Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou hit it off immediately, deciding on the spot to head to the Demon Domain.
"We can't be too hasty. We need to get a handle on the Demon Domain's situation first," Lu Yang said with a display of restraint, doing his best to force down the corners of his curling mouth.
"Should we bring Man Gu and the others?"
"Man Gu can't go. His Ancient Barbarian bloodline is a double-edged sword when it comes to the demon race. Against low-grade demons it has a suppressive effect, but against high-grade demon beasts, it draws pure aggro." To this day, Lu Yang could not forget their trial in the dense forest during the Foundation Establishment stage, when Man Gu's Ancient Barbarian bloodline awakened and a massive swarm of Golden Core stage demon beasts came surging in.
If Man Gu went to the Demon Domain like that, he would probably attract an entire horde of Soul Formation stage or even higher-level demon beasts. They wouldn't have time to do anything else besides flee for their lives.
Oh, and fleeing might not even outrun demon beasts—better to just use Eldest Senior Sister Imitation Fist directly.
"Junior Sister Tao is busy cultivating her Feathering Immortal Physique and can't step outside."
Before coming to Meng Jingzhou's place, Lu Yang had visited Tao Yaoye's cave abode. He had seen her wrapped in platinum-golden feathers, as if incubating something, completely isolated from the outside world and not to be disturbed.
"Junior Brother Li should be free. We can go ask him."
The two temporarily left Old Horse behind, ignoring Xu You in his shackles, and went to Hundred Refinements Peak to find Li Haoran.
Li Haoran was stripped to the waist, his wig removed to reveal rippling muscles and a shiny bald head. He was swinging a massive hammer, huffing and puffing away as he forged who-knew-what magical treasure.
Refining magical treasures made a tremendous racket, so disciples of Hundred Refinements Peak always set up soundproofing formations before crafting to keep the noise from leaking out and disturbing others.
"Phew, finally done." Li Haoran let out a long breath and picked up a small rectangular contraption from beneath the hammer.
"What kind of magical treasure did you forge?"
Hearing Lu Yang's voice, Li Haoran looked up and only then noticed the two had arrived. He had been completely immersed in swinging his hammer and hadn't paid attention to his surroundings.
"Oh, you mean this? This isn't a magical treasure. It's a compressed steamed bun."
"It's a top-quality specialty item provided by the Hundred Refinements Peak dining hall exclusively for our sect disciples! It compresses steamed buns, Great Restoration Pills, Essence Gathering Pills, and the like all into one. Whether you're exhausted from traveling or completely drained of spiritual energy in battle, just one bite is guaranteed to restore your stamina and energy!"
"If you slide it over your chest, it can even double as a breastplate mirror—far more functional than that old flatbread. Want one? I just finished refining it."
The two hastily shook their heads in refusal and explained their purpose in coming.
Li Haoran took on a troubled look. "Go to the Demon Domain? I'm afraid I can't. My master told me to settle down and cultivate in the sect. Until my cultivation realm catches up to yours, I'm not allowed to leave."
"Aren't you already at the late Golden Core stage?"
"I only reached the late Golden Core stage three months ago. You two reached it five months ago."
Lu Yang understood. Li Haoran was currently at the Golden Core Seventh Layer of Heaven, whereas he and Old Meng were already at the Golden Core Eighth Layer of Heaven.
That was the gap.
"If you're going to the Demon Domain, you'd better make preparations in advance. Qin Haoran once hid in the Demon Domain for a while to dodge debts, so by extension, I know quite a bit about it. There are certain things you need to watch out for. For example, Senior Brother Meng, it's best if you don't take your family's horse along."
"Huh? Why?"
"Old Horse is a variant demon beast! If you have a demon beast pull your carriage, are you afraid of not making enemies with the demon race?"
From appearance alone, Old Horse had several dragon scales on its forehead, making it easy to categorize as a variant demon beast—livestock possessing demon beast lineage, but with impure blood.
Li Haoran did not know Old Horse's true identity.
Not that knowing made any difference. Regardless of whether Old Horse was a demon beast or a variant demon beast, having it pull a carriage was hardly any different from dragging Man Gu along to the Demon Domain.
"However, if you reverse your roles with Old Horse, you probably won't make enemies."
"Reverse?"
"Meaning the two of you pull the carriage while Old Horse sits inside."
"..."
Then what would be the point of bringing Old Horse at all?
"Are demon beasts really that united?" Lu Yang grumbled inwardly. Humanity was a single race, whereas the demon race was an amalgamation of many different species. Would the Tiger Clan truly get angry seeing a horse pull a carriage?
Wasn't that a bit excessively united?
"In the beginning, the demon race wasn't so united either." The Immortal Fairy understood the inside story.
"Back in the earliest days, demon beasts ran rampant, and humanity had no place at all. The Tiger Clan, Dragon Clan, Ox Clan, Horse Clan, and the rest were deeply alienated from one another, constantly fighting life-or-death battles."
"Later, as humanity rose and tribes formed in droves, the demon beasts finally began feeling the pressure. By our era, humans accounted for three of the Five Ancient Celestials, while the demon race had only one: Immortal Kirin. Immortal Suiyue didn't belong to any race. At three to one, humanity's top-tier advantage was simply too overwhelming, establishing humanity's dominant rule once and for all."
"Feeling the pressure from humanity, the demon beasts voluntarily united, collectively calling themselves the demon race."
*And here I thought they were just terrified of being eaten by you, so they banded together to present a united front,* Lu Yang thought to himself.
"Junior Brother Li, could you tell us more about the Demon Domain?" Meng Jingzhou asked.
Li Haoran nodded. Using a branch, he drew a large circle on the ground and then sketched many small circles inside it.
"This is the Demon Domain, and the small circles are the demon clans."
"Unlike Great Xia or the Buddhist Kingdom, order among the demons is completely decentralized; they haven't established any dynasties. They live much like early humans did, based around tribal settlements. The relations among the various clans are intricately tangled—there are generational blood feuds, personal grudges, alliances, and betrayals. Don't look at their relations merely on the surface; there is a great deal going on that we know nothing about."
"The demon race can roughly be divided into three categories: those friendly toward humans, those who are neutral, and those who despise humans."
"Clans like the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan are very close to humanity. Clans like the Taowu Clan despise humans, while the Chaos Clan belongs to the neutral faction. Once you reach the Demon Domain, be careful and try to stick to the territories of clans friendly toward humans."
"The demon race venerates strength and bloodline. The purer the bloodline and the higher the strength, the more respect they receive."
"For instance, pureblood dragons, pureblood phoenixes, and pureblood Black Tortoises—clans that are both vast and possess pure blood—hold the highest status among the demon race."
"Of course, humanity is an exception. At least, I've never heard of demons respecting us just because we're pureblood humans."
Next, Li Haoran explained the taboos of each clan—for example, dragons had reverse scales that must never be touched, and one must never mention blood-selling to the Phoenix Clan, and so forth.
"That's about all I know about the Demon Domain. After all, I only have half of Qin Haoran's memories right now, so a lot of it is hazy. Telling you more might only mislead you. The elders traveled far and wide in their youth and surely must have been to the Demon Domain. You could ask them what other precautions to take."
"Makes sense."
The elders were seasoned veterans who had seen it all—the underworld and the righteous path, prisons and brothels, the Buddhist Kingdom and the Demon Domain. Where hadn't they been?
The Grand Elder was currently chatting with Xu You, so the two found Old Ba instead.
"We're heading to the Demon Domain. Is there anything we need to watch out for?"
Old Ba lowered his head, thought for a moment, and said solemnly, "Don't tell them you're from the Dao Seeking Sect."
Chapter 559