The entire hall fell into a heavy silence. Even the normally oblivious Zhu Yurou sensed that something was wrong and looked up toward Xiao Lingyu.
Seeing Zhu Yurou offering him a fawning smile, Xiao Lingyu bent down and lifted him up. He gently wiped away the cake crumbs at the corner of Zhu Yurou’s mouth, then, without any explanation, stuffed Zhu Yurou back into the spirit beast pouch, completely ignoring his struggling.
The elder silently watched Xiao Lingyu’s actions and let out a bitter smile. “It seems you have already guessed what I am about to say.”
Xiao Lingyu did not respond. He merely stood shoulder to shoulder with Chu Mingwei, their silence clearly showing their stance.
The elder did not mind their resistance and slowly continued.
“The one who sacrificed himself back then was a member of my clan’s spirit rhinoceros lineage. He is also Zhu Yurou’s ancestor. His sacrifice allowed our clan to survive peacefully within the Illusory Demon Realm.”
“The clan originally believed everything had ended there, that life would remain stable. But only a few thousand years later, the spatial barrier began to fail again.”
“This time, once more, a spirit rhinoceros clansman stepped forward and sacrificed himself to stabilize the barrier.”
“Several thousand years passed, and the barrier failed again for a third time. Again, the clan instinctively turned to the spirit rhinoceros lineage, and another one of them died.”
“After that, each time the barrier weakened, the one who was sacrificed was always from the spirit rhinoceros lineage.”
“As time passed, the barrier began to fail more frequently. From thousands of years, to a thousand years, and eventually to once every hundred years after reinforcement.”
“And in parallel, the spirit rhinoceros lineage grew smaller and smaller. Fewer and fewer survived to adulthood. Many perished even before their spiritual intelligence fully awakened.”
“Until twenty years ago, only one last member of the spirit rhinoceros lineage remained.”
The elder’s voice grew increasingly bitter.
“The spatial barrier of the Illusory Demon Realm can no longer hold for long. And this time, only twenty years have passed since the last reinforcement.”
Seeing the elder still preparing to continue, Xiao Lingyu directly interrupted him.
“What exactly does the Demon Emperor mean by telling us all this? The survival of the Illusory Demon Realm has nothing to do with us. There is no need to continue.”
The elder fixed his gaze on him.
“Zhu Yurou is the last member of the spirit rhinoceros lineage.”
Xiao Lingyu showed no reaction. “And so what? When he grows up, I will naturally tell him his origin. As for anything else, I’m afraid I will disappoint the Demon Emperor.”
The elder looked at him and asked slowly, “Do you know how many clansmen exist within the Illusory Demon Realm now?”
Without waiting for an answer, he continued.
“Because we have long lived in seclusion, the demon clans have flourished in the Illusory Demon Realm. There are now hundreds of thousands of us.”
“And the fate of all these hundreds of thousands now rests on the life of a single child.”
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Lingyu’s lips.
“How ironic. The demon race prospers, yet the spirit rhinoceros lineage has been reduced to a single surviving bloodline, on the verge of extinction.”
The elder did not argue. Instead, he asked quietly, “If you were me, what would you do?”
Xiao Lingyu said nothing.
Chu Mingwei spoke slowly instead. “Demon Emperor, have you considered what happens to the Illusory Demon Realm once Zhu Yurou is the only spirit rhinoceros left?”
The elder sighed deeply, but did not answer.
He had asked himself this countless times already.
Twenty years ago, when Zhu Yurou was finally born after great difficulty, the entire Illusory Demon Realm celebrated for an entire day and night.
But beneath that celebration, he had seen fear.
They had grown accustomed to hiding within the Illusory Demon Realm. They had lost the courage to step into the outside world.
Some had suggested leaving the Illusory Demon Realm, but every such proposal eventually faded away. The dense spiritual energy inside the realm, and the unrestricted use of power, were temptations too great to abandon.
And Yunming had once pointed out coldly: the increasingly frequent barrier failures were not only due to worsening conditions outside, but also due to the clan’s reckless use of power.
More importantly, each generation of spirit rhinoceros clansmen was sacrificed younger and younger, never given time to properly mature. It had become a vicious cycle.
Was the demon race, which had escaped the ancient catastrophe, now going to perish within his hands?
Chu Mingwei continued calmly.
“I believe the Sect Master has already conveyed our master’s intentions. The lower realm’s spatial barrier may collapse at any time. Once it does, the Illusory Demon Realm will not be able to remain unaffected.”
“Even if Zhu Yurou stays, it will not guarantee safety. It may instead lead to a needless sacrifice.”
The elder glanced at him deeply.
“Are you threatening me with the collapse of the lower realm?”
Chu Mingwei remained calm. “Whether it is a threat or not, the Demon Emperor understands the situation better than we do.”
The elder fell silent for a long time.
Finally, he waved his hand.
“Yunming is still waiting. Go see him first.”
As Xiao Lingyu and Chu Mingwei left the hall, the elder stood alone in the empty chamber, his expression torn and heavy.
—
Outside the hall, Bai Mi was already waiting.
“I will take you to Yunming.”
The two followed in silence.
They flew for a long time. The deeper they went, the more desolate the surroundings became. Eventually, they left the main settlement entirely.
Ahead lay a small, barren mountain. Unlike the towering peaks filled with life elsewhere, this one was bare, covered only in sparse grass.
At the peak stood a small thatched hut.
A teenage boy lay outside on the grass, one arm covering his eyes as he basked in the sunlight.
Bai Mi’s expression changed. He hurried forward.
“Yunming, why did you come out again? I told you I would arrive soon.”
The boy ignored him completely.
Bai Mi turned and looked toward Xiao Lingyu, signaling him.
Xiao Lingyu opened the spirit beast pouch.
Zhu Yurou fell out with a soft “thud.”
“You’re so mean, Little Monster! You locked Little Pig in that dark bag again!”
Before he could continue complaining, the boy on the ground suddenly sat up.
His face turned deathly pale, lips without any color, yet his eyes shone brightly as he stared straight ahead.
“Zhu Yurou!”
Zhu Yurou froze, then slowly turned.
After a moment, his face lit up with joy.
“Old Ancestor!”
He scrambled forward with his four short legs and crashed into the boy’s arms.
The impact made the boy cough violently.
“Yunming!” Bai Mi rushed forward in panic.
The boy waved his hand slightly, indicating he was fine, though his breathing remained weak.
He gently stroked Zhu Yurou’s head, smiling softly.
“So you really are Zhu Yurou now.”
Zhu Yurou proudly nodded.
The boy’s smile deepened.
Then he looked toward Xiao Lingyu and Chu Mingwei.
“You’ve taken good care of him.”
Xiao Lingyu replied calmly, “He has been fine.”
The boy motioned for them to sit.
After Bai Mi reluctantly left, the boy spoke again.
“I’m going to die soon, so I’ll be a little selfish this time. Please don’t mind.”
Xiao Lingyu and Chu Mingwei both shook their heads.
The boy smiled faintly.
“I never thought I would see Little Pig again.”
Zhu Yurou happily leaned into him.
“I missed you, Old Ancestor.”
“I missed you too.”
After a long pause, the boy finally spoke again.
“Zhu Yurou was not born with awakened intelligence. His spatial ability was also forcibly induced. Even if he grows up, he will likely remain as he is now—simple-minded and childlike.”
Chu Mingwei frowned slightly.
“Who did this?”
The boy smiled faintly.
“I did.”
Xiao Lingyu’s eyes widened slightly.
The boy gently tapped Zhu Yurou’s forehead, and a faint glowing core appeared.
“This is his father’s essence core.”
He looked at it with nostalgia.
“His father chose to extract his own core and leave it behind.”
Xiao Lingyu was stunned.
The boy continued quietly.
“He wanted only one thing—that his child could leave this place and see the outside world.”
“If he grew normally, he would never have awakened so early. He would never have had the chance to leave.”
The boy gently returned the core into Zhu Yurou’s body.
“You may leave now.”
“Do not come back.”
Zhu Yurou looked at him blankly, then slowly pressed himself against Xiao Lingyu again.
Xiao Lingyu held him tightly.
Behind them, the boy turned and walked toward the hut, his thin figure slowly disappearing into the distance.