Chapter 35: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (15)p2
At the same time.
Deep beneath the abyss, the Demon Palace.
A Sky-Observing Mirror stood before a solitary stone pillar. Maidens in black robes and sheer veils entered the hall in procession, carrying trays of fruits and snacks. But the pastries on the plates were mostly a deep blood red, and even the fruits had veins of red.
Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the maidens’ eyes were mostly eerie and that they wore different demon tribe totems and decorations to distinguish themselves.
In this world of red and black, only a strange grey mist lingered in front of the Sky-Observing Mirror.
The grey mist was intently watching the scene in the mirror. Beside the mirror stood a nine-tailed fox demon, dressed in red, its fluffy tails swaying leisurely beneath its robe. It pointed at a figure in the mirror and said lazily: “Did you hear that?”
“The one in the mirror, who looks just like you, is her beloved.”
“And she took your Golden Core and your sword bone just to revive her beloved.”
The grey mist remained motionless, seemingly ignoring the nine-tailed fox’s words. It only stared at the person in the mirror, even unconsciously leaning forward, as if wanting to break through the mirror and rush into the cold figure’s arms.
—This little one, ever since being brought back to the Demon Realm by the Demon Lord, had been pretending to be dead, refusing to communicate with the outside world, even attacking the guards at the slightest provocation, except when she was trying to escape.
The Demon Lord had tried to persuade her several times, telling her that the cultivator from the Sword Sect was only using and hurting her, but her words fell on deaf ears. In desperation, she had to send out this nine-tailed demon general, hoping that the nine-tailed fox, who understood human emotions the best, could enlighten this clueless little Chaos and make her understand who was truly good to her.
The nine-tailed fox was bored with teasing the demon soldiers and wanted a change of pace. Seeing that this little Chaos was even more stubborn and single-minded than the demons, it initially wanted to refuse. But after hearing the Demon Lord’s request, it became interested.
The image on the Sky-Observing Mirror suddenly disappeared.
The grey mist stirred in confusion, “looking” at the nine-tailed fox who controlled the mirror, silently urging it to continue. She wanted to see more of that person.
But the handsome demon only smiled at her and said leisurely: “In my class, listening alone is not enough.”
The grey mist struggled for a while, letting out a soft demonic roar.
“Hmm?”
The nine-tailed fox listened carefully and realized that this extremely powerful Chaos was actually a little girl. It raised an eyebrow, stared at her for a while, then finally remembered to answer her previous question—”Am I Master’s beloved?”
It scoffed. “Obviously, you’re not.”
Chaos seemed to want to prove something. The grey mist shifted its shape, as if trying to gesture something. But before she could finish, she was interrupted by the nine-tailed fox with a look of pity.
“You think just because you look like her, your master will love you?”
“Little one, you’re too naive. There can only be one beloved. Anyone else who looks like her is just a substitute—”
Saying this, the nine-tailed fox looked around and suddenly pulled a decorative beast cauldron towards itself. Then, it conjured an identical one with its magic.
“Let’s say I love this cauldron very much. I cherish it every day and pour my heart and soul into it. One day, I accidentally chip off a corner. Even if I find a similar one, it can’t replace its place in my heart.” The nine-tailed fox said as it broke off a corner of the left cauldron.
Then, it looked at Gui Mian and smashed the right cauldron into pieces.
“On the contrary, I would even try to break off a piece from this similar fake and see if I can use it to repair my cauldron.”
From the shattered pieces, it picked up a corner and slowly placed it on the missing spot of the left cauldron.
The grey mist stared at the fragments on the ground on the right. After a while, as if understanding something, it slowly moved over and enveloped the fragments within its body.
It let out a long, strange cry.
It sounded extremely sad.
The nine-tailed fox muttered “Little fool” under its breath. Feeling that it had completed the task assigned by the Demon Lord, it turned to leave. But suddenly, one of its tails was grabbed.
The grey mist shifted and pointed at the Sky-Observing Mirror.
The nine-tailed fox frowned. “She treated you like that, and you still want to see her?”
It originally only wanted to give Gui Mian a little push, but seeing her so devoted to a heartless person, it couldn’t help but feel a surge of coldness in its eyes. “Fine, from today onwards, this Sky-Observing Mirror will be open every day—”
“I’ll let you see what kind of selfish things those humans can do for love.”
Su Mingxiu was unaware that her every move was being watched by Gui Mian.
She inherited the original owner’s memories and followed the unorthodox techniques, reviving the body in the black ice with an impassive expression.
However, she didn’t give Gui Mian’s sword bone and Golden Core to this person.
Instead, she dug out her own Nascent Soul and spine and replaced them with Gui Mian’s. The system sneered in her mind as she did this.
Outside the cave, the perpetual snow on Mount Lingyu had stopped tonight because she had taken out the body and the ten-thousand-year-old black ice had melted.
In the spiritual spring, the lotus leaves, which had always been only green, sensed some kind of emotion and sprouted flower buds overnight. Under the vast night sky, countless white lotuses bloomed. In just one short hour, the lotuses spread throughout Mount Lingyu.
The moonlight illuminated the white lotuses, turning Mount Lingyu into a fairyland.
“Tsk—”
Black demonic energy transformed into chains, wrapping tightly around a grey mist that had reached the top of the abyss. The black chains constricted the mist, and the one who had launched this attack simply stood aside, flicking their sleeve, their bewitching golden eyes filled with disappointment.
The nine-tailed fox stood beside them. Seeing the grey mist being squeezed by the demon chains, a flash of pity appeared in its eyes. Suddenly remembering something, it had someone bring out the Sky-Observing Mirror.
The mirror reflected the breathtaking scenery of Mount Lingyu.
The grey mist momentarily forgot to struggle, staring blankly at Su Mingxiu in the cave, transplanting the sword bone into the body that looked exactly like her own.
The nine-tailed fox’s cold voice rang in Gui Mian’s ears:
“See? How much she despises your sword bone and Golden Core. She would rather replace them with her own than use yours for her beloved.”
“That mountain is perpetually affected by the ten-thousand-year-old black ice that preserved her beloved. It’s extremely cold and unsuitable for a human body to survive. When you were there, did she ever stop the wind and snow on the peak for you, even once?”
“Do you know what kind of lotus she planted in her spiritual spring?”
“That’s the Lover’s Lotus, it feeds on emotions and desires. If fed with desire, it grows leaves. If fed with love, it blooms. The stronger the love, the purer the color of the flowers. Now that her beloved has been revived, with all these white lotuses blooming on the mountain, can’t you see her true feelings?”
The grey mist stopped moving.
She had never seen the scenery of Mount Lingyu without snow and ice.
She vaguely remembered that she had also grown a lotus flower once, with delicate petals, very beautiful. But that single flower, how could it compare to this magnificent scene covering the entire mountain?
The image in the Sky-Observing Mirror seemed to freeze at this moment.
The grey mist, which had been struggling to escape, finally let the black chains drag it back inch by inch. Large teardrops condensed within the mist, then fell.
She seemed to be desperately trying to return to her human form.
But in the end, under the confinement of the demonic energy, she couldn’t even maintain her mist form. Many small objects fell out of it.
Human coins.
Human clothes.
Finally.
A long red cotton string fell out.
The red string fluttered in the wind, disappearing into the distance.
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