Words of Truth

Manufactured! Or more accurately, refined! Rather than living beings, these demons were more like biological tools. From the moment of their birth, they had a detailed genetic evolution sequence. All they needed was to continually devour the brains of intelligent beings, refining their consciousness and nourishing their spirit, to unearth deeper genetic potential and attain stronger forms. That was Yaoguang's interpretation and understanding. In the demon's own cognition, devouring humans granted wisdom, and absorbing spirits brought metamorphosis. That was their way of survival and growth. Just as humans started as infants drinking formula and ate ordinary food as they grew. The difference was that humanity consisted of millions of diverse individuals. Yet a whole brood of demons was split off from a single main organism, grew separately, and would one day return to merge back into that source body. And this entity was... "The Demon Lord," Yaoguang murmured. No wonder every demon he had slain shared the same designation—Horned Demon. The only distinction lay in rank. These Horned Demons were independent individuals on the outside. Yet they were also part of a collective whole, destined to reunite as one. "What is this supposed to be? Clones? An alien invasion?" Yaoguang felt a faint jolt inside. From a scientific perspective, it was an alien invasion. From a fantastical one... He was reminded of the Youquan Blood Demon's Blood God Children. Yaoguang exhaled a long breath. The complexity of this demonic infiltration was far deeper than he had anticipated. It was practically equivalent to an extraterrestrial invasion. Except the invaders were not deploying starships and planet-killer cannons, but infiltrating human society through "Horned Demons" in a manner akin to "Blood God Children." And the existence of such a "Demon Lord"... ...only strengthened Yaoguang's determination to attain the Human Immortal realm in the future. "Immortal." He uttered the word. Riding the wind across the void, traversing the azure skies, wandering the Northern Sea at dawn and Mount Cangwu at dusk. Drinking the dew, detached from mortal dust, unfettered and eternal. That was humanity's ultimate romance. If one day he could truly reach that stage, flying through the atmosphere at supersonic speeds just like an immortal... Taking in the jungle scenery of the South Continent at dawn, roaming the endless ranges of the East Continent at noon, admiring ten thousand li of frost and snow in the North Continent by afternoon, and quietly contemplating the vastness of the forbidden lands amidst the boundless deserts of the West Continent at night. What freedom and carefree wonder would that be? Yaoguang's gaze returned to the ancient tree within his mental realm. Originally, he had planned to channel this energy into the Artifact Refining profession so he could better utilize the Soul-Capturing Orb and uncover the truth behind the demons. Now... He wanted nothing more than to focus entirely on raising his Martial Path cultivation, catching a glimpse of the scenery beyond the fifth rank. "I wonder at which rank one can take flight, and at which rank one can break the sound barrier, reach outer space, and cross ten thousand li in an instant above the astral winds like a true immortal." Yaoguang looked forward to it. Absorbing the insights brought by the growth of the Martial Path branch, Yaoguang returned to the Baisheng Chemical Plant. Xia Wuyuan and Yue Xingzhou had already cleared the entire facility. Over a dozen people had been captured alive. Most of the rest had been killed, while a small handful had managed to flee. At the moment, the Yue family's driver, who had driven the three of them here, was holding the captive dozen at gunpoint. Without lingering to exchange greetings, Yaoguang entered the main plant building and soon found Xia Wuyuan. Xia Wuyuan was up to his ears gathering documents and records. In another room... Yaoguang spotted Yue Xingzhou. The Grandmaster's expression was noticeably unsettled. Before him sat six cases. Every case looked high-tech, and two of the open ones clearly featured built-in temperature regulation. Yaoguang stepped forward... Lying inside the case was a vial of crimson-gold liquid. "This is..." Yaoguang guessed instantly. "Divine blood?" Yue Xingzhou nodded. Without hesitation, Yaoguang raised his gun. Bang! The contents of the case shattered instantly. "Wait!" Yue Xingzhou jumped in alarm and yelled, "What are you doing?" "Just what you see." Yaoguang continued firing to destroy the rest. "Do you have any idea how expensive this stuff is?!" Yue Xingzhou said hurriedly, "Six hundred million!" He stared at the cases and added rapidly, "A single vial is six hundred million! There are six vials here—that's a full 3.6 billion!" 3.6 billion! The figure made Yaoguang pause for a fraction of a second. Yet thinking back to how this substance was refined... He pulled the trigger again without the slightest hesitation. "Something like this shouldn't exist," Yaoguang said. Bang! Bang! Bang! The divine blood in five of the cases was completely obliterated. Watching this, Yue Xingzhou's brow twitched frantically. Yet in the end... He said nothing more. Hearing the gunshots, Xia Wuyuan walked over. Seeing that Yaoguang was about to destroy all the divine blood, he spoke up: "Keep one vial as evidence to submit to the higher-ups." Yaoguang paused and turned to Xia Wuyuan. "Are you sure it will actually be submitted as evidence?" "I..." Thinking of the names listed on the documents he had gathered... Xia Wuyuan took a deep breath. "I will personally take this case, along with the relevant documents, to the royal capital and present it directly to His Majesty!" Seeing that, Yaoguang lowered his gun. "Present it directly to His Majesty..." Hearing Xia Wuyuan's words, Yue Xingzhou gave a wry smile. He knew the forces behind Yulong International were formidable, but he had never imagined things would escalate to this point. Xia Wuyuan clearly no longer trusted anyone in Tiannan, including his immediate superiors Zhou Tianqiao and Lu Zhenhai, to the extent that he planned to invoke a rare prosecutorial privilege, leapfrogging six bureaucratic tiers to place the matter before the King himself. Doing this... ...could very well alienate the entire Procuratorate system. "You don't intend to notify the local authorities?" Yue Xingzhou asked. Xia Wuyuan shook his head. It was impossible for the Procuratorate to have lacked leads on this matter, yet they had done nothing. Even... Recalling what Zhou Tianqiao had said to him not long ago, he suspected that the Deputy Chief Procurator, much like Yue Xingzhou and his peers, had known about this all along. It was simply that the stakes involved were too immense, so he had chosen to turn a blind eye. After all... The list he had just obtained might not encompass every noble and official in Tiannan, but it certainly accounted for the majority. Therefore... "I'm taking these materials to the royal capital tonight." Xia Wuyuan understood that speed was of the essence in warfare. Yue Xingzhou remained silent. The Yue family was implicated in this affair; stepping in now could at most be considered making amends. Whether they could extricate the Yue family from this mess entirely remained a major question. "Until action is taken from above, please be exceptionally careful," Xia Wuyuan solemnly warned Yaoguang. Yaoguang nodded but did not reply. Recalling the scene of them fighting that Martial Saint-level demon together, Xia Wuyuan thought... Well, then. Given Yaoguang's strength, while one could not claim with absolute certainty that no one in Tiannan posed a threat to him, on the surface there was truly no one left. Unless regular military forces were mobilized to surround and bombard him with concentrated heavy fire. Without another word, Xia Wuyuan quickly packed up the documents and left in haste. "Let's go. I'll have someone notify the Security Department to wrap things up here," Yue Xingzhou said upon seeing Xia Wuyuan depart. Yaoguang nodded. The two stepped out of the main building and walked toward the vehicle parked outside the factory. As they were exiting, Yue Xingzhou took the initiative to extend an invitation: "Tonight has been... entirely too thrilling. How about finding a place to sit down, chat, and unwind?" Yaoguang gave him a strange look. What would he have to unwind and chat about with an old man? Seeming to read Yaoguang's glance, Yue Xingzhou felt an instant flash of awkwardness. "Well... I have a granddaughter who's quite pretty... Perhaps I could invite her along..." "Let's just head back to the city," Yaoguang replied. Yue Xingzhou felt helpless. He genuinely wanted to cultivate good relations with Yaoguang. A nineteen-year-old Grandmaster—anyone could see the staggering potential within him. However... As a Grandmaster and a member of the Yue family, it was usually others who fawned over and flattered him. Taking the initiative to win someone over... ...was truly not something he knew how to do. Not to mention the vast difference in their ages. He couldn't very well invite Yaoguang to his teahouse for tea. Still... "Do you truly intend to follow this through to the very end alongside Xia Wuyuan?" Yue Xingzhou asked, hinting pointedly, "On the surface, the main culprit is Vice Governor-General Zhao. But if you think about it carefully... would this network truly be confined to Tiannan?" "Are you trying to tell me it's connected to the royal family too?" Yaoguang said. "This world isn't as black and white as we think, and the so-called royal family... isn't necessarily upright and grand..." Yue Xingzhou paused, then gave a slight smile. "The royal family is essentially just the most powerful aristocratic family! It's only in recent years that their strength has surged, causing the prestige of the aristocratic families to plummet so far that they seem like mere subordinates to the throne. But in truth, a century ago... the saying that the aristocratic families and the royal house shared the realm was by no means an empty rumor." "What are you trying to say?" Yaoguang asked. "He who is not in the office should not meddle in its affairs. You've looked into it far enough; from here on, withdraw prudently to protect yourself... Leave professional matters to the professionals," Yue Xingzhou said with rare sincerity in his tone. Yaoguang glanced at him. He knew that if he hadn't saved Yue Xingzhou's life from that demon moments earlier, the man would never have spoken to him with such frankness. Speaking with such intimacy despite their shallow acquaintance. "If Xia Wuyuan's efforts don't yield any results, I don't intend to pursue the investigation further," Yaoguang said. "That's good, then." Yue Xingzhou let out a soft sigh of relief. At that moment, something seemed to cross his mind. After a brief pause, he continued, "Regarding the Jishi Society... if you have the chance... I suggest you join." "It seems your understanding of that organization goes beyond the surface," Yaoguang remarked. "All I can tell you is that if you truly have the opportunity to join, you must not pass it up. That place can genuinely allow a carp to leap the dragon's gate. Once you seize that chance... whether monsters or aristocratic families, even the Dayu royal family itself will no longer be an obstacle to you." Having said that, Yue Xingzhou did not elaborate further. The two got into the vehicle. After waiting a moment, the driver returned and promptly drove them back toward the provincial capital.