“Sasa, if you’ve ended up in this miserable state today purely because of your own lack of ability—if you did your best but still failed, and there’s no other reason—then even if the entire universe, or even God Himself, says you are guilty, I will stand by your side and fight them to the bitter end. Even if I have to fight until my last breath, I will never back down.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Sasa's face turned bright red, like a boiled shrimp. The halo above her head spun wildly, her ears were practically steaming, and her heart was thumping erratically.

Fortunately, she still retained a shred of ability to think. After a moment, she tentatively asked, "…So you think the main point is my attitude? That I should have a… better attitude toward the world I created and the humans I brought into existence?"

That was at least touching on the edge of the truth.

…But if Sasa hadn't even grasped this principle yet, if she still had to ask such things cautiously, testing Qi Xing's reaction, it meant she didn't truly understand at all.

She had indeed suffered quite a bit lately, and she finally realized that the world she created was riddled with flaws; she also knew that the Demon Kings she had created almost all wanted to cause her trouble and were extremely dissatisfied with her.

But Sasa still didn't truly understand why. Her thinking was still stuck at the superficial level of "if I treat them a little better, they won't be hostile toward me."

Qi Xing looked at her, and in the end, he couldn't help but sigh deeply once more.

He already knew the answer, or at least, Qi Xing believed he knew the answer. But he couldn't just say it directly; if Sasa couldn't realize it herself, it would be meaningless.

Sasa deserved to suffer, but making her suffer just for the sake of suffering was pointless. Qi Xing had been thinking about what to do, and the conclusion was that Sasa needed time.

The time she had spent as a human was still too short. If she had more time to walk in the mortal world, to suffer, reflect, and see, perhaps Sasa could awaken, perhaps Sasa could change.

This could be considered a line of thinking for a practitioner.

However, Qi Xing and the others didn't have time.

Time.

Could Qi Xing really conjure up time?

…Perhaps he really could?

"Sasa, this is not the final battle," Qi Xing paused, as if expressing thoughts that had been bottled up for a long time, and asked slowly, "But perhaps, for you, it is the most important moment. So I am going to ask you now—"

"What is it that you actually want? If we truly defeat all the Demon Kings, take down the [King of Hell], collect all thirty [silver coins], and regain the power of creation… what do you plan to do then?"

"Just watch from the sidelines as I create the new world I want? Where did your own desires go? After failing for countless years and being bound to the throne for two thousand years of torment, have you forgotten even that?"

Good question.

The barrage of questions landed like heavy hammers. For a moment, Sasa was left speechless.

What she wanted… what was it again?

She wanted to create better New Humans to prove that her creativity was even better than God's. She wanted to shed the role of the Adversary of humanity (Satan), merely an accuser.

But—and then what?

If the end of everything was Qi Xing—a human she didn't create, but a [Descender] like her from the upper universe—ultimately collecting the [silver coins], sitting on the throne of God, and creating a brand-new world… then everything she had done, even if it had been spectacular, even if she had once devoured a third of the angels, even if she had once created her own universe and billions of living beings—where was the meaning in that?

Could this be considered her success?

Could it be considered her victory?

Or would she finally become the biggest joke in Heaven?

That certainly wouldn't do.

Having failed for too long, having been bound to the black throne for too long, Sasa was afraid that she had forgotten this matter at some point, only remembering it in words, that she had such a grand ideal.

It wasn't to seize God's throne like Lucifer—that would be rebellion, and Sasa had no interest in that.

What she wanted was to improve herself, to prove herself, to become a Creator—just like God.

"…I actually forgot such a crucial thing…?!"

For a moment, Sasa's expression couldn't help but change, revealing a bewildered core.

And just at this moment, Duo Chenzi's ritual continued.

Invisible blades slashed down from the void, cutting into Sasa. The crisscrossing wounds seemed to be a reminder of her failure, each one flowing with crimson blood. The pain knocked her onto the bed, and blood slid down her arms, splashing into mottled marks, making her vision go black in waves.

What is it that you really want, Sasa?

This was a question she could no longer escape.

Qi Xing reached out and used the divine power of the [World] to repair Sasa's wounds again.

"Time; you need more time to think clearly, to comprehend. But we don't have time."

Yet he continued,

"So I thought of a way to cheat time."

"Are you willing to trust my idea and give it a try?"

When in the world has a human ever said such things to a devil in return?

But that was indeed the situation now.

For a moment, Sasa couldn't help but ask in return: "…Qi Xing, why on earth are you so good to me?"

"I'd like to know that myself, dammit!"

Without hesitation, Qi Xing immediately slapped the top of Sasa's head, making her halo spin like a top.

"C-could it be that you covet my cuteness and beauty?"

"I like them with breasts."

"Then is it the sense of achievement from █ █ a Creator and a high-ranking angel…?"

"I don't need to rely on █ you to get that kind of sense of achievement! Besides, if we're talking about high-ranking angels, doesn't Lin count too?!"

Why care so much about Sasa? Qi Xing himself wanted to know, dammit!

After a long silence, he sighed and asked: "Sasa, the [King of Hell] mentioned something about the first two times, but the Christian worldview doesn't have reincarnation; what on earth was he talking about?"

"That."

Sasa frowned, lost in thought.

"I don't know the specific situation either… but strictly speaking, the Christian worldview doesn't actually lack 'reincarnation' entirely. It's just not the norm, but rather an exception—I'll give you an example: have you ever played 'Dark Souls'?"

This finally made Qi Xing pause slightly: "I've played Dark Souls 3… what does that have to do with it?"

"Dark Souls 3 works too—you know the protagonist of Dark Souls basically never dies, right?"

Sasa waved her hand,

"Awakened by the tolling of a bell, resurrected time and again to fulfill a mission. As long as the mission is not accomplished, one will never truly die—that is the Christian-style manifestation of 'reincarnation'."

Huh?

"The simplest example is the 'Wandering Jew'. There are also more literary versions, like Kundry in 'Parzival'."

The Wandering Jew is said to be a person who mocked and hindered Jesus when He was carrying the cross on the way to His execution. As a result, Jesus said to him, "Until I return, you must continue to walk the earth." Thus, until the end of the world and the Last Judgment, he cannot die, nor can he stop, destined to wander for generations.

Kundry in 'Parzival' is a more literary and concrete version.

She is that same Jew; when Christ was suffering, she had sneered and mocked His pain, and as a result, she was punished to constantly reincarnate in the world. No matter what identity she reincarnated as—a maid, a witch, a sorceress, or even a female devil—she could not escape the fate of betrayal and atonement.

Until finally, she met the Knight of the Round Table—the White Knight Parzival, who held the Holy Spear.

Parzival made her truly understand the meaning of "love" for the first time. When that pure knight gently kissed her forehead before the Holy Grail, Kundry finally understood the value of love and sacrifice.

At that very moment, her curse was lifted. She collapsed and died peacefully, but she also finally ascended to Heaven and found rest.

This is the Christian-style concept similar to "reincarnation." A special kind of "punishment" and "education."

—As Sasa said this, her voice suddenly softened, her eyes became subtle, and she stole a glance at Qi Xing.

Qi Xing was stunned, but immediately realized that this fellow was probably thinking about something strange again.

"Stop letting your imagination run wild. I'm not… no, wait, I actually do have the Holy Spear… no, I can actually turn into a White Knight. But that doesn't count."

It shouldn't count.

Sasa couldn't help but laugh out loud. Even though she was still covered in wounds from being tortured by Duo Chenzi's ritual, she could still manage to show this smile that was half-coquettish and half-teasing.

"Sigh… let's go, Sasa."

Shaking his head, Qi Xing pulled this detestable devil up from the bed, "We're going to Duo Chenzi's place to steal some time."

Volume 7: The Era of Dharma-Ending Apocalypse: 255: Growing Up (Part 1)

[Venerable Leipu] was attacking.

Before he even arrived, Duo Chenzi's Small Immortal Realm was already trembling, as if a self-contained Heavenly Court, slowly unfolding its might in the void.

One could see the core of her Immortal Realm, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces, emerging, layered and stacked, with solemn towers and pavilions, golden palaces and jade dwellings shimmering in the galaxy.

Below them were seventy-two spiritual mountains and precious peaks, arranged like stars, connected by heavenly rivers and linked by spiritual springs.

And between the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces and the seventy-two spiritual mountains, there were three hundred and sixty-five altars coiled around, symbolizing the number of the sun, moon, and stars, arranged in the four poles and eight directions, building a magnificent celestial array. When the array opened, the twelve heavenly passes descended in unison, the Eight Trigrams banners fluttered, reflecting the Taiji Yin and Yang, the circulation of the Five Elements, giving rise to endless cycles of life and death.

Countless talismans swam in the air like golden dragons and silver snakes, shining with billions of feet of light, faintly forming the Zhou Tian Star Array. Every starlight was a War God, a Heavenly General. The galaxy they formed was the ultimate killing array of Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The Nine Heavens Thunder Drums beat in unison, shaking the void and causing it to ripple.

Invincible! Invincible! Invincible! Terrifying! Terrifying! Terrifying!

Such a great array, such overwhelmingly strong power, who could resist? Who could defeat it?

Any enemy who dared to break into it would feel that they were not fighting against a person, but against the entire Heavenly Dao!

And Duo Chenzi sat high on the central tower of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces, smiling with downcast eyes, just waiting for that [Venerable Leipu] to walk into the trap.

—As mentioned before, the [Peacock Disciples] lineage did not like to use [silver coins] directly. Because Duo Chenzi discovered hundreds of years ago that connecting directly to too many [silver coins] made one easily influenced by the Creator, and one would become stupid.

But not using them directly absolutely did not mean their faction was weak. If using them directly was too dangerous, then just don't let people use them.

Now, this Zhou Tian Star Array was loaded with four whole [silver coins]—four! How terrifying! How incredibly strong an array powered by four [silver coins] was!

Qi Xing flew over with Lin and Sasa, and before they even entered the array, looking from afar, they could feel a crackling, powerful spiritual pressure.

Not to be trifled with, hmm, indeed not to be trifled with. In an instant, even a supreme Demon King like Qi Xing couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

"Damn it, this accumulation is truly enviable."

While watching, he couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder,

"For a loose immortal of the mortal world like me, even if I cultivate to a certain level, it's very hard to get my own troops and generals. Generally, I have to go catch some Yin spirits or ghost generals and stuff them into tokens or gourds. Even doing it this way, it's hard to save up much; having a few thousand is pretty good."

"Look at Duo Chenzi's hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and divine army, the Yang energy is soaring to the sky; I'm afraid it was shaped by hundreds of years of faith."

After all, the [Peacock Disciples] lineage in the East developed into the Luo/White Lotus sect, which was truly a professional rebel faction. After generations of believers died, their faith was refined into Yang spirit heavenly soldiers and generals, so they really didn't lack numbers.

Lin was a bit curious upon hearing this: "Qi Xing, do you also have your own army of Yin soldiers that you refined?"

"I have a few hundred or a thousand, but it's useless to bring them out."

Qi Xing looked at the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers standing in strict formation and raised an eyebrow,

"The quality and quantity are both too far off."

At this moment, the scene was just like the Monkey King facing the siege of the Heavenly Palace. Only, that great monkey had no brothers, and his monkey descendants were of no use.

On Qi Xing's side, he had a useless devil on his back, but there was a capable girl beside him.

"Let's just obediently use the old routine—Lin, you deal with the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, and I'll deal with the rest."

"No."

Lin smiled, however, and shook her head,

"I'll take on two more Giant Spirits."

Giant Spirits.

That's right.

Within this mountain-protecting array, there were not only a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, but also two Giant Spirits.

Two mountain-like shadows swayed and emerged from the depths of the array.

The first Giant Spirit stood as tall as a skyscraper pagoda, its muscles cast like red copper, wearing battle armor, and a thousand arms grew from its shoulders.

The thousand hands were like a forest; those arms were layered and dense, enough to make anyone with trypophobia shudder. Holding swords, halberds, spears, bells, drums, scriptures… a thousand kinds of weapons, a thousand kinds of magic artifacts, blotting out the sky.

Like all other Giant Spirits controlled by the [Peacock Disciples], its face was tightly covered by a huge iron mask, only it had six faces, six ferocious iron masks. On each mask, a cold peacock eye was embedded in the center of the forehead.

Gold shackles as heavy as the universe were locked between the masks, firmly sealing its system program.