Chapter 128: Ten Thousand Years at a Glance, the Great Demon's Samsara

Chapter 128: A Glimpse Across Eons, the Cycle of the Great Demon

Within the ancient mirror.

A man in a blood-red robe, wielding a blood-colored longsword, walked through the vast desert.

His blood-red robe fluttered noisily in the wind.

His solitary figure, seen from afar, resembled a smear of blood-red sunset.

A wounded girl, clutching her bleeding wound, chased after that blood-red figure without hesitation.

Everyone present was somewhat moved.

"To have such a cruel, heartless sword strike land on you, and still pursue him for a thousand miles—Palace Master of the Heart of Heaven Palace, you are truly... infatuated," Ling Yayi sighed.

Ning Tao's expression remained unchanged, her eyes fixed on the mirror: "She is she, and I am I."

She naturally refused to accept that the girl in the ancient mirror was her own reality.

The scene shifted again.

A girl with a face like powdered jade and willow-leaf brows once more found that man in the blood-red robe. The girl stared at him blankly and murmured softly, "Blood beads..."

It seemed she wanted to say something, but she could never get the words out, only softly calling his name.

The man in the blood-red robe looked up, his gaze cold and devoid of any emotion. Before his eyes, there was no girl at all.

What he saw was only air, a blurry, illusory figure with an indistinct face.

"All is illusion, all is oblivion."

He drew his sword again, and a blood-red blade shadow flashed.

This time, his sword seemed more forceful; the girl was directly cut in half at the waist.

The girl's face bore an expression of disbelief, tears already tracing down her eyes: "Blood beads..."

But she could say nothing else, only softly calling his name.

Seeing this scene, the crowd felt a mix of emotions, and anger arose in their hearts toward that blood-red-robed figure.

"This man is far too heartless!"

"Devoid of all feeling and righteousness, he deserves to be called a demon."

"I don't know what happened either; let's keep watching."

Even the eyes of the White Emperor's avatar flickered with a trace of melancholy.

Was this the suffering endured within the Ten Thousand Demon Gate?

The scene continued. The figure in the blood-red robe wandered aimlessly through this mortal world.

It seemed that without the girl's bond, he walked faster and killed more ruthlessly.

He encountered a town, drew his sword, and slaughtered.

He came upon a city, drew his sword, and massacred.

Every living creature that entered his sight—kill, kill, kill.

The onlookers were horrified: "This is a god of slaughter!"

"He's fallen into demonhood!"

"Palace Master of the Heart of Heaven Palace, how could you love such a great demon?"

Ning Tao watched coldly, biting her lip, saying nothing.

The blood-red figure was like the mightiest demon in the world, slaughtering every enemy that came into view.

Snow and wind raged, gales howled.

On the city wall, a general in heavy armor led an army of ten thousand out of the city to face that blood-red figure.

Ten thousand troops marched to their deaths with valor.

The battle lasted seven days and seven nights.

The entire nation's army gathered here.

That blood-red figure, like the Grim Reaper, ceaselessly reaped the lives of the mortal world.

Finally, one night, the man in the blood-red robe was exhausted. He gripped his broken sword tightly, a look of confusion in his eyes: "Am I... so weak?"

The blood-red robe could not understand why he was so weak.

Clearly, he remembered once slaughtering three thousand cultivators of the same rank without changing his expression.

Why could such an army bring him down?

The blood-red figure was captured, heavy chains locked onto him.

His entire body was wrapped in layer after layer of iron chains.

The people of the entire capital came out, spreading the news. They looked at the blood-red figure in the prison cart, dancing and laughing.

Cursing and reviling him.

Rotten eggs, stones, and spoiled cabbages were thrown at the blood-red figure.

The Grand General of the Realm had captured the Blood Demon. The Blood Demon was paraded for seven days, then executed by fire at the Meridian Gate.

For seven days, the capital was bustling with excitement.

All the gloom was vented upon that figure in the blood-red robe.

After seven days passed, the blood-red robe was bound to an iron pillar.

Below was a high pile of firewood.

A woman cursed him loudly: "Demon, burn him, burn him!"

"Such a demon deserves to die, to fall into eternal hell, never to reincarnate!"

The insults reached his ears. The figure in the blood-red robe looked confused: "Am I... a demon?"

He felt he had forgotten something.

A blazing fire was lit, its smoke stinging his eyes.

A somewhat familiar voice came: "Blood beads..."

A petite figure flew through the crowd below and tightly embraced the man bound to the chains. She struggled to break the chains, but it was futile.

"Blood beads..." The girl was frantic. As the fire spread, she clung tightly to the blood-red robe, pushing against his body, as if trying to wake him.

"You..." The blood-red figure had a moment of clarity. "Who are you?"

He opened his eyes but saw nothing.

He clearly felt someone holding him close, yet he could not see her.

"I..." The girl wanted to say something, but the words would not come. She could only keep calling his name, "Blood beads."

The fire spread relentlessly. Under the gaze of thousands of onlookers, their faces showed joy and delight.

The girl grasped the blood-red robe, refusing to let go even as the flames consumed her.

A delicate, petite maiden clung tightly to that blood-red robe, swallowed by flames amidst the icy snow.

Snow fell unceasingly, the fire blazed ever fiercer, until... utter nothingness.

Ning Tao remained silent.

Ling Yayi continued to sigh: "Truly a love-struck fool."

As he spoke, he glanced at Ning Tao, his expression solemn.

"That demon died without injustice, but what a pity for the maiden who leaped into the flames with him," He Wu said.

"Utterly unwise," a woman lamented. "Though we are the Thirteen Demons of the North, a demon who slaughters the innocent deserves neither sympathy nor pity, least of all affection."

"Palace Master of Tianxin Palace, I never imagined you had such a past," someone remarked nearby.

To all present, the maiden in the scene seemed utterly foolish.

Just then, the image in the ancient mirror shifted once more.

Everyone was startled: "It's not over yet?"

The White Emperor's avatar spoke softly: "The world has its cycles; let all of you witness together."

All turned to look.

Again, it was amidst the icy snow.

A maiden, clutching an infant tightly, walked barefoot through the snow.

The sky was pitch black, only the snow remained white.

Countless torches spread out, and behind her came endless shouts.

"Put down the demon infant!"

"This child is an omen of ill fortune—he must be slain!"

The maiden held the infant close, evading the pursuit of over a hundred people.

They fled into the mountains, entering a cave.

The maiden gazed at the infant, a tender smile in her eyes: "Blood bead..."

Her fingers unconsciously drifted to his lips.

But who would have thought—the infant suddenly opened its mouth wide, its fine, dense teeth biting down hard, staining its lips with blood.

The maiden's heart lurched, yet she held the infant even tighter.

The onlookers watching wore stern expressions: "This is a true demon... he deserves death!"

The scene shifted: the demon infant of yore became the man in the blood-red robe.

He was very reclusive, seemingly disinclined to interact with others.

He sat by a stream, staring blankly at the water day after day.

A fish swam past, and a flash of blood-red flickered in his eyes.

With a rip, the fish's body was pierced through.

Like a drop of red ink, it spread and blurred.

A delicate maiden appeared, her eyes filled with a pained concern.

The blood-red robe spun around sharply: "I am not Blood Bead. I... am a demon—I am the Great Demon!"

After entering the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, the Great Demon's consciousness began to assimilate him.

The path he walked was the one the Great Demon had once trod.

Otherwise, if he were Qi Yuan, how could he have been captured by the army?

He was merely experiencing the Great Demon's endless cycles of reincarnation.

He glanced once at where the maiden stood, then his form vanished.

The maiden chased after him in desperation.

The assembled crowd, hearing this, was shaken with horror.

"He is the Great Demon...!"

"The Great Demon!"

As for the Great Demon, perhaps the sovereigns of the South did not know, but those of the North understood all too well.

Legend had it that all demonic evils in the world were created by the Great Demon.

The current conflict between North and South, the present state of the Drifting Wind Realm—this tragic plight was all the Great Demon's doing.

This blood-red robe was none other than the legendary Great Demon.

Then Ning Tao must be... a demoness!

The crowd turned to Ning Tao, their eyes filled with deep wariness, instinctively moving away from her.

Bai Ze's eyes also flashed with astonishment. He thought of something and said gravely: "This is an illusion, not reality—he is trapped in the Great Demon's cycle.

Rather than saying this happened to him, it is the Great Demon's past!"

These events all occurred to the Great Demon; none of them were real.

Only the canary, out of place and always trying to awaken the blood-red robe—for her, everything was true.

In the scene, the blood-red robe left the mountains, like a devil escaping Pandora's box.

He wielded a long sword, killing without cease.

One rainy night, he slaughtered an entire household.

The maiden appeared again, calling out in anguish: "Blood Bead..."

The youth in the blood-red robe had a glint of murder in his eyes. He spoke to the air: "I... am not Blood Bead. I am the Great Demon.

All demons must slaughter all things.

All demons are hated and loathed by heaven."

Yet the maiden clung tightly to the youth, refusing to let go.

"Die!" A merciless sword thrust forth; the maiden's robes stained red, blood at the corners of her mouth.

Time passed, and the self-proclaimed Great Demon in the blood-red robe, wielding his long sword, slaughtered every living being. As if that were the sole meaning of his life.

Ten years later, the masters of the eight great sects united to suppress the Great Demon.

At the Battle of Tian Duan Cliff, the Great Demon slew half his foes, finally exhausted.

In the blood-red robe's eyes, there was no fear—only a trace of confusion and endless bloodlust.

Then the familiar maiden appeared. She embraced him, now utterly spent, and leaped with him into the boundless molten magma below.

This life... faded into desolation.

In the first life, he slaughtered all beings, was captured by a myriad army, and suffered burning flames; she held him tight, enduring the agony of being devoured by fire.

In the second life, he killed without end, was besieged by the eight great sects, and finally exhausted; she carried him and jumped into the rolling magma.

The third life also began.

She locked him away, trapped within an ancient tower, clad in plain blue robes, praying for him each day.

One night, he remembered again that he was the Great Demon.

He broke free, unleashing endless slaughter.

In the end, he was suppressed by three thousand Buddhas in the Guke Purgatory; she accompanied him in, enduring fifty years of fire, sword stabs, and ice.

In the fourth life, he brought calamity to the land and was sunk to the bottom of the sea; she searched the entire seabed until she found him, and sank with him.

Life after life.

The blood-red robe was all about killing, killing, killing.

He seemed to have forgotten who he was, only remembering that he was the Great Demon.

He was meant to slay everything.

And she, always watching him, accompanying him, sinking with him through the cycles of reincarnation.

Cursed by ten thousand, enemies of the world, the one struck by heavenly punishment was the Great Demon, and also the blood bead.

She always stood by his side.

Everyone was truly moved.

Even Ning Tao felt somewhat numb.

She did not know how many times that girl had been stabbed by him.

She did not know what kind of pain that girl had endured.

She only knew that it must have been very painful.

No matter what happened, the girl stood foolishly by his side, supporting him without hesitation.

Incomprehensible, and hard to understand.

At that moment, Bai Ze, who had been silent, spoke again: "The scenes in the ancient mirror may be illusions.

Back then, to save the world, the master stepped alone into the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons to suppress the heart demon... And you entered the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons to awaken the master..."

The eyes of the crowd showed surprise.

If... this was an illusion, it would indeed be easier to accept.

But even if it were an illusion, the endless slaughter over many lifetimes was still hard to bear.

Even mere observers could feel the girl's pain.

Let alone the girl herself, suffering repeated killings by her most beloved.

What kind of pain was that?

"Illusion?" At that moment, a disdainful voice suddenly rang out, "Is this really an illusion? This is clearly... the life of the Great Demon, merely reenacted within the illusion.

The blood bead is obviously the true Great Demon!"

With that voice, a woman in a white robe appeared, a seductive smile on her face, full of charm.

Seeing her, everyone present narrowed their eyes: "Venerable One!"

The White Emperor also showed a flicker of doubt, then his face darkened: "Venerable One, do not distort the truth!"

The arrival was clearly an avatar of the Venerable One.

"Bai Ze, why deceive yourself?" the Venerable One said with a charming smile, "For the sake of a so-called master, you won't even believe your own wife... You won't even call my name?"

As the Venerable One spoke, sorrow appeared in her eyes: "You never trusted me.

Look at the demoness—in the illusion, even though the Great Demon slaughtered all living beings and beat and killed her at will, she never left him, always trying to awaken him.

The only pity is that the demoness had feelings, but the Great Demon was heartless.

Bai Ze, can you trust me as the demoness trusted the Great Demon?"

With the Venerable One's words, seven terrifying figures also descended here.

The auras of these seven were all Great Supremes, and... not ordinary Great Supremes.

The seven figures surrounded Bai Ze and the thirteen Northern Demons present.

Bai Ze's expression was bleak: "Yanran, why make baseless guesses?

The Fate Tablet has influenced you far too much."

The Venerable One was none other than Bai Ze's wife, Shang Yanran.

Shang Yanran stepped forward, her powerful aura spreading.

The thirteen Northern Demons present all felt immense pressure.

In Ning Tao's eyes, there was also deep wariness.

This level of power was simply beyond her ability to withstand.

"The Fate Tablet is merely a treasure; how could it influence me?" Shang Yanran's eyes held a hint of disdain, "In truth, whether the master is the Great Demon, whether she is the demoness... if we keep watching... won't we have the answer?

Bai Ze, if the master is the Great Demon and she is the demoness, would you suppress and slay them for the sake of the world?

Only when the Great Demon and the demoness are dead can the Flowing Wind Realm restore peace to all realms!

Only then can the conflict between North and South and the struggle for the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons truly cease!"

Bai Ze hesitated upon hearing this.

Shang Yanran smiled, knowing she could not convince Bai Ze now.

She was also curious about how the former Blood Lord had managed to leave the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons.

The Gate of Ten Thousand Demons... was not something one could easily awaken by entering the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons.

Once trapped inside, even if not a demon, one becomes a demon.

He would walk the path the Great Demon had walked, experiencing everything the Great Demon had gone through.

The seven strong figures stood behind the Venerable One, coldly watching everyone present.

The White Emperor, surrounded, was extremely anxious.

This avatar of his could barely hold off Shang Yanran's avatar.

But against those seven strong figures, the thirteen Northern Demons were utterly powerless.

He said nothing, but accepted Shang Yanran's suggestion and watched the ancient mirror together.

In the scenes, endless cycles of reincarnation.

For the blood-red robe, it was all slaughter.

For the petite girl, it was being wounded time and again by her most beloved, finally dying together.

It seemed like an inescapable cycle.

Over a thousand years, ten thousand years, only the most profound memories surfaced in the ancient mirror.

Yet no one could count how many times she was stabbed, how many times she died.

What they saw was already so painful.

How much more remained unseen?

The northern wind howled; a blood-red robe slaughtered an entire city.

This time, he did not cut down the maiden with his sword.

He gazed at her face, delicate as pear blossom, and for the first time, his voice wavered: "I am a demon. You should not follow me. I have never seen you, and I do not know where you truly are.

Or perhaps you do not exist at all—merely my delusion.

This city... is named No Return.

Wait for me here—a thousand years, ten thousand years. If I can return, I will come to you.

If I cannot, then leave."

He had slaughtered for endless ages.

The blood-red robe seemed to recall something.

The moment he stepped through the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, he became the Great Demon.

He was the Great Demon!

The maiden looked at the blood-red robe, her face full of reluctance. She clutched his sleeve tightly, unwilling to let go: "Blood bead..."

The blood-red robe raised his sword. The maiden stared at him stubbornly, refusing to release her grip.

The Thirteen Northern Demon Beasts, watching this, were moved. Would that sword fall as it always had?

A flash of blood-red light—blood splattered. A severed arm was clutched tightly in the maiden's hand.

The blood-red robe had cut off his own arm and vanished into the endless desert.

The maiden held the severed arm tightly. At last, she could speak fully—but only as he truly departed: "Blood bead... you must remember: you are not the Great Demon!"

That was the purpose of her coming.

Once he believed he was the Great Demon, he could never be awakened.

She sat alone in the empty city.

One person, one city, waiting for one man.

Peach blossoms bloomed in the mortal world; a light boat drifted past a thousand mountains. The spring wind of Jiangnan was hidden in a letter—when opened, the absent beloved, trapped in the bitter cold of winter, seemed to feel the spring.

Time turned, seas changed into mulberry fields. Every day, the maiden sat on the city wall, waiting for someone unknown.

She glanced—ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years...

After endless ages.

The blood-red robe slaughtered another city empty. Suddenly, he laughed softly: "I am not the Great Demon..."

When he stepped into the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, he was the Great Demon.

But now, he had forgotten.

"I am not the Great Demon... then who am I..."

Within the barrier at that moment, the Sovereign's eyes flickered with a trace of surprise.

Once one entered the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, no matter who the Blood Lord had been before, he would become the Great Demon.

Yet now—why had the Blood Lord within the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons broken free?

She did not understand. She was utterly baffled.

She naturally did not know.

The primal divine ability awakened by Qi Yuan was named Forgetting.

He had forgotten the truth that he was the Great Demon.

Thus, he broke free from the confinement of the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons.

Thus, he was not the Great Demon.

The images in the ancient mirror blurred.

The blood-red robe no longer slaughtered; instead, he vanished into the mortal world.

Sometimes, he stood by a stream in a daze, murmuring: "Who am I?"

Sometimes, he sat under the eaves, watching the rain: "What have I forgotten?"

Sometimes, he stared at ants on the ground: "It seems I have forgotten everything."

He was like a stone, crouching there.

Dust settled upon him.

Withered leaves fell on his shoulders.

Deep in the mountains, he turned into a stone.

A thousand years, ten thousand years—the mortal world had cycled through endless reincarnations.

Suddenly, a voice reached his ears: "A city has appeared in the desert. Inside, a woman has been waiting for someone."

A city?

The stone pondered.

The stone crumbled; a blood-red figure emerged.

Countless thoughts flickered in his eyes.

"Someone is still waiting for me."

ps: These experiences belong to the Great Demon and the Demoness. Qi Yuan merely entered the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons and experienced the cycle of the Great Demon's fall into demonhood. The Golden Canary saw these scenes within the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons and has been striving to awaken Qi Yuan.

(End of this chapter)