You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

Compared to the various cultivation conditions in Great Yong, Liangwang City was far inferior. For example, places like Beiyuan Mountain, blessed by the divine, were unmatched by the Demon Clan, whose strength relied more on bloodlines.

Moreover, the Crown Prince controlled the reincarnation of Great Yong. Even if a Saint-level cultivator died, they would be reborn in the next life and still become a powerful figure.

This meant that no matter how much the Demon Clan nurtured the Human Clan in Liangwang City, they could at most occupy two or three tenths of the Human Clan's fortune.

"To seize the national fortune of Great Yong through the Human Clan of Liangwang City is one avenue of thought."

The nightmarish figure said, "Surely the Demons must have a detailed plan for this?"

"Two paths."

Duanmu Yan held up one finger, "First, utilize public sentiment. The direction of public sentiment is the direction of fortune. If all the people turn their hearts toward Liangwang City, even considering it as the orthodox of the Human Clan, then the fortune would naturally flow there."

"That's difficult," the nightmarish figure said in a low voice.

"Second, kill."

Duanmu Yan said, "Kill as many of Great Yong's powerful cultivators and gifted geniuses as possible, and naturally, the human fortune held by Great Yong would decrease."

He continued slowly, "Saint-level cultivators have already transcended heaven and earth, so they don't impact the clan's fortune. This means... as long as as many of Great Yong's Saint-level cultivators and geniuses are killed, Liangwang City would occupy more of the Human Clan's fortune."

The nightmarish figure was silent for a moment, then shook his head, "Even more difficult, the proving realm cultivators of Great Yong may not always focus on the populace but protecting the most important Saint-level cultivators and geniuses is not hard for them."

"Haha..."

Duanmu Yan laughed instead.

He whispered, "Though I don't know who exactly you, Demon God, are, I assume you're one of the Demon Gods who attacked Great Yong seventy years ago when the Great Yong Divine Formation was breached?"

"...Indeed." The nightmarish figure nodded slowly.

"That makes sense."

Duanmu Yan said, "Back then, our Demon Clan did not anticipate Great Yong's strength, leading to heavy losses. Xiahou Shou entered the Old Days once more, and when he emerged, he had proven himself to be the Prison Demon God and brought back several terrifying Ancient Treasures, though unfortunately..."

At this, he sighed.

The nightmarish figure asked, "Unfortunately?"

Duanmu Yan sighed, "Over thirty years ago, the Divine Emperor suddenly stormed into the Demon Country and killed Xiahou Shou."

"What?"

The nightmarish figure was taken aback, "The Divine Emperor specifically went to kill Xiahou Shou? How is that possible? When the Demon Clan was about to annihilate the Human Clan, the Divine Emperor didn't kill any demon, merely banished them. Over a thousand years, the Divine Emperor has done nothing; why would he go out of his way to kill Xiahou Shou?"

"I don't know." Duanmu Yan shook his head, "But the Divine Emperor didn't make the Prison Demon God's soul disperse; he sent him into the reincarnation system of Great Yong."

The nightmarish figure murmured, "No wonder Xiahou Shou would become the Seventeenth Prince..."

Eighty years ago, he was already within the Yong Realm when the Divine Formation was destroyed. After it was repaired, he never left.

Thus, he naturally knew nothing of the internal clan issues.

"The Prison Demon God was not only the greatest genius of our Demon Clan in tens of thousands of years, his contributions to the Demon Clan were unparalleled."

Duanmu Yan lamented, "Over a thousand years ago, his Divine Soul was on the verge of collapse and near death. Even with the Heavenly Demon Ancestor's intervention to reincarnate him into the Demon Clan and the help of a Top Grade Dao Heart Treasure, it only delayed the collapse of his Divine Soul. Nobody expected he would seize the opportunity to grasp a part of the Ultimate Path, a true unparalleled genius."

The nightmarish figure nodded slightly.

Being a Demon God, he was, of course, aware of this.

Xiahou Shou was originally an outstanding genius in Human Clan history. After defecting to the Demon Clan, with the Demon Ancestor's Ancestor Blood reincarnating him—akin to a rebirth—his talent became even more dazzling.

A person with a crumbling Divine Soul mastering part of the Ultimate Path was truly astonishing.

Unlike Duanmu Yan, who after reincarnating as a demon, even with Dream Demon Ancestor blood, only evolved from an ordinary path to the Heavenly Reversal Path.

Later, Xiahou Shou, putting himself in dire straits, entered the Old Days in a life-threatening gamble before his Divine Soul completely collapsed, gaining immense fortune. He not only fully restored his fragmented Divine Soul but also brought great benefits to the Demon Clan.

Xiahou Shou could be said to be a legend of the Demon Clan.

"Eighty years ago, the few Ancient Treasures Xiahou Shou brought out from entering the Old Days once more were rather incredible."

Duanmu Yan flipped his hand, revealing a pitch-black heart in his palm. Veins from the heart spread into the surrounding void as if drawing something from heaven and earth, transforming into flowing inky black blood with the rhythm of a heartbeat.

"This is..."

The nightmarish figure closely observed the heart, listening to its beating, vaguely hearing cries and whispers.

At this moment, the heart seemed to consume all his surroundings, as the world before him filled with swirling black currents, manifesting a colossal, bizarre shadow that laughed madly.

Startled, he instinctively stepped back, horrified by what he saw.

Only now did he notice that fine black hairs had appeared all over his body, with cracks that seemed to peer from within with sinister eyes.

"How's this possible?" The nightmarish figure's voice dripped with disbelief.

As a Demon God adept in the spiritual arts, just the mental influence of this heart affected him so deeply, to the point of assimilation?

"The Demon God should be cautious."

Duanmu Yan gently reminded, "This artifact was brought from the Old Days by the Prison Demon God. It is said to be the heart of a primordial one, the son of the ancient chaos, which holds within it the mental dreams of that entity."

"Primordial one? Old Days?"

The nightmarish figure was incredulous, "A primordial one is at the proving realm level, right? Even if it proves the Ultimate Path, it shouldn't be so vastly different, should it?"

Duanmu Yan hesitated, "Based on the Prison Demon God's insights from the Old Days, the son of the ancient chaos held a status higher than most Ancient Gods during ancient times. Primordial was formless, so in some sense, the three sons of the ancient chaos were the true leaders of the gods."

"This..." The nightmarish figure finally understood the uniqueness of the primordial one.

And yet, it was indeed so.

Even among proving realm entities, those capable of refining Divine Power embodied a significant disparity.

Refining Divine Power into one's being entailed a monumental transformation.

Like the Prince or Second Prince among proving realm cultivators, infinitely stronger than others, even capable of refining a Divine Heart independently!

The legendary capabilities of the primordial one's son were more perplexing.

"How should this heart be used?" asked the nightmarish figure.

"Naturally, by releasing the mental dreamscape within."

Duanmu Yan said softly, "This heart was reformulated by the great son of the ancient chaos, called the 'True Word Dream.' By parasitizing it within a being skilled in the spiritual arts, it can revive the dormant vestiges of the primordial one's son, crafting a dreamscape far surpassing Tianxia Building."

"Parasitize within a being skilled in the spiritual arts?" The nightmarish figure questioned, "Does that mean... you mean me?"

"No..."

Duanmu Yan gripped the eerie black heart and split open his chest, inserting it directly.

The veins on the surface of the black heart squirmed ominously, digging into the spirit and flesh of Duanmu Yan, rapidly intertwining with him.

Yet, Duanmu Yan's life force swiftly waned, dimming to the point of near extinction.

"Only by merging within me... can this heart be perfectly hidden, so even the Crown Prince cannot find it..."

Duanmu Yan spoke with effort as cracks sliced through his skin, unveiling vicious eyes that ravenously consumed his life.

With his last strength, he fixed his gaze on the mysterious Demon God before him, "I'll leave everything henceforth to you, Demon God..."

Facing him, the nightmarish figure paused in silence, then solemnly declared, "I am like you, a member of the Dream Demon clan. You shall live on within my dreams. Rest assured, I was the once clan leader of the Dream Demon clan... the Nightmare Demon God."