Great Demon - Chapter 114 Part 1

Guanshang’s breathing suddenly quickened, and his gaze turned cold and calculating as he stared ahead, deep in thought. His eyes flickered sharply, as if harboring a bag full of schemes.

Zhuyou noticed his sudden change in expression and guessed it was related to Nine Heavens. She wondered—could it be that Changying had exposed the devil gate hidden within Kunyi?

The devil gate was as dark as ink. Even as she held the phoenix fire in her hands, it failed to fully illuminate the narrow passage. The flickering light cast a soft glow on her face, giving her a peach-like complexion. Her expression remained calm and indifferent, entirely different from Guanshang’s furrowed brows and furious scowl.

Guanshang was seething with rage, his jaw clenched tightly, veins bulging on his forehead and neck.

“Why did you stop?” Zhuyou asked leisurely.

Guanshang let out a brief sneer, suppressing his anger and suddenly adopting an air of composure. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Your Grace, we must hurry.”

“What happened?” Zhuyou asked, cradling the phoenix fire in her hands. She pretended to be unaware and added, “Could it be that the devil gate has closed?”

“How could it?” Guanshang scoffed. “They discovered it, but luckily, the gate hasn’t shut yet.” The deep crease between his brows suddenly eased as he urged, “Now, we can’t afford any delay.”

“What was discovered?” Zhuyou feigned confusion.

Guanshang didn’t answer directly. Instead, he let out a chilling laugh. “Nothing of importance. The gate is open, so it doesn’t matter if they found it.”

Zhuyou’s brow smoothed as she curved her eyes slightly, wearing a faint smile. She pondered the meaning behind Guanshang’s words before asking, “Could it be that the devil gate you buried in Nine Heavens has been discovered? Or… was Kunyi’s possession exposed?”

“Your Grace is perceptive. Yes, Nine Heavens has found out.”

With a sudden sweep of his arm, Guanshang tore apart the dense devil energy before him, allowing the divine light of Nine Heavens to spill into the devil gate.

Zhuyou squinted slightly, her eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden brightness. She raised an arm to shield her face, and only after a moment did she recognize the place below—Jade Pool.

The waters of Jade Pool were still and undisturbed, as clear as jade, encircled by towering mountains. White jade pillars stood tall within, supporting pavilions and terraces that floated gracefully among the peaks, exuding an air of serene tranquility.

Surprisingly, not a single celestial being was in sight. Kunyi’s aura was faint, suggesting she had long since departed. Yet, the traces of her divine consciousness lingered in countless thin strands—not only in Jade Pool but spreading far into the distance like an intricate spider’s web, seemingly encompassing all of Nine Heavens.

Wherever Kunyi’s divine consciousness reached, a devil gate had formed. However, not a single devil had emerged from them.

Her consciousness was already frail and barely holding together, slowly dissipating. This must have been the fragment of her soul that she divided before her death; otherwise, it wouldn’t be so weak.

Zhuyou furrowed her brows, sensing that something was amiss.

The devil gate trembled violently, its surface rippling as devil energy congealed into chaotic, thrashing claws. Faces swirled within the dark mass, their mouths stretched open in endless, agonized screams, as though they were struggling to break free.

The devil energy couldn’t withstand the divine light of Nine Heavens. Under its radiance, the devil gate was on the verge of collapse.

Zhuyou extended her arm out of the devil gate. The divine light did not harm her; instead, her palm felt pleasantly warm, filling her with an overwhelming sense of comfort. With a single step, she exited the devil gate, lifting her hand to extract the strand of devil energy interwoven with her spiritual power. It was a delicate wisp, which she twisted between two fingers.

Rather than crushing it immediately, she coiled it around her wrist bone, wearing it like a weightless bracelet.

The devil energy trembled violently against her wrist bone, as though it had gained sentience, cowering in submission beneath her aura.

Guanshang narrowed his eyes and reached out to seize it. “That devil energy belongs to me.”

However, the moment his hand extended past the devil gate, the divine light scorched it instantly. His dark skin turned an inflamed red, as if seared by flames, with black smoke rising from the burns.

Zhuyou withdrew a step, hovering in midair as she gazed down at Guanshang. Her devil nature had not entirely faded, and her habit of taking what she wanted remained unchanged. “Once I’ve taken it, it’s mine.”

Bathed in divine light, she felt utterly refreshed. It had been two hundred years since she last set foot in the Heavenly Palace. Who would have thought that her return this time would be thanks to the devil gate?

Thick black smoke continued to rise from Guanshang’s hand, his forearm sizzling with an unbearable stench.

The pain was beyond what an ordinary person could endure, yet Guanshang still stubbornly attempted to reclaim the devil energy.

Zhuyou shifted her gaze toward the main hall. As expected, she could no longer sense Xuanqing’s aura. Kunyi had perished—how could Xuanqing have escaped his fate?

Yet, Nine Heavens had not collapsed. The barrier surrounding it remained intact, as though the power that upheld the Three Realms had not vanished.

Xuanqing, as the Heavenly Emperor, was the embodiment of Heavenly Dao. If the Heavenly Dao no longer existed, then the one who had taken its place was… Changying.

But they were still too late. Kunyi had released her divine consciousness, and the devil gate had already been opened.

“Give it to me—” Guanshang’s eyes narrowed, his five fingers now exposing charred black bones.

Zhuyou said lightly, “You can’t even part with a mere strand of devil energy? The Devil Lord is truly stingy.” She floated backward, widening the distance between them, confident that Guanshang wouldn’t dare step into the divine radiance of the Divine Sun.

Guanshang clenched his five fingers into a fist, the bones creaking ominously. He remained firmly within the devil gate, not moving an inch forward.

“So the Heavenly Emperor is gone, and Kunyi has perished. Congratulations, Devil Lord.” Zhuyou spoke with a lilting tone, her silk dress fluttering gently in the scorching wind.

Yet, Guanshang’s expression showed no joy, as though the grand game he had played had suddenly been disrupted.

Zhuyou chuckled softly. “That being the case, Kunyi’s body should have perished as well. The devil that possessed her must have been forced out. Which one of your subordinates was it?”

Guanshang did not answer, swiftly withdrawing his scorched, mangled hand.

Zhuyou observed his retreat and narrowed her eyes. “You knew that Xuanqing’s divine power had weakened—this was the perfect opportunity to finish him off. Yet, you didn’t take his life. Was it because of Kunyi? Without her body, you have no way forward, do you?”

Guanshang sneered. “It’s not that I have no way forward—after all, I still have Your Grace.”

In the distance, the sound of clashing armor suddenly rang out as a squad of celestial soldiers approached on patrol.

Zhuyou raised the hand infused with devil energy, then suspended her other palm above it, preventing the divine light from burning the devil energy away completely.

Fortunately, Changying was not here. If she saw the place she had once coiled around now tainted with a strand of devil energy, who knew how sour she would become? She would probably scrub her wrist bone raw just to rid herself of another’s aura.

Guanshang took a step back and rasped, “Your Grace, you said you would grant me wings—don’t forget that.”

He clamped down on Yueyin’s shoulder. Yueyin winced from the pain but dared not show weakness.

Forget?

How could Zhuyou forget? It was precisely because of her that Guanshang had failed to devour Jingyi’s two immortal hun souls. Now, he had no choice but to rely on her.

She smirked and turned to ask, “And if I choose not to grant you these wings, what will you do?”

Guanshang’s fingers tightened, as if he intended to pierce through Yueyin’s shoulder. “Are you going back on your word?”

“No, I simply wish to know. If I don’t help you, how will you withstand the divine light of the Nine Heavens?” Zhuyou’s eyes curved slightly, her tone steady and even.

Guanshang, however, regarded her at his leisure, unhurried and untroubled, as if he still had another move to play.

Zhuyou raised an eyebrow. “When you had Kunyi’s body, the devil that seized her had no fear of the divine light of the Nine Heavens. But now that her body has perished, I wonder where they can escape to.”

“Just a mere chess piece—why should I worry about them?” Guanshang unclenched his tightly bitten teeth and forced his tense shoulders to relax, putting on a facade of composure. “The devil gate has opened. That body is of no further use.”

Zhuyou spoke slowly, “But this devil gate won’t remain open for long. If Kunyi’s consciousness dissipates, the gate will surely close.”

“One breath’s time is all I need.” Guanshang’s grip on Yueyin’s shoulder suddenly lifted, his hand shifting to clutch her throat. His fingers dug in, the tendons on the back of his hand taut.

The young maid standing nearby, eyes wide with rage, lunged at Guanshang, only to be struck by his palm and sent flying through the devil gate.

Yueyin’s eyes flickered. With her throat seized, she couldn’t utter a single word. Her gaze followed the maid’s falling figure as she tumbled through the devil gate. Her arms, hanging limply at her sides, were completely powerless. The strength in her body felt as if it had been poured out like water, not a drop could be reclaimed.

The demon power she had gained from drinking the Withered Vine’s essence had been drained from her spiritual sea and taken by Guanshang.

Guanshang let out a low chuckle as the devil gate before him indeed began to close. The swirling devil energy veiled the opening bit by bit. He released his grip and struck Yueyin’s back, sending her flying out of the devil gate.

Yueyin plummeted instantly, unable to summon even a trace of wind-riding power.

Zhuyou swiftly cast out a wisp of spiritual energy, catching Yueyin before she could fall further. The drop of blood in her heart surged wildly, her pulse pounding—Changying was already close at hand!

She turned back to search for Changying but saw no trace of her dragon form. Instead, she heard her voice resound directly in her mind.

Changying’s stern voice rang out, Kunyi’s true essence remains in the Endless Abyss. Don’t let him take it away!

Zhuyou’s ears buzzed from the force of the dragon’s roar. She glanced at the devil gate, now nearly shut, and barely managed to catch sight of Guanshang’s jawline.

No wonder he had fought for the devil energy in her hand, even as divine light bore down on him—he feared she would take the energy and re-enter the devil gate.

Guanshang had never intended to let her spread her wings. He wished only to fling her outside the devil gate so he could vanish into the Endless Abyss.

Zhuyou reacted at once, plucking the devil energy coiled around her wrist. She infused it with her spiritual power, transforming it into a crimson feather that darted into the narrowing gap of the devil gate!

Inside the devil gate, Guanshang’s eyes widened in shock. He spun around, dissolving into devil smoke as he fled into the distance.

The crimson feather abruptly transformed into a human figure, chasing after the fleeing devil smoke.

Without Kunyi, Guanshang had no chance of seizing the Nine Heavens. He was surely running for his life now.

Zhuyou followed close behind, suddenly shifting into a Vermillion Phoenix. As her four wings unfurled, their seemingly soft feathers carved several gashes into the narrow devil gate.

The Vermillion Phoenix tilted its head back and let out a piercing cry. Wherever its tail feathers swept, the air turned a deep scarlet.

Within the devil gate, a blaze erupted, stretching outward like an unending sea of fire. The flames grew fiercer with each passing moment, consuming the raging devil energy entirely.

Countless hands, formed of devil energy, flailed wildly—only to be swallowed by the fire in an instant.

In the distance, Guanshang, still in his devil smoke form, snatched at the devil energy within the gate and tore open a rift. He suddenly plunged into the Endless Abyss.

The Vermillion Phoenix shifted into a silver-haired woman clad in black, stepping slowly from the fire, following the trail of devil smoke.

Zhuyou feared that, just like last time, Guanshang would vanish in an instant. Without hesitation, she formed a hand seal and cast the soul-searching spell. The technique pointed toward a location a hundred feet away!

Her brow furrowed. She leaped forward, robes billowing, and swiftly performed the soul-slaying spell. Fortunately, Guanshang hadn’t managed to flee far. The moment her spell took effect, a low, pained cry echoed from the distance.

It was as if the sound was choked in his throat—muffled, hoarse, and anguished.

Zhuyou followed the sound and found Guanshang bound in several crimson chains, formed from her spiritual energy. Sweat streamed down his face. The scorching chains had seared deep wounds into his flesh, and long strings of blood blisters spread across his skin like ribbons.

As he struggled, the chains pressed down, bursting the blisters. He let out another sharp, guttural howl.

Zhuyou gazed down at him, her voice unhurried, “Got you.”

Guanshang curled his lips into a smirk, but his eyes gleamed like a venomous snake’s. “So you truly have been tainted by the devil. I never should have believed a word you said.”

“You changed your mind the moment Kunyi perished, didn’t you? You merely wanted to lure me out of the devil gate.” Zhuyou’s thin, red lips moved slightly as the scorching phoenix fire burned at her feet, tinting her silver hair with a rosy hue. She continued, “Your plan was truly reckless. If Kunyi were alive, you would have used her to seize the Nine Heavens. If she perished, you would use the ensuing chaos of the Three Realms to restrain the Nine Heavens—is that right?”