Chapter 477 - 459: The Magnanimous Qingqiu Mountain

Chapter 477: Chapter 459: The Magnanimous Qingqiu Mountain

Ten thousand miles south of the Two Realms Mountain, an old man and a youth—a grandfather and his grandchild—traveled together through a dense forest.

Despite the scorching heat, the old man wore a glossy fur coat. His face was a roadmap of wrinkles deep enough to trap a mosquito, and his skin was as loose as his white hair was thin.

The younger one had a delicate face and snow-white skin. A closer look revealed gracefully curved brows, eyes that rippled like water, and the truth: this was a tomboy, a girl disguised as a boy.

"Grandpa, why are we walking? Wouldn’t riding the clouds be much faster?"

The tomboy asked, puzzled. The pair looked frail, swaying with every step they took.

But a moment later, they had already passed through the dense forest and were now walking across a muddy marsh.

"Your grandpa is a wanted man among the Human Race. If I dare use my Demon Power, I’m afraid the Demon-Slaying Sword would lock onto me in the very next instant..."

Old Hu said dejectedly, wiping non-existent sweat from his brow.

"It’s all because our Ancestor lost to the Celestial Punishment Peak Master by a single move five hundred years ago and was forced to swear an oath to never leave the Qingqiu Death Sea. If not for that, how could those folks from Lankao Mountain be living so comfortably? They should think about it—if our Ancestor hadn’t taken that fight, who else would the Celestial Punishment Peak Master have used to make an example of!"

"That Celestial Punishment Peak Master is so annoying! All the rules I’ve had to learn since I was little—’don’t do this,’ ’that’s not allowed’—Grandma said it’s all because of him! When I grow my Nine Tails, I’ll go and eat him!" the tomboy declared, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

"Don’t speak such nonsense! Be careful someone doesn’t overhear you..."

Old Hu’s expression changed drastically. He clamped a hand over Hu Jiu’er’s mouth and glanced around nervously.

"Jiu’er, you have the purest bloodline our clan has seen in ten thousand years, growing to Seven Tails without needing the Demon Saint Pearl for purification. But don’t get arrogant. The Celestial Punishment Peak Master possesses the power to reshape Heaven and Earth; he even ranks among the top few Divinity Transformation Great Powers in the history of the Moral Sect. Our Ancestor said that in the next two hundred years, the Celestial Punishment Peak Master will either be forced into Ascension or wait for his peaceful death. Once he is gone, life will be much better for our Celestial Fox Race!"

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Foxes were not known for their longevity among the Demon Race, but they still held a great advantage compared to Human Race Cultivators.

If they couldn’t win in a direct confrontation, they would simply outlast him. They would wait for the day the Celestial Punishment Peak Master was no more.

"Hmph. And we have to travel so far to some Five Elements Sect to demand the Demon Saint Pearl. We should just capture all the Human Race Cultivators who possess it, drain their blood and carve their flesh, and use them as Blood Food for our clan."

Hu Jiu’er recounted these horrific things with perfect calm, as if such acts were completely normal in her mind.

"Didn’t a Human Race Cultivator come to visit? Grandpa, why didn’t you agree to his proposal to let him retrieve the Demon Saint Pearl? ...Is he like the last three, all show and no substance, destined to be utterly defeated?"

"That person’s strength isn’t bad. His Demon Sword, in particular, poses a great threat even to me. He probably could retrieve the Demon Saint Pearl successfully. However, destroying a Core Formation Sect and killing a young Nascent Soul True Monarch with a powerful background are two completely different concepts."

Old Hu thought of the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator who had come to visit, wanting to trade the compound eyes of a Hundred-Eyed Celestial Centipede for the Essence Blood of a Tier Four demon.

He had happened to arrive just as the Nascent Soul expert from the Red Flame Sect returned to report the details, and he immediately volunteered for the task.

They hadn’t revealed what treasure needed to be brought back during their conversation, but Old Hu still refused him decisively, choosing to come out of seclusion himself.

Given that Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator’s style, he would surely turn the Five Elements Sect into a bloodbath.

When the Moral Sect investigated, he would be the one left with the headache.

Especially the Sword Cultivator who was helping the Five Elements Sect. Though he hadn’t heard his name, he was certainly from a Super Sect.

"The Ancestor has already given instructions: we are to follow the rules during this time and do nothing to provoke the Celestial Punishment Peak Master. The remaining two hundred years of his life already account for the life-extending effects of a Grotto Heaven Secret Realm. That isn’t nearly enough time for him to reach Divinity Transformation Perfection, so his chances of a successful forced Ascension are minuscule."

The Qingqiu Death Sea was being so cautious and restrained—even over the Demon Saint Pearl, which was vital to the Demon Race’s cultivation potential—precisely because of the Celestial Punishment Peak Master.

No one could bear the consequences of an enraged Divinity Transformation Great Power with no hope of Ascension.

If the Moral Sect didn’t adhere to its principles of lawful action and justified punishment, the Qingqiu Death Sea would have probably sealed its mountains and closed its gates by now.

Old Hu knew in his heart that even after they outlasted the Celestial Punishment Peak Master, this Cultivation Realm would never return to the past era when the Demon and Human Races coexisted.

The Human Race had indisputably become the hegemon of this world. The Demon Race could only reside in isolated territories, forming so-called Holy Lands to huddle together for warmth.

When a dominant Divinity Transformation expert like the Celestial Punishment Peak Master appeared, even the Demon Race’s Holy Lands had to sheathe their claws and obey the rules.

"Then let’s go to the Outer Sea! The Dragon Maiden from the Star Constellation Sea who visited a hundred years ago told me that the Demon Race still rules the Outer Sea, and there’s no place for humans there at all."

Hu Jiu’er thought of the young Dragon Race maiden, only a few hundred years her senior, who had boasted about how powerful the Star Constellation Sea was in the Outer Sea. She claimed all the Sea Beasts and even the humans had to live at her family’s mercy.

"Relatively speaking, the Outer Sea is indeed a paradise... but it’s not because the Human Race fears the power of the demons at sea. It’s just that colonizing it is difficult and not cost-effective. As long as the number of cultivators in the Five Domains continues to increase, there will surely be another war to conquer the Outer Sea within a thousand years, just like the campaign that purged all the demons from the Central Domain back then."

Old Hu held no awe for the Star Constellation Sea. ’You may style yourself a king of the seas, a ruler of the Sea Race,’ he thought. ’But you can’t put on airs in front of the Qingqiu Death Sea.’

Simply because the Qingqiu Death Sea had a living Demon Monarch—one of the most powerful among the few Tier Five Great Demons in the Cultivation Realm—the Celestial Fox Race had the right to look down on all other demons.

In terms of bloodline, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox lineage was by no means inferior, being direct descendants of a Demon God from Ancient Times who descended to the Lower Realm.

A True Dragon Bloodline was indeed nobler, but the Dragon Race bloodline of the Star Constellation Sea was a world away from that of a True Dragon. At best, it was on par with the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

Besides, as fellow demons, Old Hu knew the Star Constellation Sea’s secrets like the back of his hand.

Their so-called Demon Monarch Ancestor, a Tier Five Elder Dragon, had no actual connection to the Star Constellation Sea’s Demon Race. He was sealed in a Water Eye deep in the Outer Sea and had never taken a single step out of it.

The Star Constellation Sea just frequently offered him Blood Food, so the Old Dragon tacitly allowed them to borrow his name.

"Jiu’er, once we reach the Five Elements Sect, you must listen to all my instructions. Don’t throw a tantrum and attack recklessly... The Demon Saint Pearl is crucial to our clan’s legacy. This is no time for mischief."

Old Hu said this gravely, having suddenly thought of something.

According to the report from the Red Flame Sect’s Nascent Soul expert, the Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator who had come to aid the Five Elements Sect was astonishingly powerful. Hu Jiu’er would most likely be no match for him.

If a fight broke out and Hu Jiu’er was defeated, forcing Old Hu to intervene, it would defeat the entire purpose of their approach.

Their top priority was to resolve this matter as quickly as possible and retrieve the Demon Saint Pearl, all while avoiding the Moral Sect’s intervention.

"Alright, alright! I’m not a child. Grandpa, my ears are about to fall off from you repeating yourself so much!"

Hu Jiu’er covered her ears, shaking her head impatiently.

「Several days later.」

The Two Realms Mountain finally appeared before them.

"The Hu Family of Qingqiu Mountain has come to pay a visit to True Monarch Bai Zichen!"

Hu Jiu’er shouted, her clear, sweet voice echoing out with enough force to shatter the clouds overhead.

The outside world called it the Qingqiu Death Sea, but to the Celestial Fox Race, it was Qingqiu Mountain.

On Two Realms Mountain, the Grand Array activated on its own. Five-Colored Spiritual Light flowed as the light barriers of the Five Peaks merged into one.

"They’re finally here. If they hadn’t shown up soon, I would’ve started to think my reasoning was flawed..."

On Red Fire Peak, Bai Zichen opened his eyes. Five streaks of Divine Light, each several inches long, swirled around his fingers before he retracted them into his body.

He had judged all along that the Qingqiu Death Sea would definitely send someone else. They would only resort to drastic measures if they couldn’t reach an agreement.

This was born from confidence in his own strength; he believed they would be willing to negotiate with a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator.

That was why the long silence had put him on edge, making him fear that the Qingqiu Death Sea was mobilizing its forces to deliver a devastating blow to the Five Elements Sect.

What Bai Zichen hadn’t expected was that this was all a result of a strange twist of fate.

It was mainly because the Celestial Punishment Peak Master had little lifespan left, which paradoxically made him an even greater deterrent to the Demon Race than before, causing the Qingqiu Death Sea to be timid and cautious in all its actions.

Otherwise, whether they had accepted the offer from the volunteering Blood God Son or mobilized their Tier Four Great Demons, he would have faced a vicious battle.

The Qingqiu Death Sea belonged to the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox lineage, but they welcomed any Royal Demon Beast and had gathered many under their banner.

It probably wouldn’t be difficult for them to assemble a formidable lineup of Tier Four Great Demons.

Over the past few months, Bai Zichen had focused on his Cultivation of the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light and had successfully mastered the first level.

He was delighted to discover that his Sacred Body was still effective for this Great Divine Technique, allowing him to bypass the problem of insufficient sensitivity to Spiritual Qi.

However, he still had a long way to go before he could cultivate it to a level usable by a Nascent Soul.

"True Monarch Bai, you see..."

Master Houtu, his face clouded with worry, had been waiting outside for a while.

"It’s fine. Leave it to me. Since they didn’t attack immediately, they clearly intend to negotiate."

Bai Zichen arrived at the front of the array. When he saw the old man and the youth standing there, the corner of his eye twitched.

Two Tier Four Shapeshifting Great Demons!

Especially the impossibly ancient-looking one. His fur coat concealed his Demon Power, but the colossal energy hidden within felt like it would tear through the heavens the moment he took it off.

’A Tier Four Top Grade Great Demon, equivalent to a late-stage Nascent Soul Great True Monarch!’

Bai Zichen had expected the Qingqiu Death Sea to send a Transformed Great Demon, but he never imagined they would send a Tier Four Top Grade one right away.

Even if the Qingqiu Death Sea was a former Demon Race Holy Land, they shouldn’t have many demons of this level.

"I, Bai, greet you, fellow Daoists of the Demon Race. May I ask your names?"

Bai Zichen took a step out of the Five Elements Annihilation Array. Although the probability of them suddenly turning hostile was extremely low, the Nascent Soul Xiaobai in his Dantian Qi Sea still had a tense expression on its little face, clutching the Sword Box, ready to step into the river of time swirling around him at any moment.

"In the Cultivation Realm, I used to be called Brother Hu. Please, True Monarch Bai, call me whatever you like. A name is just a label."

Old Hu stepped forward, his face blooming into a smile as wide as a flower.

"I’m sure the True Monarch is aware of my purpose for coming here... The Demon Saint Pearl is something our clan cannot afford to lose; we must have it back at Qingqiu Mountain. As compensation, I can, on behalf of the Hu Family, agree to two of your conditions, as long as they are not excessive."

"This... allow me a moment to consider..."

Bai Zichen was stunned. This was completely different from what he had imagined.

’When did the Transformed Great Demons of Qingqiu Death Sea become so reasonable? This is a world apart from the rumors. Not at all what I expected!’