Chapter 554 — Human Speech, Ghost Words, and Demon Tongue

The sky was like a burning scroll; with the Sun-Binder at its center the fire spread outward in every direction, and wherever it passed all was left as ash. Soon nearly half of it was burned away, the flames reached the crown of Shen Mu's head, and then the whole sky of the world in which Shen Mu stood was burned clean. The demon world vanished, and another world appeared before his eyes.

Shen Mu did not look at the Sun-Binder walking toward him, but gazed around him instead.

Here the towers stood like a forest, dark and sunken, rearing up in a vast grey fog, and swarms of demons hurried to and fro like diligent worker ants, forging enormous engines for storming cities and seizing lands, while other demons drilled at slaughter. Only when he saw a dim, uncertain half-sun hanging in the eastern sky did he let out a breath of relief. He was still in Taihuang Heaven; the demon world the Sun-Binder had just shown him was truly horrifying, and he had no wish at all to remain in that ruined world. The sun of Taihuang Heaven was a god-forged sun, its light was not fierce, and it could not dispel the demonic qi that shrouded the demons' territory; the little of it that fell upon Shen Mu was cold, without a trace of warmth.

That world the Sun-Binder had displayed a moment ago had indeed been nothing but an illusion.

"Senior Sun-Binder went to such great trouble to abduct me here. Surely it was not merely to show me the history of your demon race's suffering?

" Shen Mu withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice, "You should know that your history of suffering has nothing to do with me. But your invasion of Taihuang Heaven and the suffering you force upon the human race — that is what has to do with me.

" The Sun-Binder came to his side and said slowly, "Little friend Shen, are you so certain that you are of the human race?

" Shen Mu's eyes flickered. "What does Senior Sun-Binder wish to say?

Speak plainly, if you please. " "You are a demon.

" One of the Sun-Binder's faces was turned full upon him, and that face said, "And a demon of exceedingly high rank!

Perhaps even of a bloodline nobler than my own!

" Shen Mu was dumbstruck.

Then he pointed at him and roared with laughter, laughing until he could not catch his breath. The Sun-Binder betrayed nothing, quietly waiting until he had finished laughing, until he could laugh no more, and only then said slowly, "Has no one ever told you that you are a demon?

" Shen Mu straightened up, gulped down a breath of air, and laughed.

"There was indeed such a one. In my childhood, in the Palace for Averting Calamity in the Wasteland, I met a sealed demon god who told me I was a demon.

But he said it to deceive me, hoping to seize my body and free himself from his confinement; unfortunately for him, I saw through it. I cheated two and a half demon seal-techniques out of his hands. That demon god meant to trick me of my flesh — what does Senior Sun-Binder mean to trick me of? " The Sun-Binder stepped forward, his neck turning so that the back of his head shifted to the left side, and said, "I mean to trick you of nothing. We demons, though half of every ten sentences we speak are false, still have half that are true. That demon god who wished to possess you told you that you were a demon; those words were spoken to win your trust, and therefore they were true.

" Shen Mu abruptly seemed to melt; his body became a black shadow and fled close along the ground. His speed was immense, and in an instant the black shadow had raced a hundred li. Shen Mu let out a breath and emerged from the shadow state, and he heard the Sun-Binder's voice come drifting to him: "You may still not quite believe it. But have you never noticed that when you employ the demon seal-techniques, your vital essence flows so smoothly, without the slightest obstruction? " Shen Mu was struck dumb.

He saw that he was still neither near nor far from the Sun-Binder — only now he stood at the Sun-Binder's left, where before he had been behind him.

The Sun-Binder smiled.

"That you can learn the divine powers of the demon race so easily, and wield them without the least hindrance — this is precisely because you are a demon too! " Shen Mu shot into the air, driving the Sky-Sweeping Divine Legs to their utmost, and tore through the void. After a moment, Shen Mu, racing at full speed, saw the Sun-Binder directly opposite him; his expression changed drastically, and he turned sharply and sped on.

After another moment, he saw that he had circled back again, running at full speed along the Sun-Binder's right. Shen Mu halted, dropped from the sky, and sank into the earth; when he had traveled underground he knew not how far and thrust his head up from below, he saw the Sun-Binder's heels.

He was still amid those towering towers, and the Sun-Binder was still walking on ahead, unhurried. "Yet you are also human, and equally skilled at cultivating the divine powers of the human race.

" The Sun-Binder's voice came from ahead.

"You are half human and half demon, and that is why you can master the divine powers of both races with such ease. You stirred my fondness for talent, and that is why I invited you here.

" Shen Mu brushed the dirt from his clothes and sneered, "Honored King, your method of inviting a guest is most peculiar.

" He simply gave up trying to flee and stepped forward to keep pace with the Sun-Binder. When the Sun-Binder heard that he no longer called him Senior but addressed him instead as Honored King, one of his faces smiled.

A moment ago Shen Mu had called him Senior, and now Honored King — a seemingly offhand change of address, yet there was much in it.

Calling him Senior was meant to remind him that Shen Mu was a junior, and that for a senior to strike a junior a killing blow would be a shameful thing.

Calling him Honored King carried its own small calculation as well: Honored King was what the demons called the Sun-Binder, and Shen Mu was now placing himself in a demon's seat, trying to lower the Sun-Binder's guard. Of course, such small calculations were of no use whatsoever against the Sun-Binder. "The demon race is not like the human race.

The human race possesses broad and fertile lands, favored by heaven and earth.

The demon race came from Youdu. " The Sun-Binder signaled him to follow closely, and said, "Youdu is filled with vengeful ghosts; their resentful, demonic nature, over long ages, gave birth to the ancestors of the demon race. They are demon gods born of the evil thoughts between heaven and earth, and they bred among themselves, and thus the demon race came into being.

" Shen Mu was slightly startled, not understanding why he was told such things. "After the demon race was born, it found no favor in Youdu, and Tubo drove us out. So we demons were wanderers from our first days, forced to seek a dwelling place wherever we could.

Nor were we favored by other races; the places we could find were always lands of peril and hardship. Yet even so we survived — and yet.

.

. " Another of his faces turned around and said, "And yet our world still fell into ruin.

For the survival of our race, we had no choice but to invade Taihuang Heaven. In truth, I came to you seeking a way for the human race and the demon race to live on together. The very first moment I laid eyes on you, a thought was born in me! " This face was utterly sincere as it put forward a tempting proposal: "Aid me in unifying Taihuang Heaven, and I will give the human race over to your rule!

Then you govern the humans, and the humans are preserved; I govern the demons, and the demons are preserved.