Trials of the Abyss
Chapter 759: Great Demon God Luan Ji

Chapter 759: Great Demon God Luan Ji

Luan Ji was a member of the Demon Scale Race, like Li Bai and Xuan Ying, with natural scale armor covering his body. He had a striking face, with sharp brows and starry eyes.

However, this was only one of the many forms of the Great Demon God, Luan Ji.

He was a peer of Fa Ji and He Motian, a formidable Great Demon God from the past era, a former follower of Demonheaven, and one of the few Pang Jian could observe through the demonic cloak.

Before this, Pang Jian had paid him little attention. A glance at his various manifestations had always left no lasting impression; his presence seemed to slip by without notice.

It was not until Yuan Hui, one of the nine fragments of the Primordial Demon, expressed her lack of memories that Pang Jian finally paid attention to him.

Pang Jian suspected there was a reason for his prior neglect of Luan Ji.

There were three Great Demon Gods whose names were on the demonic cloak. Of these, Pang Jian often paid close attention to Fa Ji and He Motian. Only Luan Ji had never truly drawn his notice, something that, in hindsight, felt rather unusual.

"Luan Ji is one of the ancient Great Demon Gods," the Abyssal Demon said, recognizing the name. "Tian Wei and Qi Ling, by contrast, are newly risen Great Demon Gods, the rising stars of a younger generation. Pang Jian, I don't know much about Luan Ji, but I believe there's no need to complicate matters further."

Pang Jian paused. "What do you mean?"

"Insights into the Primordial Demon's Dao of Demon are not essential to me. What I truly need is her soul, not her memories," the Abyssal Demon explained. "All nine of us originated from the Primordial Demon's soul. Once the nine soul fragments are reunited, those of us who were separated will once again become whole, albeit in a different form.

"It's that wholeness I seek. Insights into the Primordial Demon's Dao of Demon are not strictly necessary."

The Abyssal Demon raised the black-gold sword in his hand and turned toward Yuan Hui, his voice surprisingly gentle.

"We are one and the same. There is no such thing as death between us. You don't even know who you are anymore. Why not become a part of me?"

The Abyssal Demon prepared to strike.

"I want to see Ah Ji one more time," Yuan Hui said softly, casting a pleading gaze up at Pang Jian's face in the sky. "He promised to come back here and stay with me once he took care of everything."

Something told her that this stranger, unknown and unfathomable as he was, was the only one capable of granting her that final wish, not the Abyssal Demon.

"Pang Jian, she's weak. I can handle her on my own. I don't need your help," said the Abyssal Demon.

Though a mid-ranking God like Yuan Hui likely once held formidable power, she now had a marked disadvantage as Luan Ji had stripped her of her demonic techniques.

Compassion flickered in Pang Jian's heart. "Wait a moment. Let me take a closer look at Luan Ji. There's something unusual about this Great Demon God Luan Ji. I have a feeling..."

Neither Fa Ji nor He Motian showed any signs of noticing when he spied on them through the cloak. Luan Ji, on the other hand, appeared to have perceived something. The reason for Pang Jian's constant overlooking of him was likely due to the Great Demon God's interference.

Let me examine him properly this time.

With a heightened sense of caution, Pang Jian gently traced Luan Ji's name, silently reciting it in his mind.

Vivid visions appeared in his consciousness.

One manifestation of Luan Ji sat upright on an imposing divine platform, solemnly reciting the profound truths of the Dao of Demon.

Another manifestation of Luan Ji took the form of an old fortune-telling demon dressed in a plain gray robe. He sat with eyes half-closed in a quiet corner of a bustling street, speaking to a young demon boy who had come seeking guidance.

In a world beyond the Demon Realms was the form that Yuan Hui knew as Ah Ji, a gentle winemaker. Pang Jian observed as he made a wine called Bitter Wine of Oblivion.

The Bitter Wine of Oblivion allowed its drinker to let go of their deepest sorrows. Whispers of this brew drew in warriors of all races from across the starry skies, each hoping to ease the weight of their memories.

The winemaker softly instructed his apprentices, reminding them of the finer points of fermentation and warning them not to be careless.

Suddenly, his brows knitted and he murmured inwardly, Again? This time is different. You're targeting me deliberately. Why?

A woman named Yuan Hui has been waiting for you in the Lamentveil World. She wishes to see you, Pang Jian replied.

I'm busy, Luan Ji refused coldly.

She's about to die.

Luan Ji snorted. She can't die. Not truly. No one but a Sovereign can end her life.Don't think wearing Lord Demonheaven's cloak makes you Lord Demonheaven himself. I don't care who you are or what you're trying to do. Just stay out of my life.

Then, out loud, Luan Ji instructed, "You all keep working. I'm going out for some air."

Stepping out of the cellar, he teleported to the top of a solitary mountain peak. Cities were spread like neat blocks of tofu in the vast gray earth below.

Without the threat of eavesdroppers, Luan Ji no longer spoke telepathically.

"He Motian schemes for the Abyss. Fa Ji seeks to invade the Nether Abyss. Whatever they're after has nothing to do with me," Luan Ji said flatly. "You've inherited Lord Demonheaven's legacy, meaning you've received his acknowledgement in the process, but that doesn't give you the right to command me.

"My bond with him ended the day he died. Don't trouble me again and don't pry into my life. If you do, don't blame me for what happens next."

You have nothing to say to Yuan Hui? Don't you feel guilty? Pang Jian asked.

"What do you even know?" Luan Ji sneered.

I know that you approached her, made her fall in love with you, and then took advantage of that to extract her insights into the Primordial Demon's Dao of Demon.You even erased all trace of yourself, letting her slowly forget you. Frankly, your methods are nothing short of despicable.

"Despicable?" Luan Ji's expression twisted with rage. "Where's your true body? Where are you speaking from?"

The Abyss.

"The Abyss?!" Luan Ji fell silent, a storm brewing beneath the surface. His fury exploded out all at once. "That cloak is in the Abyss?! So that's why He Motian's forces have been stationed there! That's the real reason! The Demon Lair and the Primordial Demon were sent to the Abyss too! He Motian has been lying to me all along!"

Taking a deep breath, the Great Demon God quickly regained his composure.

"Paths diverge, and so do intentions," Luan Ji continued coolly. "What He Motian seeks is not what I seek. But even so, he acts for the sake of all Demon Gods. Let him be, then. Whatever comes of it.

"If you know Yuan Hui originates from the Primordial Demon, that means you're also aware that her fate was never hers to choose. She'll become a stepping stone on his path forward sooner or later–just a vessel to restore what he lacks. Does it matter if she remembers me or not?

"Go now. And don't bother me again."

Waving his hand as though shooing away a fly, Luan Ji dismissed Pang Jian.

Mind-warping demonic energy surged from Luan Ji's many manifestations, violently casting Pang Jian's will out.

***

In the Fifth World of the Abyss, Pang Jian gently traced the two demonic characters for Luan Ji. While he could still faintly sense Luan Ji's lingering presence, any attempt to peer deeper was met with layer upon layer of restrictions.

Luan Ji's perceptiveness clearly surpassed both Fa Ji and He Motian.

Speaking through his illusory form in the Lamentveil World, Pang Jian said with a hint of resignation, "Luan Ji is strong. He refuses to see you. He won't come to the Lamentveil World."

***

Yuan Hui gazed silently at Pang Jian's illusory face in the sky, her lips pressed into a faint smile.

"So he was lying to me all along..." she muttered bitterly. The long-held conviction in her heart shattered like glass.

Her lips were curled into something wild and anguished. The turmoil in her heart manifested in reality, cutting thin lines across her cheeks that welled with beads of blood.

All at once, her memories returned. Before Ah Ji, she had been the most gifted prodigy of the Nether Demon Race in the Lamentveil World, then its most powerful Demon God. She had given up everything for Ah Ji—her pursuit of higher cultivation realms, her thirst for power, her ambitions as a whole.

The lifespan of a divine being was infinite.

There was no need for more cultivation or power when she had already attained eternal life and met the love of her life.

She had been willing to do for him—to abandon her pursuit of power, to live like an ordinary being, to wait in silence for as long as it took for him to return.

Despite this, all she received in return was Ah Ji's dismissal.

Even her memories of him were quickly fading.

One day, she would not even remember ever meeting someone called Ah Ji. She would likely forget everything they had shared.

This fate was far too cruel.

So, she let go. She returned to who she once was, awakening the power long sealed within her soul and body.

"Sorry, but I'm not ready to merge with you. I don't want to lose my sense of self," she said, shooting an apologetic smile at the Abyssal Demon.

She then surged toward Pang Jian's illusory face, piercing through the thick clouds of mist and leaping into the starry skies.

"I still want to find Ah Ji. I need an answer."

With that, Yuan Hui broke free from the Lamentveil World.

There was no barrier in this world. Having once been the highest-ranked Demon God in this world, the demonic energy and malevolent thoughts that Pang Jian had gathered could not stop her, already attuned to her being.

Before meeting Luan Ji, she had been poised to ascend as a Great Demon God. The entire world had pinned its hopes on her. Everyone on the Lamentveil World had believed her destined to become one of the greats.

"She's that strong?" The Abyssal Demon's face paled. "But I—I thought she was the weakest of us all!"