After the Celestial Demon disappeared, everyone turned into Celestial Demons.
This is precisely the state of the Heaven of Transfiguration and Freedom, and it is also the goal of those demons.
Mara is one of them and is the closest among those demons to this goal.
Mara is the seventh son of Posun, inheriting the ability of the Bosun Celestial Demon to invert heaven and earth, with true strength second only to the three witches Teli Xi Na, Luoti, and Luojia.
However, aside from those three witches, no one knows the true power of Mara.
As for those three witches?
They had already fled the Heaven of Transfiguration and Freedom in panic when the Primordial Celestial Demon appeared in the world, and no one knows their whereabouts.
This led directly to the belief among all the demons that Mara had gone mad upon leaving Toli Heaven, daring to attempt to traverse the Heaven of Transfiguration and Freedom in true form, descending to the world.
"But I succeeded, even leaving my name on the ’Book of Life and Death’."
In an endless abyss somewhere in the South Sea, Mara, whose body gathered and scattered like rolling black smoke, laughed.
Before Mara at this moment, a page of the Book of Life and Death emitting a sinister black light was unfolding.
On this page of the Book of Life and Death, a string of names was gradually disappearing, and in their place, the word "Mara" was faintly appearing.
Mara knows that as soon as his name fully appears on this page of the Book of Life and Death,
he can legitimately enter and exit the Netherworld and even have the qualification for reincarnation, becoming a deity of the underworld.
By then, he will no longer be a Demon King formed from the desires of all beings, but a true living being.
"I owe all this to you, Miaoshan."
The swirling black smoke formed into the shape of a human, as Mara turned to look at Miaoshan behind him.
At this moment, Miaoshan’s condition looked quite dire.
All over her body weird and deformed human-faced sores grew, which struggled and wailed in agony, just like real people.
"You didn’t keep your promise. You clearly promised me to let them go."
The female face at the front showed an expression of compassion as Miaoshan’s voice was filled with suppressed sadness.
"Didn’t you break your promise too?"
"Deliberately bringing the interference of the Seven Stars of the South at the climax of my ritual, forcing me to prematurely transform into a ghostly god."
"Too bad that the Seven Stars of the South were overrated..."
"With just a simple ruse, I tricked those fools away."
At this point, Mara’s voice paused slightly before continuing.
"Besides, you called me a demon and still believed in a demon’s promise?"
With a slight look of disbelief on his face, Mara’s voice was without a hint of mockery.
Mara did not believe Miaoshan could not see through his lies, yet she still willingly walked into the trap he set.
It couldn’t be called wise, but certainly not foolish either.
"You want to live, and they want to live, that’s all there is."
"In my eyes, there’s no difference between you and them."
Mara had encountered many beings who prided themselves as sages and saints.
As a Demon King born of desire, Mara had seen too much hypocrisy.
He also knew just how ugly and ridiculous those who considered themselves sages and saints were when faced with true life-and-death decisions.
Yet precisely because of this, Mara could hear the sincerity and earnestness in Miaoshan’s words.
She was completely different from those self-proclaimed sages and saints; she genuinely wanted to save everyone from the bottom of her heart.
"If I didn’t know your background, I would almost suspect that you were one of those Buddha Bodhisattvas formed by Right Mindfulness."
After a brief silence, Mara deliberately lowered his voice.
Miaoshan wasn’t naive to the point of foolishness; she had survived disasters and hardships.
Whether it was protecting villagers by opposing Buyan Huyu and Tian Wu or cultivating the Purple Bamboo Forest at Putuo Mountain, her decisiveness, wisdom, and foresight were evident.
Yet precisely because of this, Mara couldn’t comprehend Miaoshan’s current choice.
"Rest assured, I am a Demon King, not a devil."
"I did not break my promise; they are indeed all still alive..."
As he said this, Mara’s gaze swept over the human-faced sores covering Miaoshan.
They were all from the southern sea’s alien races who fell under Mara’s influence.
If it were any ordinary demon, they would surely have completely assimilated these fallen beings, turning them into manifestations of themselves.
However, Mara had loftier ambitions, thinking little of these ordinary manifestations.
Thus, he manipulated these fallen beings to cultivate the Ghost Secret Technique, eventually creating this Ghostly God body.
Compared to the Four-armed Demon God that Ghost Owl transformed into back then, Mara now was clearly more powerful.
After all, the Ghost Owl had barely completed her transformation by devouring the power of Oxhead.
Today’s Mara, far superior to Ghost Owl in every way, had iterated the Ghost Secret Technique through his deductions, now with a higher ceiling.
As for those alien races of the South Sea who were led astray by Mara?
One could only say that without Miaoshan’s intervention, they would have long been devoured and sacrificed by Mara.
Even so, from their current plight, perhaps death would truly be a release for them.
"You’re also a hypocrite!"
"Do you know that if it weren’t for your obstinance, they could have been free long ago."
"And I would be able to replace their existence, heading to the Underworld as a newborn Ghostly God, possibly even serving as a Deity of the Underworld."
That was Mara’s original plan, but it was all ruined by Miaoshan.
Helplessly, Mara had to first use the Mutton Fat Jade Purification Bottle’s power to trap Oxhead and Horseface.
He no longer pretended to be a newborn Ghostly God, but forcefully wrote his name into the Book of Life and Death.
Although the risk of doing so was immense, the benefit was that no one could tell his authenticity anymore.
Mara was gambling, gambling that his plan would ultimately succeed.
By then, the apparent "truth" would be that Miaoshan killed the Demon King from the Heaven of Transfiguration and Freedom and then sacrificed herself to redeem the alien races of the South Sea corrupted by him.
While in the shadows, he would gain the freedom to come and go in the Netherworld, able to gradually seize and steal the Yin Celestial Monarch’s power.
"Ultimately, if it weren’t for your interference, none of this would have escalated to this point."
With a gradually fierce look in his eyes, Mara’s voice lowered.
"To make the play seem more real, I now have to kill even more living beings."
"Finally, I will rescue Oxhead and Horseface in your guise, then join Fengdu Ghost City to become a true Deity of the Underworld."
Almost as if in confirmation of Mara’s words, a face slowly appeared behind Miaoshan’s head.
Add in her original three faces, and now she appeared as a four-faced, eight-armed figure covered with human-faced sores.
"You will not succeed."
Gently closing her eyes, Miaoshan no longer debated with Mara.
Mara’s series of plans depended on one major prerequisite—replacing Miaoshan.
If this crucial prerequisite wasn’t fulfilled, no matter how brilliant Mara’s subsequent plans were, they would have been nothing but tall tales and castles in the air.
"I’ve already trapped Oxhead and Horseface and exhausted the power of the Seven Stars..."
"Next, no one will appear to interfere with my plans. I have ample time and energy to slowly grind down with you."
"Truthfully, from the perspective of mortals and even the Gods, your will and faith have surpassed most existences."
"But alas, I am the Seventh Son of the Celestial Demon, the future master of the Heaven of Transfiguration and Freedom!"
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