Don't try to cultivate immortality; mortals live longer than immortals.

What?

The Demon of Resentment?

Duan Xuan was a little confused.

He had heard of the extraterrestrial demons before, but this so-called vengeful demon was something he had never heard of before.

"Yun'er, what's that?"

"The so-called vengeful demon..." Lingyun's face revealed a strange expression: "You can think of it as a downgraded, youthful version of an extraterrestrial demon."

"No, that description is not accurate."

"To be precise, it would be more appropriate to call them temporary workers."

Duan Xuan: "..."

What is all this?

Duan Xuan was completely bewildered, feeling that the system's words were incoherent.

One minute it's the youth version, the next it's a temporary worker. Are you sure you're talking to me about something related to cultivating immortality?

"Cough cough..."

Seeing Duan Xuan's confused and puzzled expression, Ling Yun realized that her explanation had been too general, so she coughed lightly and began to explain to him in more detail.

"Here's what happened. This secret realm we see before us usually opens once every 50 years, and each time, a large number of cultivators participate, fighting bloody battles for rare treasures. Even if we, Guixu, don't get involved, these guys from the Qingqiong cultivation world will show no mercy. Therefore, more than 80% of the cultivators who enter this secret realm perish."

Duan Xuan nodded.

This is the cruelty of the cultivation world.

Rare and precious materials are always scarce, and there are always more monks than porridge. In order to advance and become stronger step by step, every cultivator's path to immortality is one that they fight with their lives.

After all, they are not Guixu, they do not have a scientific cultivation system, and it is impossible for them to build modern farms with industrial standards, use controlled nuclear fusion to provide energy, let AI analyze and simulate suitable environments, and mass-produce various rare and precious materials.

This inevitably makes the living environment for cultivators extremely harsh.

Thoughts raced through my mind, but I continued to listen to Lingyun speak.

"Year after year, over the long course of time, this secret realm has opened countless times, and countless Qi Refining cultivators have perished here..."

"Their purpose in coming here was to compete for the opportunity to establish their foundation. Although they perished due to their inferior skills, there are bound to be some who harbor resentment among them."

"This is what is called resentment."

"Normally, ordinary resentment cannot last long in the world and will soon dissipate. However, if the environment is special and some extremely harsh conditions are met, coupled with enough resentment, it is possible to give birth to a Resentment Demon."

"However, this situation is very rare. I never expected that this thing would be born in the secret realm before me."

Duan Xuan finally understood some of it, but he was still not satisfied with Ling Yun's explanation: "What does this have to do with the extraterrestrial demons you were talking about, the temporary workers, and the youth version?"

Duan Xuan initially thought the other person was talking on their phone.

"Uh, it's just a metaphor..."

Lingyun carefully considered her words: "The Resentment Demon is also a kind of demonic thought. In essence, it is the same as the Extraterrestrial Demon, only it is very weak and has not yet matured. That's why I just used a mobile phone configuration as an analogy, saying that they are a downgraded youth version of the Extraterrestrial Demon."

"As for why they later said it was a temporary worker?"

"That's because the extraterrestrial demons are all bad; they're essentially a bunch of malicious freeloaders."

"..."

Duan Xuan was full of questions, and even began to doubt his own intelligence.

In short, I don't understand!

"Yun'er, could you explain that more clearly?"

"Host, don't worry, I will explain in detail, and you will understand in a moment." Lingyun coughed lightly and continued to speak along the same lines she had been following.

"Host, although you have only just embarked on the path of cultivation, the course 'Common Sense and Basics of Cultivation' has already covered extraterrestrial demons in detail."

"These guys are full of chaos and malice. They are not only extremely dangerous to us cultivators, but they also mean trouble to their own kind. They have no compassion or kindness whatsoever."

"As I just said, the Vengeful Demon and the Extraterrestrial Demon are essentially of the same origin, only one is still very weak and in its early stages, while the latter has already grown up."

"Based on biological instincts, the Vengeful Demon also wants to become stronger, with the goal of becoming an extraterrestrial demon, but in reality, this is very difficult."

"As for the extraterrestrial demons, they look down on these weak fellow beings. Not only will they not provide assistance, but they will also try every means to exploit and take advantage of them."

"Oh?"

Duan Xuan's face showed interest: "Tell me about it."

"It's very simple. Once they sense the birth of such a weak fellow, the extraterrestrial demons will descend and lure them into doing things for them. During this process, the extraterrestrial demons will offer extremely generous conditions and make various promises, such as helping them advance in rank after completing the work, so that they can also become extraterrestrial demons."

"And for the Demon of Resentment, this is an irresistible temptation."

"But in reality, they were tricked. From beginning to end, they were working for the extraterrestrial demons for nothing. In the end, the other party would take away all the benefits without mercy, while the initial promises and rewards would be almost non-existent."

Duan Xuan frowned. "This is shameless! Are the Demons of Resentment really so easily fooled? They'll do the work without any reward, and they won't even rebel?"

"Resist?"

Lingyun smiled, a hint of pity and mockery in her eyes: "The cultivation world is a dog-eat-dog world, especially for these chaotic and malicious demonic thoughts. What chance do these mere resentful demons have against their many times stronger counterparts?"

"They were suppressed in the blink of an eye."

"However, this is the best possible outcome. Usually, extraterrestrial demons wouldn't do this because they believe the other party still has value to be used, and killing them now would be too wasteful of resources."

"So there's usually a set of talking points."

"Sales pitch?"

"Yes, it's about brainwashing the demons of resentment, making them stop being attached to immediate benefits, stop being attached to how much demonic energy they've gained, or how much source they've come into contact with. They should take a long-term view, value growth and seniority, and learn more, accumulate more, and improve themselves more in the process of working."

"Tell them to have a broader perspective, and that you've provided them with a platform for growth, and that you're already being generous by not asking for anything in return. These mere resentful demons are truly ungrateful."

"Then it's just a matter of making empty promises, telling the other party that this is just a small test, and only by continuing to work hard can they have a chance to become an extraterrestrial demon."

Duan Xuan: "..."

Duan Xuan was speechless. These extraterrestrial demons were truly inhuman, worthy of being filled with chaotic and malicious demonic thoughts, and extremely cunning.

"So what was the result? Was the Demon of Resentment really fooled?"

"Yes, that's mostly true, but a small number of intelligent, talented, and fortunate individuals have broken free from the deception, grown up, and become true extraterrestrial demons."

"However, this is only a very small minority!"