GD Ch. 65 Part 1

Chapter 65: Whose Fault Was It?

Pain.

Changying was in such agony that she nearly reverted to her original form right then and there. Her fingers dug tightly into her hair, and her cold golden eyes were half-closed in pain.

The Devil Lord had been torn into a pulp under the claws of the Obsidian Dragon, yet his heart continued to beat wildly, suspended above the vast sea by a dark, swirling devilish aura.

His mangled body had been torn apart, the flesh sinking into the sea like mud, carried away by the currents to who knows where.

He had always been burdened with sin, and even in death, he could not keep his body intact. This was the retribution of karma.

Yet, Zhuyou felt something was amiss. If the Devil Lord’s body had been utterly destroyed here, how could she have seen his intact body in the coffin at the Heart-Questioning Cliff?

No, the Devil Lord was not dead.

Only now did she realize and confirm that the events within the Turbid Mirror were connected to the outside world. She refused to believe that this wisp of a soul might be… destined to remain trapped. She was determined to try.

The Obsidian Dragon, having been stabbed in the head, writhed in mid-air, its pained roars stirring up the waves once more.

Meanwhile, the Devil Lord’s wildly beating heart was quickly enveloped by a layer of soft flesh, as if insects were building a nest. The scattered pieces of flesh rose slowly from the sea, converging from all directions to piece his form back together!

The flesh and broken bones gradually fused, forming a head, spine, and limbs.

The wisp of hun soul in Zhuyou’s hand struggled, but she held on tightly, refusing to let go. She quickly scanned her surroundings but could not find the remaining two hun souls of the Devil Lord.

Changying, still enduring the pain, trembled violently, her fingers gripping her scalp so tightly they turned white.

Inside the golden pearl was a fragment of her soul, and when that fragment was injured, she could not escape the pain.

When the spiritual soul avatar had its head pierced, Changying felt as though her own skull had been split open.

Changying thought to herself, So this is how it is. This is where the karma was tied. No wonder…

No wonder she had been unable to understand why there was devil’s blood in her consciousness, why she couldn’t remember her past. It was all because of the Turbid Mirror.

Now, it was impossible to tell what had come first and what had followed, like the cycle of reincarnation. The retribution of karma was just like this. She had brought Zhuyou into the Turbid Mirror and led her a thousand years into the past, never expecting it would lead to such a dire outcome.

She suddenly felt lost. Should she blame Zhuyou, or should she blame herself for bringing this upon herself?

Zhuyou, clutching the Devil Lord’s wisp of soul, rose into the air and saw Changying standing on the clouds. Her gaze was icy, her already pale face now ghostly white, as frail as she had been in childhood.

Zhuyou knew that the golden pearl contained a fragment of Changying’s soul. Now that the fragment had been injured by the devil’s sword, Changying must be in unbearable pain.

Zhuyou had experienced the pain of having her bones broken and tendons severed, but she couldn’t imagine the agony of having one’s soul torn apart. It must be far worse than any physical injury.

Though fortune and misfortune often went hand in hand, the pain Changying was enduring did not fully transfer to Zhuyou. She only felt a wave of dizziness, as if her skull had been pried open, her consciousness chillingly empty.

Perhaps this was how Changying had felt when the devil’s blood seeped into her consciousness.

Changying was holding back, frowning as she suppressed the restless drop of blood in her heart, trying to minimize the soul-rending pain.

Zhuyou stood frozen for a long time, unsure if she had made a mistake. But could things be undone? Surely not. She had already extracted the Devil Lord’s hun soul, and the spiritual soul in the golden pearl had been injured.

She clenched her fists, her chest tight and suffocating. Seeing Changying’s pale, agonized face, she was overwhelmed with panic and didn’t know what to do.

But how could she simply let go of the Devil Lord’s soul?

A flood of regret, unlike anything she had ever felt, surged through her chest, as if someone had carved her open, each cut buried deep in her flesh, leaving her utterly wounded.

And yet… it was Changying who was in pain.

She frantically looked away, her hand clutching the Devil Lord’s soul trembling uncontrollably. She questioned herself over and over, torn between regret and self-deception—

No, she had done nothing wrong. It was Changying who had brought her into this situation. Ultimately, the fault was not hers.

Since it was the devil, how could she take the blame upon herself?

But as she turned her gaze, she saw Changying with her head bowed, her eyes still cold and distant, but her appearance so frail it seemed she might collapse at any moment. There was no trace of her former aloofness.

Changying trembled, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders and framing her face. Her lips parted slightly, her breathing almost imperceptible, as if she were holding back, struggling.

Zhuyou had already closed off her heart, but with each glance, she felt a chill in her chest. The drop of blood in her heart seemed to be thrashing about, and for a moment, she was so overwhelmed that she wanted to pull Changying close, just as she had when Changying was a child.

Even as a Divine Venerable of the Nine Heavens, Changying still trembled in pain, enduring it silently, her head bowed in stubbornness. In this light, Changying seemed unchanged.

The Obsidian Dragon above the sea suddenly spoke, “The body you’ve formed is too fragile to contain your three hun and seven po.”

The body the Devil Lord had formed did not speak, its eyes still closed as it floated on the devilish aura. His voice seemed to come from the void, clearly transmitted by a fragment of consciousness he had left before being torn apart—

Then I won’t let these three hun souls return to my body.

The Obsidian Dragon, still in pain, said, “The Heavenly Dao will not allow such defiance.”

The arrogant voice replied, “Then I’ll make sure it can’t catch me!”

It seemed he truly had a way to deceive the Heavenly Dao, or else how could he be so brazenly confident?

Zhuyou looked down, her gaze dark. This was exactly what she wanted to know.

The Obsidian Dragon opened its massive mouth and inhaled deeply. The two hidden hun souls of the Devil Lord were instantly swept up by the wind and waves, drawn toward the dragon.

Just as the two hun were about to be swallowed by the Obsidian Dragon, the dragon suddenly plummeted into the sea, creating a hundred-foot-high wave.

The fragment of soul in the golden pearl had already been damaged. How could it maintain the illusion of the dragon’s form?

The two souls fled, and the Devil Lord’s body was also wrapped in devilish aura and carried away.

With the Devil Lord’s destruction, the violent devilish aura surrounding them dissipated, and the spiritual energy sustaining the thousands of skeletal devil horses vanished.

The skeletal devil horses, now exposed, sank to the bottom of the sea with a thud, and the devil soldiers riding them, caught off guard, fell into the water one after another.

The devils, who had intended to rise from the sea, were instead dragged into the depths by the swirling currents.

The entire ocean seemed to have transformed into a gaping maw, devouring the devil soldiers whole.

With a crashing roar, the waves rolled over, drowning out the cries of the devil soldiers. In an instant, the sea fell silent once more.

The wind calmed, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and the sunlight shone brightly.

Zhuyou glanced down at the water below. Both the devil horses and the devil soldiers had turned to dust in an instant, nourishing the depths of the sea.

That place was…

Cold Eye.

The sun hung in the sky, its divine light casting a golden glow over the sea, reminiscent of Changying’s eyes.

Changying remained silent, still in pain, but she harbored no resentment.

It was as if all her bitterness and resentment had been exhausted during the conflict a century ago. If her consciousness had not been tainted by devil blood, if she had remembered all her past lives upon hatching, perhaps she wouldn’t have felt so easily aggrieved back then.

Zhuyou did not approach her. Clutching the wisp of soul, she raised a barrier with one hand, shielding herself from the divine light falling from the sky.

Changying held her head, unable to look up for a long time. A low groan escaped her throat. 

She was in agony. The pain of having her spiritual soul torn apart was worse than the chronic pain she had endured in her organs as a child.

Zhuyou dared not look at her directly. She bit her lower lip, her gaze wavering.

Changying nearly shut her eyes completely, but when she lifted her eyelids, she glared fiercely at the Vermillion Phoenix, who had fallen into devilhood, her gaze icy and pained.

The drop of blood in Zhuyou’s chest had completely cooled, freezing her to the point of near unconsciousness, just like the day it had first been exchanged.

She had never intended to take out her resentment toward the heavens on Changying. What fault did Changying have? But… at this critical juncture, how could she let go?

“Take me out,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest, each word feeling like a stab to her heart.

Changying immediately looked up, her gaze sharp as she darted toward Zhuyou, pressing two fingers against her wrist.

Zhuyou knew Changying would not allow her to take this soul out, but she also knew Changying would not harm her.

With her devilish thoughts rising, she became even more reckless, shoving all her regrets deep into her heart. “Take me out,” she repeated.

Changying’s fingers still gripped Zhuyou’s wrist. The pain in her skull was unbearable, the agony of her torn spiritual soul lingering, as if rooted in her bones. Her golden eyes narrowed, her gaze both scrutinizing and questioning.