The Divine Way Resembles the Demonic

Three days later.

Gu Qingfeng couldn't take it anymore. Being emperor was truly unbearable—far worse than when he was the Prince of Equal Standing. Though the people were the same, at least back then, he didn’t have to attend court or deal with state affairs.

Thus, Gu Qingfeng announced the establishment of a cabinet, selecting a group of capable ministers to handle governance, while he himself absconded with the imperial treasury.

From then on, the Great Yan Dynasty entered an era of democratic co-governance.

In a desolate wilderness...

Gu Qingfeng had donned the Phantom Spirit Mask once more, transforming into that devastatingly handsome man. He adjusted his aura to the level of someone who had just entered the Divine Realm and activated the communication jade talisman given by Jue Mingzi, preparing to visit the Shadow Realm.

Originally, the Phantom Spirit Mask would have struggled to deceive Divine Realm experts, but after Young Master Yin aided his cultivation, Gu Qingfeng’s power had surged. Now, unless someone was a full major realm above him, no one could see through his disguise.

A moment later, the space before Gu Qingfeng rippled like water.

Soon, an old man with white hair, white beard, and clad in white robes emerged—none other than Jue Mingzi, the man with keen eyes.

When Jue Mingzi saw Gu Qingfeng, he opened his mouth to speak: "Dao—"

But after uttering just one word, he froze, staring at Gu Qingfeng’s face for a long while.

How could there be such an impossibly handsome man in this world!?

"You must be Daoist Jue Mingzi," Gu Qingfeng greeted first.

Jue Mingzi snapped out of his daze. "Indeed, it is I. Might you be Gu Qingfeng’s master?"

"That is correct."

"Might I ask how you should be addressed?"

Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment. "I am Gu Shenghui."

"Gu Shenghui?" Jue Mingzi repeated the name twice, then paused. "Gu Pan Sheng Hui" (a phrase meaning "radiant and dazzling")? What a narcissistic name.

He glanced again at Gu Qingfeng’s face.

Ah, never mind.

"Daoist Gu, you’ve come to see me to seek answers, I presume?"

"Indeed. The ‘centennial calamity’ you mentioned to my disciple, the identity of ‘them,’ and the Shadow Realm—I am quite curious about these matters."

Jue Mingzi stroked his beard and smiled. "I came precisely to clarify these matters for you. But before that, I must verify whether you are truly human. I hope you won’t take offense."

"How will you verify it?"

Jue Mingzi produced a mirror from his robes. "This is the Demon-Revealing Mirror, highly sensitive to demonic energy. Whether one is human or demon, a single glance will reveal the truth."

"The Demon-Revealing Mirror?" Gu Qingfeng was slightly surprised. "The same one used by the Demon Suppression Bureau of the Great Yan Dynasty?"

"Correct. Or rather, the mirrors used by the Demon Suppression Bureau are mere imitations of this one. Though we of the Shadow Realm rarely appear in the mortal world, as fellow humans, we naturally wish to contribute to the well-being of all living beings. The method to craft the Demon-Revealing Mirror was passed down from the Shadow Realm."

Gu Qingfeng nodded in understanding. No wonder the mirror could detect even a half-step Divine Realm demon like the Blood Demon—its origins traced back to the Divine Realm.

No doubt the original version was far more powerful.

"Very well, go ahead."

Gu Qingfeng wasn’t the least bit worried. Though he styled himself the Lord of Demons, he was, in truth, a genuine human.

"My apologies." Jue Mingzi bowed slightly before raising the mirror and channeling his true essence into it. A radiant light shone from the mirror, enveloping Gu Qingfeng.

A moment passed.

Seeing no reaction from the mirror, Jue Mingzi relaxed and put it away.

"Please forgive the intrusion. With the Heavenly Dao leaning toward demons, our kind struggles to survive. We must be cautious in all things."

"The Heavenly Dao leans toward demons?" Gu Qingfeng was intrigued.

"As cultivators advance in realm, their perception of the Heavenly Dao grows clearer. Surely, when you entered the Divine Realm, you must have sensed its... peculiarities."

"Indeed," Gu Qingfeng said solemnly, nodding. "I have."

Inwardly, he scoffed. Sense what? I’m only at the peak of the Tough Qi Realm—how would I perceive the Heavenly Dao?

Jue Mingzi didn’t dwell on it. He could clearly sense Gu Qingfeng’s aura—undoubtedly that of a newly ascended Divine Realm expert. Such a realm naturally allowed one to perceive the anomalies of the Heavenly Dao.

"In recent years, the Heavenly Dao has been severely tainted by demonic energy, making cultivation increasingly difficult for humans. This is why fewer and fewer have ascended to the Divine Realm."

"Demonic energy corrupting the Heavenly Dao? What kind of demonic energy is powerful enough to do that?" Gu Qingfeng asked, his excitement barely concealed.

Jue Mingzi gave him a strange look, mistaking his enthusiasm for shock.

"The Cangming Realm," Jue Mingzi sighed.

"This world is called the Qing Realm, a Minor Thousand World. ‘Minor Thousand’ refers to its classification—worlds are ranked as Minor Thousand, Medium Thousand, and Major Thousand, all existing within the Boundary Sea.

The Qing Realm was but an insignificant speck in the Boundary Sea. But five thousand years ago, due to the folly of our predecessors, it was captured by a supreme expert of the Cangming Realm—a Major Thousand World.

That supreme expert sought to refine the Heavenly Dao, thereby gaining complete control over the Qing Realm. The reason the Heavenly Dao is gradually turning demonic is because he has been refining this world ever since."

Gu Qingfeng listened to these world-shaking secrets with growing excitement.

"So, if I understand correctly, the so-called ‘sacred race’ of the upper realm are actually demons?"

"Correct. But these are not the demons of the Qing Realm. They are upper-realm demons, whose power and methods far surpass those here. The gap between them is so vast, they might as well be different species—hence why they call themselves the Sacred Race."

Gu Qingfeng understood the disparity well. It was like the difference between a modern superpower and a small African tribe.

No matter how hard the tribe fought, a single missile could annihilate them all. The gap was that immense.

And the disparity between a Minor Thousand World and a Major Thousand World was likely even greater.

"And what of the ‘folly of our predecessors’ you mentioned?"

Jue Mingzi sighed.

"A Minor Thousand World has limited spiritual energy, imposing a ceiling on cultivation. The highest realm attainable here is the Divine Realm. It’s like how shallow waters cannot nurture a true dragon. To advance further, one must seek a greater ocean.

Though Divine Realm experts live for a thousand years, their lifespans are finite. Five thousand years ago, some peak Divine Realm experts, unwilling to accept their mortality, sought ways to ascend to a higher world in pursuit of immortality. But crossing worlds is no easy feat. Despite exhausting all methods, they failed.

In the end, they found inspiration in the Demon Scroll."

"You must be familiar with the Demon Scroll, yes?"

Gu Qingfeng nodded. "Oh, I’m very familiar with it."

"The Demon Scroll is a medium cast into the Boundary Sea by outer-realm demons to obtain what they desire—a means of cross-world communication.

Those predecessors used it as a foundation to develop their own method of contacting other worlds."

At this moment, Gu Qingfeng suddenly interjected, "Later, these people managed to contact the Cangming Realm through this method by sheer coincidence. But as fate would have it, their message was intercepted by a powerful demonic entity, exposing the location of Qing Realm—thus marking the beginning of the calamity."

Jue Mingzi looked at Gu Qingfeng in astonishment. "Fellow Daoist Gu is truly brilliant, no wonder you achieved divine cultivation even under the heavens' near-demonic suppression."

Gu Qingfeng smiled faintly but said nothing.

The reason he could deduce the outcome was due to the Dark Forest Principle—anyone who has read The Three-Body Problem would understand.

The so-called Dark Forest Principle states: The universe is a dark forest. Every civilization is an armed hunter stalking through the trees like a ghost, gently pushing aside branches that block the way and stepping with utmost care to avoid making a sound. Even breathing must be done cautiously. He must be wary, for everywhere in the forest lurk other hunters like him. If he discovers another life form, there is only one thing he can do: shoot to eliminate it. In this forest, others are hell, an eternal threat. Any existence that reveals itself will soon be annihilated—this is the reality of cosmic civilizations.

Here, however, the "universe" is replaced by the "sea of realms," and "planets" are replaced by "worlds."

The scene of these predecessors attempting to contact the upper realm was strikingly similar to Earthlings in The Three-Body Problem sending signals to extraterrestrials.

The result was the same—inviting wolves into the house.