The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Chapter 295: The Gate of Martyrdom, No Return from Asceticism

Before them stood a bridge.

Its body extended from the edge of a cliff, reaching towards the heavens' end. In the distant horizon, there was an ethereal Lingxiao Rock Gate suspended in mid-air. The gate's enormity was beyond estimation; it towered amidst the clouds and mists, with its scarlet flames undiminished by the thunderous downpour and lightning strikes.

"Heaven-Stepping Lord, do you recall? You once told us that long, long ago, when demons wreaked havoc, Gouchen Palace assisted Fu Xi in quelling the demonic forces and banishing them from the mortal realm, hoping they would restrain themselves."

With his hands behind his back, he gazed at the magnificent stone gate in the distance and continued, "The Demon Sovereign, defeated, retreated with his troops. Upon returning to the Demon Realm, ashamed of his defeat, he ordered all gates connecting to the human world to be sealed, severing ties with the mundane world forever."

Pausing for a moment, he went on, "But nothing is absolute. As a precaution, the Demon Sovereign left one final passage open... this very one before us."

A deafening thunderclap and flash of lightning.

"The Gate of Martyrdom."

However, Chu Wanning's gaze was not fixed on the Gate of Martyrdom. Since arriving, he had barely taken his eyes off the colossal sky bridge that connected the Demon Realm to the summit of Life and Death Peak's rear mountain.

Upon seeing the bridge, he was first startled, then turned ashen-faced. Eventually, he appeared shattered, on the brink of madness.

He jerked his head around. "Mo Weiyu, are you insane?!! This bridge..."

"Heaven-Stepping Lord" smiled slightly, lifting his eyelids even though he had seen Chu Wanning's reaction clearly. He asked deliberately, "What's the matter with you? Don't you like it?"

...Like it?

This five-foot-wide bridge before him wasn't constructed with a single piece of wood or nail. From start to finish, it was built entirely from human bodies!

The corpses were piled on top of one another, suspended in the sky, stretching out into an endless bridge of the dead. Among them were men and women, old and young, packed together like ants in formation, leading straight to the magnificent entrance of the demon realm. How many corpses were there? It was impossible to estimate.

"As it is the Gate of Martyrdom, there must be a path of martyrdom."

Heaven-Stepping Lord remained indifferent, as if these corpses were no different from pebbles picked up by the roadside or logs cut down from the forest. Then he whistled, and a blinding blue light suddenly appeared at the far end of the bridge, as if something was rushing towards them from the distant end.

"There are actually some secrets about the demon realm that Master doesn't know," Heaven-Stepping Lord said, turning to smile at Chu Wanning after finishing his actions. "If you don't mind, I'll share them with you."

Chu Wanning: "..."

"Master only knows that when Fu Xi battled the Demon Sovereign, Gouchen Palace betrayed him, forging the first 'sword' in the world. But what Master doesn't know is that the Demon Sovereign later held a grudge and plotted to take revenge against Gouchen Palace. Although he couldn't do anything to the ruler of all weapons, he could punish the members of Gouchen's clan. He expelled his maternal clan from the demon realm."

Heaven-Stepping Lord stood with his sleeves folded behind him, gazing at the distant streak of blue light. His voice was low and soothing.

"The demon race has always possessed overpowering spiritual energy. It's precisely because of this potent bloodline that they require immense energy, necessitating a constant intake of grains and meats from the Realm of Demons to sustain their spirit cores' normal circulation."

"After the maternal clan of Gouchen Palace was exiled to the mortal world, their lack of suitable sustenance caused their spirit cores to gradually shrink and mutate. Most of them eventually became weak, good-for-nothing beings. The only remaining demon trait within them is their physically aptitude for cultivation and reproduction."

Pausing there, Heaven-Stepping Lord turned to look at Chu Wanning. "Shifu should know the origins of that Gouchen maternal clan, right?"

"..." Though reluctant to respond, the stakes were too high. After a moment of silence, Chu Wanning gritted his teeth. "The Butterfly-Bone Beauty Clan?"

"Indeed," Heaven-Stepping Lord clapped his hands in amusement. "It's the Butterfly-Bone Beauty Clan."

"The Butterfly-Bone Beauty Clan was originally an incredibly strong demon race. Over the ages, they evolved into a physique suitable for dual cultivation to ensure the continuation of their lineage. Their originally compatible bodies and powerful spirit cores allowed for the birth of strong offspring, each generation surpassing the last. But with the closure of the Realm of Demons, they lost access to spiritual energy, causing their spirit cores to weaken. All that remained were their bodies abundant with spirituality."

"Certainly." As if recalling someone, a fleeting darkness passed through Heaven-Stepping Lord's black eyes. "Their innate, outstanding beauty as demons."

Chu Wanning was well aware of these facts, no need for further explanation.

In the cultivation world, opinions on the Butterfly-Bone Beauty Clan were binary: either they were meat to be consumed or dual cultivation partners for pleasure.

In the previous Yuanxuan Association auction, wasn't Song Qiutong used as an item precisely because of this? Even someone as rational as Jiang Xi didn't treat the Beauty Seat as a living person, let alone those other cultivators with less savory characters.

"Heavenly beauty and alluring forms—when possessed by the strong, they are like the final flourish on a fine tapestry," said Heaven-Stepping Lord, casting a subtle glance at Chu Wanning.

After a moment, he continued, "But when these qualities belong to the weak, they become a feather in the snow or a white fox in the night. They will inevitably be violated and slaughtered."

The distant blue light was still slowly drawing closer and closer.

Heaven-Stepping Lord said, "When the Butterfly Bone Clan first emerged, they still retained demonic powers, allowing them to coexist with humans. But over time, their strength waned until it was almost completely extinguished. As you can see, in that primordial age of chaos, the weak were devoured by the strong. The pure-blooded Butterfly Bone Beauty Seats were swiftly wiped out. Those who remained had no choice but to conceal their identities for survival."

"{...}How did they conceal them?"

"Well, this is the first time you've asked me something since we met," Heaven-Stepping Lord said, turning his gaze. "Actually, it's quite simple. You should recall that when Song Qiutong cried, his tears were golden. This is a characteristic of demons. To hide their identity, they simply needed to avoid shedding tears."

Chu Wanning didn't respond.

Not shedding tears sounded easy, but in reality, it was no simple task.

The Butterfly Bone Beauty Seats were born with breathtaking beauty, standing out in any crowd. If they aroused suspicion, cultivators had various methods to force them to cry.

"The undetected beauty seats managed to survive. Some secluded themselves in the mountains, while others chose to marry mortals... Those who married mortals sometimes gave birth to children with demonic traits and sometimes human ones. If they inherited the demonic side, the child would find it difficult to control themselves. Any tears shed out of sorrow would be golden, causing disaster for both the child and their caretakers upon being seen. If they took after the human side, there was little to celebrate, for the demonic blood still flowed within them. It was uncertain when another Butterfly Bone Beauty Seat might appear in future generations."

Upon hearing this, Chu Wanning suddenly thought of someone and frowned slightly, uttering three words.

"Song Xingyi..."

"Heaven-Stepping Lord nodded, "Ah, yes, the Venerable Bi from hundreds of years ago, Song Xingyi. Indeed, during the process of reproduction, there's an occasional extremely fortunate child. They're identical to ordinary humans, shedding non-golden tears and without any obvious characteristics of a cauldron. Due to the perfect blend of their bloodlines, they can quickly form spirit cores, possessing formidable spiritual power comparable to pure-blooded demons. However, such occurrences are incredibly rare. After thousands of years, the number of Butterfly Bone Beauty Seats who've reached the level of a Grandmaster can be counted on one hand."

As he spoke, he extended his slender fingers, waving them mockingly yet intriguingly before his eyes.

After a moment, he continued, "Given such a precarious situation, many Butterfly Bone Beauty Seats long to return to the Demon Realm. Once back, they'd no longer have to live in constant fear, never shedding a tear throughout their lives, nor worry about being sold as cauldrons or boiled for soup. In those chaotic times when people hunted beauty seats for survival, they wouldn't have to scar their faces, fearing that their attractiveness could lead to their demise."

He spoke softly for a while, and finally, the distant blue light began to take shape. It appeared to be a carriage drawn by five horses, racing along the Path of Martyrdom.

Heaven-Stepping Lord said, "However, returning to the Demon Realm isn't that simple. The Demon Sovereign holds a blood vendetta against the God of Chongwen. To him, the God of Chongwen is a traitor who defected to the Divine Realm. Thus, all descendants of the Chongwen lineage should suffer the consequences, never to rise again. Naturally, he wouldn't allow these fallen beauty seats to return home."

"..."

The rain poured heavily, drenching the mortal world with a damp, brackish scent.

Heaven-Stepping Lord watched the carriage draw closer and closer, taking a long while before he continued, "Not until the First Demon Sovereign was destroyed and the Second took his place did the new Emperor loosen his stance slightly."

Chu Wanning's eyes flickered. "He allowed the Beauty Thrones to return to the Demon Realm?"

"Allowed," Heaven-Stepping Lord chuckled. "But as Master has seen, he set up an insurmountable natural barrier that can only be crossed with forbidden magic. If those Beauty Thrones wish to return home, they must accomplish this task."

Chu Wanning's heart tightened, and he began to piece together the situation.

Nonchalantly, Heaven-Stepping Lord gestured towards the Sea of Corpses Bridge before him. "Look at this Path of Martyrs before you. It's the only bridge connecting the entrance to the Demon Realm and the human world. This bridge can only be constructed gradually by living sacrifices volunteering themselves."

He chuckled sinisterly. "Finding one person willing to sacrifice their life for others is already fortunate; finding five is a great fortune; finding a hundred is like seeing a ghost. Why would anyone in their right mind willingly die for the Demon Realm's descendants to return home?"

Chu Wanning lifted his gaze. "So, one must master the game of Jiu Ling Chess."

Heaven-Stepping Lord hadn't expected a response and was taken aback for a moment before baring his sharp teeth. "Indeed."

He turned to survey the vast and magnificent Path of Martyrs, his eyes narrowing. "These people were bewitched by my Jiu Ling Chess games over the years, willingly offering themselves as sacrifices."

"...How many have you killed?"

Heaven-Stepping Lord rolled his eyes, his dark purple irises gazing intently at him. After a moment of silence, he uttered two words: "Everything."

"..."

"Almost all of them."

The bridge in front of me seemed to have no end, boundless and infinite. In the midst of the heavy rain, everything seemed very quiet, yet it also seemed as if there were fierce ghosts screaming, crying, hoarsely roaring, and pitifully pleading for mercy everywhere.

Chu Wanning felt a chill run down his spine.

"Do you know how long this bridge is?" Heaven-Stepping Lord spoke calmly, not waiting for Chu Wanning's response. "I have almost wiped out all life in this mortal world; fewer than ten thousand are left alive. Yet, this bridge is still only half full — even if I were to kill that last ten thousand, it wouldn't be enough to fill the rest."

"..." Chu Wanning's words came out with a chill. "So, you plan to open the Portal of Time, Space, Life, and Death?"

"You always jump straight to the worst-case scenario," Heaven-Stepping Lord said indifferently. "Indeed, we must open the Portal of Time, Space, Life, and Death to acquire enough precious chess pieces from another world to complete this path."

Rain cascaded down, swirling around the barrier where the two stood, gazing into each other's eyes — brown met purple-black — until a thunderous roar split the air alongside Chu Wanning's nearly frenzied rebuke:

"You're utterly insane!"

Heaven-Stepping Lord curled a mocking smile amidst the purple lightning and thunder, "I knew you'd have this reaction." As he spoke, he averted his gaze, and with the approaching carriage and horses, its intricate details gradually became discernible.

"Timeless Gate, Precious Chess Game." He paused, "And preferably, the art of Rebirth. When someone accomplishes all these, the portal to the Demon Realm will open once more. Then, they can return to their homeland."

"..." Chu Wanning trembled, his anger and horror leaving him almost speechless.

"You must be wondering why the Devil Lord would only permit their return after these forbidden spells are broken," Heaven-Stepping Lord gazed indifferently at the approaching caravan, displaying a rare moment of empathy. "The reason is rather straightforward. The three great forbidden spells were devised by the Gouchen Palace, embodying the once-unmatched powers of the demon race that reached both heaven and earth. However, they were ultimately deemed by Gouchen as the origin of calamity, leading to their plea to Fu Xi to eradicate them. The scrolls and secrets of these spells were then scattered to the winds."

He paused briefly before continuing, "The Enchanting Seat Clan incurred guilt due to Gouchen. Naturally, they should demonstrate their determination to be at odds with Gouchen, cutting ties completely. They must stand against Gouchen's Upper Palace, defying the heavenly might of Fu Xi, to gain forgiveness from the Demon Realm."

A sudden, long neigh of a horse echoed, as the five demonic Heavenly Horses emerged from the flames of the Road of Martyrdom. They stood tall and proud in the midst of the world's bitter winds and rains, halting before the bridge with their heads held high.

Heaven-Stepping Lord's black robes billowed as he approached one of the skull-headed horses, stroking it gently. He glanced sideways at Chu Wanning and said, "The act of breaking the taboo, defying the God of the North Pole, and declaring enmity with Fu Xi—this is what it means to be a worthy descendant of the demon race. Does Master now understand the true purpose behind all that Huabinan has plotted, for the sake of the Beauty Seat Clan?"