Gu Junshi watched his every change, not letting down her guard.
"Once it drains your essence and blood, it will bloom into beautiful Higanbana flowers on the Demon God's body. These flowers will surely be more stunning than those by the Forgetfulness River. The more sinful the person, the more vibrant the flowers will bloom – that is the characteristic of Higanbana."
*Pfft—*
The Demon God's skin was finally stretched to near transparency, beginning to burst randomly. Tendrils from within the blood blisters stretched out.
Besides his skin, green plants surged from his mouth, nose, and eyes, coiling and overlapping until half of his body was covered, tightening its grip.
They were about to bud.
But at this moment, a change occurred. The demonic energy could not do anything to these Higanbana seeds within the body. However, once they grew out, they found their purpose. The demonic energy forcefully twisted the branches into a ball and ripped them from the body.
"Snap!" With the stems ripped from flesh and blood, skin and muscle followed, along with tendons. But the Demon God paid it no mind. His face was deathly pale, his eyes, hidden by the greenery, burning with fierce, sinister, and cold malice.
Yet, the more he tore, the faster the seeds were stimulated to grow. Their rate of division was almost as fast as another type of mutated creature, slime.
But both Gu Junshi and the Demon God understood this was not growth, but the Higanbana seeds needing more branches to absorb nutrients to successfully bloom, in their quest for parasitism.
"It seems the Demon God does not like flowers. How about I help you burn them all?"
Gu Junshi had no intention of giving him enough time to escape this predicament. A ball of bright, blazing fire appeared in her palm.
This was Hellfire. Although not comparable to the top-tier divine fires, it could smelt and remold the Demon God's current mortal body. Once he was without a shell, her chances of victory would be even greater.
Facing her endless pursuit, the Demon God, instead of his previous fury and killing intent, changed his demeanor.
His demonic eyes narrowed, his bloodless lips curved strangely. "Gu Junshi, you only know that demons are adept at luring people into demonhood, but you don't know that demons are even more skilled at probing hearts."
Gu Junshi paused. What did he mean by that?
Suddenly, his broken, dilapidated body contorted and trembled. His blood turned into ink-black liquid, then flowed on his body as if alive, finally drawing a gaunt shadow.
This shadow had a pair of rotten, tattered wings behind it, and fingers in the middle that had transformed into sharp claws. Its pointed tips retracted, piercing directly into the ghost infant's heart.
*Thump!*
Blood splattered, accurately gouging out the heart along with the Higanbana seeds implanted within.
At this moment, the Higanbana seeds had completely fused with the ghost infant's heart. When pulled out, the blood vessels and branches were still connected to the body, red and green, it was unclear which occupied more space.
Holding that heart tightly within the black demonic energy, it still beat vigorously.
"It was just a little bit away from blooming. Do you feel regret?" the Demon God asked her slowly, a sinister smile on his face.
Gu Junshi's stunned gaze shifted from the demonic miasma to his eyes. At this moment, she suddenly had a strong intuition.
Her thoughts had been seen through by the Demon God.
He could actually probe people's minds?
As long as their eyes met, and he willed it, the secrets in the other party's heart would be laid bare before him.
She quickly regained her senses, realizing that the outcome was unlikely to be as she wished.
But Gu Junshi maintained her composure well. She had already conducted a comprehensive analysis of the Demon God's strength. If everything went smoothly, it would be good fortune; if accidents occurred, it was within reason.
"Yes."
Gu Junshi spoke frankly.
She had underestimated the Demon God's talent. He hadn't used these methods against her before because he had never considered her an opponent. Now, none of her secrets could be hidden from him… perhaps.
He must have captured her thoughts just now, otherwise, he wouldn't have so quickly and preparedly found the location where the Higanbana seeds were parasitizing, and then struck directly at the heart of the matter, causing all her anticipated plans to fail.
However, unless he was willing to fight to the death and destroy his heart to destroy the Higanbana seeds simultaneously, thereby also ruining this mortal body, taking it out like this would be futile.
"However, regret is the norm in life. As long as you remember the things that caused regret, you just need to not repeat them."
Saying this, she unleashed the Hellfire. The flames rose like milky white vapor, enveloping the Demon God. Under the high temperature, the Demon God's entire form appeared twisted and distorted.
Seeing her so calmly still intending to use Hellfire to burn him, the Demon God was also amused.
He conjured two soft, long arms with demonic energy. Speaking of arms, they were merely two thick, long tentacles. He stared at her maliciously and said, "You've given me such two great gifts. Now, it's time for me to give you a surprise."
With that, a swirling vortex appeared behind him. He reached inside with his demonic hand and pulled out two pre-teen children and a white-furred fox.
When Gu Junshi saw the two children clearly, her pupils constricted, and her expression went blank for a moment.
"You've managed to hide them quite well."
Soon, Gu Junshi regained her senses. She tried her best to calm her mind, to avoid thinking anything that the Demon God might perceive.
But her actions became involuntarily hesitant.
She could no longer continue releasing the Hellfire because the Demon God had bound the children and the fox together with him. She could burn him without hesitation, but she had to be mindful of the three of them.
"You want to use them to threaten me?"
"Threaten? Gu Junshi, are you worthy? Didn't I tell you? I found your weakness. You hid them in your divine consciousness space, and thought you could protect them? Gu Junshi, this Demon Venerable will make you watch with your own eyes how the twin children you protect, the fox you care about, die painfully before you."
"Who told you I care about them? I can even kill Liu Jiang Fusheng, so why would I care about the children born with him?" Gu Junshi said coldly.
But the Demon God didn't believe a word. Seeing the Hellfire around them clearly weaken, he said with satisfaction, "You don't care? Alright, then let's test if you can truly remain indifferent."
"You dare—"
Gu Junshi's eyes sharpened, and she suddenly lunged to snatch them.
But the Demon God had already opened a spatial traversal channel. Countless vortex-like black holes "swallowed" their figures with a gulp and closed. In the next second, they were "spat" out intact in another black hole.
Gu Junshi's speed could be very fast, but she couldn't read minds like the Demon God to accurately estimate their next appearance, so although they were within reach, Gu Junshi, no matter how she reached out, couldn't touch them.
"Listen to them call you 'Mother' one last time."