Fresh blood slowly flowed from within the Wujiang Fairy’s left eye, as if shedding a line of bloody tears. Her previously near-frenzied tone suddenly became low and icy cold. “The Eighth Dragon Son was blind—I don’t blame him. I’m just very disappointed in him. He’s not worthy of my affection.”

She had originally been so proud and talented, with gorgeous appearance and formidable cultivation, countless admirers at her feet. It was just that string of pearls that fell twenty thousand years ago that shattered all her past to pieces. Her beauty and strength were nothing—as long as the upper realm favored someone, even her sister who was so weak she couldn’t maintain human form for long could leap over the dragon gate and become a deity.

But even so, that wasn’t much. Among all the myriad forms of beings in the world, being a demon had its own advantages. After her sister was reborn as the River God’s daughter, she was still just as weak as before, often still needing her to bring the pearl string to help. What difference was there from before?

But ah, the Eighth Dragon Son… the Eighth Dragon Son…

He chose her sister. Even that wasn’t much—it was just one more time her heart turned cold. Everything she yearned for, everything she hoped for, which she couldn’t obtain even when fighting desperately for it—that sister who was inferior to her in every way obtained easily.

She often remembered her childhood, when her mother urged them to cultivate: You must become both formidable and beautiful.

She asked why. Her mother said: Only then will you not be bullied. Only then can you obtain more.

This was a monstrous lie. She had been deceived for so many years. Because of her several crying fits, the River God’s residence no longer permitted her entry. On the day of the grand wedding, she huddled in the cold river sand and heard the music of strings and bamboo from that virtual world. She thought about many things, finally thinking until there wasn’t even a sound left in her heart, turning into complete deathly silence.

“He’s not worthy of me.” The Wujiang Fairy slowly repeated. “And this position of River God—I don’t care for it either!”

Baize Dijun held the pearl string in his palm, lowered his lashes to look at it once more, and said calmly, “If that’s the case, why did you place the remains of the Eighth Dragon Son and your sister together within the pearl string, nurturing them with divine power? This seat’s pearl string originally had only thirty-three pearls.”

She hatefully tried to rise, but her spine was stuck by the jade hairpins and she couldn’t move. Her whole body struggled chaotically before she collapsed back down dejectedly.

“Return the pearl string to me!” she roared hatefully.

Baize Dijun said, “You’re too obsessed. Just because you’re more beautiful and stronger than your sister, the Eighth Dragon Son should like you? The position of River God should be given to you? That such logic exists in the world?”

“Old man Baize, you’re taking me too lightly!” Her gaze was sinister. “Twenty thousand years ago I asked you, and today I still want to ask—how does my talent compare to my sister’s?”

Baize Dijun contemplated for a long while before saying calmly, “Your talent is indeed superior.”

“Then why?!” Her right eye was blood-red, almost dripping blood as well.

Baize Dijun said slowly, “In this world, there are too many ‘whys’ without answers. Why are you a catfish demon and not a carp demon? Why is this seat Baize Dijun and not Zhongshan Dijun? The myriad divine positions are naturally held by the capable. Your sister perished at your hands at ten thousand years old. If she had lived, how do you know she couldn’t have performed well as River God? You killed the River God’s entire family, caused the Wujiang River to flood, drowning over a thousand mortals—how do you answer their ‘whys’?”

The catfish demon laughed coldly several times. “Those mortals like ants—let them serve as my burial companions! Just as you treat us like ants!”

Baize Dijun said coldly, “Since you say this seat views you as an ant, have you ever seen heaven respond to an ant? It seems this seat shouldn’t have responded and should have simply crushed you to death.”

He extended two fingers, making the gesture of pinching an insect to death. The Wujiang Fairy screamed miserably and struggled chaotically again.

His expression indifferent, he continued, “Even with superior talent, cultivating to your current ability in only twenty thousand years is still too abnormal. In this seat’s view, you’ve likely fallen to the demonic path. The grave crimes you’ve committed number three: first, murdering celestial gods; second, usurping a divine position; third, absorbing demonic malevolent energy to greatly increase your cultivation. As for the rest of your lesser crimes, let the gods of the Justice Ministry compile them.”

Leize Shenjun instructed his subordinates to escort the Wujiang Fairy to the South Heaven Gate, while hesitantly saying, “Baize Dijun, has she truly fallen to the demonic path?”

The demon clans had their own cultivation methods. However, with her kind of meteoric rise in cultivation, there was probably only one explanation—falling to the demonic path. It had been many years since Gonggong Dajun crashed into the Heavenly Pillar. Demon clans rarely appeared in the lower realm anymore. No one knew where this catfish demon could have absorbed demonic malevolent energy.

Baize Dijun pondered for a moment. “Confine her in the sixteenth level of the heavenly prison and have the gods of the Justice Ministry interrogate her. This matter is suspicious—don’t let it spread for now.”

Leize Shenjun’s expression was solemn. He bowed, about to take his leave, when he heard the Wujiang Fairy laugh lowly twice and speak faintly, “You want to torture me and pry words from me? Don’t even think about it!”

Her mouth suddenly opened, and a pulsing crimson demon clan inner core was spit out, suspended in mid-air and spinning continuously. She bit down on the inner core with her teeth and viciously crushed it in one bite. In an instant, a hurricane swept wildly. The shattered demonic power surged forth like an invisible ocean tide, billowing the long robes of the gods.

Baize Dijun’s face was grave as water. He raised both hands and released an invisible barrier, blocking all the fluctuations from the shattered inner core outside.

The Wujiang Fairy’s body gradually shrank into a small ball of light. She seemed to laugh and sigh. “Baize Dijun, you were right. In this world, there are too many ‘whys’ without answers. Dying here today is my destined fate—there’s nothing to be done about it! That group of mediocre people in the upper realm merely had good fortune to be born into divine fetuses and became celestial gods, then could have wind when they wanted wind and rain when they wanted rain. Just like now—you’re standing while I must die. It’s not that I’m inferior to you—it’s just that the Heavenly Way is too unfair! What a pity, in the end I never got to taste the flavor of Zhuyin Clan flesh and blood…”

She was still thinking about eating the Zhuyin Clan. Xuan Yi drew her injured right leg back a bit. After this incident, she decided she would never descend to the lower realm again until her scales fully grew back—no matter what anyone said!

Zhi Xi said softly from behind, “She… she’s so pitiful…”

Gu Ting also sighed endlessly. “Perhaps what she said has some truth to it. We mediocre ones are truly unworthy of being the divine race.”

Shao Yi said gently, “Why would I feel I’m mediocre and accomplishing nothing? She’s merely a catfish demon whose love turned to hate. With such foolish obsession, how could she serve as a diligent celestial god governing the rules of heaven and earth? Senior Brother Gu Ting and Senior Sister Zhi Xi need not belittle yourselves.”

Gu Ting glanced at him and remained silent. Since the incident at the South Garden, he and Shao Yi had never spoken another word to each other.

Zhi Xi frowned. “Those words are too harsh. She’s already dead—why say such things?”

Shao Yi smiled faintly, not arguing with her. He merely turned back to gently pinch Xuan Yi’s cheek with a trace of reproach. “Little loach, next time don’t speak such vicious curses, or I’ll really get angry.”

Xuan Yi said curiously, “Oh? You mean never encountering another goddess for the rest of your life…”

Before she could finish, Shao Yi angrily pinched her again. “Shut up! That mouth of yours is truly wicked!”

He looked back at Baize Dijun. The Dijun was bending down to pick up the Wujiang Fairy’s corpse. With her inner core shattered and demonic power dissipated, her body after death was merely a gray catfish about a foot long.

“I’m leaving first.” Shao Yi patted Xuan Yi’s head. “Little loach, I saved you once today. Don’t forget to repay the favor in the future.”

Without waiting for her response, his long sleeves rose like a pair of wings. He leaped down from the lion’s back and in the blink of an eye had flown far away.