Dark clouds churned as the gray-robed youth watching everything from the ground remained utterly indifferent.
The bloodstains beneath his eyes had dried, and his newly grown eyes were gradually dimming.
The Flower of Eternal Life had been catalyzed by Su Su's demigod blood. Now that her heart was pierced by the God-Slaying Arrow and her divine power had vanished, the youth's eyes would slowly lose their sight.
Seeing Su Su falling from the sky, Xie Ying's eyes sharpened, her nails elongating as she sought to destroy Su Su's physical form.
The gray-robed youth suddenly said, "Not allowed."
He bent down and picked up Su Su from the ground, telling Xie Ying, "We still need her."
Xie Ying's voice turned cold and sharp: "You want to spare her."
The gray-robed youth laughed.
Originally manifested from a string of beads, he didn't need physical eyes to see. He looked accurately at Xie Ying and said, "Xie Ying, as an ancient Hanba, you should know this. The world has Spiritual Veins and also Demonic Veins. After the War of Gods and Demons, the Demonic Veins were completely destroyed by the ancient Gods, while Spiritual Veins spread throughout the world. This is why the Immortal Sects flourish eternally while Demonic Beasts struggle to cultivate and barely survive."
"The Nine Revolutions Profound Return Array converts the world's Spiritual Energy into Demonic Energy to open the Path of Shared Sorrow. But once the Path of Shared Sorrow absorbs enough Demonic Energy, the Profound Return Array will naturally vanish. We need a Demonic Vein."
Xie Ying retracted her nails, giving the gray-robed youth an ambiguous look.
"The formation of a Demonic Vein requires time."
It required changes in mountains and rivers, along with sincere worship from Demonic Beasts, to generate a Demonic Vein.
Wasn't the formation of the world's Spiritual Veins also due to mortals' worship and sincerity toward gods and immortals?
The gray-robed youth said, "No, you're wrong. It doesn't require time."
Xie Ying looked at Su Su: "You mean... the Demon Lord wants to use her as a catalyst to create a Demonic Vein?"
The gray-robed youth merely smiled without responding.
This method was feasible. Every fallen god bestowed gifts upon the world, just like the origin of the Soul-Extinguishing Pearl Tears.
But for Li Susu's divine body to transform into a Demonic Vein, every inch of her bones and blood would need to be drained—an excruciatingly cruel and painful process.
Would the Demon Lord do this?
Xie Ying knew that Tantai Jin had searched for Li Susu in the River of Wailing Ghosts for over five hundred years. Would he personally seal Li Susu deep underground where she could never see daylight again, ensuring she never reincarnated?
Being used as a Demonic Vein was more terrifying than having one's Soul Scattered.
A follower of the Righteous Path would spend eternity unaware and unconscious, nourishing the world's Demonic Beasts.
After speaking, the gray-robed youth stopped looking at them and carried Su Su back to the Demon Realm.
Xie Ying sensed something, her gaze sweeping over Su Su before she smiled and said, "Very well."
She and Jingmie followed the youth.
The moment they entered the forbidden ground, the gray-robed youth whispered, "Demon Lord, we have returned."
The Barrier of the forbidden ground silently opened, and the youth carried Su Su inside.
Xie Ying immediately spotted Tantai Jin sitting cross-legged within the life gate.
The Demonic Energy surrounding Tantai Jin was terrifying—in just a few days, he had reached another realm entirely.
Xie Ying was shocked to discover he increasingly resembled that ancient figure.
Not in appearance, but in the aura he emanated.
If she didn't clearly know the ancient Demon God had died millennia ago, Xie Ying might have thought the Demon God had been resurrected.
Tantai Jin seemed to have completely merged with that person.
No, not quite yet.
Tantai Jin formed hand seals as the Heaven Severing Sword pierced through his body.
Jingmie couldn't help but exclaim, "Demon Lord!"
Yet the Heaven Severing Sword didn't harm Tantai Jin. Instead, it shattered a ball of white light within his body.Tantai Jin opened his eyes, his gaze devoid of any emotion, containing only icy ambition and boundless greed. The Demon God's mark between his brows emanated a chilling aura, with thick Demonic Energy swirling at the corners of his eyes and brows.
Beside the Heaven Severing Sword lay a jade box. At this moment, a golden love thread was extracted from his body, settling quietly inside the jade box.
Tantai Jin lowered his gaze to look at that love thread and smiled faintly. He had ultimately chosen to fully become a demon.
The Demon God possesses no love thread.
To become that being, he had to discard everything from his past as a mortal, extract his own love thread, and use the Nine Revolutions Profound Return Array as his foundation to return to the path he was born to follow.
The Divine Marrow given to him by Ye Xiwu five hundred years ago had been cast aside; the love thread that Ye Xiwu had sparked within him had been severed by his own hand; even the feelings that Ye Xiwu herself had evoked in him were destined to be forever forgotten.
Her voice and smile no longer stirred any emotion in him, and the lingering tenderness in his heart had completely dissipated.
Tantai Jin stood up. Beyond the gate of life, the Marrow Cleansing Seal fell into his palm.
Xie Ying watched this scene in utter shock.
The Heaven Severing Sword and God Slaying Crossbow hummed in resonance with the Marrow Cleansing Seal. The Taotie depicted on the Marrow Cleansing Seal materialized, prostrating itself at Tantai Jin's feet.
Three Demonic Artifacts had simultaneously acknowledged their master.
Purple lightning intertwined in the skies above the Demon Realm, while countless demons beyond its borders bowed one by one.
Xie Ying and Jingmie silently knelt in reverence.
The gray-clad youth placed Su Su before Tantai Jin, then transformed into a string of beads and flew into Tantai Jin's palm.
Tantai Jin stored the beads and coldly looked down at the young girl lying on the high platform of the gate of life.
His voice was detached: "Now all four beads are gathered. We need only await the opening of the Path of Shared Sorrow."
Tantai Jin gazed at Su Su for so long that even Jingmie couldn't help but secretly glance up.
The black-robed Demon Lord watched for a long while before suddenly reaching out to gently brush Su Su's hair behind her ear. Xie Ying whispered, "Demon Lord..."
She feared Tantai Jin might again develop compassion for Li Susu.
But where in Tantai Jin's eyes remained any affection for Li Susu? Only desolate emptiness remained, as if he were examining a convenient magical tool.
Xie Ying felt somewhat nervous. She desperately hoped Tantai Jin wouldn't discover the unusual condition about Li Susu. If the Demon Lord found out, would he spare Li Susu?
Hanba, having once been the progenitor of all Jiangshi, had created "life" and thus possessed keener perception of life than anything else.
She discreetly swept her gaze over Su Su's abdomen and remained silent.
As long as she didn't speak, Tantai Jin would never know, and it wouldn't hinder the Demon Lord's great undertaking.
Tantai Jin withdrew his hand, his expression consistently calm.
He raised his hand and opened the death gate of the Nine Revolutions Profound Return Array. The "death gate" contained bottomless darkness with no visible end.
Violent winds howled, seemingly capable of tearing people apart.
Tantai Jin lifted the young girl from the high platform.
He had thought this act would cause pain in his heart, but having lost his love thread, how could he still feel pain?
Five hundred years ago, he had loved her without realizing it, with only six soul-piercing nails bearing witness to it all.
Now, with the Demon God's form perfected, the nails she had left in his heart had completely dissipated.
Without hesitation, Tantai Jin pushed her into the "death gate" of the Profound Return Array with Demonic Energy from his palm.
The Heavy Feather Konghou around Su Su's neck transformed into an ice-blue zither. It couldn't help pleading: "I beg you, don't use Su Su as a Demonic Vein."
To be used as a Demonic Vein meant an eternity without hope of reincarnation.Tantai Jin remained silent, watching as Su Su moved closer to the "Gate of Death." Chongyu cried out, "She loves you! She once searched for you day and night, from the Northern Peak to Zhahe City. To bring you back to the Immortal Sect and clear your name of all defilement, she quietly made countless efforts."
Chongyu rummaged through Su Su's Universe Bag and pulled out a pearl.
"Look!"
It was the Immortal Sect's Memory Pearl, filled with scenes of all the places Su Su had traveled.
Tantai Jin's red Demonic Pupils fixed on the pearl. Within it, countless mortal faces appeared, each recounting the scenes of "Tantai Jin killing." Yet their accounts rarely matched. Countless images flashed through the pearl, one mortal face after another.
From the pearl, Tantai Jin saw how the young girl had journeyed through many places, recording all this to find a path of survival for him before the Immortal Sect in the future.
His expression remained cold. Chongyu couldn't tell if he was moved and anxiously said, "Chongyu isn't lying to you! Even when Su Su left the Demon Realm, she still wanted to take you away. She was born as a Spiritual Embryo, yet despite cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness, she has not become a God. Do you know why?"
The exterior of a Goddess is the coldest, much like the glass statue Tantai Jin saw in his childhood nightmares.
But a Goddess's heart is gentle. When she falls for someone, it is for a lifetime.
Su Su's soul was scorched and torn. As the last bloodline of the Phoenix Clan, she could not truly ascend to Godhood because she still remembered that lifetime with you.
Tantai Jin's hand paused.
Chongyu pleaded tearfully, "Chongyu begs you, spare Su Su." You once loved her so deeply—don't forget that love and condemn her to eternal suffering.
It was the only Divine Artifact in the world with sentience, recognizing only one master over millennia.
When it first entered the world, it was reckless and caused Su Su harm. But through countless days and nights, it gradually learned how to properly protect her.
Even Chongyu learned to be good to her—why have you forgotten?
Tantai Jin gazed at Su Su in the air.
Her ink-black hair cascaded to her waist, the half Epiphyllum mark between her brows dimmed. Her protective Magic Robe sensed danger, its hem slowly turning golden.
"Are you finished?" Tantai Jin asked coldly. With one hand gripping the Chongyu Qin, his other hand abruptly shoved Su Su into the Gate of Death.
The young girl fell into the endless darkness.
Chongyu transformed into a scorching sharp sword, broke free from Tantai Jin's grasp, and resolutely chased after Su Su into the Gate of Death.
Tantai Jin's palm was burned bright red by it. He withdrew his hand, expressionlessly observing his palm, which healed completely in an instant.
Xie Ying said, "What a pity. This qin was actually a sentient Divine Artifact, and it's buried in the Gate of Death along with Li Susu."
The black-robed Demon Lord coldly uttered, "Nine Revolutions, seal!"
The Nine Revolutions Profound Return Array spun wildly, dozens of black demonic seals striking into the Gate of Death.
He personally sealed her within the Gate of Death. From then on, she would never see daylight again, until her body transformed into a Demonic Vein.
Tantai Jin flicked his sleeve, not sparing another glance at the Gate of Death as he walked out of the forbidden ground.
He looked up at the sky. "They're here."
Xie Ying followed him out. Unnoticed, the Blood Ravens had vanished, and the demon generals guarding the Demon Realm had all lost contact.
For a demonic beast that had survived since ancient times, this scene was no different from ten thousand years ago.
Xie Ying frowned. "Demon Lord, they're here, but the Spiritual Energy absorbed by the Nine Revolutions Profound Return Array is still insufficient. Even with four pearls invested, it's not enough to open the Path of Shared Sorrow."She understood these immortals and gods best.
Before the Demon God, though they were weak, they feared no death. The ancient Demon God had died at the hands of the very gods he despised.
If they all risked their lives to destroy the Nine Revolutions Profound Return Array, the Demonic Energy required for the Path of Shared Sorrow would indeed fall short for a while.
Li Susu being taken away had allowed the immortal realm to invade the demon realm ahead of time.
Tantai Jin curled his lips: "For us, their arrival is just in time."
Xie Ying exclaimed in surprise, "Did the Demon Lord intentionally let them in?" No wonder—many demon generals were quite powerful and shouldn't have allowed the Immortal Sect to advance so easily.
Tantai Jin did not deny it. He struck out at the air.
Ripples shimmered in the sky, gradually revealing many figures. At the forefront was Qu Xuanzi, and behind him stood numerous white-bearded, white-haired elders, all watching them with grave expressions.
The powerful Demonic Beasts that had been hidden now silently appeared beside Tantai Jin.
Tantai Jin's gaze fell upon another group behind Qu Xuanzi.
They wore blue-and-white robes, with fish patterns embroidered on their waists.
Compared to the other great immortals of the immortal realm, most of them had youthful and innocent faces.
Tantai Jin scanned them one by one: there were senior brothers who had once taught him to review scriptures, those who helped him with cleaning, and senior sisters who had made new clothes for him.
They had taught him how to conduct himself, to be benevolent and righteous.
The Carefree Sect was the most peace-loving, yet now each of them carried swords on their backs, their eyes red with hatred, wishing they could kill him on the spot.
Tantai Jin had known from the moment he killed Immortal Lord Zhao You that this day would come.
At the forefront was Cang Hai.
The man who had once been as cheerful as the Maitreya Buddha now clenched his fists, glaring coldly at him.
Tantai Jin said, "Senior Brother, long time no see."
This man—when Tantai Jin was rescued from the River of Wailing Ghosts, it was Cang Hai who personally cut away his rotting flesh, carefully applied medicine every day, and cared for him for over a hundred days and nights.
Cang Hai had chattered endlessly, keeping Tantai Jin company. Thinking Tantai Jin was mortal, he tirelessly prepared meals for him every day.
These were his former classmates.
They had secretly drunk and eaten meat together, knelt together on the Cliff of Reflection, and practiced martial arts and swordsmanship together.
For several years, they had been the second "Jing Lan'an" in his life.
Among them, Cang Hai was the softest-hearted. Yet now, the kindest man in the world pointed his Immortal Sword at Tantai Jin.
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