A new barrier, identical to the one that once encircled the human territory, reappeared, spanning across the land before everyone's eyes.
This time, however, the barrier enclosed not humans, but the demon race.
Li Qi, along with Feng Dengxian and the other three strongest humans, remained silent.
Soon after, Feng Dengxian gathered cultivators from various realms.
They attempted to enter, starting from the Nascent Soul stage.
"Bang!"
The Nascent Soul cultivator who tried to force his way in was repelled by the barrier.
Nascent Soul cultivators were forbidden entry!
Next was the Golden Core stage, which also attempted entry.
"Bang!"
The Golden Core cultivator was also repelled by the barrier, just like the previous one.
Golden Core cultivators were also forbidden entry!
Then came the Foundation Establishment stage…
This time, as the few Foundation Establishment cultivators willing to volunteer touched the barrier, their figures instantly vanished from the outside.
After a while, those Foundation Establishment cultivators who had entered the barrier emerged from within.
They reported what they had seen and heard within the barrier for the short time they were there.
Apart from the fact that the area was now populated by demons, everything else seemed to be no different from the human territory's former barrier.
Silence fell upon the crowd.
An indescribable and eerie atmosphere began to brew, intensifying among the human cultivator army.
Even the experienced Nascent Soul stage cultivators like Feng Dengxian were not spared.
The surging battle intent of the human cultivator army completely dissipated under this sudden turn of events.
Few cultivators were now in the mood to pursue the remaining fleeing demons.
Ultimately, Feng Dengxian and the other Nascent Soul stage cultivators issued orders.
A portion of the cultivators were assigned to pursue the demons outside the barrier that had not been enclosed.
Another portion of the army was dispatched to set up camp at the edge of the barrier, blocking all exits and preventing any demons from escaping.
Li Qi and Feng Dengxian, after exchanging a few words, departed.
Their destination was the imperial capital of the Great Wei Dynasty.
Within the capital lay a library.
This was the objective of Li Qi and his four companions.
The library contained a dedicated section for storing historical records from ancient times to the present.
When Li Qi and his group suddenly appeared in the capital, the current Wei King was startled and rushed out to greet them.
The news conveyed by other cultivators did not travel as fast as Li Qi and his companions' full-speed return.
The current Wei King was horrified upon hearing about the incident that occurred when the human race was about to completely annihilate the demon race.
Upon learning their intentions, he immediately invited Li Qi and his group to the library.
...
Within the library.
Ever since Li Qi and the others entered that day, the entire library had been sealed by the Wei King.
Now, in the vast library, only the rustling of pages could be heard.
For the past few days, Li Qi and his companions had been poring over historical records.
Along the long corridors, rows of bookshelves filled with historical texts were neatly arranged.
The historical records in these books progressed from recent to ancient times; the closer they were to the end of the corridor, the older the recorded history.
Just then, a hand reached out further into the depths of the bookshelves, seeking to grasp even older books.
To their surprise, they discovered:
"There are no more."
The books Li Qi and the others held recorded history approximately nine thousand eight hundred years ago.
"Are there no older books?" Li Qi asked.
"The historical records of this world are generally collected in the libraries of successive dynasties. If the library has none, then there are likely no older historical records in this world," Feng Dengxian's somber voice echoed.
Following this, as the last few ancient books at the end of the corridor were finished, the complete history of the human race was laid bare before Li Qi and his companions.
After Li Qi finished the last historical book, he recalled the historical accounts that the former King Jing'an, Jing Qian'an, had told him.
Ten thousand years ago, demons and fiends ruled the world, and humanity was weak.
In the face of countless demons and fiends, even the strongest humans could only become prey.
Then, one day, an immortal descended from beyond the heavens.
Seeing the pitiful state of humanity, the immortal, unable to bear it, drew a circle in the sky and brought it down, allowing many humans to enter and seek refuge.
Within the circle, there were strict limitations; cultivators of Golden Core stage and above, whether demons or humans, were forbidden from entering.
What was written in the most ancient historical records outside the barrier was largely consistent with what Jing Qian'an had told Li Qi.
Humanity was weak, their strongest falling prey; an immortal descended, drew a circle, and Golden Core and above were forbidden.
Keywords echoed in Li Qi's mind.
The timeline matched.
As for the history of the past…
It also seemed to align at this moment.
If one were to apply this to the current situation…
Could it be that:
The demon race was weak, their strongest easily slain by humans, an immortal descended, drew a circle, and Golden Core and above were forbidden, allowing demons to seek refuge?
It wasn't just Li Qi who had this thought.
Feng Dengxian and the other four Nascent Soul stage cultivators also realized something.
They exchanged glances again, their eyes filled with a sense of horror.
History seemed to be repeating itself under the hand of the immortal who appeared in the sky before.
In an instant, they all shivered, goosebumps rising all over their bodies.
At this moment, Chen Tu'an, one of the Nascent Soul stage powerhouses, let out a cold snort, his gaze filled with chilling killing intent.
"Hmph, so what if there's a hidden hand manipulating things? With so many human powerhouses now, the demons outside the barrier will likely be wiped out before long."
"By then, only the demons below Golden Core stage will remain within the barrier. We simply need to arrange for cultivators to suppress them day and night, killing any that emerge, preventing the demon race from rising again."
The others nodded in agreement, finding his words sensible, yet something still felt amiss.
At this moment, Li Qi, who was the only one sensing that something was wrong, suddenly spoke.
"Everyone, I have a question."
"Since we humans have won this time and sealed all the exits to the demon territory within the barrier,"
"Then, according to history, ten thousand years ago, our human race was forced to enter the barrier to hide. Wouldn't the demons have thought of such a plan to completely curb the development of our human cultivators?"
"How then did our human race reach this point, with so many powerful cultivators who are not inferior to the demons?"
Li Qi had actually had this question since he emerged from the barrier and entered the Great Wall of Humanity.
Why was it that even though the human cultivators outside the barrier were not too much weaker than the demons, and could barely contend with them, history recorded that the strongest humans could only be easily torn apart and devoured by demons?
Li Qi's next words caused the people present to feel a chilling dread.
"Doesn't that mean that after our human race took refuge within the barrier, another force was resisting the demons for us, allowing humanity to produce stronger cultivators once more?"
"Or rather, those demon experts who achieved victory ten thousand years ago outside the barrier…"
"They all died too!"