Obsession

Capital City! A suffocating sense of helplessness and dread gripped the hearts of the orthodox demigods. Should they abandon Capital City, or abandon the Sea Emperor? If they chose to reinforce the Sea Emperor, Capital City would be reduced to ruins. The very heart of power would be wiped off the map. Even with the demigods of the Taiyi Sect, the Life clan, and the Scholar clan stepping forward, Capital City would still become a battlefield. And a battlefield of demigods meant nothing less than wholesale devastation for all living things. Asura had not struck immediately. Instead, he gave them a choice—not out of mercy, but because he understood all too well the value of leaving an escape route. Had he simply attacked without warning, the five Alliance leaders would have been spared their agonizing dilemma and could have quickly devised a strategy to minimize the casualties. Caught in this impossible predicament, the grand, ethereal voice of the Taiyi Sect Master echoed in the ears of the orthodox demigods: "Give me the core fragment of the Compass of Light. The Sun presides over the Merit Roster. As long as we can leverage the power of the Sun, we can return the Merit Roster to its proper place. That is the only way to break this deadlock." Return the Merit Roster to its proper place? The five Alliance leaders perked up, catching a ray of hope amidst the gloom. Of course! As long as the Merit Roster was restored, this catastrophe would be quelled. There would not even be a need to rescue the Sea Emperor, because merit points placed a constraint on all spirit realm walkers, demigods included. The crisis in New York County would resolve itself. With that thought, all five Alliance leaders turned their eyes toward the figure in the wine-red suit. Back then, it was this very President and the former Grand Marshal who had led the four peak Dominators of the Xiaoyao Organization, bursting onto the scene like a dark horse to snatch the core fragment right out of a demigod-level melee. The President remained silent. "What are you waiting for?" from a distance, Gang Leader Jiang urged in a gruff, muffled voice, his patience worn thin. "Weren't you in a hurry just now?" The President let out a heavy sigh. "I can't. Not a shred of it. I mortgaged the core fragment of the Compass of Light to the Myriad Realms Mall. The term isn't up yet, so I can't redeem it." "Fuck! Dropping the ball at the critical moment! You're useless for anything except running for your life!" Gang Leader Jiang snapped, never one to mince words. After a few seconds of silence, the Taiyi Sect Master's voice rang out once more: "Gather the compass fragments immediately. We need at least six. With my status as the Lord of Stars, I can commune with the Sun. See to it at once." The President frowned, his eyes flickering beneath the mask. With a deep sigh, he vanished from sight. Among the demigods, he was the only one possessing supreme mobility, making it only natural that he serve as the errand runner. *** "Wake up. Wake up..." The voice was calm, yet it carried a bizarre power that stirred Zhang Yuanqing's dormant consciousness back to life bit by bit. *Who is calling me?* His eyelashes fluttered as he forced his eyes open with everything he had. All before him was pitch-black. The power of night utterly blanketed the pantheon, and its sealing power stripped away Zhang Yuanqing's Night Wanderer traits, leaving him as powerless as an ordinary mortal. "You're awake?" The voice came again, from his left. Zhang Yuanqing turned his head toward the sound. A few meters to his left squatted a figure radiating golden light. The figure appeared to be made of pure radiance—a silhouette of light without distinguishable features or clothing. "Who are you?" Zhang Yuanqing asked instinctively, his mind groggy and sluggish as if waking from a massive hangover. "I'm here to give you some cheat codes," the golden silhouette chuckled. "Sleeping Dragon Lord knew the script beforehand, gathered the cultural relics without taking a scratch, and even bribed the NPCs inside the trial. Tsk, tsk. These days, how's anyone supposed to play without cheats?" Zhang Yuanqing let out a groan and tried to sit up, but he could not feel his body. Like a paralyzed patient, he had lost all motor control. The surroundings were deathly still. Not a sound could be heard, making him wonder if he had fallen into a hallucination. Perhaps in reality, he had already been slain by Sleeping Dragon Lord, and what he was experiencing now was nothing more than the lingering fantasy of a dead man. With that thought, Zhang Yuanqing's will to survive plummeted. Losing all desire to communicate, he closed his eyes again. "Don't give up on yourself. The Slumber Curse seals power, but it also imprisons the will. The less you fight it, the stronger it becomes. I was only able to awaken a sliver of your consciousness. If you slip back into sleep, even I won't be able to save you," the pale-golden figure said placidly. "True powerhouses are immortal and indestructible. Like me, for instance." Zhang Yuanqing's eyelashes trembled, and he opened his eyes once more. "So you're not my hallucination? Who are you?!" "We crossed paths not long ago, on the night you hunted Black Impermanence. Heh, forgotten me so quickly?" the figure said. Zhang Yuanqing's sluggish mind felt as if it had been pierced by a steel needle. A chilling shudder ran through him, jolting him wide awake—the kind of awake where not even the god of night could have put him to sleep. "Who the hell are you?!" Zhang Yuanqing stared wide-eyed, a distinct tremor running through his voice this time. The pale-golden figure enunciated each word: "I am the Demon Lord!" *Boom!* It felt as though thunder had detonated beside his ears. Zhang Yuanqing's mind went completely blank, robbed of all ability to think as a tempest of emotion nearly swallowed him whole, shattering his composure. After who knew how long, he stammered in agitation, "Impossible... That's impossible... If you're the Demon Lord, then what am I? If you didn't die, how did I inherit your character card?" He was no longer a novice; he knew the fundamental law: a spirit realm walker had to die before their character card could be separated from them. It was an absolute rule that not even demigods could break or alter. If the Demon Lord had not died, how could his character card have been passed on to him? The pale-golden figure sighed. "The Demon Lord's physical body and soul have long been obliterated. Strictly speaking, I am not him. I am the manifestation of his lingering obsession after death. Rage, indignation, anguish, hatred... The intense emotions of a high-tier being hold immense mental energy, and thus, I was born." *An obsession?* Zhang Yuanqing's mind was in turmoil. Countless questions flashed through his head before condensing into a single one: "What do you want?" This single question asked for his purpose in stealing the 'Little Sun,' his purpose in appearing here, and, above all, what he intended to do to 'Yuanshi Tianzun.' "Vengeance, of course!" the pale-golden figure chuckled. "You should have realized by now that the Demon Lord's fall was not a simple matter. There was a deep conspiracy behind it. You could never imagine who took part in that battle. If that list of names were ever made public, it would throw the entire world into turmoil. "Back then, the Demon Lord was only a single step away from becoming the Lord of the Sun. No, half a step. But fate is cruel, and he collapsed right at the finish line. That indignation, rage, and hatred lingered within the Spirit Realm, refusing to dissipate, and eventually gave birth to me. "The sole reason for my existence is revenge! Revenge against those past enemies." Zhang Yuanqing pressed, "Who is on the list?" The pale-golden figure shook his head. "There is no need for you to know. Once you learn the names, the future will change. Means like divination, hexagrams, and stargazing can all pinpoint anomalies within the river of fate with absolute precision. "Do not put yourself in the spotlight. It won't do you any good." Zhang Yuanqing weighed his words carefully for a long moment before probing, "So your plan for revenge is to support me in becoming the Lord of the Sun? And that's why you descended into this killing trial to save me?" As he said this, he suddenly realized a terrifying truth. The Demon Lord's obsession could enter instances and also descend into reality—something neither Ling Tuo nor the Taiyi Sect Master could achieve. Even demigods could not break the rules of the Spirit Realm to forcibly descend into a killing trial. If they could, he and Fu Qingyang would have been dead without question during the mid-year killing trial. Yet the Demon Lord's obsession had pulled it off. If one were to compare him to the old crone, that wasn't quite right either, because the old crone didn't dare return to reality. Once she left the Spirit Realm, she would lose her 'NPC' halo, making it impossible for her to drop into trials at will ever again. Yet the Demon Lord's obsession could come and go freely between reality and the Spirit Realm. That was already beyond the realm of any demigod. The pale-golden figure scoffed. "Overconfident! "Descending into the killing trial to save you is only part of it. More importantly, I need to use your body and character card. That will allow me to briefly regain my peak power." Zhang Yuanqing was baffled, suspicious, and on guard. "You need my character card and body?" *He doesn't want to possess me to resurrect himself, does he?* he thought. Sensing his mistrust, the pale-golden figure snapped, "You still don't know what's happening outside, do you? Ling Tuo used the authority of Taiyin to swallow the Merit Roster and erase the merit points of every spirit realm walker. Right now, the rebel forces from all eighteen paths are laying siege to the capital. "The demigods of the evil faction are hunting down the Sea Emperor, while Asura personally went to Capital City to pin down Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The moment the Sea Emperor dies, the orthodox faction of the First District will collapse entirely. And after that comes the Second District." Zhang Yuanqing broke out in a figurative cold sweat, feeling far more anxious than he had over his own dire straits. He was not afraid of death, but he feared the collapse of order, feared a world plunged into endless strife, and feared seeing a peaceful life destroyed. "Anything else you want to ask?" the Demon Lord's obsession asked. *Just how many women did you sleep with, you bastard...* Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then asked, "Is Brother Bing in the Secrets of the Five Elements trial?" The Demon Lord's obsession hummed in acknowledgment. "In the abyss of the Secrets of the Five Elements, there is a power that freezes all things. Both life and time can be frozen. Sealing oneself within it was the best way to resist the Holy Grail's corruption. "Originally, if I had become the Lord of the Sun, he would have been freed from the Holy Grail's control. Sadly, I failed in the end." "How do I become the Lord of the Sun?" Zhang Yuanqing asked next. The Demon Lord's obsession retorted testily, "Level up!" "Oh," Zhang Yuanqing muttered, then asked, "Where did you hide the Little Sun?" The Demon Lord's obsession chuckled. "That question requires payment!" The implication was clear: *I'm not telling you.* Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then turned the tables. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?" There was plenty he wanted to ask, but he had no idea which questions were sensitive and which were safe. "I already told you: do not put yourself in the spotlight. When facing Taiyin, ignorance is your best protection," the Demon Lord's obsession said. "Now, hand your body over to me." Zhang Yuanqing did not answer right away. "Consider it for the sake of world peace," the figure added. "...Fine!" *** An instant later, the President appeared in the conference room where the gathering had yet to disperse. He looked around at the Nine Elders and Fu Qingyang seated around the table, sighing in lamentation. "We're screwed. Asura has cornered us right at our doorstep. Your Alliance leaders don't dare go to New York County to help. Asura said that the moment they leave, he will slaughter the entire city." The faces of the Nine Elders drained of color. The President's tone shifted abruptly. "Connect me to Heaven's Punishment headquarters immediately. I need to hold a meeting. Time is money—the faster, the better."