Chapter 29: What Does Sacrifice Matter for the Sake of Inner Justice?

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Inside the ancestral hall, before the spirit tablets.

Xiao Lin’s expression was calm, showing no sign of shock. If he were in the production team’s shoes, he would also find ways to resurrect the Fallen Sword Immortal. It would be a waste to abandon such a setup: a villain capable of absorbing the evil thoughts of myriad cultivators and turning them to his own ends.

Besides... what of death and resurrection? Only the unseen poses a threat. If all conspiracies and schemes are dragged into the light of day, they are nothing more than the antics of clowns.

Xiao Lin continued reading.

"The Fallen Sword Immortal, desperate to survive, went to such lengths that he even absorbed my Shura Righteous Qi?"

Xiao Lin chuckled. How is this any different from calling out to one’s father? If one had to say, there was indeed a connection; both were forms of ultimate energy. Yet the gap between them was greater than that between fire and water. Even Li Changhe, who possessed only a sliver of evil energy, had fallen into a coma the moment his own sliver of righteous energy clashed with it. How could the Fallen Sword Immortal possibly endure it?

The result was that while the Fallen Sword Immortal survived, the majority of his essence had been destroyed. Originally, he could have absorbed endless evil energy, perhaps even reaching the realm of Shen Wuya—effectively having no upper limit. But now, his limit was fixed at the completion of Foundation Establishment. A villain who would spend his entire life stuck at Foundation Establishment might be a scourge to a local region, but as for being a threat to the world... he could forget it.

Xiao Lin sighed in relief. In this instance, the production team had managed to keep their families safe—at least they knew how to follow basic logic. A resurrected character should have to pay a heavy price. If they ignored such logic, they would surely be drowned in the audience’s spit and negative reviews. After all, a highly popular character had been sacrificed to purify the Fallen Sword Immortal.

Xiao Lin read on: "The Fallen Sword Immortal harbors a grudge against Xiao Lin and is determined to make him taste the same suffering of having his essence destroyed and his cultivation lost..."

Xiao Lin’s eyes narrowed slightly; he knew the critical plot point had arrived. "So, they are dragging the Fallen Sword Immortal back out just to force me out of the story?"

He understood now. It made sense. His existence had, to a great extent, interfered with the progression of the plot. If he didn't exit, how could these love-struck fools fall in love?

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The "Romance" in "Chronicles of Sword Mountain Romance" would become a mere decoration.

Xiao Lin read through the advanced spoilers in one go. The general plot was that, before long, the Fallen Sword Immortal would have some evil cultivators cause a disturbance to lure him and Gu Jianyao out to purge the evil. In reality, the villain would have already laid a trap, taking the city's inhabitants as hostages, forcing them to remain within the array to fight.

In the end, though they would protect the city and eliminate nearly all the evil cultivators, the Fallen Sword Immortal would not die. He and Gu Jianyao would both suffer—he would lose all his cultivation, and she would slightly awaken memories of her past life. It was truly... unbearable to witness.

Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow. "Is this not a bit too deliberate?" It was as if they had written "We are going to force the plot regardless of sense" on their faces. However, he feared the production team would find their efforts counterproductive. Since he already knew the plot, how could he possibly allow such a future to come to pass?

"Awakening memories of a past life, huh..." Xiao Lin smiled faintly. "So that’s the kind of 'three-lifetime romance' it is."

But sorry to say, he wanted Gu Jianyao to be only herself. Moreover, he would be the one to open her Flawless Sword Heart. As for any Demon Lord or Demon Sovereign, they had best remain mice hiding in the gutters for the rest of their lives. If they dared to show their heads, he would slay them with a single sword. He might even go so far as to slay Gu Jianyao’s past life as well.

In Xiao Lin’s eyes, it was only normal if Gu Jianyao had possessed her past-life memories since birth, just like him. But if she had already lived for over twenty years, witnessing twenty springs and autumns, and suddenly a past-life memory awakened, how was that any different from possession?

"Open the Sword Aperture, slay the past life." Xiao Lin silently noted his plans regarding Gu Jianyao.

As for himself? Honestly, Xiao Lin even toyed with the idea of letting his character die. Why did the production team dare not truly write him out? Because his popularity was simply too high; they couldn't bear to lose him, and they couldn't afford the consequences. Popular characters could die, but if they died pointlessly, it would invite a violent backlash.

But Xiao Lin was only thinking about it. The Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill was still a long way off. However, losing his cultivation... that, he could play along with. In this world, trying to rebuild one's cultivation after it was destroyed was near impossible. A cultivator only had one chance at Foundation Establishment and only one Golden Core in a lifetime. It was like a mortal’s limbs and organs; once gone, they were gone.

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The same held true for a cultivator’s realm. Unless one extracted another’s Dao Foundation or Golden Core to replace their own... but that would ruin his character setting.

Xiao Lin remained calm and opened the shop.

[Item: Heaven-Seizing Creation Tribulation Pill]
[Effect: Seizes the creation of heaven and earth, reverses the cycle of yin and yang. If cultivation is destroyed, it can restore the Dao Foundation. (Must be consumed in advance; the effect lasts for one hour.)]
[Price: 200,000 Popularity Points.]

"No wonder it only costs 200,000 points; the usage conditions are so harsh," Xiao Lin mused. For an ordinary person, if they knew their cultivation would be destroyed in an hour, they would simply try to avoid the crisis altogether. If they didn't know, they wouldn't have time to use it. It could be called utterly useless.

But for Xiao Lin, it was the perfect pill.

Character depth is something that can never be over-explored. For instance, right now, he was indeed righteous to the point of being fearsome, so decisive in his killing that even the villains feared him. Yet, until now, every plot point reflecting this was built on the premise that he swept away all opposition. He had never been forced into a desperate situation, pushed to a trolley-problem-style dilemma. The former only proved his strength and firm Dao heart. The latter would truly prove what lengths he would go to in order to uphold justice and fulfill the path of righteousness.

The answer Xiao Lin intended to provide was: sacrificing himself.

The Fallen Sword Immortal wanted to place him and the city's inhabitants on the scales together? Then let them be placed. Every action he took would add another brick and tile to his own layered and perfect character. After all, the value of a character often shines brightest in the moment they sacrifice something incredibly important. Those enduring, tragic romances were proof enough that the audience loved the "knife." They only hated knives that lacked foreshadowing, value, or logic.

Since that was the case, he would bring them a perfect sacrifice.

Romance and such were too dull. A general dying for his country, an emperor guarding the gates—that was true romance. As it stood, a genius youth willing to become a cripple for the rest of his life to protect the world... that would be far more heart-wrenching than death itself.