can really kill us so easily? No, it's wrong. It overestimates itself to think that it can transcend the laws and causality of all things."
This "self" seemed to know a lot of things. Zhaozhao really wanted to listen further, but she was worried about Su Yuan's current situation and didn't have the time.
The Soul - Severing Sword was unsheathed and pierced through her heart. The sword Zhaozhao stabbed with carried the intention to kill, but the stabbed person showed no sign of pain on her face.
"I'm the manifestation of all your past grievances and sufferings. I have all your memories and past. Why do you think you can kill me?"
She reached out and grabbed the Soul - Severing Sword, backing away inch by inch. "Put down the sword. I still want you to live a little longer."
The next moment, Zhaozhao suddenly felt a splitting headache. Something was ramming around in her heart, and her body seemed to be on the verge of being torn apart.
"I once carried all your hatred and pain, drifting around with a scarred heart. I've been living in hatred since I woke up. Why do you get to grow up under everyone's care and love? Aren't we of the same body? Why?"
She approached Zhaozhao, and the playful smile on her face was gradually replaced by madness.
"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up," Lu Chukong's urging voice suddenly sounded.
The girl endured her unwillingness with great difficulty and finally said, "You should also experience the pain I've endured for so many years."
The blood - red vines instantly trapped Zhaozhao. Not far away, Su Yuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and looked extremely painful.
The vines gradually approached Zhaozhao's heart along her body. It seemed that what the other person wanted was the tree - heart she had retrieved.
Zhaozhao struggled uneasily, not knowing why this girl, who claimed to be the incarnation of her pain and grievances, had such great power.
No, maybe she wasn't that powerful in herself. Maybe she just happened to be able to restrain her...
The blood - red vine aimed at her heart. The sharp tip of the vine pierced through the skin and flesh, trying to pull out the heart that carried all the spiritual power of the Resurrection Tree.
"Ah!" The vine suddenly retracted. The girl was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhaozhao with jealousy all over her face. "Good, good, excellent."
The enraged tree revealed its half - demon and half - human form. Its fingers turned into sharp claws and lunged at Zhaozhao's heart again.
"So what if you have his heart? You're going to give it to me today!"
"What a big mouth."
Flames flashed, and the blood - red vine was instantly charred and broken. The arrogant tree burned its hand and let out a painful cry, hugging its hand.
A gentle light blue glow enveloped and protected Zhaozhao. It was the half of Su Yuan's heart in her chest.
Zhaozhao looked at the familiar flames and slowly raised her head. Looking at the familiar figure not far away, a sudden sense of grievance welled up in her heart. She called out pitifully, "Master..."