Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 559: The United Demon Race

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou immediately decided to head to the Demon Region.

“We shouldn’t rush into this. We need to understand the situation in the Demon Region first.” Lu Yang tried to appear composed, struggling to suppress his grin.

“What about Man Gu and the other two? Should they come along?”

“Man Gu is out of the question. His Ancient Barbarian bloodline is a double-edged sword when it comes to demons. It has suppressive effects on low-level demons but draws enmity from high-level demons.” Lu Yang still vividly remembered their training in the jungle at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Man Gu’s bloodline had awakened and attracted a swarm of Golden Core demon beasts.

If Man Gu were to step into the Demon Region, they would likely draw the attention of a horde of demon beasts at the Divine Transfiguration Stage or even higher. At that point, the only thing they could do was run for their lives.

Oh, we may not outrun the demon beasts—better to use Big Senior Sister Animal Form Fist right away.

“Junior Sister Tao is busy cultivating her Metamorphic Immortal Physique and can’t leave.” Before coming to Meng Jingzhou’s place, Lu Yang had visited Tao Yaoye. He saw her enveloped in white-gold feathers as if in incubation, completely cut off from the outside world. She couldn’t be disrupted.

“Junior Brother Li should be free. We can ask him.”

Leaving the old horse behind and ignoring the shackled Xu You, the two made their way to Hundred Refinements Peak to find Li Haoran.

~~~

Li Haoran was shirtless, and his wig was removed, revealing well-defined muscles and a shiny bald head. He swung a massive hammer, forging some magical treasure with rhythmic clangs.

The noise from crafting the magical treasure was deafening, but disciples of Hundred Refinements Peak always set up Soundproofing Arrays beforehand to avoid disturbing others.

“Whew, finally done.” Li Haoran exhaled in relief, picking up a small rectangular object from under his hammer.

“What kind of magical artifact are you refining?”

Hearing Lu Yang’s voice, Li Haoran looked up, only now noticing their arrival. He had been too absorbed in hammering to pay attention to his surroundings earlier. “Ah, you mean this? It’s not a magical artifact—it’s a compressed mantou.

“This is good stuff provided by the Hundred Refinements Peak for our sect’s disciples. It compresses steamed mantou buns, Great Rejuvenation Pills, Essence-Gathering Pills, and more into a single item. Whether you’re exhausted from your travels or drained of spirit energy in battle, one bite will restore your stamina and energy!

“You can even use it as a Heart-Protecting Mirror by placing it in front of your chest. It’s way stronger than the previous shaobing version. Want one? It’s freshly forged.”

The two hastily shook their heads to decline and explained their purpose for visiting.

Li Haoran showed a troubled expression. “Go to the Demon Region? I’m afraid that won’t do. My shifu told me to focus on my cultivation in the sect. I can’t leave the sect until I catch up to your cultivation realm.”

“Aren’t you already at the Advanced Golden Core Stage?”

“But I only reached this stage three months ago. You two succeeded five months ago.”

Lu Yang understood. Li Haoran is at the seventh layer of the Golden Core Stage, while Old Meng and I are already at the eighth layer. This is the disparity.

“If you’re going to the Demon Region, you should make ample preparations beforehand. Qin Haoran once headed there to hide from his debts, so I have a slightly better understanding of the area. There are some things to watch out for—for instance, Senior Brother Meng, you'd better not bring that horse of yours there.”

“Ah? Why not?”

“The old horse is an aberrant demon beast! Making a demon beast pull your carriage—are you afraid you won’t make enough enemies of the demons?”

With the few dragon scales on its forehead, the old horse could easily be mistaken for an aberrant demon beast, in other words, a livestock with demon beast blood but impure lineage.

Li Haoran didn’t know the old horse’s true identity, not that it mattered. Whether the old horse was a demon beast or an aberrant demon beast, having it pull their carriage would be no different from bringing Man Gu along to the Demon Region.

“But if the roles were to be reversed, you probably wouldn’t make enemies.”

“Reverse?”

“You two pull the carriage while the old horse rides in it.”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou didn’t know what to say. Then what’s the point of bringing the old horse at all?

“Are all demon beasts that united?” Lu Yang muttered internally. Humans are one race, while demons are made up of many races. Would tigers really get angry just seeing a horse pull a carriage? That’s taking unity too far.

“The demons weren’t this united at the start,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy chimed in, privy to the inside story. “In the beginning, demon beasts ran rampant; there was no place for humans at all. The tiger tribes, dragon tribes, ox tribes, and horse tribes had vast divides between them, constantly fighting to the death.

“Only when humans eventually rose and formed tribes did the demon beasts feel threatened. By our era, three of the Five Ancient Immortals were human, while only the Qilin Immortal was from the demon race. The Epoch Immortal didn’t belong to any race. It was three against one, with the human race securing an overwhelming advantage. That was how humans cemented their dominance.

“Under the pressure from the humans, the demons voluntarily united, calling themselves ‘demons’ or the ‘demon race.’”

Lu Yang quipped inwardly, I thought they were forced to unite out of fear of being eaten by you.

Meng Jingzhou asked, “Junior Brother Li, could you tell us more about the Demon Region?”

Li Haoran nodded. He used a twig to draw a large circle on the ground, then drew many smaller circles within.

“This is the Demon Region. The small circles are the demon tribes.

“Unlike Great Xia or the Buddhist Kingdom, the demon race has no order and centralized rule, having never established a dynasty. They are very much like the earliest humans, living in tribes. The relationships between tribes are complex—generational feuds, personal grudges, alliances, and betrayals. Don’t judge their relationships on the surface; there’s much within their dealings that we don’t know.

“Demons roughly fall into three categories: those friendly toward humans, those who maintain neutrality, and those who loathe humans.

“For instance, the Dragon and Phoenix clans maintain close ties with humans. On the other hand, the Taowu detests humans. The Hundun Beasts are neutral. Be careful in the Demon Region—try to stick to territories of demon tribes amicable to humans.

“Demons revere strength and bloodline. The purer the bloodline, the stronger one is, and the easier it is to earn their respect. Examples are pure-blooded dragons, pure-blooded phoenixes, and pure-blooded xuanwu (black tortoise)—major clans with pure-blooded lineages. They command the highest status among demons.

“Of course, humans are exceptions. At the very least, I’ve never heard of demons respecting us just for being pure-blooded humans.”

Following that, Li Haoran listed taboos of various demon tribes, like never touching a dragon’s reverse scale and never mentioning to a phoenix the matter of them selling blood.

“My knowledge of the Demon Region is limited. After all, I only have half of Qin Haoran’s memories for now. Many things are still blurry, and telling you might mislead you instead. The elders traveled extensively in their youth and have probably been to the Demon Region. You can ask them for advice and any precautions you should take.”

“Makes sense.”

The elders had seen it all—both sides of the law, prisons, brothels, the Buddhist Kingdom, and the Demon Region.

~~~

First Elder was chatting with Xu You, so the two sought out Grandpa Ba instead.

“Any precautions you should take if you’re going to the Demon Region?” Grandpa Ba lowered his head to ponder, then replied earnestly, “Don’t mention you’re from the Dao-Seeking Sect.”