【Young Susu & Demon God Tantai Jin】
He remembered how he died.
His life as a mortal was brief—he died at twenty-two, defeated at Lianyue River.
With Xiao Lin’s troops at the city gates, unwilling to become that man’s prisoner, he leaped into the raging flames.
It wasn’t about pride; had there been even a sliver of hope, Tantai Jin would never have chosen death. He knew he couldn’t survive. Rather than let Xiao Lin strike the final blow, he chose to end it himself—at least with some semblance of dignity.
Though in his eyes, dignity meant nothing.
Reflecting on his life, it had not been an easy one.
Born without a mother, he struggled through his childhood in the palace. After finally returning to the Zhou Kingdom and seizing power from his father and brothers, he lost to the true favored son of heaven, Xiao Lin.
Regret.
As Tantai Jin lay in the flames, he saw the commoners cheering "Long live the emperor!" That delicate, radiant woman held Xiao Lin’s hand, standing by his side.
In a daze, Tantai Jin recalled her name—Ye Bingchang, Xiao Lin’s wife.
Back when he had wanted everything Xiao Lin possessed, he had also desired Ye Bingchang. But now, having lost it all, he felt no particular longing for her.
The pain became unbearable. He curled his body, his gaze venomous, his heart filled with resentment. His power had vanished like flowing water, yet for Ye Bingchang, he held no deep obsession.
To possess her would have meant triumphing over Xiao Lin; to lose her did not stir any stubborn attachment.
Having spent a lifetime imitating others, the young man couldn’t help but feel bewildered at life’s end.
As the flames licked his body, he wondered: he had learned to mimic others’ passions and hatreds, but in the end, had he ever truly loved that woman named Ye Bingchang?
The answer remained unknown.
A great fire in the mortal realm consumed his remains.
No one remembered the last young prince of the Tantai clan in history.
The drought fiend picked him up, and through demonic bone rebirth, the Demon God descended upon the world.
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Much later, Tantai Jin came to understand that the Demon God of this world was destined to be born in solitude. With a heart tempered by poison, he walked the path of demons.
How many had he killed? He couldn’t recall. When the God-Slaying Crossbow was drawn, fragile immortals fell one by one before him. With morbid fascination, he piled up a Ten Thousand Immortals’ Grave.
The man in black robes sat high upon the mound, inhaling deeply the scent of blood in the air, enthralled by its fragrance.
The once lofty immortals were now mere feeble ants beneath his palm.
Blood flowed over his fingertips, so warm.
Four hundred and thirty years after shedding his mortal identity, he encountered Xiao Lin’s reincarnation, Gongye Jiwu. While the latter still had a breath left, Tantai Jin prodded him with his sword hilt: "Tell me, what became of the one you once loved?"
He had forgotten Ye Bingchang’s name and her face. All he remembered was that when he was still a mortal youth, he had not yet learned what love was.
Gongye Jiwu said nothing, his soul dissipating.
Tantai Jin watched him expressionlessly for a moment, then sheathed his Heaven-Severing Sword. He tossed the body into the Ten Thousand Immortals’ Grave, throwing it in as an act of humiliation.
Day after day, cultivators lost their living space, forced to hide underground like rats in the sewers.
Gradually, bloodshed no longer stirred his interest.
Tantai Jin didn’t even care to drag those gray rats out into the open, preferring instead to lie dormant in the demon realm.
The drought fiend and Jing Miao grew concerned and began sending women to him.He found it amusing. Knowing full well that the Demon Lord lacked anyThe Soul Stone glowed, for only a pure and untainted soul could make it shine.
Jingmie expressed his admiration, and the traitor was overjoyed.
In the demon king's palace, blood flowed like a stream, and the atmosphere was grim and dim. Tantai Jin sat on the throne, shrouded in a haze of black mist.
A black cloak enveloped his body, revealing only a pair of emotionless eyes.
He coldly surveyed everything in the demon palace, including that small, white figure.
The girl was being teased by the surrounding demons. With her hands forming seals, she attempted to attack them. Fierce as she was, it was her first time experiencing such a situation, and she was still young—how could she possibly defeat the likes of Jingmie?
Susu tried to ride her sword and fly out, but a demon at the entrance slapped her back inside.
The demons were all cunning; seeing the Demon God on the throne remain silent and watch them toy with the girl, they took it as tacit approval and intensified their actions.
Susu's white dress was soiled as she rolled on the ground, unable to escape no matter what she did.
In the end, Susu grew so desperate that she reverted to her original form, covering her face with her wings and weeping softly.
The lamps in the demon palace crackled and sputtered.
Under the flickering light, Tantai Jin's skin appeared ghastly pale. Propping his chin, he looked down on her with disdain.
Little Susu sobbed until she hiccupped.
The traitor pointed at Susu and said ingratiatingly, "I came specifically to pledge my allegiance to the Demon Lord. This is my gift to you."
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The next moment, the traitor's eyes widened, and a gurgling sound escaped his throat. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Just like that, the traitor died effortlessly.
Everyone fell silent, belatedly realizing with fear and dread that the Demon God did not seem pleased.
Suddenly, Tantai Jin extended a pale finger and lifted her up.
Tears welled in Susu's eyes. Seeing her face flushed red, Tantai Jin thought she was about to say something extraordinary, but she suddenly declared, "I'm not afraid of you!"
Beneath his cloak, the corner of Tantai Jin's lips curved upward. His gaze swept over her trembling legs.
The paw pads of the young, not-yet-grown phoenix were tender and pink, delicate and vulnerable.
An adult phoenix could set the ancient Mount Buzhou ablaze, and the karmic fire from their crimson feathers could incinerate all the sins of the world.
I wonder... if one day, it could burn away a sin like him?
He looked into those clear, bright eyes.
The ancient era had perished, and now, all that remained from that time was this last deity and a demon like him, born of loneliness.
He touched the crimson feather between her brows, then suddenly raised his hand and threw her back to Hengyang Sect.
Siying rushed out, frowning, and said, "Lord Demon God, you just let her go like that?"
He replied coldly, "What else?"
"She's a cultivator," Siying said with a complicated expression. "How could you let a cultivator go?"
His dark eyes examined the phoenix feather that had fallen into his palm. "Siying, do you believe in fate?"
Siying was startled and remained silent for a long time.
The ancient Demon God had once asked her the same question.
Not long after, the immortal ancient Demon God was besieged by the gods, betrayed by the demon king, and dissipated between heaven and earth.
The Demon God possessed the ability of foresight regarding himself.
This was something no one knew.
The ancient Demon God foresaw the vision of his own death and sought a way to break free, creating the Path of Shared Sorrow in an attempt to defy the heavenly laws and escape his fate. Unfortunately, he failed.
The most ironic part was that the ancient Demon God died precisely on the Path of Shared Sorrow.
Tantai Jin's foresight ability awakened the moment he shed his mortal body and became the Demon God. He, too, saw his own death.His form merged into the Path of Shared Sorrow, forever solitary and cold, sinking into darkness.
The Demon Realm was selfish, and Tantai Jin was no exception.
He loved only himself.
Even if the six realms turned to dust, he wouldn't bat an eye.
So when Si Ying and Jing Mie pleaded with him to open the Path of Shared Sorrow, he toyed with the divine pearls, smiling without a word.
They were wrong—Tantai Jin would never sacrifice himself for others.
He would rather betray the entire world.
The last of the divine race, Tantai Jin thought. Since the heavenly deities loved all living beings, could they save a despicable demon like him?
Playing with a feather in his palm, he suddenly smiled, a bold idea forming in his mind.
With the ancient precedents as a warning, opening the Path of Shared Sorrow was out of the question. Instead, he would place a grand bet.
The feather in his hand drifted lightly as the four divine pearls flew into the air.
With a twist of his pale fingers, the pearls converged, forming a translucent piece of glass that encased the phoenix feather.
He flicked a drop of blood from his fingertip, imbuing the glass with divine power.
Gradually, a figure took shape.
A maiden’s slender feet, fluttering skirts, and a sacred face appeared one after another, culminating in a cinnabar dot between her brows.
She hovered in the air, her clear eyes resolute, standing with a sword in hand.
Tantai Jin’s mocking smile froze at the corners of his lips as he stared at her, stunned. For the first time in his life, he was looking up at someone.
It felt as though a hand had gently plucked at his heart, stirring a strange and wondrous sensation.
This was the grown-up form of the little phoenix.
Unprepared, she had appeared before him just like that.
Tantai Jin reached out, and the divine maiden statue fell into his palm.
Cold and unattainable, even up close, she felt distant.
He stared at her strangely, his expression slightly distorted.
Suddenly, Tantai Jin recalled the one who refused to give up, boldly stealing Gongye Jiwu’s corpse to ensure her senior brother had a dignified departure.
"Li Susu?"
The Demon God had no threads of emotion. He didn’t understand the strange feeling in his heart. Even a statue of her grown-up form couldn’t deter him from his original plan.
Tantai Jin did not use the four divine pearls to open the Path of Shared Sorrow. Instead, he crafted them into a glass statue of the divine maiden and sent it back through time to his younger self.
When news spread that the immortal sects planned to send Susu back five hundred years, the entire demon race fell into chaos.
"Demon God, what should we do? We must stop them!"
Tantai Jin waved his sleeve, and a water mirror appeared, showing the immortal realm.
He was not alarmed, for all of this was part of the game he had set in motion. Unwilling to accept a predetermined fate, he had placed a grand bet with the six realms and all living beings.
If he lost, he would die as fate decreed. If he won, he would break free from his destiny, and the six realms would pave his way.
The young maiden Susu sat within a formation, her hands forming seals, facing the barely restored divine artifact—the Mirror of the Past.
The mirror reflected her image, identical in every detail to the divine maiden statue he had sent away.
"Going back five hundred years to extract my evil bone?" He propped his chin on his hand, watching the scene in the water mirror, a strange sense of anticipation rising within him. "Extracting the evil bone requires me to feel emotion. So, one day, will you protect me as you protected him?"
He suddenly laughed, whispering to the maiden in the water mirror, "If you have the ability, make me fall in love with you. Otherwise, in this bet where the fate of the six realms is at stake, you will surely lose."
At that time, the mighty Demon God did not believe he could lose. He only sought to use the divine maiden to change his destined fate.But he never imagined that the story began with conspiracy and selfishness, yet ended with love and sacrifice.
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