"You're an outsider from beyond, yet you want me — a cultivator of the Divine Abyss Continent — to free you from the Myriad Heavens Ten Thousand Spirits God-Sealing Grand Formation. What a clever scheme indeed." Jiang Chen said with open mockery.
Mang Qi could only smile bitterly and made no attempt to argue.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew stiff. In the darkness, neither man nor beast spoke.
After a long pause, Mang Qi finally let out a soft sigh and spoke: "Jiang Chen, at my age, in my situation, perhaps all my sharp edges and all my ambitions should have been worn smooth by the endless passage of time. However, since you've raised the matter, I feel I should say a few words in my defense. Whether you're willing to give me that chance is up to you. You can choose not to believe me."
Jiang Chen wasn't tyrannical enough to deny the other party the right to speak. He said flatly, "Go ahead."
Mang Qi nodded, and a trace of endless weariness flickered through his eyes: "Just as you said, I came from another realm. Most of those trapped in this Myriad Heavens Ten Thousand Spirits God-Sealing Grand Formation are from other realms as well. However, even among those who come from other realms, there are differences. The ones who truly invaded your Divine Abyss Continent were the Demon Race from beyond. We, on the other hand, were merely the demons' puppets — their fighters. Our homeland was seized by the demons long ago, and our people, our descendants, were conscripted by them to wage war across the boundless planes, serving as cannon fodder and sacrifices for the demons' ambitions. You can consider me an outsider from beyond, but the ones who invaded your Divine Abyss Continent were the demons."
Mang Qi's words weren't long, but they made his meaning clear.
"The demons' puppets?" Jiang Chen frowned, half-skeptical of this claim.
"That's right. We are victims of the demons too. That we were trapped here in this Grand Formation by the powerhouses of the Divine Abyss Continent — we brought that upon ourselves. We bear no hatred or enmity toward the Divine Abyss Continent. Because to the people of the Divine Abyss Continent, whether we came willingly or were dragged here by the demons, we are all invaders. Being trapped or killed is only natural. The true culprits are the demons! The ones who started the war were the demons — a greedy, exceedingly aggressive evil race!"
As Mang Qi spoke, boundless hatred flared in his eyes. The fury within them seemed as though it could never be extinguished, from ancient times all the way to the present.
"You're right to doubt me, to suspect me, even to hate me. For you natives of the Divine Abyss Continent, we are indeed invaders. From your perspective, those who invade your homeland are enemies — robbers."
Mang Qi sighed softly, his voice taking on a dreamlike quality: "I have a homeland too. I have a motherland too. My home was a beautiful place — home to countless races. Though there were disputes and conflicts, it was always peaceful there. Until the demons found it. They brought with them boundless destructive power, pillaged my homeland, annihilated countless races, and conscripted every capable warrior and powerhouse, sending them to wage wars of conquest across the endless planes... I don't know how many places like my homeland the demons have destroyed. I have to admit, your Divine Abyss Continent's powerhouses put up a remarkably strong fight. At least they withstood the demons' invasion — even under the demons' onslaught, they managed to keep their homeland from falling..."
Jiang Chen asked with curiosity: "You're trapped underground. How do you know our homeland didn't fall?"
Mang Qi smiled bitterly: "That's because you don't understand the demons' destructive power. If the demons successfully took control of a plane, how could the human bloodline possibly survive there? How could the human bloodline have been passed down from ancient times to the present? How could you be standing before me?"
The demons' bloodline possessed extraordinary aggressiveness. When they invaded a place, they didn't simply occupy it — they would fundamentally assimilate it at the bloodline level, eventually transforming every bloodline in that place into demon blood.
Those that couldn't be transformed, or whose bloodlines were incompatible with demon blood, would either be reduced to slaves, turned into fighting tools, or simply killed.
"Mang Qi, I'll tentatively believe what you've said. Let me ask you this: how many powerhouses are actually sealed within this Grand Formation? How many of them carry demon blood?"
Jiang Chen knew far too little about the events of antiquity. The inherited texts of the Ancient Danxiao Sect mentioned very little of it. Almost no details at all.
Clearly, in that battle, no one from the Ancient Danxiao Sect had returned to their legacy grounds, so naturally no substantial written records were left behind.
Taking this opportunity, Jiang Chen wanted to learn more.
Mang Qi shook his head: "Demon blood — not a single one."
"What do you mean?" A flash of confusion crossed Jiang Chen's eyes.
"This Grand Formation only imprisons puppet soldiers like us who were conscripted against their will. How many of us there are in total, I don't know. How many are still alive, I don't know either. All I know is that in that battle, every last powerhouse of the Divine Abyss Continent came out in full force. They set up this terrifying formation, lured us here, and trapped us within it. In that battle, the demons merely pulled the strings from behind the scenes — not a single one actually fought."
This news was entirely unexpected.
Mang Qi continued: "Perhaps you don't believe me. You could extract a sample of my blood, take it outside, and find someone who knows — then you'll see whether we carry demon blood."
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow: "If the demons drove you to fight, why didn't they assimilate your bloodline?"
Mang Qi smiled bitterly again and again: "The demons are arrogant and self-important. They've always considered themselves the most outstanding, most superior race in the universe. They are exceedingly proud of their bloodline. The so-called bloodline assimilation isn't something just anyone is qualified to receive. We are merely their puppet soldiers. In the demons' eyes, we don't even qualify to bear their blood."
"Such a thing exists?" Jiang Chen was greatly astonished.