Chapter 50

Countless threads gradually drew together, eventually flowing back into Han Nu’s sleeve.

She gazed with satisfaction at Tanyin’s pale face, knowing that all of her suffering was about to vanish.

Her hatred, her pain, and the heavy chains that had bound her for over five thousand years were slowly being stripped away.

She had never felt such freedom before.

Mortal joys and sorrows now seemed insignificant, trivial things.

A demon’s heart was so powerful, capable of devouring everything, embracing everything.

She would become the strongest, an indestructible force, just like the little princess on the lake.

“Wushuang, I know what you’re planning,” Han Nu said calmly.

“You want to find an opening to escape, to rescue your mortal immortal. Do you think I’ll let you succeed?”

Flames, red like blood, surrounded them.

Tanyin gazed absentmindedly at the night sky being consumed by the fire.

She said nothing—there was no point in words at a time like this.

Han Nu reveled in this cat and mouse game, savoring the desperation and struggles of everyone.

Looking down at her own body, Tanyin saw that her limbs had already completely vanished, her sleeves fluttering empty in the wind. The flames, saturated with demonic power, were consuming her divine power.

Soon, her entire body would disintegrate, and she would utterly dissipate, disappearing from this world forever.

Taking a deep breath, she sat cross-legged one last time, gazing far into the direction of Yuan Zhong’s small cave.

Han Nu was muttering something, laughing at something, but Tanyin no longer paid any attention.

The moonlight was hazy, the distant mountains and sky blurred, while the sea of flames and thick smoke rolled violently.

Her heart and soul felt as though they had already left her body, crossing thousands of miles in search of her fox.

Suddenly, everything around them grew quiet.

After a long, long time, Han Nu softly asked, “Wushuang, what are you thinking?”

“…What are you thinking?” Tanyin replied.

Han Nu smiled.

“I’m thinking about what your soul will taste like. Taihe’s soul was full of sadness and regret. What about yours? Will it be full of despair and helplessness? Look at you now, swallowed by flames—can you imagine what it was like for me, burning on the pyre all those years ago?”

Tanyin’s lips curved slightly as she responded calmly, “Don’t compare me to you.”

Han Nu sneered, “You’re just putting on an act. Deep down, you’re terrified. Once that immortal learns the truth, he won’t forgive you. You’ll end up alone, fading away in despair.”

“I only have one regret,” Tanyin said, meeting her gaze.

“That I won’t die alongside him.”

“You’re such a hypocrite!” Han Nu scoffed.

“Why can’t you just admit that you hate me? I know you hate me to the bone. Why are you still pretending?”

Tanyin silently looked at her.

Han Nu had been completely shattered by Ah Chu.

To her, every human heart was terrifying, harboring hidden malice, waiting for the chance to deliver a fatal blow.

Suddenly, Tanyin asked, “Do you remember why you became a goddess in the first place?”

Han Nu dismissed the question as foolish. She had been the unrivaled embroidery master, and of course, she became a goddess because of her exceptional craftsmanship and her deep love for embroidery.

“We become goddesses because of our obsessions,” Tanyin said softly.

“One day, if another obsession surpasses the one that made us goddesses, we will face the human tribulation. Taihe faced it, and so did I. You… are no different.”

She stared unflinchingly into Han Nu’s eyes.

“Han Nu, your tribulation is not me—it’s your hatred for Ah Chu.”

“For me, the world is too complex to understand. I’ve spent my life focused solely on craftsmanship. And now, my heart belongs only to Yuan Zhong. I don’t hate you. I don’t have strong feelings toward you at all. You’ve never held a place in my heart. The one who hates you is Ah Chu, not me.”

Han Nu was stunned for a long time before forcing a smile.

“So what?! You’ll still die by my hand!”

Tanyin closed her eyes and said no more.

Han Nu stared blankly at her. In one moment, Tan Yin appeared before her as the disheveled, forlorn goddess in white, and in the next, she transformed into Ah Chu, gazing at her with deep resentment.

The answer Han Nu sought never came.

The release she longed for was never granted.

Her tribulation was an unsolvable knot; the dead had already entered reincarnation. Where could she direct her hatred?

The world constantly suffocated her with unbearable pain.

No one hated everything as she did.

Perhaps, all along, the one she hated most was herself.

Taihe, Wushuang—none of their tribulations tormented them as hers did, with a hellish agony that never ceased.

In the end, they would find peace in their passing, but she remained unwilling, always unwilling.

In that instant, the voice of the long-ago princess of the lake echoed faintly in her ears once more: “What you seek now, I will give to you. But you must understand whether this is truly what you want. The demon’s blade has two edges—it can either make you stronger or destroy you. The outcome depends on your own heart.”

Suddenly, the flames erupted a thousand feet high.

Dark red, blood red, and dried-blood brown—within those millions of shades of red, countless faces of Ah Chu appeared.

Some smiled at her, some glared, some were furrowed with anger, and others gazed at her with disdain and hatred.

A deep, boundless pain surged through Han Nu, spreading from the depths of her soul to every part of her body.

Silently, she looked down at herself.

Her body was engulfed in blood-red flames, just as it had been on the pyre five thousand years ago.

Her clothes, her skin, her hair—all rapidly dissolved into golden foam within the fire.

Han Nu opened her mouth and let out a desperate scream.

She had already become a demon; her heart should have been incomparably strong, immune to confusion and harm.

Why? Why?! Her tribulation still came for her! It still wouldn’t let her go! An emptiness spread through her chest; the part of her consciousness that Tanyin had shattered—the part she had managed to mend—was leaving her again.

She felt something deep within her soul depart as well.

The hearts of mortals, the bitter years when she could barely clothe or feed herself, the joyful memories of living with Ah Chu… all of it was slipping away from her, leaving behind only her pain and hatred.

She had been abandoned by the entire world.

Han Nu writhed in agony on the ground.

In the end, it was only her and her tribulation, staring into the eyes of Ah Chu, filled with contempt and hatred.

She was like a wild beast trapped in a corner, crashing into everything around her.

Suddenly, she saw Tanyin watching her from afar, her gaze calm, neither joyful nor sorrowful. Without hesitation, Han Nu reached out toward her.

“Stay…!” she cried out in a piercing voice.

Stay! Don’t leave her to be swallowed by the tribulation, to perish alone, her soul scattered to the wind!

Tanyin turned her back, floating away without hesitation.

Yuan Zhong was still waiting for her.

“No…” Han Nu collapsed onto the ground, the lower half of her body quickly dissolving into foam, blown away by the wind.

She tried to grab onto something—anyone—so she wouldn’t have to die alone.

But no one was there.

Everyone she had killed was gone, and those who weren’t dead would soon die.

She was left with nothing but her hatred, eternally entangled with it, never to part.

Her heart also dissolved into foam.

Han Nu felt a strange numbness as she lay on the scorching ground, her vision filled with nothing but the sea of flames.

Once again, they were going to devour her.

For the last time, she didn’t want to see the flames anymore.

With a light wave of her sleeve, the towering inferno was instantly extinguished, leaving only scorched ruins in its wake.

She stared blankly at the pitch-black sky as countless souls she had consumed spewed forth one by one.

In her daze, she seemed to see Taihe, gazing at her with the same calm, emotionless eyes.

Is this the end?

Han Nu closed her eyes.

Her entire body instantly burst into a great plume of golden foam, scattering and vanishing, carried away by the mountain wind.

Tanyin stopped and looked back, only to see two tiny specks of golden light slowly rising from where Han Nu had fallen.

They were as bright as sunlight, radiating a vast and pure divine power—could this be the true essence of a god’s obsession?

Suddenly, countless strong obsessions from all directions came rushing toward her.

Tanyin watched in shock as they entangled and merged, some fervent, some persistent, filling each other’s gaps and flaws.

Were these the essences of gods who had perished in their tribulations?

What was happening?

The golden light grew more dazzling, brighter than the sun, impossible to look at directly.

Tanyin shielded her eyes, avoiding the immense divine power.

Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand stroke her head, and Taihe’s warm presence surrounded her.

“I’m leaving,” his faint, ethereal voice whispered.

Tanyin forced her eyes open and saw Taihe’s figure, as light and insubstantial as smoke, hovering in midair.

Behind him were countless other faint silhouettes of gods and goddesses, including Han Nu.

“Taihe!” Tanyin cried out, rushing forward to grab him.

He hadn’t died?

He hadn’t vanished completely?

Taihe looked down and smiled faintly at her, but his figure, as delicate as ink in water, suddenly dissipated like smoke.

The warm feeling that had surrounded her disappeared just as quickly, replaced once again by the cold mountain wind.

Following him, the figures of the other gods and goddesses also scattered like smoke.

The last remnants of their mortal hearts were now completely gone, leaving only their strong obsessions, which merged and intertwined, slowly transforming into a soft ball of white light.

Tan Yin stood frozen in shock. This… was this the Primodial God? The fusion of the original obsessions of countless gods and goddesses who had fallen in their tribulations?

After the great war between gods and demons, all the Primodial Gods had disappeared.

This was the first Primodial God to appear in five thousand years!

It was vast and gentle, seemingly omniscient, capable of embracing everything, immensely powerful yet humble beyond measure.

The Princess of the Lake had once said that only a god who successfully passes their tribulation could become a Primodial God. But what she hadn’t mentioned was that, even if they failed to overcome their tribulation, the gods would still leave behind their original obsession, waiting for the day it could merge and become a Primodial God.

Is this the way of heaven? To abandon the heart of a mortal and leave behind only pure obsession in order to become a true Primodial God.

Tanyin stared blankly as the Primodial God disappeared from her sight.

Surely, it had returned to the divine realm.

Those gods who remained in the divine realm must now feel a great sense of relief, no longer fearing the possibility of a third war between gods and demons.

It was over.

Han Nu, Taihe… the once vivid and painful hearts had turned to ashes before her eyes.

Those fierce, surging emotions had faded away like smoke, leaving only her behind.

Now, where should she go to complete her own tribulation?

Slowly, Tanyin turned and left the desolate mountain peak.

Yuan Zhong was waiting for her.

Wherever he was—that would be the resting place of her mortal heart.