Chapter 2381: Saintess

Zu'an saw her clear eyes and knew she just didn't want him to worry about her. His heart ached, and he clasped her hand tightly. "Xiaoxi, don't worry. I will definitely help you find those things to cure your special constitution."

Jiang Luofu also knelt beside her, gently comforting her, "Xiaoxi, everyone will help you. You must never give up hope."

Ji Xiaoxi hummed softly. She didn't really care about the outcome, but if Brother Zu could always hold her hand like this, nothing, no matter how daunting, seemed frightening.

Seeing Ji Xiaoxi, even with her detested toxic constitution, still being showered with attention, Sarame felt quite irritated. She couldn't help but interject, "You've been exposed to so many poisons in the underground city, and you even concocted a potent poison capable of harming the Demon Lord. Your Innate Calamity Poisonous Sacred Body was awakened long ago. Even without my interference, your constitution would have soon fully manifested. And here you were, thinking you'd be fine for life."

Zu'an's expression turned cold. "Shut up. Are you looking for death?"

Sarame lifted her chin, disregarding the consequences for the moment. "I'm just telling the truth. Besides, you promised to let us go. You're a great hero; you wouldn't go back on your word, would you?"

Zu'an took a deep breath, composed himself, and ignored her, turning instead to Mogard: "I have a few questions for you. Answer them well, and I'll let you go."

Mogard bowed. "Thank you. Please, ask away."

"You were likely with the Lord of Slaughter when he invaded this world in this era. What was the situation like back then? Give me a general overview." Zu'an needed to gather as much information as possible about this world.

Mogard visibly relaxed upon hearing the question. "When the old master discovered this world, he didn't initially expect it to be so strong. He just sent his top generals with troops. As a result, we suffered heavy losses, especially because the Demon Emperor of this world was incredibly powerful, killing many of our strong fighters."

"Demon Emperor?" Zu'an's heart stirred.

"That's right. This world seems to be home to many races, but the Demon Race holds absolute dominance. Other races all submitted to the Demon Emperor..." Mogard explained.

The expressions of the many humans present were peculiar. They were accustomed to humanity's current advantageous position and never imagined that in this era, the situation was completely reversed.

Jiang Luofu fell into contemplation. Well-read as she was, she naturally knew that the Demon Race once held absolute supremacy. However, their power suddenly declined sharply, allowing humanity to flourish and gradually surpass them in strength. After several rounds of bloody battles between the two races, humanity ultimately drove the Demon Race to the desolate, frigid lands of the far north.

Countless scholars had studied the reasons for the Demon Race's sudden decline, with various theories, but none could convince the others. Now, it seemed the cause might lie with this massive invasion from the Demon World.

Mogard continued, "However, our Demon World is immensely powerful. We had already conquered countless strong worlds. Upon learning of the front-line defeat, the old master decided to personally lead the campaign. He brought me, the Demon Lord, and many other experts. With us here, the resistance forces of this world could no longer hold out and quickly suffered successive defeats."

"Wait," Zu'an suddenly looked at Mogard. "Based on all the intelligence I've gathered, your former status was very high, and you were a powerful figure on par with the Demon Lord. While your cultivation is respectable now, it doesn't seem to be as strong as it should be."

Even if the Demon Lord later became the world's ruler and had more resources, Mogard's current cultivation made it hard to imagine him serving as the Lord of Slaughter's right-hand man.

Mogard's expression grew somewhat dejected at the question. "That's because I once suffered a severe injury that damaged my very foundation, causing my cultivation to regress instead of advance. If not for that, Young Miss wouldn't have suffered so much all these years."

Sarame comforted him, "Uncle Mo, you've helped me so much. You don't need to blame yourself."

Hearing her words, Mogard's spirits instantly lifted, as if all the grievances he had endured over the years were suddenly worth it.

"Severe injury?" Zu'an suddenly considered a possibility. "Did you sustain that injury in this era?"

"Indeed," Mogard's eyes suddenly showed a hint of confusion. "I was certainly injured during this invasion of the cultivation world, but strangely, I don't remember how I got injured."

"Don't remember?" Zu'an frowned deeply. How could that be?

"Yes, I was very puzzled by it too. I tried many methods afterward. Later, a divine physician told me that my condition was likely due to a head injury, causing some memory loss. Coupled with my later need to protect Young Miss from the Demon Lord's clutches, I gradually stopped caring about it." As Mogard spoke, his eyes held a hint of sadness. To fall from being an expert on par with the Demon Lord to his current state, claiming he didn't care would be a lie.

But after several millennia, knowing how he got injured no longer held any meaning.

Seeing this, Zu'an asked again, "What happened during that great battle afterward?"

"What else could happen?" Mogard's tone held a touch of pride. "With the old master personally taking action, and all the experts from the Demon World deployed, how could this world's resistance stand a chance?"

"With the Demon Emperor slain, the Demon Race's army disintegrated, and this world's defeat was sealed," Mogard immediately changed his tone. "However, that was likely joy turning to sorrow. After dismantling this world's main resistance force, the old master, seeing that the general situation was settled, no longer personally participated in the campaigns. Instead, he went into the Demon Race's Imperial Mausoleum to research something and hasn't appeared since..."

Hearing this, Zu'an was startled. "Demon Race's Imperial Mausoleum?"

"Yes, it's the mausoleum where successive Demon Emperors are buried. Although it's very sacred to the Demon Race, I don't know what's so extraordinary about it. At most, we could just excavate the treasures and burial goods inside. But strangely, the old master was extremely happy after entering the Demon Race's Imperial Mausoleum; I had never seen him so excited," Mogard said with a hint of confusion in his voice. "Afterward, he shut himself in the Imperial Mausoleum all day, not allowing anyone to approach or disturb him."

Zu'an suddenly remembered entering the Xia Dynasty secret realm from within the Demon Race's Imperial Mausoleum. Could this be the secret the Demon Lord was searching for?

Mogard continued, "The old master remained in seclusion in the Demon Race's Imperial Mausoleum, entrusting the remaining mopping-up operations entirely to the Demon Lord. If not for that, the Demon Lord's strength wouldn't have surged so rapidly, nor would he have successfully rebelled later."

Zu'an's heart stirred. "I recall the Lord of Slaughter was sealed and suppressed by powerful individuals from this world using a special formation. How can you say the Demon Lord rebelled?"

Mogard scoffed. "With the old master's power, and this world's main resistance forces already crushed, how could those lingering natives have had the ability to seal the old master without the Demon Lord's assistance?"

"It's regrettable that it took me many years, witnessing him constantly eliminate the old master's former confidants, to gradually understand everything and see the Demon Lord's true colors. By then, he was already powerful and no longer concealed his intentions, even openly sending subordinates to kill Young Miss. That's when we began contacting the old master's former subordinates and started our years of underground resistance against him."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but feel dispirited. Back then, there were actually quite a few of the old master's veteran subordinates, and many were loyal. But after all these years of being hunted by the Demon Lord, some died, some gave up, some betrayed, and combined with everything that happened recently, now only he remained by the Young Miss's side.

A millennium of perseverance had ultimately come to naught. He felt lost; all his efforts over so many years had become meaningless.

Now, all he wanted was to find a secluded place to live in seclusion with the Young Miss. To live out the rest of his days like that was probably the happiest thing he could wish for.

Zu'an thought for a moment, then asked, "After the Demon Emperor died, who led the resistance forces of this world?"

"A great Onmyoji named Yu Men Beiqing," Mogard answered casually, unwittingly unleashing a storm in Zu'an's mind.