Till the End of the Moon- Epilogue 5

Title: Young Su Su & Demon God Tantai Jin

He remembered how he died. 

His life as a mortal was very short. He died at the age of twenty-two after he was defeated by the Lian River. 

Xiao Lin came with his soldiers right up to the city wall. He was not willing to be that person’s captive so he jumped into the fire. 

It wasn’t about having a backbone or being unwilling to give in. If there was a slimmest ray of hope, Tantai Jin would not have chosen to die. He knew there was no chance of survival, so instead of letting Xiao Lin do the deed, he might as well be the one to make that choice, at least he will have some dignity this way. 

Even if dignity to him is nothing at all. 

Looking back on his life, it was indeed not an easy one. 

He lost his mother at birth and spent his early years at the palace of an enemy state. When he finally returned to the Zhou empire and beat out his brothers for the throne, he ended up losing to the heaven-favored man- Xiao Lin.  

Tantai Jin lay in the fire, watching the people shouting hail with excitement, watching that bright but fragile-looking woman, holding Xiao Lin’s hand, standing by Xiao Lin’s side. 

Tantai Jin remembered that she was called Ye Bingshang, she was Xiao Lin’s wife. 

Back when he wanted everything Xiao Lin had, he had also wanted Ye Bingsheng. But when he really lost everything, he didn’t feel much regret. 

The pain was overwhelming, he curled up his body, resentment and regret filled his heart. Yet all those emotions were for the power he lost. When it came to Ye Bingsheng, she didn’t seem to linger too long in his thoughts. 

If he had gotten her, it would’ve just been one more way he won over Xiao Lin. To not get her, well, that didn’t seem to matter too much either. 

He had imitated others his whole life. At the end of his life, the young man inevitably felt some bewilderment.

When the tongue of fire licked his body, he was thinking, he learned about other people’s love and hate, but in the end, did he ever like that woman called Ye Bingsheng? 

The answer is unknown. 

A big fire in the mortal world consumed his corpse. 

No one remembered the last young Prince of the Tantai clan in history. 

*********************

Jingmie took him back, the demon bone was reborn, and from then on, the Demon God was reborn. 

Many years later, Tantai Jin learned that every Demon God was born to be alone. With a poison-filled heart, he walked onto the demon path. (A demon born individual doesn’t mean they automatically will walk the “demon path” to cultivate. For demons, the demon path is indeed the easiest and fastest way to cultivate, but the demon path usually means the cultivator will kill innocents and use various cruel methods to increase their cultivation. Despite being a demon by birth, a demon can still choose to cultivate via different methods. It is obviously a bit different in our hero’s case since he is the demon god after all, so he is kinda supposed to take the demon path anyway.) 

He doesn’t remember how many people he killed. Once the God Slaying Crossbow was drawn, the fragile and weak immortals fell one by one in front of him. With great interest, he used all their bones to create a Ten Thousand Immortal Mound. 

The man in black sat high atop the Ten Thousand Immortals Mound, sniffed the air that was permeated with the smell of blood, a fascinating scent to him. 

These immortals who used to be so high and mighty up in the heavens, were just weak ants under his palm. 

The blood flowing through the tips of his fingers were so warm. 

In the four hundred thirtieth year after he got rid of his mortal identity, he saw Xiao Lin’s reincarnation. When Gongye Jiwu was on his last breath, Tantai Jin poked him with the hilt of his sword, “Tell me, the one you had liked before, what happened to her?”

He had forgotten Ye Bingshang’s name and her appearance. The only thing he remembered is the love he never did managed to learn when he was a mortal. 

Gongye Jiwu didn’t say anything, his spirit dissipated. 

Tantai Jin stared expressionlessly for a while, withdrew the Heaven Slashing Sword, and tossed his body into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Immortals in a rather humiliating manner. 

Day after day, the cultivators had no place to survive and could only hide underground like mice in the gutter. 

Gradually, blood no longer arouse his interest. 

Tantai Jin had even lost interest in finding those mice, and would rather just lie in the demon realm in a deep slumber. 

Worried, Jingmie and Siying started to bring him women. 

He found it amusing. What’s the use of sending him women when it is obvious that a demon god is without love thread? Even if they came to him completely naked, in his eyes, there are simply just white dead flesh. 

They brought many many women. Some were enchanting demon girls, some were shivering frightened immortal girls and cultivators. There were even a few mortal women they found from who knows where. 

He walked over, his mere presence caused them to look down with terror. 

He used the tip of his foot to raise their chins, “Speak.” 

“Demon God, spare my life, spare my life.”

He sneered, his heart completely unmoved, without even the curiosity he had back in his youth. 

No emotion, no love, that is the best punishment the heavens had for the Demon God. 

He is guilty of heinous crimes, but he would never be able the taste the feeling of his heart skipping a beat for someone. In this world, no one would love him. Perhaps one day, when he dies, there would not even be a person to collect his corpse, only the cheers of the Six Realms. 

One day, Jingmie suddenly informed him “In the Tomb of Ten Thousand Immortals, Gongye Jiwu’s body disappeared.”

Tantai Jin suddenly became interested, “Oh?”

He appeared in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Immortals in the next instant, following a faint fragrance, he saw her for the first time. 

A little girl had stole Gongye Jiwu’s body and escaped. 

She was rubbing her eyes crying as she hugged the corpse, not caring that Gongye Jiwu was almost rotting. 

“Senior brother, Su Su will take you home.”

Tantai Jin stared at her expressionlessly for a while, then snapped his finger, sending the girl and the corpse to fall into the mortal realm. 

She sure got guts. There were no immortals in this world that dared to come into his territory but a little girl dared to come steal Gongye Jiwu’s corpse. 

The girl got up from the ground and looked around in surprise. 

Ignoring the bruises on her body, she gritted her teeth, put Gongye Jiwu on a wooden horse she had made appear, and attempted to take him away again. 

Tantai Jin’s fingers moved slightly, and the wooden horse turned into a piece of paper, drifting to the ground, no longer able to carry anything on its back. 

The girl kept silent, squatted down, and put Gongye Jiwu on her back to start fleeing. 

Tantai Jin suddenly became angry and flipped his palm. 

Fire burst out and surrounded them. (In Chinese, the word is actually True Fire, which is a special kind of fire that can’t be easily put out. So most spells would not have worked on it.)

The girl tried to protect Gongyi Jiwu from the fire but couldn’t. Even though she was hugging the corpse tightly but she could only watch as her Senior Brother turned to ash. 

After a long time, she crawled out from the fire, sobbing loudly. 

Tantai Jin stared coldly at the girl who was not injured at all by his fire. She is actually a goddess from the Phoenix Clan that has yet to be fully grown?

For a moment, he had the thought to go over there and kill her. To kill a god in her infancy before she had a chance to grow up. 

But after watching her work so hard to protect Gongye Jiwu, he suddenly thought of that year he had died as a mortal. 

The fire was so fierce that it almost consumed the whole city. Everyone clapped their hands and cheered, no one protected him and stayed with him. 

After so many years, Tantai Jin once again felt the emotion of resentment and jealousy again. 

He didn’t kill Su Su. He looked at her for a long time, not knowing himself what exactly he wanted to see in her. 

*************************

Ten-plus more years passed. 

Long enough that Tantai Jin had almost forgotten about the matter. One day, a subordinate said that a traitor had appeared among the cultivators, and had captured a pure spirit cultivator as a gift to him. 

He saw the girl again. 

She was tricked by her sect’s traitor into leaving her sect and was brought to Tantai Jin. 

Jingmie pressed Su Su’s hand onto the soul stone. 

The soul stone lighted up. Only a pure soul can make the soul stone shine. 

Jingmie expressed his appreciation and the traitor was very happy. 

The demon palace was stained with blood, gloomy and dark. Tantai Jin sat on the throne, surrounded by a black mist. 

A black cloak wrapped around his whole body, revealing only a pair of eyes that were emotionless. 

He coldly examined everything in the Demon Palace, including that little white figure. 

The girl was being teased by the demons around her. She made spell seals with her hands, attempting to fight back. She looked fierce enough but she was still young and had no prior experience with such things so how could she defeat demons like Jingmie?

Su Su attempted to escape but was promptly slapped back by the demon guards at the door. 

The demons are a clever bunch. Seeing their Demon God sitting on his throne without saying anything as he watched them tease the girl, they figured he must be acquiescing to their actions so they intensified their teasing. 

Su Su’s white skirt became dirty, she rolled on the ground a few times, unable to escape no matter what. 

In the end, Su Su was so panicked that she turned back into a bird, used her wings to cover her head, and cried. 

The lanterns in the Demon Palace burned and crackled. 

Tantai Jin’s complexion was pale against the light, his hand propping up his chin as he looked at her contemptuously. 

Little Su Su cried until she started to hiccup. 

The traitor pointed at Su Su and tried to please Tantai Jin, “I have come to give my loyalty to the demon lord, this is my gift.” 

In the next instant, the traitor’s eyes widened, and a cut-off choking sound was accompanied by blood dripping down the corner of his mouth. 

The traitor died just like that. 

Everyone fell silent. Belatedly realizing in horror that the Demon God did not seem to be too happy. 

Tantai Jin suddenly reached out with his pale fingers and picked her up. 

Su Su’s eyes were filled with tears. Tantai Jin saw her face turning bright red and thought she was about to say something impressive when she suddenly said, “I am not afraid of you!”

The corners of Tantai Jin’s lips hidden under the cloak curved, as his eyes glanced over at her two trembling legs. 

The not yet grown little phoenix’s flesh-cushioned paws are pink and fragile. 

A fully grown phoenix’s fire can set the whole heavenly ancient mountain on fire. Their fire can burn every sin of this world. 

I wonder if…one day, can that fire burn a sin such as him? 

He stared at that pair of clean pure clear eyes. 

The ancients had died out, and to the present day, who could’ve guessed that there is only this one god remaining and him, the demon thing that is born to be alone? 

He touched the flame feather mark between her brows before suddenly raising a hand, and tossing her back to Hengyang Clan. 

Siying ran out with a frown, “Demon Lord, you just let her go like that?”

He said coldly, “Or else?” 

“She is a cultivator.” Siying said with a complicated expression, “How could you let a cultivator go?” 

His dark eyes stared at the phoenix feather that had fallen into his palm, “Siying, do you believe in destiny?”

Siying was startled and remained silent for a long time. 

The last demon god had also asked her this question. 

Not long after, the immortal ancient demon god was besieged by the other gods, betrayed by the demon king, and dissipated into this world. 

********************

Demon gods have the ability to predict their own future. 

This is something no one knows. 

The ancient demon god predicted that he would die, and looked for a way to avoid it. He created the World of Despair in order to break free from heaven’s will, to change his destiny. Unfortunately, he failed. 

The funniest thing is that the World of Despair ended up being the thing that killed the ancient demon god.

Tantai Jin also had the same fate-predicting ability. The moment he got rid of his mortal body and became the demon god, he saw how he would die. 

His body would get absorbed into the World of Despair, forever lonely and cold, plunged into utter darkness. 

All demons are selfish, Tantai Jin was no exception. 

He only loves himself. 

He would not blink an eye at all if the Six Realms were turned into dust. 

So when Siying and Jingmie begged him to open the World of Despair, he played with the few divine beads, smiled, and said nothing. 

They were wrong. He, Tantai Jin, will never sacrifice himself for others. 

He would rather turn his back on the world. 

Hmm…the last god. Tantai Jin thought, since god loves all living, can he, this despicable demon be saved?

Playing with the feather in his palm, he suddenly smiled and had a bold idea. 

Based on what happened previously, there is no way he would open the World of Despair, so he might as well take a glorious gamble. 

The feather in his hand fluttered and flew into the air along with the four divine beads. 

As his pale fingers twirled, the divine beads came together to form a piece of transparent glass, enclosing themselves around the phoenix’s feather. 

He flicked a drop of blood with his fingertip, endowing the divine glass with power. 

Gradually, the glass began to take shape. 

A girl’s slender feet, fluttering skirt, holy face then lastly, the crimson dot between her brows. 

She stood in the air, holding a sword, eyes clear and filled with determination.

Tantai Jin’s playful smile of derision froze. He stared at her blankly. For the first time in his life, he is awed by someone. 

There seemed to be a hand on his heart, gently caressing it, giving him a strange feeling. 

That is what the little phoenix will look like when she grows up. 

It appeared just like that, catching him off guard. 

Tantai Jin held out his hand, the goddess statue fell into his palm. 

Cold and unattainable, even though she is very close, she still seemed so far away. 

He looked at her strangely, with a slightly twisted expression. 

Tantai Jin thought of the person who refused to give up, and boldly came to steal Gongye Jiwu’s body, wanting to let her Senior Brother have a proper resting place.   

“Hmm…Li Su Su?”

The Demon God has no love thread so he doesn’t know what the strange feelings in his heart were, and he would not change his plan for a mere statue of a grown-up goddess. 

Tantai Jin didn’t use the four divine beads to open the World of Despair. He turned the divine beads into a glazed goddess statue and sent it back into the past, to the side of his young child self.

The whole demon realm fell into chaos when they learned of the immortals’ plan to send Su Su back to five hundred years ago. 

“Demon Lord, what should we do? We need to stop them!”

With a flick of his sleeve, The water mirror in the air showed Tantai Jin what was happening in the immortal realm. 

He wasn’t in a panic because this whole thing was all part of his plan anyway. Since he didn’t want the ending fate had written for him, then he might as well go all in on a gamble with the Six Realms. 

If he lost, then he will die as it was fated to be. If he win, then he would be free from his fate, and the Six Realms will be the one to lay the path for him. 

The young woman sat in the spell formation, her hands forming a seal, the barely restored divine past mirror in front of her. 

The mirror of the past reflected her face, looking exactly like the goddess statue he had once sent back to the past. 

“Ah, planning on going back five hundred years to take out my demon bone?” Propping his chin on a hand, he looked at the scene in the water mirror and suddenly had a bit of bizarre anticipation, “To remove my demon bone you will need me to fall in love. Then one day, will you protect me like the way you protected him?” 

He suddenly smiled and whispered to the young girl in the water mirror, “If you can, then make me fall in love with you. Or else, this bet on the Six Realm’s fate, you will lose for sure.”

At that time, the all-powerful Demon God didn’t think he would lose, he only wanted to use the goddess to change his fate. 

But he never imagined a story that began with conspiracy and selfishness would end with love and sacrifice.   

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