The High Priest's Helplessness

Once the Crimson Demon spoke, the demon gods who had already disagreed with opening the Nether Gate naturally voiced their support.

Even some of those who had previously agreed began to waver.

Opening the Nether Gate was for the sake of using the power of the Nether Beasts to break out of the Demon Abyss, fight for supremacy in Fanzhou, and wash away nearly ten thousand years of shame.

But now, if word truly had leaked out...

If a Sword Immortal from the Wendao Sword Sect truly came to the Demon Abyss because of this matter...

Then the Nether Gate might not even be open, and the Nether Beasts not yet controlled, before the Demon Abyss followed in the footsteps of what happened four thousand years ago, becoming the second East Desolation.

The high priest's expression was very grim. "We have strayed from the topic. That is not what we are discussing today."

The Crimson Demon did not back down at all. "Does the high priest dare to be certain that there is absolutely no connection between these two matters?"

The high priest remained silent...

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy...

Seeing that the time was about right, the small priest softly advised, "Sister, the Crimson Demon's words are not without merit. We have endured for four thousand years; there is no need to rush this moment. Why not wait until the investigation is clear? This matter concerns the survival of the demon race; we cannot afford to be careless in the slightest."

"The small priest is right!"

"The small priest has a point!"

"What the small priest says makes sense!"

"..."

The small priest's proposal received unanimous agreement. No matter how unwilling the high priest was, she did not dare to provoke public anger and had to compromise.

With the high priest's compromise, the inquiry concerning Chi Ji came to an end.

The high priest agreed that the plan to open the Nether Gate would be temporarily shelved until the matter was investigated thoroughly.

The Nether Hall meeting thus drew to a close.

In the shadows, one familiar figure after another stepped out, bid their farewells, and departed...

Outside the hall.

Chi Ji sat on the stone steps where the light reached, gazing at the sky.

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching from behind, she pulled her thoughts back, hurriedly stood up, and stood respectfully to the side.

She bowed and greeted the emerging demon gods one by one.

The ten demon gods stood high above. Ordinary commoners in the Demon Abyss might live their entire lives from birth to death without ever hoping to see them once.

But Chi Ji was different; she was the child of a demon god.

She had seen all of these people before.

In special solemn occasions, upper-class banquets... or during brief glimpses.

Some responded indifferently.

Some ignored her completely.

Some exchanged warm pleasantries.

Others offered praise or teased her with the air of an elder.

"Little Chi Ji is growing lovelier by the day. It's time to contribute to the heavenly demon race. Settle down while you're young and leave an heir for the Crimson Demon Palace."

"Having gone out once, you truly have grown up quite a bit."

"As expected of Chi Ming's daughter, not bad..."

Chi Ji forced a smile and responded to each of them.

Until Chi Ming walked out.

"Father."

Chi Ming looked at his child with a gentle gaze, speaking with an apologetic tone. "I've kept you waiting. Let's go."

The reason he had agreed to let Chi Ji undergo this inquiry was actually out of his own selfish motives. He wanted to use Chi Ji's mouth to reconstruct the truth and take the opportunity to pause the matter of the Nether Gate...

As it turned out, his wish had been fulfilled.

"Mhm!"

Chi Ji nodded obediently and followed her father.

They rode a dragon, leaving the great hall and flying into the clouds.

That thing called the Great Sun seemed to have moved a bit further to the west.

The dragon passed through the clouds and mist, diving down back into that pit, the dark and sunless Demon Abyss.

......

Inside the Nether Hall.

The high priest remained in the primary seat, gently rubbing the high bridge of her nose with her hand. She closed her eyes in thought, her expression displeased.

The small priest took the initiative to break the silence between them, asking, "Sister, are you unhappy?"

The high priest raised her eyes, catching a glimpse from the corner of her vision, and answered with a question. "You've changed."

"What?" the small priest feigned ignorance.

The high priest spoke slowly. "Before, you were always pro-war. But now, even you are afraid..."

The small priest scrunched her nose, looking confused. "I don't understand what you're saying, Sister. You know that I have always been your strongest supporter."

The high priest gave a mocking laugh. "Heh... support me? Do you really think I don't know about those private dealings between you and Chi Ming? I'm not senile yet, nor am I a fool."

The small priest bit her lip, looking away guiltily. But then, like a young girl, she turned back and shamelessly tried to please her. "Sister is indeed Sister. Nothing can escape your eyes after all."

"Now you are satisfied. Your goal has been achieved," the high priest said with helplessness in her voice.

The small priest stopped hiding it and spoke bluntly. "Sister, you were the one who told me to consider the big picture and not to be anxious over momentary gains and losses, weren't you? This time, you are truly wrong. I don't want you to become the eternal sinner of the Demon Abyss. The Nether Gate really cannot be opened."

The high priest mocked herself. "Haha, an eternal sinner, an eternal sinner... You all simply don't understand. Where is the right or wrong in this?"

The small priest remained silent.

The high priest said in a low voice, "If my being guilty alone could trade for a future for the Demon Abyss, it would be worth it."

The small priest put away her smile and said solemnly, "Sister, you are too tired. You truly should rest and calm down."

The high priest glanced at her indifferently. Looking at this younger sister she had raised with her own hands, disgust and hatred appeared in her eyes for the first time.

She stood up and paced away, not forgetting to say:

"You cannot stop me."

"One day, time will tell you—will tell everyone—that I am right..."

"It was so in the past, it is so now, and it will be so in the future..."

The sound of footsteps grew distant until her silhouette completely disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The small priest leaned back in her chair, narrowing her eyes as she murmured to herself, "Haven't you also changed, Sister...?"

She had always believed implicitly that her sister was right.

Therefore, she listened to her in everything.

But that was in the past.

Now her sister had changed. Since she had changed, wasn't what was right in the past wrong now?

She understood her sister's worries. That struggle for the auspicious beast at the Demon Suppression Abyss had caused the once-mighty East Desolation to become a thing of the past.

The flood of history was rolling in, and the rise of the Wendao Sword Sect was cause for concern.

That Sword Tower.

That youth.

The two divine swords being unsheathed...

The whole world had been shocked.

The Demon Abyss, having received the news, was no exception. It was from that time that her sister had changed, no longer as steady as before, but instead becoming aggressive, even somewhat fanatical.

She no longer focused on conserving strength but became eager for quick success. She always said there was no more time, that they couldn't wait any longer.

She wanted to take risks, to take extreme measures. In just four short years, it was as if she had become a different person.

.......

At the summit of the Nether Hall, the high priest, having left, sat there alone, gently stroking a massive golden dragon head.

From this hall, she could see the blue sky and white clouds, and naturally, she could also see the golden sunset—a sunset of infinite beauty.

The clouds stretched for ten thousand miles, a sheet of burning fire, rolling and surging. When the flowing clouds were reflected in her eyes, they shifted into the image of another sinking sun.

She said to the golden giant dragon, "That child lied. I know she lied..."

The face of the slumbering golden giant dragon twitched slightly as if in response.

"When mentioning the mortal demon youth, her gaze was different from everyone else's..."

The dragon's breath from its nostrils grew heavier...

"She went so far as to deceive the Demon Lord and betray her own faith. That person must be very important to her."

The dragon gave a low groan...

"I know. She is very much like me."

The dragon groaned repeatedly...

She gazed out at the Demon Abyss, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss as she said, "I never wanted to hurt anyone. If there were any other choice, who would want to take risks? But I have no choice. If I do it, there is hope; if I don't, there is none."

"If the Nether Gate opens, I might become a sinner. I was originally a sinner anyway; I don't care."

"But if I do nothing, when the great catastrophe arrives, what will we have to break the deadlock? At that time, I truly would be the eternal sinner of the demon race..."

The giant dragon slowly opened its eyes. A pair of dragon eyes, bright and spirited, stared at her.

Her eyes seemed to hold tears as she gazed affectionately at the Demon Abyss.

With helplessness and heartache, she said, "I know you aren't afraid of death, and neither am I. But... we cannot win the fight. If we could have, we would have long ago..."