Meng Shuying shot the demon cultivator a cold glance, ignoring his question entirely. Her spiritual sword moved with the agility of a swimming dragon; with a flash of cold light, the sword's edge was suddenly at his throat.
The demon cultivator hastily drew his own sword to block her attack, but he couldn't help wondering inwardly. Earlier, when they had encountered this female cultivator at the edge of the abandoned city, she had fled at the mere sight of them, running as if her life depended on it, even going so far as to sell out her companions in her desperation. It was clear she had been afraid of them.
But now, just moments later, she had transformed into a protective, ferocious beast, attacking with deadly precision, each strike aimed to kill.
Moreover, the aura of the Demon Lord that lingered around her made the demon cultivator uneasy, fearing she might indeed be under the Demon Lord's command or have some other powerful backing. This hesitation prevented him from fighting with his full strength.
While the demon cultivator was hesitant, Meng Shuying was not. Remembering his earlier offensive words, her expression grew colder, and her attacks became even more ruthless and decisive, pushing him into a difficult position.
The demon cultivator, now infuriated, relied on his extensive battle experience to find a gap in the onslaught of sword strikes, quickly closing the distance between himself and Meng Shuying. Even in the midst of this dangerous fight, he had the audacity to reach out and touch Meng Shuying's fair cheek, leering as he said, "You must be a maid serving the Demon Lord, right? Why not stay with me instead? You and your sister can serve me together, let me enjoy the treatment of a Demon Lord."
Meng Shuying's delicate brows furrowed, her gaze filled with a growing anger. She no longer restrained her aura; a surge of demonic energy erupted, forming invisible chains that wrapped around the demon cultivator's throat and tightened suddenly.
His voice cut off abruptly.
His body slipped from his demon beast, falling limply to the ground, his neck twisted unnaturally, completely lifeless.
Sensing the sudden outpouring of intense demonic energy, the demon beasts immediately halted their attacks. They trembled as if in the presence of a superior predator, expressions of terror on their faces.
The remaining demon cultivators, who had been fighting with Su Luowei and the others, saw how easily Meng Shuying had taken their leader's life and felt a chill run down their spines. Without a second thought, they abandoned Su Luowei and the others, scrambling onto their demon beasts and trying to flee.
But facing the suppression from a superior bloodline, the demon beasts refused to move, trembling in fear despite their riders' frantic commands.
Seeing that they couldn't rely on their demon beasts, the demon cultivators quickly summoned their weapons and fled in panic, a stark contrast to their earlier aggressive demeanor.
What they thought would be a fierce battle ended surprisingly quickly. However, no one felt any relief after the fight. Wen Miaomiao, in particular, was eyeing Meng Shuying with a scrutinizing gaze.
Even Su Luowei looked bewildered.
"A-Ying… have you turned to demonic cultivation?"
Meng Shuying's body stiffened.
She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but then closed it again.
After a long silence, Su Luowei finally heard her quietly respond.
"Yes, I've turned to demonic cultivation."
"But I've never done anything that would harm the heavens or go against morality."
Her eyes were sincere, as if worried Su Luowei wouldn't believe her, and there was a hint of urgency in her tone: "Back then, after giving half of my divine bone to Mingyou, the love poison in my body flared up again, and I couldn't suppress it. To maintain my cultivation, I had no choice but to…"
"Don't worry, I believe you." Su Luowei walked over to her, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Meng Shuying's forehead. "It's alright. Even if you've turned to demonic cultivation, it's okay."
She paused, meeting Meng Shuying's gaze directly, showing no trace of disgust. "I'm just… a bit surprised."
She had risked everything to steer Meng Shuying away from her original fate, but it seemed like, after all was said and done, Meng Shuying had ended up on the same path anyway.
Losing half of her divine bone and turning to demonic cultivation.
Su Luowei felt like fate was playing a cruel joke on her.
The blood moon hung silently in the sky, watching over everything happening in the demon realm below.
Su Luowei and the others found an abandoned house to rest in. After cleaning up the place a bit, they lit a small fire.
Outwardly, everyone seemed calm. But almost everyone's lips were tightly pressed together, forming straight, tense lines.
The nights in the demon realm were cold and quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the fire breaking the silence.
Su Luowei and Meng Shuying sat together on one side, while Xie Hanzhu and Wen Miaomiao sat on the other. The firelight stretched their shadows long across the ground. After a long silence, Su Luowei suddenly spoke up.
"There's something… I want to tell you all. Ever since we entered the demon realm, I've felt like something has been calling out to me."
Su Luowei looked up, staring into the southeast. "It seems to be coming from that direction, and I have a strong feeling that it's something very important to me."
Xie Hanzhu poked the fire with a stick, making it burn more brightly.
"Did you leave something behind in the demon realm, Sister? Maybe in the years you were gone, you were reincarnated here?"
"No," Su Luowei shook her head. "It's a bit complicated, but one thing I'm sure of is that I've never been to the demon realm."
"The southeast direction…" Wen Miaomiao mused. "If I remember correctly, that's where the Demon Palace is."
"Could the Demon Lord be calling you?" Xie Hanzhu rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe you had some connection with the Demon Lord in a past life, and now that he's sensed you in his domain, he's calling you to him?"
Her eyes lit up as she continued, "I've heard that the Demon Lord is incredibly handsome. Maybe you two had a romance in a past life, and now that he knows you're here, he can't wait to see you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Shuying's gaze pierced through her like a knife, sending a shiver down Xie Hanzhu's spine. She jumped up and started rubbing her arms vigorously.
"I was just joking, Meng Shimei! Don't take it seriously."
Meng Shuying stared at her for a few seconds, causing Xie Hanzhu to break out in a cold sweat, before slowly averting her gaze. "If Sister is curious, then let's go see for ourselves."
Wen Miaomiao lowered her eyes, pondering deeply before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and speaking slowly. "From what I know, besides the Demon Lord Fuguang, there's something else very special in the Demon Palace… It might be what's calling you."
Su Luowei turned to her. "What is it?"
Wen Miaomiao replied, "A complete divine bone."
"Huh?" Xie Hanzhu exclaimed in surprise. "Whose divine bone? Fuguang's?"
Wen Miaomiao shook her head. "No, it's not hers."
Her expression grew cautious, as if she was debating whether or not to share this secret. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, but this was a matter that involved too many risks, and she didn't want to drag them into it unnecessarily.
Moreover, revealing this information might expose her own secrets.
So Wen Miaomiao hesitated.
Xie Hanzhu, who was always impatient, couldn't stand the suspense. She plopped down next to Wen Miaomiao, nudging her with her elbow. "Whose divine bone is it? Come on, we're all waiting to hear."
Wen Miaomiao thought for a moment, then, with a serious expression, she raised her head. "Do you remember the Ten Directions Blessed Land?"
Xie Hanzhu responded, "Of course. It's said that the Ten Directions Blessed Land was once the abode of an immortal, but that immortal has since fallen."
Everyone there was intelligent enough to grasp the implication without it being spelled out. "So, the complete divine bone in the Demon Palace belongs to the immortal who fell in the Ten Directions Blessed Land?"
Wen Miaomiao hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Yes."
"Ugh, that's pretty creepy," Xie Hanzhu muttered, frowning deeply. "That Demon Lord sure has some twisted hobbies, collecting the bones of dead people."
Among the four of them, only Meng Shuying had personally come into contact with a divine bone. She glanced at her sister, relieved to see that she showed no sign of disgust, and then spoke up. "A divine bone isn't just a bone from a dead person. It's the purest form of faith left in an immortal's body after they've fallen."
When she still had half of the divine bone in her body, Meng Shuying could vaguely sense that if she ever reached the Mahayana stage, she would be able to use the divine bone's power to glimpse the most profound gate.
And behind that gate lay the path to immortality.
Cultivators spend their entire lives tirelessly pursuing this goal, hoping that one day they will achieve immortality.
Only Meng Shuying knew what she had sacrificed to gain the chance to bring her sister back to life.
But she had no intention of revealing all of this to her sister. If it hadn't been for her demonic cultivation being exposed today, she wouldn't have even admitted to losing the divine bone.
Her sister treated her so well; what she had given up was nothing in comparison.
"So…" Su Luowei pondered, rubbing her chin. "The thing calling me is most likely not the Demon Lord, but the divine bone of the immortal from the Ten Directions Blessed Land."
But why would the divine bone call out to her?
She glanced at Wen Miaomiao, who deliberately turned away, avoiding her gaze.
Did Wen Miaomiao not know the reason, or was she simply unwilling to say?
"If… and I mean if, I were to obtain that divine bone, would I be able to use its power to directly become immortal?"
"I don't know," Wen Miaomiao said, her eyes clouded with uncertainty.
In the memories of her "true self," she had achieved immortality purely through her own cultivation.
But after "she" became immortal, it wasn't long before Fuguang rescued Meng Shuying.
When she saw Meng Shuying again, she had already become the fifth Demon Lord, and she was even stronger than Fuguang.
From the day Meng Shuying returned, they had suffered defeat after defeat on the battlefield between the human and demon realms, until they were forced to retreat to the foot of Kunlun Mountain, drawing a boundary that would imprison them forever.
Fuguang… the divine bone… Meng Shuying.
Wen Miaomiao suddenly had a bold theory.
Meng Shuying's rise to become a Demon Lord was likely linked to Fuguang. After all, it had been widely rumored in both the human and demon realms that Meng Shuying and Fuguang had an unusual relationship.
If that were the case, everything started to make sense.
Why Fuguang risked exposure to rescue Meng Shuying.
How Meng Shuying, who had only been at the initial stage of Mahayana, returned from the demon realm as a powerful Demon Lord.
If that were true…
Wen Miaomiao stood up and walked over to Su Luowei, her tone firm. "We should leave for the Demon Palace tomorrow. If it really is the divine bone calling you, you might be the best hope for the human race to achieve immortality in centuries."
"But…" Su Luowei started to argue, thinking of the original story where Wen Miaomiao was the one with the greatest chance of becoming immortal.
But when she saw the fire blazing in Wen Miaomiao's eyes, she swallowed her words.
She seemed to understand what Wen Miaomiao was getting at.
If she could obtain the divine bone, maybe she really could rewrite the original ending.
Not the seemingly perfect, good-triumphs-over-evil fake ending.
But the true ending, where the human race was driven to the foot of Kunlun Mountain by the demons, trapped and imprisoned for all eternity.