Chapter 88: The Victor Becomes a God, the Defeated Becomes a Demon

Taiyi’s expression was grave as he nodded. “At first, I didn’t believe it either. So, I ordered the soldiers to stay put while I quietly followed the one-eyed guardian beast alone to see what was going on. I didn’t expect... Ai!”

“What happened? Hurry up and say it!” Fengjiu grew anxious, leaping forward and grabbing his collar, shouting in his face.

“Let go of me first, will you?” Taiyi was vexed—he knew her temper hadn’t changed a bit. Damn, he really shouldn’t have withdrawn his protective golden aura. In front of this little girl, he had lost all his dignity.

Realizing what she was doing, Fengjiu let go, a bit embarrassed. “Sorry.”

Taiyi smoothed out his collar and continued recounting what had happened. Beneath the Celestial Pillar by the boundary river, he saw a demon with a human face and a serpent’s body. She was standing with her back to him, casting a spell, so he couldn’t see her face clearly. All he could see was her waist-length sapphire hair wildly whipping in the wind conjured by her magic, veiling most of her body. The object of her spell was the turbulent boundary river itself.

Within her spiritual power, he sensed an overwhelming aura of wrath—seven parts malice! She was a Demon Lord! Shocked, Taiyi studied her techniques closely, and cold sweat broke out all over him: this was bad—she was trying to break the seal of the boundary river!

If the seal were undone, the river would lose its purpose, and then chaos would reign—the Three Realms would be thrown into utter turmoil!

There was no time to lose; Taiyi couldn’t afford to think about his “Xi-mei” now. He leapt out, pointed his golden halberd at the demon, and shouted, “Stop!”

The snake-bodied demon didn’t pause her spell, merely turned and smiled sweetly at him. “Big Brother Taiyi, it’s been a while.”

Clang! Taiyi’s halberd nearly slipped from his hand in surprise. Pointing at her, he stammered, “You… you’re Xi-mei?”

That face—who else could it be if not her?

“Big Brother Taiyi, I’m surprised you still remember me. That’s wonderful.” The smile on her face grew even brighter.

That enchanting smile dazzled Taiyi’s eyes. No, it couldn’t be. How could Xi-mei smile so wickedly? She was a demoness! He shook his head vigorously, kicked his golden halberd back up from the Sea of Clouds, and pointed it at her, shouting sternly, “Stop! Or I won’t show mercy!”

Xi-mei paid him no mind. Her hands continued forming great seals over the river, and she spoke as if reuniting with an old friend. “Big Brother Taiyi, so you lied to me just now. You don’t really remember me. Humph! Do you remember how your father persecuted me, how I was sentenced to have my bones removed? The night before my punishment, you came to the heavenly prison to see me. Do you remember what you said? You said, ‘Xi-mei, you’ve suffered. Wait for me, I’ll find you and help you return to the Divine Realm.’ Big Brother Taiyi, do you really not remember?” As she spoke, her tone grew coy, like a young girl acting spoiled, though she recounted such tragic events without the slightest hint of sorrow.

Yet Taiyi’s eyes blurred with tears. How could he not remember? Those memories had tormented him for over ten thousand years. Every time he recalled them, his heart ached as if torn apart.

“Are you truly Xi-mei?” His halberd drooped, powerless. He watched her in pain and asked, “All these years, where have you been? I searched the Three Realms and could not find you.

How did you become like this?”

Xi-mei let out a tinkling laugh, flicking her long serpentine tail. “Big Brother Taiyi, don’t you think I’m beautiful like this?”

She had once been the most beautiful woman in the Divine Realm, famed for her looks and unshakable self-confidence. Hearing this, Taiyi’s heart shattered. He quickly wiped away his tears and forced a smile. “You are… beautiful…”

Unexpectedly, Xi-mei’s smile vanished, her brows arched sharply as she cut him off coldly: “Beautiful? Big Brother Taiyi, you’ve never lied to me before, but now you’re just like everyone else, lying with your eyes wide open. You’re deceiving me!”

“I…” Taiyi was stunned, at a loss for words.

Xi-mei’s spellcasting grew even more vigorous as she continued to accuse him, “Or is it, Big Brother Taiyi, that you’ve always been lying to me? You are the greatest deceiver in the Three Realms—your lies kill without consequence! You never loved me. You only obeyed your father’s orders and approached me for the sake of my clan’s legacy and status as the most prestigious house. Isn’t that right? You tricked me—all along, you’ve been deceiving me!”

“No, no…” Taiyi waved his hands desperately. He truly loved her—not for her status as the saintess of the Feng clan, not because of his father’s orders. He loved her simply because she was his Xi-mei.

At last, Xi-mei stopped casting her spell and once again wore a breathtaking smile. “Come here, Big Brother Taiyi. Come to me.”

As if possessed, Taiyi stepped to the river’s edge.

Xi-mei’s right hand shot out, seizing his breastplate and hauling him across the river, slamming him hard against the Celestial Pillar.

“Big Brother Taiyi, it’s all right. Things have come to this—though you lied to me, I’m not angry.” Her other hand gently caressed his cheek as she smiled softly, “Truly, I’m not angry, nor do I hate you.”

Taiyi had never seen her like this before. He was so frightened he felt as if plunged into an icy abyss. Gritting his teeth, he finally managed to utter, “Xi… Xi-mei, don’t be like this.”

But Xi-mei gazed at him with deep affection. Her eyes drifted down his face, his lips, his chin, finally resting on his neck. She sighed softly, “Big Brother Taiyi, the elders always said men with thin lips are the most heartless. I never believed it. Now I do. The reason I ended up like this and brought disaster upon my clan was because I was too proud, too selfish, too foolish. A man like you, with your thin lips, is heartless, but I trusted you completely and doubted my own kin. So, I deserve this fate.”

“Xi-mei, let me explain…” Taiyi’s eyelids twitched violently; instinct warned him that something was terribly wrong. He tried to struggle, but found himself pinned to the pillar, completely unable to move. When he quietly tried to summon his true energy, cold sweat drenched his back—he couldn’t muster even a trace of power!

When had Xi-mei become so terrifyingly powerful?

Xi-mei pressed her finger against his lips, shaking her head with a mischievous smile, signaling him to be silent. “Big Brother Taiyi, you must have your reasons, right? Heh, there’s no need to explain. I understand everything you want to say. Listen to me—this is the last time I speak to you as Feng Lixi. I have wronged my people, so I must seek them out and atone for my sins. I’ll beg for their forgiveness. And, Big Brother Taiyi, rest assured. For the sake of the Three Realms, I won’t break the seal to the Demon Realm. I’m only opening a temporary passage between the Divine and Mortal Realms, so I can take Long-ge with me to find my people. You know, Long-ge is a guardian beast and cannot leave here. Without his care over these ten thousand years, I’d have perished long ago, so I must take him with me. Oh, where was I? Right, I would have died without Long-ge’s care. I’m not lying—your strike nearly killed me. The night before my punishment, my mother secretly sealed my three main souls into our clan’s legacy jade slip and had Ling Gu smuggle it out of the Divine Realm. But you pursued us here, forcing Ling Gu to take her own life. She had no ill intentions—she only tried to burn her soul to boost her power and send me away. But you, you’re truly your father’s son—showed no mercy, refused to hear her out, and with one thrust sent the jade slip tumbling into the boundary river. Luckily, my three main souls were strong enough; at the last moment, I shattered the slip and hid a fragment of myself inside Long-ge. Big Brother Taiyi, didn’t you just ask why I became like this? Well, it’s thanks to you, my dear Taiyi. As the saintess, with the power of our clan’s legacy jade slip and the Third Elder’s soul-mending technique, as long as my three main souls remained, I could restore my missing seven spirits and reconstruct a body. But you made me lose the slip, you drove Ling Gu to death, and I couldn’t reunite with the Third Elder. So, I had no choice but to accept Long-ge’s help and use his self-regeneration… That’s why I’ve become this half-human, half-serpent creature! But don’t be sad—I don’t blame you for deceiving me. Because today, I deceived you too. To open a temporary passage, I need a mouthful of pure yang blood from a golden immortal. I didn’t expect you’d still be pure yang. I’m truly glad.”

As she spoke, her expression twisted, and two gleaming fangs grew from her mouth.

“No, Xi-mei, you can’t!” Taiyi panicked. If she bit him, she would truly fall into the demonic path—there would be no turning back!

But he couldn’t move. All he could do was shout, “Xi-mei, if you drink the blood of an immortal, you’ll become a demon! No matter how much you hate me, don’t throw yourself away, don’t fall into darkness!”

Xi-mei had already lowered her head, fangs bared to his throat, but at his words, she paused, raised her head again, blinked, gently patted his cheek, and smiled. “Throw myself away? Fool, I’ve worked so hard to regain a body—why would I give up? Besides, do you even know what makes someone a demon or a god? The path of gods, the path of demons—Taiyi, you’re too fixated! Let me tell you, demons are born from the heart. Your father, for instance, is the real devil! Or perhaps, it’s simply that victors are gods, losers are demons. Today, you are gods, but it doesn’t mean you’ll always be above all. Don’t look down on demons. Once I descend, one day I’ll return, and by then, you’ll be the ones hunted as demons!”

She tapped his breastplate with her finger, snorting, “You just refuse to face reality. There’s already a heart demon living inside you, consuming your spirit day and night, isn’t there? For the sake of Feng Lixi, I’ll give you some advice: be cautious. Don’t recklessly use your energy again, or you’ll become a puppet of your own heart demon.”

With that, she bit his neck without hesitation, drawing a mouthful of his pure yang immortal blood and spitting it into the boundary river.

Instantly, the sky changed dramatically; the entire sea of clouds trembled violently.

With a deafening rumble, a massive whirlpool formed on the river’s surface.

“The passage is open!” Xi-mei coldly dropped him, leaped onto the one-eyed dragon’s back, and called, “Long-ge, let’s go!”

Taiyi’s vision blurred as he slumped powerless at the foot of the Celestial Pillar, reaching out weakly toward the fading figures. “Xi-mei, no, come back!”

Hearing him, Xi-mei ordered the dragon to stop, turned back, and enunciated each word clearly: “Taiyi, the past is over and done. Feng Lixi died—died on the execution platform over ten thousand years ago. It was witnessed by all in the Divine Realm. Since then, there has been no Feng Lixi in this world. The one standing before you now is Nuwa, the guardian of humanity. Remember, from now on, address me as Nuwa. If you wish to mourn your old love with Feng Lixi, go to the execution platform. Don’t come looking for me! Otherwise, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

In other words, the Lady Nuwa had spoken: if you dare show your face again, she’ll beat you every time! Feng Ke’er, listening nearby, couldn’t help but sigh in admiration: Truly worthy of being Lady Nuwa—my idol! I must get her autograph if I ever have the chance!

The Celestial Master was right—Feng San’s story was only one side of the tale and not to be trusted. I am not some remnant soul of a former saintess of the Feng clan. I am just myself—a modern woman from tens of thousands of years in the future, flung into this prehistoric era of cultivation by that trio of black crows who mistook me for the reincarnation of the saintess. It’s a bit unjust, but for a small person like me, life goes on wherever I am. After all, how many people get to cross the river of time and witness the dawn of a great era? Ha! I’m at peace with it now.

Thinking of this, she felt a surge of anticipation: let’s see how Nuwa, the guardian of humanity, ushers in the Age of Legends!

When Taiyi finished his story, Fengjiu scratched his head. “So, the celestial disturbances these past days were caused by little Xi—uh, I mean, little Nuwa—breaking through with a temporary passage between the Divine and Mortal Realms? And she calls herself the ‘guardian of humanity’? What is she planning?”

Fengjiu believed Taiyi’s tale. This was exactly the kind of thing the Xi he knew would do. Back then, when he first heard the news, he’d been shocked—how could Xi do something as tragic as gouging out her own bones and committing suicide? It turned out that was only a puppet infused with her seven spirits—a ruse! The troublesome part was that Hua Qiye was too cunning, seeing through the plan between Xi and the Feng clan’s leader, and, with the help of the Divine Realm’s “model son,” ultimately succeeded.

“Victors are gods, losers are demons”—repeating this phrase of Xi’s over and over in his heart, he felt as if a lamp had been lit within him, albeit one shrouded in thick gauze—dim and indistinct. He sensed something, but couldn’t quite articulate it.

Taiyi shrugged. “How should I know? That’s why I hurried down to see for myself. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

His gaze fell on Taiyi’s neck, and Fengjiu grinned mischievously. “Brother Taiyi, why are you still wearing a scarf around your neck? Haven’t you applied any medicine? You’re an immortal—such a little bite should have healed long ago, even without medicine, right? What’s going on?”

This pauper—Feng Ke’er snickered behind her hand.

Taiyi blushed, touching the white cloth at his neck, and muttered, “I did apply medicine, but the wound just won’t heal.”

Fengjiu, hearing this, rose on tiptoe and reached out to touch it. “Let me see. Maybe it’s poisoned. Our Feng clan specializes in detoxification.”

But Taiyi caught his hand midway, speaking with practiced calm, “Brother Jiu, do you think Xi-mei said all those harsh things because she hated me?”

Fengjiu shook off his hand and rolled his eyes. “Stop flattering yourself! Still calling her ‘Xi-mei’? She said herself—show your face again, and she’ll beat you every time!” (To be continued)

Celestial Codex, Chapter 88, “Victors are Gods, Losers are Demons”—End of update!