Journey to the End of the Night Chapter 1538 - 952: Si Li’s Mission_2

A sudden lifting of his head revealed that all scenery and other people had vanished from his sight.

The small fox spirit beside him had also dissipated, leaving only the crimson blood moon in his vision.

Baili An pressed a palm to his chest, showing no flicker of panic.

He stood tall and composed, his eyes closing.

When they re-opened, a blood-red tint expanded within his pupils, consuming his entire gaze.

As if activating a profound innate vision, a figure gradually sharpened into focus within the blood moon's expanse.

Clad in a blood-red royal robe and gleaming silver armor, with hair as black and curling as the night, his exquisitely pale face, like a painted scroll, was etched with breathtaking beauty and vividly defined features.

His lips, in particular, appeared as if brushed with fresh blood – scarlet and slender, with sharply defined edges.

She exuded an imposing grace, a demonic beauty that commanded unwavering attention.

Though Baili An was surprised by Princess Si Li's abrupt arrival, his demeanor remained remarkably serene as he bowed and greeted her, "Greetings, sister."

He met her gaze with his own red eyes, addressing her as 'sister,' acknowledging her identity as a fellow corpse demon.

This recognition visibly pleased Si Li.

Her slender, fox-like eyes lowered slightly, fixing on Baili An with an unyielding chill, a sharp edge unmistakable in her tone:

"You truly have a knack for squandering your gifts. Father bestowed upon you the indestructible corpse demon body, yet you managed to discard your bones and soul, leaving yourself so utterly useless."

"Had we known this sooner, we would not have wasted the source blood from the Holy Pool on a good-for-nothing like you."

Confronted by Si Li's direct and unvarnished rebuke, Baili An's expression remained unchanged, his brows furrowed in a show of humility and deference.

"Has sister journeyed here merely to reprimand me?"

"What? Should you not be chastised?!"

From beneath the blood-red robe, a pale hand emerged, its fingertips adorned with sharp points matching the armor's hue.

Those cold, pointed fingers lifted Baili An's chin.

Without the protection of the corpse demon body, Baili An's chin skin was easily breached by the sharp digits, creating a long, bloody gash.

Blood welled, trickling down her fingertips and staining her silver nails crimson.

Baili An tilted his head, meeting the pair of scarlet fox eyes fixed upon him, and heard her icy declaration:

"You misunderstand. Presently, I am instructing you, my younger brother, not scolding. How else would you learn to survive?"

Baili An responded softly, "I wonder, sister, what guidance do you intend to impart?"

Si Li offered a cool, indifferent smile. "You have indeed grown over these past few years, a far cry from the panicked and bewildered state you were in on Kongcang Mountain."

"Your current condition truly does justice to the source blood Father bestowed upon you."

Baili An blinked, his gaze drifting downwards, and observed a faint, burning sword scar tracing its way up from beneath her layered collar. His heart stirred, prompting an involuntary question: "Has the injury from the Heavenly Sword healed, sister?"

Si Li's slender eyelids widened slightly, a hint of surprise in her reaction.

Within the Royal Family of corpse demons, power was always maintained through bloodline suppression.

The seventeen Royal Families were strictly ranked according to their lineage.

Moreover, at this very moment, Baili An had yet to condense his own Corpse Pearl, making him exceptionally vulnerable to the oppressive force of her bloodline aura.

Yet, he showed no such weakness. Instead, under her chilling gaze, he seemed to gain strength, allowing her sharp, slender fingernails to rake across his chin, drawing forth a copious flow of blood.

Baili An held Si Li's gaze, speaking softly, "Initially, I was unaware. But then, I came to realize that my ability to become a corpse demon with a death soul, and to be reborn into this life...

...was made possible by sister's sacrifice of the Corpse Pearl, thus completing me. Otherwise, how could sister, with her esteemed cultivation realm, have been so easily wounded by the Heavenly Sword?"

Baili An's words were spoken with genuine sincerity, filled with a guilt that lingered to this day.

However, Si Li, having long purged her seven emotions and being a member of the corpse demon royal family, had long ago renounced human sentiment. How could she be moved by his few earnest words?

Upon hearing his confession, she merely offered a cold smile.

"So, you knew all along. The owner of that Corpse Pearl residing within your heart was indeed me."

"Your words are laden with concern and guilt, yet three years ago, when you bravely chose to protect the nascent mortal world and abandoned yourself...

...I saw no such pity or deep concern for that Corpse Pearl within your heart, which wasn't even yours to begin with. So why this pretense now?"

The finger resting on Baili An's chin slid downward, inch by inch, sharply slicing open his collar and exposing his pale chest and heart.

With her slender fingertip poised at the fatal wound etched over his heart, Si Li cast her gaze downward and stated with a delicate tone, "Initially, I was entirely against Father expending his Source Blood to restore you, a being of no consequence.

Furthermore, I couldn't fathom why Father held you in such high regard, even commanding me to relinquish the Corpse Pearl and abandon the Dark Continent to safeguard you within the mortal realm for two centuries."

Baili An felt a knot of emotions tighten within him.

He was acutely aware of the immense value of the Corpse Pearl to a corpse demon; had it not been for Si Li's unique bloodline, the forceful extraction of the Corpse Pearl might have sufficed to shatter her soul, reducing her physical form to ashes, and causing her to vanish entirely from existence.

Si Li retracted her finger, her eyes regarding him with a chilling detachment: "To ascend to the Tribulation Crossing realm within mere years of birth, perhaps others would deem it a marvel. But in my estimation, it amounts to nothing extraordinary. Without the Source Blood gifted by Father, you would simply be an insignificant entity, incapable of even manifesting a natal Corpse Pearl. Lacking in capability, indecisive, and hopelessly entangled in matters of the heart; now that your past memories have been restored, it signifies that you shall forever be burdened by the seven emotions and six sufferings inherent to this mortal world. Were it not for Father's decree, the very moment you regained your memories, I would have extinguished your life and reclaimed the Corpse Pearl."

Baili An's pupils darkened profoundly: "Should Royal Sister desire the Corpse Pearl, you are free to take it at this very moment."

Si Li responded with impassivity: "Cease your glib pronouncements. Do you imagine I have no desire to do so? It is merely that Father's command is absolute: until you successfully forge your natal Corpse Pearl, my Corpse Pearl must remain within your body, undergoing a constant process of nurturing day and night. If I were to forcibly seize it now, your demise would be assured, and no amount of Source Blood would be capable of preserving your life."

Baili An, having reached his current level of cultivation, found himself without any mentor to guide him on the specific practices required for a corpse demon to cultivate and condense a Corpse Pearl; all progress was a product of his solitary endeavors, as he struggled to maintain a precarious equilibrium between the opposing forces of light and darkness within his being.

He inquired with genuine earnestness, "Royal Sister, might I presume to ask, what is the proper method for condensing a Corpse Pearl?"

Si Li emitted a scoff: "Had you possessed such foresight from the outset, would we be in this predicament? Your heart is far too consumed by avarice; despite holding the supreme Source Blood of the corpse demon lineage, you still yearn for the illumination of the Immortal Path, attempting the arduous task of mastering both divergent paths."

She unexpectedly leaned forward, her expression placid, yet the frigid, dark aura she exuded seemed poised to engulf Baili An and drag him into the horrifying depths of the Abyss Hell at any instant.

Her gaze, as profound as a sea of blood, fixed intently upon Baili An's countenance: "While the corpse demons do not pledge allegiance to the Demon World, constituting a distinct clan of their own, do not delude yourself into believing we are beings of purity or virtue. We are demons; our ascent to power is achievable solely through acts of slaughter, by siphoning the vitality of others to bolster our own strength. Plunder has never been synonymous with orderly cultivation and enlightenment! The doctrine we adhere to is the ruthless principle of survival of the fittest, as brutal as the existential laws governing wild beasts! Much like yourself, who must sustain your existence by consuming the lifeblood of others. To condense a Corpse Pearl necessitates perpetual plunder, unending devouring, the forsaking of humanity, engaging in hunts and battles with the ferocity of beasts. Do you truly believe... you are capable of undertaking such a feat?"

A look of profound disdain flickered in Si Li's eyes: "You are unwilling to relinquish your attachment to this vibrant mortal realm, and thus, you are fated never to achieve any connection with the Corpse Pearl. My Corpse Pearl cannot be reclaimed at this juncture. Today, my purpose here is for a different matter."

Baili An remained unfazed by the contemptuous glint in her gaze, adopting a posture of attentive listening.

"You must already be aware that our father, the Corpse King Jiang Chen, was originally a Creator God. Subsequently, he transformed into a fallen deity who became a demon, establishing his clan beyond the confines of the Six Realms. He personally forged the Dark Kingdom; following the cataclysmic Great Desolation War, he was torn asunder and sealed across the Biluo Sea and various other locations within the Six Realms by the Immortal Venerable Zhu Zhan."

"Over these extended years, Father's fragmented corporeal form and his avatars have gradually stirred to wakefulness, reconstituting his flesh and bone, heralding an era of grand resurgence. Presently, the sole and most critical component, his heart, remains sealed within an unfathomably remote location: the Kunlun Pure Ruins, situated beyond an expanse of endless mountains and seas."

A palpable shift finally registered in Baili An's gaze.

Si Li continued: "During the period when Father was subjected to sealing, the Kunlun God of the Golden Sea invested substantial effort. It is my desire that you infiltrate Kunlun, dispatch her, and recover Father's heart!"