thefictionvixens Chapter 80: Facing Death with Openness!
Chapter 80: Facing Death with Openness!
Chapter 80: Facing Death with Openness!
The atmosphere on the competition field was as heavy as lead.
Liu Kunsheng's cold, serpentine eyes were fixed on Hu Tianbiao, who had just completed his transformation, and the turmoil in his heart almost overwhelmed his reason.
The aura from the other side remained wild and domineering, showing no signs of weakening, but the overwhelming sense of "realism" was palpable.
—This is too strange!
Could it be that he really created a physical body for himself?!
This thought gnawed at Liu Kunsheng's consciousness like a venomous snake.
How dare he?!
"Hu Tianbiao!" Liu Kunsheng's cold, hoarse voice, filled with exasperated screams, pierced the silence of the arena.
"What the hell do you want?!"
"If you're tired of living, just find a quiet place and bury yourself!"
"We have no grudge against each other. If you do this, people who don't know the situation will think that I, Liu Kunsheng, forced you to do it!"
"If those horny foxes from Northeast China hold a grudge against me, who will I be able to reason with?!"
At this moment, Hu Tianbiao's form was even closer to that of a true "superhuman" than his previous half-beast, half-human appearance.
Looking at this old acquaintance who seemed determined not to "live well" anymore, Liu Kunsheng was filled with questions and couldn't understand at all.
For beings like them, what difference is there between the physical body and deliberately drinking a slow-acting poison?
Faced with Liu Kunsheng's surprise and questioning, Hu Tianbiao merely let out a disdainful snort, his voice echoing clearly across the arena: "Coward! I've known you for hundreds of years, and I never expected you to still be so spineless. Your fear of death hasn't changed a bit."
His crimson fox eyes held a hint of deliberate mockery as he slowly added, "Hmph, no wonder that girl surnamed Lu from the Tang Clan never even gave you a second glance in the end."
"You're talking nonsense!!"
Liu Kunsheng's furious voice exploded instantly!
The scarlet forked tongue flickered wildly, and its vertical pupils instantly contracted into dangerously thin needles!
The "girl surnamed Lu" that Hu Tianbiao mentioned was none other than Lu Huizhong, the brilliant and talented woman from the Tang Clan back then. She was the deepest and most painful regret in his heart!
Unfortunately—fate plays tricks on people.
The nonsensical dialogue between the two "masters," brimming with tension and hinting at old grudges, left a large group of onlookers completely bewildered.
"What...what is all this about?"
"Isn't this a competition? Why are we bringing up life and death, love and hate?"
"Even immortals argue in such a down-to-earth way?"
But there are always those who understand.
In the spectator stands, Feng Zhenghao adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
His gaze behind the glasses was calm and profound. He spoke slowly, his voice not loud but clear, reaching his children Feng Xingtong and Feng Shayan beside him, and also faintly reaching the ears of the ten elders, including Lu Jin, Wang Ai, and Lü Ci: "Xingtong, Shayan."
"The so-called immortals are actually extraordinary beings among animals who have gained sentience and embarked on the path of cultivation."
"They are uniquely endowed with a purer intelligence than humans when they first develop it, but because of this, their instinctive fear of death is also more intense."
"However, the lifespan of animals is ultimately much shorter than that of humans, at most a hundred years."
"Therefore, over the long course of time, they have discovered a unique path to immortality—abandoning their physical bodies and existing as pure spirits, pursuing eternal life on a spiritual level."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two deities facing off below, and continued, "This is the true origin of the 'household deities' of the Northeast Shamanic lineage."
"And the price of this immortality is that they can no longer directly experience this world in their true forms, and can only walk the earth through the bodies of their human disciples."
Feng Zhenghao's words were not only to answer his children's questions, but also implied a desire to demonstrate the Feng family's profound heritage to the other ten elders. In terms of understanding elves, the Feng family might not know less than those disciples who had gone out to perform rituals.
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name."
A calm, aged voice rang out as Feng Zhenghao finished speaking.
The old master Zhang Zhiwei, who had quietly arrived at the viewing area, stroked his long beard and calmly watched the audience.
"There are gains and losses. To pursue a long life, one must give up what is most precious to oneself."
"Heh, it seems that living a long life isn't necessarily pleasant. In the end, it's not as good as following the natural way."
The old master's words seemed to be directed at Hu Tianbiao in the room, and also to remind these old fellows who had lived for a long time and had different thoughts.
At your age, why are you still making a fuss about all this time?
Upon hearing this, Wang Ai and Lü Ci remained expressionless, though their eyes flickered slightly. They continued to silently observe the developments below the stage, seemingly acknowledging the deeper meaning behind the old master's words.
"snort!"
At that moment, Hu Tianbiao's wild voice, filled with a resolute roar, instantly drowned out all the discussions.
"How much longer do we have together?"
Whether it can survive the next hundred years is still unknown!
"Rather than living a life of ignorance and watching your spirituality slowly erode in this false immortality, leaving not even a trace behind—"
A startling light flashed in his crimson fox eyes as he stared intently at Liu Kunsheng, as if declaring to the heavens and earth: "I'd rather gamble this last sliver of life! I'll fight for a true living! Even if I die—" His voice was resolute, "I'll die with dignity! I'll die standing tall! Not like those immortals enshrined in tiny shrines," silently decaying on the altar!
This resounding and passionate declaration resonated like a thunderclap in everyone's hearts.
Even the seasoned and prudent Lu Jin and the Old Celestial Master couldn't help but let a barely perceptible hint of approval flash across their eyes.
Compared to the seemingly long but ultimately illusory life of an "immortal," this spirit of "being born as a human and dying with equanimity" undoubtedly aligns more closely with the true nature of these practitioners.
This may explain why throughout history, so many extraordinary and powerful individuals have ultimately chosen not to live a life of ignominy, but rather to bravely venture into the legendary path to heaven or to accept their inevitable end, all in order to make the most of their lives as human beings!
"You—you're absolutely insane!"
Liu Kunsheng's voice rang out in utter shock, trembling with disbelief.
"Hmph!" Hu Tianbiao stopped looking at him, and his crimson demonic energy suddenly erupted, like a burning flame.
"Whether the road ahead is short or long, so what? I can't see it at a glance. This time, I won't choose that path of survival again!"
Even if it means death
His figure suddenly transformed into a crimson meteor that tore through the air, charging fiercely towards the snake-like shadow shrouded in black mist opposite him with an indomitable momentum!
"I'll also fall on this road to heaven!"
"Now it's not in vain that I, Hu Tianbiao, have wandered this world for a thousand years!"
This crimson meteor not only represents the outbreak of battle, but also symbolizes the complete break between Hu Tianbiao and the identity of that "family deity"!