Chapter 645: Chapter 652: Long-Standing Grudge? None of my Business! (Second Update)
At the same moment Yang Zhen’s facial expression altered, the complexions of Gong Sanhe and Death Shadow changed as well. Terrifying waves of energy exploded from them instantaneously. Without uttering a single word, they attacked the snow fox simultaneously. The outburst of their terrifying energy, one on the left and one on the right, mimicked the roar of rampaging beasts.
Startled, Han Yan’er’s phoenix eyes held a frosty glint. The Yang Shadow Saint Soldier held in her hand suddenly flashed a dazzling beam of light, standing in front of the snow fox.
Seeing Gong Sanhe and Death Shadow almost landing their attacks on Han Yan’er, Yang Zhen furrowed his brows. In a flash, he appeared in front of Han Yan’er. The Great Missing Sword in his hand flickered with a dark glow, and with a loud ‘boom’, it collided with the two horrifying streams of True Essence.
The terrifying energy churned and tumbled wildly, rushing in all directions and ravaging every plant in the vicinity.
Caught off guard by the sudden development, Yang Zhen glared at Death Shadow and Gong Sanhe and questioned, “You two, what do you want to do?”
Gong Sanhe and Death Shadow glanced at each other. Gong Sanhe’s face was somber. He did not answer Yang Zhen’s question. Instead, he stared at the mean cat and asked, “What you said just now, was it the beast language?”
The mean cat, already frightened, hid behind Han Yan’er and heard the words, stared at Gong Sanhe with anger and retorted: “Just a guess!”
“You!” Gong Sanhe’s face turned ashen. He turned to Yang Zhen and said, “Young friend Yang, your pet is that mean cat. Even if it’s part of the Demonic Race, I’d let it pass. However, this snow fox is clearly not this young lady’s pet. Are you planning to shelter a runt of the Demonic Race?”
Demonic runt?
Yang Zhen was taken aback. He looked puzzled and asked, “Old man, have you lost your mind? Demonic runt? How did the Demonic Race become runts?”
“You don’t know?” Gong Sanhe came to a pause. Exchanged glances with Death Shadow, they both grew serious.
Yang Zhen confusedly looked at Hua Youyue. After a moment’s hesitation, Hua Youyue said softly, “During the ancient era, a fierce war broke out between the human tribe and the Demonic Race.”
“So what?” Yang Zhen was surprised. Though he hadn’t heard of this matter, on his travels, many people spoke about the Demonic Race. None of them seemed to carry any prejudice against it, and most were merely curious.
In the world of cultivation, it had been a while since the last genuine Demonic Race had appeared. Even half breeds like the mean cat and the troublesome rooster were mainly treated by Yang Zhen as spiritual beasts.
Spiritual Beasts were different from Malevolent Beasts and had nothing to do with the Demonic Race.
Just like humans, the Demonic Race was a standalone civilization. Although it was a breed of existence mentioned in legends, Yang Zhen had yet to encounter them. Even upon hearing that the mean cat could speak the beast language, he just found it surprising, without connecting it to the Demonic Race.
What a joke! If this damn cat could join the Demonic Race, wouldn’t the Demonic Race be too low-end?
As for the fox in front of him, Yang Zhen couldn’t decide whether it was part of the Demonic Race or not.
“Did the humans win the battle against the Demonic race?” Yang Zhen asked curiously.
Both Gong Sanhe and Death Shadow were taken aback for a moment. Then, with a sigh, Gong Sanhe said, “Forget it. Our fixation is too deep. Back then, that battle led to millions of deaths. Too many of us practitioners found our end at hands of the Demonic Race. For miles, the rivers flowed red with blood. Humans caught by the Demonic Race met gruesome ends. Finally, even the heavens couldn’t bear their atrocities and led to their eradication through heavenly punishment.”
Hearing Gong Sanhe’s words, Yang Zhen was totally stunned. He had no idea that such a part of history existed during the ancient time in the world of cultivation. This was truly beyond imagination. Comparatively, Yang Zhen, who had been educated about wars in compulsory education for nine years, wasn’t a stranger to wars. From the ancient wars that claimed lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers through strategic deployments, to the modern ones, he was quite familiar with them. The only difference here was that he hadn’t witnessed it personally, especially in the world of cultivation, where he’d never see the so-called battle between humans and the Demonic Race.
Han Yan’er, standing by, looked a bit uneasy when she heard that. She looked at Gong Sanhe with disbelief then turned towards the Snow Fox, her gaze turning strange.
The Snow Fox looked at Han Yan’er with a wronged expression and growled warnings at Gong Sanhe and Death Shadow, uttering words in a language Yang Zhen didn’t understand. It quickly turned its attention to Scampish Cat.
Scampish Cat made a weird face and said, “This fox is accusing the two of them of talking nonsense!”
“Impudent!” Gong Sanhe huffed, staring at the Snow Fox: “The grudge between humans and the Demonic Race can’t be erased by a ten thousand years’ sleep. If I find out you’re causing chaos in the world, even if you hide in the Nine Nether Purgatory, I will hunt you down and kill you.”
The Snow Fox sneered and buried its head into Han Yan’er’s arms, ignoring Gong Sanhe.
Yang Zhen had no interest in the enmity between humans and the Demonic Race. He waved his hand and said, “Enough, elder. You’ve lived for ten thousand years. Isn’t there any feud you can let go of? Moreover, this isn’t your personal issue. Isn’t it unnecessary to take it so seriously?”
“You!” Gong Sanhe paused, then bitterly smiled: “Your thoughts are always so strange.”
Death Shadow laughed heartily, slapping Yang Zhen’s shoulder: “Kid, if those obstinate Sacred Land elders heard what you said, they would blow their tops, probably label you a traitor and try to kill you. Be careful. However, I don’t think what you said is wrong. Everyone knows how the war from the past era started.”
Yang Zhen stared with interest and asked eagerly, “What actually happened?”
The Snow Fox let out a mournful cry as if recalling something unhappy. Han Yan’er immediately turned cold and glared at Death Shadow.
Gong Sanhe paused for a moment, sighed, and said, “Forget it. Today I won’t consider the Snow Fox. But she must tell us everything she knows. How is it possible for Demonic Race to survive here? Apart from her, is there anyone else here?”
Death Shadow paused and then said in a deep voice, “Kid, don’t blame me for not warning you. Old Gong is right. The grudge between humans and the Demonic Race can’t be resolved by a ten thousand years’ sleep. If there are other Demonic Race beings here, it might trigger a war. This isn’t something you can sort out with good intentions.”
“What does it have to do with me?” Yang Zhen rolled his eyes curiously: “Elder, you still haven’t told me what that war was about.”
Gong Sanhe and Death Shadow stared at each other. Gong Sanhe sighed and said, “Let me tell you. The reason for that war is unclear but it lasted for thousands of years. Who would care about the reason? But I heard that the root cause was the enslavement of the Demonic Race by humans.”
“What are you talking about?” Yang Zhen was surprised: “Humans and the Demonic Race were both part of the Wan Clan, so why could humans enslave the Demonic Race?”
Death Shadow chuckled and said, “Kid, human greed knows no limits. Back then, everyone prided themselves on having a mighty mount, and those of esteemed statuses were quite taken with the attractive girls of the Demonic Race. So, you can imagine the rest.”
Hearing this, Yang Zhen felt a wave of shock. Feeling the chill coming from Han Yan’er behind him, he said, “So, it’s fundamentally because of human baseness?”
“Who cares?” Death Shadow shrugged: “Back then, both humans and the Demonic Race only knew about fighting. But who would’ve thought that Demonic Race, abandoned by the heavens and earth, had survivors here… Wait, could the earth-shattering changes this time be related to the Demonic Race?”
Yang Zhen was taken aback. Before he could speak, a loud rumble echoed from deep within the mountains. Everyone’s face changed color, especially the Snow Fox. It shrieked, sprung from Han Yan’er’s arms and disappeared in the blink of an eye into the forest.
“Damn it, what’s that noise?” Yang Zhen had a confused look as he stared into the depth of the mountains.