Demon of Hatred

The pure-white bone walls formed a cage, with countless bone spikes growing across them and giving off a faint, chilling glow.

They burst forth, countless bone spikes shooting at the two of them like a hail of bullets.

Seeing Ji Tian remain unresponsive, the Demonic Dragon realized that although the spikes might pose no threat to him while he was awake, in this state they could be fatal.

The Demonic Dragon curled up, wrapping Ji Tian inside its body.

The endless bone spikes clanged against the Demonic Dragon, blocked by its scales. But the spikes seemed alive, wriggling into the gaps between the scales. An unbearable itch seeped into its Spiritual Sense.

The Demonic Dragon kept thrashing its tail against its body, finding that it eased the unbearable itch.

Was this to make it release Ji Tian, or did they have another purpose?

The itch grew more intense. The Demonic Dragon struck its body with increasing force, for only that could suppress it.

Its scales scraped together, throwing off sparks. After one particularly violent blow, the Demonic Dragon let out a long roar. Its tail had struck its own belly, leaving the Flesh and Blood mangled and its scales flying.

"You're trying to make me beat myself to death, you damn Bone Worms!"

The Demonic Dragon roared and spat out a mouthful of Dragon Breath. An endless flood appeared out of nowhere, drenching its body.

It felt a little better, but the Bone Worms still wouldn't settle down.

Freeze! It would freeze itself and freeze all of them, too.

A biting chill filled the bone prison. An endless cold spread through it, encasing the entire prison in ice.

When the Great Desolate Skeleton sensed that all was quiet inside the bone prison, it probed the place with its Spiritual Sense. A chill traveled along its Spiritual Sense and entered its body.

"Freezing. You want to freeze yourself, but that won't work. Bone Fire, blaze across the sky!"

Endless droplets formed across the bone walls. They gathered and grew heavier until they fell toward the ice.

As the droplets fell, they turned into ghastly white flames. This was a Yin-Yang Fire, a fire of white bone. Fueled by Yin energy and burning the bones of skeletons, it could incinerate Ghosts and burn all things. It was a destructive flame that harmed its wielder before its target, consuming its user in exchange for a moment of Destructive Power.

Endless waves of heat held back the bitter cold. But as the Bone Fire grew, the chill was refined and annihilated. The massive block of ice melted away, gradually revealing the Demonic Dragon's black back.

The Bone Worms that had burrowed between its scales began to burn fiercely as well.

So this was refinement? To be refined into ashes? This was destruction!

The Demonic Dragon curled its body tight, gathering the cold it had refined and continuously breathing out Dragon Breath to form a barrier of ice, temporarily holding back the Bone Fire.

"Ji Tian, wake up already! Otherwise, we won't even be able to be ghosts after this!"

Ji Tian's golden sea of consciousness teetered on the brink of collapse. An overwhelming hatred filled it.

The hatred became black seawater, constantly devouring the golden sea of consciousness.

The golden water retreated to the three peaks and churned slowly around them.

The golden palace gradually collapsed, becoming a blackened ruin, a gloomy haunted house.

Ji Tian's soul struggled to keep the sea of consciousness from collapsing, but there was almost nothing he could do. The deities within the three mountains remained unmoved, sunk in slumber.

Ji Tian sighed to himself. Was this another trial? This time, it might cost him his life.

Ji Tian drifted through the sea, its waters a mixture of black and gold. His hands kept forming seals, binding a little of the black seawater at a time and casting it toward the three sword mountains. The mountains immediately drew the water into the pools on their peaks.

Then a mighty figure took shape in the black seawater.

A deep voice echoed through the sea of consciousness. "I want to kill every living thing in this world. I want to destroy the Great Dao. You and I are one. Why won't you help me?"

Ji Tian thought it over. "I intend to walk the Way of Slaughter, but I won't kill indiscriminately. What have the living creatures of Heaven and Earth done wrong? They're only trying to survive. What has the Heavenly Dao done wrong? It's only trying to survive, too."

"If everything in this world is trying to survive, then am I not doing the same? Why should the Heavenly Dao deprive me of my right to live? Look at the Netherworld Land. Why are there so many Ghosts here? Don't they all harbor hatred and grievances? Why was their right to live taken away?"

Ji Tian was at a loss for words. To preserve others' lives at the cost of his own—would he accept that willingly? He murmured, "That's right. The Heavenly Dao keeps Heaven and Earth in order. It allows the strong to prey on the weak, then destroys the strongest when they threaten that order. Is that what they call the greatest law, the impartiality of Heaven and Earth?"

"That fairness is built on the strong. The weak have no say. Even the powerful in Heaven and Earth are weak before the Heavenly Dao. They should hate Heaven and Earth, because it serves the strong and wantonly tramples on the weak's right to live. I should hate it for sealing me in the Netherworld Land. If I hadn't escaped by chance, who knows what fate would have awaited me? Why shouldn't I hate Heaven and Earth?"

Ji Tian felt an inexplicable hatred rise within him, merging with the black ocean.

"Exactly. Hate! Let's destroy Heaven and Earth together."

Ji Tian's soul grew increasingly insubstantial. An immense force was pulling him down into the black sea beneath his feet.

At that moment, the three sword mountains in the sea of consciousness gave off a dark, eerie glow. Slowly, they sank toward the bottom of the sea.

Ji Tian felt something shift in his soul. The fear, murderous intent, and savagery within him were fading—not fading, but being devoured by hatred.

Was he going to sink into hatred? This world was hateful, but every living thing had the right to exist. He could kill them, kill them all—but what then? If only he remained in Heaven and Earth, would that be the outcome he wanted? Was that the life he wanted to choose?

He wanted to be himself, to live for no one else. He had once chosen to bear part of another's burden and gained their Soul Power, but in return he had to seek the remains of Great God Pangu. Even so, he had still been himself, in control of his actions and thoughts. Was he going to change now? Abandon his old beliefs? Would he still be himself?

No, he couldn't give in. He was still himself. Ji Tian felt the Three Thoughts that were being devoured gradually gather again. A golden light, like the first light of dawn, appeared in his sea of consciousness, breaking through all darkness. This was his strongest belief: to live for himself and survive in his own world.

That first golden light enveloped the blackened palace of belief and formed a blazing sun. Within it stood a golden palace of exquisite beauty.

The endless black seawater began to recede, gathering into the form of a mighty, imposing shadow.

The shadow sneered. "Can you drive me out? You have hatred in your heart. You can't possibly expel me." It swept its arm, sending endless black water roaring toward the golden sea like hordes of Fierce Ghosts.

"Sink into darkness! Death will rule over everything!"

Ji Tian's Spiritual Sense stirred. He did his utmost to merge his hatred with the black seawater, seeking to seize more control. Only then might he be able to devour the hatred in the remnant soul.

"You can't devour me. Our Soul Power comes from the same source. One day, hatred will devour your sea of consciousness. Your power of belief is too weak—ha ha! It can't dispel this darkness of death."

Ji Tian stood beneath the blazing sun and thought it over. Even at his best, he could control less than a third of the hatred. He couldn't suppress it. If he couldn't suppress it, he would have to guide it.

Ji Tian sent a strand of Spiritual Sense toward the sleeping humanoid bat. "I need to borrow your body."

The humanoid creature slowly opened its eyes and looked at the surging black sea. It sent a strand of Spiritual Sense: "I am you, and that body is yours. Have you thought about the consequences?"

Ji Tian murmured, "Perhaps this will create a demon, one that knows only how to bring death. I only hope my own hatred can keep it in check."

Ji Tian kept forming hand seals, unleashing one divine ability after another. Golden light flashed throughout his sea of consciousness. The endless golden water, along with some of the black water, surged back in a counterattack.

Ji Tian drew on the soul power throughout his sea of consciousness and bound the churning black seawater. "Condense!" he roared. Countless forces sealed the entire sea of consciousness.

The deep voice rang out. "You want us to die together? Would you really do it?"

Ji Tian pulled a wisp from his soul, merged it with his hatred, wrapped it around the endless black seawater, and sent it hurtling into the void.

Somewhere in the Netherworld Land, a towering pillar of Killing Qi shook without pause. A creature within opened its eyes and roared.

A distant voice echoed through the Netherworld Land. "The day I emerge into the world will be the day Heaven and Earth perish."

Ji Tian opened his eyes and murmured, "I'll take this hatred back one day."

Seeing that Ji Tian had finally awakened, the Demonic Dragon complained, "Master, you're awake! If you'd taken any longer, we might have turned to dust!"

Ji Tian looked around. What kind of fire was this? It was clearly Yin Fire, yet it had the properties of Yang Fire.

But the caster's cultivation was still a little too low. Otherwise, things might have been troublesome.

Ji Tian swept one arm out and pointed a bone finger. A phantom finger brimming with destructive force shot into the sky.

The Bone Fire, which had been burning without pause, surged toward the phantom finger and enveloped it.

Ji Tian shook his head. One finger wasn't enough. Then he'd give it a punch.

A gigantic fist roared upward, scattering the gathering Bone Fire. It kept going, punching straight through the entire bone prison.

Rubble crashed down in a steady shower.

The Great Desolate Skeleton was startled. Even its strongest divine ability couldn't refine its opponent. What was it supposed to do?

Ji Tian and the Demonic Dragon burst out of the bone prison. The Demonic Dragon swept the endless bone fragments into the sky.

The Demonic Dragon let out a roar and slammed its whole body down on the Great Desolate Skeleton, beating it repeatedly with its tail.

The Great Desolate Skeleton shattered into pieces.

The Demonic Dragon still wasn't satisfied. It kept spitting Dragon Breath, freezing the bone fragments. So you could reassemble yourself? It would freeze you forever.

"Crack, crack."

But a few black bone fragments burst out of the ice and landed among the scattered bones, releasing billowing Black Qi.

A Great Desolate Skeleton rose again, using only ordinary bones. Its original bones had all been frozen by the Demonic Dragon.

"Essence of Bone," Ji Tian exclaimed inwardly. Those few fragments were the essence of the bones of Heaven and Earth. Perhaps the essence of Pangu's Remains had gained sentience.

Ji Tian stopped the berserk Demonic Dragon and asked the Great Desolate Skeleton, "Would you be willing to follow me?"

The Great Desolate Skeleton realized it couldn't afford to provoke the two before it and hurriedly nodded.