“My family has existed since ancient times. We are called the Demon-Subduing Clan,” the old woman said.
“The Demon-Subduing Clan?” Chu Feng’s curiosity deepened.
The name alone suggested this family was extraordinary.
Through the old woman’s account, Chu Feng learned the origins of the Demon-Subduing Clan.
They were a family from ancient times, practicing unique techniques unlike other martial cultivators.
While others cultivated to enhance their strength, the Demon-Subduing Clan’s techniques were designed to counter demons and monstrous entities.
Coupled with their special bloodline power, the clan wasn’t necessarily the strongest among cultivators.
But against demonic beasts, monstrous creatures, and other unique entities, they had a suppressive effect.
This was especially true for their ancestral Demon-Subduing Curse.
This curse required the clan’s bloodline power and their unique techniques to activate.
The old woman’s granddaughter, far inferior in cultivation to the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beast, had saved Chu Feng from its maw using this curse.
This demonstrated the curse’s power, especially since Chu Feng had witnessed the beast’s terrifying might firsthand.
“Granny, is the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Beast a scourge to the world?” Chu Feng asked.
“In today’s world, martial cultivators rule. The beast cultivates by devouring cultivators with strong bloodlines. Naturally, it’s a scourge,” the old woman replied.
“If it’s so harmful and your clan can counter it, why not eliminate it completely?” Chu Feng asked.
“Eliminate it completely? Our ancestors did consider wiping them out. But then they thought, while the beast devours cultivators, don’t we cultivators refine rare treasures for our own cultivation? Are cultivators lives, but intelligent treasures not? Even ordinary mortals who can’t cultivate eat livestock. Are those not lives? Even plants and trees have life. Yet, we spare nothing we can use. Aside from killing our own kind, which is taboo, cultivators plunder everything. In truth, we’re just protecting our interests. From another perspective, aren’t we cultivators the true monsters?” the old woman said.
“That makes sense,” Chu Feng nodded, unable to deny her logic.
“But that’s the cruelty of this world. When humans were weak, we were prey to beasts. Only after learning to cultivate did we become masters of the vast cosmos. Since ancient times, the law has been survival of the fittest, a rule set by the heavens, maintaining balance. As the strong, we have the right to dominate. Removing threats to us isn’t wrong, nor should we feel guilty. Excessive mercy could lead to our extinction and others’. Mercy harms both self and others. Following the law is the truth. But our ancestors believed the beast exists for a reason, so it shouldn’t be eradicated. Of course, they chose not to. By our generation, even if we wanted to, we couldn’t. Our clan has long declined, and the gap with the beast has widened. Our curse can still suppress it, but we can’t eliminate it. Look at this vast clan. You can imagine its former glory. Now, only my granddaughter, her mother, and I remain,” the old woman said with a wry smile.
She held no hatred for the beast but felt helpless about her clan’s decline.
Chu Feng chatted more with her, probing about ancient times.
As an ancient clan, she might know clues about that era.
But to his disappointment, she knew little, only what her ancestors had passed down.
Her knowledge of ancient times seemed less than Chu Feng’s.
He at least knew of a great calamity in that era, but she didn’t.
Seeing he could learn no more and worried that Long Daozhi might think him dead, Chu Feng prepared to leave.
After expressing his gratitude, he asked, “Granny, where’s the nearest ancient teleportation array?”
“There is one, but where are you headed, young man?” she asked.
“I’m going to Fengxian Upper Realm to meet my friend,” Chu Feng answered honestly.
“Young man, do you know why our clan, once dominant, ended up here as enemies of the beast?” she asked.
Curious, Chu Feng replied, “Why?”
“Because this Heaven-Devouring World is isolated from the outside. Outsiders can’t see us, and we can’t leave. Since you’re here, you’ll spend the rest of your life here,” she said.
“What? Trapped?” Chu Feng asked. “Granny, is there a way to break free?”
“There’s no way. Our ancestors, including many Martial Venerables and powerful World Spiritists, spent their lives trying to leave. But they found no solution,” she replied.
Chu Feng’s brows furrowed.
Not only did he need to help Long Daozhi, but being trapped here meant eternal isolation.
He’d never see his friends, his mother, or his grandfather again.
“No, I must leave,” was his first thought. Even if there was no way, he’d find one.
“Wait, Granny. If we can’t leave, how did the beast get out?” Chu Feng suddenly realised a key point.
He hadn’t stumbled here by chance.
The beast had brought him here.
If it could leave, there must be a way out.
