I Am Very Sincere

"To make money?"

It was a reason that was both unexpected and somehow perfectly reasonable.

It was difficult to understand how someone who could rule the world would only care about wealth.

But because it was Bai Mang, it felt appropriate.

He had always been greedy.

He had swindled five thousand bottles of God-Demon Drunk from her and even made off with the large square table from the Demon God Hall...

Then there were the gifts he had accepted later, his public business partnerships with the divine sons, and so on.

Jin Qing was left speechless, eventually letting out a soft laugh.

Her laughter was filled with helplessness and self-deprecation.

She found it both hilarious and pathetic.

To have the person hailed as the future demon son of the Demon Abyss have a mind filled with nothing but money—was this not a peculiar kind of tragedy for their race?

"Is it that funny?" Xu Xian asked lazily.

Jin Qing stared directly at the youth and asked back, "Is it not?"

Xu Xian replied nonchalantly, "I have always been a man of simple, worldly desires."

Jin Qing cut straight to the point. "But a demon son should not be a man of simple desires."

The implication was clear: even if she agreed to let someone like him become the demon son, would the demon gods agree? Would the heavenly demon race agree?

Xu Xian took another sip of wine, rolled his eyes, and grumbled, "Are you slow? I obviously cannot tell them that."

Jin Qing tilted her head, her gaze flickering.

Xu Xian paused, then said thoughtfully, "You have to tell them that I am following the will of the Demon Lord and have come to save the Demon Abyss."

It was a grand excuse, a noble cause for the public good, invoked in the name of the Demon Lord.

Jin Qing was confused and asked, "Then why did you not say that to me?"

Xu Xian responded with total sincerity, "Because I did not want to lie to you."

Jin Qing remained silent for a long time before whispering, "What makes you think I will help you?"

"Sincerity. I am being very sincere!"

"Hah... is sincerity worth anything?"

Xu Xian did not explain further, only saying casually, "If you want to save the Demon Abyss, you have no other choice."

Jin Qing looked away, leaning back into her chair with her hands on the armrests, staring into the distance.

"There is never only one path to a destination."

Xu Xian mocked her, "But every path you see is a dead end."

"The road to success is never a smooth one," Jin Qing countered.

Xu Xian did not hide his thoughts and pointed out, "Do you really think opening the Nether Gate will save the Demon Abyss?"

Instead of answering directly, Jin Qing asked, "And what makes you think it will not?"

Xu Xian narrowed his eyes slightly. "Because you cannot open it!"

Jin Qing said nothing.

Xu Xian continued with a sharp analysis. "If you could have opened it, you would have done so long ago. You could not do it then, and now that things have reached this state, thinking you can open it is nothing but a pipe dream. I think you need to wake up. The ten demon gods of the Demon Abyss are all incredibly cunning. Do you really think they will listen to you?"

Jin Qing remained silent.

Xu Xian pressed on. "If you see an apple with a rotten spot on the outside, even if it is just a tiny black dot, the inside is actually already rotten to the core. The Demon Abyss is like a blackened apple; it has long since rotted beyond saving. Those demon gods and the heavenly demon race only care about their immediate interests."

"Of course, you cannot blame them. Human nature is born to weigh pros and cons. You cannot expect them to gamble everything they have on an uncertain future with you."

Jin Qing's brow furrowed, her lips curling in a bitter, pained smile. His words were crude but logical; they were unpleasant to hear, yet they were an undeniable truth.

The Demon Abyss.

It had long since rotted through and through.

Ten thousand years ago...

They were defeated at the Black Sand Sea, losing the confidence to compete for the Central Plains.

Four thousand years ago...

They retreated to the Blazing Fortress, completely fading from the stage of Fanzhou.

After four thousand years, the only ones who even remembered their existence were likely the people of the Wendao Sword Sect.

And in the eyes of the Wendao Sword Sect, they were nothing more than a dying centipede that refused to stop twitching.

They were dead, just not entirely gone yet.

The Wendao Sword Sect left the Demon Abyss alone not because they lacked the power to wipe them out in one stroke.

Rather, in their calculation of costs and benefits, they felt that letting the Demon Abyss wither away on its own required the least effort and resulted in the smallest loss. It was the optimal solution.

This was a form of luck; a slow decay was better than instantaneous destruction because time would wear everything down, dulling the pain and allowing people to adapt slowly until, in the end, everyone felt that this was simply how things were meant to be.

It was a tragedy and a disgrace. There was nothing more insulting than being held in contempt by one's rival.

There was also nothing more powerless than a slow death.

Like a mortal dying after a century, like a flower flourishing and withering in a year, or like a mayfly born in the morning and dead by dusk.

You know you will die, and you also know you have no way to change this inevitable conclusion.

From clarity to sinking into oblivion.

From refusal to compromise.

This was one of the fundamental reasons why she was willing to take the risk, intending to open the Nether Gate and awaken the sleeping Nether Beasts for a gamble.

Because the Demon Abyss was rotten and beyond saving.

So, even if the awakening of the Nether Beasts turned the Demon Abyss into a purgatory, it would be like a dying man's final scream, letting the world know that the Demon Abyss still existed.

It would not be ignored.

This was her wishful thinking, but it was also her desperation.

When Chi Ming stopped her, she never resented him, because she did not know if she was right, even though she kept telling others that she was.

She told herself that in the past,

she told herself that now,

and she would tell herself that in the future...

Was this not just her deceiving herself?

She suddenly looked up and stared at Xu Xian, asking, "Then what makes you think I will gamble everything to follow you into an uncertain future?"

"They will not gamble with me, so why should I gamble with you?"

She paused, then added, "At least I know to deceive them to give them a glimmer of hope. But you, you have told me the truth. You are only in it to make money."

Xu Xian spread his hands and repeated, "Because I am very sincere!"

Again with this?

"Is this supposed to be interesting?"

Xu Xian glanced at Jin Qing. He could tell she was truly starving for a solution, so she was looking for someone to sell her a dream.

Well...

Since she wanted a vision, he might as well paint one for her.

He had not done much of this vision-selling himself, but he had certainly been on the receiving end of it many times in his life.

His teachers had done it when he was in school.

His bosses had done it when he was working.

His senior sister had done it after he started cultivating.

Anyone could learn to follow a pattern.

Xu Xian said seriously, "I admit I am becoming this demon son to make money, but that does not conflict with what you seek. If I am the demon son and the Demon Abyss truly encounters a catastrophe in the future, I will definitely step forward and use my power to protect it."

Jin Qing was skeptical. He was suddenly talking about high ideals, and she found it hard to believe.

Xu Xian continued his persuasion. "So, this is a win-win. I take the position and make my money, while you do your work. Whether it is reform, change, seeking strength, or striving for progress... you do the work, and I will take the blame. No matter how you calculate it, you do not lose."

"The Demon Abyss will still be the Demon Abyss."

"What do you gain?"

"Centralized power."

"And you gain a peerless genius like me for no extra cost."

"I understand the demon script, I can condense nether fire, and my bloodline is noble."

"What do you lose?"

"You only lose some useless wealth, and it is not even yours to begin with."

"Tell me."

"Does this deal even require consideration?"