Chapter 45. Let's gamble, gamble on whether she loves you...
What is an illusion? It's something you know is fake, but you still can't see through it.
The cave was shrouded in mist, and countless monsters still roamed around it, their severed limbs lying on the ground, a truly gruesome sight.
Po Jun appeared behind Meng Ji. "You lost."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and stabbed into Meng Ji's chest. Unexpectedly, this time it went very smoothly. The fierce battle he had imagined did not happen. Po Jun's hand grasped the Mirror of Origin just like the gold in the illusion. However, Po Jun was even more ruthless, grabbing the soft heart in his chest as well.
"She never loved you."
What are you still fantasizing about?
"I never imagined the Mirror of Origin was actually inside your body, hahahahaha."
Blood dripped down, gradually meandering into a stream on the ground. Along with the blood, Meng Ji's knees, which were kneeling, also fell to the ground.
This bet was utterly abrupt and inexplicably absurd. When it arrived, only Po Jun's enticing words awaited him: "I know where the Mirror of Origin is. Are you interested in making a bet?"
This mission to the secret realm was merely to follow the sect's orders and protect the younger generation of the immortal sect. However, finding news of the Mirror of Origin was an unexpected turn of events.
Meng Ji looked at the other person and said, "How can I trust you?"
"If you don't believe me, the curse on your wife can't be broken." Po Jun sighed insincerely, then suddenly pulled out a pair of sharp claws. The sound of claws cutting through the air was deafening, but before he could even see clearly, someone had grabbed his throat with one hand.
Po Jun's face turned ashen. "Let go, let go."
Meng looked at him coldly, "Are you threatening me?"
Whether someone intends to kill another or not, the other person can sense it. As he spoke, Po Jun's toes left the ground. He was exhausted and looked quite disheveled. "Look, it seems that the prestigious sects are nothing special."
He was clearly bare-handed, yet Po Jun couldn't break free from these chain-like shackles no matter what he did. He gasped for breath, feeling like he would die at any moment. "Damn it, you ask me what curse I cast before trying to kill me... But you don't know that Yao Jin and I were bound by a symbiotic curse with the Demon King a hundred years ago. If I die, she dies... Is it possible that even the Immortal Lord doesn't care?!"
Po Jun wished he could record this moment so that Yao Jin could see how cold-hearted the husband she had chosen was, and how he remained unmoved even when she heard that she had been cursed.
He simply didn't have the energy to cast a spell right now. Po Jun reached out and covered the hand on his throat, trying to give himself some breathing space. The prison that had been so tightly binding him had inexplicably loosened a little.
Po Jun blurted out, "She's dead, but the Demon King will definitely be resurrected. Immortal Lord, aren't you afraid that the Demon King will return and wipe out the Immortal Realm if you don't care about your wife?"
Since one bargaining chip wasn't enough, he used the entire cultivation world as a bargaining chip, so he wouldn't be afraid that the cold-hearted Taoist would remain unmoved!
Upon hearing this, Meng Ji remained silent, only looking at him with the gaze one would give a dead object.
Po Jun felt a loosening in his throat, unsure if it was just his imagination, and quickly shook off the hand. The feeling of being choked was worse than death, but as soon as he was released, he forcefully suppressed the urge to cough violently and turned to rush out of the cave.
With a loud bang, Po Jun was sent flying to the ground by a beam of golden light.
A barrier enveloped the entire cave, and at the same time, a rope covered in golden light bound Po Jun tightly.
"Speak, what curse?" Meng Ji lightly withdrew his hand. He walked to Po Jun's side, stepped on his hand with his foot, and ground it. "Why did Yao Jin die when you died?"
He paused, then asked, "Why has the Demon King been resurrected?"
Although he became famous in one battle after hundreds of years, the fact that the Demon King died so easily made people feel absurd. Perhaps he had long expected this day, so Meng Ji was not very shocked.
However, despite his extensive reading, he had never heard of such a peculiar spell.
Po Jun was somewhat disappointed that he did not see the scene he had expected, but he knew that if he did not speak well at this moment, he would be the one to die. He never thought that after hundreds of years of hard work day and night, he would not even have a chance to escape.
Po Jun took a deep breath, enduring the pain that his fingers were almost crushed, and said in a hateful voice, "A hundred years ago, the Demon King was in the process of undergoing tribulation, but he could not break through the barrier for a long time. So he injected demonic energy along with a wisp of demonic soul into Yao Jin's body. I believe you can also feel that Yao Jin is not human, but a demon. She is not an ordinary demon either, but an avatar of the Demon King."
Just as there are realms of cultivation for humans, there are also realms for demons.
Once the Demon King transcends the tribulation, he will become a Heavenly Demon, unmatched in the world. However, the Demon King has been stuck in the tribulation stage for far too long, and his cultivation method has long since reached a dead end. So he remembered a story that has been passed down through the ages—rebirth from the ashes.
The Demon King's true form was a phoenix, but he was forced into a desperate situation to survive, so this method was certainly feasible. However, as the saying goes, "people grow cold," and the Demon King was unsure if his subordinates would be 100% loyal to him. Therefore, he separated a bone from his own body, which transformed into a demon.
This demon is Yao Jin.
Since the flesh and blood separated from her own body naturally possessed unparalleled loyalty to the Demon King, she was not afraid that Yao Jin would not resurrect her after her death. However, this method was truly unpleasant to admit, as the Demon King was a man who had done the things of a woman, such as "bearing children." Therefore, the Demon King never told Yao Jin about her origins and even fabricated memories of being abandoned for her.
But Yao Jin was unaware of this, while Po Jun was, which was why Po Jun, along with Chu Fengliu and the other two demons, always regarded Yao Jin as their leader.
But before he could finish speaking, Po Jun saw no shocked face. "Aren't you surprised? You've always known that Yao Jin is a demon. What were you thinking?"
Good and evil are irreconcilable enemies, and now it was Po Jun's turn to be alarmed. Keeping a demon by his side... could it be...?
Po Jun's eyes darted around, and he began to ponder.
"What's it to you? You just need to explain why Yao Jin will share life and death with you." Meng Ji looked at him coldly.
Seeing this, Po Jun became somewhat certain. He said, half-jokingly, "This demonic soul is a lifeline left by the Demon King for himself. The demonic soul has been dormant in Yao Jin's body for a hundred years, recuperating and growing. As long as the demonic soul comes out of the host's body, it can regrow. In just a few years, the Demon King will return to the world."
"What does that have to do with sorcery?" Meng Ji lowered his eyes, squatted down to look at him, took out a crescent-shaped knife from his pocket, and slowly slashed down Po Jun's face. "Speak, I want the truth."
"I may not be able to kill you, but I have a hundred ways to make you wish you were dead." His expression was calm, yet he was able to accurately find the most painful spot on Po Jun's body and stab and pierce through it.
With just a few words, Po Jun's body was covered in bloody holes.
Meng Ji's long eyelashes fluttered slightly. His face was still the same, but it inexplicably revealed a strangeness. He lightly raised his finger, and a golden light flashed across the face. Po Jun's body was no longer wounded.
But the pain was still there. Meng Ji used his knife to cut along the same spot as before. "Humans have 208 bones and can withstand a maximum of 3,600 cuts. I don't know how many bones a demon has, but I think 10,000 cuts should be the limit."
When he killed his biological father, he counted that he had made 3,600 cuts in total. He then removed the bones and fed them to the dogs. All 208 dogs in the county had a good meal.
Blood kept flowing, and Meng Ji avoided the filthy things. "But I won't let you suffer ten thousand cuts. I will heal you when you are cut nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine times."
"But have you thought this through? How many times can you endure this?"
The endless cycle of extreme punishment is undoubtedly a nightmare.
Po Jun was perfectly lucid, and the pain in his body became even more pronounced. There was no numbness whatsoever. Every cut he made revealed the tip of flesh, and the granulation tissue on both sides of the wound was exposed.
What made Po Jun most desperate was the boy's expression; he was expressionless, just like someone killing a chicken.
Humans aren't chickens, nor are demons, but when blood spurted from his throat, Po Jun felt ashamed, realizing he was no different from a chicken slaughtered for the New Year.
"I'll talk, I'll talk..." Po Jun looked at the other's clean robes and felt that he had been defeated too humiliatingly. He was filled with hatred, but he did not show it on his face. "Of course it's related. The Demon King was afraid that after his death, there would be a demon who would dominate, so he cast a spell to bind me and Yao Jin together. If I die, she dies, and if she dies, I die too. I don't want to die, so I don't want the Demon King to be resurrected. But Yao Jin insists on finding the Mirror of Origin to resurrect the Demon King. If she finds the Mirror of Origin, when the Demon King is resurrected, the demonic soul in her body will come out, and then she will not be able to live."
Meng Ji looked down at him and suddenly said, "That's well said, but if the Mirror of Origin finds you, just destroy it. Why are you making a bet with me?"
Po Jun's heart leaped into his throat. He never expected that after going around in circles, Meng Ji would still be able to grasp the key to the problem. Po Jun cursed a few more times under his breath, then suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, and he blurted out, "Because the Mirror of Tracing Origins is hidden inside Yao Jin's body!"
"If she knew the Mirror of Origin was inside her body, she would definitely have taken it out. But the Mirror of Origin has been inside her body for hundreds of years, and has long since become one with her. If she forcibly takes it out, she will die!"
If Yao Jin dies, he will die too.
Meng Ji understood his unfinished words. He frowned for a moment, then threw away his scimitar. "I'll bet with you. What do you want to bet?"
Although things ultimately turned out the way Po Jun had hoped, the twists and turns along the way made him feel incredibly terrible. He took a deep breath, unable to bear looking at his bloodied and mangled body, "I'm betting on whether Yao Jin loves you, whether she will choose you without hesitation."
"If she betrays her own will and chooses you, then her demonic soul will surely be damaged. At that time, I will have a way to extract the demonic soul and break our curse. And I will not die."
And so the bet began. Po Jun didn't say what the consequences would be for losing, and Meng Ji didn't ask either.
Married for three years, he believed he understood his wife. She was clear about her likes and dislikes; her indifference and dislikes were always on full display. She loved sweets and couldn't stand bitterness or pain, yet despite her proud nature, she was willing to endure the torment of the Qiao family for him, willing to give herself to him. On that night, during their belated wedding night, when he entered her, he saw the forbearance and pain on her face.
She raised her hand to slap him, but in the end she didn't. Instead, she let her snow-white arms hang down on his neck, looking both pitiful and adorable.
He couldn't think of any other explanation besides liking it.
He assumed they were of one mind; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to conceal her demonic identity. He didn't need her to betray his will, but just a moment's hesitation from her would suffice.
But no, she disregarded others and plunged her hand into his chest.
How can the bond between a father and daughter compare to that between a husband and wife? Clearly, they are the most inseparable pair...
Meng Ji pursed his lips, and a dark look gradually appeared in his eyes.
At the same time, the illusion shattered, and everything returned to calm. The remaining disciples awoke from the dream, exclaiming, "My God, it was all just a dream..."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly someone noticed them and exclaimed, "It's the Immortal Lord! What happened to him?"
"Behind the immortal lord is a demon!"
"It looks like that great demon from the illusion!"
What's even more captivating than Wuxin's indifference is the boy's aloof expression. People who lose too much blood usually have pale skin and mucous membranes, but he was already pale, and now his face was as white as ice, almost transparent, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch. His eyes, dark and unfocused, stared fixedly at the ground, giving off a strange sense of unease.
Yao Jin noticed something that others hadn't paid attention to. Her gaze fixed on Meng Ji's chest, and she suddenly let out a sharp hiss, "Meng Ji!"
In an instant, Yao Jin burst into tears. She tried to rush over, but suddenly Chu Fengliu appeared behind her and hugged her tightly. "I told you to be careful, I've told you so many times, Po Jun is coming, but you just wouldn't listen. Now you've got your eyes pecked out."
"Shut up!" Yao Jin roared, her eyes bloodshot. "If you were kind, why didn't you say so sooner? Do you think I'll forgive you now? That I won't hold a grudge?"
Yao Jin nudged Chu Fengliu's stomach several times with her elbow, then stomped on his foot, unleashing a burst of power that made Chu Fengliu wince in pain and nearly lose control of her. "Don't worry, I have a way. Have you forgotten what the Traceability Mirror is for?"
Chu Fengliu panicked and started pulling and tugging at the object.
Yao Jin had no patience to listen; her eyes were only on the wound on Meng Ji's chest. With a sudden tremor of her arms, her demonic energy surged. "Don't try to stop me if you don't want to die!"
"No! What use is your presence? Can't you see he has no intention of living? Otherwise, how could Po Jun have made a move?" Chu Fengliu shouted urgently at her, seeing that he couldn't stop her.
Yao Jin paused, taken aback by what he heard.
Chu Fengliu breathed a sigh of relief, clutching his stomach, and continued to explain, "Po Jun will definitely use the Mirror of Retrospection to revive the Demon King. Once time returns to several hundred years ago, Meng Ji will be fine!"
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