"A hundred million years?!" Feng Yunwuji murmured, then caught himself. "Are you saying… a hundred million years? That means you must have lived through the war from hundreds of millions of years ago?"
The prison remained silent for a long while before the elder's spiritual voice finally sighed, "Yes. I was just a child back then. That catastrophic war… nearly every warrior of the Primordial Era took part, and I was no exception. Perhaps it was precisely because I was still a child that I managed to survive. But even as a child, I remember that war clearly… It was too tragic."
The sorrow in the elder's voice weighed heavily on Feng Yunwuji, and a shared silence settled between them.
"…Do you believe that people in this world have become utterly corrupted, beyond salvation?"
Feng Yunwuji responded with silence.
The vast spiritual consciousness sighed again. "Then let me ask you this—do you know why the Primordial Dimension exists? And why, even after ascending, no matter what kind of demonic or forbidden arts you practice, you will never ascend into the Demon Realm?"
"Ascension… the Demon Realm?" Feng Yunwuji echoed.
"You've spent too long in a stupor. Some things have likely faded from your memory. Never mind, I'll tell you directly. The Primordial Dimension… the fate of even a single dimension among it holds the safety of billions—hundreds of billions—of lives across countless realms. Whether others acknowledge it or not, the weak and forgotten are still our people. This is a truth that cannot be denied."
"…You mean, the reason the Primordial Realm exists—is to protect the rest?" Feng Yunwuji's thoughts were still sluggish, but he was beginning to catch on.
"Yes. If our dimension falls, all of humanity will be forever enslaved by the demons and angels—turned into their food and their servants. Those beings will descend upon all the realms and rule them, casting endless billions of humans into eternal suffering."
A tremor ran through Feng Yunwuji's body. He felt a sudden, cold chill.
"Now do you understand why Mo Li and the others tried to dissuade you from escaping? Why they willingly chose to rot in this prison, to die in suffering? In truth, they were filled with pain and helplessness. And I… I am no different."
Feng Yunwuji let out a long sigh and slowly sat back down. After so long, the cross-legged posture had become second nature to him. Even standing just now had made him feel uneasy. In his sea of consciousness, he had already simulated and internalized over half of the hundreds of thousands of cultivation techniques. At his current pace, it would take another two hundred years to complete them all.
"Your reasoning may be sound," Feng Yunwuji said at last, "but I cannot agree. True respect can only be earned through strength. In other dimensions, humans became the spirit of all things not because of benevolence, but because we were stronger than other beings. If we keep compromising, the fate of humanity will never change—destruction is all that awaits. And if everything must always be about the 'greater good' of humanity, then dealing with demons and angels will eventually break us. I don't want to carry that burden. I don't want to think that far ahead.
"For now, I only have one goal: to leave this place. And if possible, I want to bring back the remains of the seniors who lived with me here—and the countless corpses buried in that vast underground tomb. Let them at least return to the Primordial Realm and find rest in their homeland, rather than dying in a foreign land with no grave to call their own."
"…Perhaps there's truth in what you say." After a moment's silence, the elder's vast spiritual presence faded away like the receding tide.
Only after the presence had vanished did Feng Yunwuji realize—he had forgotten to ask the elder's name, or where he was being held. Then he shook his head and thought, "Forget it. If he appears again, I'll ask. If not… I'll treat it as if we never met."
Once more, Feng Yunwuji sank into his original dazed stillness. Day after day passed in that same rhythm—his body practicing the remaining techniques while his mind drifted in quiet emptiness.
The man he had met in the underground crypt came by a few more times. Each time, he would simply stand and stare at Feng Yunwuji for a long moment, saying nothing, then turn and leave without a word.
Time drifted on in silence.
Sometimes, Feng Yunwuji would recall the Second Prince and wonder why he hadn't shown up all this time. Had he simply forgotten? And that woman from the Snowlands… had anyone taken care of her remains? But the more he thought, the more these questions seemed meaningless, and gradually, even the memories themselves faded—becoming distant, blurry fragments.
And from that point on, the elder's spiritual voice never returned.
Everything went back to how it was before—still, silent, like a stagnant pond.
But humans are still human. As long as one exists, one cannot remain invisible forever. Eventually, the gates of the underground prison opened once more. This time, it wasn't a human who stepped through, but a stunningly seductive demoness.
She had long, wavy hair, lively and mischievous eyes, a tall, elegant nose, finely sculpted features, and a curvaceous figure that strained against her thin garments. Her posture, her movements—every detail radiated irresistible allure. Other than being a bit taller than an average human woman, she was nearly indistinguishable from one.
"The higher-ups say this human's energy has already been drained dry. Even the soul-beasts can't extract anything from him. Go ahead and finish off the last of his vital energy," barked an ugly, purple-skinned demon at the door. With a loud clang, he slammed the cell shut, his long, whip-like tail disappearing down the corridor.
"I'm Filosi. What's your name?" The demoness walked over with a playful smile, ignoring the filth on the ground as she sat down beside him.
Feng Yunwuji glanced at her, then turned away, saying nothing.
His indifference seemed to disappoint Filosi. With a small pout, she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around one of his. Her ample chest pressed against him, soft curves brushing across his skin. But Feng Yunwuji still showed no reaction. His consciousness was deeply immersed in the cultivation of his inner techniques. The fragment of his mind that remained was adrift, numb to sensation. The demoness's sensual charms held no sway over him.
Seeing her physical allure had no effect, Filosi narrowed her eyes, lips pursed into a mischievous smirk. Her painted fingers reached forward, one long, scarlet-tipped nail gleaming in the dim light...