Chapter 16

Zhou Yi Chen nearly dropped Yun Guangjian.
“Don’t say things like that so casually!”
Zhao Yuanzhou grinned.
“You did swear to kill me.”
“That’s not the point!”
“It absolutely is.”
Even Chenghuang looked amused.
After a moment, his expression became distant again.
“I only wanted to reverse fate.”
His gaze returned to the memory of the Goddess.
“I granted wishes.”
“Collected desires.”
“Gathered power.”
“All for the sundial.”
The ancient artifact appeared before them.
“I wanted to return.”
His voice trembled.
“To the days when she was still alive.”
“To when my hands weren’t stained with blood.”
For the first time-
Everyone could see the tragedy beneath the monster.
Then Zhao Yuanzhou spoke.
“Li Lun promised that?”
Chenghuang nodded.
“He said the sundial could reverse fate.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Zhao Yuanzhou sighed.
“…You were deceived.”
Chenghuang froze.
“What?”
“I found the sundial with Li Lun.”
Zhao Yuanzhou folded his arms.
“It doesn’t reverse time.”
The words landed like a hammer.
“It only stores memories.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Chenghuang stared at him.
“No.”
His voice shook.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“It cannot change fate.”
Every word destroyed centuries of hope.
“It can only preserve what has already happened.”
The illusion trembled violently.
“No…”
Chenghuang staggered backward.
“No…”
The memory of the Goddess flickered.
The dream cracked.
Everything he had done.
Every death.
Every sacrifice.
Every sin.
Meaningless.
Realization finally struck.
Li Lun had never intended to help him.
He had been used.
A pawn.
A fool.
Rage exploded from Chenghuang’s body.
The skies shattered.
Mountains trembled.
The entire illusion began collapsing.
“LI LUN!”
Ancient power erupted across Kunlun.
And for the first time since meeting him-
The legendary Chenghuang truly lost control.

✨✨✨✨⚔️⚔️⚔️❄️❄️❄️❄️

A tidal wave of power crashed toward the group.
Pei Sijing was thrown backward.
Bai Jiu nearly lost consciousness.
Even Ying Lei struggled to remain standing.
Only two figures remained at the center.
Zhao Yuanzhou.
And Zhou Yi Chen.
“YI CHEN!”
Wen Xiao shouted.
Zhou Yi Chen raised Yun Guangjian.
Silver light erupted from the blade.
But Chenghuang’s power was ancient.
Too ancient.
Too overwhelming.
The impact sent Zhou Yi Chen sliding across the ground.
Blood stained his lips.
His spiritual veins screamed.
Yet he refused to let go of the sword.
Zhao Yuanzhou immediately appeared beside him.
One hand gripping his umbrella.
The other catching Zhou Yi Chen before he could fall.
“You really enjoy worrying me.”
“Shut up.”
“That’s usually my line.”
Another wave of power crashed toward them.
BOOM.
The earth shattered.
The sky burned crimson.
Then suddenly-
Everything froze.
A strange warmth spread through Zhou Yi Chen’s body.
He blinked.
Light began gathering around him.
At first-
Nobody understood what was happening.
Then Wen Xiao gasped.
“Your forehead.”
Everyone looked.
A symbol had appeared.
Ancient.
Sacred.
Beautiful.
The mark of the Baize Order.
The same symbol depicted in countless ancient records.
Golden light spread across Zhou Yi Chen’s skin.
His black hair gradually shifted.
Dark strands becoming crystalline blue.
Like frozen moonlight.
Like glacial rivers beneath starlight.
The color was impossible.
Otherworldly.
For a moment-
He looked less human.
And more like something eternal.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Even Chenghuang stopped moving.
His eyes widened.
“No…”
The ancient demon stared.
As though seeing a ghost.
“It can’t be…”
Meanwhile-
Something else happened.
A second mark appeared.
Behind Zhao Yuanzhou’s ear.
Black and gold.
Ancient.
Powerful.
The other half.
The second mark of the Baize Order.
The symbol that belonged to the Great Demon.
The forgotten guardian.
The one who had governed alongside the Goddess.
Everyone froze.
Bai Jiu looked completely confused.
“Wha-“
Ying Lei pointed dramatically.
“WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE SECRET IDENTITIES EXCEPT ME?”
“No one knows,” Pei Sijing answered.
“That’s deeply unfair.”
But nobody was listening.
Because Chenghuang looked utterly shocked.
His voice trembled.
“The Baize Goddess…”
His gaze shifted.
“And him…”
The ancient memories finally aligned.
The Goddess.
The Great Demon.
The two guardians.
The same power now stood before him once more.
Even Zhao Yuanzhou seemed stunned.
His eyes fixed on Zhou Yi Chen.
“…Yi Chen.”
The name escaped softly.
As though he had spoken it thousands of times before.
The Baize Order activated.
The two marks resonated.
Golden light flooded Kunlun.
The heavens shook.
Ancient power awakened.
Zhou Yi Chen instinctively raised Yun Guangjian.
At the same moment-
Zhao Yuanzhou stepped beside him.
Their powers intertwined.
Light and shadow.
Divinity and demonhood.
Perfectly balanced.
Exactly as they had been long ago.
Neither leading.
Neither following.
Together.
The Baize Order erupted.
BOOM.
A pillar of light pierced the heavens.
Chenghuang stared at them.
Not with hatred.
But with sorrow.
The sorrow of someone finally understanding.
“…So that’s why.”
His voice was barely audible.
The Goddess’s flute appeared in the air.
Floating gently toward Wen Xiao.
She caught it instinctively.
The moment her fingers touched it-
The flute began glowing.
Ancient divine music filled the sky.
The final seal activated.
Chenghuang closed his eyes.
For the first time in thousands of years-
He looked peaceful.
“…Perhaps.”
A faint smile appeared.
“…this is enough.”
The light swallowed him.
His body dissolved.
His regrets.
His obsessions.
His endless longing.
All fading into the wind.
And then-
Chenghuang disappeared forever.
Silence.
The battle was over.
The red sky faded.
The illusion crumbled.
Kunlun vanished.
And the world returned to stillness.
The Baize Order’s light slowly dimmed.
The symbol on Zhao Yuanzhou’s skin faded first.
Then the power surrounding Zhou Yi Chen disappeared.
His crystalline blue hair returned to black.
The mark vanished.
And suddenly-
His knees gave out.
He dropped heavily onto the ground.
Everyone rushed forward.
“Yi Chen!”
But Zhou Yi Chen barely heard them.
His mind was spinning.
Fragments.
Memories.
Voices.
Feelings that didn’t belong to him.
Or perhaps they did.
Slowly-
He looked down at his trembling hands.
Then toward Wen Xiao.
Then toward Zhao Yuanzhou.
Finally-
His voice broke the silence.
“…What really happened?”
Nobody answered.
His eyes were filled with confusion.
Fear.
And something deeper.
“I don’t understand.”
The wind stirred gently.
“I don’t belong to the Baize bloodline.”
The question echoed through the quiet aftermath.
The Baize Goddess had appeared through Wen Xiao.
The Great Demon had awakened through Zhao Yuanzhou.
But the mark had appeared on him.