"A thousand years," Li Genmiao's excited expression suddenly relaxed.
Instead, there was deep melancholy, longing, and regret.
He turned his head, looking at the beautiful Tianchi, looking at the distant stars, and couldn't help but think of the distant capital that had been annihilated a thousand years ago.
"In the Qingjiang Kingdom of a thousand years ago, I also had relatives, a wife, and children... but those have all turned into bubbles due to my pursuit, and they can never return."
"Disciple, Yan Shouyi, if only you could have been born a thousand years earlier, if the second volume of the Lu Ban Book had been completed a thousand years earlier, perhaps the Qingjiang Kingdom would not have been destroyed, and those people would not have died."
Li Genmiao appeared very sad, as if after the second volume of the Lu Ban Book was perfected by Yan Shouyi, all his efforts over the past thousand years had become unimportant.
Someone had already completed it for him.
"You are right, the second volume of the Lu Ban Book is complete, and I have no reason to provoke conflict between the two factions."
"I give up."
Li Genmiao took a deep breath and calmly decided to end everything.
Jiang Qingxue's gaze also softened. If Li Genmiao could truly repent, she would still recognize him as her master.
However, Yan Shouyi could not immediately accept Li Genmiao's surrender.
Although he had dreamed of Li Genmiao surrendering, when Li Genmiao did, he couldn't help but recall the bad things Li Genmiao had done.
Is it enough to admit one's mistakes just by bowing one's head?
How should Yan Shouyi face the people who had died?
If he met them again in his dreams and was asked about revenge, how would Yan Shouyi answer?
As if sensing Yan Shouyi's concerns, Li Genmiao made a startling move.
He actually knelt before Yan Shouyi!
"Master..." Jiang Qingxue could not bear this bow and quickly moved aside, then looked at Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi, however, felt at ease. He stood before Li Genmiao, looking down at him.
"Yan Shouyi, I know I have made many mistakes in the past, and I don't expect anyone's forgiveness, but I am willing to stay at Tianchi and face the wall to atone for my sins!"
At this moment, even Uncle Weng believed that Li Genmiao truly admitted his crimes and intended to atone with the rest of his life.
But Yan Shouyi remained unmoved.
He was still hesitating.
"I was wrong! I was really wrong!"
Li Genmiao lowered his head and listed his mistakes one by one: "I sent people to pursue Wang Zhilai, and it forced Zou Xiazi to death; I plotted to sneak attack Longhu Mountain and forced the old Heavenly Master to death; I sent the Twelve Yuan Chen to impersonate Lu Xin and provoke conflict between the two factions; I also instigated Qi Dongqiang to slaughter the entire Emei sect; Lu Jing was also killed by my people, and your child was also snatched by my people..."
"Shut up!!!"
Yan Shouyi suddenly roared.
On the surface, Li Genmiao was listing his sins, but in reality, he was repeatedly reopening the wounds in Yan Shouyi's heart.
All those who had died were people he cared about deeply.
And the instigator, Li Genmiao, showed no guilt whatsoever. His tone was so casual when he mentioned their names!
"You are not worthy to mention their names, let alone face the wall at Tianchi. Your best outcome should be to go to the eighteenth level of hell! That is where you should atone for your sins!!"
Enraged, Yan Shouyi directly took out the Ancestral Dragon Sword from his satchel, intending to use the True Dragon Purple Qi to directly sever Li Genmiao's karma!
He didn't yet know how strong Li Genmiao was, but severing his karma would surely lead to Li Genmiao's utter destruction.
"Wait!!"
Li Genmiao suddenly took something out of his embrace and presented it to Yan Shouyi.
It was a token with the character "戏" carved on it.
"This is the token of the New Xuan Mountain Sect. With this, you are the master of the New Xuan Mountain Sect," Li Genmiao said seriously. "Even if you want to kill me, you must first accept the New Xuan Mountain Sect, right? I know my sins are deep, so even if you want to kill me, I have nothing to say, but my subordinates, they still have a chance to be saved. Please give them a chance."
It was hard to imagine that Li Genmiao could say such words.
Yan Shouyi had to admit that he was moved by Li Genmiao's words.
Killing was not Yan Shouyi's goal; his goal was to provide a better future for all inheritors of folk sects. Many members of the New Xuan Mountain Sect, who had been misled by Li Genmiao, still had a chance to start anew.
Accepting this token was equivalent to Yan Shouyi promising to take responsibility for those people.
Li Genmiao's eyes were sincere, and after a long hesitation, Yan Shouyi finally reached out to take the token.
However, Jiang Qingxue snatched the token from Li Genmiao's hand first, saying,
"Shouyi already carries enough responsibility."
The people of the New Xuan Mountain Sect had nothing to do with Yan Shouyi. Jiang Qingxue did not want to see her son spend his life laboring to save others.
Seeing this, Li Genmiao did not object.
He turned to Yan Shouyi and said plainly, "Now, you can kill me."
Yan Shouyi's eyes turned cold. Without any hesitation, he raised the Ancestral Dragon Sword.
He could no longer be influenced by Li Genmiao's words; he had to eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible!
However—
Just as the Ancestral Dragon Sword was about to fall, Jiang Qingxue suddenly realized something was wrong with the token in her hand.
The token suddenly erupted with countless black threads, like women's hair, dense and numerous, directly binding Jiang Qingxue!
"Mom?!"
Yan Shouyi was greatly alarmed, and at the same time, a thought surged in his mind—Li Genmiao indeed had ill intentions!
The next second, Shan Ji suddenly appeared beside Yan Shouyi, grabbed the Ancestral Dragon Sword with its sharp claws, and then flapped its wings to snatch it away!
The Ancestral Dragon Sword was also lost!
Yan Shouyi wanted to chase, but he was worried about his mother's safety. He had to abandon the Ancestral Dragon Sword, summon the Soul Slayer Sword, and retreat with Jiang Qingxue while trying to use the Soul Slayer Sword to cut the hair binding Jiang Qingxue.
At the same time, Li Genmiao slowly stood up.
The sincerity and earnestness were gone from his face. Instead, there was a playful smile.
"Did you really believe I would sincerely repent and let you slaughter me?" Li Genmiao's mouth almost split to his ears. "Impossible! Impossible! I have worked for a thousand years, how can I give up at the last moment!!"
Yan Shouyi stared at Li Genmiao, his eyes splitting with rage.
He had never stopped doubting Li Genmiao, but Li Genmiao was always one step ahead of him. In the art of manipulating people, Li Genmiao was the undisputed number one.
He never expected that even Uncle Weng and the Four Lively Ones would betray him...
Jiang Qingxue gritted her teeth and questioned, "The second volume of the Lu Ban Book is complete, and the inheritors of folk sects have seen hope. Why are you still attacking us?!"
"Hahaha, hahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"
Li Genmiao threw his head back and laughed, shouting in a sharp voice, "The complete second volume of the Lu Ban Book is a priceless treasure. Can't you see its potential? Only you dreamers want to make it public!"
"But what I thought of was to establish a sect using the second volume of the Lu Ban Book, and gather all the inheritors of folk sects under my command!"
"Then I will eliminate the renowned sects one by one. For the next hundred, thousand, ten thousand years, there will only be one voice in this world—that is my voice, Li Genmiao's voice!"