As the last sea breeze faded behind her, Nan Yan felt as if she had stepped into a field of stars. With no way forward or back, she found herself in the Sumeru Infinite State, inside the body of the ancestral spirit of the demon race, Sumeru Turtle. Surrounding her were stars of various sizes, some covered in flowers and grass, others sprawling with deserts. Countless meteors floated slowly through the air.
“My spiritual power…” If the timing weren’t so critical, Nan Yan would have appreciated this never-before-seen realm. She could sense the overwhelming demonic aura, completely blocking the flow of natural spiritual energy from the outside world. Fortunately, her demon bloodline allowed her to absorb these spirit-rich demonic energies for a short while.
Suddenly, a faint tremor came from afar, as if a wandering star had exploded in some distant place.
Simultaneously, she felt a warmth at the nape of her neck. Reaching back, she pulled out a strand of fox fur. The fur instantly flew up, forming a line of small characters before self-immolating.
— He’s coming. Be careful.
Had she still been outside, she would likely have perished by now. Only by hiding here did she have a glimmer of hope for survival.
Nan Yan lit a small Buddhist flame on a nearby floating meteor, then slowly flew towards an area with slightly denser demonic energy. After flying about a hundred feet, she felt a pulling force around her. In the next moment, she noticed the starry sky’s distribution had changed.
Closing her eyes to sense her surroundings, she realized the place where she had left her Buddhist flame mark was now a hundred miles away.
In the Sumeru Infinite State, space was chaotic. She might be transported to the Dao Body Statue’s presence in the next moment, or she might not encounter it for hundreds of years.
Even so, Nan Yan didn’t underestimate the Dao Body Statue. After all, Shao Cang had told her that the Six Harmonies Dao Heart could see through all techniques in the world. In the same maze, the opponent would certainly find the pattern before her.
Taking a deep breath, Nan Yan relied on her sole advantage as a royal bloodline of the demon race, moving slowly along the subtle changes in the concentration of demonic energy in the air.
Sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating, occasionally stepping into spaces barren of demonic energy and having to turn back to reassess her direction, she concentrated on searching in all directions for quite some time, consuming a significant amount of mental energy.
Just as about a cup of tea’s worth of time had passed, as she entered a space with relatively dense demonic energy, Nan Yan looked up to see a part of the starry sky explode almost a thousand miles away.
Her reaction was swift. She flashed back to the previous space just before the other’s divine sense swept over. But immediately, that spatial transfer point rippled again.
— No way, so fast?!
If the first time could be called a coincidence, this time the other party was certainly purposefully confirming her location.
Nan Yan’s scalp tingled. She quickly leaped through other spatial transfer points, and to be safe, she directly cut five or six spatial rifts around her. Even if the pursuer came through, they wouldn’t be able to immediately determine which space she had gone to.
Her caution proved effective. After a moment of fleeing, that deadly aura gradually faded.
Half an hour later, Nan Yan landed with a grim expression on a star completely covered by pale blue seawater. Feeling temporarily safe, she calmed down and suddenly noticed something faintly glowing in her hand.
“…The Reverse Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror?”
Nan Yan held her hand before her face and indeed saw some sort of mystical text flowing on the pattern of the Reverse Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror.
Shao Cang had once said that the Reverse Cycle of the Reincarnation Mirror had always protected her from being located by Ying Ze Wei’s divination techniques. If so, how could this Dao Body Statue find her when even Ying Ze Wei’s true self couldn’t?
Before she could figure it out, a terrifying ripple came from the nearby spatial transfer point.
— Will this ever end?
Nan Yan thought that if she kept running, her energy would be wasted in vain. She might as well take advantage of the suppressed spiritual power of cultivators and make a last stand with a chance of victory. But just as she prepared to face the battle, the pale blue seawater around her suddenly surged up without warning, as if alive, engulfing her in the depths.
This?
A shadowy figure with a human upper body and fishtail flashed before her eyes. Though very faint, it gently embraced her, hiding her in the deep sea.
This is…
Nan Yan stared at this ethereal mermaid shadow, nearly blurting out “Aunt.” However, the terrifyingly powerful spiritual energy from above had already arrived, with divine sense sweeping across this starry space, yet unable to discover her location.
Nan Yan suddenly understood. The Sumeru Infinite State within Sumeru Turtle’s body was also known as the graveyard of various demon races. Back when the demon kingdom was sealed within the great demon-sealing array, a wisp of soul consciousness from each demon was gathered in the Sumeru Infinite State at birth, and after death, they would return to the Sumeru Infinite State following this soul wisp.
Those stars of various sizes were the soul-returning places of different races. This blue sea star happened to belong to the Silver Merfolk, who could conceal all worldly auras. That’s why the Dao Body Statue couldn’t find her.
The Dao Body Statue was in this space, seemingly certain that Nan Yan was there. After a fruitless search, it directly swept away a patch of meteor-filled starry sky.
Nan Yan didn’t want him to destroy the Silver Merfolk’s graveyard, dispersing her aunt’s soul wisp. After pondering for a moment, she had a flash of inspiration and willed the Reverse Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror to stop protecting her. Sure enough, the moment she withdrew her cover, the Dao Body Statue’s movements suddenly halted.
“Tch.” A slightly disgruntled emotion turned into a cold laugh as the Dao Body Statue muttered to itself, “Fine, the time is about right anyway.”
With that, it stepped into a spatial transfer point and left.
As expected, no matter how precious the Reverse Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror was, it was still just an inanimate object. In the outside world, with its myriad of karmic connections, it was like trying to find a pinhole in a piece of colorful silk – Ying Ze Wei naturally couldn’t confirm her location.
But in this Sumeru Infinite State, almost devoid of life, the law of karma was singular. The presence or absence of life in space was clear at a glance like a hole suddenly appearing in a blank sheet of paper. Nan Yan’s existence became obvious.
From what had just happened, it seemed this Dao Body Statue’s divination skills were inferior to the true self’s, unable to precisely divine Nan Yan’s location. But it reversed its approach, knowing that places it couldn’t divine might be where Nan Yan was hiding, making the pursuit twice as effective.
As Nan Yan felt relief, she also couldn’t help but fear what kind of monstrous mind this was. Due to the lack of spiritual energy at the sea bottom, the mermaid who had been virtually embracing her also seemed to sense the danger passing. Just as it was about to bring her back to the surface, Nan Yan suddenly stopped and then turned back to dive into the seabed.
Subsequently, an extremely terrifying divine sense swept over Nan Yan’s location, meticulously checking every detail, forcing Nan Yan to disperse all her spiritual energy to avoid attracting attention.
“Did she escape?”
The space was unstable. To prevent Nan Yan from being swept away by spatial fracture storms, it didn’t destroy any more stars but left after checking this area.
Long after, Nan Yan surfaced, staring expressionlessly at the direction the Dao Body Statue had left, thinking that when she became powerful enough, she’d hang this thing up and force-feed it her brother’s epic poems twelve hours a day.
Ensuring it wouldn’t return, she turned to look at her aunt, whom she had never met.
Although Jiao Niang was just a wisp of soul shadow, she looked much more beautiful and full-figured than in Nan Yan’s impression. Her soft long hair clung to her shoulders and neck, her slightly bowed head giving her a somewhat bewildered appearance.
Nan Yan’s heart ached. She said, “Jiao… or should I call you Aunt? Wait a moment. Once I take Sumeru Turtle’s life core, I’ll release your soul wisp from here. Uncle is waiting for you. Will you come back with me?”
Jiao Niang didn’t speak, only looking at her with eyes full of sorrow.
“I’m being foolish. You can’t speak.”
In life, Jiao Niang had been an incomplete demon, still between a beast and a true demon. Nan Yan sighed softly, cutting open her wrist and forcing out a trace of the royal bloodline of the Chongming Bird, infusing it into Jiao Niang’s soul shadow.
Nan Yan watched as Jiao Niang’s soul shadow instantly became more substantial, her expression no longer as bewildered as before. Nan Yan’s face showed slight relief.
“I’ve found my father. He has a technique to gather and solidify souls. When we go home—”
“He’s gone.”
Tears turned into pearls, falling into the deep sea. Jiao Niang’s expression stunned Nan Yan. She wanted to ask something, but the royal blood she had injected into Jiao Niang’s soul shadow simultaneously fed back recent events to her mind.
— With my blood, my life, and the Red Emperor’s descendant as a sacrifice, I seal the Red Emperor’s Demon Heart for ten days.
— I acknowledge my sins and no longer cling to this world. Living until now was worthwhile if it meant Ah Yan could live one more day.
— Ying Ze Wei, all evil paths in this world will end. I’ll wait for you on the road to the underworld.
No wonder the Dragon Lord was so anxious, no wonder Uncle wanted to seal this sea area, no wonder…
It was all gone. Everything was gone.
Mother was gone, Uncle was gone, Father was in a bloody battle with his enemy, and she could only run.
“I’m sorry, I came too late…”
She tightly covered her trembling face, struggling to hold back the urge to wail. After a long time, she lowered her hands, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes.
Jiao Niang seemed to want to say something. She pointed in a direction, and immediately a small fish made of seawater flew to Nan Yan’s face as if showing the way.
After this, Jiao Niang seemed to have exhausted all her soul power, her form fading once again.
“No, no… don’t go. Please don’t all leave me behind.”
Just as Nan Yan was about to completely break down, two golden seeds flew out of her bosom. A pair of ethereal lotus flowers flickered around the seeds, then absorbed Jiao Niang’s soul shadow into them.
Nan Yan stared blankly at the two seeds, her collapsing mental state finally finding something like a lifeline.
“So these are the seeds of the Nirvana Twin Lotus. Phoenix Lord… thank you.”
Legend had it that people who knew and loved each other could transform into a pair of conjoined lotuses. Though not from the same source, they could intertwine, blooming and withering together.
She carefully cradled the two seeds, preciously storing them in her bosom. Closing her eyes, she let the pain gradually sink into the soil of her heart. When she opened her eyes again, her rage could no longer be contained.
“The time Uncle bought with his life, I won’t waste a single moment.”
…
In the deepest part of the Sumeru Infinite State, the Dao Body Statue passed through a boundless sea formed of demonic energy, casually shattering the guardian spirits protecting Sumeru Turtle’s core realm one by one. Only then did he leisurely look up at the core of the protected area.
Sumeru Turtle’s life core was a turtle shell, hidden in a ball of purple light. A beast’s eye grotesquely grew in the center of the shell, glaring venomously at the Dao Body Statue.
“I’ve already rammed into Yin Zhou as you requested. Why won’t you let me go?”
The Dao Body Statue stood with his hands behind his back, saying, “We both understand, so there’s no need for many words. There’s nothing to hide about your desire to devour me. Many mortals have such thoughts, but in the end, they’re just mortal delusions.”
Sumeru Turtle raged, “You dare compare me to mortals?!”
“The demon race is too weak,” the Dao Body Statue said, unconcerned about angering the other. “All your newborn offspring only grow to reach or catch up to their ancestors’ achievements. Your bloodline’s origin is that of beasts, and no matter how much you evolve, you’re still beasts.”
Although furious, Sumeru Turtle, as the ancestral spirit of the demon race, didn’t intend to conflict with him. “You’re not here just to mock other races, are you?”
“I’m just passing time. Continue sinking Yin Zhou. The person I’m waiting for will eventually come here.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because she’s a good person.” This Dao Body Statue’s personality wasn’t like Ying Ze Wei’s, more resembling Ji Yang’s, with a hint of irritating mockery in his smiling words. “Good people are the most wonderful things in the world. Loyalty, righteousness, kindness—the more good people around, the more seats evil people can occupy. This world becomes very simple then.”
Sumeru Turtle fell silent. The Dao Body Statue looked up at the turtle shell again, saying, “I remember if Sumeru Turtle’s life core is in turtle shell form, it must be born of heaven and earth’s creation, able to divine a realm’s thousand-year calamity. The Reverse Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror in Dao Sheng Tian can do this too, but it’s temperamental and never responds to others.”
Sumeru Turtle coldly replied, “Why divine the thousand-year calamity? In today’s fallen world, with ghosts rampant, isn’t the so-called thousand-year calamity manifesting in you?”
“But I still want to confirm if I am the fated calamity.”
Sumeru Turtle’s life core suddenly retreated, saying, “Don’t go too far! Divining once cost me five hundred years of lifespan. If you forcibly take it, even if I have to refine the Sumeru Infinite State with my own body, I’ll destroy you!”
But the Dao Body Statue’s intent didn’t stop. He raised his hand, and the Yin-Yang fish circling above his head flew directly toward the turtle shell.
“Good allies naturally choose to submit to the strong, while allies who favor their kind need a lesson.”
The turtle shell, panicked, instantly retreated, but the Yin-Yang fish followed like a shadow, directly locking onto the shell. After just a few breaths, the turtle shell emitted a piercing scream. Its turtle patterns projected strands of light in mid-air, as if forming something.
The Dao Body Statue stared intently at the light, muttering, “Why…”
Just as the turtle shell was crying out in distress, a phoenix cry rang out from afar. Three blood-colored Buddhist mantra chains swept away the churning sea of demonic energy, carrying immense anger as they swept toward the Dao Body Statue.
The latter seemed to have expected this, raising his hand to catch the blood-colored Buddhist mantra.
“Do you know who you’re challenging head-on?”
As soon as he spoke, the Dao Body Statue was about to disperse the Buddhist mantra chains, but they instantly multiplied from one to ten, ten to a hundred, immediately binding him tightly. Then, with a violent jerk, the bound Dao Body Statue was swung up, smashing through three meteor stars before finally crashing into the core of a star.
Nan Yan’s figure emerged from the demon sea, her gaze icy. “Just now, you took another of my loved ones.”
From the smoke-filled crater, the Dao Body Statue’s voice drifted out.
“It wasn’t I who took him, but this world.”
“Then remember later, it’s me who’s sending you away from this world.”
A low laugh came from the crater. Nan Yan’s heart tightened slightly. She flashed away from her spot, and a long blade sliced down where she had been. Behind her, a strange scene of intertwining black and white spread across the heavens and earth.
“Confucian Body Image, Demon Body Image.”
Ying Ze Wei’s three essence body images appeared before her again. This time, she had no helpers.
“I’m looking forward to the moment when the Buddha Bone Zen Heart joins us,” the Dao Body Statue said, seemingly certain of victory. Just as the three essence body images moved, a thunderous noise erupted behind them. The Confucian and Demon images, which had nearly reached Nan Yan’s surroundings, were instantly dispersed by an unknown force.
Nan Yan now had her hands clasped together, a round mirror slowly expanding behind her. Half yin, half yang, it divided the scenery to Nan Yan’s left and right.
One side was like a pure land, the other like a realm of asura ghosts.
“Reverse Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror…” All attacks falling on her were dispersed by the mirror’s karmic force. The Dao Body Statue’s expression changed, and he suddenly turned back.
The turtle shell seemed to resonate with the Reverse Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror. The light projected above it coalesced into a scene of corpse mountains and blood seas. A person stood on a desolate plain, mountains and rivers overturned, the four seas dried up, the entire world devoid of life.
… This was a world where only wandering souls remained a future world.
The source of all this destruction was not Ying Ze Wei.
In that apocalyptic scene, the person standing on the wasteland seemed like a madman. With a wave of his hand, mountains crumbled and rivers ceased to flow. He seemed to be searching for something, tearing apart and rummaging through everything in sight, even the sky above.
Nan Yan opened her eyes, her gaze piercing through the Dao Body Statue, meeting a pair of eyes full of desolation and longing as he turned around.
“You see, hell is empty. Can you… not become a Buddha?” he asked.