312: Unbelievable mystery

Boundless was stunned, taking a few seconds to grasp the deeper meaning behind Li Heng's extremely abrupt question.

He slowly shook his head, his illusory figure swaying slightly in the night wind.

"Among deities, although there are occasional frictions, large-scale wars sweeping across the heavens and earth rarely break out."

"Unless..."

Boundless's tone paused, becoming incredibly solemn.

"Unless it's an encounter with an Evil God."

"Evil God?"

Li Heng's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes, Evil God."

Boundless said in a deep voice, "They are an existence completely different from us, chaotic, disorderly, with consumption and destruction as their instinct. However, even in the Primeval Era, Evil Gods were extremely rare. Every time they appeared, they would attract the combined extermination of all deities."

He paused, seemingly recalling something, and added, "Furthermore, according to my master, those Evil Gods are not beings from this world."

"They come from... beyond the starry sky."

Beyond the starry sky.

These four words plunged Li Heng into a brief contemplation.

He connected this information with the actions of the 'Company' and the shocking deception of the Human Race's Bloodline being severed. A grander, colder chain of clues gradually formed in his mind.

"This Junior dares to guess..."

Boundless's voice trembled slightly.

"The catastrophe in the Primeval Era that led to the fall of the gods, perhaps... was an endless war between deities and extraterrestrial Evil Gods."

Li Heng made no comment, but deep in his eyes, he had already acknowledged Boundless's conjecture.

His gaze slowly moved from Shuten Dōji and fell upon Xuan Xi, who had maintained a resentful silence throughout.

"Now, it's your turn."

Li Heng's tone was as calm as water.

"How much do you know about the inner workings of the 'Company'?"

Xuan Xi raised his head, and a highly sarcastic smile suddenly appeared on his handsome yet twisted face.

"Hehe... hehehehe..."

He chuckled, his laughter filled with self-mockery and gratification.

"You want to know? I won't tell you!"

"No, I should say, I want to tell you, but I can't."

Xuan Xi looked directly at Li Heng, with no fear in his eyes, only a deathly gray madness.

"My memories, from the moment I joined the 'Company,' have already been tampered with by the 'higher-ups.' All secrets about the organization's interior, as long as I try to recall them or if an external force probes them, will instantly vanish into thin air."

He straightened his body, spread his arms, looking as if he were ready to be executed.

"So, don't waste your effort."

"Li Heng, just give me a quick death!"

"Kill me!"

Li Heng looked at him expressionlessly, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.

The next second, he raised his hand and pointed a finger at Xuan Xi's glabella.

A gentle yet irresistible Spiritual Qi instantly surged into Xuan Xi's Sea of Consciousness.

The mad smile on Xuan Xi's face instantly froze.

He could feel a vast Divine Sense, like a Boundless ocean, swiftly sweeping through the depths of his memory, probing every corner.

However, just as he had said, whenever that Divine Sense touched memory fragments related to the 'Company's' core secrets, those fragments would instantly disintegrate, vanishing without a trace, as if they had never existed.

A moment later, Li Heng retracted his finger.

Indeed, as Xuan Xi had said, everything about the 'Company' in his Sea of Consciousness was protected by a powerful and strange Restriction; forceful probing would only trigger self-destruction.

It seemed that the entity who tampered with Xuan Xi's memory was someone with extremely terrifying attainments in the Dao of Divine Soul.

Just then, Boundless, who had been observing Xuan Xi for a while, suddenly frowned and let out a surprised exclamation.

"Strange..."

He floated forward, circling Xuan Xi twice, his illusory eyes filled with confusion.

"Young man, where did you learn your Cultivation Technique?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Xi snorted disdainfully.

"What's it to you?"

Boundless, however, ignored his rudeness and spoke to himself, "This Qi on you... although it's mixed and impure, full of sinister power, its origin... why can I sense a trace of the Human Race's Cultivation Technique from the Primeval Era?"

At these words, not only Xuan Xi but even Shuten Dōji, who was prostrate on the ground, suddenly raised his head.

Xuan Xi was stunned at first, then burst into laughter as if he had heard the biggest joke ever.

"Hahahahaha! Old man, are you blind?!"

He pointed at his own nose, his face full of contempt and arrogance.

"Saying I cultivate the Human Race's Cultivation Technique? You're insulting me!"

"Look carefully! I, Xuan Xi! Am an ancient, orthodox Evil Demon! I cultivate the supreme Demonic Technique! How can the mere trashy Cultivation Techniques of the Human Race be compared to mine?!"

His voice was filled with the pride and arrogance of being an "Evil Demon."

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a faint voice spoke up from the side.

"Um... Senior..."

Shuten Dōji, who had been burying his head, trying to minimize his presence, cautiously raised his head, looked at Boundless, then at Xuan Xi, his face full of confusion.

"In ancient times... there didn't seem to be any Evil Demons..."

"In our era, there were only the Yao Race."

"Evil Demons... weren't they things that only emerged after the Spiritual Qi receded and we Great Yao sealed ourselves away?"

Shuten Dōji's words were like divine thunder descending from the Nine Heavens.

Instantly, everyone present fell silent.

The arrogant smile on Xuan Xi's face slowly solidified.

The muscles on his face began to twitch, his pupils uncontrollably dilated, staring fixedly at Shuten Dōji, as if he wanted to devour him alive.

"You... what did you say?"

His voice was dry, hoarse, and filled with disbelief.