Chapter 33: The Man Darker Than the 【Darkness Demon God】

"Didn't expect you to find me a new cellmate so quickly."

From the boiling oil hell, a faint shadow struggled to crawl out.

【Darkness Demon God】—Jie.

Whether intentional or not, this demon god’s appearance bore a striking resemblance to Xiang Xuanqing, except that atop His head grew two goat horns.

【Jie】saw Xiang Xuanqing and seemed delighted; He forcibly twisted His pained face into a smile:

"You're clearly not one to tire of the old and chase the new—caught a new demon god, yet came straight to see me."

"Can you at least change your face before speaking!" Xiang Xuanqing’s expression was blank; He raised a fist, and violent power instantly tore Jie’s head into specks of light.

"Still such a short temper."

【Jie】let His head vanish without attempting to restore it.

At this moment, He looked like a headless vengeful spirit.

"I’ve always looked like this—did you forget?"

"When I drifted in the chaos, from the moment I was born, I had never seen any living being—you were the first living thing I ever encountered."

"So naturally, my form bears some resemblance to yours."

【Jie】’s voice even carried a hint of grievance.

He continued: "I told you before—I’m not the true 【Darkness Demon God】. He died long ago, before the opening of heaven and earth."

"Don’t you still believe in the power of Pangu’s axe?"

"I’m merely a new deity born from that fragment of finger bone."

The headless 【Jie】said to Xiang Xuanqing: "If we speak of antiquity, my spiritual body is not older than you."

"After all, you awakened long before I did—otherwise, you wouldn’t have beaten me up and locked me up here back then."

"In the end, you turned my body into a sword, took my Dao fruit to perfect the Underworld, and left my spiritual body here enduring endless torment."

【Jie】chattered on, growing more and more indignant.

In the end, He sighed deeply:

"I’ve been utterly crushed!"

"Have you ever seen a chaos demon god as miserable as me?"

"I don’t even deserve the name 【Darkness Demon God】—I should be called 【Tragic Demon God】. Who in their right mind has a life this dark?"

【Jie】felt terribly unlucky and wanted to bury His face in His hands and weep.

But He couldn’t find His head.

Xiang Xuanqing listened to His rambling for a long time, showing no reaction.

He merely murmured a quiet "Oh," then asked: "So now you admit you’re a demon god?"

"???"

"Hey, wait—you only heard the last sentence after all that?"

【Jie】got so excited He nearly leapt out of the boiling oil hell.

A chain of law divine chains was pulled from the cosmos and snapped him back with a sharp "crack."

"Enough. Every time you come here, you whine about your grievances. I’m tired of it, let alone you."

Xiang Xuanqing glanced at 【Jie】with indifference.

A cunning demon god.

You think this level of trickery can fool me into letting you go? Are you dreaming?

Whether His words were true or false, whether He was connected to the chaos demon god or not—based solely on His true form, Xiang Xuanqing could never release Him.

With a face so similar to his own, if He went around causing trouble, Xiang Xuanqing would inevitably be blamed.

The 【Darkness Demon God】Jie struggled once more out of the boiling oil.

"Cough, cough~~"

【Jie】coughed twice, then waved toward Xiang Xuanqing, who was about to leave: "Fengdu, let’s make a deal, how about it?"

Xiang Xuanqing stopped.

"Go on."

"I’ll tell you the true name and Dao fruit of the guy next door—reduce my sentence in return, how?"

Xiang Xuanqing turned back to look at 【Jie】.

"Didn’t you say before that you were a new deity born from the chaos demon god’s finger bone, that your true spirit awakened after the opening of heaven and earth, and that you had no memories of the past?"

【Jie】was instantly speechless.

He stammered: "Well, uh, I do have some connection to the chaos demon god, and recently scattered memories have been gradually returning."

"Among them, there happens to be something about the guy next door."

Xiang Xuanqing smiled: "What a coincidence?"

"It’s exactly that coincidence! Just say yes or no!"

【Jie】panicked and gave up all pretense.

Xiang Xuanqing carefully studied Him.

After a long pause, He nodded: "State your terms."

【Jie】smiled.

"For the next million years, you may not impose any punishment upon me!"

He named His demand, then waited for Xiang Xuanqing to counteroffer.

Unexpectedly, Xiang Xuanqing agreed.

Not a single word of negotiation.

"Good! No going back!"

【Jie】’s head regrew, eyes gleaming.

Xiang Xuanqing nodded: "No going back."

【Jie】laughed heartily.

He was ecstatic inside.

A million years! A whole million years!

Finally, He could enjoy a long, comfortable stretch of time—perhaps by then, He might even...

Overcome with joy, 【Darkness Demon God】Jie feared Xiang Xuanqing might renege.

He immediately fulfilled His promise: "The guy next door’s true name is 【Spirit Vault Demon God】."

"You haven’t found His Dao fruit, have you? Because His Dao fruit is 【Vault】!"

【Jie】stared at Xiang Xuanqing, speaking rapidly: "During the opening war, He was the best at hiding."

"He even used hiding to survive the first phase of Pangu’s slaughter."

"If not for Qiankun’s death, which enraged 【Spirit Vault Demon God】, I bet He’d have hidden until the very end!"

Xiang Xuanqing listened, then nodded: "Did you witness His death?"

"Naturally—I was still alive when He died, so I saw it."

Xiang Xuanqing frowned.

When He used the 【Darkness Demon God】’s Dao wound to cultivate, His vision had shown only the death of 【Qiankun Demon God】.

The subsequent death of 【Spirit Vault Demon God】had not appeared.

"Could it be that, influenced by the demon god’s Dao fruit, 【Spirit Vault Demon God】hid everything from view during the cultivation process centered on the 【Darkness Demon God】?"

Xiang Xuanqing temporarily set aside his doubts and continued watching 【Jie】.

"What else do you know about Spirit Vault Demon God?"

【Jie】thought for a moment, then said: "If you want to find His Dao fruit, it won’t be easy—because the 【Vault】 Dao fruit must be hidden away!"

"I suspect the only possible lead lies with Qiankun Demon God—they were close."

"If you can find Qiankun’s traces, you’ll almost certainly find the 【Spirit Vault】 Dao fruit."

Perhaps because Xiang Xuanqing had agreed to reduce His sentence, He spoke honestly for once.

Xiang Xuanqing was satisfied with 【Jie】’s answer.

He said: "Do you want to claim your sentence reduction now, or..."

"Now! Claim it now!"

【Jie】could hardly wait.

This boiling oil hell had been upgraded ninety-one times—it was terrifyingly powerful, and He was truly at his limit.

"Very well, as you wish."

Xiang Xuanqing snapped His fingers and dissolved the boiling oil hell.

"Friend, you truly keep your word!"

【Jie】laughed with relief.

Yet before He could savor even half a moment of joy, Universe Jia-1 trembled violently.

Time flew like a shuttle, years passed in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, a million years vanished.

"Containment Object Jia-1, 【Jie】: your requested sentence reduction has now ended."

"Please enjoy your remaining sentence."

"Wish you a pleasant stay."

"Goodbye!"

Xiang Xuanqing turned and left.

The oil cauldron hell reappeared.

The 【Dark Demon God】’s smile froze on its face.

It was stunned.

"What? You even trick Demon Gods? Are you even a person?!"

【Jie】 finally snapped.

It let out a soul-shaking roar toward Xiang Xuanqing’s retreating back.

"Stop right there!"

"Since time immemorial, I’ve never seen a deity like you!"

"You call me the 【Dark Demon God】—then who’s truly darker, you or me?"

As Xiang Xuanqing’s back vanished, Universe Jia-1 was sealed once more.

【Jie】 sank into a state of emotional collapse.

It realized that compared to Xiang Xuanqing, it was nothing but a pitiful shadow of a Dark Demon God.

It was practically a kid!

Note: In this text, the term “person” refers to humanoid lifeforms—that is, the Pangu Dao Body, the final manifestation of Pangu’s creation of heaven and earth, possessing immense power.

Thus, primordial deities often emulate the Creator Pangu; regardless of their true forms, they all take humanoid shape when traveling.

(End of Chapter)