Chapter 813 - 403: The Demon Race Will Never Be Slaves (4)

Chapter 813: Chapter 403: The Demon Race Will Never Be Slaves (4)

It was unclear what the old man was doing. He would leave and return intermittently; sometimes he would be gone for a month or two, and other times he would shut himself in his room for days on end.

Occasionally upon his return, he would bring Cheng Zongyang some Jade Scrolls, which recorded the Demon Race’s counterattacks against the Human Race.

More than half of the nearly one million members of the Demon Race had mobilized, launching a full-scale war against the Human Race! The Ape Demons in particular had seen an increasing number of powerful individuals emerge within their ranks. They continuously decimated human cities and slaughtered the Human Race, all to force them into releasing their leader.

The old man, however, did not intervene, nor did he pay it any mind. Reading this news, Cheng Zongyang felt a complex surge of emotions.

Days passed one by one.

Cheng Zongyang sat quietly by the cliff’s edge, no longer looking at the news the old man deliberately brought back. His thoughts drifted away with the mountain breeze, gradually sinking into deep contemplation about life, death, nature, all living beings, and emotion.

Gazing at the endlessly thriving forest below the cliff, he pondered how life and death were nothing more than a link in nature’s cycle. The trees in the forest sprouted in spring, grew in summer, withered in autumn, and lay dormant in winter. Some were struck down by lightning during thunderstorms, while others rotted away under the erosion of time. It seemed like an end, yet they turned into nutrients in the soil to nourish new life. It was much like the living beings of this world; where there was the joy of birth, there would be the sorrow of passing. Yet this passing was not complete nothingness, but rather a rebirth in another form.

He thought of the Demon Race, of those who had fallen in battle. Though their lives were short, they had left a heavy, vibrant mark in the history of the Demon Race’s resistance. Their hot blood and courage would act as nutrients—much like those in the forest—inspiring future generations to continually forge ahead. The boundary between life and death blurred in this inheritance and continuation.

The weak were prey to the strong; survival belonged to the fittest!

Regarding nature, he realized its grandeur and its ruthlessness. These rolling mountain ranges, dense forests, and babbling streams all operated according to the laws of nature, refusing to change for anyone’s will. Nature bestowed vitality upon all things—like the warm sunlight that made the flora lush and verdant—yet it also rained down disasters, such as torrential floods, wildfires, and earthquakes. It maintained a delicate balance according to its own rhythm.

He deeply understood that he, like all living beings, was but a mere pawn on nature’s vast chessboard. No matter how powerful he once was, he was utterly insignificant before the mighty forces of nature. He had once vainly attempted to use the Power of the Demon Race to fight the Human Race and change their fate. But now, trapped in this place, he finally understood that the laws of nature could not be easily defied. Perhaps conforming to the general trend was the true way of survival?

Torn by various contradictions and inner struggles, a complex tide of emotions surged in his heart.

From the perspective of the Demon Race, they were enslaved and slaughtered by the Human Race, struggling to survive in this world. Every Ape Demon had its own emotions, dreams, and family. They yearned for freedom and dignity—the most instinctive pursuit of any living being. But was the Human Race not also a part of nature? To secure their own interests and living space, they launched crusades against the Demon Race. In this dog-eat-dog world, every living creature fought for its own survival, yet inadvertently brought about the death of others.

He began to wonder if a higher level of harmony existed—one that would allow different beings to coexist and prosper together. Was it the strong who dictated these endless disputes, or was it the living beings’ own desires and obsessions making mischief?

He watched the weak, small animals in the forest rushing about for a single bite of food, scurrying to escape their natural predators, their lives hanging by a thread. How was this any different from the war between the Demon Race and the Human Race? Perhaps, in the eyes of the strong, all living beings were equal. Just as in the eyes of the old man, everything in this world was but a plaything in his hands.

All of this struggled, grew, and gained enlightenment within the Reincarnation cycle of life and death. Yet sometimes, he felt that a true powerhouse was one who embraced all these contradictions and conflicts, nurturing an indescribable order amidst seemingly chaotic disorder.

Heaven and Earth are impartial; they treat all things as straw dogs.

Being fair and objective, observing the world’s development without intervention—perhaps this was right. But if he had not resisted back then, the Demon Race would have inevitably fallen into decline and perished. Was *that* fair? He had emotions, and he could not cast them aside to comprehend the world.

Gradually, Cheng Zongyang fell into a dead end of thought once again.

However, as time went on, he began to view his own life and death with indifference. He no longer felt his previous unwillingness and helplessness. He had fought his way here, never once paying mind to life or death. Yet now that he was to be used for Alchemy, he was acting so apprehensive. Life and death were destined; it was merely the method that differed.

An unknown amount of time passed before the old man finally emerged from seclusion.

He walked up beside Cheng Zongyang, looking out over the scenery below, and smiled faintly. "You’ve been sitting here for three years. How does it feel? Do you find that only at this height can you experience the beauty of looking down upon the masses? That only here can you feel the absolute control brought by strength?"

Cheng Zongyang did not look at him. He simply said in an indifferent voice, "I haven’t thought about that feeling. I merely reflected on the path I’ve walked since childhood. It has all been for survival. The same is true for you, isn’t it?"

The old man scoffed. "You’re right, but there are different ways to survive. You run yourself ragged for your so-called race. You do it for your brothers. Yet over these past three years, all their casualties still haven’t been enough to trade for you. Your race and your brothers... their efforts are all in vain.

"You survive with your fate controlled by others, while I am the one who controls your fate, the one who controls everything in this world!

"Truth must be built on one’s own strength! In this world, I am the only truth!"

Cheng Zongyang did not refute him; instead, he agreed, "You are right."