The speaker was an ink-black qilin, its form majestic and divine, its voice as clear and bright as a child's.
Sovereign Primus floated above the assembled demonic beasts, rumbling with low, unhurried laughter at the ink qilin's challenge.
"Experience is a double-edged sword. It gives us the confidence to face crises, yet without us ever noticing, it drives us toward the abyss."
The pitch-black mass of flesh churned, as though expressing some inner discontent.
"This great calamity is unlike any we have faced throughout history.
"It stems from—"
At that moment, countless ferocious, snarling faces burst forth from within Sovereign Primus's fleshy mass.
"Shut up, you!"
"Why waste words on these useless things! Swallow any who disobey!"
"What myriad demonic beast clans? As long as I, Sovereign Primus, exist, I am enough for this world!"
The outburst silenced every beast at the assembly in an instant, leaving them still as cicadas in winter.
And yet this was clearly not the first time any of them had witnessed such a sight.
Their eyes held only fear. No surprise.
The flesh-cloud churned again, swallowing those shrieking, ill-tempered heads back into itself.
Sovereign Primus continued as though nothing had happened. "Therefore, this calamity exceeds the upper limit of what the Xuanhuang World itself can resolve.
"If no new variables emerge, all things in this world will ultimately meet their end."
Sovereign Primus spoke with utmost gravity, and the assembled demonic beasts all grew solemn.
"However, since I have said I will lead you away, I have naturally already devised a means of escape."
The voice of Sovereign Primus filled the space like the resonance of a thousand voices speaking at once.
"Among the human cultivators, there is a sect called the Heavenly Sword Sect. To secure a sliver of survival in the great calamity, they are attempting to forge a World-Breaching Divine Armament capable of shattering spacetime, thereby escaping this Xuanhuang World.
"Setting aside whether their endeavor is even feasible, their actions have given me inspiration.
"The mountain beneath our feet happens to be a natural World-Breaching Divine Armament. With only slight modification, it can lead us away from here."
Sovereign Primus declared this with complete confidence.
"Southern Abyss Mountain is the horizon of the sky, the edge of the sea, the very boundary of the world. Therefore, it has accumulated much of the energy that spills forth from the world itself..."
Sovereign Primus began expounding the underlying principles to the demonic beasts.
The myriad beasts dared not be negligent. Whatever they thought inwardly, every face wore an expression of intense concentration.
Meanwhile at the very top of the mountain, inside the transparent room, Xu Ke was fighting back yawns.
"So boring. The most powerful demonic beast in existence, and it loves to ramble on. Not the least bit imposing," he muttered under his breath.
He turned to look at the child beside him, who was even smaller in stature. "Why did you bring us here? This is an internal meeting of the demonic beasts. Isn't it wrong for us to be eavesdropping?"
"It's fine. It won't mind," the child said flatly, still gazing down at Sovereign Primus holding forth below.
Xu Ke was carefree by nature, but he was no fool. He glanced left and right, lowered his voice, and asked carefully, "From your tone, you seem quite familiar with Lord Sovereign Primus.
"You... you wouldn't happen to be its illegitimate child, would you?"
"If you insist on thinking that, you wouldn't be wrong." The other party admitted it without hesitation.
The admission left Xu Ke speechless.
"Or rather, Sovereign Primus is me. But I am not Sovereign Primus." The child added after a moment.
Xu Ke's eyes went wide, filled with utter disbelief.
Meanwhile, Li Fan's attention shifted from the flesh-mass below back to the tender-looking child before him.
He had suspected as much, but even so, the fact that the mighty ruler of the demonic beasts had manifested a human form left Li Fan shaken.
Seeing the astonished expressions on their faces—one human, one bird—Sovereign Primus offered an inscrutable smile that sat entirely at odds with that youthful appearance.
"What, surprised?"
Xu Ke nodded repeatedly.
"There's no need for such astonishment. When you trace all living creatures back to their source, they can all be considered as one."
"Demonic beasts, humans... there is no fundamental difference between them."
Sovereign Primus's expression was placid. The words themselves were world-shaking.
Li Fan was certain that had anyone other than the ruler of the demonic beasts uttered such words on this sacred ground, they would have long since been torn apart and devoured by the enraged myriad beasts.
"It is rather amusing to say, but it took me until recently to understand this truth.
"And thus, I came to be." The child Sovereign Primus clasped their hands behind their back and looked down upon the assembly below with an air of aged wisdom.
"Lu Ya once told me that the reason demonic beasts are so powerful is that their strength is inherited from the primal bloodline within them. But with each generation of reproduction, that bloodline gradually dilutes. While the possibility of mutation or atavism cannot be ruled out, the overall strength of the demonic beast race is undeniably growing weaker."
At the mention of Senior Brother Lu Ya, Xu Ke's eyes lit up at once, and he listened more closely.
"Yet the opponents of the demonic beast race, humans, grow continuously stronger through generations of learning and accumulation. Techniques, talismans, artifacts, arrays, alchemy, medicine—the sources of human power can be passed down from one generation to the next.
"The gap widens. Where, then, lies the future for demonic beasts?
"I pondered this question for three full days and nights, and in the end, I still couldn't find an answer.
"Force those brainless creatures to learn alchemy and artifact forging?
"Even I cannot accomplish that. Lying around every day, eating and drinking, sleeping when tired—if one can grow stronger like that, why bother striving at all?
"This is the predicament of the demonic beast race. Even if exceptional individuals emerge, they cannot change the nature of the entire race."
Sovereign Primus seemed to be explaining to Xu Ke and the others, yet also seemed to be speaking to themself.
"So, you want to turn demonic beasts into humans? Like you are now?" Xu Ke spoke with immense shock and horror, as though he had suddenly understood.
The feathers along Li Fan's body rose slightly, a sense of dread washing over him.
"Yes.
"And no."
Sovereign Primus shook their head, then nodded.
"As the sovereign of all demonic beasts, I must consider and decide issues from the perspective of the entire demonic beast race, not according to personal preference."
The child Sovereign Primus pointed to the ongoing Myriad Demonic Beasts Assembly below.
"That version of me down there has decided to lead the demonic beasts in fleeing the Xuanhuang World.
"Even with absolute confidence in the plan, I cannot deny the possibility of failure.
"Even if the odds are but one in a million, I must account for it.
"To prevent our demonic beast race from marching toward extinction on account of a single decision of mine, I require an alternative," Sovereign Primus said slowly.
"I understand! This is what my senior brothers always say: always have a backup plan!" Xu Ke exclaimed.
"No, you do not understand," Sovereign Primus replied without mercy.
"A backup plan? For a race as vast as ours, that is little different from courting annihilation.
"Consider those unwilling to leave the Xuanhuang World. How many of them would agree to transform into human form? It takes little thought to realize only a small portion ever would.
"Coercion would only inflict further harm upon an already fractured people. Therefore, this plan must be executed in secret."
Xu Ke scratched his head, his small face creased with confusion. "What exactly are you trying to say? I'm understanding less and less!"
Sovereign Primus gave a light wave of his hand. A tree with lush, flourishing branches and leaves appeared before them.
At the very end of one branch, Xu Ke saw his own figure, and stared in astonishment.
"This is...?" he asked.
"This is the future," Sovereign Primus answered gravely. "One possible future."
"One potential fate of the demonic beast race is intimately connected to you." Sovereign Primus looked at the small Xu Ke, eyes heavy with the weight of ages.
Xu Ke stared at the ever-expanding, multiplying shadow of the tree and sank into bewilderment.
The scenes of the demonic beast race displayed on each branch were sometimes strikingly similar, sometimes utterly different.
Some were drenched in blood, with demonic beasts going utterly extinct. Others showed them proliferating to their zenith, the race's most glorious ancient era playing out again. Some depicted humans and demons coexisting in harmony, jointly building a splendid civilization. Others were blurred, saturated with stillness and decay.
“Infinite futures hold infinite possibilities. This also means that, no matter how small the probability, given infinity as its premise, everything must eventually come to pass...
"Thus, as the leader of my people, I must rationally consider the future fate of the demonic beasts under every possible scenario."
The words from that childlike body carried the weight of mountains.
"This is my answer to Lu Ya's question from back then.
"Humans, though brimming with potential and possessing infinite possibilities, are fractured. You cannot unify the most powerful forces within your race. Instead, you constantly deplete yourselves in endless internal strife.
"Once calamity strikes, your vitality will inevitably be grievously wounded.
"You may rely on luck to survive countless disasters, but stretch the timeline long enough, endure enough catastrophes, and the probability of human extinction grows ever larger.
"We demonic beasts are different. While I exist, I will consider everything for my kin.
"Though they possess their own thoughts, on the critical matter of survival, they must all execute commands according to our will.
"As long as I exist for a single day, the demonic beast race will not face utter extinction.
"Since we cannot compete with humanity, we need only outlast them, and humanity will destroy itself."
Sovereign Primus spoke calmly, though a faint mocking edge ran beneath his words.
Xu Ke's face was set in stubborn defiance, every part of him itching to retort. Yet no suitable words came. He stewed in silence before finally blurting out, "And how can you guarantee you won't die before the demon race perishes?"
Sovereign Primus cast a long, inscrutable look at Xu Ke, but offered no reply.