When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 169

The gates of Tianyan Palace slammed shut with a thunderous boom.

At that instant, Yun Peiran raised a longsword wreathed in golden-red spiritual light. His crimson eyes—cold, hollow, utterly devoid of feeling—swept across the hall.

Yun Peiran had loved swords since childhood. Even after walking the Shura Path, he had never abandoned the blade. His sword had always been turned against his enemies—until today, when it pointed at his only brother.

The sword flashed, impossibly fast, its edge splitting the air. 

Yun Zhuoran stood frozen in disbelief, his usually steady gaze trembling—until a red shadow darted forward, black mist coiling around the blade like a living serpent. 

The red-clad youth intercepted the strike, snapping Yun Zhuoran out of his trance. He immediately summoned the Frost Sword’s power through a jade branch.

The Penglai Immortals reacted instantly, joining the defense. 

Before his disappearance, Yun Peiran’s strength had rivaled Gu Shenshu’s. Now Gu Shenshu existed only as a remnant spirit, while Yun Peiran retained his full power. Containing him would be nearly impossible.

Yet beyond his strength, Yun Peiran was family. None of them could bring themselves to strike him down.

“Brother—wake up!” Penglai Immortal’s voice cracked with disbelief and desperation. He could not accept that Yun Peiran was fighting for Rong Wuduan. The blood-red eyes before him confirmed what he feared—his brother had fallen completely under Rong Wuduan’s control. “Brother! Look at us! Have you forgotten Xiao Zhuoran? He’s your brother! I’m Penglai Immortal!”

But Yun Peiran’s sword, wrapped in golden-red light beneath the Buddhist seal burning behind him, did not waver.

It was always aimed at Yun Zhuoran.

Even when attacked from behind, Yun Peiran dispatched his assailants effortlessly. His sword never once turned aside from its target.

The Heart Demon shielded Yun Zhuoran without hesitation, buying him precious seconds. 

Lu Yu unleashed high-grade magic artifacts, only to watch them disintegrate against Yun Peiran’s blade.

“Yun Peiran, are you insane? That’s your brother!” Lu Yu shouted hoarsely. “Open your eyes!”

Yun Zhuoran stared at his brother, sorrow flickering behind his calm expression. Still, his eyes hardened with resolve. He sheathed the jade branch’s frostlight and stepped from behind the Heart Demon.

“Everyone, fall back,” he said quietly. “I’ll trap him inside the Floating City.”

“Understood!”

As the others withdrew, Yun Peiran’s sword struck again, streaking toward him like lightning. Yun Zhuoran raised his hand and opened the entrance to the Floating City. 

The moment Yun Peiran crossed the threshold, his white-robed figure vanished into the void.

A wave of relief passed through the group.

Penglai Immortal rushed to Yun Zhuoran’s side. 

Between Yun Zhuoran’s brows, the faint golden seal of fire flickered—he had sealed Yun Peiran within the Floating City’s Lord Mansion under multiple layers of restriction. Opening his eyes, he exhaled slowly. “I’ll release him when this is over.”

“Alright…”

Before Penglai Immortal could finish, Yun Zhuoran’s expression twisted in pain. His knees buckled, and the Heart Demon caught him in alarm.

“Brother!”

The others rushed over. “What happened?”

Yun Zhuoran’s face was deathly pale. Leaning against Weiran for support, he stared toward the center of the hall. 

Following his gaze, they saw a golden-red light blaze to life before the massive armillary sphere. A white-robed figure stood within it, sword in hand, eyes glowing crimson.

It was Yun Peiran.

“Impossible…” Penglai Immortal whispered.

The one Yun Zhuoran had sealed in the Floating City stood before them once more, alive and unmoving.

Rong Wuduan’s mocking laughter echoed through the hall. “Confused? His spirit dissipated long ago. What stands before you is merely a shell—a puppet bound to guard Tianyan Palace for eternity. I showed him mercy. He can never leave this place.”

Their faint hope shattered. Yun Peiran was gone; what remained was only an empty vessel.

“Shameless fiend!” Penglai Immortal shouted, his voice hoarse.

Yun Zhuoran’s breathing grew shallow, but his gaze did not waver. 

Before the armillary sphere, the puppet that wore Yun Peiran’s face stood motionless, sword inverted before him. The golden-red Buddhist seal behind him dimmed, but the lifeless eyes remained fixed on Yun Zhuoran.

“You can’t even cross the gates of Tianyan Palace,” Rong Wuduan’s disembodied voice sneered. “Do you still think you can oppose me? Stay here quietly. If you’re lucky, your brother might kill you before the formation completes.” His laughter rose and faded through the hall. “Don’t worry, Yun Zhuoran. Yun Peiran will follow you until the day he ends your life with his own hands.”

At once, Yun Peiran lunged. The golden-red light of his blade illuminated the hall as his murderous gaze locked onto Yun Zhuoran.

“Brother, be careful!” The Heart Demon leapt before him. 

Penglai Immortal and Lu Yu followed, their movements swift and precise. But the Buddhist seal on Yun Peiran’s back flared, his aura surging severalfold.

He was terrifying. In two years, he had risen from Golden Core to Spirit Transformation; within five, he reached the peak of the Great Ascension Realm. From a youth of Yun City to the master of Penglai Island, he had become a legend—one feared by all.

Penglai Immortal, Lu Yu, and the Heart Demon fought desperately to protect Yun Zhuoran, preventing him from joining the fray. 

Yun Zhuoran could only watch, knowing his brother’s body now obeyed only Rong Wuduan’s will.

Despite their combined strength, they could not stop him. 

Penglai Immortal staggered back, then Lu Yu. Yun Peiran’s mastery of the Shura Path made him the bane of demonic cultivators.

Black mist coiled from the ground, forming thorned vines that wrapped around Yun Peiran’s limbs. The Heart Demon strained against the force, refusing to yield.

Yun Zhuoran’s gaze fell upon the Heart Demon’s back. In his hand, the jade branch reformed. He gripped it tightly—but did not strike.

“Go on,” said a calm voice. Gu Shenshu’s spirit floated nearby, expression serene. “He’s only a puppet bound to Tianyan Palace. We can’t restrain him for long—but he can stop us. Little Zhuoran, we’re running out of time.”

Penglai Immortal’s face went white. He stepped forward in panic. “You want him to kill his own brother? He’s Yun Peiran! Zhuoran, you can’t!”

Lu Yu caught his arm, holding him back. “We have no choice! He’s not Yun Peiran anymore!”

“You can’t do this!” Penglai Immortal struggled against him, his voice breaking. “Zhuoran, he’s your brother! Have you forgotten why you came here?”

Yun Zhuoran’s eyes lowered, his lashes trembling. He hesitated.

Gu Shenshu sighed softly. “Time is short. Rong Wuduan placed him here knowing you wouldn’t kill him—but he’s our only obstacle. Remember the Penglai disciples begging for aid. We can’t afford hesitation.”

Yun Zhuoran raised his head, expression empty of emotion. 

He stepped forward until he stood beside the Heart Demon.

“No!” Penglai Immortal shouted, dread filling his voice.

The Heart Demon turned to him, smiling faintly—as if he already knew what Yun Zhuoran would choose.

Yun Peiran slashed through the vines, the golden-red Buddha seal blazing once more. Yet the Heart Demon’s mist surged again, reforming into a dark net that bound him in place. 

The clash of light and darkness filled the hall, holy fire against demonic shadow.

Yun Zhuoran lifted his hand. The jade branch in his grasp radiated sharp, icy sword intent.

“Zhuoran!” Penglai Immortal’s voice broke, his tears falling freely. Lu Yu’s scarred hands tightened helplessly, while Gu Shenshu’s calm gaze urged him onward. 

Only the Heart Demon remained still.

Yun Zhuoran’s hand trembled. He knew the Heart Demon would obey whatever he chose. 

He drew in a ragged breath—and lowered the jade branch.

His shoulders shook. “No… I can’t.”

Memories rose like a tide. Yun Peiran teaching him to speak again after his childhood injury, repeating “Brother” until he remembered. The man who raised him, who stood between him and every storm, who had once sworn, “When you surpass me, you’ll be free.”

Yun Peiran had been a good brother. And Yun Zhuoran could not destroy him.

But Gu Shenshu was right—Rong Wuduan was moving to destroy the world. Yun Peiran’s body, controlled by him, would not stop until it was done.

A pained cry broke his thoughts. The Heart Demon staggered backward, blood at his lips. 

Yun Zhuoran caught him just as a golden-red sword light split the air.

Yun Peiran had broken free again. His blood-red eyes gleamed coldly as he turned his blade on them.

Penglai Immortal and Lu Yu froze, grief and horror twisting their faces.

Seizing their hesitation, Yun Peiran thrust forward, his sword burning with condensed golden-red energy. The strike carried all the force his Buddhist seal had absorbed—an attack no one could block.

Yun Zhuoran raised the jade branch and stepped in front of the Heart Demon. Steel met jade, and a shrill crack split the air.

He had never fought Yun Peiran before—he’d been trained by Gu Shenshu, not by his brother. He didn’t know Yun Peiran’s full strength. But Yun Peiran’s attacks were absolute—every strike lethal.

The jade branch cracked under the pressure. Yun Zhuoran’s grip tightened, but the fracture spread.

Then, suddenly, the sword stilled.

Yun Zhuoran froze. Before him, the golden-red spiritual blade dissolved into light. Yun Peiran’s movements stopped; the crimson in his eyes faded to dull gray.

“Brother!” Penglai Immortal cried out.

Yun Zhuoran reached forward—too late. The illusion wavered, revealing Yun Peiran’s familiar, calm face.

A gaping wound had pierced his heart.

Gu Shenshu’s spirit hovered behind him, hand outstretched. He had struck with precise force—less than his full power, but enough.

A rumor had long circulated in the cultivation world: if anyone could kill Gu Shenshu of the Tiandao Sect, it would be Yun Peiran—and if anyone could kill Yun Peiran, it would be Gu Shenshu. Old friends, old rivals—they knew each other’s every flaw. 

Gu Shenshu had waited until Yun Peiran unleashed the full backlash of his Buddhist seal before delivering the fatal strike.

The jade branch in Yun Zhuoran’s hand shattered against the bluestone floor with a deafening crack as Yun Peiran’s body fell.

Penglai Immortal rushed forward, vision blurred by tears.

“You…” Yun Zhuoran’s voice came out hoarse, barely a whisper.

Gu Shenshu lowered his gaze to Yun Peiran’s still form. The body was empty—no trace of a soul, only the hollow shell of a puppet.

Penglai Immortal knelt beside the corpse, eyes wide and unfocused. Tears clung to his lashes as he looked up at Gu Shenshu. 

Lu Yu approached in silence, staring at the wound in Yun Peiran’s chest—clean, bloodless, final.

Yun Zhuoran said nothing. There was no anger, no blame—only exhaustion. Kneeling beside the body, he murmured softly, “Brother…”

The Heart Demon slipped behind him, wrapping his arms gently around Yun Zhuoran’s shoulders. His voice was low, coaxing, steady. “It’s alright,” he whispered. “This is only Brother Peiran’s body. Rong Wuduan turned it into a puppet. We haven’t found his soul yet. He hated Brother Peiran too much to let him go easily—his soul must still be somewhere in Tianyan Palace, waiting for us.”

Yun Zhuoran’s head lifted sharply, red eyes trembling. “Really?”

Even Penglai Immortal looked up, hope flickering faintly in his tear-streaked face.

The Heart Demon smiled, eyes curved, voice soft as snow. “When has Weiran ever lied to you?”

Yun Zhuoran stared into those eyes, finding warmth and quiet certainty there. The tightness in his chest eased a little.

Lu Yu gave a faint sniff, rubbing at his nose, and managed a small grin. “They say the wicked live long. Yun Peiran’s soul must still be somewhere, caught in one of Rong Wuduan’s tricks. Don’t mourn yet—we’ll find him.”

Penglai Immortal wiped his tears and nodded, voice rough. “Then we’ll take him with us.”

Lu Yu agreed quickly. “We can return him to Penglai Island when this is over.”

Yun Zhuoran leaned quietly against Weiran’s shoulder, saying nothing. When he met Gu Shenshu’s gaze, the elder smiled faintly in reassurance. Yun Zhuoran averted his eyes, drawing back slightly from Weiran’s hold. 

The Heart Demon exhaled softly, turning away to give him space.

Carrying Yun Peiran’s body, they moved deeper into Tianyan Palace. 

The grand gates remained sealed, but behind the hall they discovered a smaller exit leading down the mountainside. Gu Shenshu followed silently, his expression distant, offering neither comment nor comfort.

Outside, the world was changing.

Yun Zhuoran, steadying himself, turned to Gu Shenshu. “What should we do now?”

Penglai Immortal, eyes still red, looked to Gu Shenshu with a mixture of hope and unease.

Gu Shenshu raised his head toward the palaces at the summit. His voice was quiet. “The sky is collapsing. Rong Wuduan was right.”

A deafening roar tore through the air. Black clouds split open, revealing a hollow void. The light drained from the snowbound peaks, and the flow of spiritual energy faltered. The air grew heavy, suffocating—heaven and earth trembling as if under an unseen weight.

Thunder rolled like the weeping of heaven itself.

It was proof beyond doubt: Rong Wuduan was birthing a new world—by sacrificing this one.