Chapter 5477
“I… I don’t know. I was just watching over these people.”
The demon cultivator trembled with fear and shook his head.
“My benefactor, he won’t know what you’re asking about. Only the higher-ups of the Demon Stone Sect would know. He’s just a small-time henchman.”
A middle-aged cultivator in a gray cloth shirt approached and said.
“Oh!” Kai said,
and with a wave of his hand, the demon cultivator vanished without a trace, transforming into a puff of black smoke.
“My benefactor, thank you for your help.”
The middle-aged cultivator bowed deeply to Kai, his face thick with gratitude.
Kai waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding cultivators, who still wore expressions of fear. He said in a deep voice, “Fellow Daoist, I have a few questions for you.”
“My benefactor, I will tell you everything I know,” the middle-aged cultivator said quickly.
“What kind of world is this? Why are so many human and beast cultivators enslaved by the demons to mine spirit stones?” Kai asked.
The middle-aged cultivator sighed, a look of pain on his face. “This is the Yuande Realm, a world focused on spiritual cultivation.
Originally, our Yuande Realm consisted of three races: humans, beastmen, and demons. Although we occasionally fought for resources, there was a certain give and take, maintaining a relative balance.”
“Then why did it become like this?” Kai demanded.
“It all started a hundred years ago.”
A trace of fear flashed in the middle-aged cultivator’s eyes. “A hundred years ago, a celestial immortal suddenly descended upon our Yuande Realm. That immortal was incredibly powerful, capable of destroying the world with a single wave of his hand. He chose to help the demons and suppressed the resistance of our human and beastmen with thundering means.”
“Since then, the demons have enslaved us to mine spiritual stones, and then used the methods taught by that immortal to refine the spiritual stones into immortal stones.”
The middle-aged cultivator said bitterly, “That immortal seemed desperate for immortal stones, so he ordered the demons to establish countless such mining sites throughout the Yuande Realm.”
“Why didn’t you resist?” Kai asked doubtfully. “Is there no one in the entire Yuande Realm powerful enough to stand against the demons?”
The middle-aged cultivator gave a wry laugh. “Resist? Of course we didn’t. But that celestial immortal was too powerful. Even the strongest ancestors of our Yuande Realm were no match for him; they were all slain by him. Since then, we’ve lost the power to resist.”
“Furthermore, the demons have placed a restriction on us. If we even think of resisting, we’ll suffer the pain of a thousand ants gnawing at our hearts.”
The middle-aged cultivator said, lifting his sleeve to reveal a black rune on his arm. “Look, this is the slave mark planted by the demons.”
Kai looked at the black rune, his eyes flashing with a cold light.
He could sense the evil aura emanating from it; it was a vicious restriction capable of controlling a person’s mind.
“So you’re just going to let them enslave you?” Kai said gravely.
“What can we do?”
the middle-aged cultivator said helplessly. “Resistance means death. Not resisting at least allows us to linger. Furthermore, the demons are threatening us, threatening to exterminate our people if we don’t obey.”
“What realm is that celestial immortal at?” Kai asked.
“I don’t know,” the middle-aged cultivator shook his head. “In the entire Yuande Realm, no one can withstand a single blow from him.”
Kai pondered for a moment, then continued, “So, where is that immortal now?”
Kai wanted to meet this celestial immortal, especially to learn more about his technique for refining spirit stones into immortal stones.
“That immortal only occasionally appears at the Demon Stone Sect’s main altar, and whenever he does, he takes away a large amount of immortal stones. Normally, the Demon Stone Sect’s leader is in charge of managing our mining operations.”
“I don’t know where that immortal is now,” the middle-aged cultivator said.