What the Demon Clan was doing was indeed outrageous. But if you looked at it from their perspective, you couldn't say they were wrong.
Ever since the Demon Clan had ascended to the heavens, the races left on the ground weren't all their enemies, but they might as well have been.
In that situation, since the Demon Clan had the means, of course they would divert the starlight. What else could they do—let it keep flowing down to the ground and strengthening their enemies?
This wasn't a question of right or wrong. It was a matter of where you stood. Any other race in the Demon Clan's position would surely do the same, so the Demon Clan didn't think they were in the wrong.
That might be true, but the Ten Thousand Races on the ground were the victims. They certainly wouldn't sympathize with the Demon Clan, the ones reaping the benefits. So they wouldn't understand the Demon Clan; they would only grow to hate them more and more.
But the Demon Clan was far away in the heavens. No matter how much the other races hated them, there was nothing they could do. They couldn't possibly fight their way up there.
As a result, the Demon Clan left on the ground were the ones who suffered. The Wu Clan saw them as thorns in their side, and even the Ten Thousand Races wanted to grind their bones to dust. They were truly enemies of the whole world.
In such circumstances, seeing a member of the Demon Clan on the ground was so rare that Jiang Yuan couldn't help but feel curious.
"Hmm, Ancestor Sui?"
After watching a little longer, Jiang Yuan grew even more astonished. He had discovered that the person welcoming these demons was Ancestor Sui. Judging by their expressions, they clearly knew each other; they didn't look like strangers who had just met.
That made Jiang Yuan curious. How had Ancestor Sui become acquainted with the Demon Clan?
There was still a long time to go before the Demon Clan's massacre of the Human Race. The Human Race and the Demon Clan were not yet mortal enemies, but they were practically strangers and shouldn't have had any dealings.
Of course, curiosity was one thing. Since Ancestor Sui hadn't called for him, Jiang Yuan wasn't foolish enough to go ask outright. Instead, he waited until Ancestor Sui had finished arranging things for the demons, then quietly went to ask him what was going on.
"You mean those demons from earlier? I met them ten thousand years ago. The Human Race had only just arrived at the East Sea Coast, and they were being hunted by the Wu Clan when they accidentally fled here.
"You know that although the Holy Mother has left the Demon Clan, she was once their Demon Emperor. So when those demons came asking the Human Race to shelter them under the Holy Mother's name, I couldn't refuse."
When Jiang Yuan came asking about the origins of those demons, Ancestor Sui answered honestly. They were demons who had received the Human Race's kindness. Ancestor Sui had met them back then, and they had become friends.
"After they'd already escaped once, why did they come back? The ground is still too dangerous for the Demon Clan."
Jiang Yuan asked without thinking. He still had the same preconceived bias, which made him instinctively target all demons.
"Of course they came to repay their kindness. The Human Race saved their lives, so naturally they have to show their gratitude. Otherwise, they won't be able to repay the karmic debt of being saved, and their cultivation will be affected. They'll never make another inch of progress."
Ancestor Sui noticed Jiang Yuan's hostility toward the Demon Clan. Though he wondered where it came from, he still explained.
"The Demon Clan would be so kind?"
"I think there's something wrong with this. From what I know of the Demon Clan, they'd rather kill their benefactors than repay their kindness.
"That way, their benefactors would be gone, and they wouldn't have to repay the debt of having their lives saved."
Influenced by his preconceived notions, Jiang Yuan continued to assume the worst.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You've never even met the Demon Clan. How much could you possibly know about them? Besides, although the Holy Mother has left the Demon Clan, Emperor Xi is still there.
"Would those demons be crazy enough to attack the Human Race? Aren't they afraid Emperor Xi would punish them and wipe out their entire clan?"
Ancestor Sui laughed. He felt that Jiang Yuan's groundless hostility toward the Demon Clan had already clouded his judgment.
Could the Demon Clan kill its benefactors? Of course it could. But there was no way such a thing would happen to the Human Race. The Human Race had powerful backing among the Demon Clan—backing that reached all the way to the heavens.
The Demon Clan had three Sovereigns, and one of them, Emperor Xi, was the Human Race's patron. His status was second only to the Demon Emperor, Di Jun, and he stood as an equal to the Eastern Sovereign.
Put simply, the Human Race were imperial in-laws to the Demon Clan. How would low-ranking demons dare attack them? They wouldn't have the guts.
"What's their purpose in coming here?"
By now, Jiang Yuan realized he had lost his composure. He had been too deeply affected by memories from his previous life and had lost his usual steadiness, so he changed the subject.
"To choose the most talented youths and take them to the Heaven Realm to cultivate."
When it came to business, Ancestor Sui grew serious.
"Hmm..."
Jiang Yuan fell silent. He instinctively wanted to stop them, but then realized he couldn't.
For the Human Race as it stood now, cultivating in the Heaven Realm was something many of its people dreamed of. If he dared to stop them, the people's spittle would drown him.
The Heaven Realm was bathed in the light of the Myriad Stars, and the Destiny of all things gathered there. It was truly the foremost sacred ground for cultivation in the Primordial World.
The Demon Clan was the undisputed ruler of heaven and earth. It possessed the greatest resources in the Primordial World and controlled three hundred and sixty Ancestral Transformation Divine Methods—the greatest collection in the world.
Though the Ten Thousand Races all cursed the Demon Clan, those were the words of the older generation. As the Demon Clan grew ever stronger and gradually secured its position as ruler of heaven and earth, the younger generation began to feel differently.
The young people of the new generation might not say it aloud, but in their hearts, they admired the Demon Clan.
If they were given the chance to join the Demon Clan, they would do anything for it. Even if they were asked to stab their own race—the one that had raised them—in the back, they wouldn't hesitate.
If even the Ten Thousand Races, who had a grudge against the Demon Clan, felt that way, what about the Human Race, which not only had no grudge against them but was related to them?
If Ancestor Sui hadn't forbidden the people from leaving the East Sea Coast on their own, a great many of them would have run off to join the Demon Clan long ago.
It was under these circumstances that the Demon Clan had taken the initiative to recruit the Human Race, offering to select its most talented youths to cultivate in the Heaven Realm. Who would dare stand in their way? Weren't they afraid the people would rebel?
"After our people go to the Demon Clan, will they still be willing to come back? And when they do, can we be sure they'll remain loyal?"
After a long silence, Jiang Yuan asked the crucial question.
In this era, the Demon Clan held too much appeal. Apart from the Wu Clan, everyone longed to join them. So there was no point trying to stop people; they couldn't be stopped.
Since they couldn't be stopped, they had to consider the consequences. Would those who went be able to return? Would the hearts of those who came back have changed?
"Those who volunteer to go almost never come back. But the ones I send have a decent chance of returning after they've achieved something in their cultivation, to help the Human Race grow.
"As for whether they'll have the Human Race or the Demon Clan in their hearts when they return, we'll just have to figure that out over time."
Ancestor Sui fell silent too. Jiang Yuan had voiced the very concern he had been worrying about. Compared with the Human Race, the Demon Clan was more than ten thousand times stronger. After living there for a long time, who would still be willing to come back and live a hard life?
And if they didn't return, could the Human Race still have a bright future without those gifted youths?
"After all this, are they really coming back to repay their kindness, rather than to repay us with vengeance?"
Jiang Yuan laughed in anger. His suspicions had been right after all. Even though the Demon Clan's massacre of the Human Race hadn't happened yet, they still weren't any good.
Evil to the core—they couldn't hide it.