Nine Venoms Sect Founder
Chapter 52: Rooted in the Past

Meanwhile, in a palace of imperial jade walls, a white-robbed man stood in a throne room, hands crossed behind his back. If the loosely hanging white dreadlocks and the textbook blue eyes typical of his clan didn't say enough, the malevolent energies seeping from his aura ensured that, in the Ancestral Land, all could guess his identity. Harun's fake co-prisoner walked in, approaching the dreadlock man with relaxed steps.

"Second brother, why did you summon me?" Asked the fake prisoner with a tone laced in laziness.

"It's been 166 years already. Judging from what we know of the Six Incarnation Bridge, he should have reincarnated one year ago. Meaning that as we speak, he's alive and growing. What should we do?" Asked the dreadlock youth, and instantly, seriousness filled the fake prisoner's eyes.

When Harun temporarily lost control of his body and suppressed Nakula, many in the Ancestral Land felt his move and, the Devil Ancestor aside, none took it well. Were it not for the Heavenly Dream Land's unique setting and The Devil's unknown stance, many Ancestors were ready to dive in and execute that scourge.

Unfortunately, after Harun entered the reincarnation cycle, they lost his trail.

"Father and the Dharma Seeking Temple's experts aside, no one can trace someone after they enter the reincarnation cycle. For us, entering and leaving the Heavenly Dream Land is not that big a deal. But how do we replace him? Destroying it is not an option, and that's assuming he is still there." The fake prisoner shrugged.

"His Karma is bound to that world. He cannot be elsewhere. But that was never the problem," the dreadlock youth countered.

"Right, if father doesn't want us to, we cannot touch him. Whatever we do, he can undo, whatever we think of, he already knows. So, we can only accept his will, and endure the result." The fake prisoner tilted his head to the left and said with his eyes closed. At that time, the dreadlock youth turned, facing his younger brother with fear-laden eyes.

"But father is invincible and has nothing to fear. His concerns are different from ours and, over the years, he has changed to the point few still understand him. If not for his old routine and strength, I'd wonder if he didn't get possessed.

I'm afraid...I'm truly afraid...that we're courting a disaster. Looking back, this is all my fault. If back then I hadn't been so soft-hearted, how could that scourge still breathe?" As he recalled events from millions of years ago, the dreadlock youth's face twisted into a frown.

Sighing at the words, the fake prisoner turned heels.

"Considering how many thought the same, you can't take the blame. The day he walked out of the Myriad Devil Palace, we were all guilty. But I have lived for 73 trillion years. At the summit of all worlds for eons. Living for me is just a routine, so the thing I fear the least is...death."

"In the past, the Ancestral Ones were called Almighty. Today, none even dares use the term 'Supreme.'

In the past, Mandates didn't exist. Today they are all the rage.

In the past, who could think of Acausality, Ultimate Reality, Samsara Dominion, or worst, the unfathomable Cosmic Law? Today, who doesn't want to join the Dharma Seeking Temple?

True omnipotence is a paradox, so to this day, father's Omnipotent Paradox keeps even the Ancestral Ones on their knees. But having lived for 73 trillions of years and seen the changes one man brought forth in such a trivial amount of time. What gives you the confidence that father's invincibility can endure eternity? If only one person can achieve the peak of cultivation, is it still cultivation?

Death is trivial. Living is the true challenge. We are Devils. Not fearing death is part of the deal. But what about our relatives, siblings, elders, children and grandchildren. What about seeing them dying one after the other like powerless fleas? Our house's immortality, the eternity you seem so bored with, all hangs on father's supremacy. We don't even need someone to surpass him, they just have to become his equal, and all of us are mortals again," the dreadlock youth said, and placed one hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I cannot be like elder brother and abandon our house for one person. Father, elder brother, the two of them have bias engraved in their bones. The people they can bleed for so few, and the lives of others so meaningless. You and I are different. Behind our respective masks of laziness and indifference, we care for this Palace above all. Not just the people, but all—this—represents," the dreadlock youth stretched out his arms, sweeping the imperial jade palace.

"Third Devil Prince, are you willing to turn a blind eye and watch it all burn because of...one bloody misunderstanding?" The second Devil Prince asked the third, who raised his eyes at the ceiling.

In that instant, the third prince recalled that same event. One man carrying a withered corpse and scabbard through the Palace gates, with boundless wrath twisting his face. So many died to stop him, all erased from existence—with most unable to remember their names.

The ploy was so simple, coarse even. Yet no one doubted it, because too clever for their own good, they had too little faith...in their so-called kinship.

…

Meanwhile, Harun's confusion deepened. Granted he only had direct contact with Dilnaz and Jiyan, during the Peach Banquet, he'd met many Empyreans, but none of them fazed him as Jiyan did. Even Dilnaz couldn't.

Early, he realized that it had nothing to do with her beauty. Rather, it was that unique floral scent coating her—an overpowering aroma clouding the minds of the weak or feeble-minded.

In 166 years of life, Harun had faced many mysterious abilities. Illusions, mind control, hopes and dreams manipulations; yet he couldn't identify the origin of Jiyan's scent. The system also refused to cooperate.

"Four possibilities. First, the Empyreans are descendants of a Devil—enabling a few to complete an atavism and unlock their Devil Essence. Jiyan was already undergoing the process, and by tinkering with her life-death state, I forced her to release that energy.

Second, Agiri is or received the guidance of an outsider who, like Nakula, belongs to the Myriad Devil Palace. That'd explain why he managed to complete his Mandate despite this world's shackles. And his children thus all have a shot at unlocking this force.

Third, unbeknown to me, my Incarnation Seed contained Devil Essence, and it's my chains, not her lineage, that filled Jiyan's veins with that force. But that makes even less sense.

Fourth, a combination of the previous possibilities," Harun formed his conjectures, some of which raised even more questions. But at that time, Jiyan's eyes opened to the Space World. The Devil Essence withdrew, hiding in her body. But with a thought, she could summon it. Puzzled by her condition, Jiyan knitted her brows, but ultimately ignored the changes to focus on the one standing beside her.

"Are you…my son?" She asked, making the grimacing Harun's heart skip a beat. Although his appearance wasn't the same, with Jiyan's brain, how could she not realize his identity? Wrong question, how could she have a son?! Did the healing process malfunction? Did she suffer too much damage? Or perhaps, was she just too confused by the change in scenery to form coherent thoughts? But as Harun's thoughts trailed off, Jiyan broke into a peal of laughter.

"Joking, joking. But you should see your face. Priceless," Jiyan said in-between her laughs, making Harun roll his eyes.

"That was so cliché. Shame on you."