NOVEL NEXT Chapter 318: Three People
After leveling up to the maximum, Shi Nian felt the world through her eyes had somehow changed.
Previously, when she lifted her gaze, she saw nothing but pitch-black sky.
But at this moment, it was as if she saw a terrifying face hidden behind the darkness.
The black clouds at this moment seemed to want to dissipate; Shi Nian narrowed her eyes and instantly reached out her hand, forcibly pulling something out from behind the black clouds.
It was a massive black head.
This head, formed from mist, had only eyes and a mouth, and no other features.
"Are you the one lurking behind, orchestrating all of this?" Shi Nian asked coldly.
The head displayed an expression of horror and screamed shrilly, "Who are you? How can you transcend the limits of the Human World?"
In this world, it was supposed to be invincible.
How could there be someone capable of grasping Its true form so easily?
"You needn't ask about my affairs. But you'd better answer the questions I ask you," Shi Nian stated icily.
The giant head fell silent, showing an unwillingness to cooperate.
Shi Nian wasn't annoyed; she directly reached out, pierced through Its forehead, and began to stir frantically.
The head screamed in agony, its form dispersing and gathering several times before barely retaining the shape of a head.
"Do you wish to die? Or live?" Shi Nian observed her hand casually.
Thinking about the terrifying things Shi Nian's hand had done to it.
The head shivered uncontrollably and hurriedly said, "What do you wish to inquire? I am the Heavenly Dao of this world, sheltering all beings within. You shouldn't harm me."
Shi Nian replied calmly, "Shelter all beings? If that is true, why has this world produced so many with absurd fates?"
The head's eyeballs shifted, "Their destiny is as such. I am merely acting according to the rules."
Shi Nian moved her fingertips, "It seems your mouth is quite stubborn. Let's continue, then."
This time, she extended her finger and poked directly into Its eyes.
The spot touched by Shi Nian's hand instantly dissipated into black mist, and the head screamed in pain once again.
"I'll speak, I'll speak!"
This time Shi Nian did not stop immediately. She expressionlessly burned Its eyes for a while longer before asking softly, "Last chance. I ask, and you answer. If you fail to respond properly, you shall return to Chaos."
Its voice began to tremble, "Ask... ask your question."
Shi Nian asked softly, "In this world, you seem to be using these children of destiny to target the Human Clan. Is this so?"
It instinctively wanted to deny it, but Shi Nian's steadfast gaze somehow caused panic to set in.
The head spoke tremblingly, "It seems... there might be something to what you say."
"Good," Shi Nian abruptly added, "Was it you who released the True Demon Bottle?"
"Not me! I do not possess such a hobby!" It blurted reflexively.
Shi Nian put on a thoughtful expression, "You don't have this hobby, so the one who does is someone else. And you have a certain cooperative relationship with the owner of the True Demon Bottle, right?"
The True Demon Bottle that fell into this realm was merely a facet of the genuine True Demon Bottle.
Even that was enough to wreak great havoc in the Human Realm.
Even for Shi Nian, purifying the True Demon Bottle took extensive planning and a significant sacrifice before succeeding.
But let's not forget, this was just a facet.
What if it was the True Demon Bottle itself?
How much time would she need to purify, and what would it cost her?
At this moment, Shi Nian didn't even dare to contemplate it.
Based on her current speculation,
The Heavenly Dao of this world clearly had personal biases, which meant it was no longer the truly impartial Heavenly Dao.
The real Heavenly Dao was very likely to have been invaded.
And the person who invaded the Heavenly Dao was the very skull before her.
The one possessing the True Demon Bottle itself was probably another supreme being.
That being, for some purpose, had been using the Demon Clan produced by the True Demon Bottle to instill fear.
This false Heavenly Dao appeared to have some sort of collaborative relationship with the other party, helping to find several children of destiny to assist in the rise of the Demon Clan.
Among these children of destiny,
Yue Zhilan and Li Nanfeng were clearly paving the way for the Demon Clan.
In the book's conclusion, due to the influence of the Yin Yang Demon Venerable, Li Nanfeng was continuously pushing for friendly relations between the two clans, and Yue Zhilan made many efforts in this endeavor as well.
Then there was Yin Yu's system.
Yin Yu had wooed many of the Demon Clan's favored daughters, and when he ascended, he even took them with him. When he was invincible in the Human Realm, he claimed that humans and demons were as close as family.
Yin Yu and Li Nanfeng both peddled this rhetoric, but after they nonchalantly ascended, the Human Clan faced great disaster.
Next are Leng Shuqin and Dongfang Zhang.
These two followed the path of Loose Cultivators, always indifferent to the affairs of the Human and Demon Clans—yet in the end, Dongfang Zhang exposed Yun Jian's identity, leading to Yun Jin being besieged and killed.
Finally, the only ones seemingly unrelated to the Demon Clan were Hu Lie and Ye Xiaoxiao.
However, objectively speaking, after Hu Lie stumbled upon an opportunity, he led the Demon Clan to become powerful.
The ten royal families of the Demon Clan developed to a point where they could stand on equal footing with the Demon Clan.
But on the other hand, this also further weakened the strength of the Human Clan.
In the end,
The Human Clan's living space was slowly eroded by the Demon Clan and the Demon Clan, leading to an inescapable demise!
The Heavenly Dao found so many children of destiny, yet in the end, they were all targeting the Human Clan!
Shi Nian boldly exposed the cooperation between the skull and the owner of the True Demon Bottle. The skull hesitated, wanting to deny it, but recalling the pain it had just experienced, it honestly nodded: "He set up a scheme, having me help foster the Demon Clan. I was merely lending a hand."
"The help you provided probably goes beyond just him," Shi Nian laughed again: "You're one, the owner of the True Demon Bottle is another. But among you, there should also be a third person."
The skull looked at Shi Nian with some shock.
Shi Nian spoke calmly: "This third person must be the one behind Yin Yu's system. I've absorbed the memories from that system, which is just one of the many systems scattered across three thousand minor worlds. These systems help their hosts to become stronger initially, but after reaching a certain stage, it sends the hosts to be devoured by the person behind it. The creator of these systems must have absorbed a lot of power; in terms of level, they're unlikely to be inferior to the owner of the True Demon Bottle. The three of you have banded together—what exactly is it that you're trying to do!"
Shi Nian analyzed thusly, and the skull's face changed bit by bit.
This woman had managed to deduce so much from the clues available.
None of the three of them had escaped her discerning eyes.
"And there is you. Those two are such beings, naturally, you can't be any less remarkable. The Heavenly Dao of this minor world can't possibly be your true form," said Shi Nian with a hint of scorn: "Could your true body be the Heavenly Dao of the Immortal World?"
The Mortal World has three thousand minor worlds.
But the Immortal World has only one.
The Heavenly Dao before her is so cowardly it can't possibly be the true form; the Heavenly Dao of the Immortal World was likely invaded as well!
Only then would this Heavenly Dao be in the same league as those two entities.