When Jian Zhen’s consciousness returned, everything around him was chaotic and blurred.
Until he heard a faint voice calling by his ear, somewhat anxious: “Your Excellency, Your Excellency…”
Jian Zhen slowly opened his eyes and saw the High Priest’s sweat-covered face. The High Priest said, “Your Excellency, are you alright?”
The great hall before his eyes was the High Priest’s main chamber.
Not far away were cracks in a furnace and fragments scattered all over the floor. Jian Zhen’s limbs and five senses slowly recovered. He wanted to speak, but his voice was somewhat hoarse. “I… I’m fine…”
The hall before his eyes was painted across the dome with calligraphy and paintings of the demon clan.
Jian Zhen’s mood had not yet recovered from the state of farewell just now. He slowly sat up and said, “Please trouble the High Priest to help me up. I want to go find… Ye Jisheng…”
The High Priest said, “Your Excellency!”
On the night of the red moon, crimson moonlight spread across the earth.
Jian Zhen stepped over the mess of debris and broken tiles on the ground and walked outward. Before he even stepped out the doorway, he saw the figure standing outside. Ye Jisheng, it was unclear when he had arrived; the moonlight stretched his shadow long.
Jian Zhen walked step by step down from the steps of the sacrificial platform hall.
The moon dew was heavy.
His legs weakened and he nearly fell to the ground, but in the next second he was caught.
Ye Jisheng’s hands firmly caught the slender arms of the person. Behind Jian Zhen were the shattered demon clan sacred artifacts and the winding crimson moonlight covering the ground. With the red moon hanging in the sky, the mark of heavenly punishment on Ye Jisheng’s arm clearly entered Jian Zhen’s eyes.
He was not at all unfamiliar with those marks.
Tears dripped onto his wrist. Jian Zhen said, “Your heavenly punishment mark, how did you get it?”
Ye Jisheng stood beneath the curtain of moonlight. The man’s tall figure was lofty and steady, like a mountain unshaken by wind and rain. From that frail youth, after enduring a thousand years of frost and storm, he had become mature and reliable.
Yet no matter how many years passed, Ye Jisheng still stood by his side. When Jian Zhen’s question fell, he said, “Because I did something that defied heaven and changed fate.”
Jian Zhen’s tears fell like beads from a broken string. “What?”
“Someone died. I wanted him to live.” Ye Jisheng said, “I tore out my own godhood and reshaped his fate.”
Jian Zhen choked, “So half of your divine power was not sealed by the God-Slaying Grand Formation, it was torn out by yourself?”
Ye Jisheng did not speak.
Jian Zhen trembled all over. As the truth of history was peeled back bit by bit before him, he had originally wanted to save Ye Jisheng and so returned to the past, only to discover that everything, everything had begun because of himself.
Fate and the Heavenly Dao seemed like a pair of invisible hands, pushing him into the torrent.
Jian Zhen lifted his eyes. Those tear-filled eyes looked at Ye Jisheng. “Didn’t you say… you had already forgotten?”
Ye Jisheng said, “I truly do not remember what happened thousands of years ago. After tearing away my godhood, the fragments of my soul were incomplete. Many things I can no longer recall.”
Jian Zhen said, “Then you…”
Ye Jisheng said, “But I know that it is enough to follow my own heart in doing things.”
To love you, to care for you, to treat you well.
These are things that do not require memory to do.
Some things are carved into bone and blood, into the bloodline itself. They are instincts.
Jian Zhen smiled lightly. His tears fell onto Ye Jisheng’s body. Somewhat despairingly he said, “I still wasn’t able to save you.”
The heavenly tribulation was approaching.
Yet he still had not been able to change Ye Jisheng’s fate. The half of divine power that had been lost still had not been retrieved.
Ye Jisheng stood beneath the crimson night. The evening wind lifted the hem of his black robe. He raised his hand and wiped away the tears at the corner of Jian Zhen’s eyes, and said in a low voice, “You have already saved me.”
Jian Zhen looked up at him in confusion.
“Before I met you, I felt this world was ugly, the people of this world were uninteresting. Over thousands of years, do you know why the world says I am cruel and bloodthirsty? In fact, in the first few hundred years, it was indeed so. At that time, I had just come out of Wanmie Mountain. I killed people, took revenge, established the demon clan. I constantly found things for myself to do, so that I would not be bored.”
“It was not because I liked doing these things, only that I vaguely felt as if I had promised something, and so I had to accomplish these things.” Ye Jisheng said, “But very quickly, after these things were done, I grew tired of them.”
Killing, adventure, status, wealth, power, he had them all.
Yet he still felt empty inside, as if something was missing. But what was missing? He did not know.
Through the long stretch of time,
He was like a walking corpse.
Ye Jisheng said, “As for life and death, I long ago stopped caring. In this world there was nothing I cherished. It was your arrival that allowed me to experience the feeling of being alive.”
Jian Zhen tightly grasped his robe and said, “Then… then now in this world, is there something you cherish? Do you still want to die?”
Ye Jisheng lowered his eyes to look at him and said faintly, “In the past I always felt the Heavenly Dao was without virtue and never placed it in my eyes. But now, I am somewhat grateful to it.”
Jian Zhen looked at him in confusion. “Why?”
“Zhuzhu.” Under the red moonlit night, dark clouds drifted from afar, and faint thunder could be heard in the distance. His scarlet eyes looked at him, carrying a faint smile. Slowly he said, “To have met you, I, Ye Jisheng, have no regrets in this life.”
Jian Zhen would absolutely not mistake that familiar sound of thunder.
Heavenly tribulation.
This was the signal that heavenly tribulation was about to arrive.
Ye Jisheng also turned his head to glance at it.
Jian Zhen said in panic, “How could it be so soon? Wasn’t there supposed to be some time before it came?”
Ye Jisheng looked toward the High Priest’s hall not far away, now scattered with broken tiles, and said, “The demon clan’s sacred artifact interfered with the causality and trajectory of this world. It would inevitably alarm the Heavenly Dao. My heavenly tribulation will therefore arrive early.”
Jian Zhen’s whole body turned cold. He had only just returned, had not yet spent much time with Ye Jisheng, and now once again he was being forced to face separation.
Ye Jisheng said, “Stay here. The heavenly tribulation cannot descend upon the Demon Palace.”
Jian Zhen pulled at him. Ye Jisheng turned back to look at him. Jian Zhen said, “Don’t go yet. Let’s go see the child together.”
Once he left, no one knew in what year or month they would meet again, or whether it would be forever.
Beneath the heavy night curtain, fierce winds swept through. Ye Jisheng was silent for a moment before lightly nodding. “Mm.”
When Jian Zhen and Ye Jisheng returned to the bedchamber, warm yellow light was still lit inside. The room was warm, and on the white carpet were scattered some children’s toys. The wet nurse sat by the child’s bed, dozing. When the door outside was opened, it made a sound that startled the sleeping wet nurse awake.
The wet nurse hurriedly rose and said, “Your Majesty, Honored Lord.”
Ye Jisheng nodded.
Jian Zhen said softly to the wet nurse, “We’ll take a look at the child.”
The wet nurse immediately nodded and bowed as she withdrew.
Jian Zhen and Ye Jisheng stepped closer. The little baby, fast asleep, slept soundly. He wore pajamas made according to the design Jian Zhen had drawn, and in his hand he held the small wooden bird toy that Ye Jisheng had ordered craftsmen to make. His face was pink and plump, his long eyelashes like a small fan. He must have been having a good dream.
Clearly, not even a single night had passed.
Yet as Jian Zhen looked at the child, it felt as though they had not seen each other for many years. His gaze stuck to him and could not move away.
Ye Jisheng reached out and picked the child up. The Demon Lord wore black brocade robes; the child in his arms wore pale yellow pajamas, nestling into his embrace in a small bundle. He gazed deeply at the child for a long moment.
For an instant, Jian Zhen seemed to finally understand.
Why Ye Jisheng had been unwilling to come see the child earlier. How could it be that he did not care? Perhaps it was only because, if he looked, it would be even harder to part.
Jian Zhen stepped forward. Ye Jisheng placed the child into his arms. Jian Zhen’s slender, fair hands adjusted the child’s clothes. Thunder boomed outside, dark clouds gathering thickly, yet inside the hall there was not the slightest invasion of cold wind, warm as spring. “He’s sleeping so soundly. In a few days the wet nurse will completely wean him. When the time comes, he’ll probably cry and fuss again.”
Ye Jisheng said, “Spend more time with him.”
Jian Zhen’s hand paused. He smiled lightly, his brows and eyes gentle.
Ye Jisheng walked to the side, took a cloak from the rack, and draped it over Jian Zhen’s shoulders. He said, “It’s cold at night. Your health is poor.”
With his back to him, Jian Zhen said nothing.
Thunder roared outside. A bolt of lightning exploded, as if lighting up the sky itself. Ye Jisheng said, “I’m going out for a while.”
The doors of the hall slowly opened, then closed again. Jian Zhen never turned around. Tears rolled down his cheeks. The child in his arms seemed to sense something; his tiny brows furrowed, his sleep becoming a little restless.
Jian Zhen gently patted the child’s back, lowered his head, and kissed his cheek.
The little baby seemed to feel his father’s presence. His brows gradually relaxed, and he slowly fell back into deep sleep.
Jian Zhen laid the child back in the small bed. He fastened his cloak properly, opened the doors of the hall, and followed the original path back to the High Priest’s hall. There, having sensed the Heavenly Tribulation’s imminent arrival, several elders and the High Priest had already gathered.
Only Ye Jisheng was not there.
Seeing Jian Zhen enter, several elders said, “Lord!”
“His Majesty’s Heavenly Tribulation has arrived!”
“His Majesty’s injuries are not yet healed. We must protect him well!”
“Where is His Majesty?”
“Lord…”
Jian Zhen looked at the people standing in the hall and said softly, “He has already gone to Wanmie Mountain.”
The elders were shocked. Just as they were about to speak, Jian Zhen said, “I have come today to entrust everyone with one matter.”
They looked at each other.
The High Priest stepped forward and said, “Please speak, Lord. As long as there is any place where you need us, we will certainly go all out!”
Everyone thought Jian Zhen was going to summon them all to help Ye Jisheng overcome the tribulation.
But Jian Zhen gently flicked his robe aside and calmly knelt down. He said, “I hope the elders can raise the young prince to adulthood. Jisheng and I have only this one child. We cherish him dearly. No matter what happens tomorrow, I hope the elders can do your utmost to preserve this child’s life and let him grow up safely.”
The High Priest looked at him kneeling on the ground. His frame was so thin, his face pale. The wild wind outside roared, as if the next gust might scatter him away.
Yet he was so resilient, so brave.
They had once discussed how the Demon God could fall in love with a blade of grass that had gained spirit. Yet it was precisely such a blade of grass who fearlessly risked his soul being scattered to return to the past. Facing the impending catastrophe of the demon race, he could still advance and retreat together with them.
The High Priest gave a heavy sigh and slowly stepped forward to help Jian Zhen up. “Lord, such words truly make this old man ashamed…”
“Indeed.”
“Raising and protecting the young prince is originally our duty.”
“Lord, you need not do this!”
Jian Zhen looked at the resolute gazes of the crowd, tears shimmering in his eyes. “I only fear that if, at that time, the demon race or the immortal race comes to invade…”
“Even if it means exhausting the very last member of the demon race, we will protect the young prince well.” The High Priest helped Jian Zhen to his feet and said earnestly, “If the demon race remains, then the young prince remains.”
Jian Zhen was somewhat worried. “You…”
The High Priest looked into the distance and said slowly, “Now that the Demon Lord’s Heavenly Tribulation has arrived, thousands of years ago, the Demon God protected us. Now, we too will protect his child.”
Following the High Priest’s gaze, Jian Zhen looked outward. The priest’s platform was the highest point of the Demon Hall, with the broadest view. From there, one could see the myriad lights outside. Though it was deep night, every household in Demon City that heard the thunder had lit their lamps. Countless demon citizens stepped out from their homes. They worried for their ruler, and they were also prepared for the great battle to defend the demon race.
The elders stood behind Jian Zhen and said, “Honoured Lord, please rest assured. Whether Demon Lord succeeds or not, whether enemies invade or not, we demon race citizens will swear to the death to guard Demon Realm Mountain!”
Jian Zhen looked at the crowd; his eyes reddened unconsciously.
Seeing the resolute gazes of everyone, Jian Zhen smiled softly, not for himself, but for Ye Jisheng.
The people he had always protected also loved him deeply when he was in peril.
A clan united as one will not scatter.
Jian Zhen bowed deeply toward the demon race outside, then turned and bowed deeply to all the elders, saying, “Then I entrust everything here to you.”
Everyone watched as Jian Zhen turned and walked out the door.
The High Priest said uneasily, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jian Zhen stood in the bleak, cold wind. He turned around, his gaze bright and clear, and parted his lips to say, “I’m going to bring him back.”
Ye Jisheng, you once went alone up Wanmie Mountain to bring me home. Now, it’s my turn to bring you back.
Jian Zhen slowly walked down the steps. Thunder rumbled in bursts. All the stationed demon soldiers, upon seeing him, knelt on one knee to express their purest respect. Jian Zhen glanced back at the Demon Realm’s sleeping palace, and at last stepped to the edge of the cliff. He gently blew a whistle.
Amid the dark clouds filling the sky, a brilliant red figure broke through the mist and flew toward him. When the phoenix landed before him, Jian Zhen raised his hand and stroked its head, softly saying, “We’re going to Wanmie Mountain to find him. Are you afraid?”
The phoenix gently nuzzled Jian Zhen’s hand and proudly lifted its head.
Jian Zhen smiled lightly. “Good child.”
The first time he left Demon Realm Mountain after taking human form, he had ridden on the phoenix’s back. When he had looked down over Demon City then, he had never imagined that one day he would set out alone with the phoenix.
Within the vast dark clouds, the demon clan could only see, in the darkness, a streak of dazzling red light cutting across the sky. In the dense black night, it was as if someone had broken through the clouds and brought light with them.
The closer they drew to Wanmie Mountain, the more Jian Zhen could feel the heavy black clouds pressing down overhead. Even a few scattered bolts of lightning struck down, though fortunately the phoenix narrowly dodged them.
At the end of the Three Realms, Wanmie Mountain.
The only god in the world was undergoing tribulation here. From afar, Jian Zhen could see only the dense black cloud layer, with several heavenly thunders rolling within it. As the aura of Wanmie Mountain drew nearer, Jian Zhen felt that perhaps he truly was a blade of grass that had grown there. Even within clouds so thick he could barely see, he could still clearly sense the direction and guide the phoenix.
When they finally approached Wanmie Mountain, Jian Zhen at last saw the crimson flames, that was Ye Jisheng.
The phoenix circled in the air. Jian Zhen comfortingly stroked its head and said, “You’ve worked hard. Just set me down here. Leave quickly. It’s not safe here.”
All things have spirit.
Perhaps the phoenix sensed that this parting was one of life and death. It circled several times in the air without landing, tears sliding from the corners of its eyes.
Jian Zhen stroked its feathers and said gently, “Be good. Listen to me. Go back to the demon clan. They all need you.”
At the moment he descended from the sky, wild winds swept about. A few feet above the ground, Jian Zhen landed steadily. Not far away, the red flames were like a fire dragon. The lightning striking down from the sky was forcibly swallowed and shattered by it.
Jian Zhen stepped into the range of the flames.
The flames that could burn all things became exceptionally gentle upon encountering him, not harming him in the slightest.
The wild wind was like blades, slicing his clothes bit by bit and drawing streaks of blood. The oppressive force of a god undergoing tribulation was almost enough to tear a person apart. Jian Zhen did not turn back. He still walked forward step by step. He had ten thousand reasons not to come, but he knew he had to.
When another bolt of heavenly thunder was about to fall, it was just about to crash down onto Jian Zhen, yet was forcibly torn apart by a mass of blazing flame.
Jian Zhen turned his head and saw Ye Jisheng not far away, and the blazing fury in his eyes. The man said, “Why did you come?!”
Heaven and earth vast and boundless, violent wind and torrential rain, flames blazing as if they could swallow a person whole.
Jian Zhen’s hair fluttered in the wind. He said, “I came to take you back.”
Ye Jisheng’s handsome face was almost devoid of blood. The heavenly thunder was already clearly denser than before. He looked at Jian Zhen, walked before him, and brushed Jian Zhen’s slightly disheveled hair behind his ear, saying slowly, “How can you be so foolish.”
“Yes, how can I be so foolish.” Jian Zhen looked at him and smiled lightly. “Ten million years ago, I said the same thing to you.”
But at that time, you still came.
Ye Jisheng’s red eyes were dark and deep. “I cannot guarantee that I will definitely pass this heavenly tribulation. But now, I can ensure you leave safely.”
“Since I came, I never thought of running.” Jian Zhen said, “Either we leave together, or we stay here together.”
Ye Jisheng gazed at him in silence. Amid the rolling black clouds filling the sky, in the deep dark night, the man laughed softly. He bent over as he laughed. Clearly he was laughing, yet Jian Zhen felt as if he were crying.
Crying for what?
Jian Zhen did not know. He could not feel Ye Jisheng’s sorrow, only his joy.
The loneliness and desolation of tens of millions of years seemed, at this moment, to be released. Ye Jisheng raised his hand toward him and said, “Come.”
Jian Zhen grasped his hand without hesitation.
Just as a hundred years ago, on a peaceful afternoon, when the Demon God passed by Wanmie Mountain and discovered a glowing little grass seed, he had likewise reached out and taken him away.
The heavenly thunder fell all at once.
Ye Jisheng’s soul-fire swallowed it entirely. Jian Zhen raised his own hand, using his spiritual energy to resist. Even if what he could do was little, he was unwilling to watch Ye Jisheng fight alone. Bolt after bolt of heavenly thunder was taken on. Jian Zhen could clearly feel the soul-fire shrinking, and wounds appearing on Ye Jisheng’s body. Protected by Ye Jisheng, he himself had not suffered many injuries.
But…
But…
They were already nearing their limit.
The black clouds were thick and dense. Just as Jian Zhen felt himself nearly exhausted, thunder roared within the clouds. Several more bolts, carrying purple light and murderous intent, suddenly struck down, completely different from the previous lightning!!
The soul-fire was split apart by lightning entwining it.
Jian Zhen knew this was the tribulation, the tribulation they could not escape, the fate they could not change. He had crossed time and space back to the past, yet he could not change anything. Nothing had changed. This was their fate.
He slowly closed his eyes.
He could only hear the tremendous thunder all around, yet he did not feel the pain of his soul scattering.
Jian Zhen slowly opened his eyes, only to see a vast, familiar white spiritual energy explode in the air. This familiar aura made his eyes gradually widen. In disbelief, he looked up into the sky.
Fu Changhuan’s voice carried over with thick spiritual power: “Are you all alright?”
Jian Zhen looked at his figure, thinking he had seen wrong.
Fu Changhuan’s figure landed not far away. Jian Zhen was both shocked and unable to believe it: “Se, Senior Brother?”
When his form of address fell, Fu Changhuan’s steps clearly paused. He looked at Jian Zhen and gently nodded, saying, “Mm.”
Jian Zhen said, “You… why have you come?”
“The God-Slaying Grand Formation of ten million years ago was a debt the Immortal Clan owed you.” Fu Changhuan’s hair was lifted by the wind as he said, “Back then, for our own selfish gain, we paid a painful price. At that time I cultivated the Path of Heartlessness and still could not understand what, in this world, was truly the most important. I only thought of the Immortal Clan’s people, only wanted to eradicate the Demon Clan. It was precisely such thinking that nearly led to the destruction of Spirit Mountain.”
Jian Zhen said, “Senior Brother… you…”
Fu Changhuan looked toward Ye Jisheng, who was covered in blood, and said, “Back then, you actually could have killed all the disciples of Spirit Mountain, but you spared us. In truth, it was because you never intended to wipe us out completely, wasn’t it?”
At that time, the Immortal Clan set up the God-Slaying Grand Formation, intending to execute the Demon Venerable and exterminate the Demon Clan’s people.
Yet after transcending tribulation and becoming a god, the Demon Venerable burned Spirit Mountain, took revenge on all, and still left behind some survivors.
Ye Jisheng stood amid the sky filled with soul fire. He lightly curved his lips into a faint smile: “This Venerable has never disdained to rely on slaughtering every last one to protect my own clan.”
Fu Changhuan stood in the wind and bent at the waist in salute: “I have been taught.”
A white spiritual array propped up a massive formation in the sky, blocking several streaks of purple lightning.
Standing within the formation, Fu Changhuan said, “Ten million years ago, we were indebted to Your Grace for preserving the continuation of Spirit Mountain’s lineage. Today, we disciples of the Immortal Clan have come to repay that grace.”
After his words fell, Jian Zhen saw robed disciples appearing from all directions. The strength of one person could not withstand the heavenly tribulation; the strength of two could not change it either. Before the coercion of the Heavenly Dao, everyone’s resistance was like a mantis trying to block a chariot, unable to move.
When that great net was about to break, more and more disciples of the Immortal Clan appeared. Countless people used their own strength to support the heavenly net that opposed destiny. These shackles of fate, this inescapable destiny, were thus borne against.
“Rumble!”
From within the thick layers of dark clouds came several angry roars seemingly formed of thunder.
Rolling purple giant lightning mixed with red heavenly lightning fell together. A god’s tribulation was not something an ordinary person could endure. The white heavenly net looked as though it would collapse at any moment. As quite a few disciples spat out blood, a light flickered in the distant horizon. Streak after streak of green radiance gathered and came.
Jian Zhen’s eyes widened.
He saw a familiar figure appear in the air. He smiled at Jian Zhen and said, “Brother Jian, long time no see.”
Jian Zhen’s eyes instantly reddened. Somewhat choked up, he said, “Yu.”
“I heard that Brother Hei is undergoing tribulation here, and I also heard some of the Demon Clan’s situation, so I thought if there were anything I could help with, that would be good.” Yu said, “Some time ago I successfully ascended to the position of Yao King. If not for the help you, Brother Hei, and Brother Bai gave in Feiyun Valley back then, I would not have been able to successfully avenge my elder brother against the Eldest Prince. You once said that with me, you were close friends…”
Yu looked at Jian Zhen earnestly and said, “Brother Jian, that day in Feiyun Valley I concealed much from you, this was truly my fault. We have received your great kindness and cannot fail to repay it. For generations among the Three Realms, the various races have hated and schemed against one another, endless grudges of life and death. In the past we could not stop it, but today, let these hatreds be severed. Since it is so lively here, let our Yao Clan also lend you a hand!”
Countless heavenly thunders crashed down in rolling succession.
A great net formed by countless people spread over Wanmie Mountain. In Jian Zhen’s eyes was a sight unforgettable for a lifetime: spiritual power filled the sky as if weaving a seven-colored scroll.
When the final heavenly thunder churned within the clouds, countless people were already utterly exhausted, fighting with their lives.
Jian Zhen no longer had even half a trace of strength. His white robes were dyed blood-red, and Ye Jisheng’s soul fire had nearly burned his heart’s blood dry.
Half-kneeling on the ground, dense thunderclouds rolled down. Jian Zhen’s blood flowed into the soil. Ye Jisheng looked at him and said, “Afraid?”
Jian Zhen smiled lightly.
The people of the Three Realms would never forget that day. Though it was night, a pillar of light reaching the heavens appeared at the horizon. That pillar was tall and majestic, wrapped all around with seven-colored auspicious light. The low rumbling of thunder and trembling coming from Wanmie Mountain almost resounded through every inch of land in the Three Realms.
Everyone was teaching that little blade of grass to grow, and that little blade of grass was also teaching everyone to grow.
