Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 340 - The Ancient Qiankun Formation (1)

Gui Diaotang looked at Gui Yansheng, as if trying to see the shadow of someone else in the person before him.

But Gui Yansheng was covered in blood, his face already too damaged to recognize his past appearance.

The Demon King lowered his eyelids and fell silent.

When Jiang Yiru discovered Gui Diaotang’s demonic identity, her first reaction was not anger, but panic.

The woman who used to cling to him and coquettishly wanted to be with him for a lifetime now had a face full of fear. She said, “You’re actually a demon.”

Gui Diaotang took a step forward, wanting to comfort her, but Jiang Yiru took a step back, looking at him as if he were a natural disaster.

This woman, who was usually weak and timid, had quickly packed her things the moment she learned his identity. Standing before Gui Diaotang, her tone was cold and unyielding: “This is the end for us. There’s no need to make things worse.”

“End?” He looked at his empty hands, feeling lost for the first time in his life.

“You’re a demon, and I’m a human. There is a difference between demons and humans. The feelings we had in the past end here. My father has already arranged a marriage for me, and I’ll be married next month,” she said.

The Jiang family was a well-known wealthy merchant family in the area, and many suitors were eager to marry Jiang Yiru. Mr. Jiang had long been unhappy with his daughter’s association with an unknown cultivator. The moment Jiang Yiru agreed to the marriage, the engagement was promptly arranged.

He knew Jiang Yiru seemed weak and timid on the surface, but was actually very resolute and passionate inside, or she wouldn’t have entrusted her life to him after only a few encounters. He was a demon, and now his woman was going to become someone else’s wife. If he wished, he could kill everyone in the city and bring Jiang Yiru back to Heishi City.

But he abandoned his plans when he saw Jiang Yiru’s eyes.

Her gaze was wary and alert. There was no doubt that if Gui Diaotang did that, Jiang Yiru would hate him for the rest of her life.

So he spoke lightly, “There’s no need for you to go I’ll leave instead.”

He left the Sun and Moon Flag with Jiang Yiru, saying, “If you encounter danger or wish to see me, just open this flag, and I will come find you.”

Jiang Yiru looked down, not meeting his gaze.

Gui Diaotang looked at her deeply one last time and then turned to leave.

Upon returning to Heishi City, he initially hoped Jiang Yiru might open the Sun and Moon Flag and that their feelings could be rekindled. As time passed, a year, then two, with no response, he gradually came to understand that Jiang Yiru might never open the flag again.

She no longer wished to see him, and their fate was at an end.

Gui Diaotang devoted all his energy to cultivation. He became the tenth Demon King of Heishi City, busy every day, and gradually forgot Jiang Yiru.

The delicate flower had been removed from the Demon King’s life. It was natural, as the barren land of Heishi Mountain could not nurture vibrant colors. As a demon, his nature was inherently indifferent and cruel. Even if Jiang Yiru had not discovered his identity, even if she hadn’t decided to sever their relationship, they might still not have been able to stay together.

Demons were always cold-hearted. This had always been the case. Deep feelings and shallow fate were preordained.

In the wilderness, the Demon King’s green robe was gentle, standing out as an incongruous sight.

Gui Yansheng then laughed softly, “So you say, she left you?”

He wiped the blood from his lips and spoke lightly, “Do you know that not long after her marriage, she was discovered to be pregnant, beaten and imprisoned by her husband’s family, and forced to reveal the whereabouts of her lover?”

Gui Diaotang was stunned.

“She fled desperately to protect the child in her womb, hiding in a mountain village, never daring to go out again, with no chance to get the flag.”

Gui Yansheng looked at him with sarcasm, “You keep saying you love her, that you left voluntarily for her sake. If you really loved her, why didn’t you come back to check on her over the years? If you had turned back even once, you would have known what kind of life she was leading! And I wouldn’t have ended up in this state!”

The surroundings fell into silence.

Gui Diaotang did not speak.

Why didn’t he turn back? Why, when Jiang Yiru spoke of severing their relationship, did he leave the things for her and immediately return to Heishi City? Was it because he knew that a demon and a human could not produce offspring, so he never suspected Jiang Yiru might be pregnant? Was it because he thought Jiang Yiru was stubborn, and once she made up her mind, nothing could change it, and forcing her would only make her miserable for life? Or did he believe that Jiang Yiru would have a happier ending with a mortal husband, living a life of harmony and growing old together, rather than being with him?

None of those reasons.

He never thought of fighting for her or lowering his proud head for Jiang Yiru. In his heart, self-respect outweighed love. Perhaps he had already sensed the tragic separation from the beginning of their relationship.

In the end, he loved Jiang Yiru, but it wasn’t enough to outweigh his love for himself.

After a long time, the Demon King spoke softly, “I’m sorry.”

Gui Yansheng looked at him coldly.

“Over the years, you have suffered,” he said, looking at Gui Yansheng.

Gui Yansheng tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if trying to force a smile. But that smile was more hideous than a cry.

From the moment he learned his true identity, he had given everything, returned to Heishi City, trying to find his father.

In truth, he didn’t necessarily want to reunite with his father. Perhaps he just wanted to ask on behalf of his mother, and for himself, why they were abandoned back then. He wanted to hear an answer, even if it was just an excuse. As long as he had an excuse, he could convince himself that at least they weren’t the ones abandoned, at least his father had some unspoken reason for leaving.

All his fantasies were ruthlessly shattered when he encountered the Skin-Stealing Woman, and then he lost his most important person in his life in the mighty river of Heishi City.

He was left with nothing, filled with extreme resentment. He killed countless demons in the Asura Ghost Path, awakened the Demon King’s bloodline, and returned to Heishi City, but the people entangled in past grievances were no longer in the world.

The Two-Life Buddha Wheel in the Five-Wheel Pagoda couldn’t change his destined outcome. He lost his mother, lost Xiao Chun, and thus devoted himself to the Xiao Yuan Pearl, losing himself in the process.

He lived without much desire, the only thing he wanted was to drag the whole world to death. He wanted to cover everything with a deluge, make all the “rules” vanish, and then he would set the new rules, becoming the ruler of the world.

From Gui Yansheng’s mouth, he spat out large amounts of blood. His golden eyes were not as bright as before, and the demonic power within him was slowly dissipating.

In fact, even if Zanxing didn’t take his Xiao Yuan Pearl, he wouldn’t live for long. Cultivating the Path of Ten Thousand Ghosts and Asura was inherently self-damaging. The higher his cultivation, the greater the damage. One day, he would be devoured by those roaring remnant souls, completely becoming a puppet of the remnant souls, a figure among the shadows of the white umberella.

It was a destined outcome.

**

Hey everyone,

You might have noticed that I use blue and green interchangeably. This isn’t intentional, I just have the memory of a goldfish. In many cases, the author uses the character 青 (qīng), which can describe both blue and green. I can’t even remember what I translated in the last chapter, so I apologize if there have been any inconsistencies or confusion regarding colors.