Chapter 2267: Laying Out the Facts and Reasoning

"The two demons stayed in Floating County for one night. I heard they ate and drank nothing, and left the next morning without a trace."

"Are they not returning to Pulu Island?"

"They went northwest, toward the inland."

"Good, this information is indeed valuable." He Lingchuan said solemnly, "But how do you know I need information about these demon puppet experimental grounds?"

"Because you firmly resist the demons, and the demons have always been seeking ways to return to the human world, such as using demon puppets as vessels for divine descent. I thought you must be concerned about their progress."

He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow: "This secret, how did you come to know it?"

Cang Yan proclaimed the true face of the demons far and wide, but the demons' work on demon puppet and monster experiments remained little known. Because such matters are too abstract, ordinary people may not understand them, and they are useless for public opinion. Conversely, simplified, flat rhetoric is beneficial for mass dissemination, such as incendiary slogans and seemingly reasonable but nutritionally empty maxims.

Therefore, Sun Hongye wandering among small states for years, by rights should not have come into contact with such secrets.

"Several years ago, I worked at a firm in Bai Sha Bay for over six months, lodging at the Qingmu Inn. One evening, a group of Ying Shan people came to the inn. They were to depart from Bai Sha Bay by ship for the Jin Gold Plains the next day, and that night they rented the inn's hall to drink, and I had a few cups with them. I heard Ying Shan had been invaded by Xu State, and it was suspected that Between Between Between Beijia also sent a demon army to aid Xu State's ferocity. The Ying Shan people held out for several months, but in the end, lone wood cannot support a building, and having no choice, they fled far away."

He Lingchuan nodded.

Even when Xu State invaded Ying Shan, Qiu Hu came to him for advice. His advice was to relocate the sect immediately and cut losses in time.

But Ying Shan ultimately could not bear to abandon its sect's foundation. After fighting Xu State for several months and suffering considerable casualties, they finally faced the facts and decided to relocate the entire sect eastward to the Jin Gold Plains, to seek refuge with Qiu Hu.

"They discussed demons and demon puppets at the banquet, and one elder surnamed Dao said Ying Shan had helped Mu State destroy a demon puppet experimental ground, thus inviting Between Between Between Beijia's retaliation, which instigated Xu State's attack." Sun Hongye remembered the scene clearly, "I toasted him and asked what demon puppets were, and he happened to answer."

"So that's it, you're still as meticulous as before."

The two then casually chatted about past events, and Sun Hongye then asked:

"I followed Lord Pu from Ju Lu Port to Ju City, and along the way I saw many Xian Sect and demon tribe garrisons, as if there were no difference from the outside world. I wanted to ask the Emperor, these Xian Sects establishing mountain gates on the Jin Gold Plains, and demon tribes also breeding there—what is their relation to our Cang Yan?"

"On the current Jin Gold Plains, Xian Sects and demon tribes are quite common." After all, Jin Gold is indeed vast in territory, and Cang Yan's government cannot possibly manage every inch of land and every forest, "After humans gather in large numbers in towns and cities, farmland, workshops, and manors also concentrate around the towns, and the vast areas left naturally become inhabited by spirits and wild demons. Many Xian Sects and demon tribes, unaccustomed to human town life, also return to the wilderness mountains and forests, establishing mountain gates and nests."

Simply put, since civilians have dispersed from scattered dwellings and the government no longer needs to garrison troops to protect them, these areas quickly became wild and returned to nature. Of course, these places are merely "difficult for ordinary people to survive," but for Xian Sects and demon tribes they are pure lands of bliss, so they have returned to inhabit them.

The law of survival of the fittest applies here as well, mutual annexation between demon tribes and Xian Sects is commonplace. After Zhen Yuan Sect established its government, it swallowed many nearby forces, thus achieving its present scale.

"But after all, they are on Cang Yan's territory, so they are still not quite the same as what you see in the outside world; they must all be self-reliant." He Lingchuan pointed to the prosperous city below the mountain, "After many states collapsed, Xian Sects and demon tribes reoccupied dominant positions, again enslaving local civilians and extracting tribute—this is a replay of ancient and early medieval history."

Sun Hongye nodded: "In ancient times, the human world was not everywhere a paradise, at least not for civilians. This is also recorded in ancient texts."

The era of most abundant spiritual energy was also the era when immortals and great demons roamed freely, they possessed overwhelming power over civilians, and how could they possibly treat them equally and kindly?

Would you treat ants with courtesy?

The relationship between Xian Sects, demon tribes, and humans was fully revealed in the overturning of the seas and lands. Civilians, toward these lofty existences, must constantly offer tribute and service.

Who says history does not repeat? Under the current spiritual energy environment, in the vast majority of this world, history has again put itself into reverse.

"But in Cang Yan it is different. They can establish sects and propagate outside human settlements, and Cang Yan can accommodate them. But they absolutely cannot seize and occupy populations to sustain themselves, otherwise Cang Yan would have to send troops." Not enslaving civilians is the red line Cang Yan has drawn for these extraordinary forces.

Besides that, they may fight and play as they wish among themselves.

Sun Hongye understood: "Can these Xian Sects and demon tribes be obedient?"

He Lingchuan tapped his finger joints, producing a few crackling sounds:

"At first, naturally none were willing to listen. We gradually educated them, and once they became accustomed to Cang Yan's new rules, they would comply."

Sun Hongye today gained a new understanding of the term "education."

"Actually, teaching people person to person, repeated teaching yields no change; teaching through events, one time suffices." He laughed, "To this day, many forces still sprout like bamboo shoots after rain, and still there are those with ambitions soaring to the heavens, treating our words as wind past the ears, so this task is truly endless."

No one expected that this "Awakening of Insects" period would have such an unprecedentedly profound impact.

In a short time, countless plants and animals became spirits and monsters, impacting human social order;

In a short time, countless Xian Sects and great demons ended their seclusion, reopened their caves, and challenged national defense lines;

Many small states could not withstand several rounds of impact, were reduced to ashes, those places were forced to revert to ancient and medieval patterns, the strong respected, the weak preyed upon.

Like Cang Yan, such a great and strong nation, having foundation, having troops, having spiritual power, can adapt to the new situation and changes, continually adjust its own strategies, striving for human homeland and demon immortals to coexist.

Coexistence, but it was not said that it must be peaceful coexistence.

But such things have never been easy.

Those who have just emerged from their caves, these extraordinary forces, would they put your Cang Yan nation in their eyes? When they were in seclusion, this land had no nation yet. Now you come to tell them this is not allowed, that is forbidden—would they listen to you?

At such times, one must lay out the facts and reason.

The fact is that Cang Yan's fist is the largest, so its words are the most reasonable.