017 “The Birth of the Savior: Xie Diao Chapter”…
“Xie Diao.”
Someone called him.
The voice seemed to come from the underworld, cold and tinged with mockery. Xie Diao stood in the vortex of murderous intent energy, unable to locate the source of the voice.
The wind carried a chilling cold that made one’s fingertips tremble. An endless stream of murderous intent energy poured into Xie Diao’s body with the wind.
Beneath his feet, it felt as if the magma of the underworld was churning. In his daze, he returned to the time when he was still an Evil Seed.
He didn’t know what he should do.
An Evil Seed wasn’t human; it was more like an animal driven purely by instinct. It instinctively ran toward evil and despair, instinctively tore at the prey around it, and instinctively survived this way.
“Do you know the meaning of this name?”
Xie Diao knew.
But he didn’t care.
This wasn’t the first time he had been born into this world in human form. He had been sleeping in the underworld, occasionally awakened by someone.
He would arrive in the human realm naked, traversing its mountains and rivers, walking through piles of bones where crows crouched. He would die again and again, then revive each time by feeding on murderous intent energy.
Each revival made him stronger, but also brought him closer to “evil.”
Until finally, his entire body became a vessel for murderous intent and wicked thoughts. At that point, he would truly become a monster, reverting to the Evil Seed that slaughtered the human realm.
But what did any of this matter to Xie Diao?
He awoke when the celestial realm needed him.
Returned to the underworld after the celestial realm got what it wanted.
After waiting thousands of years, he gained another chance to return to the human world.
Xie Diao repeated this cycle over and over.
Occasionally, he would learn how to become a true human.
But no matter how much he learned, it seemed unimportant now. Xie Diao looked down at his hands entwined with dark energy and suddenly laughed wildly. The color in his eyes grew darker; though flames raged before him, his pupils remained dull and lifeless.
Just then, the vortex of murderous intent energy showed signs of dispersing.
Someone had broken through.
The purple figure came with the continuous jingling of bells. Nan Yao spread her arms and threw herself into Xie Diao’s embrace, then looked up into his eyes.
She was clean, pure.
In this pitch-black thick fog, she seemed to carry a bright light. Her eyes were lively, as if containing the entire Milky Way within them.
Murderous intent energy could corrode a human’s soul.
Xie Diao frowned slightly, about to push her away, when he noticed the dark energy uniformly avoiding her, as if afraid to approach something.
“Don’t continue this,” Nan Yao’s voice trembled slightly, as if she were choking back sobs.
Xie Diao looked at Nan Yao.
Why?
Why risk being corroded by murderous intent energy to stop him?
Nan Yao straightened up, grabbed his arm, and without another word began dragging him outward.
Her eyelids lowered, her eyes filled with reluctance. She took a deep breath as if making a decision: “Stop killing everyone! You’re killing like crazy. If you kill them all, what will I kill? This makes me look bad. So go sit over there now – it’s my turn to perform.”
Xie Diao: “…?”
But Nan Yao didn’t care whether Xie Diao agreed or not. If she didn’t act now, she would miss her chance to shine. So she dragged and pulled Xie Diao over to where Qi Guyuan and the others were, pressed his shoulders down, and made him sit.
But she felt her behavior was somewhat impolite, and if Xie Diao got angry, it would be troublesome.
So Nan Yao rummaged through her spiritual pouch and pulled out a self-made parasol, sticking it into the ground beside Xie Diao.
She then took out a soft cushion, pulled Xie Diao up, placed the cushion on the ground, and pressed him down to sit on it.
She set up a small table, poured a pot of Spirit Mountain Special Spring water on it, and even added a small slice of lemon.
After completing all this, Nan Yao felt she had shown enough sincerity.
She then bowed to Xie Diao, thanking him for his heroic efforts earlier on her behalf and for Demon-Guarding Mountain. Turning around, she drew the sword from her waist, raised it high, and charged fearlessly toward the murderous intent energy and the corpse walkers: “I’m coming—!”
Xie Diao had remained silent until now. Watching Nan Yao’s determined back as she charged forward, he stayed quiet for a long while before, for some reason, he couldn’t suppress a low chuckle.
But after noticing his own involuntary reaction, he seemed to find it somewhat unbelievable as well.
Yu Chichi and Qi Guyuan had clearly already adapted.
They eagerly stood up to massage Xie Diao’s shoulders and pour water for him: “Savior, you’ve worked hard.”
Xie Diao: “?” Who? Savior?
Yu Chichi was deeply moved, her creative inspiration surging as she prepared to start composing: “Don’t worry, I will surely sing your praises throughout the entire human realm.”
Nan Yao guided her sword to summon spirit fire, surrounding the mass of dark energy. The spirit fire gathered into the form of a crimson tiger, which swallowed the murderous intent energy in one bite. The two forces wrestled until the already nearly dissipated murderous intent energy was torn into countless black specks, scattered into the air by a fierce wind.
Nan Yao raised her sword and chased after the corpse walkers all over the ground, grabbing one and slicing it in half, then grabbing another and slicing it in half, like swiftly cutting fruit.
“Laughing at me, huh?”
“Looking down on people, huh?”
“Bullying Big Brother Xie Diao, huh?” After saying this, she quietly added, “Even though it didn’t work.”
The corpse walkers wailed miserably.
The scene was tragic.
Though she was upholding justice, Nan Yao fought with the ferocity of a villain massacring a city.
At this moment, Xie Diao was leisurely enjoying the show, while Nan Yao was wreaking havoc.
Finally, only the dead souls remained, circling overhead, wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, destroying people’s sanity.
This was a bit tricky.
Nan Yao had refrained from attacking them before because she considered that most dead souls were not purely evil but had become frenzied under the influence of the murderous intent energy.
Now that the murderous intent energy had been cleared, Nan Yao felt that, as the savior, she should give them a chance.
So she said: “I’ll let you off this time. Go guide travelers who are lost in the mountains.”
Xiao Huang: Such righteous words actually came from your mouth.
But the next second—
“Remember to mention my name when you guide them.” Nan Yao said, “It’s like this, I’m a bit vain.”
After saying this, she thought for a moment and added: “Oh, and include Big Brother Xie Diao’s name too. I think he worked a little harder than me.”
Xie Diao slightly lifted his eyes, looking at her with confusion, as if he didn’t understand what she was doing.
She was always unpredictable.
Xie Diao rarely encountered people or situations he couldn’t control. Nan Yao was the first.
But… he didn’t dislike it.
The dead souls dispersed.
Nan Yao turned around triumphantly and saw Xie Diao leisurely drinking his lemon-infused spring water nearby, with two sidekicks—one diligently fanning him and the other furiously writing on a forum.
Nan Yao peeked and saw—
[“The wrongly condemned prisoner still harbors a heart of sincerity. Even trapped in prison, he strives to save the entire mountain forest. Is it a rage sparked by love? Or a willingness to die for righteousness on the battlefield?” —The Birth of the Savior: Xie Diao Chapter]
“…” Did I work for nothing?
Just as Nan Yao was about to seethe with indignation, she caught Xie Diao staring at her from the corner of her eye.
She declared righteously, “I didn’t hog all the credit, you know. I had the dead souls mention your name earlier.”
Xie Diao’s brow twitched slightly.
“See? From now on, whenever the entire Demon-Guarding Mountain hears your name, they’ll remember to thank you for saving them from peril while mourning their loved ones lost in the mountains.” Nan Yao leaned closer with a beaming smile. “Xie Diao, Xie Diao—reverse the characters and it becomes ‘giving thanks.’ You’re going to be a great hero.”
She seemed completely unafraid, looking at Xie Diao with unwavering confidence and a radiant smile.
Their eyes met, but it was Xie Diao who first averted his gaze.
He raised his hand and pressed it against Nan Yao’s forehead, pushing her away.
Rubbing her forehead in grievance, Nan Yao noticed Yu Chichi still scribbling furiously and leaned in again. “What about me? Where’s my name?”
“Oh, right.” Yu Chichi had an epiphany.
So she added a passage—
[“The ruthless young girl was also moved by the Savior’s radiance. From then on, her heart turned toward the light, actively contributing her strength to save Demon-Guarding Mountain!”]
Nan Yao said, “I’m not threatening you or anything, but you might want to reconsider whether to revise that.”
*
Demon Realm.
In common perception, the Demon Realm should be a barren land of slaughter, filled with bloodshed and terror.
But that wasn’t actually the case.
According to Madam Nan Yuqing, long ago the Demon Realm truly was the hellscape of rumors. But when Nan Yuqing was young, she enjoyed construction projects. The Immortal Realm’s architectural style was too rigid for flamboyant designs, while the Demon Beasts in the Demon Beast Realm varied too much in size, making planning too mentally taxing. Thus, the most suitable place for her construction hobbies was clearly the Demon Realm.
So she spent several years tinkering around in the Demon Realm. Evidently, Madam Nan Yuqing had excellent taste, transforming the Demon Realm into a prosperous capital renowned even in the human world.
“Wow!” Qi Guyuan let out an uncultured exclamation. “The buildings are so tall! The lake is so clear! The lanterns are beautiful! The flying birds are gorgeous!”
Yu Chichi was clearly more refined: “Carved beams and painted rafters arranged in picturesque disorder. I’ve heard the Demon Realm has no daytime, only night. These crimson lanterns accentuate the atmosphere of prosperity.”
The Demon Realm Capital was extraordinarily lively.
After relations eased among the three realms, the Demon Realm no longer housed only Devilfolk. There were plenty of Cultivator visitors like Qi Guyuan who came to visit.
Moreover, there was recently a major event in the Demon Realm—
Demon Lord Ye Yin was hosting a Spirit Fighting Competition, with the prize being that weapon enough to shake the world—the Soulslay Blade.
Many people came specifically for this blade.
This was also the purpose of Qi Guyuan and Yu Chichi’s journey.
Although the competition format and registration hadn’t yet been announced, many had already heard the rumors and rushed here. This was why, despite the extreme dangers of Demon-Guarding Mountain, thousands still ventured into the mountains to reach the Demon Realm.
“Is this blade really that powerful?” Nan Yao wondered.
Qi Guyuan said solemnly, “Of course. Have you heard of the Demon Lord? He was a powerhouse capable of shaking the entire human realm single-handedly. This blade followed him through countless life-and-death battles and tempering. It’s said that wherever the Soulslay Blade’s edge is revealed, not a blade of grass grows!”
Nan Yao felt guilty: …Please don’t let anyone find out I used this blade to chop radishes.
But soon she noticed something wrong.
If we’re participating in the competition… wouldn’t the judge be Uncle Ye Yin?!
The moment Xie Diao and his group stepped into the Demon Realm, the market’s hawking noises ceased.
Stall owners, street vendors, and passersby all turned their heads, staring intently at the group.
The next moment, the crowd surged forward, surrounding Xie Diao with tearful gratitude—
“Thank you, great hero. If not for you, my husband would still be trapped in Demon-Guarding Mountain.”
“We’ve all heard of your heroic deeds. Don’t worry, I’ll bet my entire fortune on you in this Spirit Fighting Competition!”
“Great hero, though we owe our safe escape to your assistance, I must apologize. We must obtain this Soulslay Blade. We respect you, but in the competition arena, I will still treat you as a formidable rival!”
Yu Chichi was quite pleased.
It seemed her latest martial world gossip publication would be another bestseller.
Xiao Huang, perched on Nan Yao’s shoulder, sighed: “I think you should occasionally reflect on yourself.”
Nan Yao had no time for self-reflection.
Because the crowd surrounding Xie Diao was so dense, they pushed Nan Yao, who had been standing beside him, completely out. Losing her balance, she stumbled backward several steps toward a street vendor selling candied hawthorns.
Xie Diao noticed Nan Yao from the corner of his eye. Instinctively, he reached out and grasped the back of her head, pulling her toward himself.
His body moved faster than his mind.
Even Xie Diao didn’t know why he did it, but by the time he realized, Nan Yao was already pulled back in front of him.
Nan Yao looked at him nervously: “Thank you.”
Then, trembling, she took a gold ingot from her spiritual pouch and shakily offered it to him.
Xie Diao suddenly let out a light laugh.
Nan Yao looked at him in confusion.
“Forget it.” Xie Diao withdrew his hand. “This one’s complimentary.”
Complimentary?
Nan Yao’s eyes lit up, like a naive young girl who could be easily pleased with cheap gifts. She cheered and stuck close to Xie Diao, declaring earnestly: “Alright, even though you didn’t take my money, I still need to make this clear. Words spoken are like water spilled—you can’t take them back later…”
Xie Diao: Regretting it now.
Xie Diao: She talks too much.
Xie Diao walked swiftly ahead, forcing Nan Yao to walk backward in front of him while chattering incessantly.
Carelessly, her back bumped into someone’s shoulder.
So painful.
Turning around, Nan Yao met a pair of aloof eyes.
The man wore luxurious black robes, his entire demeanor exuding cold arrogance. His brows were slightly furrowed, radiating chill.
Just as Nan Yao prepared to apologize, the man sneered first: “Hah, women.”
“…?”
Author’s note:
I’m a failed author. I’m not punctual. I have writer’s block.
I’m going to change myself now, no longer being an untrustworthy member. Tonight I’ll livestream writing ten thousand words in the comments section.