Published: March 2, 2025
“This is a byproduct.”
After a brief contemplation, the spirit of the demon lord provided an answer.
“Demonic energy is derived from the Heavenly Gifted Stone, or rather, it is a byproduct of the practitioner system.”
As the spirit spoke, Aoga's confusion deepened.
He didn’t quite understand the relationship between demonic energy, the Heavenly Gifted Stone, or the Exchange Stone Pillar.
“Let’s put it this way, you understand the law of conservation of energy, right?”
This was indisputable. Even though Aoga hadn’t gone through any formal education, he had grasped the concept of energy conservation over his long life.
“Practitioners absorb magic crystals, while the demonic clan devours flesh and blood to extract energy. This is a form of energy conservation and the reason why life becomes stronger under the practitioner system. However, there are always some lives that die unnoticed, their magic crystals and bodies slowly decaying, with the energy they once absorbed also gradually dissipating, turning back into demonic energy.”
“However, this is merely a spontaneous energy cycle that arose after the practitioner system was established. During the Lirada era, when the Heavenly Gifted Stone was just brought back from outer space, it was not like this.”
The spirit explained calmly, yet it seemed to return to the past Lirada.
But the brief memory quickly passed. The spirit of the demon lord calmed down and continued speaking.
“In the beginning, the first wave of demonic energy explosion originated from the Exchange Stone Pillar. It changed the essence of life for the first batch of Lirada people, including the sovereign and the demon lord, and from that seed, it ultimately infected the entire world.”
“It was like a virus.”
“However, that’s no longer important.”
The spirit didn't delve into the details of what had happened in the past; he only clarified that the source of demonic energy was the Exchange Stone Pillar and briefly explained why the demonic energy content in the pipes had slightly increased.
In fact, the spirit of the demon lord also didn’t fully understand the relationship between demonic energy and the Heavenly Gifted Stone—this question perhaps could only be clearly and comprehensively answered by the current owner of the Heavenly Gifted Stone.
Aoga, sensing the situation, did not pursue the matter further. He simply listened until the spirit of the demon lord paused again and spoke.
“As for the origin power here, that is the most interesting thing.”
After saying this, the spirit lightly tapped the pipe below with the tip of his foot, and with a slight rebound, a smile finally appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“You’ve been to the origin pool, so you should know that the foundation that sustains the Demon Palace, and even the surface Demon Realm, is the origin power from other worlds that we have plundered from the origin pool.”
Aoga nodded; he understood this principle, of course.
In fact, for someone of Aoga's stature in the demonic clan, the purpose behind the continuous invasion of other worlds by the demonic clan was not a huge secret—although no one had explicitly stated it, one could guess it after living for so long.
“However, the Heart of the World is not such a simple thing... Piling up a large amount of origin power from different worlds together is not the operation logic of the Heart of the World.”
“The reason you feel that there is a problem with the origin power in the pipes is that we are currently missing the most crucial link.”
“Which is the balance from the demon lord.”
Upon hearing this from the spirit of the demon lord, Aoga suddenly realized.
“Otherwise, do you think the demon lord stays stationed at the 999th layer of the Demon Palace for years without showing himself easily?”
“He himself is the most critical link in the circulation of the origin power of the Demon Palace.”
“The demon lord actively uses his own power to continuously regulate the flow of origin power into the Demon Palace, supporting the survival of these two worlds. Although I am in a hostile relationship with him, when it comes to maintaining the existence of the Demon Realm, the demon lord absolutely understands the greater good and has no selfish motives.”