Great Demon - Chapter 97 Part 1

The tiger demon ignored the pain in his body and suddenly stood up, rushing toward the well. He leaned over and peered inside but saw nothing.

Zhuyou showed no trace of mercy on her face. With a wave of her hand, the tiger demon standing at the edge of the well tumbled down. Yet, no sound of a heavy fall reached them—it was as if something had caught him.

It was spiritual energy.

“Your Grace…” Huoshu anxiously looked toward the well, her heart pounding like a drum. She had never expected Zhuyou to suddenly assist the tiger demon.

Was she trying to destroy the evidence?

A muffled groan came from the well as the tiger demon scrambled to his feet. He noticed a faint light descending from above. When he looked up, he saw a wisp of fire slowly drifting down like smoke. The flames were a deep crimson, even more vivid than cinnabar.

Though it was just a small cluster of fire, it illuminated the entire well from top to bottom, carrying an immense spiritual power. The energy within the flames was scorching and forbidding; anyone who dared to absorb it would surely be burned to ashes.

The tiger demon was struck by something hard beneath him. He had no idea what it was, but his heart suddenly clenched, and his breath hitched. He dropped to his knees and began digging frantically through the dirt beneath him.

His breathing turned erratic, and chills ran down his back. Then, out of the soil, a piece of bone emerged.

It was stark white—like part of an arm.

The tiger demon froze, his fingers caked with dirt, trembling too much to continue digging.

Zhuyou’s voice drifted down from above. Resting her hand on the well’s rim, she asked in an indifferent tone, “Do you see it clearly now?”

The tiger demon did not answer. His eyes were already bloodshot.

“Whether you see it now or later, you have to face it eventually.” Zhuyou lowered her gaze, barely able to see the top of the tiger demon’s head. She continued, “I gave you phoenix fire—not so you could wallow in self-pity.”

At her words, the tiger demon’s body tensed. Phoenix fire? He dared not even lift his head. No wonder the pressure earlier had been so overwhelming that he could barely straighten his back. It was the Vermillion Phoenix.

His eyes, already filled with sorrow, darkened further as a strange thought crept into his mind. The long-buried resentment in his heart surged forth, drowning out all his confusion and hesitation.

Zhuyou let out a soft scoff. “There’s no need to resent me. I just happened to discover the bones buried in this well. I did not kill your wife and child, nor did I seize your body.”

The tiger demon trembled from head to toe. His tightly clenched jaw quivered, and after a long pause, his hand finally dropped. He continued to dig through the sand, retrieving the bones buried beneath.

One large. One small.

Both were there.

The tiger demon let out a wailing cry but dared not reach out to embrace the two skeletons, afraid that his touch might shatter them.

His anguished cries echoed from the well, twisting and turning as they reverberated.

Standing at the edge, Huoshu felt an inexplicable sorrow. She had witnessed countless partings of life and death, yet it was never easy to grow indifferent to them. She studied Zhuyou’s expression, then withdrew her gaze and said, “Your Grace, this tiger demon…”

“This tiger demon is useless now.” Zhuyou looked exhausted, as if she were drained.

“Ah.” Huoshu hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, “Then… should we—?”

“Do you want to kill him to silence him?” Zhuyou glanced at her. “This tiger demon knows nothing. Someone merely used his body as a vessel.”

Huoshu lowered her head, her heart pounding. “Then… are we just letting him be?”

“His life fire is about to go out.” Zhuyou stepped away from the well without sparing the tiger demon another glance.

Huoshu hesitated before following, but then a sudden realization struck her. She had not expected the Vermillion Phoenix to be able to see the life fire of an ordinary little demon. She hurriedly asked, “Your Grace, what about my life fire…?”

Zhuyou turned to look at her and smirked. “Those on the verge of death have weak life fires. The same applies to demons. Your life should still be long.”

Huoshu let out a sigh of relief, but her smile quickly faded. She sensed that the tiger demon’s aura from the well had weakened—he was truly dying.

“He ended his own life.” Zhuyou did not stop walking and left the residence.

The tiger demon had indeed died, for he had realized that his wife and child had been killed by his own hands, even if it was not of his own will.

Guanshang had yet to show himself. As Zhuyou stepped out of the house, she retrieved a bloodstained cloth from her spatial storage. The cloth was dyed with ancient devil blood. She extracted a lingering wisp of its aura and performed a soul-tracking spell.

Unfortunately, even if this spell could trace Guanshang’s presence, it was uncertain whether she could capture the devil. After all, in Shangxi City, Guanshang moved freely—while she did not.

The boundaries of the Endless Abyss remained unknown to her. Looking back, what she had glimpsed before must have only been a fragment. Guanshang’s whereabouts were still far too difficult to pin down.

After walking some distance, Huoshu suddenly remembered something she had not yet reported. She quickly said, “Your Grace, when I returned to Jianxiang Pavilion earlier, I noticed a fox demon behaving oddly. I was about to capture her when she suddenly emitted devilish energy, and then her entire body crumbled into yellow earth.”

“I already know,” Zhuyou replied calmly.

“Then… has that one made an appearance?” Huoshu asked anxiously.

Zhuyou shook her head. “It wasn’t him. Just one of his devils. They were trying to extract information from you. Fortunately, you were sharp enough.”

Huoshu smiled brightly and reached up to adjust the golden hairpin in her hair.

“That fox demon’s mind was manipulated, then corroded by devilish energy until she turned to dust. The devil then fled through the Endless Abyss,” Zhuyou said slowly. “Unfortunately, he was too quick. My spiritual power failed to stop him.”

Huoshu pondered for a moment. “Then why not use the same method to chase after him?”

Zhuyou halted and gave her a sidelong glance. “Each pursuit would cost a life. How many lives does your Jianxiang Pavilion have to spare?”

Huoshu was momentarily speechless.

“One life is already a karmic debt. I have borne tens of thousands for Guanshang—I truly cannot carry any more,” Zhuyou let out a light chuckle. “Yet he remains free and unburdened.”

Huoshu shrank her neck, thinking that she had her own fair share of karmic debts, but she was still tens of thousands away from matching that. Her eyes flickered with thought before she said, “That little peafowl you had me bring back to Jianxiang Pavilion has woken up.”

“Did she cry?” Zhuyou asked teasingly.

Huoshu was startled. “She did cry, and she looked quite pitiful. But I don’t understand why Your Grace had me deliver a blank letter to her?”

“Seems like she didn’t cry hard enough,” Zhuyou said with disappointment in her eyes.

Huoshu was even more confused. Just how much crying would be considered pitiful enough?

***

The next day, Shangxi City arrived at the Demon Realm like a falling stone, directly breaking through the Demon Clan’s restriction. Multicolored light burst forth as the restriction collapsed instantly.

At the moment of its collapse, the sky seemed to be painted with hues of dawn, and the vast green plains below trembled.

This floating solitary island crashed in at an angle and stopped midair, suspended a hundred feet high, as though it had descended from another world.

The demons within the Demon Realm were stunned, all turning to look at the distant yet immense Shangxi City. At the same time, the demons and devils inside Shangxi City leaned over to peer downward.

Just then, the crack in the sky abruptly sealed itself, as if mended stitch by stitch by the hands of a goddess, restoring the broken barrier to wholeness.

However, it was no goddess who repaired the barrier—it was the Vermillion Phoenix.

The fiery-red bird, as dazzling as blood, spread its wings and let out a piercing cry. It held a single feather in its beak and placed it upon the restriction. The feather fused into the barrier, and a crimson glow surged through it, as if the sky had been streaked with sunset hues.

Before the demons could take a proper look, the red light had already faded.

But they all saw clearly—it was indeed the Vermillion Phoenix. This phoenix bore four wings, its long, graceful tail feathers tinged with clusters of blazing phoenix fire.

The demons on the green plains only watched for a moment before feeling a stinging pain in their eyes, forcing them to avert their gaze. As they lowered their heads, they caught a glimpse of the Vermillion Phoenix diving down with lightning speed.

***

Inside Shangxi City, Huoshu anxiously observed the scene below. Though she was also a demon, she had lived in Shangxi City for centuries. Now, upon arriving at the Demon Realm, she felt as if she had trespassed into someone else’s territory.

She returned to Jianxiang Pavilion, ignoring the questioning demons along the way, and entered Hanzhu’s room before asking, “Your mistress is likely going to meet the Demon King.”

Hanzhu had not stepped out of her room since arriving at Jianxiang Pavilion and was unaware of what had transpired outside. She paused for a moment before asking, “Why is Mistress seeking the Demon King?”

Huoshu let out a long sigh. “I was hoping you could tell me something.”

She was growing increasingly uncertain. Was the Vermillion Phoenix truly planning to join forces with the Devil Lord? Their relationship was neither an alliance nor enmity—utterly strange.

Hanzhu felt a sense of shame. Had she not been delayed outside for so long due to the spell binding her mind, she would not have been left so ignorant.

She retrieved the blank letter from beneath her pillow and carefully examined it again.

Huoshu clicked her tongue. “There’s not a single word on that letter. What do you expect to find?”

Hanzhu murmured, “I’ll check again.”

“Go ahead,” Huoshu said, tapping impatiently at the ornament in her hair. “I doubt you’ll find anything.”

Hanzhu pressed her palm against the paper. Perhaps Zhuyou’s spell was too profound—she could not detect even the faintest trace of it. She furrowed her brows and asked, “When Mistress instructed you to bring this letter to me, aside from letting me cry, what else did she say?”

“She said to do whatever you wanted with it—read it, tear it, whatever.” Huoshu’s voice faltered as a sharp idea crossed her mind. She suddenly turned to look at the peafowl demon sitting on the bed, her eyes gleaming. “Why don’t you try tearing it apart?”

Hanzhu had the same thought. After a brief hesitation, she tore the letter into four pieces.

However, the shredded letter remained still—nothing unusual happened.

“That’s strange,” Huoshu muttered. “Maybe it needs to be torn into even smaller pieces?”

Determined, Hanzhu shredded the four pieces into fine fragments, until they were reduced to near dust.

At that moment, a wisp of spiritual energy surged from the paper fragments and shot directly into Hanzhu’s forehead like an arrow.

Hanzhu’s entire body stiffened as though she had been frozen in place. She did not move an inch.

Seeing this, Huoshu rushed to her side and waved a hand in front of her eyes. But Hanzhu’s pupils did not even flicker.

“Oh no, she’s really turned stupid,” Huoshu lamented, clutching her chest.

***

The wisp of spiritual energy entered Hanzhu’s sea of consciousness, manifesting into a form within.

Hanzhu’s eyes suddenly snapped open, but she found herself in complete darkness. Beneath her, clusters of glowing white grass swayed. She reached out to touch them, but her hand passed through. Only then did she realize she was inside her own sea of consciousness, and the glowing white grass was actually strands of spiritual threads.

In front of her stood the silver-haired, black-robed Vermillion Phoenix. The phoenix’s expression was calm as she said, “You should already know that I have restored my spiritual aspect. Now, I am neither god nor devil, bound by neither the Three Realms nor their laws.” She paused briefly before continuing, “But that is not what I need you to remember. Listen carefully to every word I say next.”