In front of them was a bridge.

     The bridge was built from the edge of the cliff, extending all the way to the end of the sky. In the far distance, there was a stone gate suspended in the air, which reached the clouds. It was impossible to estimate its size with the naked eye. It just stood high in the clouds, and even the heavy rain amidst the thunder and lightning couldn't extinguish the scarlet flames around it.

     “Shizun, do you still remember? You told us before that a long, long time ago, the demons were in chaos, and when Gouchen the Exalted went to help Fuxi eliminate the demons and drive them from the mortal world, they hoped it would stop there.”

     Taxian-Jun placed his hands behind his back and looked at the magnificent stone gate in the distance, then said, “The Demon Lord was defeated and fled. After returning to the demon realm, humiliated by defeat, he ordered that all of the doors connecting to the mortal realm be sealed. From then on, the mortal world no longer had anything to do with them.”

     He paused for a moment, then continued, “But nothing is absolute. Just in case, the Demon Lord still left one last doorway… and this is the one there now.”

     There was an explosive sound as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.

     “The Gate of Martyrdom.”

     But Chu Wanning’s gaze wasn’t on the Gate of Martyrdom at all. Since he’d arrived here, he had been staring at the huge bridge that connected the demon realm and the back mountain of Sisheng Peak.

     When he saw that bridge, he was shocked at first, then his face turned pale until finally, his entire person seemed to have been shattered to pieces because of it, nearly to the point of madness.

     He turned his head sharply. “Mo Weiyu, are you mad?! This bridge…”

     “This bridge is so spectacular.” Even though he had seen Chu Wanning’s reaction, Taxian-Jun still smiled, raised his eyes, and asked knowingly, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you like it?”

     …Like it?

     The five-foot-wide bridge in front of him didn’t use a single piece of wood or a single nail. From top to bottom, it was made entirely of human bodies!

     The corpses were piled on top of each other, suspended high in the sky, piling and overlapping over each other to form a bridge of the dead that extended such a distance that the end couldn’t be seen. The corpses, male and female, old and young, were as densely packed as ants, leading directly to the magnificent gate to the demon realm. How many were there? It was impossible to determine.

     “Since it’s a Gate of Martyrdom, there must be a Path of Martyrdom.”

     Taxian-Jun’s expression was calm, as if these dead bodies were no different from stones picked up from the roadside or wood he had cut down in the forest. Then he whistled, and suddenly, a dazzling blue light flashed in the distant far side of the long bridge, as if something were running towards them from the other end.

     “Actually, there are some secrets about the demon realm that Shizun isn’t aware of.” After saying this, Taxian-Jun turned around and smiled at Chu Wanning. “If you don’t mind, this disciple will tell Shizun about it.”

     Chu Wanning: “...”

     “Shizun only knew that during the great battle between Fuxi and the Demon Lord, Gouchen the Exalted had defected and forged the first ‘sword’ in the heavens and earth for Fuxi. But he doesn’t know that the Demon Lord harbored a grudge for this and later deliberately retaliated against Gouchen the Exalted. Although there was nothing he could do against the God of a Thousand Weapons, he could exact punishment on Gouchen’s clansmen. So he drove his mother’s entire clan from the demon realm.”

     Taxian-Jun held his sleeves behind his back, looking at the faint blue light in the distance, and spoke in a low voice.

     “The demon race has always had overbearing spiritual power. It is precisely because of this powerful bloodline that they expend a huge amount of energy. Only by continuously eating the grains and fish from the demon realm can they maintain normal circulation of their spiritual cores.”

     “After the clan of Gouchen the Exalted’s mother was exiled to the mortal world, their spiritual cores gradually began to shrink and mutate due to the lack of suitable food for such a long time. In the end, most of them became useless wastes, and the only demonic characteristics that they retained was that their bodies are suitable for cultivation and breeding.”

     Having said this, Taxian-Jun paused and turned around to look at Chu Wanning. “Shizun should know what race the mother's clan came from, right?”

     “...” Even though he didn’t want to answer, it was a matter of great importance. Chu Wanning was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, “The Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts?”

     “That’s right.” Taxian-Jun clapped his hands and smiled. “It’s the Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts.”

     “The Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts were originally also extremely powerful demons. The demons developed a furnace physique over a very long period of time in order to pass on their lineage. Originally, their bodies, with powerful spiritual cores and suitable for dual cultivation, could allow their descendants to continue growing stronger with each passing generation. But, when the gates to the demon realm closed, and they could no longer access a supply of spiritual power, the powerful spiritual cores ceased to exist, and all that was left were their bodies filled with spiritual energy.”

     “Of course.” As if he remembered someone, Taxian-Jun’s dark eyes seemed to dim for a moment. “Also the extraordinary appearance the demon race is born with.”

     He didn’t need to explain. Chu Wanning already knew it all.

     There were only two viewpoints on the Beauty Feasts in the cultivation world: eating their flesh or using them as dual cultivation furnaces.

     Wasn't it because of this that Song Qiutong was previously selected as an auction item for the Xuanyuan auction? Even a reasonable person like Jiang Xi wouldn’t treat the Beauty Feast as a living person, let alone other cultivators who were already of bad character.

     “A beautiful face and an alluring body are the icing on the cake if they are on a strong person,” Taxian-Jun said, glancing vaguely at Chu Wanning.

     After a moment, he continued, “But if these two things appear on the weak, they are like a sparrow’s feather in the snow or a white fox in the dark. They are bound to be violated and slaughtered.”

     The blue light in the distance was slowly approaching, closer…

     Taxian-Jun said, “At first, the Butterfly-Boned Clan still retained their demonic race’s power and were able to coexist with mortals. But slowly, their power became weaker and weaker, and eventually, it was almost completely annihilated. The result is as all of us have seen: in the early days of primordial chaos, the strong preyed on the weak, and the pure Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts were quickly wiped out. The remaining ones could only conceal their identities in order to protect themselves.”

     “...How can they hide this?”

     “Well, this is the first time you’ve asked This Venerable One anything since we’ve met.” Taxian-Jun rolled his eyes and said flatly, “It’s actually very simple. You should remember that when Song Qiutong cried, her tears were golden. This is a characteristic of the demon race. If you want to conceal your identity, you just don’t shed tears.”

     Chu Wanning didn’t say anything.

     Not shedding tears was easier said than done.

     The Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts were born with naturally stunning beauty, and their looks made them stand out from the crowd. If they aroused suspicion, cultivators would have plenty of ways to force them to shed tears.

     “Those Beauty Feasts that weren’t discovered survived. Some of them lived in seclusion in the mountains, while others chose to marry mortals… For those who married mortals, the children they gave birth to were sometimes demon children and sometimes ordinary. If they were born a demon, it would be difficult for the child to control themself. If they were wronged and shed tears of grievance that others saw to be golden, disaster would befall both the adults and children. If they were human, there would still be nothing to be happy about because demon blood would still exist in their bodies. There is no telling which generation would give birth to another Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast.”

     Hearing him say this, Chu Wanning suddenly thought of someone and frowned slightly as he said two words.

     “Song Xingyi…”

     “Oh, Song Xingyi, the Lord of Huabi from hundreds of years ago.” Taxian-Jun nodded. “Yes, as they reproduce, there are occasionally very lucky children, who are exactly the same as ordinary people. When they cry, they do not shed golden tears, and their bodies don’t have any obvious furnace characteristics. In fact, because their bloodlines are mixed just right, they can quickly form spiritual cores, and their spiritual power is as domineering as that of pure demons. But the possibility of this happening is very small. Thousands of years have passed, and the number of Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts that could reach zongshi level can be counted on one hand.”

     As he spoke, he stretched out his five slender fingers and waved them in front of his eyes with mockery and amusement.

     After a while, he continued, “So, in such a perilous situation, many Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feasts want to return to the demon realm. As long as they return, they will no longer have to live a life of fear, a life where they must not shed tears for the rest of their lives, and they would no longer have to worry about being sold as furnaces or being torn apart to make soup. In those years of war and chaos, when people were frantically searching for Beauty Feasts to make a living, they wouldn’t need to cut open their own faces, afraid that their beautiful skin would bring them death.”

     He spoke slowly for such a long time that the blue light in the distance was finally dimly visible. It seemed that five horses were pulling a carriage and galloping down the Path of Martyrdom.

     Taxian-Jun said, “But, it isn’t easy to return to the demon realm. The Demon Lord has a blood feud with Gouchen the Exalted. In his eyes, Gouchen the Exalted was a traitor who defected to the realm of the gods. Therefore, Gouchen's lineage was implicated, and it would be impossible for them to rise up from the roots of the nine clans for generations to come. He certainly doesn’t want to allow the fallen Beauty Feasts to return to their homeland.”

     “...”

     The heavy rain was still falling rapidly, and the earth was wet and damp.

     Taxian-Jun watched the carriage approach from afar, and after a long time, he continued, “It wasn’t until the first generation Demon Lord was annihilated and the second generation Demon Lord succeeded him that the new lord relented somewhat.”

     Chu Wanning’s eyes shifted slightly. “He allowed the Beauty Feasts to return to the demon realm?”

     “He allowed it.” Taxian-Jun smiled. “However, as Shizun has seen, he has set up a natural barrier that can’t be crossed without the use of forbidden techniques. If those Beauty Feasts want to return home, this is what must be done.”

     Chu Wanning’s heart tightened as he vaguely understood the whole story.

     Taxian-Jun carelessly pointed at the bridge of countless corpses and said, “Look at this Path of Martyrdom in front of you. It is the only bridge that can connect the entrance of the demon realm with the mortal realm. This bridge must slowly be built downward with the voluntary sacrifice of the living.”

     He chuckled. “As for a person willing to sacrifice his own life to pave the way for others, it would be lucky to find one, or even five. But it’s really hell to find such a massive number of them. Who would be willing to die for the demon race’s descendants to return home?”

     Chu Wanning raised his eyes. “So, they need to know the Zhenlong Chess Formation.”

     Taxian-Jun didn’t expect him to reply. He was stunned for a moment before revealing his sharp teeth. “That's right.”

     He turned his head to look at the long and magnificent Path of Martyrdom, and his pupils gradually narrowed. “These people are the ones This Venerable One has used the Zhenlong Chess Formation on over the years to confuse their minds and make them willing to sacrifice themselves.”

     “...How many people have you killed?”

     Taxian-Jun rolled his eyes, his purplish black pupils staring at him faintly for a while before he spat out a few words: “All of them.”

     “...!”

     “Almost all of them.”

     The bridge in front of him seemed boundless, with no end. It was as if everything was quiet in the torrential rainstorm, but also as if there were evil spirits everywhere, screaming, crying, and roaring as they begged for mercy.

     Chu Wanning shuddered.

     “Do you know how long this bridge is?” Without waiting for Chu Wanning to answer, Taxian-Jun said calmly, “This Venerable One has killed almost all the people in this mortal world, and not even ten thousand people are left alive. However, this bridge is only more than half-filled; for the remaining part, even if the last ten thousand people were killed, it still wouldn’t be completely filled.”

     “...” Chu Wanning said coldly, “So, you want to open the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death?”

     “You always think of the worst answer at once.” Taxian-Jun said lightly, “Yes, we must open the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death and get enough Zhenlong chess pieces from another mortal world to finish paving this path.”

     The rain cascaded violently, not affecting the barrier over the two of them. They looked at each other, brown eyes staring into purplish black ones, and finally thunder broke through the sky, along with Chu Wanning’s furious reprimand—

     “You’re all simply insane!”

     Taxian-Jun only sneered amidst the purple lightning, “This Venerable One knew you would react like this.” As he spoke, he turned his gaze away. The carriage approached, and he could gradually make out the finer details of its appearance.

     “Space-Time Gate, the Zhenlong Chess Formation.” He paused. “It’s best to also have the Rebirth technique. When someone has done all of these, the gate to the demon realm will open again. They can all return to their homeland.”

     “...” Chu Wanning was shaking. His anger and horror almost rendered him unable to speak.

     “You must want to ask why these forbidden techniques must be used before the Demon Lord will allow them to return home, right?” Taxian-Jun looked at the approaching horse carriage with a rare sympathetic and considerate expression. “It’s actually very simple. The three forbidden techniques were created by Gouchen the Exalted, representing the demon race’s once-heavenly ability to cross the heavens and earth. Gouchen regarded this as the source of disaster and asked Fuxi to forbid them and tear the secret scroll manuals into pieces.”

     He paused for a moment, then continued, “The Beauty Feast Clan was guilty because of Gouchen and should naturally also show their determination to stand against Gouchen and sever ties with him. They must stand opposite Gouchen the Exalted and offend Fuxi’s heavenly might in order to gain forgiveness from the demon realm.”

     Suddenly, there was a long neighing of horses, and the five demonic horses broke out from the flames of the Path of Martyrdom. Facing the miserable wind and rain of the mortal world, they raised their heads and majestically stood upright at the front of the bridge.

     Taxian-Jun’s black robe fluttered as he stroked the skull head of the pegasus, then cast Chu Wanning a sidelong glance and said, “Breaking the restrictions of the forbidden techniques, disobeying Gouchen the Exalted, and swearing to be enemies of Fuxi. Only then can they be worthy of being descendants of the demon race. All of Hua Binan’s plans are for the Beauty Feast Clan. Shizun, do you understand now?”