Chapter 9: I—I

Most demons have a very strange feeling toward humans.

Even relatively gentle-tempered demons view humans as playthings to be toyed with at will.

It is said that in more ancient times, when humans faced demons, their status was far more humble than it is now.

Later, no one knows what happened, but Heaven and Earth began to favor humans, this weaker species, more deeply.

And with its help, ordinary people could borrow the power of all things and celestial phenomena to resist the Demon Race.

The rules that descended within these laws of Heaven and Earth made it so that demons could not wantonly harass the human world.

Yet even so, demons, who possess stronger physiques at birth and are born with the ability to master terrifying Demon Power, remain an insurmountable mountain before the Human Race.

Ancient demons with illustrious backgrounds like Jiu Jiu do not even need to practice diligently; as long as they wait for enough time, they can naturally master transcendent Demon Power that surpasses the myriad Demon Race.

Through this period of in-depth research.

Jiu Jiu discovered that the images appearing in her mind were a retrospective replay of things that happened to her several hundred years ago.

This human named Gu Jiangming lived three hundred years ago.

And the reason she had not encountered him before was very likely because he had already died before Jiu Jiu could meet him.

Because Gu Jiangming's talent in the Wonder Gate was too astonishing; if it were truly as the images displayed, then he could not have remained obscure in this era three hundred years later.

Therefore, excluding all impossible options, there is only one final answer.

He died at the hands of Baishou Yao three hundred years ago.

This is the reason why Jiu Jiu had not encountered this person in her previous several hundred cycles of Reincarnation, and why she had never heard of him three hundred years later.

This was Jiu Jiu's own conjecture.

She had encountered him through the most coincidental of circumstances.

And even had a strange bond because of it.

But.

At this moment, Jiu Jiu could not help but feel a trace of apprehension in her heart; she was somewhat afraid of Gu Jiangming knowing that she was a demon.

She always felt that all the beauty was just a reflection in a mirror or a flower in the water; the moment the truth was exposed, Gu Jiangming's gentle smile would turn into bone-chilling indifference.

Just like her father.

【Gu Jiangming told you his plans.】

【He believes that human cultivators are doing nothing, remaining silent while evil demons like Baishou Yao harass the secular world. How many people in this world are innocent, and why must they be devoured by demons as mere rations?】

【Gu Jiangming also indicated that he had already discussed this matter with his master, Zhang Tianze of Longhu Mountain, and decided to establish his own sect to slay demons, eliminate evil, and save the people.】

Seeing this line, Jiu Jiu's heart sank to the bottom of the ocean.

Gu Jiangming was wounded by Baishou Yao, and his father died at the hands of a demon.

Jiu Jiu was not surprised that Gu Jiangming would develop the intention to slay demons and eliminate evil, but seeing these words, she could not help but feel a tremor in her heart.

If he were to find out that she is a demon.

What would he think?

How would he look at me?

Jiu Jiu did not want to dwell on such things any further.

Humans and demons are destined to part ways.

Just as she had thought before, they were ultimately not people on the same path.

One is human, the other is a demon.

Leaving each other with a beautiful sense of dignity—isn't that a good thing?

Having such an encounter with someone from three hundred years ago, Jiu Jiu felt a connection as if she had traveled through time and space.

But the story's ending should also stop here.

Actually, it felt quite nice.

Those days in between, being thoughtfully cared for.

【Gu Jiangming seemed to notice your sudden melancholy and distraction; he gently embraced you.】

【He whispered to you: "When the time comes, we can walk across the land together. For the rest of our lives, I will take you to see the sights you have never seen before."】

【But that night, you had already decided to leave him.】

Jiu Jiu was silent.

【This time, you could not help yourself; unable to control your emotions about the impending separation, you relied on your increasingly refined cultivation to quietly suppress the Demon Power within your body, and then you spent this night of lingering warmth together.】

I didn't, I don't, you, you, you, you, don't mess around.

Why would this happen?

I didn't plan to act like that!

Jiu Jiu's pretty face flushed slightly; the prompt in this image had already told her what happened that night.

【A new life begins to gestate within your body.】

A crimson flush had already appeared on her fair neck; she took a deep breath and operated her character to run away without looking back.

Forget it.

This is just an accident in the Reincarnation, and it won't affect reality itself; I—I'll just treat it as leaving a memento for myself.

And on the other side of the image.

Gu Jiangming's expression was not very good.

【Your wife has left you a letter.】

【In the letter, she claims that her aptitude is dull and she fears she can no longer keep up with your pace of cultivation.】

【She seems to lack the talent to learn the Wonder Gate you taught her.】

【Thinking of a hundred years from now, you will remain as you are, while she will be old and withered; she is unwilling to accept such a reality and contrast, and thus bids you farewell.】

The first sword stroke after descending the mountain, to first slay the one in one's heart?

Gu Jiangming only felt dizzy and lightheaded.

He had never thought of it that way.

Furthermore, if his cultivation could not keep up, Gu Jiangming would find a way for Jiu Jiu himself.

Alright, now in Gu Jiangming's heart, a brand-new main quest had appeared.

All of a sudden, he felt his train of thought become much clearer.

【You have begun to embark on the path of searching for Jiu Jiu, but before that, you must resolve a trouble.】

【You are searching the world for the traces of Baishou Yao.】

【You want to test exactly what realm the Strange Gate Arts you have learned have reached, and whether you can subdue the demon.】

【You revisit the old place, arriving once again at the spot where you were besieged by Baishou Yao back then; this place has already been intentionally cleared by someone, and only scattered bloodstains can reveal what happened that year.】

【You smell a trace of unusual power fluctuations; it seems someone once used some kind of power to peer into what had happened here.】

【You arrive at the side room where you once lived, and inside, you find Wang Qinghe's Amulet.】

【And on this Amulet, there are already many mottled patches of dust.】

【You sense the Demon Power barrier that Baishou Yao once cast, and record this aura.】

【This will be an important clue for your thousand-mile pursuit of the enemy.】

【Finally, you sense the existence of this Demon Power again in Yuzhang.】

【Its Demon Power is weak; it seems to have suffered heavy injuries.】

【You track it quietly all the way, finding that aura in a village in Yuzhang with only a population of a little over a hundred.】

【When you arrive at this village, you smell the scent of a blood mist permeating the air and the sound of ravenous chewing.】

【You do not pause for even a moment and immediately give chase, only to see Baishou Yao lifting its clumsy head to swallow a person who had fainted on the ground into its giant maw.】

【It senses your arrival and quickly focuses its incredibly filthy and densely packed eyeballs beneath its giant maw onto you.】

【It is very surprised that you could survive, but immediately, its voice carries a hint of excitement.】

【Because for it, the flesh and blood of a martial artist like you is the best Spiritual Medicine to heal its physical body.】

【"You actually still have the courage to come find me?"】

【"Truly a heaven-sent medicine."】

【"This is you delivering yourself to my door!!!"】

(End of this chapter)