Chapter Fourteen: Rebellion

As the solitary eye in the void opened, the layers of mist suspended above seemed to be swept aside by an unseen hand, parting like wings. Blinding flashes of lightning began to gather, coalescing with booming thunder into a spherical form beneath the clouds, as if another colossal eye had awakened to gaze upon the heavens.

The eye within the cavern turned slowly, and all the assembled demons felt its oppressive gaze. The weight of this pressure, transmitted through its stare, was almost tangible—those of diluted bloodlines among the demonkind felt the burden most keenly. The seven mountain fiends barely stirred, but the twenty-nine valley lords could hardly withstand it; most involuntarily staggered back several steps.

Standing upon the platform, Chang Xiangzhi remained upright and solemn. She seemed wholly unaffected by the crushing force. Watching the scene beyond the altar, she gradually fell into contemplation…

At last, the enormous eye fixed upon Chang Xiangzhi. Lightning flared violently, and her expression grew ever graver, as if some profound realization had dawned upon her. Deep within her pupils, a shadowy blackness began to swirl, spreading swiftly and profoundly—like a passage opening within her eyes, reaching to the very ends of the sky.

No one knew when it happened, but she had already sunk to the ground, eyes closed, appearing lost in thought—yet it was more as if she had fallen into an abyss of consciousness, from which she could not awaken.

The spherical lightning began to tremble. Suddenly, several crystalline drops, aglow and burning red like fire, shot from its core, streaking through the curtain of rain like meteors.

A valley lord cried out, his voice so excited it nearly broke, “The Primordial Blood of All Demons! Lady Nuwa’s legacy—the source blood of every demon!”

The lords of the twenty-nine valleys leapt into the air, attempting to intercept the gleaming drops with all manner of sorcery. Yet the source blood proved elusive, twisting and darting mid-flight, incredibly difficult to capture.

This Primordial Blood was Nuwa’s original gift to demonkind; each drop bestowed immense potential. While it might not grant immediate sainthood, any demon who possessed it became linked, however indirectly, to Nuwa herself, and, with cultivation, could aspire to the ranks of Celestial Demon or even Demon King.

Why Lady Nuwa would release the Primordial Blood at this moment, as the Gate of the Firmament opened, was a mystery. All that was known was its incalculable value—comparable, perhaps, to the treasures sealed behind the Heavenly Gate itself.

As all twenty-nine valley lords scrambled in pursuit, a strange, ancient presence suddenly filled the cave. It was as though some primordial beast, capable of swallowing the sky, had been unleashed, flooding the space with unrestrained demonic energy.

Yuan Sanxuan!

The source of the demonic aura was none other than Yuan Sanxuan, chief among the Seven Mountain Lords.

His eyes now burned crimson, fur bristling, black demonic energy swirling around him, solidifying into jet-black crystalline armor that gleamed with an eerie radiance. A weapon appeared in his hand, and the other six fiends followed suit: weapons drawn, their gazes cold and fierce.

“Beware! The accursed ape is making his move!” Jue Yue yelled, jolting the valley lords from their pursuits. All attention snapped to the Seven Mountain fiends.

Yuan Sanxuan’s expression did not change, but a swordlike hum resonated from the air itself, sharp as steel unsheathing, filling the cave with a metallic ring. The rain and mist overhead suddenly froze, and from the dome above cascaded rays of golden light, dazzling as the morning sun.

The brilliance was warm and radiant, yet all the demons found their breaths caught, their hearts pounding in their chests.

At that moment, a figure soared high into the air, launching straight at Yuan Sanxuan.

It was the leopard demon, Banlan!

He shot forth like lightning, reaching Yuan Sanxuan in an instant. His outstretched arm swelled in the wind, transforming into a massive hammer, which he swung down with crushing force.

A murderous gleam flashed across Yuan Sanxuan’s face. In his pupils, Banlan’s charge was reflected. Just as Banlan was about to strike, a nameless dread flooded him. He summoned his demonic power in defense, colliding head-on with the descending golden light.

Banlan’s charge was broken, smashed from midair to the rocky floor below, sending shards flying in every direction. Yet Yuan Sanxuan remained unmoved, bearing the blow as if it were nothing.

The moment their clash began, the outcome was already clear.

But the chaos did not end. As Banlan crashed to the ground, a swirl of rainbow light suddenly rose among the valley demons—a brilliant, multicolored handkerchief spiraled into the air, spinning toward the altar.

“How daring!” bellowed Jinmei, the hulking female fiend. She leapt up, her long spear flashing as she thrust it at the handkerchief.

“Sixth Sister, fall back! That is—” Zhu Miaoren shouted, but it was already too late. Though Jinmei’s form was ungainly, her movements were swift; before Zhu Miaoren could finish, Jinmei’s spear had struck the handkerchief squarely.

In that instant, Jinmei was struck as if by lightning, hurled through the air like a severed kite, crashing toward the altar.

The handkerchief remained unscathed, undeterred, spiraling onward toward Yuan Sanxuan and his cohort.

“…the Bagua Cloudglow Veil!” Zhu Miaoren finally finished her warning.

The Bagua Cloudglow Veil was no ordinary artifact—it was a legendary treasure from the ancient War of Deification. Its mistress was Lady Shiji, who once wielded it in battle against the True Man Taiyi upon Mount Qianyuan, only to lose it and later be enshrined as a lesser star deity. Nevertheless, she eventually reclaimed her treasure and entrusted it to her descendants.

Such renowned relics, witnessed in the War of Deification, were formidable indeed. Even the Seven Mountain fiends, having attained near-celestial heights, could hardly withstand its power.

Shidong, lord of the Broken Slope and direct descendant of Lady Shiji—though only one of the twenty-nine valley lords—had somehow smuggled the Veil into the gathering and, unleashing it now, instantly gravely wounded Jinmei.

With this single strike, Shidong laughed triumphantly, sending the Bagua Cloudglow Veil spinning toward the Seven Mountain fiends.

Their expressions darkened. Yuan Sanxuan brought his hands together, gathering the golden light before him to shield against the Veil. He growled, “Go! Take the Gate of the Firmament and retreat!”

Only then did the six fiends grasp the reality before them: the fabled descendants of the Seven Saints of Meishan had been outmaneuvered by the upstart valley fiends and routed.

A violent gale erupted in the cave, black smoke roiling, thick mists churning. A streak of shadow darted outward, carrying with it the still entranced Chang Xiangzhi, Wu Bo, and other minor fiends, as well as the gravely wounded Jinmei. Meanwhile, Yuan Sanxuan’s golden aura rapidly dwindled under the Veil’s assault—soon to be completely extinguished.

“After them!”

“Split up and pursue—they must not escape!”

“To all wind-spirits of the valleys: lead your fiends and sweep the Seven Mountains clean! Slay any who resist!”

All the remaining valley lords sprang into action. Some took the lead willingly, others were swept along, unable to refuse. The fiends surged after the fleeing Seven, and orders to massacre any who opposed them spread throughout Meishan. In moments, the valley fiends were pouring into the Seven Mountains. Within an hour, all twenty-nine valleys had mobilized; in less than three hours, the remaining descendants of the Seven Mountain fiends had been exterminated, and the mountains conquered.

The drops of Nuwa’s Primordial Blood thus became the spoils of the twenty-nine valleys. With these treasures, several valley lords’ powers soared, ascending to the summit of demonkind and quickly stepping into the ranks of the great fiends.

Half a day later, the former uncrowned king of Meishan, first among the Seven, son of the ancient demon king Yuan Hong—Yuan Sanxuan—was dead.

The next day, the gravely wounded Jinmei was overtaken by the pursuing fiends. She fought valiantly but fell in battle.

Two days later, Wu Chang, descendant of Wu Long of Centipede Cliff, surrendered together with his son Wu Bo.

Five days later, Yang Wu, descendant of Yang Xian of Straw Slope, was captured. Refusing to submit, he was slain.

The entirety of Meishan was thrown into chaos. The Seven Mountains had changed hands; the twenty-nine valleys were in revolt. Small fiends waged war across the hills, countless demons fled the troubled land, and panic spread to the neighboring human cities and villages. The Deathsoldiers of Liaodong in the Great Yan Empire were urgently dispatched to the region.

With the power of the Bagua Cloudglow Veil, the valley fiends could not kill all the Seven, but it was more than enough to sweep away the lesser mountain demons. The pursuit was relentless. Chang Cun, Zhu Miaoren, and Dai Shan could do nothing but scatter and flee, each dashing toward the distant Demon Kingdoms of the Western Continent.

Chang Xiangzhi, bearer of the Gate of the Firmament, naturally became the primary target of Shidong’s fiends. In this chaos, her elder brother Chang Xiangshou assumed her role, journeying north with their father by way of Beiju Luzhou to elude pursuit. Zhu Miaoren and Dai Shan each muddled their tracks, while Chang Xiangzhi was secretly relocated to the shores of Star Lake, accompanied by loyal minor fiends, disguised as a human, and gradually made her way out through the lands of Great Zhou.

Chang Xiangzhi, though innocent and pure, was truly clever. Upon awakening, she did not flee immediately but hid for over a month in Meishan. Only when the valley fiends had all departed did she slip away, making her way to a city of Great Zhou, thus beginning her journey.

She knew in her heart that as long as she remained at large, the valley fiends would never give up. Every road was watched by minor demons. Upon reaching the city, she seized the chaos as fiends ran amok and the deathsoldiers hunted them down, joining a merchant caravan heading east toward the Divine Eastern Continent.

After half a month traveling east, she turned south, then after several months, finally headed west again. In this way, she spent more than a year on the road, her journey full of twists and turns.

Over that year, Chang Xiangzhi transformed from a naïve, carefree demon maiden into a shrewd, calculating, and clever young woman—her growth surpassing what a hundred years in the mountains might have achieved.

Yet, despite all her cunning, she could not fully conceal her trace. Just as she neared the western border, she was discovered by a group of minor fiends from Blackwater Ridge. Her companions were all slain in battle, and she, exhausted from the struggle, collapsed in the wilderness, nearly captured.

And then, she met the Sixfold Fiend…

When recounting her tale to Sixfold, Chang Xiangzhi omitted the secret of her bearing the Gate of the Firmament, but related everything else in detail. Sixfold was able to surmise the upheaval in Meishan and understood well the perilous situation in which Chang Xiangzhi now found herself.