Free Web NovelChapter 596: Chapter 87: The Saint’s Perfection (Part 3)
"The human demon-hunting operation completely altered the survival plans of the two members of the Demon Race. Living in the newly-born Xiangzhou Continent, to survive, they had to adapt to new rules - rules where demons found themselves at an absolute disadvantage. The most important of these was that they could absolutely not let anyone discover their true identities! Not even let anyone realize they belonged to a different race. As I mentioned earlier, after the Immortal Demon War, humans developed an intense aversion to non-humans, adopting a ’better safe than sorry’ attitude. Thus, they had no choice but to play the role of humans, which they maintained for a lifetime."
The Sect Leader, upon hearing this, still held many unresolved knots in his heart but was already beginning to be persuaded by Zhao Chenlu.
Because this explanation could very well be the only answer to a problem that had troubled countless people for many years.
During the Dark Era, where exactly did the two founders of the Saint Sect, who brought light, emerge from?
The Dark Era followed the Ice Age, an environment where almost no lucky individual could grow alone. At that time, nine out of ten powerful cultivators on the continent came from great noble families and sects. Even the few so-called independent cultivators were not without influence from these prominent families and sects.
Only the two founders of the Saint Sect seemed to appear out of thin air, and upon their arrival, they swept through demons with absolute dominance, bringing light to the continent.
The origins of these two have remained a mystery to this day. The individuals themselves remained unwilling to speak of their backgrounds, and at that time, the great families also collectively helped them avoid the question. Their tangible achievements far outweighed any issues regarding their origins, rendering such questions trivial.
Who would have thought that this trivial question would, two thousand years later, explode into such a revelation!
Flipping the perspective, if we locked the identities of the two founders as members of the Demon Race, then many things could be reasonably explained.
Why were they able to possess power that surpassed the Seven Great Noble Families? Back then, cultivators from the Seven Great Noble Families were already the top human experts, so who could be stronger than them?
The answer is simple: the Demon Race.
Individual strength of the Demon Race has always surpassed that of humans. Moreover, during their larval stage, the two founders absorbed a significant amount of flesh and blood essence. Their growing environment was far superior to that of the humans at that time. So, even though they weren’t born high-tier demons, they still held power above humans.
Secondly, why can’t their origins be traced?
It’s simple; if you were able to trace their origins, there would be no resting place for them. At that time, although the founders of the Saint Sect had world-beating power, they were not strong enough to fight thousands alone. The senior demon who perished before their eyes was much more powerful, yet was still eradicated on a solitary peak. Moreover, their power surpassed humans based on human-to-human rules. Once it comes to human-to-demon interactions, the scenario changes drastically. At that time, humans had accumulated extensive demon-hunting experiences and many exotic immortal techniques that had moderate effects on humans worked wonders on the Demon Race. So they dared not reveal their identities.
"However, there are a few questions left unexplained. For instance... If humans were so adept at demon-hunting, how did they manage to conceal their identities right under everyone’s eyes? In those times, although civilization had just begun, even then powerful families and sects had inherited some knowledge from the Primordial Era, making it implausible that they couldn’t recognize the Demon Race. On the contrary, humans had already organized several successful demon-hunting operations, and they were more experienced in dealing with demons than people today!"
After the Dark Era ended, there were no more traces of demon activities on the continent, and the Laws of Heaven and Earth also changed. Therefore, the previous demon-hunting experiences were gradually lost. However, at that time at least, the cultivators couldn’t have failed to recognize just two Demon Race members.
"This problem also has an answer written in the Holy Record; those two members of the Demon Race... were painting demons."
As soon as the term ’painting demons’ was mentioned, the Sect Leader froze in bewilderment.
The term was not unfamiliar. In the Primordial Ruins, behind Golden Cloud Peak, within the War God Hall, he had once seen the corpse of a painting demon.
Right beside the "remains" of the First Generation Sect Leaders, the War God Hall hung the corpses of the painting demons neatly as evidence of the Jiuzhou people’s triumph in the Immortal Demon War.
However, looking at it now, is it necessary to interpret everything from another perspective entirely?
The two First Generation Sect Leaders weren’t killed by any demons but instead... But even this doesn’t make sense. What was it about painting demons, what divine abilities did they possess allowing them to conceal their identity before humans? Previously, the Celestial Divine Sword clearly explained that painting demons weren’t a race adept at espionage operations.
"They’re not adept in espionage because painting demons are too timid to dare deeply into enemy territory. Naturally, they wouldn’t make good spies. But that’s not to say painting demons aren’t good at hiding. Quite the opposite; their ability to hide and disguise is among the best within the countless demon races. When they seriously intend to conceal themselves, we generally have to seek help from the Celestial Divine Sword."
As Zhao Chenlu said this, he gave a faint bitter smile: "However, this time, it seems the Celestial Divine Sword wasn’t quite as useful, despite participating in a journey to the Primordial Ruins, even he did not see through the identities of the First Generation Sect Leaders."
Wang Jiu sighed, feeling an unusual lack of confidence regarding this issue.
"Indeed, after the Immortal Demon War, the Demon-Pointing Sword didn’t prove to be as effective as before. The demon remnants in Xiangzhou seemed to undergo subtle changes."
Zhao Chenlu stated: "It’s not to blame you. According to the Holy Record, those two demon remnants did painstaking work to survive. Such self-modification methods can only be described as cruel torture."
Wang Jiu sighed: "This has given me a new understanding of painting demons. Previously, everyone assumed this type of demon was cowardly, but when faced with life and death, it turns out they can also make such decisions."
"According to the Holy Record, these two painting demons likely experienced mutations during their larval stage, making their nature starkly different from typical painting demons. At least... in regard to kinship, they were fundamentally different from ordinary demons."
"Kinship?" the Sect Leader asked in wonder. "Aren’t demons chaotic and savage, specializing in slaughter? Could there be any affinity attribute?"
"Demons were indeed chaotic and savage before, but after the Demon Emperor’s death, demons seemed to undergo subtle changes. Although even the two painting demons couldn’t confirm this, in the Holy Record, they frequently suspected there was something peculiar about themselves. Their behavior was extraordinarily distinct from typical demons. Ultimately, their suspicions proved correct."
At this point, Zhao Chenlu’s face again showed a somewhat sarcastic, somewhat amused expression.
The Sect Leader was perplexed: "What’s going on, exactly?"
Zhao Chenlu said: "To directly state the conclusion might again go beyond your understanding and cause a serious shock to your fragile mind, so I will explain in steps. First, to survive on so poorly, those two painting demons undertook very comprehensive self-modification to possess almost flawless human bodies, successfully deceiving human eyes. But on the other hand, the nature of painting demons filled them with a constant sense of crisis, fearing they would be discovered by humans. So they always wanted to do things to prove their innocence..."
After saying this, the Sect Leader finally realized: "So they founded the Saint Sect?"
"...Yes, we must admit, the cunning of these two painting demons is truly admirable. They discovered a blind spot that no one else was aware of—becoming saints. According to human societal culture, there has never been any doubt against saints. Saints are flawless. This is a consensus in human society, and their whole life’s work was aimed at becoming human saints, thereby immunizing themselves against all doubts!"
