Chapter 161: Human and Demon, Good and Evil
This matter concerned the mystery of his origins, and as an orphan, Jiang Cheng was especially anxious. He lost his usual composure and urgently asked, "Does Sect Leader Chu know who my parents were?"
Who the hell knew who Jiang Cheng's parents were? All Chu Yang knew was that Jiang Cheng was a descendant of Chiyou.
This foolish boy kept digging for answers. If he really uncovered his background, he'd become the target of everyone's hostility.
Jiang Cheng being half-demon was a far more serious issue than Zhang Xiaofan's secret!
The latter merely practiced both Buddhist and Daoist techniques and, at worst, possessed demonic treasures like the Bloodthirsty Pearl and Soul-Devouring Staff.
But Jiang Cheng…
Was a genuine half-demon!
In the world of Chinese Paladin, demons were originally beasts, and beasts were created by Shennong, one of the Three Sovereigns. Chiyou, their later leader, was Shennong's son.
In ancient times, the humans, gods, and beasts fought a great war, which ended with the beasts' defeat.
As their leader, Chiyou sacrificed himself to open a passage to the Demon Realm for the beast tribe. There, they survived and gradually evolved into the demon race.
However, not all of Chiyou's descendants entered the Demon Realm—some bloodlines remained in the human world. Jiang Cheng's lineage came from these remnants.
According to legend, Demon Realm overlord Chonglou was formed from the fusion of Chiyou's pure blood and the ferocious auras of the ancient battlefield of the Three Clans.
That was just a rumor. Whether it was true or not would have to be verified by Chu Yang himself.
If it turned out to be real, Chu Yang might gain the bloodlines of Shennong and Nüwa, and if he could also obtain Fuxi's bloodline, he'd essentially hold the essence of Pangu himself.
He might even trace the origin of Pangu's supreme bloodline.
Unfortunately, the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi was currently in slumber. It was impossible to extract his bloodline—another method would be needed.
Chu Yang didn't answer Jiang Cheng's question directly. Instead, he urged him again to leave with him, which only made things look more suspicious to the others.
Jiang Cheng's emotions were complicated. He didn't immediately follow Chu Yang.
If it turned out he was just some elder's illegitimate child, that would be fine. It wasn't something shameful. The fear was that the truth might be even more unbearable—something in need of being hidden.
If that were the case, then he'd rather not acknowledge that parent at all.
Jiang Cheng's instincts weren't wrong. If his demonic aura weren't leaking out already, making his half-demon identity impossible to conceal, Chu Yang wouldn't have bothered with him.
"Jiang Cheng, Sect Leader Chu must have his reasons. You've always been calm and insightful—how can you not grasp something this simple now?"
With Ouyang Ying's scolding, Jiang Cheng reluctantly prepared to leave with Chu Yang.
"Brother Jiang, if you're uneasy, how about I go with you?"
Xiahou Jinxuan suddenly stood up.
"Ridiculous!"
Xiahou Zhang also stood, first checking Chu Yang's expression, then placing a firm hand on his son's shoulder.
Xiahou Jinxuan winced in pain, but didn't back down. He stared earnestly at Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng nodded slowly.
"I'm going too!"
Xia suddenly popped out of nowhere, now dressed in the Shu Mountain Sect's disciple robes, looking charming and cute.
Chu Yang thought for a moment and said, "Fine, this concerns you too."
Xia was startled—she'd only intended to ease Jiang Cheng's tension, not to get herself involved.
Could it be…
He's my long-lost brother?
The next second, the two instinctively locked eyes. Jiang Cheng's startled expression made it clear he had the same thought.
"Hahaha, things are getting lively—count me in too!"
Xie Cangxing cheerfully squeezed forward, clearly enjoying the drama.
Since it was already being spoiled, he might as well lay everything out in one go. Keeping it bottled up would only feel worse.
With that thought, Chu Yang pointed toward Mu Changlan, who sat not far from Xiahou Jinxuan. "You come too. This concerns you as well."
"Huh?" Xia gasped in shock and exclaimed, "Sister Mu, you too…?"
Mu Changlan looked totally lost. Her family, parents, and siblings were all well-accounted for—there was no mysterious backstory at all.
Xiahou Zhang frowned at the gathering group. "What a mess."
Chu Yang rolled his eyes. He'd originally intended to bring up Xiahou Zhang's second brother being switched at birth, but given how wild things already were, it was best not to add fuel to the fire.
And so, amidst the chaos, Chu Yang brought Jiang Cheng and the others to a side hall.
"Sect Leader Chu, there's no one else here. Please speak freely. I can take it."
Jiang Cheng looked determined.
You said it yourself, so don't blame me for being blunt.
Chu Yang replied sincerely, "You're not human."
Jiang Cheng's face froze, eyes going blank.
What did that mean?
You brought me here just to insult me?!
Everyone else had equally strange expressions.
This Chu Yang really didn't act like a normal person.
Seeing Jiang Cheng's constipated look, Chu Yang sighed and said, "You're a demon—or more accurately, half-human, half-demon. You carry demon blood."
Jiang Cheng's pupils shrank sharply. He immediately shook his head. "That's impossible!"
Xiahou Jinxuan was the first to protest. "I've known Brother Jiang for years. He absolutely can't be a demon!"
Xie Cangxing and Mu Changlan remained silent—they'd already noticed something off about Jiang Cheng.
During their travels, Jiang Cheng had shown signs of losing control several times. Looking back, it didn't seem to be a mere issue of technique.
Xia said anxiously, "Brother Jiang is such a good person. How could he be a demon?"
Chu Yang asked, "Why do you think demons must be evil? He's a demon—what does that have to do with whether he's good or bad?"
Xia's words caught in her throat. She stared blankly at Chu Yang, unsure how to respond.
Jiang Cheng and the others were stunned by Chu Yang's "heretical" viewpoint. It was hard to believe these words came from the dignified leader of Shu Mountain.
"But… demons are terrifying beings," Xiahou Jinxuan said hesitantly.
Chu Yang asked, "You must've passed by Thousand Peaks Ridge on your way here, right? That place is overrun by bandits, isn't it?"
Xiahou Jinxuan nodded blankly.
Chu Yang explained, "Those bandits are all half-demons. They were oppressed by humans from a young age. To protect themselves, they had no choice but to seize control of the mountains."
"It was humans who pushed them there. So from their perspective, who's scarier—humans or demons?"
Xiahou Jinxuan fell silent. The others couldn't answer either—or rather, they already knew the answer, but couldn't bring themselves to say it aloud.
Jiang Cheng suddenly remembered how the bandit leader at Thousand Peaks Ridge had called him a 'kindred spirit' and told him to come find them if he ever had nowhere else to go.
So that's what he meant…
Connecting the dots, Jiang Cheng had no choice but to accept Chu Yang's words. He stood there, dazed and unsure what to do.
"Demon or not, what matters is your heart. Those who strive for good are good, whether demon or human. Likewise, gods or men who pursue evil are evil."
"I've seen more of the world than you have. I've met infatuated demons, devoted monsters, and heartless humans—even cruel deities."
"If we judge good and evil solely by whether someone's human or demon, then the world would already be crawling with devils."
After a long silence, relief washed over Jiang Cheng's face. He bowed deeply to Chu Yang. "Thank you for the guidance, Sect Leader Chu."
Xiahou Jinxuan cupped his fists. "Sect Leader Chu, your words today were truly eye-opening. I deeply admire you. That you became the leader of Shu Mountain at such a young age is truly a blessing for the world."
"Well, well, young master—your flattery skills are better than mine!" Xie Cangxing gave him a thumbs-up, grinning and winking mischievously.
"Brother Xie, don't tease me. I truly meant what I said." Xiahou Jinxuan blushed and scratched his head shyly.
"I think so too!" Xia nodded, then asked curiously, "Big guy, don't you feel the same?"
"Hey, don't accuse me! My admiration for the sect leader is as boundless as the river flows!" Xie Cangxing quickly put on his most fawning smile.
Mu Changlan smirked coldly at the side. "I think young master's flattery still falls short of Brother Xie's."
Jiang Cheng silently watched their banter and somehow felt at peace. His fear of being part demon gradually faded.
"The reason I told you about your background," Chu Yang continued, "is first because the demonic energy in you has reached a level you can no longer suppress. If it isn't guided properly, it will cause endless trouble."
"Second, I don't want you to be used by others. Your demon bloodline is no ordinary one—you are a descendant of Chiyou and can do things even other demons cannot."
"For example, you can open the passage between the human, divine, and demon realms—the Well of Gods and Demons…"
Chu Yang revealed the secret of the Well of Gods and Demons. When everyone understood the gravity of the situation, their expressions grew grave.
Mu Changlan in particular looked worried and uneasy, suddenly recalling the mysterious figure she had once made a secret deal with.
With sharp insight, Jiang Cheng asked, "Sect Leader Chu, when you mentioned someone with ulterior motives earlier, did you mean a demon? Do you think a demon is trying to use me to open the passage between our realms?"
Chu Yang shook his head. "Not just a suspicion—he's already in motion."
Everyone was shocked.
Xia urgently asked, "Who is it?"
Chu Yang replied, "His name is Mo Yi. He's the Grand Elder of the Yasha Kingdom in the Demon Realm. As for why he's doing all this, we need to start with the current situation in the Yasha Kingdom…"
An incense stick's time passed before Chu Yang finished explaining the Yasha Kingdom's circumstances. Upon hearing that Mo Yi's actions were to secure survival for his people, the crowd's expressions turned complicated.
Not all demons are purely evil. Sometimes it's just a matter of perspective—different stances lead to different interpretations of the same thing.
"Because of the barrier between the two realms, Mo Yi couldn't personally descend to the human world. He had to find a puppet he could control to walk on his behalf and gather information about the human world."
"Coincidentally, there was a major earthquake in the Central Plains more than ten years ago. Among the recently deceased, Mo Yi found two suitable bodies. He used a soul-binding technique to forcibly anchor their spirits—souls that should have gone on to reincarnation—into their corpses."
"Of the two bodies, one belonged to an infant. It would have been inconvenient for Mo Yi, so he abandoned it."
"That infant eventually grew into an adult. But because her soul wasn't properly stabilized, her five senses were weaker than the average person's. She often felt dizzy—and sometimes, she'd even fall into a coma for days…"
At that point in the explanation, Xia collapsed to the ground, utterly disoriented. Her eyes were blank and lifeless. She had never imagined that the cause of her strange illness would turn out to be something like this.
I'm a dead person…
Tears streamed down her face. She was only just entering the prime of her youth, with so many beautiful things left to experience—only to now be told she was already, technically, dead.
"Miss Xia! Don't panic. Chief Chu said earlier there's a way to save you. Don't scare yourself."
Xiahou Jinxuan squatted beside her, gently patting her shoulder in comfort.
Normally, Mu Changlan would have joined in to console Xia too. But after hearing the cause of Xia's condition, she suddenly remembered the villagers from her own hometown.
Back during that massive earthquake more than a decade ago, her village—Twilight Mist Village—had also suffered heavy casualties. And as the quake subsided, an outbreak of disease followed, dooming many of the survivors.
At that time, a rift had opened near the village, linking it to the Netherworld. The ghostly energy that leaked through it barely kept the villagers' departing souls tethered to their bodies, effectively freezing them in time.
The elderly stopped aging. Children stopped growing.
But the reprieve didn't last. The rift to the Netherworld slowly closed. The ghostly energy dissipated. Most of the villagers died one after another, their souls finally passing on.
Mu Changlan's cousin, Mu Tanhuan, had sought out the local mountain god and begged him to reopen the rift so the ghostly energy could be preserved. Thanks to that, a small group managed to survive.
Unlike Xia, however, the people of Twilight Mist Village couldn't leave the range of the ghostly energy—stepping out meant certain death. And so, year after year, they remained trapped in that village.
To save her cousin and the remaining villagers, Mu Changlan tirelessly searched for a solution. Along the way, she honed her skills and even got involved in the information trade.
Now, she stared intently at Chu Yang, desperate to know what method he had.
Thanks to Xiahou Jinxuan's encouragement, hope rekindled in Xia's eyes. She looked to Chu Yang with renewed faith.
Chu Yang summoned the ancient sword Tianque, which slowly floated toward Xia.
Even without being actively used, Tianque naturally exerted a positive influence on spiritual bodies. In the world of spells and sorcery, Chu Yang had previously used Tianque's power to restore people whose souls had been distorted by the Wuwei transformation (Idle transfiguration).
Now, he was going to use that same ability to help Xia—repairing the rift between her soul and her body.
As a soft white light descended, Xia felt a warmth she had never known before. Ever since she could remember, she'd had little sense of hot or cold.
This was the first time she truly grasped what "warmth" meant.
That comforting warmth flowed through every part of her body, so soothing it made her want to drift into peaceful sleep.
When the light gradually faded, Xia seemed like a different person. Her skin, once ghostly pale like that of a corpse, now had a healthy flush.
"How do you feel, Miss Xia?" Xiahou Jinxuan asked nervously.
"I think… something's changed, but I can't quite put it into words yet…"
Xia excitedly felt around her body.
Xie Cangxing immediately suggested, "Girl, try a sip of wine!"
Xia nodded, took the wine gourd from her waist, and took a long gulp. Where once she'd only vaguely felt a hint of warmth, now it was as if fire was scorching her throat!
"So spicy! It's so spicy! Why is this wine so spicy all of a sudden?!"
She fanned her mouth frantically, sticking out her tongue as tears streamed down her face.
Xie Cangxing burst into laughter, clutching his belly. He'd trusted the chief's abilities all along, so he'd been holding back—just waiting for a chance to prank her.
Realizing she'd been tricked, Xia chased him around, cheeks flushed and eyes gleaming with life.
Anyone who's survived death would have a reason to be happy.
While the two chased each other around, Mu Changlan silently stepped in front of Chu Yang and dropped to her knees with a thud.
Everyone was stunned as she knelt and began to sob uncontrollably.
"Please, Chief Chu—have mercy and save my family!"
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