Transcending the Nine Heavens

"Nonsense!" The Demon Empress smiled expressionlessly, her voice ice-cold.

Zi Xieqing knelt straight and proper, her shell-like teeth bit her red lips. She spoke nothing.

"Do you know the benefits of your body?" asked the Demon Empress indifferently. "Though you are not a local at the Nine Heavens Imperial Court, you yourself are from the race of purple mountain marten and actually obtained the Power of the Saints, thus getting to thoroughly remold yourself. Though your cultivation right now is low, the Power of the Saints has already stabilized in your body, and you've already cultivated the Profound Purple Pill… This is something that is different from the demonkind of our Nine Heavens Imperial Court, that's why I needed your help. Otherwise, I wouldn't favor you, a mere purple marten!"

"Though your origin is that of the purple sable marten that is unique to the Nine Heavens Imperial Court, that's just it."

The Demon Empress said coldly, "You should know that I'm only taking some of your essence blood and original core to treat my son. Though it will weaken your physique significantly, it won't make you lose your origin, much less harm your life! On the contrary, it would be beneficial to you."

"You keep your origin, and I'll send people to protect you until you recover… Then you'd be able to stand high in the Nine Heavens Imperial Court!"

The look of the Demon Empress grew colder and colder, and icy killing aura came out of it. "Though you've concealed your strength, I can see that you don't belong to the kind of first-grade Emperor Level. At most, you're at Heaven Level, and only preliminary level."

"I value you because the Power of the Saints inside your body can save the prince's life. That's all."

Zi Xieqing said calmly, "I've already known this."

The Demon Empress bellowed, "I'm not talking nonsense with you! I'm letting you know that though your cultivation is low right now, so long as you contribute your essence blood and original core, after your recovery and cultivating together with the prince, you'd be able to transcend the barriers that you haven't been able to transcend for hundreds of thousands of years. With the help of the power of royal demon bloodline to activate the Power of the Saints in your body, you'd be able to be the most promising rising star of our Nine Heavens Imperial Court demon kind!"

"I've also got to tell you that so long as you say yes, after I pass away, so long as you're still alive then, the position of the new Demon Empress would be yours! Even the Emperor of the Imperial Court won't be able to change that!"

"At that time, you'd be the overlord who owns the world! You can wave a hand to let the stars bow to you, you can change the color of the wind and clouds with your anger! This is the ultimate dream of a lifetime for all the people in the Nine Heavens Imperial Court!"

"Do you understand now?" The Demon Empress snorted coldly.

"I understand," said Zi Xieqing with a low yet firm voice. "But I… still want to be human!"

"Rubbish!" The Demon Empress was immediately displeased. Two rays of white light shot from her eyes, and she fixed her gaze on Zi Xieqing's eyes. "Zi Xieqing, look at my eyes and speak."

She fixed Zi Xieqing with the white light in her eyes, and asked her word by word, "You really want to be human? And not a demon?"

A confused look appeared on Zi Xieqing's face, as though her consciousness was completely enraptured at this moment, and she spoke only from her conscience.

Her voice sounded. It was still confused, yet it was clear. "I want to be human!"

The Demon Empress' body trembled, and the white light in her eyes faded. She sighed long. "You've disappointed me too much… Right now, the demonkind keeps losing on three battlegrounds… I've waited so long until you finally changed your mind and returned yourself, I even teleported myself back immediately to meet you. And you're actually only telling me this: you want to be human?

Her voice was low, and there was actually a sense of heartache that couldn't be concealed.

Zi Xieqing's consciousness recovered. She said guiltily, "Please only help me, Demon Empress!"

The Demon Empress sighed long.

"I will say this to you one last time!" The Demon Empress's voice was heavy. She turned her face away and said, "Firstly, to change from demon body to human body without passing through Samsara would require going through Soul Separation Platform first to go through the pain of soul breaking and separation for eighty-one times, and then entering the Heartbreak Spring to experience eighty-one times the pain of breaking the heart, before finally going into the Demon Forging Cave to go through eighty-one times of forging beating to remove the demonic aura from your body. Only then would you obtain a human body!"

"Not to mention you, even I…" The Demon Empress took a deep breath. "May not necessarily be able to withstand this process. Do you know that?"

"I do," said Zi Xieqing in a low voice. "And I also know that the Soul Separation Platform, Heartbreak Spring and Demon Forging Cave can only be found at your place, Demon Empress. Besides, you alone can open them."

"Then do you know that once you make this decision, you are essentially betraying the whole demonkind?! Especially for the purple marten race, it will be a huge shame for them! From then onwards, all the demons would see you as a shame and would rather kill you! From then on, your life would be spent as an enemy to all?" asked the Demon Empress with a heavy voice.

"I know," said Zi Xieqing resolutely.

"Do you know that after contributing a part of your soul of origin and original core, even if you can survive Soul Separation Platform, Heartbreak Spring and Demon Forging Cave, not even 10% of your original cultivation would be preserved? And that it would take three years to recover?"

She didn't wait for Zi Xieqing to speak before she continued, "Don't think that three years is a short time. In this world, immense changes happen even within three blinks of an eye. Before you blink, the whole world may be celebrating joyfully, but after you open your eyes again, bones may have already filled a mountain. And you should know yourself the number of people you've offended back when you ravaged the Nine Heavens Imperial Court seventy thousand years ago."

"Add that to the enmity of all demons in the world, how much chance do you think you have of surviving?" asked the Demon Empress.

"Not even 10%," answered Zi Xieqing frankly.

"Well then, give up the idea." The Demon Empress was relieved.

"Though I don't even have 10% of confidence in surviving, I… won't regret it even if I die!" Zi Xieqing straightened her beautiful back.

"You…" The Demon Empress suddenly turned back and looked at her fiercely. "You are presumptuous!"

Zi Xieqing didn't speak. Her lips pressed together, but her look was resolute.

Beside the Demon Empress, an extremely beautiful woman all in white who had sat in silence the whole time asked softly, "Zi Xieqing, I want to know what's the reason that you are doing this?"

Zi Xieqing's face flushed, and she bowed down her head.

The voice of the woman in white was calm. She asked, "It's for a man?"

Zi Xieqing bit her lips and nodded slowly.

"But even if you keep your demon body, you can still marry him. Though it won't be allowed by either race, so long as you do it secretly… there's still a way." The woman in white's pretty brows wrinkled slightly. "Why must you seek your own end like this?"

Zi Xieqing's teeth sank deeply into her red lips. After a long time, she said with some difficulty, "Seventy-five thousand years ago, Bai Susu…"

Both the Demon Empress and that woman in white trembled, and they remained silent.

Bai Susu was a legend in the demon clan, a rebellious legend.

Bai Susu was the first genius of the white fox race back then. After she transformed into human shape, she roamed the martial world but coincidentally met a descendant of the Ling Feng Pavillion. The two traversed the martial world together and found a soulmate in each other.

Bai Susu knew that humans and demons were enemies, so she concealed her identity and married that man as a demon.

But a tragedy happened eventually. Several years later, the two had a child, and the child actually had a human body and a fox tail! Upon birth, demonic aura was all over his body.

That disciple of the Ling Feng Pavillion was so shocked, as if he was hit by thunder. Bai Susu was forced to reveal her identity. That man was quite moral, he left his masters with his wife and child and ran away.

But such a matter could not be tolerated by either humans or demons. They joined forces to chase them, and eventually killed the whole family at the foot of Mount Canglan!

It was said that before she died, the elder of the fox clan questioned Bai Susu if she regretted it. Bai Susu said, "My only regret is that back then I didn't dare to go through the Soul Separation Platform, Demon Forging Cave… Such that my innocent husband and child died because of me… I don't regret marrying him!"

"I don't dare, and I am not able to regret that! I'm most reluctant to regret it!"

After saying this, Bai Susu died.

The professionals who hunted her down buried her, touched by her feelings. They also named that valley "Valley of No Regrets" afterward.

It was also since then, that the intermarriage between humans and demons had been prohibited on the surface but turned a blind eye to in secret by everyone even if they discovered it.

There was no more killing.

Because they all knew that unless the love was extremely deep, nobody would violate such a taboo.

This was also a kind of love that was beyond worldly restraint whose opportunity was opened by Bai Susu with her life. Though she didn't enjoy it herself, every time such bold demons and humans loved each other so deeply that they had to marry, they would go to the Valley of No Regrets to worship Bai Susu.

Though the Valley of No Regrets was deserted, there was actually incense and offerings all year long.

Now that Zi Xieqing mentioned Bai Susu, both women in front of her immediately understood what it was that Zi Xieqing was worried about.

Zi Xieqing didn't want the man who she loved deeply to be shamed, to be the subject of laughter by the world. Yet she couldn't get herself to leave and forget about him. Therefore, she made the brave choice to endure countless sufferings to become a human!

The beautiful woman in white sighed with melancholy, thinking. After a long time, she said, "Sister, you… should help her."

"You don't regret it?" The Demon Empress sighed. The look she gave Zi Xieqing was somewhat complicated.

"No!" Zi Xieqing nodded resolutely.

"He's worth it?" asked the woman in white.

"So long as I think he's worth it, even if it's not worth it, it's worth it for me," answered Zi Xieqing quietly.

"Well, then!" Cold light shone in the Demon Empress' eyes. "One day, I will see how worthy this man really is!"

She turned around like a whirlwind and said word by word, "It's just as well! Since you are stubborn and nothing can change your mind, you will bear all consequences alone! So long as you save my son, I will grant you this wish!"

"Thank you so much, Demon Empress!" said Zi Xieqing gratefully.

"There's no need to thank me!" said the Demon Empress indifferently. "This is a deal. I only want my son alive, and you only want… to be human! Hahaha… To be human! You will save my son and I will help you become a human! The deal is clear and we will owe each other nothing!"

"Yes." Zi Xieqing's expression relaxed. She stayed silent. It was as though the words "owe each other nothing" was exactly what was in her mind.