I'm Really Not an Ordinary Cloud

Yun Zhixu had her fortune told three times in her life.

The first two times yielded no results. She was told that her fate was beyond the reach of ordinary people, and that anyone who tried to divine it would be violating the laws of Heaven and meet a terrible end.

She assumed these mortals simply couldn't read the fate of a demon like her, and were making excuses.

The last time was when she entered the Underworld and met a god.

The god said, "Born extraordinary, bearing Heaven's mandate, with all laws at your command, you can attain the Great Dao."

Yun Zhixu didn't know what Heaven's mandate meant. She only knew that she had been born without a home or anyone to rely on, and had always longed to find her way back home.

The god told her that she would find home at the end of the path to the Dao.

She asked how she could attain the Dao.

The god said she needed three things.

The finest sword in the world.

A tear from a god.

A demon's heart.

**

She was the only thundercloud in the world to cultivate a human form. By accident, she split open Wangduan Mountain and released the sealed Demon Lord. Knowing she had made a terrible mistake, she fled, and along the way picked up a white cloud.

The cloud arrogantly told her that he was the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm, a name that resounded throughout the world.

Later, when the demons emerged, she saw that demon face his many enemies with unruffled composure.

Then she understood that this Chu Zixiu was the true Demon Lord.

**

She had visited the Demon Realm, crossed into the Underworld, and seen the Immortal Realm. The Great Dao was within reach.

She had a sword and a tear. All she still needed was a demon's heart.

When they met again, Chu Zixiu was guarding the Three Continents beneath a sunless, eternal night.

Looking down at her, Chu Zixiu asked, "Did you come to dig out my heart?"

She shook her head. "I came to return your heart."

*One-on-one romance, slow burn in the early chapters, with plenty of original worldbuilding.

Theme: The glow of a firefly shines brilliantly.