[Absolutely not! Absolutely not!]
The Dao Spirit's voice, woven from a multitude of voices, said angrily, [We thought of a solution. We did. We just don't know it right now!]
[Our true selves, our original selves, must have thought of that answer—the very act of stagnating and giving up is a kind of fall. How could we possibly have failed to think of something so simple?! It did trouble us, yes, but we absolutely had the ability to resolve it!]
"I know."
Faced with the Dao Spirit's rather feeble defense, An Jing did not sneer. Instead, he said calmly, "What you mean is that you aren't Heavenly Demons. You merely maintained a cradle capable of nurturing hope, waiting for hope and miracles to be born?"
As he said this, An Jing felt it was becoming a little too complicated. He shook his head slightly. "Let me put it more simply."
"Were you waiting for people like me?"
[Yes, yes...]
An Jing's words enlightened the Dao Spirit in an instant. Once An Jing spoke aloud the answer it had not even known itself, it immediately fell silent.
Several breaths later, they spoke softly. [Yes. Indeed. That is what we thought...]
[So long as eternity and reincarnation could be sustained, then one day... people like you would emerge, do better than we did, and change Heaven and Earth, change the world...]
At this point, strength returned to the Dao Spirit's voice. [But doesn't that prove we are not True Demons? Temporary retreat cannot be regarded as admitting defeat! Endurance and forbearance are absolutely not a kind of fall!]
[There may indeed be beings who confront everything head-on and stake everything upon the gamble—but what if they fail? Even we would never arrogantly wager all the possibilities of all future living beings on