"Senior, is there some misunderstanding between us?"
At this moment, Yan Xiaohu forced himself to remain calm and asked.
The old man ignored Yan Xiaohu’s words, only a mocking sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Turning his head to the side, he said leisurely, "Du Kui, you are not joking with me, are you? Since you’ve already poisoned them, why would you need to spend three Top-Grade Spirit Stones to invite me here if you could handle it alone?"
As soon as he said this, the two of them widened their eyes, filled with disbelief.
Immediately after, they saw a figure in a black robe slowly walk out from the side of the Array.
As the figure slowly removed the hood, a familiar face appeared in front of them.
That person was none other than the chief senior brother of Golden Sun Peak—Du Kui.
At this moment, his eyes were cold, without a trace of warmth, completely different from his usual gentle and kind demeanor.
"Du—Senior Brother Du—"
Both of them spoke in disbelief.
"Wh—Why?" Zhou Qing’s voice trembled with a tinge of hoarseness, his eyes fixed on Du Kui, still unable to believe it.
The senior brother who had once extended a helping hand in his time of need, who had bid him farewell before his journey, was now standing on the opposite side, wanting to kill them.
His mind was in chaos, unable to understand, or make sense of it.
Yan Xiaohu, who had regained his senses, was filled with fury, stepping forward abruptly, his body exuding intense killing intent and rage.
He too couldn’t understand how Du Kui, whom he always regarded as a senior brother, could be so meticulously plotting, colluding with a Divinity Transformation Realm old man, trapping them in this deadly situation, and even despicably poisoning the fourth brother!
Du Kui quietly looked at them, his eyes full of pain and guilt.
He then looked at the old man and explained, "You don’t understand, this junior brother of mine has repeatedly killed two Nascent Souls who had initially comprehended the embryonic form of the Realm, so I had to take precautions."
The old man, hearing this, showed a hint of surprise, his previously indifferent expression turning serious.
He re-evaluated Zhou Qing, seemingly not expecting this late-stage Nascent Soul youth to have such an impressive record.
"You are indeed cautious, poisoning them first, trapping them with an Array, and then spending so much to invite me here. Alright, I’ll take action now; I still need to go to Spirit Skull Mountain afterward!"
After saying this, the old man raised his hand and gathered Spiritual Power, preparing to strike.
At this moment, Du Kui suddenly reached out to stop him.
"What are you doing? Regretting it?" The old man’s brows furrowed, his eyes full of confusion and displeasure.
Du Kui gently shook his head and said, "I want to do it myself. Please cover for me, senior."
The old man, hearing this, showed a strange expression, furrowing his brows again and joking, "You people from the Eastern Domain really have peculiar ways of handling things. Seems is either a vendetta or a love affair. I get it, I get it!"
The old man seemed to think of something, let out a lewd laugh, then stepped back a few paces, ready to see how Du Kui would strike.
Du Kui bowed to the old man in thanks, then turned around, and suddenly produced a blue long sword in his hand. The blade was slender, flashing with a chill, pointing directly at Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu.
Seeing this, Yan Xiaohu gripped his large knife tightly, his eyes bloodshot, almost spitting fire, quickly guarding Zhou Qing firmly behind him.
"Du Kui, you traitor! Why on earth are you doing this?" Yan Xiaohu roared angrily.
Du Kui looked at them, his gaze especially fixed deeply on Zhou Qing, a flash of pain and struggle in his eyes as he choked, "Junior brothers, I’m really sorry. I don’t want to do this, I really don’t."
"Is someone coercing you? Or did something happen?" Zhou Qing forced himself to stand up despite the excruciating pain, staring straight at Du Kui, questioning.
He still held a sliver of hope that Senior Brother Du was merely being coerced, not willingly doing this.
Perhaps, they could help in some way.
Du Kui slowly shook his head, two lines of murky tears streaming down his cheeks.
"No, but why did you kill Sima Demoness? It had nothing to do with you." His voice carried a hint of reproach.
Yan Xiaohu, hearing this, grew even more furious, his chest heaving violently, shouting, "What’s wrong with the fourth brother avenging Senior Sister Luo Xue? What’s wrong with pulling you out of your despair?" Read complete versıon only at novel⁂fire.net
Du Kui’s eyes were red, tears glistening in his eyes, emotionally shouting, "You’re not wrong, none of you are wrong. But I’m not wrong either; what’s wrong is this world, the Dao is ruthless, and I just want to go a bit further!"
Du Kui’s voice carried a tinge of madness, as if controlled by some obsession. After shouting this, his aura abruptly changed, an oppressive and despairing Realm aura spread crazily around.
In an instant, the two were enveloped, as if in a boundless dark world.
They couldn’t see anyone, but the overwhelming despair and regret spread like toxic fog, suffocating Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu.
At that moment, they both felt an intense sense of nihilism, almost wanting to draw their blades and end it themselves.
Pain, guilt, discomfort, and regret, all sorts of pessimistic emotions intertwined, mixed in the increasingly thick darkness, threatening to devour them.
Yan Xiaohu trembled all over, weeping bitterly, as if countless ants were gnawing at his heart, amplifying some of his buried memories.
It was as if sharp knives were cutting into his heart, one after another.
He slowly pointed the large knife at himself, wanting to end it all, to free himself, but his eyes showed intense struggle.