# Chapter 3935: Between Life and Death, All Is Fate
Inside the hall, the seventy-two skull head lamps flickered unsteadily, casting the seventy-two demon gods on the bronze pillars in an eerie and sinister light.
Zhang Ruochen did not rush to make a decision, deeply aware that in such a perilous situation, any wrong choice could lead to utter ruin.
Yu Zhuan, who was stronger than him, was a cautionary example.
Gai Mie waited quietly, without urging.
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen said, "When the Great Venerable brought the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall here and laid down secret patterns and order outside the hall, there must have been a reason. And inside this hall, using a treasure like the Five-Colored Glass Cover to seal or protect the hall's soul fire also surely had its significance.
"Taking the Five-Colored Glass Cover and the hall's soul fire would undoubtedly disrupt the Great Venerable's arrangements from back then. The Supreme Pillar may not need to consider the consequences of this, but I must think it through carefully."
Gai Mie had clearly thought about this issue long ago. He said, "Zhang Ruochen, you always consider others when doing things—don't you find it exhausting? In this life of cultivation, you could clearly live with unrestrained joy and vengeance, yet you insist on carrying heavy burdens. What are you after? You, this romantic Sword God, appear carefree on the surface, but you're not the least bit at ease. I don't envy you at all."
Gai Mie shook his head and continued, "I know what you're thinking! You're worried that once something happens to the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall, or even if I take it away, it will release that Styx River, and along with it, the terrifying existence hidden in the Styx that cursed Yu Zhuan to death."
"So what if it's released? With our cultivation, we can definitely escape Chao Tian Que before that happens."
"So what if that terrifying existence emerges? That old man from the Primordial Path Clan has been scheming to release it—what does that have to do with you? You and I just want to survive."
"To say something you might not like to hear: even if It emerges and destroys the lower realm, destroys the Hell Realm, destroys the Heavenly Court's myriad realms—so what? With our cultivation, we can completely go to the edge of the universe and avoid this calamity."
"Besides, this world isn't your world alone. The heavens of the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm, along with those old fellows who do nothing but hide in the shadows scheming for profit—they'll jump out on their own when disaster strikes."
"Think about it: the matter of Fengdu Ghost City—could the Hell Realm really not handle it without you? Was stopping the Primordial Beings from declaring war something only you could do? Why do you take on all these responsibilities? Isn't it exhausting?"
"Listen to me: live for yourself. Don't bother being the Lord of the Sword Realm anymore. It's meaningless. Without worry, you can be fearless. Without emotions, your heart can be pure and your Dao clear."
Chi Yao's delicate brows furrowed. She said, "Chen Ge, don't listen to him! He's just a wandering ghost from the Chaotic Ancient period, so of course he can live only for himself. If we truly cause that terrifying existence on the Styx River to be released, and a hundred realms are destroyed, with mountains of corpses piling up before our eyes, we would never forgive ourselves. Demon Dao cultivators are inherently selfish and self-centered!"
Gai Mie said, "Heavenly Mother was also a Demon Dao cultivator, and Heavenly Demon was too. There are quite a few Demon Dao cultivators in the Kunlun Realm, aren't there? I recall Zhang Ruochen has a little lover who is also a Demon Dao cultivator. Saying that—your private motives are quite substantial!"
Chi Yao said, "Fine, I misspoke. The Supreme Pillar's eloquence is sharp. Chi Yao has learned her lesson!"
Gai Mie said, "Make a decision quickly. That old fellow outside has Heavenly Venerable-level cultivation. With the power of the Yellow Spring Seal and the Victory Crown, the 'Human World Hell Diagram' formation won't hold him for long. By then, whether or not we break the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's arrangements won't be up to us!"
"So, in truth, we have no choice."
The reason Zhang Ruochen hesitated was because he still had another option.
Relying on the three divine abilities that Heavenly Mother had left on the "River Diagram," and with Gai Mie's coordination, there was a chance to severely wound the Primordial Path Clan's old patriarch to the point of losing combat capability, or even kill him.
Without Gai Mie's coordination, Zhang Ruochen's chances of success were only seventy to eighty percent.
There were still twenty to thirty percent variables.
More importantly, if Zhang Ruochen ended up mutually wounded with the Primordial Path Clan's old patriarch and the unknown terror on the Styx River, Gai Mie might very well make a move to finish them all off and claim the greatest benefits. That would be the worst outcome!
And once Zhang Ruochen revealed the secret of the "River Diagram" and formulated a battle strategy, asking Gai Mie to coordinate, Gai Mie—fearing Heavenly Mother's power—would be even more likely to stab Zhang Ruochen in the back during the clash.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly spoke up, "Yao Yao, didn't you just say you sensed the Great Venerable's true body aura?"
Gai Mie, who had been waiting for Zhang Ruochen's decision, narrowed his eyes slightly.
Chi Yao was spiritually connected to Zhang Ruochen and knew what he was thinking. She said, "I am certain it is the Great Venerable's true body."
Gai Mie said, "What exactly are you two up to? I see—you think I'm the biggest threat, so you're bringing up an ancestor who fell long ago to intimidate me? There's no need for that. I can swear that before we leave the lower realm, you can fully trust me."
Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao stared at him with distrustful eyes.
"Fine, swearing is indeed useless. But staying deadlocked like this is just waiting for death. Why not try trusting me once?" Gai Mie said.
Zhang Ruochen actually knew that perhaps opening the Five-Colored Glass Cover and helping Gai Mie restore his cultivation was the best choice among the worst options.
Zhang Ruochen stepped onto the staircase step by step, walking toward the Five-Colored Glass Cover.
A look of approval appeared in Gai Mie's eyes. He said, "Trust me this once, and from now on, we'll be brothers in life and death!"
Chi Yao was full of worry. She said, "To be honest with the Supreme Pillar, I truly did sense the Great Venerable's aura. Is the Supreme Pillar so certain the Great Venerable has fallen?"
"If an ancestor still existed in this world, they would have long since swept away those cultivators intent on destroying the world. How could they allow them to throw the universe into chaos?" Gai Mie said.
Chi Yao said, "But in fact, the Great Venerable is indeed still alive. Ling Yanzi told me this."
Gai Mie's pupils sharply contracted. He said, "Ling Yanzi is still alive?"
"The ancestral god of the Divine Ancient Nest is Ling Yanzi," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen climbed the seventy-two steps and stood on the hundred-zhang-square platform.
Affected by the black hall's soul fire, it was extremely dim here, with only five-colored streams of light occasionally sweeping across the floor and walls.
On the wall was a line of ancestral script carved by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable:
"To take, one must first give. Between life and death, all is fate."
Zhang Ruochen came down from the stone steps and told the two about these sixteen ancestral characters.
Gai Mie said, "What did I say? Even the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable says this is fate. It's not because we don't take the hall's soul fire that the unknown terror in the Styx River won't emerge. Are we really going to hand over the Five-Colored Glass Cover and the hall's soul fire to that old patriarch of the Primordial Path Clan?"
Chi Yao said, "Isn't the Supreme Pillar's interpretation a bit biased? 'To take, one must first give'—this is undoubtedly telling us that if we want to obtain forgiveness, we must first think about what we need to give. 'Between life and death' is asking us to choose between life and destruction!"
Gai Mie said, "Of course, choose life."
"What is life, and what is destruction? We live, and the world is destroyed? Now that all the half-ancestors have gone to the Nether Prison, who will resist the newly emerged strange terror?" Chi Yao said.
Gai Mie said, "The Divine Ancient Nest, Ling Yanzi."
At that moment, the voice of the Wuwo Lamp came from outside the hall: "Stop arguing! The formation can't hold much longer!"
Zhang Ruochen took Chi Yao's hand and walked toward the hall entrance, secretly transmitting his voice: "Is the ancestral god of the Divine Ancient Nest really Ling Yanzi?"
"I tricked him! This way, even if he knows we might be deceiving him, he'll still have some caution in his heart," Chi Yao said.
Arriving at the hall entrance, Zhang Ruochen looked at the "Human World Hell Diagram" formation, which had already developed cracks, but showed no panic on his face. He said, "I now know why you sensed the Great Venerable's aura that was real yet not real. It's not the Great Venerable's true body, but the Celestial World he left behind!"
The Immovable Bright King Great Venerable had cultivated twenty-seven layers of celestial realms, each like twenty-seven ancestral realms.
Nine of those layers were suppressing the Heavenly Academy.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If I'm not mistaken, just like with the Heavenly Academy, the Celestial World will only emerge after the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall is destroyed. The Xiongxiao Demon God Hall is just the first layer of suppression!"
Chi Yao said, "But the Primordial Path Clan's old patriarch will break in soon! Are we really left with no choice but to open the Five-Colored Glass Cover first, let Gai Mie absorb the hall's soul fire, and then trigger the Celestial World left by the Great Venerable?"
Zhang Ruochen looked into Chi Yao's eyes and said, "What if I said I must take the Five-Colored Glass Cover to break through to the Indestructible Infinite Middle Stage? Would you support me? Don't answer too quickly, because I don't have the answer myself. The Great Venerable's Celestial World is just my speculation. It's possible that once the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall is taken away by Gai Mie..."
"I support you."
Chi Yao said, "Chen Ge, if you had said earlier that the Five-Colored Glass Cover was so useful to you, I would have urged you to open it along with Gai Mie."
Gai Mie walked out and said, "What exactly are you two discussing through voice transmission? Have you decided? Or maybe you should find a way to summon the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable first?"
The latter part was clearly a taunt.
Chi Yao said, "Chen Ge said that the Supreme Pillar is different from other demon gods—a true hero who keeps his promises. So now, of course, I'll listen to him and help the Supreme Pillar take the hall's soul fire to restore your full cultivation."
With that, she walked into the hall first, climbed the seventy-two stone steps, released her twenty layers of celestial realms, channeled the Five Elements Chaos Divine Qi, and struck out.
Gai Mie glanced inside the hall, clearly unable to believe that Chi Yao, who had been so resolute earlier, had suddenly changed her mind.
He said, "Is everything she said true?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded seriously and said, "How could someone who became a Supreme Pillar be ordinary? In my heart, I've always believed that Brother Gai Mie is different from other demon gods. After much deliberation, I decided to trust my judgment. I hope I haven't misjudged you!"
Zhang Ruochen also walked into the hall, flew above the stone steps, and released nine-colored ancestral divine qi and ancestral divine patterns to help Chi Yao break the power the Great Venerable had left on the Five-Colored Glass Cover.