Chapter 219 – Treaty of Kings (2/2)
Han Xiong said, “Of course there are. Speaking of which, some parts underground are more dangerous than the Boundless mountains. However, travelling east and west when you’re underground will be much safer.”
Isn’t that Milliped’s territory? Li Qingshan asked in a hurry, “How come?” He already had an inkling to the answer of that question.
Han Xiong showed off his knowledge. “If you asked someone else, they might not be able to answer you, but the leader of our association happens to have a friend who is a core disciple of the Burial Mound mountain, which is why I know!”
“If you try gathering herbs elsewhere, killing daemons and collecting their daemon cores, you’ll definitely end up drawing over a Daemon General. You’ll be lucky if even a single person returns alive from a group of ten. However, the Daemon General rarely ever appears in that area, and the Herb Gathering ceremony only truly begins in a month or two. Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“That’s because they have to wait for the coldest time of the year. It’s said that the Daemon General will go into hibernation around that time, so it’s the perfect opportunity for killing daemonic beasts and gathering spiritual herbs. Even if we make a complete mess underground, it won’t matter.”
Li Qingshan suddenly felt speechless. He knew what Milliped loved the most was eating and sleeping. Even if it was not winter, he probably spent most of his time on the stone platform asleep, giving the Qi Practitioners a window of opportunity.
However, why had he only heard Milliped mention the oppression from other Daemon Generals and not the threat from above ground?
“Why do we have to be afraid of Daemon Generals? Aren’t the sect masters of the three mountains all Foundation Establishment cultivators? As long as they work together, they can even kill Daemon Generals!”
Han Xiong’s eyes widened. “Fellow Niu, don’t you even know about the Treaty of Kings?” He had suddenly exclaimed that, which alarmed Qi Practitioners from neighbouring tables. They all looked over at Li Qingshan with surprise and contempt.
It was as if Li Qingshan was not ignorant about the Treaty of Kings, but ignorant about the fact that the sun was round.
Zhou Wei said, “You’ve only just begun cultivation, so there’s nothing strange about being ignorant of it. The Book of All must have an extremely detailed account on this. Why don’t you take a look?”
Li Qingshan held the jade slip and focused on it. Immediately, he obtained all the information on the Treaty of Kings. The information was extremely complicated. If he read through it bit by bit, probably even three days and nights would not be enough for him to go through all of it.
However, he skimmed through it and gained a rough understanding. He understood why these Qi Practitioners had been so surprised. Qi Practitioners who were ignorant of this could truly be considered as still wet behind the ears.
The Treaty of Kings originated from the founding emperor of Great Xia. Legends had it that he possessed the bloodline of daemons, and when he waged war across the world, he only managed to found the Great Xia empire with the assistance of many powerful daemons.
After founding the Great Xia empire, he divided up the world. The most important and most illustrious titles of nobility went to the human kings of the eight provinces and the ten Daemon Kings.
Under the host of the founding empire, the kings converged, and after a hundred days of negotiation, they signed a treaty, dividing the domains of daemons and humans, preventing the two races from ever infringing on one another again.
The thing that prevented Milliped from taking a step above ground was not the Daemon Commander above him. It was not even the Green province’s Dragon King of Ink Sea. Instead, it was this treaty that had lasted for several thousands of years.
However, low level daemonic beasts had limited intelligence, and there were just too many Qi Practitioners, making it difficult to restrain them. As a result, whether it be daemonic beasts rushing onto the surface or Qi Practitioners venturing underground, it was all within the boundaries that could be tolerated and was secretly permitted. Of course, they would just be killed by the other party, so that was no different from seeking death.
The individuals that the treaty truly restricted were humans and daemons that had survived the first heavenly tribulation, whether it be Foundation Establishment cultivators venturing underground to kill daemons, or Daemon Generals coming above ground to kill humans.
The best outcome when the treaty was broken would be both races teaming up to hunt down the violators, while the worst was reigniting the flames of war, sucking in all humans and daemons.
Today, three Foundation Establishment cultivators ventured underground to kill a Daemon General, while tomorrow, it was possible for a Daemon Commander to appear and slaughter all the Qi Practitioners within the Green Vine mountain and this small town.
Even with Li Qingshan’s recklessness, he shivered at that thought.
However, he also relaxed slightly when he heard how Foundation Establishment cultivators would not venture underground. However, he also thought of a multitude of things in the process. As the leader of the daemon soldiers, the daemons and daemonic beasts were all his subordinates, so he could not just let them be slaughtered. And, he was supposed to possess absolute control over the various resources underground. He would never just hand it all over on a silver platter.
If he were purely a daemon, he would obviously return underground immediately and gather the daemons to set up traps so that he could slaughter all the intruders. He would end up with a lot of hundred treasures pouches instead.
However, at the end of the day, he had mutated into a daemon from a human, so the decision was no longer so easy to make. For a moment, he even lost interest in the food.
He forced himself to calm down and asked Han Xiong many things about the Herb Gathering ceremony before bidding farewell and leaving.
Han Xiong could tell that Li Qingshan had lost interest now, so he did not force him to stay. However, he did try to persuade him to come visit the Quiet Spring valley in the future again.
After learning the time and location, he agreed in the end. This was no longer for the sake of broadening his knowledge. The Quiet Spring valley was close to here, and they would converge before the Herb Gathering ceremony. No matter what his decision was, he had to keep an eye out for the situation here constantly.
Arriving downstairs, Li Qingshan ordered another table of dishes and drinks, storing it into his hundred treasures pouch before leaving.
It was late. Li Qingshan found an inn to rest for the night. He spent five spiritual stones for their best room. Under the guidance of the boss, he opened the antiquated door and discovered that the space inside was much larger than he had expected it to be. He knew that they must have used some kind of formation to increase the space inside.
Although it was winter, the room was toasty. A thick thick, silken rug covered the ground. The patterns of the rug did not just seem to be patterns, but some kind of formation as well, making the spiritual qi in the room slightly denser than outside.
A detailed beauty was embroidered on a jade screen as she played a pipa. The boss knocked the screen, and the sound of traditional instruments began to play.
There was a cushion in the room that was said to gather the spiritual qi of the world and was said to be very beneficial to cultivation.
There was even a huge bathing pool in the room. Not only could it gather water by itself, but there were even two glyphs that could be used to control the temperature of the water.
These were all small gadgets that various Qi Practitioners had come up with. Not only had Li Qingshan never seen them before, but he had not even thought of them before. It was not exactly a technological miracle, but it could definitely bring great comfort to people.
Just when the boss was about to leave, he suddenly stopped and revealed a smile that all men understood. “If you feel lonely and find it difficult to fall asleep, I happen to know a few young, pretty female cultivators. All you need is a few spiritual stones…” He treated Li Qingshan as an ignorant but wealthy customer who was liberal with money.
Li Qingshan was immediately left at a loss as for how to react. He felt like he had been put in someone else’s shoes for some reason. He really wondered whether there would be police, no, Hawkwolf guards who would come and inspect the rooms. He waved his hand in a hurry and declined sternly, “No need. I’m going to rest now!”
The boss felt that it was quite the pity. He refused to relent. “There are Communication talismans in the room. If you have any needs, feel free to call me!”
Li Qingshan closed the door and exhaled, placing down the bamboo basket and opening it. “You can come out now!”
Xiao An extended her hands towards him. Li Qingshan asked, “Can’t you get out by yourself?” However, he still lifted her out. He placed the dishes on the table. “Time to eat!”
He sat to one side and watched Xiao An eat as he leaned on his elbow. However, his mind wandered off somewhere. He was not even in the mood to look at the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi.
Xiao An asked with her childish voice, “Aren’t you eating?”
Li Qingshan said, “I’ve already eaten.” However, Xiao An had already brought a piece of fish to his mouth.
“You really are getting more and more naughty.” Li Qingshan said before eating the fish. “What do you think I should do?”
Xiao An asked in confusion, “What?”
Li Qingshan, “That damned Herb Gathering ceremony obviously.”
Xiao An was astounded. “Aren’t we killing them all?”
Li Qingshan was taken aback. “Since when did I say that. It’s not like I know them, nor are they coming directly for me. It’s not a good idea to massacre everyone like this, right?”
Xiao An lowered her head, “But I don’t know them either!” To her, that reason was enough. No, more correctly, she did not even need a reason. Apart from the man right before her, everyone else could go and die.