Great Demon - Chapter 76 Part 2

Zhuyou was trapped behind the barrier. She had intended to seize Jingyi’s hun soul and leave, but now she could only watch as Changying raised her arm to summon the heavenly thunder.

The dragon that summoned the heavenly thunder seemed to hold up the sky with one hand. The dark clouds churned like water, spiraling down from the heavens and gathering at her fingertips.

Changying’s slender fingers held the billowing clouds. Though they swirled like mist, in the blink of an eye, they solidified into a razor-sharp long blade. Its ink-black edge crackled with blinding white light—the unmistakable flicker of lightning.

The sudden burst of electricity spread like a web, like a silver snake darting from its lair.

Jingyi, gripped by fear, was still covering her ears, but in the depths of her half-lowered gaze, a chilling expression flickered. It was as if something malevolent had possessed her. Her voice was ice-cold as she shouted, “You will never sever my hun soul!”

With that, she drove her index finger into her skull, tearing away her own scalp. Crimson blood splattered in all directions.

Zhuyou’s fingers immediately morphed into phoenix talons, their sharp tips menacingly lethal. Clutching a handful of phoenix fire, she partially shifted into her true form, slashing her claws toward the barrier in front of her.

Just a few steps away, Jingyi was trying to dig her hun soul out from her own spirit platform!

The Evil-Punisher Divine Lord had been about to step forward to help, but seeing Changying raise a hand to stop him, he halted in shock, his voice tense. “Divine Venerable, an ancient devil’s hun soul must be crushed completely to prevent reincarnation!”

Changying knew this better than anyone. She saw her barrier flicker with silver light as Zhuyou struck against it, yet she remained unhurried. Lifting the thunder-forged blade in her hand, she swung it down like an executioner’s guillotine toward Jingyi.

Jingyi tried to flee, but the dark clouds above abruptly descended, transforming into four long chains that bound her limbs tightly. Suspended in midair, she couldn’t even shift into her true form.

This scene was eerily reminiscent of two hundred years ago at the Immortal Execution Platform—wasn’t Zhuyou once bound and suspended just like this?

Jingyi’s head was a bloody mess. Before she could reach into her spirit platform, her arms were forcibly restrained. Her once-pale face was now drenched in crimson, blood dripping from her scalp.

Her breath rasped, hoarse and uneven. When she finally spoke, her voice was layered, as though two voices—one neither male nor female—spoke in unison. “You are all so weak. It’s a pity—one of the ancient gods has already been dragged into the abyss. There will be no return for her.”

The ancient god she referred to was Zhuyou.

Zhuyou, though outside the barrier, heard everything clearly. She felt as if she had been struck by lightning, unable to believe her own ears.

Ancient god?

Who was the ancient god?

In her panic, she turned to look at Changying, only to see that she remained calm as ever. But the Evil-Punisher Divine Lord, Immortal Zhiying, and the celestial soldiers all turned pale with shock.

Changying… she had known all along.

Zhuyou recalled the first time she entered the Turbid Mirror and the scenes she had witnessed, along with Changying’s evasive words. So, the battle she had seen in the Turbid Mirror was not something Changying had experienced—it was what she herself had gone through thousands of years ago.

If she had not lived through it, then how could she have transformed into the Heaven-Scorching Vermillion Phoenix, a being devoted to subduing devils, when she was pulled into the chaotic realm of illusions?

A piercing headache struck her as countless old memories surged into her mind. They felt foreign, yet carried an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

She had never lost her life, yet her entire body was wracked with unbearable pain, as if the agony of her body being destroyed, her hun soul and po soul spiraling out of control, had been etched deep into her bones.

The war from three thousand years ago came crashing into her consciousness like a tidal wave. The spiritual threads in her soul grew wildly, filling her already-crowded mind with no room left to spare. The memories roared in like an overwhelming storm, nearly drowning her thoughts. She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, forcing herself to hold onto a shred of clarity.

She suddenly remembered everything—why Heart-Questioning Rock and Moon-Watching Cliff looked so alike. It turned out that Heart-Questioning Rock was something she had personally chiseled down from the heavens.

Three thousand years ago, she had split apart Moon-Watching Cliff. Three thousand years later, she had taken half of the spirit stones from Heart-Questioning Rock. Everything had been predetermined by cause and effect.

At that time, the Devil Lord had already infiltrated the Heavenly Palace and set his sights on Moon-Watching Cliff. Nearly half of the cliff had been tainted by devilish energy, and even a devil gate had formed within it. Once the devil gate took shape, it was almost impossible to seal it shut. With no other choice, she had split Moon-Watching Cliff in two and struck half of it into the devil’s domain with a single palm.

Three thousand years ago, she had been devoted to subduing devils. And now, she had become one herself.

She once practiced self-restraint and discipline, but now, her heart pounded wildly, as if a furious lion were slamming against a stone wall.

Inside the barrier, Changying swung her long blade. The sharp edge slashed across Jingyi’s back, forcibly carving out one of her celestial bones. The bone was wrapped in white lightning, but with a loud bang, it shattered into dust. The inside was pitch black—it had already been tainted by devil energy!

Jingyi threw her head back and let out a gut-wrenching scream, yet she could barely muster any strength. The moment her spine was cut open, her body lost all power.

“She has already become a devil. Once a devil, always a devil. If she wants to attain enlightenment, she must survive countless deaths. In this lifetime, she is already ruined—only I have a way to save her!” After speaking, she shook her head like a madwoman. “No, no… I’m not! I didn’t want to hurt her! I’m not a devil!”

Zhuyou lowered her gaze and let out a cold laugh. She truly could never return to the Nine Heavens.

Heat surged through her body, and her consciousness swelled with unbearable pressure. The spiritual threads in her mind had already taken root and grown deep.

A flood of memories surged into her, and she found herself lost in thought multiple times. She sensed cracks appearing in the spiritual image within her consciousness, as if it was on the verge of collapse.

Her spiritual image… was about to awaken.

Jingyi’s cries were right beside her ears. Zhuyou lifted into the air, stretched out her hand from her sleeve, and tore a rift in the barrier.

At this moment, Changying swung her blade once more. This time, all the celestial meridians in Jingyi’s body were severed. Blood soaked her figure, and her crimson eyes were filled with hatred and resentment.

Jingyi trembled uncontrollably. One moment, she was overflowing with murderous intent; the next, she was shivering violently, as if the blade had split her into two different people.

With a loud crash, the barrier shattered completely, scattering like fragments of broken glass.

Suddenly, Jingyi grinned. She forcibly threw her head back, and with a sharp crack—her neck snapped.

The moment the barrier broke, Zhuyou shot forward, lunging toward the suspended Jingyi!

The Evil-Punisher Divine Lord and the assembled heavenly soldiers looked up in stunned silence, tightening their grips on their weapons, yet none dared to strike her with their blades.

The events of two centuries past were still vivid in their memories. Now that the truth had come to light, how could they bring themselves to act?

The Evil-Punisher Divine Lord’s heart pounded like a war drum. He still remembered how, a hundred years ago in the devil’s domain, he had summoned the Devil-Suppressing Tower and sealed Zhuyou within it. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure whether to stop her or let her be. His fingers turned pale from gripping his weapon, his mind a tangled mess of conflicting thoughts. But when he finally cleared the fog clouding his heart, he leaped forward, raising his halberd to block Zhuyou’s path.

The paths they walked were no longer the same.

It no longer mattered who was right or wrong, who owed whom. Now… their paths had diverged.

Zhuyou cast him a cold, indifferent glance. Though her cultivation had yet to reach its peak and she could not yet ascend to the highest heavens, the moment she recalled the memories of three thousand years ago, the divine pressure belonging to an ancient god returned to her.

With just a single look, the Evil-Punisher Divine Lord found himself unable to move. His knees buckled under the force, nearly causing him to collapse.

Changying turned to look at her, frowning slowly. With a single hooked finger, she forcibly tore Jingyi’s hun soul from her body.

After using the Burning-Heart Wood, Jingyi’s po soul and hun soul had been restored, but among her three hun souls, only one belonged to the Devil Lord. As a result, her consciousness was fragmented—one moment, she was herself; the next, she was someone else entirely.

But she was far from innocent—because that devilish intent had always been a part of her.

From below, Immortal Zhiying gazed upward, sorrow surging in her heart. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to step forward to stop Zhuyou, but the overwhelming divine pressure pinned her in place, nearly forcing blood from her seven apertures.

This pressure was too violent, devoid of the phoenix’s supposed grace and warmth.

Tears streaming down her face, Immortal Zhiying lifted her head and cried out, “It was the Devil Lord who wronged you! It was the Heavenly Dao that was merciless!”

Zhuyou did not let a single word sink into her heart. She would not harm Immortal Zhiying, but in the depths of her mind, she uttered just two words—foolish woman.

A hundred years ago, it had been the same on Shenhua Mountain. Even now, nothing had changed. Immortal Zhiying would do nothing but sacrifice her own lifeforce to shield her from the truth. Truly, she was beyond saving.

Zhuyou suddenly struck, clawing toward the Evil-Punisher Divine Lord’s chest. In response, he mustered all his strength, tracing a golden circle in the air with his hand. The circle was covered in dense runes, flashing like lightning as it collided with her.

Her body trembled slightly as she conjured a single phoenix feather out of thin air, driving it into the Divine Lord’s waist.

Instantly, searing pain flared at his side, the wound turning black as charred embers. The phoenix fire burrowed deeper into his flesh, writhing like an insect.

Zhuyou had long since carved out any remaining sympathy from her heart. Right now, she only wanted to take one hun soul from the Devil Lord.

She charged toward Changying, her spiritual energy condensing behind her into a formation of towering, arrow-like crimson light. In the next instant, the crimson radiance lifted and shot toward Changying in unison.

Changying did not evade. She remained motionless, suspended in the air.

Zhuyou’s eyes widened. She abruptly pressed her palm downward, suppressing the red light before lunging toward Changying with the wind at her heels. Her silver hair flared out behind her, flowing like swift silver fish. She grabbed hold of Changying’s wrist—within that grasped hand lay the devil hun soul, forcefully wrenched from Jingyi’s spirit platform.

Changying slowly clenched her fingers tighter. If she held on for just a little longer, the Devil Lord’s hun soul would be crushed into dust.

“You really won’t give it to me?” Zhuyou asked.

Changying shook her head.

Zhuyou loosened her grip, raising her hand like a blade before bringing it down. With a sharp crack, Changying’s wrist bone fractured—but even so, her clenched fingers did not relax.

Changying flung away the ink-black blade in her right hand. As the sharp weapon dispersed into nothingness, it returned to the heavens. In that instant, she seized Zhuyou’s other hand, twisting it behind her back.

Zhuyou winced from the pain in her arm. Seeing that Changying remained silent, a flame of frustration ignited in her chest. “Why won’t you say anything? Can’t I even hear your voice anymore?”

Changying furrowed her brows and shook her head slightly. She knew Zhuyou was consumed by anger, but she truly did not know how to console her.

“You’ve really thought this through,  haven’t you?” Zhuyou growled.

Changying felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. But truly, she had no idea how to help Zhuyou vent her fury. Listening to Zhuyou’s endless complaints, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

She leaned forward and sealed those restless lips in a firm kiss.

Zhuyou froze for a moment. Her teeth clenched as her breath tangled chaotically with Changying’s. The flames of her fury, already blazing hot, surged like an unstoppable tide.

The corners of her eyes and the tips of her ears turned a deep shade of red, as if the bright moon had been stained crimson, becoming dazzlingly intense.

Their lips were wet, their teeth clashing, locked in a fierce battle of dominance, each unwilling to yield.

Zhuyou had only wanted Changying to speak. She never expected things to turn out like this. She had intended to snap at her, but with her lips sealed, the words were forcibly swallowed back. A muffled whimper escaped from her throat as she hastily turned her head away—only for her jaw to be unexpectedly nipped.

Her breath hitched, her frustration burning hotter than ever. Clenching her teeth, she growled, “If you wanted to talk, then just talk, you—”

You kissed me for what?