"You have disappointed me, Han Li." said a voice from behind him, filled with a profound loathing. Making Han Li's scalp tingle. He swiftly turned around like a blur and glanced at the man standing behind him. His heart immediately started beating heavily.

It was a man wearing a black martial robe, his hair a long fall of white, his skin a pale caramel and his hands bloody. His eyes, as red as crimson blood.

"Surprised?" The man asked, his voice barely suppressing his fury, "Were the 500 years of grueling training just so you could be surprised at a disaster you called out yourself?"

Han Li's eyes trembled slightly. The man in front of him was familiar to him. His robes which were once white but had turned black due to the tremendous amount of blood he had washed the lands with were nothing new to him — it was he himself.

The him just after the Transcendance War. The Red-Eyed Demon, Han Li. He frowned and looked at the black-robed version of himself. "So the mirror directly reflects my own self-image? Is this my heart?"

The man looked at him with dead fish eyes. Not replying to such worthless questions.

"Let me tell you another of the mirror's attributes instead. One that is not as widespread as the other details. If you fail in this reflection, you will have at least 10 times the difficulty in raising Cultivation Stages." The man chuckled, his overbearing voice making the birds scatter.

Han Li only stared coldly at him. Himself or whoever, no one was allowed to barr his path.

"Look at that face." The man walked closer and Han Li didn't try to walk away. "Those cold eyes, I know those. Determined, and faithful to the hard path you have to tread. Those are my eyes but they no longer fit you, Deep down, you know it too right?"

Han Li's eyes never left the man's gaze. The reflection continued, "The man I was is not you. I am not one to accumulate a bunch of trash and burdens that will only make my path harder." The gaze burned into him.

"You're growing mellow Han Li, you are growing away from what you are meant to be. We're Demons, people who will kill their own parents to achieve their goals. Don't you remember the days when I — ah not I — YOU! Don't you remember the days you killed little kids, barely at the age to talk, in cold blood to reach your goals?"

Han Li didn't even blink. He had killed innocents before and he would still kill if they were harmful to him. It was the basic law of survival, there was no place for emotions there.

The illusion snickered and continued, "Yet that you are here, putting more burdens into your heart. You started to have affection for that Liyue girl too, right? What a joke! Yue Li was one thing I could understand, but you came all the way to the past to actually add more burdens instead of finally improving your chances of reaching that sacred goal?"

Han Li's eyes grew deep and thoughtful. His hands clenched slightly.

"Ah! HOW embarrassing, you always say you want to control life and death and achieve Eternal Life, and that's how you do it? Laughable! Do you think that kind of goal is something you can achieve…" its voice turned as cold as ice, "without sacrificing everything, prove your heart to me Han Li, is your heart clear? Is it still the same Heart of Cultivation that strived to achieve your goal while keeping your mother at your side? Have you not… strayed from the path?"

Han Li's face darkened a bit as he glared at the reflection. Indeed, he had strayed from the path he had once sworn to walk. In his past life, the number of people he felt affection for was numerous.

The girls he felt he had to protect were not just his mother. But he had cut all affection away from his heart and sworn to revive Yue Li and become an Eternal being with her before once again letting his heart free. But had he become an Eternal Being?

Had he made sure Yue Li or even both of them did not die this time?

He didn't even have another chance. And still, he had chosen to bring more trouble to his life by allowing a budding affection for a girl to build up in him?

"Pathetic, right?" The Reflection faced him an inch away from his nose. "What will you do if Liyue dies this time? Cut affection for Yue Li to become a demon so you can once again attempt reaching the place where even your more resolute self couldn't?" 𝘧𝘳ℯ𝓮𝘸𝓮𝑏𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓁.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Han Li looked at it and sighed deeply. "I never thought the mirror was that useful. It really showed the fault in me. It really is a rare and beautiful treasure that is worthy of its renown."

The reflection raised an eyebrow. "You will cut your affection for her? Return to the path moving towards greatness?" "Maybe that too is a good choice…" Han Li sighed once more. Finally, he moved his gaze away from its eyes and to the direction where the distant sound of footsteps could be heard in his enhanced senses. "So you are not choosing to cut away emotions for others this time?" The reflection frowned deeply, a profound sensation of disappointment on its face.

Han Li smiled. "I killed many in my past life and maybe, unknowingly, I killed myself too. Do you know how lively my heart could be? Ah, you can't. Because I know you, your heart never beat when you saw cute actions from a woman after mom's death after all. But mine does now, maybe, I don't want to kill myself this life."

The reflection looked at him with an even more disappointed gaze. "You really have disappointed me, Han Li. Are cute women more important than your goals? Your cultivation?"

Han Li chuckled. "I never said that, did I?"

He spread his hands apart. "I just have to prepare more than I did the last life. I just have to kill more than I last did. I just have to be much more protective of the ones I care about. I just have to be… much, much stronger."

"Do you think true strength comes without sacrifices?" The reflection snarled.

How naive was he? Had he not seen the world at its core? Han Li chuckled. "I am a Demon, what do you think true demons are supposed to do?"

The reflection turned silent. That was true, he himself couldn't call the himself of his past life a 'true' demon.

"Speechless?" Han Li chuckled. "Yes, true demons follow their heart and do what it so desires."

The man looked at him, profoundly stunned. "Do you have that much belief in yourself?"

"Just as much belief as you have in yourself."

The reflection started fading away and the man looked at him deeply. The path of a true demon… "So you — No, I — chose this path this time. It will be much harder." With a sigh, the reflection vanished along the snowflakes in the clearing.

Path of a Demon was easy. Path of a true demon? It was harsh.

A Demon can be ruthless to all to achieve his goals. But a true demon will always have burdens in his heart that will only accumulate over time.

In the true world of reality, such burdens will be used by your enemies against you. They will be your fatal weakness.

Nevertheless, to willingly take it on and believe in oneself to be the final winner — that was a True Demon.

Han Li ignored the vanishing reflection and frowningly looked to the west. Footsteps grew closer and closer, and his face fell as a man came into his vision.

His heart dropped as the man noticed him.