Am I Very Ugly? Why Won't You Come See Me?

Shang Yanran's reasoning was the most plausible. Even when trapped forever in the demon realm, drowning in inner demons, and transforming into a colossal archdemon, the Blood Lord had clung to a thread of his humanity. He had chosen to end his own life, ensuring he would never bring catastrophe upon the common people. Every person present was visibly moved. Their reverence for the Blood Lord ascended to an entirely new height. Even a great Buddha could not achieve this, yet the Blood Lord had. "No!" Canary stared at the Gate of Myriad Manifestations and tried to step forward, yet she could not advance an inch. "This young miss won't let Blood Pearl sever his own heart meridian!" She had been nothing more than a carefree canary on Mount Jiupan. How could she ever be used to the partings of the mortal world? And the one she was parting with was her childhood friend. "Is there any way to save Blood Pearl?" Canary turned her head toward Shang Yanran, her face pleading. "Please, I beg you all." Shang Yanran seemed to remember something, a flicker of sorrow crossing her eyes. "Now that the Blood Lord has severed his heart meridian, the Blood Demon is dispersing... I know a method that may save him. "Yet... what we bring back might be a Blood Demon." Silence fell over the crowd. Bai Ze's expression turned conflicted before he finally spoke. "If he is revived only to become a terrifying Blood Demon, wouldn't that run entirely counter to Honored Master's wishes? "Is there truly no other way?" Shang Yanran replied, "Honored Master has already severed his heart meridian. The Blood Demon revived would not be a truly terrifying archdemon, but merely an ordinary inner demon." "Save him!" the little old man Nangong Dagou said resolutely. "Save him!" Daoist Yu, ever a man of few words, concurred. "Honored Master imparted techniques to me and saved my life. Today, I shall do something for Master!" Hearing their determined words, a desolate smile touched Shang Yanran's face. If they saved Honored Master like this, he would still be an inner demon. Would he truly still be Honored Master? In the end, they still chose to save him. "This method is recorded on the Slate of Fate. I never thought I would ever use it, yet... today, the time has come." Shang Yanran produced the Slate of Fate. After obtaining it, even though it had been too late to save her master from falling, she had never abandoned trying to find a way to rescue the Blood Lord through it. Inscribed upon it was a single entry: If the Blood Lord severs his heart meridian and cuts himself off from the demon, a sliver of life may yet be salvaged. "Within the Gate of Myriad Manifestations lies a secondary gate known as... the Gate of Myriad Demons. "The Gate of Myriad Demons and the Gate of Myriad Manifestations do not share the same space. "Yet to a certain extent, they are connected. "If someone enters it, they may catch sight of the Blood Lord. "If they call out and transmit true essence, they might awaken him." This was the method of salvation recorded on the Slate of Fate half a month ago. By passing through the Gate of Myriad Demons, one could awaken the Blood Lord after he severed his heart meridian and transmit true essence to him. "No problem," Nangong Dagou said. Canary looked excitedly toward the Gate of Myriad Manifestations as well. Recalling the words Blood Pearl had spoken to her, her gaze hardened with resolve. "Blood Pearl..." Shang Yanran continued, "However... stepping into the Gate of Myriad Demons will subject you to the curse of myriad demons, forcing you to endure endless agony. "This pain might not rival the torment of ten thousand fiends tearing at your flesh, but it is excruciating beyond measure, far beyond what ordinary people can bear. "Not only that, but after the curse takes hold, anyone who enters... may become hideous beyond belief, loathed by heaven and detested by all. "Any living being who lays eyes on you will feel disgust from the depths of their soul and desire to kill you! "Even your closest kin, your most intimate beloved, will feel revulsion and desire to end your life! "Even chaotic inner demons will abhor such ugliness." As Shang Yanran spoke, she shot a deliberate glance at Canary. Canary loved beauty above all else; everyone present knew this well. If she entered the Gate of Myriad Demons, she would emerge grotesque beyond measure. That ugliness would be carved at the level of fundamental rules, impossible to alter. "How do we enter the Gate of Myriad Demons?" Canary asked, as if she had not heard a word Shang Yanran said. Daoist Yu cracked a smile. "A mortal husk of skin and bones, nothing more." Nangong Dagou gritted his teeth. "It's bad enough my name sounds terrible, but now I have to become hideous too? Pity my handsome face!" Bai Ze said, "I'll go as well." Of the fourteen people present, not a single one retreated besides Shang Yanran; all were willing to enter the Gate of Myriad Demons. Shang Yanran said, "Husband, you cannot go. Your cultivation is second only to mine; you must work with me to open the Gate of Myriad Demons and send them inside!" Hearing this, Bai Ze's expression shifted repeatedly before he finally nodded. "Alright." Canary gazed at the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, her eyes filled with anticipation. *Blood Pearl... once I become ugly, will you hate me too?* ... Rewinding time fifteen minutes. Inside the Gate of Myriad Manifestations. Qi Yuan sat cross-legged upon the steps. His entire body was almost completely demonized. Having refined the Monstrosity Origin into a divine ability, his divine soul was now thoroughly consumed by inner demons. At this moment, only a thread of clarity remained in Qi Yuan's mind. Yet he was not panicked in the slightest. Instead, a look of bewilderment crossed his face as he murmured to himself. "What was my trump card?" "Why did I choose to enter the Gate of Myriad Manifestations?" "Why did I refine the Monstrosity Origin into a divine ability?" "How strange. Why can't I remember?" Even as his body rapidly demonized, Qi Yuan appeared incomparably composed. "Ah, I practiced the *Qi Yuan Scripture* too much and ruined my memory. At such a critical juncture, I actually forgot my trump card and the path I wanted to forge!" Qi Yuan vaguely recalled that at the beginning, he hadn't planned on cultivating the Virtual Realm Sovereign's Inner Demon Summons. Yet something had crossed his mind, and so he had forged it. "No way... Is this game over just because of my bad memory?" If that was the case, it was far too absurd. It was like someone with a terrible memory preparing to cultivate immortality, only to never remember any cultivation chants—blessed with boundless talent, yet unable to cultivate at all. "Wait..." Suddenly, Qi Yuan froze. A spark of inspiration flashed through his mind. "I remember what my path is!" "Wait, I forgot again." After who knew how long, a sharp gleam burst from Qi Yuan's eyes. "I understand!" He hadn't remembered, nor could he remember, but he had attained enlightenment. The greatest flaw of the *Qi Yuan Scripture* was that it caused mental derangement and poor memory. Qi Yuan had always felt his mind was completely normal. Yet his bad memory was undeniably real. To forget... *that* was his path, his essence, his origin divine ability. The agony that harms me is unbearable? Forget it! The tragic suffering that cuts into me is unacceptable? Forget it! Forget the pain, and there will be no pain. Forget that this is a real world and treat it as a game world, and... the suffering the world inflicts will not feel so real. All along, Qi Yuan had been practicing forgetting. To forget was an escape, yet it was not an escape. Some things were better off forgotten. "In an instant of enlightenment, my Dao becomes clear; I forget others, and I forget myself!" *This* was Qi Yuan's origin divine ability. The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture! At this moment, Qi Yuan forgot everything. He forgot that he had entered the Gate of Myriad Manifestations. He forgot that he had condensed the Monstrosity Origin into a divine ability. He forgot that he had devoured all the inner demons to become a Blood Demon. [You have comprehended the origin. Great Oblivion ability +99999.] His form began to shift at this very instant. It was as if, by forgetting, none of it had ever transpired within Qi Yuan's mind. "This Daoist forgot!" "Hahaha!" His originally demonized body dissipated in an instant, as if time had wound backward to the moment before he had first entered. The withered corpse's eyes widened in profound shock. "What are you doing? How could you... become human again? "What divine ability is this? Time reversal? Impossible! How could such an origin divine ability appear on you?!" With the withered corpse's breadth of experience, it could only attribute what it saw to a temporal divine ability. Yet how could a mere cultivator who had just stepped into the fifth realm possibly comprehend such an origin divine ability? It was utterly impossible! "Time reversal?" Qi Yuan asked in surprise. "This isn't time reversal." "Then what is it!" the withered corpse demanded unwillingly. "I forgot what divine ability it is too," Qi Yuan muttered to himself. "You..." The withered corpse was enraged. "Oh... who are you?" Qi Yuan looked back at the withered corpse clinging to him. "Was there a withered corpse here? No, it doesn't seem like there was." "No..." For the first time, sheer terror appeared on the withered corpse's face. Because of Qi Yuan's thought, it realized to its horror that its own body was turning translucent, seemingly fading away from this world. It was an inner demon; it could not truly vanish, only merge with other inner demons. Yet right now, it was genuinely disappearing. "What on earth are you..." the withered corpse roared. "You already condensed an origin divine ability! How can you condense a second one?!" It could not understand—not in the slightest. The Buddha Realm it hailed from was a vast world teeming with supreme experts. Even a paramount Buddha Son could never forge two origin divine abilities! "What? I already had an origin divine ability? Why don't I remember? This is my only origin divine ability." The nascent form of the *Great Oblivion Heart Scripture* solidified at this very moment. "Bodhi originally has no tree, Nor is the clear mirror a stand. Originally there is not a single thing; Where can dust alight?" Qi Yuan seemed lost in thought. "Inner demons... never existed!" "I... forgot you all!" "No, you never existed in the first place!" In accordance with Qi Yuan's thought, the withered corpse turned completely translucent and vanished into nothingness. Within the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, the hundreds of millions of ferocious inner demons all revealed looks of sheer terror. Their forms gradually turned translucent as well, eventually dissolving into nonexistence. Within the colossal Gate of Myriad Manifestations, the demon realm stood empty, stripped of every last inner demon. Qi Yuan sat cross-legged upon the steps. "Oblivion... is the most terrifying thing in this world." Puzzlement and confusion flickered across his eyes. He felt that something important was slowly slipping away. The universe was boundless. Upon the myriad steps inside the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, a crimson-robed young man sat cross-legged, his brow furrowed in contemplation. To forget—forget others, and forget oneself. That was the pinnacle of oblivion. His form, too, began to turn translucent. It was as if he were about to forget himself as well. At this moment, a heavenly tribulation was born. Yet Qi Yuan had already forgotten. He forgot who he was. He forgot where he came from. He forgot where he was going. He sat motionless inside the Gate of Myriad Manifestations. It was as if he were about to forget everyone, as if everyone were about to forget him. He was even about to erase his own existence from his mind. Suddenly, the motionless crimson robe stirred. "Who am I?" A flicker of color crossed his eyes, only to fade away once more, returning him to a handsome crimson-robed youth sitting lifelessly upon the steps. Years slipped through the fingers of time. He remained seated in the exact same spot, not waking for who knew how many centuries. The empty Gate of Myriad Manifestations was deathly quiet, devoid of all color except for him. It was as if the world itself were about to forget his existence. Suddenly, a streak of light broke in, accompanied by an anxious cry: "Blood Pearl! Blood Pearl!" The crimson-robed figure kept his eyes closed, remaining completely still. "Blood Pearl, this young miss came in person to see you, and you're not even going to welcome me... *cough, cough*." Blood trickled down as terrifying markings spread across the young girl's face. She stood within the vacant Gate of Myriad Demons, reaching her hand out toward that crimson silhouette. "Blood Pearl! Blood Pearl!" The girl took a step forward. Ahead lay an endless abyss. Frantic voices echoed from behind: "Canary, don't go any further! Senior Sister Yanran said that is the limit! Any further and you will endure the same agony as the Gate of Myriad Manifestations!" Canary seemed not to hear them. She strained to draw closer to that figure, desperate to shout him awake. The moment she stepped forward, an agonizing pain tore into her marrow. A wretched smile appeared on her lips. "Blood Pearl, is this the pain you've been enduring? I feel it now too." Canary covered her face, where the character for "demon" had already begun spreading like a writhing serpent. She didn't want Blood Pearl to wake up and see her like this. She pressed forward, one hand shielding her face as she called out, "Blood Pearl, you promised you would find me at the end of time! "If you can't do it, then this young miss will come find you herself!" An empty world; an empty heart. Within the heavenly tribulation, immersed in the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, Qi Yuan could see nothing and hear nothing. An origin divine ability of this magnitude was never meant to be possessed by any cultivator. The heavenly tribulation would assimilate the cultivator, turning "him" into this world's origin, a fundamental rule of this realm. Yet... ever since stepping into Foundation Establishment, Qi Yuan's ears had been able to pick up inexplicable whispers. That hearing even broke through the blockade of the heavenly tribulation. Suddenly, the crimson-robed figure opened his eyes. "Blood Pearl?" "Who is that?" "Who are they calling?" He looked outward. His gaze seemed to pierce through the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, falling upon a young girl covered in wounds. For reasons he could not fathom, a sudden pang struck his heart. [Canary: your childhood friend. You dote on her dearly.] "Childhood friend?" Qi Yuan's consciousness remained somewhat hazy. He looked inward at himself. [Qi Yuan: you style yourself as the origin of all things. Presently, you are undergoing a heavenly tribulation. Your origin divine ability is too powerful; heaven refuses to allow your existence in this world.] "I am Qi Yuan?" Clarity returned to Qi Yuan's mind in an instant. The heavenly tribulation dissipated then and there. Origin divine ability, Great Oblivion Heart Scripture: complete! At the same time, a unique symbol coalesced between heaven and earth. Qi Yuan watched as it drifted toward the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, imprinting itself upon the surface. Qi Yuan looked toward the Gate of Myriad Manifestations and saw that the gate resembled a stamp collection booklet, densely covered in all manner of bizarre symbols. Now, a new symbol had been added—the one left behind by Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan couldn't be bothered to examine the symbols on the gate. His gaze turned toward the bottomless abyss, looking through its depths to see that ethereal silhouette. He couldn't make out her face, only a vague outline, but he knew who she was. "The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture is forgetting." "Canary is remembering." "Not wishing to forget is remembrance." "To forget and not to forget." "Forget this world, but never forget Canary." A thought crystallized in Qi Yuan's heart. "My comprehension is complete... Is it time to leave?" Qi Yuan had a premonition that the Gate of Myriad Manifestations would soon vanish, and he would return to the present world. He had gained an immense harvest from this contemplation of origin. Two origin divine abilities. The first: Virtual Realm Sovereign's Inner Demon Summons. Once unleashed, inner demons ran rampant. The second: Great Oblivion Heart Scripture. To forget was the Dao. Having successfully comprehended the origin, it was time for him to leave this realm, just as he had in the past. And this time might very well be his final opportunity to comprehend the origin. In other words, he could no longer return to the past, nor could he see Canary again, or see those who had awakened him. He did not know what price they had paid. Yet he knew it had to be excruciating beyond measure. "Canary..." "Ten thousand years of time lie between us." "When we meet again... will it all have turned to dust and ashes?" Qi Yuan was naturally unwilling to accept that. Time, fate... all of them would eventually be conquered by him! Just then, an inky black speck materialized in Qi Yuan's palm. This was the most precious ability he had comprehended upon entering the Gate of Myriad Manifestations. The power of reincarnation! Legend had it that only a Yin God could enter reincarnation. A portion of Purple Mansion cultivators also held a slim chance of doing so. "You awakened me. This power of reincarnation... I bestow upon you all! "I hope that in the next cycle of reincarnation, we shall meet again!" ... Atop Seven Colors Peak, Jiang Lingsu opened her eyes in the middle of cultivation. "It feels like I forgot something just now." Clutching her chest, a look of confusion flitted across her eyes. Right at that moment, a sudden crack of thunder sounded above the summit of Seven Colors Peak, seemingly hurtling directly toward the mountain. The thunderclap was utterly unremarkable, appearing just like an ordinary bolt of lightning. Above the white jade palace atop the summit, a beam of cool, white light shot into the heavens, colliding with the thunder before both dissolved into nothingness. A strange look appeared in Jiang Lingsu's eyes. "That thunder... was it a heavenly tribulation bolt? "Did Master just act? "What a shame. It was over too fast; I couldn't gauge Master's strength at all." Her gaze turned toward the wooden cabin not far away. Inside the cabin, it was dead silent, without the slightest sound. "Eldest Senior Brother isn't playing games again, is he? "If he plays here for several decades, I'm afraid Divine Light Sect won't even remember he exists!" Jiang Lingsu didn't dwell on it and resumed her cultivation. ... At the Ends of the Earth. Several centuries had passed since the Gate of Myriad Manifestations last appeared. Now, the Ends of the Earth lay barren and desolate. Few living souls ever set foot here. The Gate of Myriad Manifestations had long since vanished. Atop the massive coastal boulder, a small wooden cabin now stood. Facing the sea, yet spring never blossomed. The ancient mirror on the dressing stand had shattered long ago. Its broken shards reflected a pristine, flawless face. The left side of her face was concealed beneath a layer of black gauze. The young girl's hand trembled, unable even to hold the eyebrow pencil steady; she couldn't even manage the simplest makeup. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, seemingly taking great care to dress herself up. Suddenly, a stone shattered the window and clattered into the room. A seagull flew off in disgust. The pencil slipped from the girl's fingers. Her voice cracked with a sob. "I'm so stupid. I can't even put on makeup... so ugly!" She covered the left side of her face, refusing to look at her own reflection. After who knew how long, she finally finished applying her makeup. Gazing toward the spot where the Gate of Myriad Manifestations had vanished, her voice carried a trace of grievance: "Am I very ugly? Why won't you come see me?"