The Demon Ape had a pair of glossy black horns growing from its head, thick and savage. Though it was not particularly large, its presence surpassed even that of the Golden-Winged Roc Bird. Its black fur blazed like demonic flames. With a spread of its wings, it shot into the sky, unleashing monstrous ferocity across the heavens like a hurricane sweeping through, turning the passing primordial forest into an apocalyptic scene of flying sand, rolling stones, and shattered trees.
This fellow was, in truth, also a Primordial Species descended from the Long-Armed Demon Ape lineage.
The next moment, the Demon Ape and the Golden-Winged Roc Bird met like mortal enemies, their eyes blazing as they crashed directly into each other.
Rumble—
The depths of the primordial forest shook violently. Mountains crumbled, the earth split apart, ancient trees turned to ash, while black demonic winds and golden divine winds collided fiercely.
In just a short while, the entire Primordial Mountain Range was filled with flying sand and stones, marked by the battle of demonic beasts. Fortunately, the forest was vast enough that after the devastation, once the rain passed and the skies cleared, new grass and trees would grow from the earth again.
Jiang Ming had already returned to the Madman's side. With great sincerity, he restored his original appearance and stood with the old man atop a mountain peak, gazing from afar at the Desolate Forbidden Land. The most striking sight there was the nine Sacred Mountains.
As the Madman continued to grieve in silence, Jiang Ming could not help recalling the experiences of his previous life—the more than one hundred elite disciples of Shushan.
After that battle, every junior brother and sister who had entered the Demon-Locking Tower had died by Jiang Ming's hand.
Every sect relied on its elite core disciples as its foundation. These disciples were young and accomplished, the pillars of Shushan. Their complete annihilation had destroyed more than half of Shushan's foundation at once.
"Awooooo—"
Memories of Jiang Ming's previous life surged forth madly. Already in a demonic state, he let out hoarse howls and wept bitterly. His cries rumbled like thunder. If Dao Patterns had not spread beneath the Madman's feet, this entire mountain peak would have collapsed from the vibrations.
"It's all my fault. I'm a beast—disloyal, unfilial, unjust, unrighteous, and good for nothing. A hatred that will last through the ages."
Jiang Ming cried toward the heavens, tears and snot streaming down his face. "What is the Dao? What is Heaven? How can I let go? Can the dead come back to life? Can time reverse? Can everything begin again?"
"Can everything begin again?" The Madman also began to wail loudly. He laughed foolishly as he shook his head, overwhelmed by grief.
During this time, not even Primordial Species dared approach the two of them.
The Madman was a frequent visitor here. Many Primordial Species at the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm, even those at the Half-Step Great Ability realm and above, knew him. Every so often, the old man would come here and stare at the Desolate Forbidden Land as he wept bitterly.
There had once been powerful Primordial Species that provoked him, only to be directly killed by the force of his crying. They had been reduced to powder, a terrifying sight.
After many bloody lessons, including the deaths of Primordial Species at the Great Ability level, no Primordial Species dared provoke this crazy Human Race man again.
Today, that Mad Old Man had not merely come to cry by himself. He had brought a newcomer with him. This fellow did not look like a good person at all. Demonic energy surged around him, murderous aura shot into the heavens, dark demonic clouds rolled about him, and his vicious presence struck fear into beasts' hearts, as if he might draw his sword and slaughter all living things at any moment.
Just like that, the two cried for most of the day. At last, the Madman stopped crying. Every time he came here to look around, it gave his crazed mind a brief moment of clarity. In a daze, he turned to look at Jiang Ming. If not for his memories, seeing Jiang Ming like this would have nearly made him slap the boy to death.
Jiang Ming clearly looked to be only around twenty-two, yet his eyes contained endless vicissitudes, as though he had endured countless hardships. They were filled with sorrowful madness and despair. A sword scar like a demon's mark lay between his brows. He clearly possessed the Dao Embryo talent of Sword Heart Illumination, yet he was trapped by his own inner demon, unable to free himself.
Then there was the scene of demonic energy soaring around him as he cried and howled, demonic clouds rolling and murderous aura piercing the sky. The Madman found it extremely troublesome. Something was deeply wrong with this fellow. Slapping him to death would be a minor matter; releasing the demonic soul trapped within the prison of his fleshly body would be the real problem. When that happened, it might truly unleash a Great Demon.
"Enough, stop crying. The dead are gone, while the living must go on. Please accept my condolences."
The Madman had never imagined that one day, he would speak such words to comfort someone else.
But just then, a white figure suddenly flew out from the center of the nine Sacred Mountains in the distant Desolate Forbidden Land. She drifted down onto the summit of a Sacred Mountain closest to their direction.
The woman wore a flowing white dress, graceful as a dancing fairy. Her long skirt fluttered in the wind as if she might ride the breeze away at any moment, ascending to the Lunar Palace to stand alone in the vast cold—a peerless beauty capable of toppling kingdoms and cities.
"Nü Yuan?"
Jiang Ming had cried until his mind was hazy, his grief tearing at his heart as he beat his chest and stomped his feet, his demonic hair whipping wildly around him. The instant the woman appeared, the face of his confidante from his previous life emerged in his heart.
Her eyes were clear as autumn waters, her gaze enchanting. Her teeth were white as jade, her smile sweet and lovely. Her neck was like a swan's, slender and elegant as a lotus emerging from water, pure as a chrysanthemum in late autumn, charming as a peach blossom in early spring. Standing at the edge of the cliff, she would fall into the boundless Desolate Abyss if she took even half a step farther.
"Be careful, Yuan'er! Be careful not to fall!"
Jiang Ming shouted and was about to rush toward the Desolate Forbidden Land.
"Bullshit! She only looks somewhat like Nü Yuan. She is not even one-tenth as beautiful as our Nü Yuan. Don't be impulsive. That is the Desolate Forbidden Land—it'll kill you. We've cried enough. It's time to leave."
A fierce battle erupted within Jiang Ming's Sea of Consciousness, and his primary consciousness was on the verge of collapse.
He had never expected the lofty Heavenly Jade Saintess to look exactly like Nü Yuan, even with nearly the same temperament.
"That's right, brother. You mustn't act rashly. The Desolate Forbidden Land cannot be entered."
The consciousness of Jiang Ming from this lifetime hurriedly reminded him as well.
As for the outside world—
The Madman quickly grabbed Jiang Ming's arm. "Those who enter the Desolate Forbidden Land leave behind nothing but a pile of ash. What are you trying to do? Who is Nü Yuan?"
Naturally, the Madman recognized this woman as well, and tears had already begun to surge from his eyes. She had once been the Heavenly Jade Saintess, the only Saintess. Their Heavenly Jade Holy Land had only the Three Heroes of Tianxuan and no Heavenly Jade Holy Son, because many heavenly geniuses had competed for the Holy Son position, including the Madman and his junior brother Wei Yi.
But what did that have to do with this brat? Even if someone should be emotional, it ought to be him, the Madman. What the hell did it have to do with Jiang Ming?
Considering that this brat had cried with him once—no, twice—they were both pitiful people beneath heaven and earth, so neither should make things difficult for the other.
"Wake up. This is no longer your original world. Look at that woman. Although she is so beautiful that it is hard to find even the slightest flaw in her—
"she came out of the Desolate Forbidden Land. That kind of beauty simply isn't real. Dreamlike and illusory—that describes her perfectly. It is all fake. A beautiful woman is but a skeleton beneath the skin. She is a mirage, tempting people into the Desolate Forbidden Land, where all vitality will be Plundered, their life Source devoured, until they are reduced to dust and vanish into smoke. We will never return to the Immortal Sword World to see Nü Yuan and Wan'er again.
"Think of our Yuan'er's eyes, brimming with Heaven and Earth's spiritual Insight. Think of her transcendent temperament. Then think of the pleasure of holding her smooth, jade-like body, warm in winter and cool in summer. Are you really going to fall for someone else?"
Jiang Ming exhausted every ounce of effort. His silver tongue practically spat sparks before he finally managed to persuade himself.
The great art of self-consolation.
This was no good place. It was time to run. Why had the Heavenly Jade Saintess suddenly appeared? That Marriage Red Thread had been tied by the system, not Jiang Ming. He would never enter the Desolate Forbidden Land to take responsibility. Not a chance. They were fated to meet but not to be together. Farewell, wanderer.