Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 265: I Might Die

Su Qin shook her head. "That never would’ve happened. Whether I am with him or with you, my purpose was, is, and always will be to help humanity. I naturally need you to become stronger, have a higher status, and be able to help humans better. How could I agree to be with you when you weren’t strong?"

The Peacock Great Demon King smiled bitterly. "Why do you always speak so plainly about yourself?"

Su Qin simply said. "It's the truth."

The Peacock Great Demon King sighed. "Yes! It's precisely you, just like this, that I like. You've never hidden anything from us, yet even knowing your purpose, we still find ourselves helplessly falling in love with you."

Su Qin calmly stated, "That's because, in your subconscious, you've assumed that humans, even with your help, could not possibly rise."

"It's inevitable. After all, compared to us, humans are truly insignificant. Even if they inherit our bloodline power, they are still influenced by their human blood. Hybrids can never become top-tier powerhouses. But I understand you are striving to improve the condition of your people. I have no problem at all helping you; I can appreciate the beauty of humans, so naturally, I don't have any aversion to them. In this respect, Lin Ximo is pretty much the same; at the very least, he doesn’t really care either way. That's why you were with him in the beginning."

As he spoke, his voice became gentler. Slowly rising, he approached Su Qin, gently caressing her cheek, which bore not a single mark of her years, and softly said, "In fact, I know... Compared to the pain you bear, ours is nothing. You accepted him with a purpose in mind, but when you were with him, you loved him with all your heart. On the one hand, you strive for your race, and on the other, you love what to your people would seem like a cruel demon. The greatest burden is what you carry inside."

"Can you stop talking?" Su Qin said coldly.

The Peacock Great Demon King sighed lightly. "I’d rather you let me speak. Because if I don't, I'm afraid I'll never get the chance again. I am not far from death."

Su Qin shivered violently, and she suddenly looked up at him.

The Peacock Great Demon King laughed, "Haha, I'm so happy to see your reaction. I can finally truly confirm that your heart is with me now. Do you know how happy I am? Not because I won against Lin Ximo, but because, at last, your heart is truly with me."

"Was that a lie just now?" Su Qin pursed her lips, a sparkling light flickering in her gaze.

The Peacock Great Demon King shook his head. "Not at all. You have always been so honest with me, so how could I possibly lie to you? What I said is all true. I burned my Golden Crown and ancestral fortune to deal with him. My essence is gravely damaged, and I really don’t have long to live."

"You..." Su Qin trembled again.

The Peacock Great Demon King smiled and said, "It's nothing. Perhaps it's the fate of our Peacock Demon clan rulers, not to live past a hundred years. What can be done about that? But compared to obtaining your love, these things don't matter.

"Death isn't scary. What's scary is not knowing why you’re dying. See, I was quite afraid of dying at Lin Ximo's hands; that's not the fate I wanted. He wants to kill me, and I specifically don't want him to have that pleasure. As you can see, I am still rather rebellious, just like when I was young. But I can die for you. That's what I'm willing to do. Luckily, that Sea God, however the hell he appeared, that Sea God who shouldn't possibly exist, gave me a chance. And by the way... I wanted to ask you, was this so-called Sea God something created by your side? A phantom created by the Redemption Society? Lin Ximo might not be aware of it, as his heritage isn't as deep as our Peacock Demon clan’s, but I know for a fact there's no such thing as a Sea God.

"The vastness of the Endless Blue Sea far surpasses the Daemon Continent. Regarding the Endless Blue Sea, the Ancestral Court has conducted thorough investigations; actually, three generations of the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor made sure to check what was going on there. On Falan, our Daemon Continent is the true core, the real seat of fate. Therefore, only our demon and nymph races could produce twelfth-order beings. The limit for the sea clans is the eleventh order. The sea clans should have their own seers who understand this, I presume that’s why they've never dared to bare their fangs at us. So, where does this so-called Sea God come from?"

Su Qin looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You're going to die?"

The Great Peacock Demon King's seemingly endless chatter ceased. He looked deeply at her, lowered his head, and kissed her forehead. "Yes, I'm going to die. The burning of my essence is hastening the end of my life."

Su Qin lowered her head. "Don't die."

The Peacock Great Demon King embraced her. "I've said. Death is not to be feared."

"Are you being rebellious with me too?" Su Qin whispered.

"No, I wouldn't be rebellious with anyone other than that bastard, and certainly not with you. But having been the clan leader for so many years, I've come to understand many things. Moreover, I have yet to fulfill your dream! How can I expect you to love me wholeheartedly if I can't even do that? I won't be as foolish as Lin Ximo to hurt you after finally receiving your love? I want to make it impossible for you to love anyone else in this lifetime, to leave the deepest impression in your heart. Don't worry, I won't die yet, at least not until I've helped you achieve your dream."

"You..."

***

Tang San still went to Kali Academy because he couldn't stop worrying about Mei Gongzi. Although he knew that the people of the Ancestral Court had left with the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor, who could be sure that no hidden threats remained?

So, he still came to Kali Academy. But he did not see Mei Gongzi, and obviously, he couldn't ask anyone about her. He could only wait in silence.

Mei Gongzi was nowhere to be seen for several days, as if she had vanished into thin air. This gradually instilled a sense of unease in Tang San's heart. He applied fortunes to himself daily but still could not find Mei Gongzi.

His cultivation and physical condition had essentially recovered, but his divine consciousness was considerably weaker. To return to its previous strength, his most conservative estimation was a year of continuous nurturing without using his divine consciousness again. Before reaching godhood, forcibly using his divine consciousness, especially in such a decisive manner, consumed too much of his energy.

While waiting for Mei Gongzi, he also studied the bloodline of Dai Yangning, the Dark Raven Demon King.

He had absorbed Dai Yingning’s bloodline energy in much the same way as he’d always done. Most of that energy had gone into powering his projection of the Sea God, but the bloodline imprint was still there.

Due to the excessive energy consumption at the time, this bloodline imprint was not at the tenth order, even though he had absorbed the demon’s entire bloodline energy, but it was still at the ninth order. Moreover, its origin was ultimately a god-level being, so many divine aspects within the bloodline could still be felt.

Dark Ravens, also known as Bloodsucking Ravens, had an innate ability to vaporize and drain blood. Wherever the Dark Raven Blood Mist passed, living beings were turned into blood sacrifices. It was a truly tyrannical talent. By devouring the blood of other life forms, they acquired the energy necessary for cultivation.

Newborn Dark Ravens were only first order, but by drinking the blood of others, they could grow quickly. Among the demon races, the raven race was not all that powerful, and Dark Ravens were already at the peak of this race. There was no golden bloodline among the raven demons; weaker tribes did not have anything like that. In other words, the Dark Raven clan was pretty much the royal lineage, and Dai Yangning, the Dark Raven Demon King, was among its most distinguished members.

Having advanced to the seventh order, Tang San had a free slot for integrating another bloodline imprint. However, he wasn't too fond of the Dark Raven bloodline. His Mysterious Heaven Technique could also absorb bloodline energy as well as a bloodline’s characteristics, so it was even better for him in that respect. The Dark Ravens' ability to turn into mist in order to dodge physical attacks was objectively great, but it wasn't particularly appealing for Tang San. After all, he already had the powerful spatial ability of the Peacock Transformation.

However, just because he wasn’t interested in keeping the bloodline imprint permanently didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in researching it. This was the first bloodline imprint he had obtained from a god-level being, and it was very helpful for studying the overall bloodline characteristics of the demon races.