“The demons existed for only a brief period. Speaking of which, this was trouble caused by the celestial gods, yet the mortal realm had to bear the consequences.” Even with Yun Ya’s composure, he couldn’t help but sigh, “During the divine war, because the celestial gods broke the rules of the world, countless billions of living beings suffered catastrophic destruction. By the war’s end, barely one in ten thousand survived. Such massive deaths disrupted the original cycle of reincarnation, breaking the world’s balance. Thus, before a new order could be established, a race emerged in response—the demons.”
She grasped the key point: “If demons appeared after the war, then they’re related to the widespread deaths?”
“My An’an is truly clever.” Yun Ya praised her before continuing, “With billions of lives perishing at once, the netherworld couldn’t possibly receive them all. The hell realm nearly collapsed because of this. The tremors of heaven and earth destroyed the original chains of cause and effect. Massive numbers of spirits couldn’t enter the netherworld and could only wander the mortal realm, causing ghosts and specters to run rampant throughout the world. No one could say exactly how many such spirits existed—perhaps a trillion, perhaps ten trillion—even the netherworld couldn’t count them. No one anticipated that such an enormous number of spirits would suddenly begin to devour each other. In just a few decades, their numbers sharply reduced to one percent of the original.”
Cannibalism among their kind? Feng Miaojun did know that ghosts could devour one another to nurture their soul power. “I suspect this wasn’t a good thing?”
“Correct. The fewer remaining spirits, the more powerful they became, and the more enlightened their minds grew. Among them were some who in life had been powerful alien races, beasts, and strong human cultivators—after death, their spiritual power far exceeded others of their kind. When their numbers finally stabilized, it could be said they were already smarter than the vast majority of people in this world. The most terrifying aspect was—” Yun Ya pointed to his temple, “they possessed the ability of empathic connection.”
Feng Miaojun was greatly surprised: “What is the empathic connection?”
“Their communication required no words. As long as they were close enough, they could sense each other, sharing joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, knowledge, and insights instantaneously.” Yun Ya said softly, “In ancient times, there was a ‘mind-reading technique’ that could faintly hear others’ thoughts, but as for an entire race excelling in this art, only the demons could claim such ability.”
Feng Miaojun drew in a cool breath, not hiding her shock.
What did empathic connection imply? All knowledge and divine abilities could be shared; every demon could be a profoundly knowledgeable powerhouse. In battle, all members of the race would thoroughly implement the same command, without the information loss or distortion that typically occurs in transmission from top to bottom.
Such a race, tens of thousands acting as one person, and one person acting as tens of thousands, with almost no selfish or distracting thoughts—it was truly terrifying to the extreme!
She could hardly believe it, shaking her head repeatedly: “Such abnormal monsters—who could defeat them!”
“Precisely.” Yun Ya smiled bitterly, “When they came to power, the gods had already left this world. The remaining beast tribes and humans were still weak; even allying, they were no match for the demons. However, as the demons grew increasingly rampant, this world had not yet recovered from the divine war’s impact before being ravaged by them to the brink of collapse. In the end, the Border God had no choice but to personally intervene, sealing them away. Legend has it that the place where the demons were sealed is called the Demon Realm.”
“The Border God?” This wasn’t a new term; Feng Miaojun remembered seeing it in some book, “Hmm, legend says that before cultivators go to another world, they must pass the Border God’s test, and only after qualifying can they leave this place?”
“Correct. This process is called ascension, and the one responsible for this test is the celestial god guarding this realm.”
Her curiosity was piqued: “Is this the only celestial god who remained in the world?”
Yun Ya smiled: “Besides the celestial gods themselves, who knows?”
With his explanation, Feng Miaojun connected many clues she had read before: “The path of ascension to the higher realm has been closed for many years; this is also related to the demons, right?”
“Correct.” Yun Ya raised his hand, and a small lantern from the sky floated unsteadily into his palm, “Though the demons were sealed, the Border God has since disappeared without a trace. With no one to preside over the ascension ceremony, naturally, no one from the mortal realm could go to the higher realm anymore.”
“In that battle, were both sides severely wounded?” She muttered, “If I were a demon, I would never provoke a celestial god.”
His eyes seemed to flash with light: “Knowingly doing the impossible—this is not something only humans are capable of.”
Feng Miaojun, while filled with admiration, also remembered: “That’s right, what connection do demons have with the Haoli Empire? Why would the King of Yan search for clues about the Demon Realm in Ying Shui City?”
“The demons rose to power after the Haoli Empire was established. To protect their territory and people, the Haoli Empire had no choice but to join forces with the beast tribes to counter the demons. Later, though the demons were sealed, they still stirred restlessly, repeatedly attacking the seal in an attempt to return to the mortal realm. The Haoli Empire then built its capital, Ying Shui City, upon the seal, using the nation’s fortune and destiny to suppress it.”
“At that time, the Haoli Empire had a population of tens of millions, and its national destiny grew increasingly prosperous, making the suppression of demons no problem. But over the following centuries, as the world’s spiritual energy sharply declined and the Haoli Empire itself transitioned from prosperity to decline, they gradually could no longer hold down that seal.” Yun Ya’s gaze deepened, “You’ve also heard of the most famous demon attack on the city in history, right? It happened in the final period of the Haoli Empire.”
“Yes,” she answered honestly, “Some books say the Haoli Empire succeeded and held the seal; others say they failed and the demons escaped. Both seem to have supporting evidence, so it’s hard to know which to believe.”
“This time, neither account is wrong.” There was a hint of sighing in Yun Ya’s voice, “Ying Shui City stood on high alert, and the vast majority of demons remained sealed in the realm, but the seal also showed signs of loosening. Only those who came later could see clearly that some demons did indeed escape at that time.”
Feng Miaojun recalled Mo Tizhun’s final letter, which mentioned demons.
“If so, what does the King of Yan seek in finding the Demon Realm?” And to search four or five times—he seemed quite eager.
“Only he knows that.” Yun Ya stretched lazily, “Day is about to break; I must return. I’ll come see you again in a few days.”
Feng Miaojun replied irritably: “Don’t bother, I want to have a good dream!” A dream without Yun Ya.
He smiled gently, waved to her, and then walked away unhurriedly.
The dream ended there, and she awoke.
Feng Miaojun opened her eyes and slowly sat up, feeling spiritually complete and energetically satisfied.
This sleep had been remarkably sound.
As a cultivator with a concentrated soul, she still remembered the details of her dream. Thinking about it, she unconsciously covered her face:
Last night, had she taken the initiative to kiss Yun Ya in Zhao Yun’s dream?
They were only separated from the Yan Kingdom’s prince by two walls and could have been discovered at any moment, yet they had been so unrestrained!
She didn’t know what had come over her; he was mad, and somehow she had joined in his madness.
This man was adept at corrupting others’ resolve. From now on, she must keep her distance from Yun Ya, even in dreams!