"Fox Mask, Ape Mask, Great Flight Out, Fortune God, Hag Mask, Cicada Pill... and also, Little Mask."
She recited the names of the masks one by one, in order.
Except for Little Mask, which was at the end, all the other masks were trembling violently.
A heavy sense of resentment surged forth.
But this time, Tang Sui was no longer afraid.
"I'm sorry. For making you fight alone for so long, for searching for so long."
She said softly.
The Black Mask quietly watched Tang Sui, who seemed to radiate a soft white light, and as if sensing something, a circle of dark red light appeared in the depths of its eyes.
The trembling of the other masks also stopped abruptly, and the light in their eye sockets flickered.
"Have you decided?"
The Black Mask asked, its voice clear and cold.
Tang Sui hummed in response, her opened dark blue eyes alight with a matching red glow, which slowly spread from her pupils to her entire iris.
"I won't run away anymore."
A smile touched her lips, and a sudden surge of energy blew open the surrounding dark room, like an unwrapped gift box, revealing the carefully hidden present.
"Until now, it has always been you who bore my thorns and sins for me."
Black and red patterns, like venomous snakes coiled around their prey, wound and clung to her fair skin, even blooming on her cheeks.
"Now, it's my turn to take on this sin that originally belonged to me."
Every strand of her hair seemed to be enveloped in a dark red light.
Tang Sui's long hair, which fell behind her, had its dark red color, which was present up to one-third of the way down as if marking a boundary, completely recede, transforming into a deep black.
"Kaka—"
The entire illusionary space let out a sound of unbearable strain.
Under the overwhelming pressure, the world cracked like a prism, and the scattered fragments were ground into dust by the heavy pressure contained in the air, not even leaving behind ashes to be scattered by the wind.
"Sin and despair are indeed terrifying."
Tang Sui allowed the demonic bloodline within her soul to begin eroding her body, purging the other two bloodlines that were already suppressed.
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze a little wistful.
"But, someone has to bear it and move forward."
"Now, it's 'my' turn."
As soon as she finished speaking, the jade-white masks began to tremble violently again.
At some point, the Black Mask, identical to her own face, also disappeared.
Of the seven souls chosen and held within the jade masks, six were annihilated into dust by the powerful explosion of energy.
Only the last pure white soul remained, accepting all the darkness that was once one with her.
The seven masks, their colors constantly shifting between black and white, melted like molten iron, forged into new forms under the intense heat.
In the center of the jagged, broken, yet impossibly thin, blade-like, dark gold mask, a black and gold line of eyes opened in the overwhelming darkness, their vertical pupils rolling.
Amidst the surging torrent of power, Tang Sui heard a faint sigh.
An inexplicable sorrow welled up in her heart, and Tang Sui struggled to open her eyes—
"Sui Sui!"
Her companions' anxious shouts came from afar, growing clearer.
"Sui Sui!" Seeing his sister open her eyes in the pillar of light, Tang San was overcome with emotion.
Tang Sui closed her eyes again, lifted the hands hanging by her sides, palms facing up, and made a gesture of lifting. Sudans Novel Network
The overflowing energy quickly receded, and Tang Sui absorbed it all without reservation.
Soul power, demon power, both were growing at a terrifying speed.
The radiating waves of energy were still wild but were slowly diminishing.
Until the last trace of scattered energy was reclaimed by Tang Sui, the hurricane that had been mercilessly whipping every blade of grass, every flower, every stone on Sea Illusion Island finally subsided.
Everyone, looking like they had narrowly escaped disaster, watched Tang Sui descending from the air with bright eyes.
The Shrek Eight Monsters flashed forward and surrounded Tang Sui, their words tumbling out, checking her face, then her shoulders, babbling with concern.
"Sui Sui, ancestor! You really are my ancestor! You worried us to death!" Seeing Tang Sui with her face being excitedly examined by Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Yes, Little San was so anxious, he almost fought with the Great Enshrined Elder." Dai Mubai looked at the spirited Tang Sui with a look of relief, wiping the cold sweat that had broken out on his forehead.
Tang Sui blinked slowly, her gaze falling on her brother, whose eyes were bloodshot. Like a wind-up toy that had been re-wound, her soul was infused.
The familiar gentleness reappeared in her eyes, which had returned to their clear blue.
"Brother, I'm sorry, I made everyone worry."
Tang San's mouth opened, a multitude of questions wanting to be asked, but with Tang Sui safe and sound, his rationality returned, and he knew they were still outside.
Not only were they here, but there were outsiders as well.
"Sui..."
Just as he uttered the first syllable, Tang San, who had been tense all along, suddenly felt his vision go black, his brain throbbing with pain. After rushing over from the end of the fifth trial and guarding outside, Tang San finally couldn't hold on, reaching his limit. His knees buckled, and he stumbled forward, narrowly caught by Oscar, who was quick to react.
Tang Sui's pupils contracted, and her ice-cold hands clasped her brother's slightly warm wrist, beginning to input soul power and mental energy, helping his atrophied mental sea to refill.
[He's fine.]
"Brother is fine, he's just exhausted, his soul power and mental energy are at their limit."
A clear voice, audible only to Tang Sui, overlapped with her own.
Tang Sui, who was channeling energy, paused almost imperceptibly.
'How...?'
[I just thought that perhaps accompanying you in the system's mode would be more convenient.]
Without the deliberately disguised mechanical tone, the originally clear voice became even more pleasant.
Although the mask's form had evolved and undergone drastic changes, and its original appearance and posture were blurred, their consciousness, their original forms, still existed in the depths of Tang Sui's spiritual space.
Tang Sui's gaze softened for a moment, and she met everyone's worried faces, a comforting smile flowing from the corner of her lips. "Brother is fine. I'm fine too. Don't worry about me anymore, I've succeeded."
The words, which settled the dust, caused the frowns on everyone's faces to relax, and joy bloomed on their faces.
"Succeeded? That means... no more risks?" Xiao Wu murmured.
Tang Sui nodded, giving an affirmative answer. "Yes. There won't be a next time."
Upon receiving the affirmative answer, Xiao Wu's eyes reddened, and she suddenly opened her arms and hugged Tang Sui tightly, her lips trembling as she repeated one sentence: "That's good... that's good..."
Tang Sui patted Xiao Wu's back, took out a clean, unused handkerchief from her soul tool, and handed it to Xiao Wu. Only then did she turn her head to look at Bo Saixi and the others who were watching them silently from the side, not intervening. She withdrew from Xiao Wu's embrace.
Dai Mubai and the others understood, and tacitly made a path for Tang Sui.
Standing before Bo Saixi and the others, Tang Sui bowed respectfully towards them:
"Thank you, elders, for your care. Tang Sui has not disappointed and has finally succeeded in achieving enlightenment!"
The moment her soul became complete, the moment her original pursuit was remembered, her Way also became complete, and she finally truly stepped onto the Great Dao, no longer half-hearted and unsettled.