Chapter 124 - 117 Ye Miedie Realizes: So, This is the True Demonic Path_1
The night was deep, and the moon hung high.
On the pitch-black edge of the cliff, the Little Witch hugged her knees, her head resting on them, a look of utter bewilderment on her face.
Why? I was clearly preparing to do something bad. But each time the critical moment came, I couldn’t help but relent. Could it be? Do I really lack the talent to become a great Great Demon God?
At that thought, sadness surged within her. Her lips pouted, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Just then, she suddenly raised her head, her gaze alert as she looked into the night behind her. "Who’s there? Come out."
"Indeed, a curious little thing..."
TAP.
Accompanied by a light chuckle, the sound of footsteps followed.
Ye Miedie turned her head to look, her pupils shrinking instantly. She saw a petite figure step out from the shadows, clad in purple leather armor, with horns on her head and a tail behind her. That face... it was exactly like her own. Neither her aura nor her figure had the slightest difference.
Ye Miedie was instantly astonished. Of course, she knew there were many ways in the world to transform into the likeness of another. Many methods of The Demonic Path, in particular, were proficient in this regard.
But even the most skillful disguise should hardly be able to fool my eyes!
Yet at this moment, as she stared at the "Ye Miedie" before her, she couldn’t spot a single flaw. She felt dazed.
Could there really be someone in this world who looks exactly like me? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
A chill went down her spine. Her body tensed as she watched the other warily. "Who exactly are you?"
"Me?" the other "Ye Miedie" chuckled lightly. "I am no one!"
No sooner had the words fallen than her form suddenly changed. She transformed into an unfamiliar man, his voice eerie as he said, "But at the same time, I can be everything!"
With every word he spoke, his appearance and form shifted multiple times. He became an old man, a woman, a child, a burly nine-foot-tall man, a wailing infant, a majestic eagle, a swimming fish, and even flowers, grass, trees, or a piece of bluestone. Each transformation was as flawless as the last, leaving no opening to exploit. When he became an inanimate object, he *was* an inanimate object; not even a trace of a spirit could be detected. When he became a monster, a monstrous aura surged forth, sinister and strange. It was as if he had truly been that thing all along.
Ye Miedie’s amazement grew the more she watched, her small mouth agape, unable to close.
Finally, the person’s form settled into that of a small girl around seven or eight years old. It was Little Bean, the one Ye Miedie had saved earlier in the casino!
Ye Miedie’s gaze grew grave; she had already guessed the person’s identity. "You are... the Formless Demon!"
The Formless Demon possesses the ability to take on a myriad of forms. It is also one of the most mysterious races among the innate demons. Furthermore, their numbers are frighteningly scarce; a new one might not be born even in several hundred thousand years. Even though Ye Miedie was a pure-blooded member of the Demon Race, she had only ever heard of its name, never seen one!
But today, I must have encountered a living one! After all, while the path of transformation isn’t difficult, only an aberration like the Formless Demon could achieve a level that borders on the Dao itself!
The "Little Bean" persona came before Ye Miedie with her hands behind her back. Smiling faintly and gazing at the endless sea of clouds, she spoke in a childlike voice, "All that the five senses perceive—be it form, sound, color, or aura—is merely the surface of all things. Even a name is the same. What does it matter what one is called?"
Ye Miedie took a deep breath. "Cut the nonsense, I don’t understand it! Just tell me why you’re looking for me. Are we going to fight, or are we going to fight?"
"Little Bean" smiled. "Don’t be so crude! Actually, I’ve been paying attention to you for a while. Your actions today, especially... they surprised me!"
Hearing this, Ye Miedie’s face flushed red. Her formidable chest heaved intensely.
How embarrassing! To be seen by my own kind... a dignified descendant of a Demon God, actually doing good deeds! This is so shameful!
Lashing out from shame, she snarled, "Damn you! Are you just here to mock me?"
Ye Miedie looked at the Formless Demon before her, feeling a complex mix of envy, jealousy, and hatred. Although she was a noble descendant of the Destruction Heaven Demon and possessed the bloodline of a Demon God, she still had a long way to go to become a true Heavenly Demon and Demon God.
Especially during my recent travels through the mortal world... I’ve discovered this path is just too difficult! Doing bad things is so hard! And this guy in front of me was born a pure-blooded Heavenly Demon. He doesn’t have any of these stupid problems... It’s just infuriating!
However, the next moment, the Formless Demon slowly turned, morphing into the image of an adult man. Staring into her eyes, he said, "No. You did well. Why would I mock you?"
"Huh?" Ye Miedie froze. "I did... well?"
The Formless Demon said, "Do you know why you can’t bring yourself to act at the critical moment?"
Ye Miedie said uncertainly, "Because I’m... too soft-hearted?"
The Formless Demon shook his head. "Of course not! It’s because you are a true demon!"
Ye Miedie blinked. "A true demon?"
The Formless Demon nodded. "A true demon dares to confront the injustice of the world, dares to draw their blade against the powerful, and dares to face the edge of an even greater power!
"A demon isn’t defined by committing every evil act or by being sinister and malicious! It is simply the other side of this world, like darkness to light, or chaos to order! It’s only the ignorant masses who have misinterpreted the true meaning of ’demon’!
"They are cowardly and weak, not daring to face the strong. They only dare to raise their blades against the weak. Such worthless Demon Cultivators, even if they trained for ten lifetimes, could never become true demons!
"Are you a worthless Demon Cultivator?"
Ye Miedie quickly shook her head, puffing out her magnificent chest. "Of course not! I’m destined to become a Great Demon God!"
"Exactly," the Formless Demon said earnestly. "You carry the bloodline of a Destruction Demon God. Have you ever heard stories of your ancestors going around snatching lollipops from children or taking pleasure in bullying the weak?"
Ye Miedie’s eyes gradually brightened. "No!"
The Formless Demon nodded. "Demons correspond to darkness, but darkness is not the same as filth. Remember this: you are dark, but you are not dirty."
Ye Miedie seemed to have an epiphany. "Then what should I do from now on?"
The Formless Demon fixed his gaze on her. "Have you ever heard of the population growth curve?
Ye Miedie shook her head.
The Formless Demon explained, "On a certain prairie, you have wolves and rabbits. After a long period of evolution, the populations of the two groups will tend toward a balance. Suppose there are 100,000 wolves; the rabbit population would be around 1,000,000. The wolves always have food, and the rabbits are never completely wiped out. But if the wolf pack were to disappear, the rabbits, lacking a natural predator, would multiply uncontrollably. Sooner or later, they would eat all the grass on the prairie, and then they would all die.
"It’s the same for the balance between light and darkness. If that balance is broken, the world will suffer a great catastrophe. Both the righteous and the demonic will be unable to escape endless calamity. The Cangyuan Realm is only so large, and the Righteous Sects have a limited tolerance for Demon Cultivators.
"Let’s assume the total number of Demon Cultivators the righteous can tolerate is 1,000,000. In that case, creating new Demon Cultivators isn’t what’s important, because any excess will simply be wiped out.
"What’s important is to seize the largest share of that 1,000,000! The best way is to take over all the other demonic sects and convert their power into your own!
"Eliminate any who refuse to obey! When that happens, all the demonic sects in the world will be united as one! You will be the demon, and the demon will be you. At that point, wouldn’t you be invincible?"
Hearing this, Ye Miedie’s eyes shone brightly, as if a grand, clear path had opened up before her. Infinite yearning and hope soared in her heart.
So this... *this* is The Demonic Path!