Chapter 91: The Thousand Mountains Formation

            

Meng Ruji knew every path of Hengxu Mountain.

Qing Rao led her to a forest where spiritual energy was abnormal. The pressure inside was so heavy that Qing Rao’s organs felt as if they were rotting. Meng Ruji told her to wait outside, then pressed forward alone.

The forest was withered. At its center lay a formation, exposed like scattered stars or a blazing bonfire. When Meng Ruji tried to destroy it, she realized she was helpless—the lines extended underground, connected to hundreds of distant cores.

Hundreds of them.

She understood: Mu Sui had been racing across mountains to set this Thousand Mountains Formation. Hengxu Mountain was the last.

“Hide the star torch among a thousand mountains, following the will of the departed gods…” she murmured. “So that’s how it is.”

She rushed out.

“Qing Rao!”

Above, malevolent energy battered Hengxu Mountain’s barrier. Shang Lan led disciples to hold it. Meng Ruji reinforced the barrier with her power, then told Qing Rao:
“In a moment, I need to sleep.”

“Sleep? At a time like this?”

“I need to find Mu Sui.”

“In a dream?”

Qing Rao stared, bewildered. But Meng Ruji explained: “Watch my wrist. If spiritual energy appears on the vine bracelet, follow its guidance. Carry my body if needed.”

Then Meng Ruji sat cross‑legged, entering meditation.

She sank into the dream world. Mist swirled. Mo Li appeared.
“Little Meng. What’s wrong?”

Meng Ruji gripped a mist ball tightly. “The situation is worse than I thought. Mu Sui and Mo Yi’s formation is set.”

Mo Li’s face darkened. “So fast?”

Meng Ruji smiled coldly. “He even complained I returned too quickly.” She steadied herself. “Search for Mu Sui’s dream.”

Mo Li hesitated. “What if he doesn’t dream?”

“He will. To condense such power, he must meditate. He will dream.”

Mo Li sighed, then searched. Finally, he pointed: “He’s at Mizong Mountain.”

Meng Ruji’s heart jolted. Fate.

She dragged her mist ball forward. In the dream, she found Mu Sui surrounded by mist—scenes of the Divine Realm, the Realm of No Return, and countless memories of her.

She approached, but his aura repelled her. He opened his eyes.
“You get out.”

Meng Ruji laughed. “Are you sulking, Qianshan Jun?”

“At this time, what are you doing in my dream?”

“I came to give you a choice.”

“I never had a choice,” he said coldly. “Born to live, dying to die. I stripped away my divine status, gained human fate, but I never had a path.”

“Is that so? But you’ve always been choosing.”

She pressed forward. “In Zhuliu City, you exposed your divine identity to save me. On the Nai River, you saved me again. You returned the Inner Core. You told me your past. You came to see me at Hengxu Mountain. All choices.”

His cold mask cracked.

Meng Ruji dispelled his wind wall, grabbed his hand. “Mu Sui. Living as a human, you’ve learned human habits—speaking contrary to your heart. Your actions are calling for help. You want to be stopped.”

“No… I want to kill everyone…”

“Including yourself.”

“I owe them. This is their will.”

“This is not their will.” Meng Ruji pulled him, showing him her dream.

On the Divine Platform, gods stripped his status. In his memory, they cried “Kill them.” But in her dream, their faces showed relief. Their lips said: “Live on.”

Not revenge. Rebirth.

“Mu Sui! You’re different from Mo Yi. We can punish evildoers, not destroy the world!”

She held his hand firmly. “You can choose to be Mu Sui himself. Move forward. Live on.”

Her tears shimmered. Light filled the dream, collapsing it.

And then—she truly grasped his hand.

Meng Ruji stood before him in the mortal realm. The vine bracelet glowed, guiding Qing Rao to him.

She condensed her Inner Core, offering it like candy.
“I told you, I came to give you a choice. Life or death, you choose.”

Mu Sui lowered his eyes. Shadows deepened.

“Master!” Qing Rao cried. “The sky!”

Malevolent energy surged, condensing into Mo Yi’s figure. Her voice shook the mountains. Qing Rao bled from her orifices, collapsing. Meng Ruji wiped blood from her mouth, standing firm.

Mo Yi raised her hand. Malevolent energy descended toward the Inner Core.

But Mu Sui grasped it first.

He pressed it into the formation. Light blazed across the mountains, beacon fires lit by stars.

Then the light turned—aimed at Mo Yi.

The Thousand Mountains Formation could destroy the world or save it.

Mu Sui shielded Meng Ruji, pulling her behind him.

She smiled. “The wedding banquet should be grand. Known throughout the world.”

Qing Rao swallowed blood, thinking her master had gone mad.

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