Chapter 87: The Phantom Demon Realm

This statement drew attention from those around him.

There are eight planets; why can’t Earth be the largest?

Earth is the densest planet in the solar system—its size isn’t large, yet its density is the highest; isn’t that suspicious?

Add to that the fact that Earth is the only one of the eight planets with life; this alone proves its uniqueness, so it’s not impossible for it to also be the largest.

The more they thought about it, the more plausible it seemed; those around began joining the speculation.

At that moment.

The man who earlier claimed Earth had once been large but was shattered into its current size spoke again.

“Also, could there be another possibility… that all eight planets originally had life, but the transcendent beings and demons fought among themselves—or perhaps with those from the other side—and destroyed all life except Earth’s?”

Many gasped sharply, staring at him in horror.

Holy shit!!!

In that moment, not a single person refrained from cursing—even the most reserved girls lost all composure, uttering nothing but “I fucking can’t believe this.”

His speculation was simply too explosive.

Upon closer reflection, it wasn’t impossible—in fact, the likelihood was very high.

“Mars!! Didn’t experts say before that Mars is actually habitable? Its oxygen levels and other conditions suit human life!” someone shouted, voicing the long-standing global idea of Mars colonization.

Reports indicate that continuous exploration has revealed Mars to be habitable, and traces of life have even been allegedly captured.

Not just Mars…

“I remember my uncle, a scientist, telling me that research found that billions of years ago, Venus likely had vast amounts of liquid water—but due to certain reasons, volcanic activity surged, releasing massive carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise continuously, evaporating the water, creating a vicious cycle that turned Venus into what it is today.”

With that said.

The man wiped sweat from his forehead, his heart pounding, voice nearly hoarse.

“My uncle said Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth; if Mars had a strong enough greenhouse effect, its surface temperature could match Earth’s—meaning, if no event had triggered Venus’s volcanic eruptions and evaporated its water, Venus could have had Earth-like temperatures and water, making life entirely possible.”

Silence.

His words left the entire crowd speechless; everyone felt their blood rushing faster, almost reversing, their breathing heavy.

They understood the implication of his words—and caught the key point within them.

Scientific research found that billions of years ago, Venus experienced frequent volcanic eruptions due to certain reasons.

Certain reasons??

What kind of reason could cause volcanic eruptions across the entire surface of Venus?

The next moment.

They all turned toward the old monk, nearly suffocating.

Transcendent beings!!

A transcendent being capable of wiping out an entire realm could easily trigger volcanic eruptions across an entire planet.

Yes, it must be right—back then, transcendent beings, demons, and gods fought fiercely on Venus, triggering the eruptions that wiped out all life there.

The successive revelations by these individuals sparked total chaos; everyone at that moment could not stop thinking, could not stop their minds from spiraling.

Mars had life; Venus had life too—so it’s entirely possible all eight planets once had life; the reason they now lack life and seem uninhabitable might be because transcendent battles altered their entire ecosystems, exterminating species and rendering them unfit for human survival.

Take the gas giant, Jupiter!

Much of Jupiter’s surface is gaseous—perhaps a transcendent being struck it, vaporizing the massive planet into the gas giant it is today.

As more and more people voiced their theories and posted them online, countless others were horrified.

Even Japan’s Academy of Sciences scientists went mad, screaming in frenzy: science still has value!

Through continuous discussion, people gained a new, far more shocking understanding of transcendent beings and demons, realizing how terrifying and secretive the hidden side of this world truly was.

They desperately wanted to know what “the other side” was, to uncover more secrets about demons, transcendent beings, and gods—but they were also terrified, fearing that deeper understanding would reveal horrors so great they’d plunge them into despair.

“There must still be secrets we don’t know,” Professor Nakata murmured.

After all, they knew demons and transcendent beings stood on the same side because of “the other side”—but what exactly was “the other side”?

And!

Why did Yutsumi-doji research “the other side”? What had “the other side” done to make demons and transcendent beings unite? And what role did the still-unseen gods play—ally, enemy, or neutral?

These questions must conceal secrets they had yet to uncover.

While the conversation between Cimu-doji and Kūkai-hōshi sparked astonishment, excitement, and curiosity in Japan, it was not so in the Phantom Demon Realm.

At this moment.

The Phantom Demon Realm.

Countless phantom demons stood stunned, frozen like wooden statues, dizzy and disoriented.

We’re lab subjects??

Not just the phantom demons—even the realm’s great masters were bewildered.

No wonder—they were all reeling. Anyone who learned they were lab rats would be stunned, even driven mad; for the great masters of the Phantom Demon Realm, this truth was unbearable.

“We’re nothing but artificial lab subjects—and even our descendants are just lab offspring.”

The Demon Lord of the Demon Shrine stared blankly, whispering to himself, on the verge of madness.

He wanted to scream “I don’t believe it!”—but when his gaze fell upon the distant heavens, the figure whose mere aura had blocked the Buddha’s annihilating palm, his throat tightened like a burning coal, too hot and parched to speak.

The strong are proud; they look down on the weak as ants, let alone lie to them—that would be an insult to them.

If even ordinary strong individuals behave this way, how much more so the elegant, celestial being above?

Such a being would never lie to them.

Besides, what purpose would lying serve?

To save them? Ridiculous—if they weren’t lab subjects, why save them? They’re strangers with no ties.

To avoid conflict with the one who wielded the Buddha’s palm? Impossible—the two clearly have a connection, and he blocked the Buddha’s palm with mere aura; their power levels couldn’t be vastly different.

To use them? Don’t joke—these are ants he could crush with a flick, perhaps even kill with a sneeze; what use could saving them possibly serve?

To stage a deception? Even less likely—what would lying accomplish? At best, make them grateful to Cimu and obey him blindly—but that’s pointless.

Cimu could simply crush them with force; obedience would come faster and more effectively. Lying that they’re lab rats doesn’t gain loyalty—it shatters their minds.

Besides, they knew the strong are proud, especially that elegant figure—he’d never conspire with others to deceive ants. It made no sense.

Thinking further.

They couldn’t think of any alternative, nor did they need to—the figure named Cimu would never lie to them; there was no reason for it.

Once convinced.

The great masters, including the Demon Shrine’s lord, shattered mentally.

Centuries of effort, climbing to the top of the Phantom Demon Realm, becoming one of its two or three most powerful beings—all for nothing. They’d merely been fighting over scraps inside a petri dish.

They were nothing but lab rats.

They killed and bled for territory, for power—in the eyes of that elegant figure and others like him, it was merely the fermentation process of lab subjects.

…

(PS: What the hell, why do you think my power system collapsed or my writing fell apart? Are you really under the impression that light novel power levels on Qidian are pathetically low? But every book I’ve written has had high-stakes battles—I’ve written several, never collapsed. I’m not bragging, just telling readers: relax, this book won’t collapse, especially not in power scaling.)