Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change
Arc: The Great Gang War
While Scarlet King stared at the corpse of the earth boar with lifeless eyes, he suddenly felt a disturbance within his body.
The flow of qi inside him became unstable.
His body trembled.
The qi halted abruptly… then began moving in reverse.
Inside the Core Aperture,
the crimson sea churned violently, crashing against the inner walls.
At the very center of the Core Aperture floated a small sphere emitting extremely potent poisonous qi.
Not far from it, two daggers were embedded in the inner walls.
He understood immediately.
(The Cosmic Poison Pearl…)
Without hesitation, he expelled it from his body.
A green pearl emerged—radiant with emerald light.
Ancient poisonous energy swirled around it,
its surface etched with delicate heavenly inscriptions.
He examined it coldly.
"Hah… if I had kept it inside for one more second,
the poison would have seeped into the red sea
and transformed it into a toxic green swamp…"
"I would have died…
and been reborn again."
"But I would have lost all my cultivation progress."
"The only thing that would have remained with me… is the Mind of Darkness."
"Even though I refined the Cosmic Poison Pearl,
it remains extremely dangerous."
"That makes sense…
it is one of the twenty-two most powerful heavenly weapons in existence—
created by the Will of Heaven."
He exhaled slowly.
"The Will of Heaven creates many things…
including the twenty-two heavenly weapons."
"All of them stand at the level of a Great Emperor."
He lowered his gaze.
"I possess a weapon comparable to a Great Emperor…
yet I am far too weak to unleash its true power."
Hybrid emerged from the earth,
followed by Shadow.
A dark aura emanated from both.
Scarlet King spoke coldly:
"Guard the pearl.
I will enter it and investigate the disturbance."
In an instant, the pearl absorbed him like a miniature black hole.
It hovered in midair,
while Hybrid and Shadow exchanged silent glances.
Inside the Pearl — The Land of Red Grass
Scarlet King opened his eyes.
He was falling from the sky.
Below stretched a vast sea of crimson grass,
swaying like silent flames.
He smiled faintly.
He shifted into a steep diving posture—like a peregrine falcon descending upon prey.
The wind lashed against his face.
His coat tore violently behind him.
Gravity intensified as he neared the ground.
Then—
With a precise adjustment,
he straightened his body.
He struck the red grass and skidded forward before coming to a halt.
He rose and surveyed the area.
He saw her.
The Heavenly Slaughter Princess.
He spoke calmly:
"Princess Tian Sha Gongzhu…
are you attempting to break through to a higher stage?"
She sat in meditation.
Dense blood energy radiated from her body.
A terrifying killing intent surrounded her.
She had reached the Void Layer — Sixth Stage.
She did not respond.
She continued cultivating.
Scarlet King thought:
(It makes sense. Attempting a breakthrough within a heavenly treasure would destabilize the treasure itself.
Especially when the one hiding inside is trying to surpass a major boundary.
The Will of Heaven cannot send lightning tribulation into a heavenly treasure—
doing so might destroy it.
And that contradicts its intent.
It preserves heavenly weapons,
granting them to those it deems worthy…
And perhaps one day, it will reopen the Demon Extermination Decree to eliminate me again.)
He placed a hand on his chin and looked toward the massive blue moon in the sky.
(But some poison seeped into my Core Aperture…
I must purge it before it multiplies.)
He sat across from the Princess, six or seven meters away.
He began circulating qi through his body.
(I will control the flow…
and force the poisoned qi out.)
Within the Core Aperture,
pure qi encircled the toxic qi,
pushing it toward the meridians.
The meridians parted, allowing the poison to pass without mixing.
A searing pain tore through his veins.
Fatigue mounted.
He continued pushing.
Until the poison reached his throat.
In one swift motion,
he forced pure qi upward.
He spat out green blood.
The red grass melted where it landed.
He coughed violently, expelling the remaining poison.
He glanced toward Tian Sha Gongzhu.
Her aura was growing denser.
(Damn it…
she could kill me with a single touch.
There are twenty-three full layers separating us.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Contract prevents her from killing me.
But Thomas Andre…
he is far stronger than her.)
His eyes narrowed.
(His physical strength is monstrous.
How will I defeat him?
I need the Eternal Arm of Time,
the Immortal Green Zombie Body,
and Hell's suppression…
Perhaps then… I might at least escape him.)
Suddenly—
A massive surge of energy erupted from Tian Sha Gongzhu.
Scarlet King was blasted backward, crashing violently into a tree.
Blood began to pour from her body like an ocean.
It rose…
flooding the entire area.
Scarlet King spat out the blood that entered his mouth.
Then the blood began to spiral—forming enormous vortices around her.
The entire land transformed into a sea of crimson.
He attempted to fly—
But bloody tendrils seized him
and dragged him inward.
His body spun violently within the vortex.
He tried to lift his head above the surface.
Failed.
Blood flooded his lungs.
He choked.
Coughed.
His clothes turned crimson.
The air reeked of iron.
The sky shifted to red.
The moon darkened into scarlet.
He raised his hand—
It fell.
He sank.
Closed his eyes.
(Is this the end…?
Will I lose my progress again… how tedious.)
Then—
He sensed something before him.
He opened his eyes slightly.
A woman stood there.
A lotus mark adorned her forehead.
Glossy black hair.
Two small red circles beneath her eyes.
A tight red dress.
Pale white skin.
Violet eyes.
A white fox mask resting atop her head.
She spoke softly:
"[Information Deleted]… my husband?"
Scarlet King's eyes widened.
He stared at her for a long moment, blood seeping into his mouth.
"Chu Xiao…?
My wife?"
She belonged to the earliest memories of his countless lives.
For a fleeting second, his expression shifted.
Then it became blank.
He reached out and gently grasped her face, leaning closer.
She whispered:
"My dear… there's no need to push yourself anymore. Come… rest."
Scarlet King drew the twin daggers, Ming Hao, and pressed them against her abdomen.
"My dear?"
Without hesitation—
He sliced her cleanly in half.
She was nothing more than a spiritual projection.
She faded away with a faint smile.
Scarlet King thought:
(Tian Sha Gongzhu is attempting a breakthrough… and probing my memories.
The pearl aided her—that is why Chu Xiao manifested.
But she left me long ago.
I feel nothing toward her.
My emotions are frozen like mountain ice.
Like a trembling peak.
Like a river flowing cold and distant.
Nothing will halt my progress toward eternal rest—
not anyone…
not even myself.)
His voice rose, cutting through the roar of blood as he began slicing apart the tendrils dragging him back into the sea:
"Only perseverance remains in my heart.
Benefit and ambition remain in my mind.
Relentlessness remains in my body."
"Despair and memories are nothing but drifting petals—
lost in ancient winds."
"There is no sorrow in what has already become the past!"
"I must move forward."
"Persevere! Persevere! Persevere!
Until I can no longer persevere!"