In the Abyss of Extreme Ice, bone-piercing cold emanated from the depths of the abyss. The higher one went, the heavier the cold air became, until even spoken words would freeze and shatter in the air.
Zanxing looked up overhead.
She had climbed continuously from the bottom of the abyss up here to meet Bujiang, but when she looked up, there was still only void, not a trace of an exit to be seen.
Like a snail crawling to this point, the mountain was ten thousand zhang high and difficult to climb.
After a while, she looked at Bujiang: “What if I continue climbing up like I did getting here?”
“The fox fur you’re wearing is a fine magical artifact,” Bujiang said, “but the cold of the Abyss of Extreme Ice isn’t just physical cold—it will wear down your will, freeze your spirit, and slowly turn you into a piece of ice stone here, never able to take another step forward.” Bujiang seemed to remember something, her gaze becoming somewhat distant. After a while, she continued: “This place wasn’t carved out by anyone. Even before the demon race was born, the Abyss of Extreme Ice already existed. It’s said that the first demon race member in the three realms was born from a piece of ice stone in this place. He leaped out from the Abyss of Extreme Ice and became the first demon race member to walk under sunlight in the three realms.”
“All these years, from your father’s birth to you standing here now, not a single person has been able to leave this place. Even Gui Yansheng, when he comes to talk with me, only dares to linger briefly near the entrance of the Abyss of Extreme Ice.”
This place was like an unsolvable swamp—those who stepped into it would only sink to the bottom, getting deeper and deeper.
Zanxing asked: “What about you?”
“I can’t get out either.” The Demon Empress’s voice was very calm: “When I fell into this place, part of my demonic essence was worn away. The demon-binding chains prevent me from moving. Although I can barely hold on for now, turning into ice stone is only a matter of time. When my name appears completely and clearly on the ice walls, I’ll become part of the ice abyss, growing together with it.”
Zanxing couldn’t help but shudder.
“The spirit beast in your arms is already on its last breath. If this continues, it will die.”
“That’s why I need to get out.”
Bujiang lowered her eyes: “Haven’t you noticed that your fox fur isn’t working as well as it was before?”
Zanxing said nothing. She had discovered this long ago. The fox fur that had been warm and cozy at first now lacked warmth. Although it could still block some cold air, if she continued upward, it probably wouldn’t even be able to block the cold air, and would be no different from ordinary clothing.
“Do you have a better idea?” she asked Bujiang.
“At first, I thought you had found this place yourself and perhaps had companions waiting outside.” Bujiang sighed: “Later, I thought that since you had obtained the Xiaoyuan Pearl, your cultivation shouldn’t be low, so perhaps things wouldn’t reach the worst point. I didn’t expect that you would have either companions or cultivation. Since I entered this place, you’re the first one as miserable as this. Now you’re just an ordinary person—going further up is just rushing to your death. You should find a nearby cave to stop in. I still have some demonic essence and can transfer some to you. We can hold on as long as possible.”
“That madman is slaughtering wildly outside and will surely provoke many people from the cultivation world. Heroes emerge in chaotic times—perhaps one day, a genius youth will appear in the demon realm. If you and I haven’t frozen to death by then, there might be a glimmer of hope.”
She spoke lightly, but Zanxing frowned as she listened. Setting aside whether the two of them could hold on until the day a “heroic youth” emerged, even if there was such a chosen one, they might not be willing to pull them out of this bottomless abyss. Wouldn’t it be better to be the new Demon King themselves?
“How can we place our hopes on others?” Zanxing retorted. “What if the genius youth never appears?”
“That won’t happen. The Heavenly Way operates according to its own rules.” Bujiang smiled, and this smile was very subtle, seeming to contain a trace of light mockery. “When the cultivation world prospers for too long, a genius will appear in the demon realm. When the demon realm prospers for too long, the cultivation world must rise. The four seasons rotate—it’s always been this way. You and I are insignificant, both part of the Heavenly Way’s cycle. Your father,” she sighed, “once tried to be that mayfly shaking the tree, wanting to change these rules, but unfortunately, he failed.”
“The cultivation world has been driving the demon race to extinction these years, so Gui Yansheng appeared. Gui Yansheng is slaughtering widely in the human world, but it’s just repeating your father’s mistakes from back then. No one can escape—everyone is like this, thinking they can control the Heavenly Way, but they’re all chess pieces of the Heavenly Way. If that madman kills everyone in the cultivation world one day, twenty years later, naturally, another human race, ‘Gui Yansheng’, will emerge and step into fate’s cycle.”
In the ice abyss, azure demon flowers quietly bloomed, their light also cold, like fireflies blooming in the pitch-black night, flickering on and off, lonely as morning stars.
The woman’s voice rang out, calm, gentle, hiding a trace of unwilling anger as she said: “If he failed, does that mean others must fail too?”
Bujiang was startled.
“Since the demon race is destined to produce a genius youth, can’t I become the person who changes the demon race’s fate?”
The ice and snow were silent. This place was always cold and desolate. Countless demon race members thrown here had struggled desperately to leave, leaving traces of their struggles on the ice walls. In the end, besides one complete, clear name after another, nothing remained.
Zanxing said, “If the first demon race member could leap out from the Abyss of Extreme Ice, there will be a second.”
“But that’s just a legend…”
“Turn it into reality, and it won’t be a legend anymore.”
Bujiang stared at her for a long while before finally asking softly: “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Aren’t I a demon race? Don’t I have a Demon King bloodline?” Zanxing’s eyes were bright, as if she had found new hope, and even her tone became firm: “Why can Gui Yansheng awaken Heavenly Demon bloodline and possess Demon King essence, but I can’t? Didn’t you say that back then, you sealed my demonic essence and sent me to the human world? Since I’m now no different from an ordinary person, can you remove the seal for me? If I have Demon King essence, it would be better than having no essence at all.”
Bujiang’s bright red dress swayed slightly in the ice and snow, like a crimson spring flower blooming in the ice and snow—gorgeous and eye-catching.
She looked at Zanxing, and as she looked, slowly began to smile: “I’m very happy that you can think this way. It makes me feel that although you didn’t inherit my and your father’s peerless beauty, you’re still not bad. However,” her tone shifted, “when I took you to the human world back then, I used the demon seal your father left behind to seal your demon veins. In this world, only Demon King blood can restrain the Demon King bloodline. Now, if you want to break the seal and reawaken your Demon King essence, either your father must be resurrected, or your cultivation must already surpass your father’s, so that your bloodline can suppress the seal and reawaken.”