Great Demon - Chapter 80 Part 1

The densely packed spirit threads in her sea of consciousness swayed gently, stirred by spiritual energy, like fine grass in the wind.

These spirit threads were innumerable—each day she lived, another thread would grow. After thousands of years, the sheer number of threads had caused her sea of consciousness to swell, nearly to the point of bursting.

As the spirit threads swayed, the memories they contained surged like tides, crashing against her sea of consciousness. Her entire body trembled, her heart pounded like a war drum, and she instinctively held her breath in fear.

Memories from millennia past unfurled before her eyes like a painted scroll. Overcome with emotion, she slowly gathered her divine consciousness at the surface of her sea of consciousness, beginning her search for the very first spirit thread.

That was the thread that had emerged when the world was still in chaos, when she had first been born into this world.

Countless spirit threads intertwined, while spiritual energy brushed gently over them, like unseen hands carefully untangling and smoothing them out.

She couldn’t help but wonder—had she known Changying all those millennia ago? Had their relationship been the same as it was now?

Then, one spirit thread was wrapped in spiritual energy. She sent her divine consciousness into it, pulling past events into view.

At that time, chaos had yet to subside, and heaven and earth were not yet separated. The Divine Sun and the Bright Moon hung in the sky together, while beneath the firmament, the sea roiled and churned. Below it stretched an endless expanse of yellow sand—blistering, barren, devoid of life.

She had been born a fire spirit, later gaining intelligence and eventually assuming her true form. She had been born with four wings, able to ride the wind and breathe fire—flames that neither wind nor water could extinguish.

Gods and devils were also born, and in the end, they had the same origin. They were without father or mother, nurtured by heaven and earth themselves. But while celestial gods were unfeeling, devils had selfish desires and disregarded righteousness.

A god pointed to the sky and said, “Here, the Heavenly Palace should stand.”

The moment those words fell, atop the clouds, the Heavenly Palace took shape brick by brick. A palace of laurel and orchids hung beneath the Divine Sun, towering pavilions and jade bridges interlinked, golden roofs and soaring halls suddenly materialized. A colossal tree took root, adding a touch of green to the jade and gold structures.

The entire Heavenly Palace was bathed in the Divine Sun’s glow, shining brilliantly, dazzlingly bright.

Yet, in the distance, there was a corner untouched by the Divine Sun—or perhaps it concealed a power capable of blocking its light.

The gods declared, “Then build a towering structure there, so that it may be shrouded beneath rooftops.”

Thus, a grand building was erected in that corner, completely sealing it away from view.

The gods were emotionless and knew nothing of suffering or desire. Only after mortals were born did they come to understand the greed, anger, obsession, love, hatred, and desire of the world.

But while the gods could remain true to themselves, the ancient devils could not.

Devils were insatiable, seeking to devour every corner of existence. They developed forbidden arts, slaughtered gods and demons alike, using these vile methods to increase their power. They even preyed on mortals, imprisoning their hun soul and po soul. Thus, the war between celestials and devils became inevitable.

Mortals had already suffered in fire and water, and now, they were plunged into an inescapable purgatory.

Zhuyou clutched a single spirit thread, her heart racing with anxiety—then what about Changying? Where had Changying been at that time?

She brushed through the spirit threads in her sea of consciousness, unwilling to miss even an inch. She had to remember everything. She could not forget.

Among the countless threads, she finally found Changying’s figure. Changying looked no different than she did now—cold and unfeeling. If she could fight, she would not waste words.

The number of devils slain by Changying’s sword was beyond measure, and it was no wonder she had been named “Slayer God” among gods and devils alike.

She had encountered Changying before, but they had never had the chance to truly connect. Whenever she tried to speak with her, urgent circumstances would force them apart. Just as they met, they would be separated again.

And after that?

Zhuyou’s divine consciousness drifted along the spirit threads. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her body, as though all the agony buried deep in her heart had surged to the surface at once.

She clutched the spirit thread tightly and plunged into it.

Once again, she saw the yellow sands, the surging sea. She had taken the form of the Vermillion Phoenix, possessing boundless divine power, yet she had not been fortunate enough to escape calamity as she had within the Turbid Mirror.

The ancient devils’ great formation had descended upon her. She had been forcibly stripped of her wings, scorching blood gushing forth, dyeing the yellow sands into a sea of crimson.

By sheer will, she mustered what strength remained, flaring her two remaining wings and soaring skyward, breaking free from the formation meant to shatter her body into dust. In a sudden burst, she unleashed the fire-laced feathers from her body, impaling half the devils through their bellies, spilling their entrails.

Her blood nearly ran dry, her bones creaked, ready to snap entirely. She plummeted from the sky, crashing into the sands, transforming back into human form.

Changying arrived late. Yet instead of pursuing the remaining devils, she lifted her from the sand.

That was perhaps the closest she had ever been to Changying during that time.

Changying lowered her head to look at her. In her usually indifferent eyes, a flicker of urgency surfaced.

She noticed a tiny mole on the tip of Changying’s nose. At first, she thought it was a speck of dirt and reached out to wipe it away, only to smear her face with her blood. Seeing it wouldn’t come off, she realized—it was a mole, a flaw on an otherwise flawless piece of white jade. Her face, so clean and striking, bore that one tiny blemish.

“Don’t die,” Changying said, pressing her hand to her waist as if trying to transfer her spiritual energy to her.

She, exhausted beyond measure, could barely move, yet she still gritted her teeth and pushed Changying’s hand away, her voice trembling. “The remnants haven’t gone far—pursue them. My spirit platform is shattered… I cannot stay.”

Changying stared at her for a long moment before finally laying her down on the sand and turning to chase after the remaining ancient devils.

She lay on her back, gazing at the sky. The heavens suddenly brightened, the devils’ ominous aura slowly dispersing. Then, the world was split into two—thus, heaven and earth came to be.

The blazing sun and the bright moon alternated in the sky, the sea flooded the land, and the yellow sands, once barren, became lush with green grass.

Dazed and lost in thought, Zhuyou recalled—before Changying perished, she had split her po soul into seven parts and used the art of body reconstruction to return. But she… she had done nothing. The moment she closed her eyes, everything had faded into nothingness.

At that time…

Someone must have helped her.

Otherwise, among the countless demons and devils, why was she the one fortunate enough to reincarnate?

Was it Changying? Did Changying go back to find her afterward?

Zhuyou’s spiritual sea swelled as if it were about to burst. The spiritual power, already abundant, now surged endlessly, filling every corner of her spiritual sea until it was packed to the brim, making her feel stifled and uncomfortable. It felt as if just a fraction more would cause her spiritual sea to explode.

The single scale Changying had left in her spiritual sea now gleamed brilliantly amidst the vast spiritual power, radiating a dazzling light.

Every time she examined her spiritual sea, she felt something was off, but she always forgot to ask about it. It was as if she had already grown accustomed to its presence.

Now, tormented by the swelling of her spiritual sea, she had no choice but to break through. She sat cross-legged, suspended in midair, with mist-like gauze draped over her silk dress, flowing lightly to the ground.

The ever-expanding spiritual power in her spiritual sea could no longer be restrained. It burst forth from her body, but fortunately, she had just formed a barrier, keeping the terrifying energy contained and preventing it from spreading.

Her entire body felt unwell, as if her true form had undergone a change. Yet, in her current human form, she couldn’t discern exactly what had altered.

Guanshang’s hun soul was also trapped within the restriction. Shocked by the surge of spiritual power, it slammed against the barrier with a thud, nearly scattering into million parts.

The eight restrictions binding the hun soul shattered under the impact, and Guanshang let out a groan of pain.

That hun soul had originally been extracted from Jingyi’s spiritual platform. Jingyi should have only had this single hun soul, but later, with the Burning-Heart Wood, her divine hun soul was replenished. The additional two hun souls developed their own consciousness and were now tightly entwined with the Devil Lord’s hun soul, inseparable from it.

This hun and po soul resembled a wisp of smoke. Upon hitting the barrier, it almost dispersed. Seeing the restrictions break, Guanshang immediately said, “Since you’re breaking through, why not release me from this restriction? If my hun soul is affected, you’ll never learn the secrets hidden within this Abyss.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he added, “I am not a devil! I’m not! I want to return to the Nine Heavens! I want… I want to return to the East Sea.”

It seemed the two incomplete hun souls of Jingyi had awakened and were now causing an uproar.

“You are me. At this point, do you still wish to deny it?” Guanshang’s two voices spoke in unison.

“How could I possibly be you? I was born in the Nine Heavens, a member of the Phoenix Clan. What connection could I have with you, a devil?”

“This connection… dates back a thousand years.”

“I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it!”

“You already know the truth in your heart. Do I even need to say it aloud? You might as well settle down and let me completely consume these two extra hun souls.”

Zhuyou was already enduring the intense pain in her spiritual platform and spiritual sea. Now, listening to these two voices bickering, she grew even more irritable. Without hesitation, she opened her eyes and grasped the Devil Lord’s hun soul in her hand, placing a restriction upon it so it could no longer speak.

With a flick of her wrist, she sealed the hun soul within a mustard seed space.

This mustard seed was new, a vast and empty realm inside—unlike the previous one, which had been stuffed full. This was her first time using it, and it was truly a bargain for Guanshang.

Outside the restriction, the devil soldiers had halted a hundred feet away, not daring to approach recklessly. But upon seeing that the Devil Lord’s hun soul was still in her hands, they didn’t dare to turn and flee either.

Zhuyou raised her arms, the thin sleeves of her robe catching the wind, making her already slender arms appear even thinner. As her sleeves billowed, the devil markings on her arms faintly emerged.

She cupped her palms together in the air, gathering the spiritual energy that had previously erupted from her body into a sphere between her hands.

This was the excess spiritual power that had overflowed from her spiritual sea. Now, she was carefully guiding it back into her spiritual sea.

Her spiritual sea instantly weakened, and the dragon scale within became even brighter. Though it was as dark as ink, multicolored light swirled across its surface.