1 Chapter 1

– Gods exist as long as they are worshipped, – the narrator repeated meaningfully to impress his listeners. – I learned this as a child. Grandfather used to talk about how in the old days, when people forgot to worship the Gods, their power weakened.

Of course, we can't harm the Great Immortals, but we can imprison them in oblivion. As soon as the temples are destroyed and their followers dispersed, the Gods will lose the source of their power, and we will be able to live in peace without bowing our heads to anyone.

– And the demons? – asked the young maid. – If we abandon the Gods, who will protect us from the demons?

– It's true, – the jiaozi merchant agreed. – A lot of people have disappeared recently. Rumor has it that they were all abducted by lower demons serving Tan Lan De[1]. Only the Gods know what has become of these unfortunate people, and whether they are still alive.

– I heard the fire demon is going to make war on the water demon! – the maid interrupted, – that's why Tan Lan De needs mortals. No other way than he's going to turn them into demons in order to gather as many soldiers as possible.

– Stupid girl, – the owner of the tavern slammed down a half-empty bottle of wine on the counter. – How do you know about the high demon's plans? Besides, Tan Lan De won't be able to turn a human into a demon. The mortal essence cannot be changed at will, otherwise we would all have ascended to Heaven by now.

– It's not like that, – said the caster in a nondescript gray hanfu, sitting to the left of the audience. – Apparently, you don't know about... – he paused slightly... – the scarlet immortal.

Surprised exclamations were heard from all sides.

– The Scarlet Immortal? – the maid asked. – I've never heard of such a person before, sir. Can you tell us about him?

Clearing his throat, the caster took a sip of fragrant tea.

– Rumor has it, – he said softly, as if fearing something or someone, – that more than a hundred years ago, the Demon Lord declared war on the Heavenly Lord, and their troops converged against each other on the territory of the northwest lands.

Many Gods and demons died in that fight, sprinkling their blood on the frozen ground. When the Demon Lord pierced the heart of the Flower Goddess Zi Fu, there was so much blood that it flowed down the dried-up bed of the Bai He River[2], mixing with the blood of the slain demons.

Soon the immortals heard the baby crying. On the ground, strewn with flakes of snow, a child was lying, constantly twitching his arms and legs. His body, pink from the cold, was covered from ankles to wrists with a strange pattern in the form of a scattering of branches intertwined with each other, and his eyes – one crimson-red, and the other golden, were fixed on the Demon Lord, to whom the baby smiled through tears.

The Heavenly Lord considered the appearance of the baby a good sign and suggested that the Demon Lord conclude a truce.

– This child will bind the two warring parties, serving as an unbreakable contract, – he said. – The baby was born thanks to the blood of the dead, and his birth marks the beginning of life.

After the reconciliation, the baby, whom unanimously decided to call Aoi, disappeared somewhere: some of the immortals realized that he could be useful, and decided to raise him on their own. Until recently, Aoi's whereabouts were unknown, but last year rumors spread in the north that the scarlet immortal first appeared in the human world.

– Do you think he can turn them into demons? – asked the innkeeper.

– Not only that. Born from the blood of demons and the Goddess Zi Fu, the scarlet immortal has no essence of his own, –the caster replied. – But using the essence of the living and the dead, he can create anything, even a new Heavenly Lord.

– It turns out he's about a hundred years old, – the merchant said thoughtfully. – But isn't it strange that he decided to show up just now?

– He's looking for something, – the caster nervously tugged at his sleeve with the fingers of his left hand. – I think he needs a black mirror.

The crowd roared, going berserk. Surrounding the caster, people eagerly listened to his words. Even though they did not understand the full meaning of what was said, one thing was very clear to them: the fragments of the black demonic mirror began to appear again, which marks the beginning of the war.

[1] Tan Lan De – greedy.

[2]Bai he – is a white river.