Along the way, she passed through countless illusory realms created by Greed, Anger, Ignorance, Arrogance, and Doubt, finally arriving at the foot of “Self-Nature Mountain.” At the base of the mountain, many men and women were gathered. They were dressed strangely, with bizarre hairstyles; most of the women were nearly naked, their bodies painted with various patterns in oil. They stood in orderly lines in a square.
Dabei walked up to an undressed woman and asked, “What are you doing?”
The woman glanced at her sideways and said impatiently, “Haven’t you heard? The Great King returns from a long journey today and will pass through here with his Beautiful Consort to give a speech.”
Just as the woman finished speaking, cheers and sharp whistles erupted across the square. A small silver-grey airship landed in the middle of the square. Many people retreated to the sides, leaving Dabei standing right next to the craft.
The door of the airship opened, and several men dressed in black stepped out. Everyone in the square immediately knelt. Dabei knelt as well and stole a glance. She saw a tall man, handsome but cold-faced, holding a scepter that flashed with green light. Her Divine Mirror of Heaven immediately reflected a hideous, monstrous face. “This must be the Demon King!” she thought.
The Demon King surveyed his kneeling subjects arrogantly and said, “Greetings. Not many have come to the square today; I know many of my subjects are gloriously participating in wars. This year, our Demon World has launched ten wars across various illusory realms. Each war is fought to defend and spread the truth and freedom of our Demon World. We have successfully established various organizations in other realms, which play a key role in spreading our truth. When all illusory realms vanish and we truly become the masters of this planet, the world will be beautiful. At that time, all the poison in you can be completely removed!”
“We must destroy the illusory realms! We will be detoxified!” many of the demon-spawn began to shout excitedly.
Then, a guard brought three people before the Demon King and whispered something to him. The Demon King laughed loudly: “Subjects, these three have committed treason! They dared to spread the rumor that poison cannot be removed in our world. How should we punish them?”
“Burn them! Burn them!” Hysterical cries rose from the crowd.
Dabei’s life identifier suddenly went off. Using her Divine Mirror, she saw that one of them was a rescue team member. She was frantic, not knowing what to do.
“Great King, spare them from the fire!” a delicate voice rang out. The airship door opened again, and a woman of magnificent beauty and lavish dress stepped out. The life identifier went off again; the Divine Mirror reflected the shadow of Duoli. “Heavens! It’s Duoli!”
“Duoli!” Dabei blurted out. The woman heard the call and turned gracefully, smiling at Dabei. She was so beautiful that her smile could enchant anyone. She walked straight to the Demon King’s side as the crowd gasped.
“Consort, why have you come down?” Tenderness appeared in the Demon King’s cold eyes.
“Great King, today is my birthday, have you forgotten? I wish for no fire executions today.”
“Consort, how could I forget your birthday? But these people must be punished today. They cling to heretical teachings. I will use my demon fire to bless them, transforming them into higher life forms in the fire so they may understand the truth of the Demon World and gain eternal life!”
“Great King, I am learning the ways of transcending others. Why not leave one prisoner for me to take back to the palace and slowly convert him?” The woman spoke with immense charm.
The Demon King hesitated and said, “Fine. But these people are heavily poisoned with heresy; you must be careful.”
The woman immediately pulled the rescue member aside. The Demon King gave a cold laugh, and Dabei suddenly saw his face turn dark green. Indigo flames sprouted from his head, and his eyes became like black holes, terrifying beyond measure. With a “Whoosh,” two fire snakes erupted from his mouth, and the other two prisoners were instantly turned to ash amidst their screams. The Demon King sucked the fire back into his mouth. After a moment of concentration, he became calm and cold again, as if nothing had happened.
The crowd cheered, many jumping with excitement. “The King is wise! The King’s demon power is boundless!” The Demon King waved to the crowd and prepared to leave. The people prostrated themselves again to see him off. As the woman passed Dabei, she called out, “Duoli! Duoli!” The woman tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“Duoli, I am Dabei.” At that moment, the Demon King noticed this and his gaze pierced Dabei like two swords. Suddenly, his pupils began to rotate and dilate, emitting a ghostly green light. Dabei felt the world spinning. “It’s demon poison!” she thought. The Mani Jewel began to rotate, rapidly absorbing the Demon King’s light, and she felt a bit of relief.
“Consort, do you know her?” “I seem to have seen her somewhere, but I cannot recall…” “Bring her back to the palace,” the Demon King signaled to his attendants.
Dabei felt a secret joy. “If I pass through the Demon Palace, I can reach Self-Nature Mountain!”
Dabei entered the silver-grey airship with the Demon King. The takeoff and flight were silent. Sitting in the dreamlike cabin made one’s consciousness feel fragmented and ethereal, like traveling through a space-time tunnel. Scarcely feeling the passage of time, the airship landed smoothly.
Stepping out, Dabei saw the magnificent Demon Palace. It was breathtaking! The entire palace reflected strange lights, constantly changing its color and shape. She couldn’t see where the door was. Suddenly, music erupted, and a door opened in the very center of the palace. A red light-strip covered in flowers extended from the door. Voices wishing a happy birthday rang out in the air, with flowers and gold leaves flying, strange lights flashing, and exotic beasts appearing and disappearing…
Suddenly, all sounds and images stopped, leaving only beautiful music playing. The Demon King embraced his consort and stepped onto the red light-strip; Dabei followed them into the palace.
“Let this woman stay in the room next to mine and the Consort’s,” the Demon King told the approaching demon maids.
“Yes, Great King.” Several demon maids escorted Dabei into a luxurious room filled with rare treasures reflecting brilliant lights. A bed encrusted with jewels sat in the center of the room, emitting a green mist.
“You may all leave,” Dabei said to the maids. “We cannot leave until you have slept. Those who stay in this room are the King’s honored guests; we dare not be negligent.”
“I will rest now.” Dabei lay down on the bed. As soon as she did, she smelled a strange fragrance that seeped into her heart and lungs. Her body instantly became weak, and her head began to swim. “Demon poison!” The Mani Jewel began to rotate, absorbing the toxic mist from the bed. But she was unable to speak or move her limbs, and she quickly fell into a deep sleep.
“Wake up! Wake up!” After an unknown amount of time, Dabei was awakened by urgent shouting. Simultaneously, a few drops of cool water flowed into her mouth, and she woke up immediately.
A beautiful woman stood by her bed. “It’s Duoli!” Dabei excitedly grabbed her hand.
“Who are you? I am not called Duoli; everyone calls me the Beautiful Consort.”
“Duoli, do you remember the King of Many Treasures? Do you remember your rescue mission? I am Dabei!”
“You are Dabei?” she said in pleasant surprise. Tears flowed from her eyes. “I have finally waited for you. Yesterday I thought you were just an ordinary rescue member. The Demon King told me he saw a jewel on you and brought you back to take it. He said it didn’t seem to be a treasure of our planet, so I guessed you were sent by King Duobao.”
“Duoli, how did you fall into the Demon Illusion?”
“All our rescue members were poisoned, and we couldn’t find a cure. I heard the Demon King had many pills, so I found a way to become his consort. He dotes on me and gave me many pills, saying they would make me immortal. They do have detoxifying effects, so I have less of the five poisons in me, but I have been infected by a new demon poison. If I leave the range of the Demon King’s power, I will die. My life identifier is not rusted, so I recognize our members when the demon poison isn’t flaring up. I sent many distress signals… now that you are here, there is hope!” As she spoke, she smiled through her tears.
“Duoli, I must cross the Demon Palace as soon as possible to find the Divine Being on Self-Nature Mountain. Only he can help us detoxify. Do you know the way from the palace to the mountain?”
“The palace is filled with demon poisons. Look at this bed—it is a ‘toxic passion’ formed by the poison of Ignorance under demon power. You were just afflicted by it; if I hadn’t given you the Water of Forgetfulness, you would have slept here for a long time. But that is not what’s terrifying. I can lead you through the palace, but only the Demon King knows the door to Self-Nature Mountain.” Duoli lowered her head in worry.
“Don’t worry. If I can’t find the door, I’ll find a way to leave first,” Dabei comforted her. “Wait, I have it!” Duoli suddenly became excited. “Dabei, there is a door in the backyard of the palace that should lead to the mountain, but I have never seen it open.”
Sweat dripped from Duoli’s forehead. Dabei knew she was anxious and the demon poison was flaring up, turning her face bright red. She comforted her: “Duoli, don’t be too tense. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must try. Think carefully, has the Demon King ever shown a key to that door?”
“The Demon King does have a snake-shaped key he keeps close to him. I asked what it was for, and he just smiled and didn’t answer. I suspect it’s the key to that door.”
“Duoli, if the Demon King wakes up, I won’t be able to leave. Go steal the key and let’s try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.”
“Alright.” Duoli left the room. A moment later, she returned with a large snake-shaped key. Then, she led Dabei quickly toward the backyard. To avoid heavily poisoned areas, they encountered some demon maids, but seeing it was the Consort, they respectfully stepped aside.
They soon arrived at the door. Although it was night, the backyard was brightly lit. Above the door were two words: “The Gate of Goodness” (Shan Men). Dabei found it somewhat ironic. “Even the Demon Illusion has a Gate of Goodness!” Looking closely, the door appeared to be a smooth giant stone with no visible cracks.
Dabei composed herself and let the Mani Jewel rotate. A piercing light shot toward the Gate of Goodness, and the door began to emit a low, rumbling sound. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed. Dabei shouted, “Look out!”
It was too late. A massive python lunged from above the door, coiling around Duoli and opening its maw to bite her face. Duoli instinctively thrust the key into the snake’s mouth.
A long, strange hiss came from the snake, followed by a jet of foul, toxic water that sprayed all over Duoli.
“Consort!” The Demon King suddenly appeared in the air. He grabbed the snake’s head and tore it into several pieces in an instant, then picked up the dying Duoli. “Consort!” he cried out in desperation. Duoli opened her eyes, her face pale and her breathing shallow.
“Consort, why would you come here?”
“Great King… she is my friend. I wanted to send her to the mountain… I wanted to open this door. Great King, I am dying. Please promise me not to hurt my friend… you already have so many treasures…” As she spoke, her lips and face turned black.
“Consort, use your will to protect your heart! The poison is invading your heart!” the Demon King panicked. “Great… King… you… must… open… the… door… let… my… friend… go,” Duoli said with great effort, then closed her eyes.
“Duoli!” Dabei began to cry.
“Consort, this door has no key! That key you took is for the palace treasury. This door has always existed but has never opened. The Snake King lived in the hole of this door, and its poison is the deadliest in the Demon World! It has reached your heart; even my demon power cannot save you.” At this, the Demon King actually collapsed over Duoli, crying like a child, pressing his mouth to hers to try and suck out the poison.
Suddenly, with a thunderous roar, the words “Gate of Goodness” emitted ten thousand rays of golden light, illuminating the entire palace. The door was slowly opening within the golden light. Dabei understood instantly: the Demon King’s genuine emotion, his willingness to risk the poison to save his consort, his momentary selflessness and love had finally opened the Gate of Goodness.
She looked at the Demon King, who was focused entirely on saving Duoli. Duoli remained motionless, her life hanging by a thread. Thinking of her mission, Dabei said silently, “Farewell, Duoli. When I find the Divine Being, I will come back for you.” She then vanished through the Gate of Goodness. Upon touching the golden light, all the demon poison in her body vanished. After a few steps, she heard the door slam shut with a “Boom,” followed by the heart-wrenching wails of the Demon King from the other side.
“Duoli!” Dabei knew Duoli had passed away. Even though it was an illusory realm and her Divine Mirror showed Duoli transforming into countless beautiful white lotuses, the five poisons still surged in her heart, and her tears flowed like a spring.