Gamers Are Fierce

"As you are all already aware, in history, apart from several large-scale Slaughter Games, there have been countless smaller Slaughter Games, their exact numbers unknown."

Owing to the existence of the Light Seal Sword, the wounds on Ji Jiu would not worsen, so his voice was steady and showed no inflection.

"Slaughter Games not only select those with exceptional talents among humans to become players, but they also give rise to various non-human players. The differences in species lead to a vast divergence in moral concepts between non-human players and humans. Most non-human players don't mind using simple and brutal methods to quickly enhance their power.

"For example, they prey on human civilians. They drain Spiritual Energy from the land without restraint until an area turns into a completely barren desert. They excavate rivers and channels, collapse mountains, and alter the terrain to redirect the flow of Spiritual Energy, creating resource-rich lairs for themselves. They also deceive and lure humans, using them as materials to conduct massive ritual tracks.

"To human players, these methods are absolutely unacceptable, but to non-human players, there is nothing wrong with them."

Ji Jiu spoke solemnly, "Non-human players, their descendants, and those unthinking beasts that gained formidable strength due to the aberrations in Slaughter Games, are all collectively referred to by humans as 'demons.'"

He silently glanced at the unconscious Resentful Demon, then continued speaking to Li Ang and the others, "During periods when the Slaughter Games were in decline and the number of players significantly reduced, demons roamed without restraint, ravaging the mortal world.

"The Heterodox Academy or certain other Necromancers used specific methods to set up a large Formation in Yin City. At the time, Yin City was still a marshy floodplain, and the Formation was specifically designed to seal these demons. This Formation was also known as the Demon Prison."

"Wait," Ash said. From an angle unseen by anyone, he had discreetly retrieved a metal sphere from his inventory and was holding it quietly in his palm. "A seal? Why not just exterminate the demons outright?"

Ji Jiu replied with a hint of helplessness, "Because the Heterodox Academy, at its zenith, was far superior to ordinary demons. Their agents, scattered across the land, were also much more powerful than the disorganized, rogue demons.

"The primary task of the Heterodox Academy was to compile scriptures, create illustrated bestiaries of demons, and record mission logs. They hoped to bypass the Slaughter Games and preserve the legacy of supernatural powers, even if Spiritual Energy were to be depleted. In other words, to the Heterodox Academy of that time, analyzing the source of the demons' power was more important than exterminating them.

"Moreover, some formidable demons possessed extremely unique life forms. Even with the full power of the Heterodox Academy, they could not be completely killed, only sealed. The Heterodox Academy established an outpost right beside Yin City's Demon Prison. They treated the demons like today's laboratory mice, callously taking them from the Demon Prison at will for dissection, experimentation, research, analysis, and verification of their theories.

"They produced medicines and weapons from first or second-generation demons. They also selectively bred and cultivated demon species suitable for training as mounts, pets, or even as a food source.

"However, the reproduction rate of some special demon species far exceeded human imagination. Even within the Demon Prison, new creatures could continuously emerge. Additionally, the Heterodox Academy's agents were incessantly capturing demons from all over—those valuable for research or those too powerful to be easily eradicated. This led to a continuous surge in the demon population within the Demon Prison.

"By conservative estimates, even during the Qin and Han dynasties, when the Demon Prison was at its most neglected, the Misty Territory within it still housed at least tens of thousands of various demons."

Ash pursed his lips and remained silent.

Ji Jiu seemed to discern his thoughts and said, "You're thinking that with the Heterodox Academy's foresight, they wouldn't have kept so many demons in the Demon Prison, right? Once the Slaughter Games entered a low point, Spiritual Energy dwindled, and supernatural elements faded, the Heterodox Academy, having lost its power advantage, would no longer have been able to guarantee the Demon Prison's safety. If an accident had occurred in the Demon Prison, tens of thousands of demons would have escaped..."

Ji Jiu paused for a moment, then slowly continued, "To prevent such a dire situation, the Heterodox Academy also had various preventive measures. Once they detected an impending decline in Spiritual Energy, they would selectively carry out large-scale purges of the demons within the Demon Prison, slaughtering those that posed a high threat or had little research value. It was like in a biological lab, where mice infected with dangerous diseases would be culled."

The few players who heard this remained silent. The competition between races was cold, cruel, fierce, and merciless. If what Ji Jiu said was true, then they, as humans who benefited from the Heterodox Academy's sealing of the demons, naturally had no standing to criticize the Academy's actions.

"Apart from regular purges," Ji Jiu added, "successive generations of the Heterodox Academy would also actively strengthen the seals on the Demon Prison. The structure of the Demon Prison is akin to an inverted tower: wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. The upper levels were more spacious and housed a large number of sealed demons, while the lower levels were narrower, containing fewer but more ancient and powerful demons. Over time, the number of layers in the Demon Prison continually increased, and so did the overall strength of the seal."

Ash was silent for a moment. The metallic sphere in his hand was a special item called "Taste of Lies." It performed lie detection with pinpoint accuracy and was of a high enough grade to bypass many abilities related to verbal deception. The item hadn't registered any errors, which meant Ji Jiu's words contained no lies or deception.

Ash spoke up, "Then, what about this fog? Is it also part of the original Formation structure of the Demon Prison?"

"No, it is not." Ji Jiu shook his head slowly. "To ensure the Demon Prison remained foolproof even when Spiritual Energy declined, the Heterodox Academy set up a final, most critical safeguard. They seduced the last dragon in this world—a Mirage Dragon."

The players present had read many ancient texts on legendary creatures. From these accounts, they knew that the Mirage Dragon was a close relative of true dragons. It resembled other dragons but had branching, deer-like antlers on its head, a red mane along its back, and scales of a dark, earthy color. The scales on the lower half of its body grew in reverse, and it was known for being proud and defiant. The Mirage Dragon could exhale a mist capable of creating extremely realistic illusions, which it used to lure swallows into its mouth.

"Although the exact era remains unclear," Ji Jiu continued, "scraps of writing on broken bamboo strips suggest that this Mirage Dragon was the last true dragon in the world. The Heterodox Academy proposed some kind of trade, inducing it to voluntarily station itself on the bottommost layer of the Demon Prison.

"The mist exhaled by an adult Mirage Dragon, combined with the Demon Prison's Formation structure, could create an illusory, fog-filled Misty Territory both inside and outside the tower. During the long years of the Heterodox Academy's gradual decline, the Mirage Dragon, honoring its promise, continually exhaled this mist to maintain the Misty Territory. This trapped all sorts of demons within illusions, grinding them down to dregs.

"In other words, it is the existence of the Mirage Dragon that has allowed the Demon Prison, unattended for a thousand years, to function smoothly, shielding all living beings from the demons' depredations."