Great Demon - Chapter 84

The two strands of hun soul did not adhere to each other. They had clearly merged within the Crystal of Law, but upon being extracted, they split into two once again.

Could it be that Changying had tampered with them?

Zhuyou lowered her gaze and stared intently at the two silver threads in her hand. She slowly ran her fingers along their length, examining every inch, and suddenly noticed that the threads were riddled with gaps, though they were invisible to the naked eye.

As her fingertip brushed over one of these gaps, a knowing smile formed in her heart. When Changying had handed these to her, her expression had been impassive, yet she had silently split the merged hun soul into two. As a result, even if Guanshang were to reunite his three hun souls, he would still suffer the agony of a damaged soul.

Changying’s actions seemed almost like revenge, as if she had deliberately calculated to outmaneuver Guanshang.

Zhuyou exhaled lightly, instantly dispersing the spell that coated the silver threads. The silvery glow faded, and the two strands of hun soul, now twisted into thread-like forms, turned murky and dark.

Filthy and black, they emanated a sinister aura, as if all the vileness in the world had gathered within them.

Guanshang’s unrestrained devil hun soul burst into hoarse laughter, sounding almost maniacal, as if with these two hun souls, he could dominate all three realms.

Zhuyou gathered the two thread-like hun souls in her hand, her eyes fixed on them unblinkingly. Her heart pounded like thunder, and she felt almost breathless, yet she did not feel any excitement.

Her gaze was heavy, as if she could already see the karmic retribution that would fall upon her once Guanshang’s three hun souls were reunited. Once she bore this burden, it would be nearly impossible to shake off, unless she followed Guanshang’s example and shifted the blame onto others.

The surroundings were dark and silent. The devil soldiers dared not make any rash moves, and even their heavy breathing seemed stifled.

Zhuyou tightened her grip on the hun soul threads and slowly raised her eyes, casually scanning her surroundings. She wondered to herself, since she was now in the Endless Abyss, perhaps there was a way to shed this karmic burden.

Yet, it seemed as if some force was manipulating everything.

If the Endless Abyss was truly closely connected to the realm beyond, then she might not be able to escape the karmic retribution.

Karma could not be severed. Once she bore this burden, she would have to endure the thunder tribulations from the realm beyond every day. These were not comparable to the thunder from the Nine Heavens. If the heavenly thunder came from the Nine Heavens, she could still hide within the Endless Abyss to avoid it.

Guanshang’s hun soul floated motionlessly in mid-air, not uttering another word. If he had a physical form, he would undoubtedly look as if he held all the cards.

Zhuyou let out a soft chuckle, knowing that Guanshang was waiting for her to make a decision.

But now, she realized she had no way out. The Devil Lord Guanshang was exceedingly cunning, as if he had calculated every possible outcome.

With one hand, she held the two murky and filthy hun soul threads, while the other hand, hidden in her sleeve, subtly moved to retrieve a strand of Changying’s hair, now crumpled and worn. She rolled it between her fingers, feeling a slight itch on her fingertip.

It reminded her of a moment a century ago when Changying had held her hand, her soft, tender fingers sliding down to pinch her fingertip in a moment of anger. The gentle pressure was just like the sensation of the hair strand against her skin now.

Her expression was somber, but her mind was already made up.

Guanshang let out a hoarse laugh. “I failed to devour that immortal hun soul, and the loss was devastating. If I am now denied the two hun souls that are rightfully mine, then you, Your Grace, are going back on your word. Such behavior is unbecoming of an ancient god.”

“What’s so remarkable about ancient gods? Weren’t you able to scheme against them?” Zhuyou lifted her eyelids slightly, casting a cool glance at the mist before her.

Guanshang chuckled hoarsely. “Your Grace, you must not hesitate any longer. My two hun souls are already weak. If we delay further, the secrets of the Endless Abyss will truly remain known only to the Devil Clan.”

“You are indeed formidable,” Zhuyou said as she tucked away Changying’s strand of hair.

“I dare not claim such praise,” the black mist swayed slightly. “If you wish to enter my sea of consciousness, you must allow my three hun souls to reunite and return to my body. Otherwise, without a sea of consciousness, I have no spiritual threads, and I cannot recall the past in detail.”

“Among the ancient devils, is it possible that you are not the only one who survived?” Zhuyou narrowed her eyes.

Guanshang remained silent.

“If that were not the case, then if you were to perish completely, there would be no one left who knows the mysteries of the Endless Abyss,” Zhuyou said indifferently. “You are so clever; surely you would have left a path for the Devil Clan to survive.” She let out a soft laugh and glanced at the floating devil hun soul before her. “But now that I am here, how do you know I won’t uncover its secrets myself?”

Guanshang’s voice was hoarse. “The Endless Abyss is boundless. The ancient Devil Clan spent nearly a millennium uncovering only fragments of its secrets. If you do not believe me, you are welcome to try.”

“Then I shall see what mysteries the Endless Abyss holds,” Zhuyou said, tightening her grip on the two strands of hun soul. She stepped through the barrier and walked out. With each step she took, the devil soldiers retreated a pace.

The clanking of their armor echoed in unison.

Zhuyou swiftly moved through the crowd of devil soldiers, like a flame that suddenly leaped from one end to the other.

The power of the phoenix fire was well-known to these devil soldiers. When they saw the red light streaking toward them like a meteor, they immediately stepped aside, fearing the flames would touch them.

The once orderly formation of devil soldiers quickly fell into chaos, scattering in an instant.

Zhuyou moved a hundred paces with each step. At first, the devil creatures could still see her figure clearly, but in the blink of an eye, even her faint silhouette had vanished.

Seeing her move away, the devil soldiers hurried to the barrier, their eyes fixed on the imprisoned devil hun soul. Their gazes burned with intensity, as if countless words were stuck in their throats.

“This barrier cannot be shattered by you,” Guanshang said hoarsely.

The lead devil soldier, his face crisscrossed with scars, declared, “Devil Lord, allow me to try!”

Guanshang did not respond.

The lead devil soldier raised his halberd, gathering devil energy at its tip, and thrust it forward.

In that instant, sparks flew from the barrier, but not a single crack appeared. The devil energy at the tip of the halberd was gradually consumed by the flames.

The devil soldier froze for a moment, then quickly retracted his halberd. But to his surprise, the flames suddenly surged, crackling as they climbed up the shaft toward his hand. He hastily threw the weapon aside, and in a flash, the flames engulfed it, devouring the metal until nothing remained.

Guanshang sneered, grinding his teeth. “I knew it. She has far too many tricks up her sleeve.”

“What should we do?” The devil soldier opened his hand, and another halberd appeared.

“Wait for her to return,” Guanshang’s hun soul floated slowly. “The mysteries of the Endless Abyss are not so easily uncovered.”

Zhuyou, now far away, tucked the two hun souls back into her hand. Her mist-like sleeves fluttered, and a lantern appeared in her grasp. The lotus-shaped lamp held a cluster of phoenix fire.

She walked with the lantern, frowning as she surveyed her surroundings. But as she moved forward, she lost her sense of direction, for the area was pitch black, with no landmarks to guide her.

This place was even more bizarre than the chaos before creation. Back then, at least the sun and moon existed, and though the heavens and earth were indistinct, there were mountains, seas, and clouds, and faint signs of life could be found.

But here in the Endless Abyss, there was nothing—no light, no sound of water, neither heat nor cold.

The silence was eerie, but the realm beyond should not be like this.

Zhuyou paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her. If heavenly thunder could not penetrate this place, what if the thunder originated from within?

She raised her hand, and white lightning crackled in her palm, the beams flickering and sputtering. She had summoned thunder into her hand.

The lightning that had been held in her hand was suddenly hurled outward, crackling loudly as it spread across the sky like a spider’s web. In an instant, white electricity filled the heavens.

There were no dark clouds in sight—only an endless expanse of darkness, like an infinite sheet of black cloth. The white lightning flashed brightly, illuminating the entire realm. However, the lightning seemed to have no end, or perhaps it was silently swallowed, as the light dissipated without causing even the slightest tremor.

Zhuyou frowned, unwilling to accept this outcome. She summoned another bolt of lightning, which in her hand resembled a sharp, gleaming sword. When she released it, the bolt trailed a blinding streak of fire.

Yet, as the lightning shot into the distance, it vanished without a trace. There was no sound, no vibration—it was as if a stone had been dropped into a deep valley, its echo muffled.

Could it be that the Endless Abyss truly had no end?

Zhuyou suddenly recalled a time when the gods had divided the clouds to create the heavens and built the Heavenly Palace. They had noticed a corner shrouded in mist, untouched by sunlight, and had worked together to erect a towering structure there.

No, she had left early to pursue the ancient devils, and she had no knowledge of whether the gods had thoroughly investigated that place.

Could that place be connected to Shangxi City?

Perhaps Shangxi City was that very place, but it had fallen into the hands of devils, sinking further and further away from the Heavenly Palace, deviating greatly from its original location.

So, it was an oversight from thousands of years ago that had allowed this place to be exploited by the ancient devils.

She paused, realizing that she wouldn’t be able to uncover the connection between this place and the realm beyond in a short time. She decided to turn back. She didn’t know, but Changying might have some insight.

As she turned around, she suddenly felt disoriented. Fortunately, she had left traces of her aura along the way, so she could retrace her steps without getting lost.

The devil soldiers stood motionless in their original positions, and when they saw her return, they tensed up, their faces filled with fear.

Zhuyou’s nose twitched slightly as she caught the scent of something burning. She knew someone must have been bold enough to touch the barrier she had set up and had been burned. Her expression turned cold. “I only took one step away, and your subordinates rushed forward. Such loyalty.”

From within the barrier, Guanshang’s floating hun soul let out a hoarse voice. “Naturally.”

Zhuyou raised her arm and suddenly released a surge of spiritual energy, as if she had transformed into her true form and flapped her wings. A fiery wind swept toward the devil soldiers, pushing them back a hundred paces.

The devil soldiers raised their arms to shield their faces, fearing the scorching wind would burn their eyes. Despite their heavy armor, they couldn’t steady themselves, and when the wind subsided, they collapsed in a heap.

Zhuyou stepped through the barrier and looked at the mist-like devil hun soul before her. “It seems the Endless Abyss truly has no end.”

Guanshang said, “If you grant my wish, I will… grant yours.”

Zhuyou stared at him for a long time before finally uttering a single word: “Fine.” She flipped her hand, and the two strands of hun soul, twisted into threads, appeared in her palm.

Her fingers suddenly clenched, and the hun souls, which had been shaped into threads, returned to their original form. Both strands were riddled with cracks, clearly damaged by external forces and nearly destroyed.

Guanshang’s devil hun soul trembled violently, as if consumed by rage, yet he made no sound. He had waited a thousand years for this moment! Even though… even though his scheme had been exposed, and he had failed to devour the two immortal hun souls.

Zhuyou’s heart sank to the depths, knowing she was one step closer to bearing the karmic burden. Though she faced eternal damnation, her resolve remained unshaken, and her path stayed true. Her expression remained calm, but her heart felt as if it had been split in two, aching with sorrow and pain. She had already removed the barrier around her heart’s blood. Could Changying, far away in the Nine Heavens, sense the change in her emotions?

She tensed her shoulders and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, pretending to be indifferent. “Then, as you wish.”

Guanshang’s hun soul began to creak, not from any physical collision, but from suppressed laughter!

Zhuyou let out a soft chuckle and subtly pressed a hand to her chest. Beneath her palm, her beating heart flowed with Changying’s heart’s blood. She no longer trusted the current Nine Heavens, but she trusted Changying.

Guanshang’s hun soul trembled slightly—not from fear, but from excitement.

Zhuyou suddenly seized his floating devil hun soul and removed the restrictions on the remaining two hun souls. A cold light appeared in her hand as she gathered all three hun souls together.

The cold light enveloped the three hun souls, and no matter how intently the devil soldiers outside the barrier stared, they could see nothing.

Zhuyou slowly clasped her hands together, trapping the cold light within her palms. Icy beams shot out from between her fingers, as if she held several cold blades. She closed her eyes, using her spiritual power to merge the three hun souls. Her silver hair fluttered behind her.

The three hun souls in her palms suddenly contracted, as if they had already merged. Devil energy spontaneously erupted, forcing her tightly clasped hands apart.

The three hun souls had merged into one, and the cold light was gradually eroded by the devil energy.

The unified devil hun soul rose from her hands and slammed into the barrier she had set up. With a loud thud, crimson light burst from the barrier, like spurting blood.

The devil soldiers, who knew all too well the terror of this barrier, quickly retreated several steps at the sight of the red light.

But Guanshang did not stop after one collision. He struck again and again, until the barrier cracked like a spider’s web, as if it were about to shatter.

Zhuyou lowered her head indifferently, looking at her empty palms, her ears carefully listening to the surrounding sounds.

The karmic burden had already entered her body, and the thunder tribulation should be coming. Perhaps this was why she was destined to face the tribulation of lacking a po soul.

Guanshang’s collisions against the barrier grew louder and louder. If it had been a head, it would have been shattered by now. He remained silent, as if enduring pain, only letting out a low groan of agony after a while.

“My hun soul…”

“You reincarnated into the Phoenix Clan to replace me. Since I must endure this pain, why don’t you suffer it first for me?” Zhuyou said calmly.

Guanshang slammed into the barrier once more, shouting, “You want me dead!”

“I haven’t entered your sea of consciousness yet. Why would I let you die so easily?” Zhuyou reached out and grabbed him, but the devil energy nearly corroded the flesh of her palm.

She loosened her grip and conjured a clay jar, sealing the hun soul tightly inside.

The jar seemed nailed in place. No matter how fiercely the devil hun soul inside struggled, it couldn’t tip the jar over.

From within the jar, Guanshang’s voice became muffled and distorted. “My body! Where is my body?!”

“You’re already in unbearable pain. If you were to enter your body, it wouldn’t just be your hun soul suffering—every part of you would be in agony,” Zhuyou said, crouching down and pressing a finger against the jar. “Why don’t you endure the pain of merging the three hun souls first? I’ll… bring your body to you afterward.”

“You’re deceiving me!” Guanshang hissed darkly.

Zhuyou tapped the jar lightly, as if patting Guanshang’s head. “I’ll pay you back.”

In the Endless Abyss, aside from the conversation between her and Guanshang and the whispers of the devil soldiers, another sound finally emerged.

A tearing noise, as if something in the void had been ripped apart.

Suddenly, a flash of light flickered across the boundless dark sky, followed by a deafening roar.

Thunder rumbled, shaking the very air.

Zhuyou’s heart, already lodged in her throat, nearly leaped out. She clenched her teeth tightly, swallowing hard, and glanced down at the clay jar. She rapped it twice with her knuckles and said, “This heavenly thunder from beyond the realm, pent up for a thousand years, is truly… extraordinary.”

She no longer doubted the connection between the Endless Abyss and the world beyond. The Endless Abyss… was clearly already part of the world beyond. Otherwise, how could this thunder appear here, so close to her?

Inside the jar, Guanshang continued to slam against the walls, as if in unbearable agony. He rasped, “Your Grace, you’re suffering.”

“No,” Zhuyou said, lifting the jar and watching as the heavenly thunder drew closer. She slowly sealed the jar’s opening and raised it high, saying calmly, “You’re the one suffering.”

“You—” Guanshang’s voice was hoarse and desperate.

The lightning and thunder descended from the sky, illuminating the previously pitch-black Endless Abyss. Once lit, the surroundings revealed a vast, white expanse. Aside from the clay jar and the devil soldiers, the space was eerily empty.

Zhuyou lowered her head and whispered, “Don’t worry. You won’t die so easily.”

***

In the Nine Heavens, Changying arrived at the Reincarnation Bureau with the two hun souls of Jingyi in hand. A young attendant from the bureau stood holding a soul jar, ready to receive the two hun souls from her.

Just as Changying was about to hand them over, someone called out, “Divine Venerable, wait!”

Changying turned to see Yunshuo, the Phoenix Lord, descending from the sky, his brow furrowed as he stared at the fragmented hun souls in her hand.

“The Heavenly Emperor has already informed me of the truth,” Yunshuo said, his expression grim.

Changying’s grip on the fragmented hun souls didn’t loosen. She said coolly, “You were the one who carried out the execution two hundred years ago.”

Yunshuo shuddered, his heart filled with bitterness. “I am willing to accept punishment.”

“It won’t change anything,” Changying said coldly, her gaze piercing.

“She…” Yunshuo’s tightly pressed lips parted. “Is she… alright?”

“She has fallen into the devil’s path. How could she be alright?” Changying’s eyes were icy as she pressed the fragmented hun souls into the jar held by the young attendant.

The hun souls slid down the neck of the jar and settled at the bottom. The restrictions on the hun souls were released, and a scream immediately erupted from within.

“Father—”

“Father, save me! Didn’t you love me the most?”

“Father! Father!”

The fragmented hun soul seemed to want to cry out more, but the jar’s neck was sealed with a cork, muffling all sound.

Yunshuo shut his eyes tightly, as if by closing them, he could block out the voice.

The young attendant bowed, holding the jar, and turned to toss it into the Reincarnation Pool. With a plop, it sank to the bottom.

Changying’s expression remained impassive, as if she were devoid of emotion. She glanced at Yunshuo and said, “This hun soul will undergo ten cycles of reincarnation. But because it is incomplete, even after ten cycles, it will only be reborn as a fool, destined to wander in poverty, without care in life or support in old age. After ten cycles, it will enter the Asura Realm, enduring the torment of icy flames, until the hun soul dissipates and the po soul scatters.” She paused, her pale lips moving again. “The Phoenix Clan is now in decline, with no successor in sight. Once the qingluan transforms into a phoenix, you will be replaced.”

(T/N: qingluan is a type of phoenix, but different from the main phoenix line, a qingluan is usually cyan in color.)