Without waiting for the King of Yan to interject, she continued, “The celestial demon race reached its peak population after the cosmic cataclysm, then gradually declined year by year. After accounting for those who naturally perished due to insufficient power, those who devoured each other, and those who fell in battle, by the time Emperor Haoli sealed them away, their numbers had already decreased to less than thirty percent of their prime. Think carefully about the origin of celestial demons—if they could reproduce and transform other races, would they have sat by and watched their gradual decline?”

This was a small secret recorded in the Celestial Demon Scroll. What was the origin of celestial demons? The cosmic cataclysm caused too many beings to die in an instant, and with the laws of nature in chaos, the netherworld simply couldn’t accommodate them all. This allowed them to remain in the mortal realm, swiftly evolving into an entirely new race through their vast numbers.

Simply put, they were unregistered souls of the netherworld, their names absent from the Book of Life and Death, beyond the jurisdiction of hell itself.

However, after that, the world re-established order under the guidance of the celestial deities, and the laws of the six paths of reincarnation grew stronger than before. Since the soul registry was completed, almost no dead soul could escape the netherworld’s summons.

Thus, from that time on, celestial demons could no longer be transformed from dead souls. They had no physical bodies and couldn’t pass on the seeds of life from generation to generation like ordinary beings; they couldn’t even expand their numbers by blood-sucking methods like jiangshi or drought demons.

They had lost their source.

In simple terms, the birth of the unique celestial demon race was not only unprecedented but would never happen again.

They were immensely powerful, yet immensely tragic.

The King of Yan had never read this secret history, but having studied celestial demons for over a hundred years, he knew she spoke the truth. Nevertheless, he maintained his belief: “Nothing in this world is absolute. You’re referring to the reproduction of the entire celestial demon race, but I believe they possess the ability to grant individuals immortality!” His face twisted into a grimace. “You may break your word, but other celestial demons can fulfill it!”

Feng Miaojun looked at the stone platform and sighed, “Do you truly believe they are inside there?”

Though she asked this, she partly believed it herself.

Sealing celestial demons in the dream city—whose brilliant idea was that? The dream city corresponded to reality yet existed independently. No matter how hard the former followers of the celestial demons tried, they could never rescue their masters from Yingshui City’s temple, simply because the celestial demons no longer existed in the physical world.

No wonder that since the Haoli Empire, almost no one had seen celestial demons with their own eyes; no wonder the King of Yan had gone to such lengths to relocate civilians to the abandoned capital—all to recreate the dream city!

“Absolutely!” The King of Yan replied without hesitation, his eyes flashing with ruthlessness. “You told me that the celestial demon race was trapped within the temple! You also told me that no matter who came here with the Dragon Phoenix Staff, you would certainly arrive on schedule! For hundreds of years, you’ve been desperately seeking ways to free them from their imprisonment. Why are you now retreating at this critical moment? Could there be traitors even among the celestial demons?”

Feng Miaojun’s heart trembled—so that was it. The King of Yan’s unwavering belief in immortality and the evil race being trapped here stemmed from being bewitched by celestial demons in his early years.

Yes, planting a seed in someone’s heart, waiting for it to sprout when the time was right—this was what celestial demons excelled at. They must have incited other cultivators to rescue their kin as well. The King of Yan might have dismissed it as a joke when he was young, but as his time of death approached, it became the most crucial clue he could grasp.

He scrutinized Feng Miaojun, his face full of suspicion. “Hmm, could it be that you and Yun Ya…”

At this point, he suddenly stopped speaking. The thick clouds had begun to disperse, and tonight happened to be the fifteenth of the lunar month. Bright moonlight shone down from the heavens, silver light bathing the entire dream world.

The moonlight also entered through the dome at the top of the great hall, streaming through transparent glass windows onto the floor.

“After waiting so long, the moon has finally risen!” The King of Yan looked up briefly, placed his hand on the Dragon Phoenix Staff, and twisted it twice to the left.

Feng Miaojun’s form flickered slightly, and in the next second, the Star Sky Awl struck the Dragon Phoenix Staff with a “ding,” sending countless sparks flying.

She naturally couldn’t sit by and watch the King of Yan release the celestial demons—this was a risk she couldn’t take.

Yet the Dragon Phoenix Staff remained completely undamaged despite facing the Star Sky Awl’s sharpness.

Feng Miaojun wasn’t surprised. Items enshrined in temples naturally possessed mystical properties. Simultaneously, her other awl aimed directly at the King of Yan’s eyes, forcing him to step back.

Seizing this opportunity, she reached out to pull the Dragon Phoenix Staff.

The staff was only seven chi long. Even if cast from the heaviest meteorite iron, its weight shouldn’t exceed seven thousand jin. Though Feng Miaojun’s form was delicate, this pull exerted at least ten thousand jin of force!

However, the Dragon Phoenix Staff didn’t budge an inch.

She frowned slightly and increased her strength, giving another powerful pull.

No effect.

The staff seemed to grow from the ground, fused with the entire temple.

The King of Yan laughed heartily. “This stuff weighs over eighty thousand jin. Once rotated, it locks into the ground. Unless the remaining mechanisms are completed, no one can lift it!” This was why he had released it so readily.

As he spoke, he took out a crystal ball from his bosom and balanced it on his palm. “Step back, or she will certainly die!”

Within the crystal ball sat a woman, her face filled with anxiety. Seeing Feng Miaojun, she stood up, appearing to call out, but her voice remained trapped inside the ball.

Her features were familiar to Feng Miaojun—it was her foster mother, Madam Xu!

Once Feng Miaojun saw the person in the ball, the King of Yan tightened his fingers. “If she dies in the dream, you surely understand the consequences better than I do.”

When people die in dreams, their souls cannot return to their physical bodies, turning them into empty shells in reality. This is why humans rarely face their death scenes in dreams. Generally, when encountering danger, their souls automatically return—for instance, when dreaming of falling from a great height, one usually doesn’t see their tragic end but instead wakes up screaming in reality, attributing it to a “nightmare”!

But in the King of Yan’s hands, Madam Xu’s soul had no escape, only annihilation.

Despite his words, the King of Yan felt somewhat uneasy. The soul in his grasp was merely the foster mother of New Xia’s Queen—how could it compare to the welfare of New Xia’s state and the world’s safety? He was merely trying his luck, knowing that if he were in her position, he would never yield to such blackmail.

Feng Miaojun coldly said, “You dare break your promise?”

She and the King of Yan had prior arrangements.

The King of Yan shrugged. “We agreed to exchange the person tomorrow evening, yet you come to intercept me today. Who broke the promise first?” He gently squeezed, causing cracks to appear on the crystal ball.

“Stop!” Feng Miaojun’s jaw tensed, her gaze icy. “I won’t touch the scepter, but you must return her to me, immediately!” After speaking, she retreated two large steps.

The King of Yan said, “Very well,” and stepped forward to grasp the staff. Though his face wore a smile, calculations ran through his mind. It seemed the Queen of Changle was indeed not a celestial demon; otherwise, why would she be coerced by him for the sake of a mortal? But if not her, where was the real celestial demon?