Chapter 672 - 665: Origin
"But what we didn’t expect was that, in the process of sacrificing all life and burning the planet’s magnetic field, the unwillingness and hatred of those countless beings mixed into that immense power. When we used this power to successfully escape the Holy Star and wander the vast True Realm, these negative emotions became like a ’curse’ from the planet. They formed a terrifying Heart Demon that polluted our True Spirits, fundamentally changing their very nature."
"Sweet dreams turned into nightmares, order into chaos, peace into war, and harvests became Desolate..."
"This is the ’curse’ we bear. For a time, it caused us to lose our sanity. However, with this immense power, we managed to survive in the True Realm and began a long period of wandering. We can no longer recall the exact length of time. In short, we drifted for what felt like an endless journey through the True Realm, witnessing many strange and bizarre phenomena we had never seen before. Eventually, we discovered Earth."
"At that time, Earth was still a Low-level Civilization, and its environment was suitable for life. We saw this as a gift from the heavens, so we ended our wanderings in the True Realm and descended upon Earth."
"However, at the time, the curse was erupting violently within us. Our instincts were filled with tyranny and chaos, making us difficult to control. After we descended upon Earth, this state was triggered even further. This led to the chaotic rule of the ancient era, which eventually activated the planet’s self-preservation mechanism. The planet rejected us, and Ancient Heroes rose from among humanity to ultimately place us under a Seal."
"But the pressure from the planet’s will also inadvertently helped us suppress the curse in our True Spirits, allowing us to regain some of our sanity. In truth, with our abilities at the time, we had a chance to escape being sealed. To be precise, if we hadn’t held back, the Ancient Heroes could never have completely sealed us."
"We saw an opportunity: while under the Seal, the curse would also be suppressed. We used this time to search for a way to break the curse for good, but unfortunately, we failed. Over the past six thousand years, our condition has indeed improved, but the curse could never be completely purged. The chaos and negative emotions still deeply affect us and our entire race."
"To that end, we began preparing a second plan, led by Mo. The goal was to fully integrate into Earth’s environment and create a new Earth Civilization with us at its core. We believed that if we could completely merge with Earth and become part of it, we might be able to use the planet’s will to suppress the curse deep within our True Spirits to the lowest possible level."
"The plan was initially going very smoothly. Through Mo’s manipulations, some high-ranking humans had already started to side with us, swayed by our promises and temptations. Even the most powerful nation on the planet fell under our control, guided by Mo’s influence."
"But not long ago, things changed. Mo actually sensed the gaze of ’Blazing Fire’ upon us from the great unknown. In terms of Spiritual Will, Mo has always been the strongest among us. Though we were skeptical of this information, we couldn’t afford to gamble."
"Whether it was because of us or for some other reason, now that ’Blazing Fire’ has locked onto this planet, we must evacuate as quickly as possible. They are an existence we stand no chance against. If we are even a step too slow, they might use some unknown method to trap us here for good. After all, we’ve already ’escaped’ from them once; they’re certain to have countermeasures."
"That’s why we had to abort our slowly progressing plan and adopt a radical approach to gather power as quickly as possible and escape this planet. You already know the rest. Because of your appearance, our plan ultimately failed."
Ji narrated the tale, condensing the entire history of the Celestial Demons, the ordeal of the Twelve Primordial Ancestors, and the changes that had swept across Earth into her account.
This was the origin of it all.
Zhou Yuanjue fell into thought upon hearing her story.
"In fact, our actions are often influenced by the curse and not entirely under our control. That’s why we did certain things..."
Ji said softly, glancing at Zhou Yuanjue’s expression.
"So, when you sacrificed countless of your own kind, destroyed your planet’s magnetic field, and betrayed your civilization—all under the nice-sounding pretext of preserving the Fire Seed—was that also beyond your control?"
Zhou Yuanjue cut her off, his tone impassive.
His words rendered Ji speechless.
"Wrong is wrong. If you’ve made a mistake, you own it. A crime is a crime. Don’t use any reason to evade responsibility or make excuses. Don’t try to justify your actions with the same self-soothing lies you told yourselves when you abandoned your civilization to flee."
"Instead of looking for excuses, you should think about how to atone for your mistakes."
Zhou Yuanjue continued, his voice still level.
"I understand."
Ji fell silent for a moment at his words. Then she nodded and spoke in a low voice, her expression like that of a student being scolded by Zhou Yuanjue back when he was a university professor.
Zhou Yuanjue gave a slight nod. He didn’t know if Ji truly understood or was just feigning comprehension, but her attitude was, at least, satisfactory to him.
"We can discuss the other intelligence later. For now, I’m going to implant a means of control into your life structure. I’ll also take the opportunity to inspect this curse you’ve told me about."
"I should warn you, I can’t guarantee I have the ability to purge this curse."
Zhou Yuanjue said to Ji.
"I never expected it to be cleansed immediately. After all, this concerns the very essence of my being. But I hope to borrow your power to suppress the curse further. It will be enough if you help me remove it completely when you have the ability to do so in the future."
Ji said, nodding, then slowly closed her eyes.
VMMMM!!
Her jade-white body beneath the cheongsam emitted a faint glow, as if it were turning even more crystalline. Her entire aura became nobler and more beautiful.
Once, as the Saintess of Peace on the Holy Star, she possessed a beauty and bearing that everyone on her world had admired.
At the same time, on her smooth forehead, a peculiar structure outlined by blood-red threads materialized before Zhou Yuanjue’s eyes.
The structure gave off a terrifying and demonic aura. Its vivid color was like that of blood on the verge of dripping.
This was the structural mark on her True Spirit, the result of the planet’s curse. At this moment, she was voluntarily revealing it, granting Zhou Yuanjue full access.
Zhou Yuanjue’s eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly reached out a finger and touched Ji’s forehead.