Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun
To Condemn Someone, What Need Is There for a Mirror?
You Yan suddenly ran off without a word, leaving Yi Qiu behind in the throng of yao1.
The little alpaca did not have much strength. After a great deal of effort, she squeezed her way out through layer after layer of the crowd. By the time she stretched her long neck to look around, You Yan’s figure was long gone from her sight.
What could have lured You Yan away?
Here in the Kunlun Mountains, what could possibly make You Yan so anxious? And if she was going to give chase, why did she have to abandon her!
Did You Yan think an alpaca on her back would slow her down?
Or perhaps, was You Yan afraid that the person she was chasing might harm her, her little alpaca?
“I should wait for her here…” Yi Qiu whispered to herself. “If I wander off, You Yan will not be able to find me when she comes back.”
She thought this, but her tone was filled with uncertainty.
If only she knew the art of tracking spirits2, she would surely go looking for You Yan, instead of just standing here, fretting helplessly.
Inside the great hall, another immortal3 began to present a treasure. He announced his identity upon coming forward, but no one paid any mind. What truly caught Yi Qiu’s attention were the words he spoke.
“In the vast Three Realms4, with their countless living beings, good and evil are both born from the heart. Yet the good and evil of the heart are the most difficult to judge by words or deeds.”
The immortals all spoke by channeling their internal strength5, so their voices could be heard with perfect clarity, no matter the volume or distance. Unfortunately, at this moment, Yi Qiu could no longer squeeze her way to the front, nor could she see what was happening inside at all.
“Whether immortal, yao, god, or devil6, all have a capacity for good and evil; one must never generalize.”
These words brought the little alpaca back to her senses from the dazed confusion of You Yan’s sudden departure.
In a corner where no one would notice, she could not help but nod emphatically, thinking to herself, This treasure-presenting immortal has some nerve.
The gods and immortals of the Heavenly Realm7 always looked down on the yao race as utterly base, while simultaneously harboring an extreme loathing for the devil race. For him to dare say such a thing in front of so many heavenly beings sounded recklessly bold—he was really an iron head8. She wondered what kind of expressions the other gods and immortals in the hall were making right now.
Then again, good and evil come from the heart and should never be judged by one’s origin. After all, according to the worldview of 《Thin, Withered Branch》, if one were to trace back to ancient times, these very gods and immortals had also cultivated9 from yao.
If they had not been the first to set the rules and demarcate the so-called immortals, yao, gods, and devils, who would be any nobler than anyone else today?
“Although good and evil in this world are difficult to judge, a century ago, this humble immortal was fortunate enough to find a mirror in the Demon Realm…”
“A mirror!” Hearing this, Yi Qiu’s ears instantly perked up, and her four limbs tensed.
She subconsciously tried to push her way in, but it was impossible to get through. Anxious, she started to stomp her little hooves where she stood.
“If the beings of the Three Realms can cast aside their racial identities and measure all things by the heart, they should be viewed through three hearts—the God-heart, the human-heart, and the devil-heart. This is the only true way to distinguish good from evil,” the immortal continued. “If an immortal or god develops a devil-heart, they are unworthy of their station. If a yao or devil develops a god-heart, they too can bring salvation to all living things10.”
Measure all things by the heart?
“And this Heart-Clarifying Mirror, is the very magic treasure11 that can peer into the depths of any being’s heart. For over a hundred years, this humble immortal has used it to observe the good and evil in people’s hearts, and it has never once been wrong. Today, I offer it to you, in the hope that under the protection of the Queen Mother of the West12, all races in the Kunlun Mountains may forever uphold their kind thoughts!”
“If that is so, then today, we shall hang this mirror in my Kunlun. All of you may come forward for a look.”
The Queen Mother of the West spoke faintly. A soft yet brilliant light then rose within the great hall.
A round mirror was suddenly pushed into mid-air by that gentle light, its surface instantly expanding dozens of times. It hung high in the air, scattering a pure white spiritual light13 that illuminated all directions.
The power of that damned mirror suddenly extended in all directions, reflecting every living being within its spiritual range. Whether they were gods, immortals, or yao spirits14, most were surprisingly shown to have a “human-heart,” sparking a flurry of discussion among the immortals.
You Yan had said that back then, these very gods and immortals had sentenced her to death… because of a mirror.
So, it was not because You Yan had touched some taboo or broken some magic treasure—it was all because of this mirror. Because this damned mirror said You Yan possessed a devil-heart?
What kind of logic was that! What did they mean, “measure all things by the heart”?
After all their sanctimonious lies about the equality of all races, in the end, they turn to a child who had never proactively hurt anyone and say—your heart is that of a devil.
Bullshit, it is all bullshit!
How could You Yan possibly have a devil-heart? They might as well have just sentenced her to death for being a “heaven-born devil embryo”15!
Suddenly, the mirror’s surface reflected a cloud of black and red bloody mist. Yi Qiu’s heart skipped a beat. The next second, she heard someone cry out in alarm, “A devil-heart, it is a devil-heart! There is a devil16 in the mountains!”
“How can there be a devil in the Kunlun Mountains?”
“What is that thing!”
“A Qinyuan17, it is a Qinyuan… a crimson Qinyuan!”
Yi Qiu instinctively wanted to turn and look for You Yan, but the screams behind her made her look up at the mirror one more time.
In that moment, she saw the scene reflected within it.
A Qinyuan chick, covered in blood, crawled out from the abdomen of its birth mother, whose expression was one of anguish and despair. It was a devil boring its way out of a “human shell,” and it was countless times larger than an ordinary Qinyuan.
Its eyes were crimson, as if it could not perceive the world, seeing only a terribly twisted agony and a desperate craving for “life.”
It was starving. It continuously devoured its mother’s body, from her internal organs to every inch of her flesh and blood, gnawing a still-conscious woman to a slow death.
As it consumed its mother piece by piece, its body grew larger and larger, until it no longer resembled a Qinyuan, but a monster that only craved blood.
Finally, like a blood-red butterfly, it broke free from the cocoon of the mangled corpse.
It unfurled its blood-stained, crimson wings and pulled its venomous tail stinger from its mother’s ruined body. Its gaze remained murky and chaotic.
A sharp sword was suddenly pressed against its throat.
But the hand holding the sword could not stop trembling.
This was his child, the child his beloved had given her life to bear… but it was a devil, a devil that was doomed to be eliminated from Kunlun, even if he did not do it himself.
Reason told him he should kill it.
But in that moment, he hesitated. If he had been just a bit more decisive, perhaps the world would never have known a Qinyuan named You Yan.
That single moment of hesitation allowed the “monster” to come to its senses. It pounced madly at its father, trying to devour him just as it had its mother, to make him a part of itself.
All the plants and trees it touched withered instantly.
It had no reason or consciousness, only the predatory instinct of a beast.
Its father, who possessed a high level of cultivation18, had countless opportunities to cut it down, even while injured. Yet each time, he unconsciously avoided its vital points, until he was completely exhausted and, under its tearing bites, gave up the struggle.
Such a scene, even viewed as a distant illusion, was enough to make one feel breathless.
In that moment of despair, an immortal arrived riding a dragon. Plants revived amidst the toxic blood, and from the dust, green vines sprouted, wrapping around the creature inch by inch, binding it.
The dragon-riding goddess, half-human and half-bird, slowly descended beside the devil embryo. She gathered a ball of spiritual energy at her fingertip and tapped it between the creature’s brows.
“A devil embryo with a mortal heart is not necessarily a scourge. If it can harbor kindness, it can be accepted by heaven and earth.”
The goddess spoke softly, her words seeming to echo between heaven and earth.
The blood-stained devil embryo gradually formed human limbs, transforming into a human child. Its wings became clothes to cover its body.
She lay in a pool of blood, sleeping peacefully, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred to her.
The heavily injured man kowtowed three times to the goddess, and finally, with trembling hands, he gently took the child into his arms.
“Wood Goddess, did such a thing truly happen five hundred years ago?”
“Reporting to the Heavenly Emperor19, it did. I happened to be here that day and saw the child…”
“Why save a devil embryo?”
“It was just a newborn child, one who did not yet understand right from wrong. Its nature was not inherently evil; it was not impossible to guide it…”
Before the Wood Goddess could finish, the demonic energy20 displayed in the Heart-Clarifying Mirror flared violently.
It turned out that the child who did not understand right from wrong, after having her innate devilish nature suppressed, had indeed been just a child for a time.
But in the end, no one in this world treated her with kindness—not even the father who brought her home.
She was the devil born in the immortal mountains, the poison that meant death on contact. She was ostracized, driven away, mocked, and despised. Before she even had a chance to grow up, she was silently and utterly abandoned by the only father she could rely on.
How many yao spirits had shouted and cursed at her in disgust when she was small and weak?
How many times did she clench her teeth and endure, only to drag her bruised and battered body back to her mother’s grave, silently swallow the metallic taste in her throat, and close her eyes to sleep?
—Am I the one who deserves to die?
—No. It is them.
Resentment toward this world grew slowly in the depths of her heart. Day by day, year by year, it finally condensed into a mad and obsessive thought.
—If I gain power, I will overturn this heaven and earth!
—If I overturn heaven and earth, I will make the Three Realms revere the devil as supreme! I will make all in this world who despise and fear me either die or submit at my feet!
She hid all her frenzied emotions beneath a placid, unruffled exterior.
Her heart had long since drifted far from the light, lost in the abyss.
She descended step by step, never once thinking that there might be another path in this world, another choice she could make.
Because she did not need one.
The world never treated her with kindness. Why should she treat the world with kindness?
“I accept it…”
A familiar voice came from behind.
As Yi Qiu turned, she heard cries of alarm erupt behind her. The lesser immortals and lesser yao with lower cultivation levels scattered in all directions, scrambling to get away from the devil revealed by the Heart-Clarifying Mirror.
“You Yan…”
She had no idea when the girl who had been gone for so long had returned. All she knew was that she saw tear tracks on You Yan’s cheeks, though from what cause, she could not tell.
In that moment, within those tear-filled, dark golden eyes, she saw an expression that was utterly alien.
It was resentment. It was madness. It was a thirst for blood.
“You heavenly gods love to dictate the fates of others. Fine, I will accept it,” the young woman said softly. Her gaze turned abruptly cold, and the spiritual energy21 around her surged like a tidal wave, blasting everyone aside—except for the weak little alpaca—by several dozen meters.
A ghastly green spiritual light, mingled with a thick, bloody mist.
“To condemn someone, what need is there for a mirror? All you have to do is open your mouths!”
As she spoke, she spread her wings and soared into the air. With a single, long cry, she transformed into a giant bird whose wings were like trailing clouds22, several times larger than ever before! The great bird beat its crimson wings, gathered its energy, and with a breath of spiritual power23, shattered the mirror hanging high in the sky into dust.
Destiny wants me to be a devil. The world sees me as a devil.
Then a devil I shall be, and bring chaos to this mortal world!
The author has something to say:
The previous chapter has been partially revised with an additional six hundred characters. You can go back and read it, but it will not affect the plot if you do not. The changes are minor detail additions.
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