What's admirable is this courage to fight with one's life, truly wanting to "control one's own destiny." In the final moment, Xie Jiuxiao was no longer the "hesitant and indecisive" figure the Heavenly Dao deemed him to be, breaking through his own limitations.
But Yan Qianlie's expression was somewhat strange.
Because he knew very well that Xie Jiuxiao still didn't understand the essence of the Heavenly Dao—he thought that if he died, the Heavenly Dao wouldn't care. In reality, the Heavenly Dao could bring him back to life at any time, without needing any extraordinary power, only requiring Chu Ge's correction. If the predetermined plot prevents death, then you won't die, just like Bai Yan corrected his fate.
Even his belief that "I am important, and my death will greatly affect the trajectory of the Heavenly Dao" wasn't as important as he imagined.
Perhaps Xie Jiuxiao, as one of the pillars of the righteous path, and with Yunxiao City being a major righteous sect, would play a significant role later on. However, he wasn't the protagonist. The Heavenly Dao only needed to add the setting of "Xie Jiuxiao's forced ascension failed and he died, Xie Yun'er succeeded him," and then give Xie Yun'er a power-up, which would have almost no impact on the world's trajectory... Even death was useless; he couldn't die even if he wanted to.
But Xie Jiuxiao's determination and resolve in deciding his own fate were worthy of respect.
Yan Qianlie knew he had been outshone, at least in this matter.
There are indeed heroes among the righteous path. Even though Chu Ge saw Xie Jiuxiao as having strayed far from the right path and had fallen into demonic ways, making his actions difficult to judge, Yan Qianlie still considered him remarkable.
He turned to look at Chu Ge, wanting to know how Chu Ge would handle it.
Chu Ge was staring blankly at Xie Jiuxiao's corpse. This matter... He had committed suicide with a smile, feeling he had done something to escape his fate. He wondered what his expression would be if he were resurrected; perhaps the blow would be even greater. Perhaps it would be better to let him rest in peace? Death was a fitting end for his previous descent into demonic ways.
But Chu Ge also felt a lingering resentment.
"What the hell? You're all so righteous, so ambitious, and you've turned me into the BOSS! What did I do to deserve this? Did I ever wrong you?
'Fighting to the death' sounds so heroic, but there was nothing wrong with this before. Isn't this just asking for trouble?
I've seen people force others to be villains, but I've never seen someone twist their own head and insist on calling someone else a villain.
What kind of nonsense is this?!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Chu Ge finally couldn't hold back anymore, and a ripple of emotion appeared in his eyes.
As the ripple passed, Xie Jiuxiao's aged and hunched appearance visibly transformed back into that of a middle-aged scholar with long black hair and a beard, and he opened his eyes in confusion.
Qiu Wuji turned his head away.
I knew it.
Yan Qianlie stared at him blankly: "Damn, you really won't even let someone die! You're even more of a demon than me."
Chu Ge remained silent, his face expressionless.
Xie Jiuxiao, initially bewildered, immediately understood the situation, his eyes blazing with anger: "Father God, is that truly the case? Even death is forbidden?"
Chu Ge was even more furious, slamming his fist on the table, spilling wine everywhere: "Go to hell! I gave you life, crafted you into a paragon of virtue, admired by all, with meticulous thinking, unyielding pride, a place among the masses, and a brilliant presence in the final battle. I endowed you with so many virtues, yet you haven't contributed anything to the world. Your abilities are all thanks to your father?"
Xie Jiuxiao: "?"
Qiu Wuji covered his face.
Yan Qianlie covered his face.
Yes, putting yourself in Chu Ge's shoes, that's exactly how it is. It's infuriating.
The reason Qiu Wuji was initially willing to communicate well with Chu Ge was because they could empathize.
Chu Ge continued his tirade, "You think dying makes you brave? Learn from Qiu Qiu, learn from Qian Qian! Only by living can you break free from the Heavenly Dao, only by living can you take control of yourself! Dying is just cowardly escapism! Useless!" Xie Jiuxiao stared, dumbfounded by the insults.
He never imagined being lectured and scolded by the "Heavenly Dao" from this angle.
"What good will dying do? I can wave my hand and let your daughter marry someone else, wouldn't you be happy? Even your wife… never mind. Anyway, you could still bargain with me while you were alive, what can death stop you from doing? Are you brain-dead?"
Xie Jiuxiao broke out in a cold sweat: "You…"
"Of course I won't do that! I'm just telling you, the Heavenly Dao's manipulation and control you imagine is completely nonexistent. You just need to cooperate with me to complete the predetermined world's perfection, and then you can do whatever you want, it's none of my business. Why would I control a bunch of bearded old men like you? I'm not a male keto!"
Xie Jiuxiao subconsciously glanced at Qiu Wuji.
Qiu Wuji remained expressionless.
"Take control of the Heavenly Dao from me? Forget about it. Your level is far too low. There's the Heavenly Realm above you. If even the Heavenly Realm can't do it, when will it be your turn?" Chu Ge said angrily. "I suggest you, including Qianqian..." Yan Qianlie muttered, "What does this have to do with me..."
"I suggest you, if you discover any signs that someone is trying to usurp the Heavenly Dao, you must stop them! Others don't respect you as much as I do, because I created you. I have feelings for you. The more arrogant you are, the more it proves how powerful I am! I'm one of you! If someone else were in control, they wouldn't care if you died. That would be true puppets, just like how you, Old Xie, controlled Lu Shaotong. You didn't treat him like a person. That's the difference! Understand?" Xie Jiuxiao's expression turned serious.
This last sentence touched his heart. He had done it himself, and his own experience was the deepest.
He had initially assumed that the way of Heaven was the same, but seeing his furious, cursing appearance now…
It seems… that's not the case…
"Why am I so nervous this time? Even though I could have corrected it directly, I insisted on meticulously investigating every detail, like solving a case, and talking to you face-to-face? It's because this is serious. I must fill in all the loopholes to prevent this from happening again. Old Xie, if there's anything you've overlooked, tell me quickly!"
Xie Jiuxiao subconsciously said, "N-nothing…"
Qiu Wuji sighed, "Take a break. I've known you for so long and rarely seen you so enraged. If this were written into a book, there would be over a dozen exclamation marks, right?"
Chu Ge: "…I'm so annoyed, Qiu Qiu."
"Yes, I know." Qiu Wuji said gently, "Take a break, have a drink."
Chu Ge took the drink, like a cat whose fur had been stroked.
Xie Jiuxiao stared, as if in a dream, and after a long pause, he finally managed to say with some difficulty, "So, Sect Leader Qiu, is this why you cooperated with the Heavenly Dao?"
Yan Qianlie wanted to say no, but opened his mouth and then closed it again.
Even he was startled by the Heavenly Dao's outburst just now; it was best not to cause trouble…
Qiu Wuji glared at him, then said to Xie Jiuxiao seriously, "Exactly. I asked you before, do you really think Qiu Wuji is a sycophant?"
Xie Jiuxiao broke out in a cold sweat: "These… are indeed different from what I expected… something feels off. Shouldn't we be breaking free from our predetermined fate, fighting against the heavens? How come it's like this…"
Chu Ge almost jumped up again: "I should have set you all to respect the heavens! Without that, there's so much more trouble!"
"Forget it, if everyone respects the heavens, they'll lack personal charm, and you wouldn't like that anyway," Qiu Wuji said reproachfully, and Chu Ge shut up again.
Xie Jiuxiao looked at the two of them, but remained silent.
Qiu Wuji said, "Brother Xie is a man of wisdom. There's no point in saying more; you should figure it out yourself. You should understand why Yan Qianlie and I set aside our past grudges and cooperated on this matter."
Xie Jiuxiao sighed, "So, after all this time, I'm the villain?"
"Leaving aside your usurpation of power, Brother Xie's reckless creation of puppets and instigation of conflict in the southern border of Shenzhou certainly make you a villain. To be honest, I never imagined you would do such things." Qiu Wuji's voice tinged with anger, "And you even dared to try to change my goodwill, Xie Jiuxiao, you unworthy of the title of righteous!"
Xie Jiuxiao remained silent for a long time, then said in a low voice, "The temptation to control others is indeed hard to resist, and it gives me the impression that 'this is the way of heaven,' making me increasingly reckless." "If you hadn't exposed me in time, I might have sunk even deeper... This matter... I am willing to accept the Father God's punishment, without complaint."
"What you will receive is not my punishment. I will resurrect Lu Shaotong and the Jade Serpent Venerable. What you need to accept is their revenge, and the release of all puppets, allowing them to return to their true selves." Chu Ge said sternly, "As for me... I will not punish you, but I must modify your consciousness, changing it to Jing Tian. Do you have any objections?" Xie Jiuxiao was overjoyed: "If they can be resurrected, Xie Jiuxiao will willingly be a puppet, even if it means three cuts and six holes, without complaint!" A thought suddenly flashed through Yan Qianlie's mind: There's nothing wrong with having a Heavenly Dao. Those who shouldn't die, mistakes they shouldn't have made, all regrets and transgressions can be made up for.
No one is born a demon...
His gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if recalling events from many years ago.