Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

After explaining, the remnant soul looked at the old sheep.

"Qingmianzi, it's your turn to designate the next narrator."

Old Sheep glanced at the remaining Gou An and Crow, hesitating about who should speak first.

At this moment, the crow spoke up, "Fellow Daoist, give me a chance!"

"If I guess wrong again this time, I won't even have the chance to tell my own story."

Faced with the crow's words, the old sheep chose to respect them.

"Then let Fellow Daoist Xuan Yu tell the story!"

Seeing the remnant soul nod, the crow began to tell its story.

......

I was born more than eighty years ago, during a time of great drought and plague.

That year was a time of great hardship; the land was barren for miles, rivers dried up, and crops withered and died.

Humanity was ravaged by plagues and diseases, with no cure available, and ordinary people were dying in droves every day.

The mass grave outside the city is the final resting place of the entire city.

Every day, countless corpses are hastily dragged here, carelessly thrown about, piled up all over the field, with no one to bury them or pay respects. Only the eerie winds blow the dust, and the withered bones are exposed in the wilderness.

I was born a common crow in a mass grave, without any special talent.

In chaotic times, all living beings suffer, and birds have nowhere to find food.

Since I hatched, I have lived alone among the graves, wandering around the barren earth all day long, surviving by gnawing on the rotting flesh of corpses. I grew up little by little amidst death and plague, and became accustomed to the separation of life and death, suffering and sorrow in the world.

At that time, I was just beginning to develop my intelligence, but I was still ignorant and confused. I only knew how to survive, and I did not understand good and evil, let alone the path of cultivation.

Until that day, two cultivators descended from the sky, landing on the highest cliff of the mass grave.

I perched on a withered tree branch, watching from afar, and heard the two talking.

They discussed how this great human disaster was strange and abnormal, with drought and plague occurring simultaneously, resulting in countless deaths. They believed it was not a natural calamity, but rather the work of evil cultivators lurking in the shadows.

One of them was determined to thoroughly investigate the root cause, find the mastermind behind it all, and quell the chaos in the world.

I originally thought this was a savior act by the immortal sects to enter the mortal world and save all living beings.

But the next moment, something unexpected happened.

Two cultivators approached side by side. One of them suddenly launched an attack, raising his hand without warning and unleashing a spiritual sword. His fierce killing intent instantly locked onto his fellow disciple.

The righteous cultivator, who was investigating the evil cultivator, was caught off guard and was pierced through the heart by a sword. His spiritual power shattered and his life force was cut off.

The murderous cultivator looked down at his fallen comrade with a cold and indifferent expression, uttering a single, indifferent sentence:

"If mortals did not suffer, how many would be willing to make offerings to the immortal sect? In times of peace and stability, the immortal path has no veneration. You insist on meddling in other people's business and insist on a thorough investigation, thus ruining the overall situation of my sect. Don't blame me for being ruthless."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and hurled the corpse of his fellow cultivator off the cliff, where it crashed into the mass grave of corpses and blood below. Then, he flicked his sleeve and vanished into the air, leaving no trace.

The corpses of high-level cultivators contain a vast amount of pure spiritual energy, and their presence in a filthy mass grave is nothing short of a treasure fallen from the sky.

In an instant, the wild dogs, lone wolves, insects, snakes and beasts lurking in the mass grave all went mad, frantically swarming and snatching the corpses, fighting for their blood, flesh and spiritual power.

As one of the creatures of this place, in order to seek a glimmer of hope, I also stepped forward to compete for it, and by chance, I snatched the two eyeballs of that righteous cultivator.

These two eyes completely changed my life.

A cultivator's eyes contain pure, primordial spiritual power and even remnants of Daoist essence.

After I consumed it, all the deathly aura and miasma around me were cleansed, my mortal body instantly transformed, I condensed a demon core on the spot, shed my mortal form, and truly embarked on the path of demon beast cultivation.

Not only that, I also unexpectedly acquired a special ability.

Swallowing the memories!

Anyone whose eyes I devour, I can peek into their fragmented memories.

From then on, I embarked on a completely different path of spiritual practice.

I began searching the world for countless nameless corpses and devouring the remaining eyeballs.

Piecing together the fragmented memories of countless mortals, cultivators, and rogue cultivators.

The stories, experiences, and hidden memories of countless people intertwined and merged, allowing me to learn about the mountains and rivers of the world, hidden realms, treasure-filled ley lines, and secret places of cultivators.

Following the clues in my memory, I discovered one hidden opportunity after another, abandoned caves, and buried spiritual materials.

Thanks to these unknown gains, my cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, and my advancement speed far exceeded that of ordinary demons.

Unfortunately, the path of cultivation for demons is ultimately subject to the rules of Heaven.

As my cultivation level increased, my demonic aura became increasingly intense, making it impossible to completely conceal.

Human cultivators have always eradicated demons and other races. My demonic aura leaked out, and I was eventually discovered by wandering cultivators, which led to a multi-pronged pursuit.

Left with no other choice, I had to completely distance myself from human cities and populated areas, hiding myself year-round in deep mountains and forests, in remote and desolate places, concealing my identity and barely surviving as a demon, and wandering all the way to this day.

After telling the story, the crow sighed deeply.

Then the remnant soul spoke: "Now you may ask your questions."

Faced with the story told by the crow, no one asked any questions for a moment.

It's not that no one has doubts, but rather that no one has figured out what to ask first.

After a moment, the old sheep slowly asked, "May I ask what rank your demon beast is now?"

Crow Xuan Yuzi replied, "I just broke through to the ninth rank two years ago!"

Upon hearing this, the rat demon immediately pressed, "It took you eighty years to break through to the ninth rank of a demon beast. That seems inconsistent with what you just said about your cultivation progressing by leaps and bounds, far exceeding that of ordinary demons!"

"I've only cultivated for a little over thirty years, and I'm already at the eighth rank of demon beast. Judging by the timeline, I should be able to break through to the ninth rank in another twenty years!"

Faced with the questioning, Xuan Yuzi replied, "As I said later, as my cultivation level increased, my demonic aura became harder to conceal, so I could only hide in the deep mountains and forests."

"Furthermore, the higher the cultivation level, the more difficult it becomes to accumulate demonic power to temper the demonic core, naturally slowing down the process."

Upon hearing this, Gou An suddenly asked curiously, "Do you have a mental image of how much demonic power is accumulating?"

Upon hearing this question, the crow glanced back at Gou An, then shook its head: "No!"

After the three demon cultivators finished their questions, only the two human cultivators remained to ask questions.

Master Yunbai thought for a moment before asking, "More than eighty years have passed. Do you still remember what that cultivator said before he left?"

Faced with this question, the raven immediately nodded: "I remember! Because not only did I hear it myself, but after I devoured the eyeball of that dead cultivator, this passage was also in his memory fragments."

"Because he was ambushed, he didn't die on the spot and was still somewhat conscious."

Then, Master Qingfeng asked, "Since you say you can obtain the memories of the dead, I would like to ask you, what was the Daoist name of the cultivator who died at the time?"

"He calls himself the Ancient Taoist!" the crow replied.

After everyone had finished asking their questions, the remnant soul spoke up at the opportune moment: "Now, everyone can raise their hands to vote."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone started raising their hands.

Gou An raised his right hand, indicating that he was not lying.

But the others all chose him as the one who lied!

Faced with this choice, the crow suddenly showed a relieved expression.

This caused a sinking feeling in everyone's hearts.

Because whenever the three of them showed this expression before, most people had guessed the outcome wrong.

"Voting is over!" the remnant soul announced. "Xuan Yuzi, you should tell everyone whether what you just said is true or false."

Xuan Yuzi sighed again before saying, "Congratulations on guessing correctly. I did lie just now."