Chi Ji's eyes widened, her emerald pupils shifting with a misty light. Throughout the long ages, a belief had been etched into the collective subconscious of the demon race.
Reproduction was a sacred ritual that could only occur between those of equal bloodlines—and the same applied to love.
Only in this way could the continuation and purity of bloodlines be ensured, maintaining the rule of the heavenly demon race.
At least, this was what Chi Ji had always believed. Transgressing the ranks was considered a heinous crime.
Jin Qing was not surprised by Chi Ji's reaction. Long, long ago, when she had heard similar sentiments from others, her reaction had been exactly the same as Chi Ji's.
How could it be like this?
Why would they do this?
She simply felt a sense of sorrow. She had been like this ten thousand years ago, and Chi Ji was still like this ten thousand years later.
Ten thousand years. In the world of humans, that was the blooming and withering of thousands of generations, ten thousand years of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
That Wendao Sword Sect had grown from nothing, producing Yun Zheng, Jiang Wanyin, Lei Yunche, Lin Fengmian, Ye Xianyu, and now Xu Xian...
What about the demons in the Demon Abyss?
It was a retreat to the Black Sand Sea ten thousand years ago, a retreat to the Blazing Fortress four thousand years ago, the fall of a demon sovereign, and the loss of the Spirit-Sealing Seal.
It was the once-abundant crowd of demon gods dwindling to a mere twelve today.
It was the lack of successors.
It was the impending great catastrophe.
It was the stagnation of the system, as grey and oppressive as the sky above. What kind of civilization could decline for ten thousand years without moving a single step forward?
She had asked herself more than once: can such a civilization still exist?
Or rather, is there any need for it to exist?
Therefore.
She wanted to take a gamble.
She smiled softly and said, "It's strange, isn't it?"
Chi Ji did not deny it and nodded.
"Yes!"
Jin Qing said vaguely, "I used to think it was strange too."
Reading the story in the older woman's eyes, Chi Ji gathered her courage and asked curiously, "And now?"
"Hmm?" Jin Qing glanced at Chi Ji.
Chi Ji continued, "High Priest, do you still find it strange now?"
Jin Qing thought for a moment, her burning gaze fixed on Chi Ji's eyes. She asked out of nowhere, "What about you, Sister Chi Ji? Do you think it is truly a sin for a low-rank demon and a high-rank demon to be together?"
A cynical face flashed through Chi Ji's mind, a roguish smile hanging from his lips.
Chi Ji hesitated for a moment but still spoke against her heart, "Yes, it is a sin."
Jin Qing pressed further, "Why?"
Chi Ji froze. Many arguments and debates could have rolled off her tongue.
Filthy.
Lowly.
Ordinary.
Ancestral teachings.
Rules.
Unrefined...
And so on!
Yet for some reason, the words reached her lips only to be swallowed back down.
She asked herself, why?
She asked herself, indeed, why?
Were those really the reasons?
Perhaps they were right, yet she found it increasingly difficult to agree with them.
Chi Ji lowered her gaze and slowly shook her head, responding with a mix of dejection and apology, "I'm sorry, Your Eminence, I don't know."
Jin Qing's lips curled into a playful smile. "Then why say it is right?"
Chi Ji whispered, "Because everyone has always said so. I felt I should answer that way."
Jin Qing said meaningfully, "The sky should be grey—most people in the Demon Abyss say that."
Chi Ji was puzzled.
Jin Qing sighed. "Just because the majority agrees something is right doesn't make it right. It is only because the Demon Abyss is too small."
Chi Ji gradually began to understand...
Indeed.
The sky was not grey. The sky could have color, cleaner even than the Nether Pool, because she had seen it.
But...
She still didn't understand why the High Priest was telling her this. Was it truly just idle chatter or common reflection?
Or was she testing her, or dropping hints...
Hmm?
Could she already know about the existence of Bai Mang? Chi Ji subconsciously gripped the corner of her robe, a sudden wave of nervousness washing over her.
From the corner of her eye, Jin Qing naturally captured Chi Ji's reaction. She smiled inwardly and took the initiative to change the subject. "Let me tell you a story."
Chi Ji snapped back to reality and looked over blankly. "Hmm?"
Ignoring her confusion, Jin Qing began to speak.
Chi Ji turned her head and listened intently.
The story wasn't long, nor was it difficult to tell. It was a cycle of beginning and end, like a dream, starting in a sea of people and eventually being buried.
It was the hope of a long future.
It was eyes blurred by tears.
It was loving but not having.
It was seeking but not finding.
Fortunately, longing is silent.
Unfortunately, longing is silent.
Two words.
Regret.
Unwillingness.
Helplessness.
Compromise.
The story ended. The storyteller fell silent, but the listener's heart was in turmoil, unable to return to the present for a long time.
"Hey! Sister Chi Ji."
Chi Ji hurriedly recovered. "Hmm? What is it?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing!"
"Have you never heard it before?"
Chi Ji shook her head. "No."
In the mouths of others or in popular books, similar stories were ten a penny.
Low-rank demons and high-rank demons trysting had been a common occurrence since ancient times, impossible to eradicate despite constant attempts.
To some extent, such incidents had always been a sore spot for the old fogies of the heavenly demon race.
It was just that some stories were passed down while others vanished without a sound.
The reason Chi Ji had lost herself was simply because when others told such tales, they were full of criticism, framing them as crimes to warn future generations not to follow in those footsteps.
But the story Jin Qing told was romantic and heart-fluttering, leaving the listener with nothing but regret and heartache.
Furthermore.
Chi Ji remained suspicious that Bai Mang's identity had been exposed and that Jin Qing was dropping hints. She felt a twinge of regret—regret that she hadn't been firmer and sent Bai Mang out of the city instead of compromising.
Jin Qing comforted her, "Fine, I just mentioned it in passing. Don't overthink it."
"Oh!"
Chi Ji gave a simple response, but her heart was even more chaotic. The more Jin Qing said that, the more alarmed she became.
Jin Qing suddenly asked, "By the way, I saw you coming out of the Demon Dao Pavilion. I wonder what manual you transcribed?"
Chi Ji was already quite flustered, so she welcomed the change of subject. Without thinking much, she answered truthfully, "I transcribed the Nether Fire Secret Art."
It was permitted for the heavenly demon race to transcribe cultivation methods from the Demon Dao Hall, let alone for her, the daughter of a demon god. Even if the High Priest knew, it was no big deal.
Jin Qing paused. "The Nether Fire Secret Art?"
"Yes!"
"May I see it?"
"Of course."
Chi Ji took out a brand-new book with a red cover and handed it over.
The book was of average size but as thick as a fist.
Jin Qing took it, placed it on her lap, and flipped through page after page. She asked curiously, "What made you think of transcribing this? Do you want to learn it?"
Chi Ji squinted and smiled. "Just curious."
Jin Qing continued her questioning, "Can you understand the ancient demon script used here?"
Chi Ji shook her head honestly.
As Jin Qing flipped through the pages, she said, "There was once a scholar who cataloged the techniques in the Demon Dao Hall. He said that the primordial demon arts remaining in this Demon Dao Pavilion consist of three hundred and sixty different demon scripts, all originating from the civilization of the ancestral demons of the previous era."
"Later, for unknown reasons, the ancestral demons all vanished into the river of history. Even though these scripts were passed down, no one can read them anymore."
"We have always suspected that the ancient demons suffered a great catastrophe."
"An extraterrestrial invasion."
"A war of ten thousand demons."
"Or perhaps the grey sky was scorched open by the Great Sun, and the entire race was extinguished..."
"There are many theories, but no one knows the truth. The answer might be hidden in these books, but from ancient times to the present, there has never been anyone who can understand the script. Those who have luckily managed to comprehend the primordial demon arts are also very few. I suppose I barely count as one..."
At this point, Jin Qing closed the book on her lap, turned to look at Chi Ji, and asked, "Do you know where this Nether Fire Secret Art originates from?"
Rate on N.U.
