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Chapter 386 Ethnic Conflict
"Is it true that a demon delegation is coming to visit the human race?"

"It is said that the messenger has rushed to Shengjing with a list of visitors, including members of the demon royal family."

"Why did the demon race's attitude change so quickly?"

"That's something no one can know..."

West of Shengjing, in several cities in the land of human resurgence, news from Yunzhou began to circulate among the people of the city from the cool morning breeze.

Ever since the fall of Youyun and Youyun provinces, the demon race and the barbarian race have been seen as the same kind of invaders by the human race.

The only difference is that humans and barbarians have a history of attacking and defending their walls that has lasted for thousands of years without interruption, but humans do not have a great hatred for demons, and even had a period of harmonious trade.

Humanity has not yet recovered its strength, and the six major immortal sects are rife with conflicts, making it difficult to unite. The race has no power to counterattack and can only try to divide the alliance between the demon and barbarian races by sending envoys to the front lines.

From the perspective of the demon race, they must have been aware of the human race's thoughts. Logically, they should have maintained their alliance with the barbarians and refused to go on the mission.

However, the current situation has changed to the demon race receiving the human race delegation and being willing to send a delegation to visit the capital in the heart of Qingyun.

Aren't they afraid that the barbarians will become suspicious? Aren't they afraid that the barbarian alliance will collapse?
It should be noted that if the demon and barbarian races were not so united, the human race would have had the opportunity to expel them from the country, a fact that the demon race would likely be aware of as well.

That is why everyone who heard the news was so puzzled.

On a mild autumn afternoon, the evening clouds faded, the sun began to set in the west, and merchant banners fluttered in the breeze.

Thousands of rooftops stand in rows, their yellow hues gleaming. Flying eaves and brackets hang like bronze horses, and when the wind blows, the clear sounds mingle with the hustle and bustle of the market.

The air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked sesame cakes, the sweet and chewy texture of roasted chestnuts, and a subtle fragrance of osmanthus.

In Dongniu City in the southwest of Zhongzhou, Ji You and Yuan Chen stepped out of the bookstore, each carrying a thick bundle of storybooks. They walked and talked as they entered the restaurant opposite the bookstore.

Ever since Ji You temporarily ended her breakthrough, Yuan Chen, who was feeling restless, dragged Ji You around everywhere. They have now visited eight major cities in Zhongzhou, entered countless teahouses with storytelling programs, and bought countless storybooks.

But his addiction to becoming a chivalrous knight-errant was not satisfied; instead, it intensified.

Just as Ji You sat down, Yuan Chen propped his elbow on the table, holding a storybook, and read it carefully and intently.

"These storybooks should keep you reading for months!"

“That’s enough, but these imaginary creations are still not as exciting as my brother-in-law’s real experiences. Qingyun Tianxia still needs talents like Brother Gongshu.”

Ji Youzheng flipped the upside-down teacup over and poured tea into it, a smirk playing on his lips: "His story is purely his own imagination, the pot calling the kettle black."

Yuan Chen raised his eyes: "But it looks good!"

"You're just a kid whose brain has been ruined by this kind of stuff."

As Ji You spoke, he handed one of the cups of tea to Yuan Chen, drank his own tea, and picked up a stack of books that Yuan Chen had brought in from the table.

The cultivators of Qingyun Tianxia all revere Daoist cultivation, believing that enlightenment is the only orthodox path to immortality. Therefore, no one practices body refinement, making books on body refinement extremely rare.

But he has already reached the ninth level of the boundless physical body and is about to embark on a spiritual journey.

Divine travel is a realm exclusive to the Enlightenment Realm, the purest form of connection between heaven and man. However, the divine and the physical body are mutually restraining, so how could there be a concept of divine travel in the physical body? This forced him to treat it with caution and to find some theoretical basis.

While browsing through the bookstore with his brother-in-law, he was pleasantly surprised to find many novels featuring body-refining cultivators as the main characters, which reminded him of his experience searching for the Night Watch.

It is quite common for things that have been abandoned and forgotten by human cultivators to be passed down to the mortal world and used as creative material. Therefore, Ji You felt that these stories should contain some ancient records about body-cultivating cultivators.

The books he brought in were stories about body refinement that he had collected over the past few days.

Reaching out, Ji You opened the first book, titled "Body Like Invincible," and began to immerse herself in reading.

Young Ji You was a mortal from humble origins. He joined the Immortal Sect after his sister was captured by the Demon Sect. However, due to his background, he was not valued by the Immortal Sect and received very few resources. As a result, he had no choice but to embark on the path of body refinement, which did not require as much inheritance.

He worked diligently and constantly cultivated his skills, eventually winning first place in a competition called the World's Number One Enlightenment Tournament with an undisputed victory.

"?"

Ji You stared at him, one eye bigger than the other, and her lips twitched.

Oh no, this is my story! No wonder Ji You sounded so familiar. It turns out I'm now the template for a wish-fulfillment novel in the hearts of ordinary people.

However, upon closer reflection, this makes sense. After all, those who enjoy such stories are mostly ordinary people, and many of them come from similar backgrounds to Ji You. Perhaps only such stories can give them a sense of identification, thus allowing them to have a false yearning to change their social class one day.

But these authors are incredibly lazy; they can't even come up with a proper title.

He endured the embarrassment of his toes digging into the ground and continued reading. He saw that the protagonist of the story was a dissolute man who rose to fame and was then loved by two wealthy sisters at the same time. They lived a shameless life for a long time, which was described in great detail.

Okay, this is a new story.

It's not from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it's from last week.

Having confirmed this, Ji You then picked up the second book.

Young Qin Yun was born into a declining ancient family. As the family gradually weakened, he suffered a lot of suppression, so he left home to become an apprentice. In a mountain village, he met a burly woodcutter and embarked on the path of body tempering.

"I've got it! It's not my story!" Ji You exclaimed excitedly, eagerly looking ahead. But as he read on, his face began to stiffen again.

In the story, the young Qin Yun wanders around, defeats the scions of noble families and enters the inner sect. When he encounters a golden opportunity, he is restricted by the elders of the sect and is not allowed to use any killing moves. However, the protagonist breaks through this restriction with his strength and is eventually loved by two sisters who are incredibly wealthy.

The older sister is during the day, and the younger sister is at night. The younger sister also likes to call out "brother-in-law" while panting.

There are some original works, but not many; apart from the edited section at the beginning, most of them are my own.

Ji You's interest waned slightly, but she still patiently turned to the third book.

Di Qiu was an orphan who begged for food from a young age. One day, he shared half of the steamed buns he had begged with an old beggar on the street and received his body-refining inheritance. Later, he defeated the scions of noble families and entered the inner sect, but was targeted. He later broke through the magic with his strength and was loved by the sisters, living a shameless life.

Good grief, so no matter how it started, my sisters and I ended up living a shameless life, right?

Ji You closed the book immediately, remained silent for a long time, and then expressed her understanding. After all, these scenes with "uh-huh" and "ah-ah" sounds were indeed something that ordinary people enjoyed...

Yuan Chen was looking at his brother-in-law at this moment, thinking to himself, how can reading a book reveal a person's temper? So he reached out to touch the book "Body Like Vajra", but before he could pick it up, Ji You pressed him down.

"This is not for children."

"?"

Just as Yuan Chen was in a daze, a man wearing a short robe with rolled edges from the Wulu Trading Company walked onto the street. After looking around, he spotted Ji You in the restaurant and hurried over.

The man quickly arrived at the second floor of the teahouse, stopped at Ji You's table, and handed her a message.

Ji You reached out and took the letter. After opening it, he glanced at it and found that the letter came from northern Qingzhou, and the messenger was Kuang Cheng.

The letter contained little information, mainly just two sentences: I am going back to Beijing, when will Brother Ji return to see me?

Ever since he heard Kuang Cheng say he was going to be an envoy to the demon race and asked him if he had any messages for his old friends, Ji You had been afraid that he would be beheaded for talking nonsense because he believed Gongshu Chou's story.

However, starting a few days ago, news kept coming from the surrounding area that the demon race was going to visit the capital, which put his mind at ease a little.

If the demon race truly intended to maintain friendly relations with their neighbors, they would not have actually attacked the human delegation. Kuang Cheng would naturally not have encountered any danger, so his return to the capital was within Ji You's expectations.

But given the recent invasion of Kyushu, is it realistic to expect friendly neighborliness? Or do the demon race have ulterior motives?

Dengdengdeng-

The sound of galloping hooves echoed along the road.

On the official road of Shengjing at that time, six tall demonic beasts exhaled heavy breaths from their nostrils and trotted lightly on their four hooves, their scales gleaming slightly blue in the sunlight.

Behind these six demonic beasts were three more demonic beasts, pulling a carriage.

Through the gauze curtain of the carriage window, a woman could be seen sitting quietly. A gentle breeze lifted the curtain slightly, revealing her slightly aloof face and striking crimson vertical pupils. "I thought the aura of the demon prince Ziye Han was already powerful enough, but I didn't expect that even this demon princess is powerful."

"The Demon Emperor's lineage is naturally extraordinary..."

Behind the carriage pulled by the demon beast, the people of the Immortal Bureau followed on horseback, and they couldn't help but discuss the demon princess in the carriage.

Although the demon race does not cultivate the Heavenly Dao, they still possess an aura that allows them to be recognized.

Based on their sense of aura, they discovered that this young princess was no weaker than the demon generals following in front of her, and should also be at the Heavenly Demon realm.

Kuang Cheng was also in the Sixianjian team at this time, constantly observing the demon princess in the carriage.

He had been on a mission to the demon race for half a month and had not had a chance to talk to the princess, but he confirmed that she was the Princess Fengyang from the story of Gongshu Xiong. However, he found that the princess was not as gentle as in the story and was not quite sure about her.

As I was thinking, the carriage in front of me suddenly slowed down.

Kuang Cheng looked up and saw that it was the strange beast at the front that stopped first, which then caused the carriage to gradually come to a stop as well.

The demon generals following behind quickly ran forward, cleared a flat piece of land by the roadside, and began to set up a temporary shelter, seemingly to rest briefly before entering the city.

At this moment, Feng Yang got off the carriage and whispered to the guard beside him, asking where they had arrived.

After asking the questions, she led her maid and guards toward the western forest.

The people of the Immortal Supervisory Bureau were watching this scene, and before they could take their eyes off it, Deputy Supervisor Peng Dongyang strode over: "Her Highness the Demon Princess wants to take a stroll around. Take some men and follow her."

"That's Wanzhuo Mountain, isn't it? It's just a low peak. What's there to turn around? She didn't even go to the huge Helan Mountain range when she passed by before."

"Don't ask why. The demon race has suddenly agreed to send an envoy to the human race, and their purpose is still unclear. Keep an eye on them and make sure they don't wander off."

"Yes."

Upon receiving the order, the various departments of the Imperial Observatory followed behind the princess and began to walk up the mountain.

They didn't want the other person to feel like they were being watched, so they tried to maintain a leisurely distance and followed slowly.

In sight, the demon princess was looking around aimlessly, as if she were sightseeing, but her pace was a little fast, so it didn't seem like she was sightseeing, which made people very puzzled.

However, when they reached the top of the mountain, the demon princess suddenly stopped and then stared at the west side without turning her head.

Kuang Cheng followed her up the mountain and walked along her gaze. He saw a few scattered farmhouses with old lanterns from last year's New Year still hanging on their wooden doors, and his eyes gradually widened.

He knew why this demon princess had come here.

Back then, in order to help his brother Ji conquer the world with his good health, he wrote many stories and compiled them into a collection of folk tales. He then sold these stories to the Snow Region through spirit stones from Fengzhou, hoping that the demon princess would see them.

The most exciting scene at the beginning of that story is when a zombie horde suddenly breaks out on Wanzhuo Mountain during the New Year's Day. Brother Ji goes up the mountain with the Tianshu Academy to rescue the besieged alchemists.

To prevent the evil corpses from surging down the mountain and harming the people, Brother Ji resolutely lured away the horde of corpses and blocked them on the mountain ridge.

Kuang Cheng was very excited when he wrote this passage, thinking to himself that it would be absolutely captivating.

As it turned out, his words came true.

Princess Fengyang came to see the place where her brother Ji had walked in the past, and also to see the colorful lanterns hanging in the village to celebrate the new year.

It still has to be my brother Ji...

In my sight, Feng Yang stood on the hill for a long time, his red lips slightly pursed as his eyes flickered.

"Where's Her Royal Highness?"

"Your Highness, the princess was probably bored after a long carriage ride, so she went for a stroll in the mountains."

Under the makeshift pavilion, the Demon Emperor Ziye Han and the two young clan leaders, Lin Dou and Ya Shan, were already sitting and drinking tea. After hearing the report, they nodded slightly.

Just then, a burly, hairy demon man entered the shed, his powerful aura causing the surrounding wind to pick up a few more gusts of wind: "Your Highness, we're almost at Shengjing. We can still make it back in time."

“General Noriya, as I explained to you before, this mission to the human race was His Majesty’s order, not my own private action.”

"His Majesty would never issue such a chaotic order."

The burly man, covered in hair, opened his eyes wide and spoke in a sinister voice.

He is Dian Ye, one of the Heavenly Demon Generals in the Demon Emperor's court. He comes from the Mao Clan and is also the front-line commander of the Barbarian Demon Alliance. He led the most swift western assault army when they invaded Kyushu.

Perhaps it was because he had developed a bond of life and death with the barbarian generals on the battlefield that Noriya was so puzzled by the fact that his tribe sent an envoy to the human race.

The Mao people are honest and kind-hearted, and they value loyalty. In his view, this was a betrayal.

Seeing the slightly somber atmosphere inside the pavilion, Asakura couldn't help but walk into the teahouse: "General Noriya, I can testify that the mission to the human race was indeed His Majesty's imperial order."

"Impossible, His Majesty would not be so confused."

“I know that General Noriya believes that trust is the most important thing between allies, but a thousand years ago, humans and demons also trusted each other in the same way. But history tells us that such trust cannot last until the end.”

Nori narrowed his eyes: "I don't understand."

The demon prince put down his teacup: "A few days ago, I secretly sent Chao Cang to the sacred land of the human race's ancestors to seize what the human race calls an innate spiritual treasure. He returned injured. Are you aware of this?"

Noriya looked at Asakura's arm: "I am aware of this matter."

"Then do you know what the stolen item was?"

"Since Your Highness has asked this question, it must be something more than just an innate spiritual treasure. However, I am too dull to guess, so I humbly request Your Highness to enlighten me."

"Actually, I didn't know at first. I just subconsciously felt it was important until His Majesty arrived in Yunzhou and told me that it was a wisp of human destiny."

As Ye Han spoke, his eyes gradually deepened.

Asakura failed to obtain the object that would trigger the heavenly light at the sacred site of the ancient sages and returned wounded. Not long after, his father, the emperor, arrived from the snowy region.

After hearing Asakura's description, especially the description of the great change in the entire clan's aura after holding this item, the Emperor remained silent for a long time before finally telling them that the fish-like celestial light should be a wisp of human destiny.

The history of the demon race differs from that of the human race, especially in the description of the millennium war.

In the history of the human race, the demon race selflessly helped the human race defeat the remnant race as an ally, and then gave up the Nine Provinces without seeking fame or fortune, and went far away to the snowy region.

In the history of the demon race, the human race stole the final victory, and with the help of the sacred artifact, forced the demon race to leave their homeland.

If the descent of the sacred artifact is considered the key to changing the course of the battle, then there is a sign that is very noteworthy: before the sacred artifact was descended, the first Demon Emperor saw the human race's fortune rise greatly.

In other words, there has always been a connection between fortune, sacred artifacts, and the Heavenly Way.

If the human race's fortune suddenly begins to decline, it could very well be an opportunity for the demon race to replace the human race.

Seizing the favor of Heaven was far more important than the alliance of barbarian demons, so they gradually began to contact the delegation and decided to send an envoy to the human race at this time.

For no other reason than to take this opportunity to find out exactly what happened to the human race's fortune, so as to make preparations accordingly.

After hearing this, Dianye fell silent, finally understanding the purpose of their trip. He then bowed and left the teahouse, no longer dwelling on it.

The Barbarian Demon Alliance is actually no different from the Demon Human Alliance of yesteryear. Before the victory arrives, they are all comrades-in-arms who share life and death. But in the end, there will always be one group that ends up doing all the work for others.

The demon race has already sacrificed themselves once, paying the price of a thousand years of exile. This time, they are unwilling to repeat the same mistake, so they must be at the forefront in everything.

This is a conflict between ethnic groups. No private opinion can change the will of the ethnic group, because no one can bear the cost of sending the ethnic group to the snowy plateau for another thousand years.

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)