Zanxing hesitated for a moment but still asked the question that had been on her mind: “Then my father…”
Bujiang turned around and gently flicked her sleeve. Her wide crimson sleeves bloomed like bright fireworks, and as she moved, the mountain forest before them changed. A small stream appeared before their eyes.
The water in this stream was red.
The stream water bubbled up from deep underground, flowing forward in a trickle, then splitting into countless thin streams during its rushing course, spreading and enveloping the entire Heishi City. Those bright red currents flowed over the forests, over the pitch-black soil, past the caves scattered throughout the mountains, nourishing all of Heishi City.
“This is the Demon Realm’s spiritual vein.” Bujiang said, “The Demon Realm’s spiritual vein supplies the entire Heishi City and the demon clan people.”
Zanxing had never seen red spiritual veins. Most spiritual veins in the cultivation world were golden, occasionally white. This vivid color didn’t seem terrifying – it was as fresh as the morning sun, festive and auspicious.
“Do you know why your father died back then?” Bujiang asked.
Zanxing said quietly: “Because he went astray while refining the Xiaoyuan Pearl, bringing disaster to the human world, and was jointly killed by several major sects of the cultivation world at the Ruins of Golden Gate.”
“Then, do you know why he wanted to refine the Xiaoyuan Pearl?”
Zanxing thought for a moment: “To become more powerful?”
For cultivators, whether demon clan or human clan, desiring stronger power was perfectly normal. As the lord of the Demon Realm, it wasn’t hard to understand that Gui Diao Tang would try to use the Xiaoyuan Pearl to break through to a higher level.
Bujiang smiled and didn’t answer Zanxing’s words. She turned around and looked at Heishi City beneath her feet: “More than twenty years ago, the Demon Realm’s spiritual veins began to be less abundant than before.”
“At first, the flow was just not as much as before. Later, you could feel the spiritual veins shrinking. Finally, the spiritual veins showed signs of withering.”
“You should have heard of sects whose spiritual veins dried up – in the end, the entire sect declined, and their names could no longer be found in the cultivation world.” She said, “The Demon Realm’s spiritual veins are the same. Once the spiritual veins dry up, all demon clan members’ demonic essence will gradually disappear. The entire Heishi City will become a dead city until the entire demon clan disappears from Duzhou.”
Zanxing frowned: “Why would spiritual veins dry up?”
Bujiang shook her head: “Who knows? Heaven’s way is fair, and the four seasons’ flourishing and withering have their predetermined number. The demon clan has prospered for many years and will always reach the point of decline. When Heishi City disappears and the demon clan disappears, after many years, another Heavenly Demon will emerge, repeating the cycle of fate.”
“Your father was someone who didn’t accept heaven’s way.”
“Legend says the strongest Demon Lord’s power can make spiritual veins regain vitality. The stronger the Demon Lord’s power, the more prosperous the spiritual veins. At that time, your father had already reached a bottleneck and hadn’t broken through for many years. Then, he accidentally obtained the Xiaoyuan Pearl.”
Zanxing was slightly stunned, already guessing part of the truth.
“The Xiaoyuan Pearl contains heaven and earth’s spiritual energy. Your father tried to refine the Xiaoyuan Pearl, using Heavenly Demon power to reawaken the spiritual veins. However…” Bujiang sighed: “You know the result. He failed.”
Not only did Gui Diao Tang fail to refine the Xiaoyuan Pearl, he also went astray, lost his mind, wreaked havoc in the human world, and was ultimately killed by the joint forces of the sects.
“After your father’s fall, Heishi City’s spiritual veins completely dried up. The entire demon clan’s demonic essence was gradually disappearing. These years, though I barely maintained Heishi City’s balance, I knew in my heart that if this continued, the demon clan’s final result would also be decline. Until two years ago, when Gui Yansheng appeared, the Demon Realm’s spiritual veins regained some vitality. I originally thought this meant the spiritual veins recognized Gui Yansheng, that he was the one who might save the demon clan. But I also felt that having a madman as the Demon Realm’s lord was rather hasty, until you appeared.”
“The day you walked out of the Extreme Ice Abyss, the Demon Realm’s spiritual veins began flowing again.”
“Zanxing,” Bujiang’s voice was calm: “You are the one who can save the demon clan.”
Zanxing opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything for a moment.
The Demon Empress’s gaze fell on Zanxing, as if seeing another person through her. After a long while, she said, “You and your father are alike.”
“You’re equally stubborn, equally naive, equally unwilling to give up until you hit the wall. Back then, he firmly believed he could refine the Xiaoyuan Pearl and save the entire demon clan, while you were certain you could walk out of the Extreme Ice Abyss and become the second genius youth.”
“He failed, but you succeeded.”
“So,” Bujiang’s gaze flashed with complexity: “I don’t know if you can change heaven’s way and once again change the demon clan’s destined fate.”
Zanxing was somewhat confused: “I don’t understand.”
Bujiang smiled, walked forward a few steps, bent down to fold the umbrella, placed it under a tree, then turned around and extended both hands toward Zanxing.
The Demon Empress called herself the most beautiful woman in the three realms, with every inch of her body perfect. Those hands were flawless white, like the creator’s finest masterpiece, but on her slender wrists hung a black bracelet on each arm.
These bracelets were very thick and looked extremely heavy. They had neither carvings nor embedded gems, hanging lonely on her wrists, looking particularly out of place.
Zanxing didn’t understand, but Bujiang lowered her eyes. The next moment, tremendous Yuanli suddenly erupted from her hands, rushing toward Zanxing with fierce momentum.
Zanxing instinctively circulated her demonic essence to block, looking toward Bujiang: “Mother?”
“Ding ding dong dong” sounds rang out. The two black bracelets in Bujiang’s hands had somehow transformed into two enormous black wheels, with jagged teeth all around, spinning in her hands. She raised her eyebrows, her voice betraying no emotion: “After so long, let me see the results of your closed-door cultivation.” Without waiting for Zanxing’s reaction, the two fiercely spinning black wheels rolled toward Zanxing.
These black wheels would crush a person to pieces if they hit. Zanxing’s heart tightened as she shouted: “Wuyou!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the frost flower on the azure ring on her fingertip suddenly burst with brilliant light, transforming into a green long staff that fell into Zanxing’s hand.
The long staff collided with the black wheels, creating a tremendous crash on Heishi Mountain. Countless sparks ignited. Zanxing immediately felt a flood-like force rush toward her chest through the staff tip. She was shaken by this Yuanli until her throat sweetened, and the meridians throughout her body nearly scattered. But this wasn’t the end – the black wheels grew larger and larger, their jagged teeth becoming blade points, surrounded by demonic energy as they rolled toward her with fierce momentum.
Zanxing planted the long staff firmly, and countless flower streams poured out, wrapping around the black wheels in front of her. The black wheels began to slow gradually until they couldn’t advance another inch. Bujiang clapped her hands together, and the two pitch-black giant wheels suddenly transformed back into bracelets. The bracelets multiplied into thousands upon thousands, each one spinning like a blade edge, stabbing toward Zanxing like an overwhelming tide.
“Bang bang bang bang bang—”
The Wuyou Staff danced like wind, blocking all the black bracelets rushing toward her. Zanxing shouted, and surging Yuanli flowed out through the staff tip. This Yuanli had been green before, but now the green was mixed with a black stream. Yuanli and demonic power intertwined, the slate-colored light flowed like meteors flying toward the night sky, fiercely striking down at two of the black bracelets—
“Clang—”
Two bracelets rolled down with a “spinning” sound, falling beside the green paper umbrella leaning against the locust tree, and stopped moving.
Zanxing panted, looking toward Bujiang.
Bujiang’s bright red robe fell to the ground, splattered with mud, making the gorgeous patterns embroidered on it blurry. But she didn’t care at all. She just walked to the side, bent down to pick up the two jade bracelets, and put them back on, then held up the oil paper umbrella and walked to Zanxing’s side, shielding her from the rain above.
“To break my Vajra Bracelets in such a short time – you’re even more formidable than I thought.”
Zanxing didn’t answer.
The Demon Empress truly lived up to her title. To be able to support Heishi City until now under the circumstances of Gui Diao Tang’s fall and the Demon Realm’s spiritual veins drying up was indeed not to be underestimated. She had defeated Bujiang, but it was not as easy as it appeared on the surface.
The azure Demon Lord seal was branded on her forehead, as if constantly reminding her of the fact that she was the Demon Lord’s daughter.
“What happened?” Zanxing asked.
Bujiang wouldn’t suddenly test her cultivation level, and speaking of which, tonight’s sudden desire to go for a walk must have deep meaning.
“Look,” Bujiang looked toward that bright red spiritual vein, “When you first arrived at Heishi City, the spiritual veins flowed rapidly with abundant spiritual energy. But in just two years, the water flow has already diminished considerably.”
Zanxing looked intently. She had never been to this place before, so naturally didn’t know of the changes here. After thinking, she asked: “Are the spiritual veins continuing to dry up?”
“Yes,” Bujiang’s face rarely showed any worry: “I originally thought the demon clan’s troubles were resolved. Now it seems this tribulation has only just begun.” Before Zanxing could speak, Bujiang looked at her again, her tone somewhat mysterious: “I have bad news and good news. Which do you want to hear first?”
“The bad news.” Always prepare for the worst first, and besides, the current situation was already as bad as it could get. Zanxing really couldn’t imagine how much worse things could get.
“My people sent back news that recently, Gui Yansheng reappeared in Duzhou, causing disaster for millennia. He’s not dead.”
Hearing this, Zanxing was somewhat surprised. During the two years she was in closed-door cultivation, Gui Yansheng had never appeared. It was precisely because of this that Heishi City was able to briefly welcome a period of calm. Everyone in the demon clan secretly prayed in their hearts that Gui Yansheng had died from qi deviation – after all, such things had happened before. Now it seemed this hope was dashed. Gui Yansheng’s reappearance meant that Heishi City’s peaceful days were probably coming to an end.
“What about the good news?” Zanxing asked Bujiang.
Bujiang smiled: “The good news is that Gui Yansheng just emerged from cultivation and immediately sought death everywhere, running wild and killing people in the sects. The cultivation world hates him to the bone and has already united a demon-extermination army that will soon go to Shuang’e Mountain to eliminate the demon.”
“So the cultivation world is temporarily sharing part of the risk for us, and we can rest easy for a while?” Zanxing asked: “For Heishi City, it’s indeed good news.”
Bujiang smiled and shook her head: “The good news I’m talking about isn’t this.”
Zanxing stared at her in confusion.
“Haven’t you always been very worried about that young martial uncle of yours?” Bujiang looked at her meaningfully and said calmly: “The leader of this demon-extermination army is that young martial uncle of yours.”