Chapter 119: Am I Very Ugly? Why Don't You Come to See Me?

Chapter 119: Am I So Ugly? Why Won't You Come See Me?

Shang Yanran's explanation was the most reasonable.

Even though the Blood Lord was forever trapped in the demon realm, sinking into heart demons and transforming into a great demon, he still retained a sliver of humanity, choosing to cut himself off from the world rather than bring calamity to all living beings.

Everyone present was deeply moved.

Their admiration for the Blood Lord reached a new level.

Even the Great Buddha could not achieve what the Blood Lord had.

"No!" The Goldfinch stared at the Gate of All Distinctions, trying to walk toward it, but she could not advance an inch. "I won't let Blood Bead sever his own heart meridian!"

She had once been a carefree goldfinch on Ninefold Mountain.

How could she ever grow accustomed to the partings of the mortal world?

And the one leaving was her childhood companion.

"Is there any way to save Blood Bead?" The Goldfinch turned her head to look at Shang Yanran, a pleading expression on her face. "Please, I beg you."

Shang Yanran seemed to recall something, a flicker of sorrow passing through her eyes. "Now that the Blood Lord has severed his heart meridian and the blood demon has dissipated... I know one method that might save him.

But... what is saved may be a blood demon."

Everyone present fell silent.

Bai Ze's expression was complicated, and he finally spoke: "If we save him and he becomes a fearsome blood demon, wouldn't that go against our master's wish?

Is there no other way?"

Shang Yanran said, "Our master has already severed his heart meridian. The blood demon we revive will not be a true fearsome blood demon, but an ordinary heart demon."

"Save him!" Little old man Nangong Big Dog said firmly.

"Save him!" Yu Dao Ren, usually taciturn, spoke.

"Master passed down his teachings to me and saved my life. Today, I will do something for him in return!"

Hearing these resolute words, a bitter smile appeared on Shang Yanran's face.

Would the master saved in this way, turned into a blood demon, still be the master?

Yet these people still chose to save him.

"This method is recorded in the Tablet of Fate. I thought I would never need it, but... today it has come to use." Shang Yanran took out the Tablet of Fate.

After obtaining the tablet, though it was too late to save their master, she had never given up on using it to rescue the Blood Lord.

Among its records was this: if the Blood Lord severs his heart meridian and cuts himself off from demons, there remains a slim chance of salvation.

"Within the Gate of All Distinctions, there is a gate called... the Gate of All Demons.

The Gate of All Demons and the Gate of All Distinctions do not exist in the same space.

Yet, in a certain sense, they are connected.

If someone enters it, they might see the Blood Lord.

If they call out and transmit true essence, they might awaken him."

This was the method of salvation recorded on the Tablet of Fate half a month ago.

Through the Gate of All Demons, awaken the Blood Lord who had severed his heart meridian, and transmit true essence.

"No problem," Nangong Big Dog said.

The Goldfinch also looked eagerly at the Gate of All Distinctions, recalling Blood Bead's words. Her gaze grew resolute. "Blood Bead..."

Shang Yanran continued, "But... stepping into the Gate of All Demons will bring the curse of all demons, enduring endless pain.

This pain may not compare to the agony of ten thousand demons tearing at one's flesh, but it is still extraordinary, beyond what ordinary people can bear.

Not only that, after the curse of all demons, the one who enters... may become hideously ugly, loathed by heaven and despised by all.

Every living being that sees them will feel disgust and wish to kill them!

Even the closest kin, the most intimate lovers, will feel disgust and wish to kill them!

Even chaotic heart demons will loathe such ugliness."

As Shang Yanran spoke, she glanced specifically at the Goldfinch.

The Goldfinch loved beauty most—everyone present knew this.

Entering the Gate of All Demons, one would emerge hideously ugly.

That ugliness was a matter of cosmic law, impossible to change.

"How do I enter the Gate of All Demons?" The Goldfinch seemed not to have heard Shang Yanran's words, asking instead.

Yu Dao Ren smiled. "Just a stinking mortal shell."

Nangong Big Dog gritted his teeth. "Not only do I have a lousy name, but now I'll be ugly too. Pity my handsome face."

Bai Ze also said, "I'll go too."

Of the fourteen people present, none except Shang Yanran hesitated; all were willing to enter the Gate of All Demons.

Shang Yanran said, "Husband, you cannot go. Your cultivation is second only to mine, and you must help me open the Gate of All Demons to send them in!"

Bai Ze's expression shifted several times before he finally said, "Very well."

The Goldfinch gazed at the Gate of All Distinctions, her eyes full of anticipation.

Blood Bead... after I become ugly, will you hate me too?

...

Time went back a quarter of an hour.

Inside the Gate of All Distinctions.

Qi Yuan sat cross-legged on the steps.

His body was almost completely demonized by heart demons.

Having refined the source of sin into a divine ability, his soul had also fully transformed into a heart demon.

At this moment, Qi Yuan retained only a sliver of clarity.

Yet he was not panicked at all.

Instead, he wore a puzzled expression, muttering to himself.

"What is my trump card?"

"Why did I choose to enter the Gate of All Distinctions?"

"Why did I refine the source of sin into a divine ability?"

"How strange—why can't I remember?"

His body was rapidly demonizing, yet Qi Yuan remained remarkably calm.

"Ah, I've been cultivating the *Qi Yuan Sutra* too much, and my memory has grown poor. At this critical moment, I've actually forgotten my trump card, the path I wanted to walk!"

Qi Yuan vaguely recalled that, at first, he had not intended to cultivate the divine ability of the Void Realm's Dominant Heart Demon Summoning.

As a result, as if struck by a thought, he began to practice.

"No way—my failure in the game stems from my poor memory?"

If that were the case, it would be utterly absurd.

Like a forgetful man preparing to cultivate immortality, yet forever unable to recall the cultivation formulas—possessing great talent, but unable to practice.

"No..."

Suddenly, Qi Yuan froze.

A glimmer of insight flashed through his mind.

"I remember what my path is!"

"No, I've forgotten again."

After an unknown span of time, a sharp light burst from Qi Yuan's eyes.

"I am enlightened!"

He did not recall, nor could he recall, but he was enlightened.

The greatest flaw of the *Qi Yuan Sutra* was that it induced mental confusion and poor memory.

Qi Yuan had always believed his mind was perfectly sound.

Yet his poor memory was an undeniable reality.

Forgetting... that was his path, his essence, his primal divine ability.

The pain that wounds me, unbearable—forget!

The tragedy that cuts me, unacceptable—forget!

Forget the pain, and the pain ceases to exist.

Forget that this is a real world, treat it as a game world—then... the knives the world throws will not feel so real.

All along, Qi Yuan had practiced forgetting.

Forgetting was escape, yet not escape.

Some things are best forgotten.

"In a single night's enlightenment, I grasp my Way—forgetting others, forgetting myself!"

This was Qi Yuan's primal divine ability.

The Great Forget Heart Sutra!

In that moment, Qi Yuan forgot everything.

He forgot that he had entered the Gate of Ten Thousand Realms.

He forgot that he had condensed the Karmic Source into a divine ability.

He forgot that he had devoured all his inner demons to become the Blood Demon.

[You have comprehended your origin. Great Forget ability +99999.]

His form, too, began to change in that instant.

As if, by forgetting, nothing had ever occurred in Qi Yuan's mind.

"Daoist has forgotten!"

"Ha ha ha!"

His body, once demonized, dissolved in that moment, as if time had rewound to before he entered this place.

The mummy's eyes showed a flicker of emotion: "What are you doing? How can you... become human again?

What divine ability is this? Time reversal? Impossible—how could such a primal divine ability appear in you?"

With the mummy's knowledge, he could only attribute what he saw to a spacetime ability.

But how could a mere beginner of the Fifth Realm comprehend such a primal divine ability?

Absolutely impossible?

"Time reversal?" Qi Yuan was surprised. "This is not time reversal."

"Then what is it!" the mummy demanded, enraged.

"I've also forgotten what divine ability this is," Qi Yuan murmured.

"You..." the mummy fumed.

"Ah... who are you?" Qi Yuan looked at the mummy on his back. "Is there a mummy here? No, it seems there isn't."

"No..." For the first time, fear appeared on the mummy's face.

Because of Qi Yuan's train of thought, he suddenly realized his own body was growing transparent, as if dissipating from this world.

He was a heart demon—he could not vanish, only merge with other heart demons.

But now, he was truly disappearing.

"What are you..." the mummy roared. "You have already condensed a primal divine ability—how can you condense a second one?"

He did not understand, utterly baffled.

The Buddhist Kingdom he hailed from was also a great world, teeming with powerful beings.

Even the supreme Buddha Son could not forge two primal divine abilities.

"What? I already have a primal divine ability? I don't remember that. This is my primal divine ability."

The prototype of the *Great Forget Heart Sutra* took shape in that moment.

"Bodhi originally has no tree,

The bright mirror also has no stand.

Originally there is not a single thing—

Where can dust alight?"

Qi Yuan seemed to ponder.

"Heart demons... do not exist!"

"I... have forgotten you!"

"No, you never existed!"

With Qi Yuan's thought, the mummy finally became completely transparent and vanished.

Within the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, the countless ferocious heart demons all showed expressions of terror. Their forms, too, gradually turned transparent, and at last disappeared.

In the vast Gate of Ten Thousand Realms, the demon domain stood empty, devoid of any heart demon.

Qi Yuan sat cross-legged on the steps.

"Forgetting... is the most fearsome thing in the world." A flicker of doubt and confusion passed through his eyes.

He sensed that something important was slowly fading away.

Heaven and earth were vast. Within the Gate of Ten Thousand Realms, upon the myriad steps, a man in a red robe sat there, frowning in thought.

Forgetting—forgetting others, and forgetting oneself.

This is the limit of forgetting.

His form, too, began to grow transparent.

As if he, too, would forget himself.

The heavenly tribulation, at this moment, arose as well.

But Qi Yuan had long since forgotten.

He forgot who he was.

He forgot where he came from.

He forgot where he was going.

He sat motionless within the Gate of All Distinctions.

He seemed to want to forget everyone, as if everyone would forget him.

He, too, would forget himself.

Suddenly, the unmoving blood-colored robe stirred: “Who am I?”

A flicker of color passed through his eyes, then vanished, and he became again the handsome man in the blood robe, sitting motionless on the steps.

Time slipped through the cracks of his fingers; he remained seated in the same spot, not knowing how many years had passed without waking.

The empty Gate of All Distinctions was silent, devoid of any color save for him.

As if this heaven and earth, too, would forget him.

Suddenly, a beam of light entered, and an urgent voice came: “Blood Bead! Blood Bead!”

The blood-colored robe still had its eyes closed, unmoving.

“Blood Bead, this young lady has come to see you in person, and you won’t even welcome me… cough, cough.”

Blood flowed, and on the girl’s face, terrifying patterns were spreading.

She stood within the empty Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, reaching out toward that blood-red figure.

“Blood Bead! Blood Bead!”

The girl walked forward; ahead lay an abyss.

An urgent voice came: “Goldfinch, don’t go forward! Senior Sister Yanran said this is the limit; go further, and you will suffer the pain of the Gate of All Distinctions!”

Goldfinch seemed not to hear; she struggled to approach that figure, trying to wake him.

She stepped in, and a bone-deep pain struck her; she smiled bitterly: “Blood Bead, is this the pain you endure? I feel it too.”

Goldfinch covered her face; on her cheek had appeared a character “demon” that spread like a snake.

She did not want Blood Bead to wake and see her like this.

She walked forward, one hand covering her face, and called out: “Blood Bead, you said you would find me at the end of time!”

“If you cannot, this young lady will come to find you herself!”

An empty world, an empty heart.

Within the heavenly tribulation, Qi Yuan in the Great Forgetfulness Sutra could see nothing, could hear nothing.

For a primal divine ability of this level could never be possessed by any cultivator.

The heavenly tribulation would “absorb” the cultivator, transforming “him” into the origin of this world, a rule of this world.

But… after stepping into Foundation Establishment, Qi Yuan’s ears could hear some inexplicable whispers.

This hearing even broke through the blockade of the tribulation.

Suddenly, the blood-colored robe opened its eyes.

“Blood Bead?”

“Who is that?”

“Who is being called?”

He looked over; his eyes seemed to pierce through the Gate of All Distinctions, and he saw a girl covered in wounds.

For no reason, his heart ached inexplicably.

[Goldfinch, your childhood sweetheart, you dote on her especially.]

“Childhood sweetheart?”

Qi Yuan’s consciousness grew hazy.

He looked at himself.

[Qi Yuan, you call yourself the origin of all things.

Now, you are undergoing the heavenly tribulation.

Your primal divine ability is too powerful; Heaven does not wish you to exist in this world.]

“I am Qi Yuan?”

Qi Yuan’s mind cleared in an instant.

The heavenly tribulation, too, dissipated at that moment.

The primal divine ability, the Great Forgetfulness Sutra, was complete!

And at this moment, a special symbol also condensed between heaven and earth; Qi Yuan watched as it drifted to the Gate of All Distinctions and was engraved upon the door.

Qi Yuan looked at the Gate of All Distinctions; the door was like a paper for collecting stamps, densely covered with strange symbols.

Now, one more symbol had been added, left by Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan could not be bothered to look at the symbols on the Gate of All Distinctions; his gaze turned to the bottomless abyss, and through it, he saw that ethereal figure.

He could not make out her face, only a rough outline, but he knew who it was.

“The Great Forgetfulness Sutra is forgetting.”

“Goldfinch is not forgetting.”

“Not wanting to forget is not forgetting.”

“Forgetting and not forgetting.”

“Forget this world, but not Goldfinch.”

Qi Yuan thought to himself.

“The insight is over… time to leave?”

Qi Yuan had a premonition that the Gate of All Distinctions would soon vanish, and he would return to the present world.

This insight into the origin had brought him much.

Two primal divine abilities.

The first: Void Realm Master’s Heart Demon Invocation.

Once the ability is unleashed, heart demons arise.

The second one, the Great Forgetfulness Heart Sutra.

Forgetfulness is the Way.

Having succeeded in comprehending the Origin, he should, as before, depart from this realm.

But this time, perhaps it is his final comprehension of the Origin.

That is to say, he can no longer return to the past, nor see the Golden Canary again, nor meet those who awakened him.

He does not know what price those people paid.

But he knows it must be unbearable.

“Golden Canary…”

“Between you and me… lie tens of thousands of years.”

“When we meet again… I fear it will be dust returning to dust, ashes to ashes?”

Qi Yuan naturally did not wish for this.

Time, fate… these would all be conquered by him in the end!

At that moment, a pitch-black dot suddenly appeared in Qi Yuan’s hand.

This was the most precious ability he had comprehended upon entering the Gate of Myriad Forms.

The Power of Reincarnation!

Legend has it that only Yin Spirits can enter reincarnation.

Some Purple Mansions also have a certain chance of entering the cycle.

“You awakened me, so I bestow upon you the Power of Reincarnation!”

“May we meet again in the next cycle!”

……

On Seven-Colored Peak, Jiang Lingsu, who had been cultivating, opened her eyes.

“I seem to have forgotten something just now.”

She pressed her hand to her chest, a flicker of confusion passing through her eyes.

At that moment, a sudden clap of thunder came from the summit of Seven-Colored Peak, seemingly heading straight for it.

The thunder was unremarkable, like the most ordinary bolt of lightning.

Above the White Jade Palace on the peak, a cold white light shot into the sky, collided with the thunder, and then vanished.

A strange expression appeared in Jiang Lingsu’s eyes: “That thunder… was it heavenly thunder?

Just now, was it Master who acted?

What a pity, it was too fast—I couldn’t discern Master’s strength at all.”

Her gaze turned to the wooden hut not far away.

The wooden hut was silent, without a sound.

“Could the senior brother be playing games again?”

“If he stays here playing for decades, the Divine Light Sect might never find him!” Jiang Lingsu did not dwell on it and resumed her cultivation.

……

At the Ends of the Earth.

Several hundred years had passed since the last appearance of the Gate of Myriad Forms.

Now the Ends of the Earth lay empty.

Few people ever came here.

The Gate of Myriad Forms had long vanished, and on the seaside boulder, a wooden hut had appeared.

Facing the sea, yet without spring blossoms.

The ancient mirror on the stand had long shattered into pieces, the broken shards reflecting a flawless face.

The left side of the face was veiled by a layer of black gauze.

The girl’s hands trembled, unable to hold the eyebrow pencil steady; even the simplest makeup she could not apply well.

She looked at herself in the mirror, as if earnestly adorning herself.

Suddenly, a stone smashed through the window and fell into the room.

A seagull flew away in disdain.

The pencil dropped from the girl’s hand, and her voice carried a sob: “I’m so stupid, I can’t even put on makeup… so ugly!”

She covered her left cheek, unwilling to look at her own face.

After who knows how long, she finally finished her makeup.

She gazed at the place where the Gate of Myriad Forms had disappeared, her voice tinged with grievance: “Am I so ugly? Why won’t you come see me?”

ps: Sometimes for the sake of the plot, there might be a little bit of angst earlier—rest assured, I’ll keep it within bounds. Later on, it’s pure satisfaction; the angst won’t last forever!

Thanks to ←God Without Tears for another thousand rewards; thanks to Touching Rural Love and reader 202103017402701622 for their rewards!

(Chapter End)