Chapter 549: The United Demon Race

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou immediately hit it off and decided to go to the Demon Realm.

"We shouldn't rush. We need to understand the situation in the Demon Realm first." Lu Yang showed restraint, trying to suppress the upward curve of his lips.

"Should Man Gu and the others go to the Demon Realm?"

"Man Gu can't go. His ancient barbarian bloodline is a double-edged sword for demons. It has a suppressing effect on low-level demons, but it attracts hostility from high-level demonic beasts." Lu Yang still remembered when they were training in the dense forest during their Foundation Establishment stage: Man Gu's ancient barbarian bloodline awakened, drawing a swarm of Golden Core stage demonic beasts.

If Man Gu were to go to the Demon Realm like this, he would likely attract a large group of even Soul Transformation stage or higher-level demonic beasts. They wouldn't need to do anything else but focus on escaping.

Oh, they probably wouldn't be able to outrun the demonic beasts, so it would be better to just use Senior Sister's Hieroglyphic Fist.

"Junior Sister Tao is busy cultivating her Immortal Ascension Physique and can't leave."

Before coming to Meng Jingzhou, Lu Yang had visited Tao Yaoye. He saw her enveloped in white-gold feathers, as if she were nurturing something, cut off from external contact, and shouldn't be disturbed.

"Junior Brother Li should be free; we can ask him."

The two temporarily left Old Ma and ignored Xu You, who was now in shackles. They went to Hundred Refinements Peak to find Li Haoran.

Li Haoran was shirtless, having removed his wig, revealing his muscular build and shiny bald head. He was swinging a large hammer, grunting as he forged some unknown magical artifact.

The sound of forging magical artifacts was loud. Disciples of Hundred Refinements Peak would set up sound-insulating formations before refining artifacts to prevent noise from disturbing other disciples.

"Phew, finally done." Li Haoran let out a long breath and picked up a small, rectangular object from under the large hammer.

"What kind of magical artifact is this?"

Hearing Lu Yang's voice, Li Haoran looked up and only then noticed their arrival. He had been so engrossed in swinging the hammer that he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings.

"Oh, this? This isn't a magical artifact; it's a compressed bun."

"This is a special delicacy from the Hundred Refinements Peak cafeteria for our disciples. It combines buns, Great Restoration Pills, Spirit Gathering Pills, and similar items into one compressed form. Whether you're tired from travel or exhausted your spiritual energy in battle, just one bite guarantees restoration of your physical and mental energy!"

"You can even wear it on your chest as a heart-protecting mirror – it's more functional than the previous flatbread! Want a piece? I just finished making it."

The two quickly shook their heads in refusal and explained why they were there.

Li Haoran looked troubled. "Go to the Demon Realm? I'm afraid I can't. My master told me to diligently cultivate within the sect and not leave until my cultivation level catches up to yours."

"Aren't you already at the late Golden Core stage?"

"Yes, but I only reached the late Golden Core stage three months ago, while you two reached it five months ago."

Lu Yang understood. Li Haoran was at the seventh level of the Golden Core stage, while he and Old Meng were already at the eighth level.

That was the difference.

"If you're going to the Demon Realm, it's best to prepare thoroughly beforehand. Qin Haoran once hid in the Demon Realm to avoid debt for a while, so I know quite a bit about it. There are some things to watch out for. For example, Senior Brother Meng, it's best not to take your horse to the Demon Realm."

"Huh, why not?"

"Old Ma is a variant demonic beast. If you make a demonic beast pull a carriage, are you afraid you won't make enemies with the demons?"

From its appearance, Old Ma has a few dragon scales on its forehead, making it easy to classify it as a variant demonic beast – a creature with demonic beast lineage but mixed blood.

Li Haoran didn't know Old Ma's true identity.

However, knowing or not knowing made no difference. Regardless of whether Old Ma was a demonic beast or a variant, making it pull a carriage was not much different from taking Man Gu to the Demon Realm.

"However, if your roles with Old Ma were reversed, you probably wouldn't make enemies."

"Reversed?"

"That means you two pull the carriage, and Old Ma sits inside."

Then what would be the point of bringing Old Ma?

"Are demonic beasts really that united?" Lu Yang grumbled inwardly. Humanity was a single race, but demons were a collection of many races. Would a tiger clan get angry seeing Old Ma pull a carriage?

That seemed overly unified.

"Initially, the demon race wasn't so united," the Immortal Fairy explained, privy to the inside story.

"In the earliest times, demonic beasts ran rampant, and humans had no standing. Tiger clans, Dragon clans, Ox clans, Horse clans, and so on, had significant divisions among themselves, often engaging in life-or-death battles."

"Later, as humanity rose and formed tribes, the demonic beasts felt pressure. By our era, three of the five ancient Immortals were human, and only one Immortal, the Qilin Immortal, was a demon. The Immortal of Ages didn't belong to any specific race. With three against one, humanity's top-tier advantage was too great, which established humanity's dominant position."

"Feeling the pressure from humanity, the demons actively united and became collectively known as the demon race."

Lu Yang thought to himself, *I thought they united out of fear of being eaten by you, forced to stand together against external threats.*

"Junior Brother Li, can you tell us more about the Demon Realm?" Meng Jingzhou asked.

Li Haoran nodded and drew a large circle on the ground with a branch, then filled it with many smaller circles.

"This is the Demon Realm, and the small circles represent the demon clans."

"Unlike Great Xia or the Buddhist Kingdom, the demon race has a disorganized order and hasn't established a dynasty. They are very much like early humanity, living in tribes. The relationships between various races are intricate: there are ancient feuds, personal vendettas, alliances, and betrayals. Don't judge the relationships between demon clans solely by appearances; there's much we don't know about them."

"Demons can generally be divided into three categories: those friendly to humans, those neutral, and those hostile to humans."

"For example, the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan are very close to humans, while the Taowu Clan is hostile to humans. The Chaos Clan is neutral. When you arrive in the Demon Realm, be careful and try to go to territories of demon clans friendly to humans."

"Demons respect strength and bloodline. The purer the bloodline and the higher the strength, the more respect they receive."

"For example, pure-blooded Dragon, Phoenix, and Xuanwu clans – these are both major clans and pure-blooded, holding the highest status among demons."

"Of course, humans are an exception. At least, I've never heard of demons respecting us just because we're pure-blooded humans."

Next, Li Haoran spoke about the taboos of various clans: for instance, dragons have reverse scales that shouldn't be touched, and one shouldn't mention the Phoenix Clan selling their blood.

"I don't know much about the Demon Realm, as I currently only have half of Qin Haoran's memories. Many things are vague, and telling you might mislead you. The elders, having traveled extensively in their youth, should have been to the Demon Realm. You can ask them about any other precautions."

"That makes sense."

The elders were highly experienced, having seen it all: from legitimate and illicit circles to prisons, brothels, the Buddhist Kingdom, and the Demon Realm.

The Grand Elder was chatting with Xu You. The two found Elder Ba.

"You're going to the Demon Realm. What precautions should we take?"

Elder Ba lowered his head, thought for a moment, and then spoke seriously.

"Don't tell them you're from the Dao Inquiry Sect."