Unaware of the sudden shift in Long Yin’s expression, Feng Qingyun remained focused on his letter.
He sat with his head down, mulling over the wording as he wrote. On one hand, he needed Bai Ruolin to ensure her own safety. On the other hand, Zhong Yulan was their shared Master. If there were truly news about her, it wouldn’t be right to keep it from his sister.
But if that girl found out, she’d insist on coming no matter what. Whether or not he should let her take that risk, Feng Qingyun found himself caught in a dilemma. So he simply stayed there, weighing each word of the letter, leaving Long Yin alone to stew in his silent resentment.
By the time Feng Qingyun finally finished writing and looked up, he met Long Yin’s gaze straight on. For some reason, the look in his eyes was different from usual, sending a sudden jolt through Feng Qingyun’s heart.
In both the mortal and cultivation worlds, there had always been unspoken rules about staring directly into someone’s eyes. But Long Yin saw right through him. His expression shifted instantly from cloudy to sunny, and he leaned in with a smile. “What are you staring at, Little Rose?”
Despite everything they’d done together, Feng Qingyun still flushed at his words. In a fluster, he pushed Long Yin’s face away, saying: “…Move. We need to go.”
The madness of the past few days now seemed like nothing more than a fleeting dream. Although the new blood deed was supposedly in effect, it didn’t seem to have made any obvious difference in Feng Qingyun’s behavior. Outwardly, their way of interacting looked no different from before, still playing the part of proper cultivators. But those glances exchanged when no one was looking, the briefest brush of fingers… Those couldn’t fool either of them.
Only the two of them knew whether anything had truly changed or not.
………………………
After Feng Qingyun sent the letter to Bai Ruolin, the two set out again from the Demon Palace. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the minor demonic realm that had shown signs of a newly opened ancient ruin.
But, for all it was called a “demonic realm,” Feng Qingyun couldn’t help but feel surprised upon entering the city. The place was clean and orderly, a refreshing contrast to the rest of the Demon World, and, at a glance, it looked no different from a town in the Righteous Path.
In fact, compared to the blood-soaked territory where the Xuanwu ruins were located, this pristine city looked far more like the true trade capital of the Demon World…
…And yet, beneath its polished exterior, the city bore a strange name.
The City of Mirrors.
Long Yin explained that the city’s Lord was born of the Mirror Demon lineage, hence the odd nickname. But at the mention of mirrors, Feng Qingyun’s scalp prickled. A flood of indecent images flashed through his mind, moments too vivid to describe, memories of wild, whispered words spoken as he was pressed against a mirror…
Words he thought he’d long forgotten, now rising from the corners of memory like feathers brushing the edges of his heart.
And yet, Long Yin remained the picture of innocence, as if unaware of Feng Qingyun’s spiraling thoughts, as he continued his explanation. Besides the infamous Mirror City title, the little demonic realm was even more widely known by another name across the entire cultivation world: the City of Inner Demons.
That name was well known indeed. Even someone like Feng Qingyun, who had rarely left the Xiān Gōng Sect in years, had heard of it. He raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, asking: “…So this is the City of Inner Demons?”
He’d always imagined the legendary place that had claimed the lives of countless righteous cultivators would be steeped in demonic energy.
In fact, that wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.
Since ancient times, it was said that one could only ascend to immortality by severing the so-called “three corpses.”1 But over time, through war and the fading of old knowledge, the specifics of which “three corpses”, or how to sever them, had long been lost.
Therefore, some cultivators, taking the texts too literally, began equating inner demons with the “three corpses”.
Rumor had it that the City of Mirrors in the Demon World had a method of drawing out one’s inner demons and giving them physical form. Countless cultivators who had lost control of their cultivation had come here, hoping to sever their inner demons and ascend with ease.
They believed it was a literal process: transform their delusions into a visible form, then strike them down with a sword to cut off their past and attain the Dao. Some even revered that method as a sacred cultivation practice and treated the city as a haven for spiritual refinement. But many who came over for such reasons met their end instead.
Over time, the city developed a reputation and even fostered an entire industry around “severing the three corpses”, hence the name: City of Inner Demons.
And it wasn’t only righteous cultivators who came for that specific reason. Many demonic cultivators also believed in the rumors. Thus, a rare scene unfolded within the city: cultivators of both righteous and demonic paths had come for the same purpose. It wasn’t uncommon to see righteous cultivators openly entering the city, and the demonic cultivators didn’t seem to mind their presence at all. Therefore, the place had unexpectedly become one of the few where the two factions could, however reluctantly, coexist in peace.
But that was the City of Mirrors of today, not the one of old.
It was said that every mirror in the city had the potential to reflect a cultivator’s inner demon. However, whether it actually did or not depended on the cultivator’s own resolve to sever their three corpses and, of course, on fate.
As a result, the streets of the City of Mirrors were lined with cultivators selling mirrors. The atmosphere was so calm, so harmonious, that it almost resembled a mundane market in the mortal realm. But when some righteous cultivators caught sight of Feng Qingyun, once the Second Palace Master of the Xiān Gōng Sect, walking side by side with the Demon Emperor Long Yin, their expressions shifted as if they’d seen a ghost. Of course, they recognized Feng Qingyun… And they knew Long Yin even better.
They also heard the rumours surrounding the upcoming Heavenly Gate Ceremony.
But what they hadn’t expected, what had never crossed their minds, was to see those two together, in that specific place, and with such an intimate air between them!
…Could it be that the rumors were true? That Sword Master Mu Hanyang, due to cultivating such an austere technique, had become… Inadequate in bed?!
Feng Qingyun had no idea how badly his blooming had damaged Mu Hanyang’s reputation and, even if he knew, he likely wouldn’t have cared. So, he paid no mind to the stunned and curious stares of the surrounding righteous cultivators. Instead, he turned his gaze to the remarkably ordinary city, so ordinary it hardly felt like it belonged in the Demon World at all, and couldn’t help but marvel at how the righteous and demonic sects had managed to achieve such surface-level harmony over something as intangible as inner demons.
Long Yin, who seemed to see right through him, suddenly sent him a voice transmission without warning: “These cultivators staring at you… Don’t they seem a little too vivid to you?”
“Too vivid” was a strange choice of words. Feng Qingyun paused, puzzled. Then he heard Long Yin continue, his tone cryptic: “Guess how many of these people are real… And how many are escaped heart demons?”
Startled, Feng Qingyun lifted his eyes in disbelief.
“When the desires in one’s heart grow strong enough, a heart demon is born,” Long Yin murmured directly in his ear, abandoning spiritual transmission altogether. “They all know the danger, but still flock here. Would you say it’s a sign of their longing for the Heavenly Dao, or proof that it’s already the demons pulling their strings?”
His words were chilling, sending a shiver down Feng Qingyun’s spine. Almost instinctively, he released his spiritual consciousness and scanned the surrounding cultivators one by one, yet he detected nothing unusual.
On the contrary, those who felt his inquiry sweep over them immediately turned tense, their skin prickling as paranoia spread like wildfire.
Snapping back to his senses, Feng Qingyun turned toward Long Yin with an uneasy look on his face. It was then that Long Yin finally let his laughter slip out, asking: “You really believed this Lord?”
Feng Qingyun realized he’d fallen for yet another of Long Yin’s tricks and flushed in irritation. Just as he was about to scold him, Long Yin continued: “To replace a real person entirely, a heart demon’s obsession would have to be so strong that it could obscure the heavens and twist the very threads of fate.”
“And in all the world,” he added, “there’s only one such demon that I know of.”
Feng Qingyun blinked, clearly drawn in despite himself. “Who?” he asked.
However, Long Yin only gave a sly smile before asking: “You’ll find out soon.”
Feng Qingyun gave him a suspicious look, but for once, Long Yin wasn’t joking.
The city’s Main Hall was entirely unlike the Demon Palace. While the Demon Palace exuded majesty and dominance from every angle, that hall seemed to be crafted entirely from mirrors. Bathed in sunlight, it gleamed like a pure white temple, more divine than anything even the Xiān Gōng Sect could boast.
And right there, at the center of the city, a man was already waiting for them. The city’s Lord, born of the Mirror Demon lineage. Though he stood high upon a platform, his head was bowed in a posture of long-prepared welcome. He was a handsome man with pale skin, but his appearance teetered between “fragile” and “unfathomable.” And when he looked up, the lifeless stillness in his eyes sent a chill down one’s spine.
He didn’t look like a living person at all. More like a delicate, dangerous doll.
Feng Qingyun froze. In that instant, he understood the man’s true nature.
A heart demon?!
The ruler of the City of Inner Demons was himself a heart demon, an existence that even managed to cultivate its way to become the city Lord of a small demonic realm?!
Shocked, Feng Qingyun kept his expression calm, revealing nothing.
The man greeted them softly: “This lowly one is Ming Jingtai. It is a great honor to host Your Majesty and Your Highness in our humble city.”
“There is no Bodhi-tree, nor stand of a bright mirror. Since all is void, where does the dust arise?”2
…What kind of demonic cultivator would name himself after a verse so deeply rooted in Buddhist teachings?!
Long Yin, showing no surprise, didn’t even acknowledge the pleasantry. Instead, he went straight to the point, in his own characteristic way. “Your earlier message was too vague. Do you have anything new regarding the ruins?”
“…Before he fell asleep,” Ming Jingtai replied, his gaze lowered, “I begged him to reflect on the future of this demonic realm. What he revealed looked nothing like what we see now. I believe that vision showed what the city will become once the ruins appear.”
Feng Qingyun’s brows furrowed, asking: “What do you mean by ‘nothing like it’?”
Ming Jingtai answered softly: “What he showed… was a village.”
The two exchanged a glance, and Long Yin raised a brow. “A village? What kind of village?”
However, Ming Jingtai shook his head before answering: “He was too weak. That single use of his body exhausted all his energy. He fell into a deep sleep shortly after. I don’t know any more than that. We’ll have to wait until he wakes to get more details.”
Long Yin considered it for a moment, then nodded. “The ruins won’t appear for a while yet. There’s no rush. When he wakes, bring him to see this Lord.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.” Ming Jingtai replied. He seemed genuinely relieved that Long Yin hadn’t insisted on meeting that “him” immediately.
Watching the exchange between the two men, Feng Qingyun felt a strange unease. He couldn’t tell whether the heart demon was truly concerned for “his” health… or simply afraid of “him” making contact with the outside world.
…Or perhaps, it was both.
He had a vague suspicion about the relationship between the heart demon and that so-called “him,” but since it was someone else’s business, it didn’t seem to concern him directly. As for what exactly the ruins would be, they could only wait for that person to wake or for the ruins themselves to finally emerge.
For now, all Feng Qingyun and the others could do was wait.
………….
The Mirror Palace seemed committed to taking that “uninhabited” aura to its extreme. In such a grand palace, aside from the city Lord himself, there wasn’t another soul to be seen. Thus, with the Demon Emperor and his “empress” visiting in person, Ming Jingtai had no choice but to act as their personal attendant, leading them himself to a pristine, snow-white residence.
Ming Jingtai stood sideways at the mansion’s door and said, “This humble place is rather simple. Your Majesty and Your Highness, please forgive its lack. Should you need anything, simply call for me.”
Feng Qingyun thanked him politely. After Long Yin waved him off, Ming Jingtai, heart demon or not, humbly took his leave.
Retracting his gaze, Feng Qingyun turned to inspect the interior of the residence. To be honest, calling the place “simple” was quite the understatement. Compared to the mirrored halls outside, their residence was practically normal. The only unusual feature was a single floor-length mirror by the bed, positioned next to the window and massive enough to be startling.
As soon as the two entered the chamber, their reflections were fully cast onto that mirror.
Whether it was Ming Jingtai’s tangled identity as both a mirror demon and a heart demon, or Long Yin’s earlier attempts to scare him, Feng Qingyun couldn’t help feeling a sudden jolt of unease the moment he locked eyes with his reflection. A creeping sense of dread climbed up from within, as he immediately looked away, lowering his voice to question Long Yin: “Didn’t you say this city’s Lord was a mirror demon? Why is he now a heart demon as well? Are you trying to fool me again?”
“He is a mirror demon. How can that be considered fooling you?” Long Yin answered, completely unbothered by the fact that they were discussing someone else’s secrets while standing inside that very person’s house. “A heart demon is simply a product born of the vessel it clings to. You really think it exists independently?”
He didn’t seem concerned in the least that offending the host might get them killed.
“When the mirror demon reflected his own heart demon within himself…” Long Yin continued, with a philosophical tone, “…then tell me, according to your esteemed opinion, who do you think is the real heart demon between the two?”
There was a vague profundity to his words. Feng Qingyun stared at him for three seconds before flatly responding: “I don’t know.”
Long Yin couldn’t help but laugh. Leaning in, he recited: “Body is the Bodhi tree, the mind is like a bright mirror’s stand. Always3…ow!”
Feng Qingyun reached out with a blank expression and pinched his cheek. “Cut the nonsense!” he said. “What’s the deal with this city’s Lord? And according to you, heart demons can’t exist independently?”
“Of course not. If the vessel dies, the heart demon vanishes too.” Long Yin seized the moment to lean in and steal a kiss. “So, replacing it is impossible. That part was just me teasing you. At most, one could…”
Reaching this point, he trailed off without finishing the sentence.
Feng Qingyun’s throat moved slightly as he continued his unfinished words: “…Imprison the body and take over in its place.”
Long Yin kissed him again and chuckled. “As expected of my Little Rose. So clever.”
Feng Qingyun opened his mouth as if to say something, but ended up silent. He didn’t even bother reacting to that kiss. Though he wasn’t the type to constantly preach about saving the world like Mu Hanyang, that didn’t mean he had no principles.
On the contrary, there had always been a clear line in Feng Qingyun’s heart.
If things truly were as Long Yin described, if a heart demon had seized power and imprisoned its original vessel, and the Demon Emperor knew it yet did nothing… Then… In truth, that would be no different from the typical ruthlessness of the Demonic Path.
Still, since nothing had been confirmed yet, Feng Qingyun chose to trust Long Yin for now. “The one Ming Jingtai referred to as him… is the real Lord of this city?”
However, Long Yin shook his head while answering: “From beginning to end, the only true ruler of this city is the heart demon you just saw.”
No word of the City of Mirrors’ Lord being a heart demon had ever leaked to the outside world, yet Long Yin spoke as if he’d known all along. As the Demon Emperor, he clearly knew things others didn’t.
Feng Qingyun couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity, asking: “What do you mean?”
But this time around, Long Yin said nothing, only arching a brow at him.
It was practically a silent signal. Feng Qingyun bit his lower lip, glared at him for three seconds, and finally leaned in with clear frustration to kiss him. “…Fine. Now talk!”
Long Yin gave a brief laugh and kissed him back a few times, not pulling away until he’d thoroughly taken advantage. “Once you see his vessel, everything will become clear.”
Feng Qingyun froze for a moment, then exploded in indignation. “…How is that any different from not saying anything?!”
“As a righteous cultivator, does the Little Palace Master not understand the importance of respecting others’ privacy?” Long Yin somehow managed to make even the most evident lie sound perfectly reasonable. “Since he avoids mentioning the past, shouldn’t this Lord wait until he permits telling you?”
Feng Qingyun’s head began to ache at the sheer absurdity of Long Yin’s excuse. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to grind his teeth into dust… Or slap his man across the face.
But after weighing the pros and cons, he gave up.
In the end, Feng Qingyun just turned his face away, tone icy as he said: “Then hold it in for the rest of your life! How about you take that secret to your grave?”
With that, he flung Long Yin’s hand aside and turned to leave.
Seeing his reaction, Long Yin finally behaved himself. He quickly caught up and slung an arm around Feng Qingyun’s shoulder, stifling a laugh as he coaxed in a low voice: “Alright, alright, this Lord was wrong. Don’t be mad, don’t be mad.” But just when he seemed to be making progress, Long Yin suddenly changed tack again, adopting a mysterious tone as he whispered: “Do you know where Ming Jingtai’s vessel is being imprisoned?”
Feng Qingyun snorted, shoving his hand off again. “Why should I care?!”
“Beneath this very city.” Long Yin hooked his arm around him once more. “That’s why all the mirrors here can reflect heart demons…”
“…The closer one is to the vessel, the purer the reflections become.”
Long Yin really was a good storyteller. Not just in his choice of words, but in the way he changed his tone, guiding the listener’s thoughts. Feng Qingyun was quickly distracted by his explanation and forgot most of his anger, as the Demon Emperor continued patiently: “Even if the whole ‘severing the three corpses’ theory is just conjecture, the fact that heart demons can manifest here makes this place an excellent opportunity for introspection and insight.”
Feng Qingyun’s brows twitched. Somehow, everything sounded vaguely familiar. “This is a bit like the fox clan’s dream technique…”, he said.
“Similar, but different. Fox dreams only show a person’s inner obsession. They can’t distinguish true from false, let alone communicate with it.” Long Yin, who likely understood illusions even better than the foxes, spoke with conviction. “True introspection requires more than seeing your inner self. It demands dialogue with your own attachments. That’s what we call self-reference.”
“So…” Long Yin finally laid his cards on the table. “A once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Little Palace Master, would you like to give it a try?”
So after all of that, his man just wanted to see whether he had a heart demon! And if so, what exactly was it?
“…You make it sound so convincing.” Feng Qingyun, now seasoned from being tricked by him too many times, didn’t believe a word of it. He sneered coldly as he continued: “Why don’t you try it first?”
To his surprise, Long Yin only gave a low chuckle. With one arm still slung around Feng Qingyun, he led them both to the floor-length mirror and, without hesitation, raised his hand and pressed it to the surface.
A flicker of demonic Qi passed from his fingertips into the mirror.
Feng Qingyun had only spoken on impulse. He never expected the Demon Emperor to actually do it, so his heart gave a sharp jolt. Worried the mirror might be dangerous, he instinctively reached out to stop him, but in the next instant, the surface of the mirror suddenly lit up.
Feng Qingyun froze.
He had assumed that, as the leader of all demons and someone who had once cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness, Long Yin couldn’t possibly harbor a heart demon at all.
But he had been completely, utterly wrong.
As the glow within the mirror gradually faded, an expansive, mist-shrouded celestial palace emerged. And the moment he recognized what was being reflected, Feng Qingyun stood there, stunned. Long Yin’s heart demon…
Was the scene of Feng Qingyun and Mu Hanyang’s wedding.
Feng Qingyun’s first reaction was disbelief, but immediately afterward, a strange sense of inevitability washed over him. That specific scene, he had lived through it not once, but twice in this lifetime and the last. Even though the reflection played in silence, he knew that the next moment would be the sounding of the three bells and the formal start of the wedding ceremony.
There wasn’t a single sound in the entire mansion. Only the mirror played out, silently, a Daoist wedding ritual.
Feng Qingyun watched himself, dressed in vibrant ceremonial robes, as he step by step ascended the heavenly staircase. The scene was all too familiar, stirring something indescribable deep inside. But before that feeling could fully take root, just as he stood beside Mu Hanyang before the Heavenly Cauldron, the direction of the scene took a sharp turn, one entirely different from what had happened in this life.
In the heart demon’s version, Feng Qingyun hadn’t torn off his wedding robe at all.
Instead, he had genuinely gone through with the ceremony. Together with Mu Hanyang, he had offered incense before the Heavenly Cauldron.
Feng Qingyun, standing outside the mirror, watched himself descend the staircase with a beaming smile on his face, joy radiating from every inch of his being, as if his dearest wish had come true.
He blinked, stunned.
Then, like a sudden downpour upon still waters, realization struck.
That was clearly the wedding scene from his previous life!
The ripple of recognition crashed into his heart as he snapped his gaze toward Long Yin, asking incredulously: “You?!”
But the man said nothing, only lowering his eyes to look at him.
In that instant, everything became clear to Feng Qingyun. All the subtle oddities, all the lingering questions, had all originated from here.
That infuriating man had already remembered their past life!
But now that the truth had finally surfaced, Feng Qingyun found his voice oddly hoarse. For a moment, he couldn’t even speak as an overwhelming wave of bitterness surged within him. So he simply acted on instinct, reaching out and gripping Long Yin’s neck tightly. It was only after a long while that he finally managed to speak, his voice trembling: “…When did you remember?”
Long Yin held him gently and answered softly: “From the moment of our dual cultivation.”
“So you lied to me again…” Feng Qingyun drew in a deep breath, repeating the words one by one. “You lied to me again… you bastard!”
“How is that a lie?” Long Yin smiled as he kissed his eyes, which were now ablaze with anger. “You never asked. At most, this Lord just didn’t volunteer the truth.”
“Stop twisting my words!” Feng Qingyun gritted his teeth. “This is the third time you’ve lied to me!”
Long Yin raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Planning to kill your husband and ascend to heaven once you reach ten?”
Feng Qingyun was fuming and about to unleash another outburst when suddenly, he froze.
A strange ripple of spiritual energy stirred behind him.
He stood motionless for three whole seconds before he realized what it was. Then, like a porcelain doll, he slowly turned his head and stared in disbelief…
…At the figure stepping out from the mirror.
A figure identical to Long Yin.
So the rumors were true. The City of Mirrors really could manifest heart demons as tangible beings. That was Long Yin’s heart demon, materialized from an obsession so deep it had taken on physical form.
The figure said nothing as it approached from behind. And then, he placed a hand on the back of Feng Qingyun’s neck.
At that moment, Feng Qingyun was still nestled in Long Yin’s embrace.
The air seemed to still, the atmosphere suddenly turning deathly silent.
- The sanshi (Chinese: 三尸; pinyin: sānshī; trans. “Three Corpses”) or sanchong (Chinese: 三蟲; pinyin: sānchóng; trans. “Three Worms”) are a Daoist physiological belief that demonic creatures live inside the human body, and they seek to hasten the death of their host. These three supernatural parasites allegedly enter the person at birth and reside in the three Dantian “energy centers”, respectively located within the head, chest, and abdomen. After their human host dies, they are freed from the body and become malevolent ghosts. For a Daoist adept to achieve the longevity of a xian “transcendent; immortal”, it was necessary to expel the Three Corpses from the body. Since these evil spirits feed upon decaying matter produced by grains being digested in the intestines, the practice of bigu, “abstinence from grains and cereals”, is the first step towards expelling them. Bigu alone will not eliminate the Three Corpses, but weakens them to the point where they can be killed with waidan alchemical drugs such as cinnabar, and ultimately eliminated through neidan meditation techniques. ↩︎
- 菩提本無樹，明鏡亦非臺; 本來無一物，何處惹塵埃, pinyin: Pútí běn wú shù, míngjìng yì fēi tái; běnlái wú yī wù, hé chù rě chén’āi. A verse belonging to Huineng, included in the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch(Chinese: 六祖壇經; pinyin: Liùzǔ Tánjīngor or simply: 壇經 Tánjīng) is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The “platform” (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher speaks. It is a repository of early Chan teachings, centering on the notion of the Buddha-nature, which is “only made invisible to ordinary humans by their illusions.” Notably, in Chan Buddhism, it is the only Chinese Buddhist text that is explicitly referred to as a “Sutra,” emphasizing its central importance in the canon. ↩︎
- “Body is the Bodhi tree, the mind is like a bright mirror’s stand. Always strive to wipe it clean. Do not let it gather dust.” Another verse from The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, belonging to Shenxiu. Huineng’s verse of “There is no Bodhi-tree, nor stand of a bright mirror. Since all is void, where does the dust arise?” Comes in response to this verse. ↩︎
Leave a Reply