Di Tian sat in a tent with a table and map, looking at the marching route of the army; he was not satisfied with his troops' performance. Nevertheless, they could still get the job done and activate his token.
'I still need good Generals to counter Li Jun and Tie Gang.'
Before the destruction of the Sleepers, he knew of these two troops–especially of Tie Gang's Undying Legion. However, back then, he cared only a little for a General and their troops since he did not think they would become that important. So, he only asked his Sleepers to keep their eyes on them and infiltrate their ranks if possible.
'All that work, gone in an instant.' Di Tian was still mad about that tremendous loss. Although he has rebuilt the Sleepers, they were nothing compared to their past selves.
While planning the next attack, he suddenly sensed something in the distance. 'Someone trying to lure me?' He sneered before walking out of the tent, heading in the direction he felt something.
Di Tian paused as he saw a beautiful woman bathing in the light of the moon, gazing at the sky. The tree next to her shaded from the freezing cold of the night wind, guarding her like an eternal protector.
"So perfect," he muttered under his breath, mesmerized by her aura. "Ning'er, is that you?" After leaving his seal, he tried to find her again, but to no avail.
"I thought you did not want to see me."
"I didn't want to, but here I am," replied Qiao Ning. Di Tian walked before her, holding her warm hand. He hesitantly raised his hand to caress her cheek–they were the same as he remembered, the exact same face he longed for.
"Something seems wrong. You seem weaker than when I last saw you."
Qiao Ning sighed out loud, "I did not want to tell you, but I don't have much time left."
"Your disappearing? I should have expected this; whatever obsession keeps you tethered to this mortal coil would not last forever."
"A sad truth, regrettably," replied Qiao Ning as she also caressed his face. "Before I leave, I wanted to see you one last time. To spent—" She blushed, which in fact, accentuated her perfect beauty. "One last night of passion."
"I cannot remember the last time I saw you so embarrassed," Di Tian stated with the most brilliant smile on his hundred million years of life.
"Don't make fun of me; you know I get shy."
"That's true." He gently kissed her, feeling the loss sensation of his youth; the last time he stroked her lips, he was nothing but a young, passionate, and arrogant late with no fear of the world and boundless hope and ambition for the future.
Di Tian waved his hand to isolate the surrounding area and clean the ground. Then, they took off their clothes and lost themselves in the bosom of passion, thrusting themselves into the abyss of longing. Their lust and passion lasted more than five hours before ending.
Di Tian stood up from the floor before slowly putting his clothes on; he did not rush or use spells or techniques to place them on magically. Once he finished, he turned around to look at Ning'er on the floor.
With a calm gaze, he watched as black smoke emanated from her body. He sighed.
"H-How did you know?" Lust could not believe she had failed twice in a row–especially when she reached so far with Di Tian.
"Longing is one of the most powerful things that exist," stated Di Tian calmly. "One time, I missed her so much that I began to dabble in Illusion to see her again. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, I could not recreate her.
"But you succeeded. I don't know how exactly, but you turned into my Ning'er."
He guessed she could reproduce things perfectly from his mind, but he was not entirely sure.
"If so, how did you know?" she asked, pain expressed all over her face.
"When I touched you and felt the warmth of your hand; when I sensed your heartbeat and the vitality in your face, I knew you were alive. I knew even the Ning'er Spirit was incapable of recreating such vividness."
Lust wanted to scream; she again failed because of such a ridiculous thing.
'No, not ridiculous: it's love. Something I always disdained as a Lust Devil.' Her life was always about unbridled and unrestrained passion, so the concept of love to her was nothing but a human emotion that she believed many species let themselves be slaved to.
"If you knew it was me, why did you bed me?" she asked as many parts of her body had dissipated.
"I am a very lonely man. After so many years, I could not resist the temptation," replied Di Tian, gazing directly into her eyes.
"Don't you feel any remorse? You've betrayed the woman you claim to love, the woman you supposedly would do anything for."
"I do feel remorseful. And when I see her again, I will confess my sin, and she will forgive me. After all, I am only human, and to err is part of my nature."
"Hahahahaaha," laughed Lust in a deranged voice. "You men are all the same. After getting what you want, you make all kinds of excuses."
Di Tian frowned, not angered by the mocking word but bothered by her vicious laugh that destroyed Ning'er demeanor and aura.
"You can think as such if it pleases you." Di Tian could tell this devil had some complicated story about love and desire. However, he did not care; his conscious was clear.
"Why do you have to kill me?" said Lust as she regained her calmness. "I can replace your Ning'er. No, I can just be a stand-in, and I'd be fine with that. You can treat me as a way to soothe your loneliness."
Di Tian squatted down to be at eye level with her. He caressed her face one more time.
"Your presence would be a constant reminder of my arrogance, pride, and my greatest failure." Di Tian's eyes became dazed as memories of that day flashed in his mind. After so many years, everything was still so vivid.
"More importantly, no matter what you did or how you look, I know you're not my Ning'er."
Lust wanted to scream, plead, or even throw a tantrum. However, she was too feeble to do anything else as most of her body was gone.
"I once met a primitive human tribe in a secret realm," said Di Tian with a reassuring voice. "They believed that death is a transition to a higher state of perfection, a way to achieve perfection. Maybe the process won't be as fearful if you think about it that way."
'Maybe,' thought Lust. She was about to experience true death, with her soul destroyed and incapable of entering Samsara. It would take a great deal of effort and power to revive her.
As she faded into nothingness, Lust thought about her life. Lust Devils live a life of depravity and sin. And if they are not powerful, a fate worse than death awaits them. Unfortunately, she was weak in her early years.
Things took a change for her when she met Sloth, and they desperately survived in this cruel world. Although there were many ups and downs, separations and reunions, they survived by depending on each other.
Then, everything changed once the Seven Deadly Sins Trial began. They competed against millions of the most talented devils with the best bloodlines. They survived and became the Supreme Rulers of the race, creating an era of peace and prosperity.
'When did everything go wrong?' thought Lust as her life flashed in her mind; she reviewed all her memories to find the answer.
'The trial. After having a taste of power, I could not handle it.'
She sighed mentally. In her last breath, she remembered Sloth's face. Her ambitions ruined the possibility of finding love like these two, to find someone who could recognize the real her because of a ridiculous reason.
'Maybe we devils are destined to have things like love and happiness.'
Lust died. She dissipated into nothingness.
"A suffering soul with a story," commented Di Tian with his usual cold and indifferent face. "The cultivation world does not lack those." He waved his hand to create an unnamed tomb for her before walking back to the barrage.
'The devil race could be the answer to my problem. These Seven Ultimate Kings would make perfect Generals.' He shook his head, disappointed he could not get much information from Lust's mind.
Wrath Territory:
She immediately sensed Lust's death and summoned a mirror to check. She sighed out loud, not angered or surprised by this outcome. On the contrary, she suspected this would be her fate.
'Lust, you were too influenced by the Seven Deadly Sins. You were too greedy for power to the point of being unsatiated, wrathful for what happened in your past, and too prideful after achieving a certain status and strength; you were doomed to fail.'
Wrath shook his head before focusing on the continent's map. "I need someone else to take her post in the formation."
Sloth Territory:
Wang Wei and the group sat by a bonfire, cooking their food over the flame.
"Could you imagine what sister-in-law would do to you if you laid a hand on her," said Li Jun.
"She would turn you into a eunuch," added Yan Liling.
"I'm sure she would understand," argued Wang Wei. "After all, she looked exactly like her; she could not blame me if I could not see through it."
"Do you think she would believe you could not see through it?"
"Well, I'm talking about a hypothetical situation."
"Even if she could understand, she would never completely forgive you," said Li Jun, looking at his wife with his side-eye, ensuring he did not make eye contact. "Every time you have a disagreement or argument, she would flaunt it on your face."
Wang Wei gave him a pitying look but did not say anything else to not get him in trouble; the poor guy has been suffering enough based on this wisdom he just dropped.
Then, he suddenly stopped cooking his food to look in the distance. "It's one thing after another these past few days."
