Chapter 463 The Third Realm of the Way of Emperor
“The wine in this town is good. It has the smell of the human world, but it’s not all because it has a lot of Spiritual Qi and something special... It seems to be the smell of demons?” Sitting by the window in the restaurant, You Daxiao shook the wine bottle in his hand, looking intoxicated and nostalgic.
Li Ye chuckled and teased him. “It isn’t the smell of the human world and demons, but the smell of earth and blood. You described it elegantly, as if you were afraid that no one knew that you had been to the human world.”
The wine in the demon clan was indeed different from that in the human world. It was stronger and wilder. It was common that the wine was mixed with the fierce beasts’ blood.
You Daxiao smiled awkwardly and drank up the wine in his cup. Then he said seriously, “Ten thousand years ago, the demon clan was in charge of the Immortal Court. At that time, the emperor didn’t isolate the heaven from the earth, so demons could walk in the human world at will... The prosperity of the human world was once the prosperity of our demon clan and also the heyday of our demon clan.”
Seeing Li Ye and You Daxiao intoxicated with drinking, Duchess poured herself a cup of wine. She tried to take a small sip. Then her small face twisted with bitterness, as if she had eaten a bitter gourd. It took her a long time to swallow it.
You Daxiao recalled the past. He continued, “Because of this, the demon clan is full of fantasy and yearning for the human world. That’s a beautiful picture repeatedly talked about by the old demons and brilliant fireworks repeatedly appear in their dreams. Although many demons can’t go to the human world in their lifetime, they are still yearning for it. This is also the reason why demons will welcome mortals.”
Li Ye already experienced the demons’ feelings for the human world. This was the main reason why nearly a hundred demons of Panfeng City were willing to follow him. Of course, if this was the only reason, they wouldn’t follow Li Ye.
Li Ye’s experience in Panfeng City made him see more possibilities. A door gradually opened in front of his eyes.
He needed more demons, and he already had a plan on how to do it.
He had enough time to do it.
The Macaque King’s territory was large enough. Even with Li Ye’s current strength, it would take him a long time to reach the center of Macaque Mountain, where the Macaque King’s cave was located, from Panfeng City.
He could do a lot of things as long as the journey was long enough and he went to many places. To prepare to lead the demon clan in the future, he needed to get a serious understanding of the society of the demon clan. The most important thing was to “abduct” more demons.
In this way, even if he couldn’t break the seal of the Immortal Court on Seven Sages Mountain, he would be able to go back to fight Zhu Wen and the Taoist sect.
Of course, in order to break the seal on Seven Sages Mountain, he had to go to see the Macaque King and get the key to the magic formation controlled by him. But now it seemed that the Macaque King might not be willing to give him the key.
So he had to do something before he went to Macaque Mountain.
After drinking a few cups of wine, You Daxiao was relaxed. He asked Li Ye, “If we really go to Macaque Mountain, we should try to ask for the key, but he will definitely not give it to you. What can you do?”
You Daxiao already told Li Ye about what had happened on Seven Sages Mountain.
Li Ye stared at the crowd outside the window, absentminded, as if he didn’t hear You Daxiao’s words. Mortals were walking on the streets, but not demons. In this small town inhabited by several hundred people, mortals were the main crowd, which was rare. There were more mortals than demons on the streets.
They were all the descendants of the mortals who came before, and it was very likely that they had already lived here for one hundred generations. As mortals, although they were better than demons in wisdom, craft, and temperament, they couldn’t stand at the top of the food chain in the world where cultivators dominated order, so they didn’t multiply.
Looking at these people, Li Ye said slowly, “If Macaque Mountain is going to be destroyed, why the Macaque King still needs the key?”
You Daxiao was a little stunned. He didn’t understand Li Ye’s meaning.
Li Ye didn’t say much, not because he didn’t want to explain it, but because he needed to accomplish it before saying it out. Otherwise, it would be regarded as a dream.
Li Ye’s experience in Panfeng City inspired him. He was now followed by nearly a hundred demons, but he still wanted more.
In fact, the way to get more demons was very simple. He needed to establish prestige and virtue.
If he had both prestige and virtue, the demons would be willing to submit to him. And with the prosperity of the human world as a temptation, Li Ye could at least gather an army even if not all the demons were willing to go to the human world with him.
The first target of this army was neither the Immortal Court nor Seven Sages Mountain, but Macaque Mountain.
That year in Chang’an, Li Ye was only twenty years old. His cultivation hadn’t reached the Qi-refining stage yet, it was difficult for him to inherit the title of Prince An, and he was under fire from all quarters, but he was still able to create the foundation of Pinglu in the changing, turbulent situation. Now that he became an immortal and had the scroll of the Luck of heaven, and his Dragon Qi had a great achievement, couldn’t he overthrow the demon clan?
Even if he couldn’t overthrow the demon clan, he had to create chaos.
This was what an emperor should do in front of the Way of Emperor.
The Macaque King had the cultivation of the Daluo Golden Immortal Realm, but he was overcautious when he dealt with Li Ye, and he didn’t dare to come personally. The pressure of the five major Taoist sects on Li Ye on the Qi-refining Stage was bigger than that of the Macaque King.
Why should Li Ye be afraid of such Macaque King?
He had already established prestige. Because he killed the Lord of Panfeng City, very few demons dared to look down upon him.
The next step was to establish virtue. It was not difficult with his experience in the human world.
With this in mind, Li Ye’s heart was moved. He suddenly felt a strong and familiar breath. It seemed close yet far away. It seemed out of reach yet in the hand.
That was the breath of the Way of Emperor.
What was the third realm of the Way of Emperor?
Li Ye sensed its existence.
Perhaps, he was not far from this realm.
You Daxiao, Wu You, and the others didn’t know what Li Ye was thinking about. They only saw Li Ye looking out of the window in silence. When they were about to ask, they suddenly felt that an overwhelming momentum emerged from Li Ye’s body. It was as if the person sitting in front of them was not a cultivator in the Ground Immortal Realm, but an Immortal Emperor who ruled the world.
Wu You, You Daxiao, and the innkeeper looked at each other in shock, and they were aware of each other’s confusion. Fortunately, it was just a temperament that emerged from Li Ye’s body, and there was no real cultivation fluctuation. They felt a little relieved.
Otherwise, they were afraid that this small restaurant would collapse.
Wu You and all the demons didn’t disturb Li Ye. As cultivators, they certainly knew that this was the key moment for Li Ye’s enlightenment. When someone’s cultivation reached the Immortal Realm, he needed to comprehend the Great Tao to improve his realm. Everyone understood that.
“He has comprehended the Great Tao while drinking wine and watching the street view. Is it too easy?”
You Daxiao sighed in his heart. He thought that his father, the Roc Demon King, often cultivated in seclusion for many years to comprehend the Great Tao of the Luck of heaven, but he always got nothing. If he sat here and saw this, he would definitely be so angry that he would turn the table upside down.
Li Ye was deep in thought for a long time. Wu You and all the demons soon found that Li Ye’s overwhelming breath was restrained—it was restrained, but not dispersed. This showed that Li Ye did get something.
Wu You blinked her watery eyes and asked curiously, “Elder Brother Ye, what did you think about just now?”
“I’ve comprehended something about the realm.” Li Ye didn’t go into too much detail. It seemed impossible to elaborate on this.
Hearing this, Wu You and all the demons had an expression of certainty.
Li Ye looked at You Daxiao. “Do you have any formation? A powerful offensive or defensive formation.”
You Daxiao asked, “Brother Li, what do you want this for?”
Li Ye said, “Nearly a hundred demons are following us. They can’t be idle, and we will definitely have many battles in the future. If they can practice a few formations, it will improve our fighting ability.”
Of course, the cultivator’s formation was different from the military formation. Otherwise, Li Ye would train them personally. After all, he was a veteran general on the battlefield. Li Ye would go to Macaque Mountain, and he would fight the Taoist sect in the future, so he needed to be well prepared.
You Daxiao nodded to show that he understood Li Ye’s meaning. Then he thought for a while and said, “I know some, and they’re powerful. When I was in Pinglu, the demons I brought practiced them, so did the cultivators under your command. But they are the formations for the Qi-refining stage and the Spiritual Master Realm, not suitable for the Immortal Realm. If you want to train those nearly a hundred cultivators above the Ground Immortal Realm, you’d better ask my father for some formations.”
Li Ye kept silent. It was like distant water couldn’t solve thirst.
At this time, the sparrow came back and landed on the windowsill. Li Ye used it as a scout, so when everyone stopped in the town, he asked it to explore the road ahead.
No one knew what news the sparrow got. It looked particularly excited. It didn’t take back its wings, and it was waving its hands and feet, like dancing.
It shouted to Li Ye, “I heard a piece of good news more than 100 kilometers ahead! There is a mountain called Blackstone Ridge, where many fierce beasts suddenly appeared recently. No one knew why they would become ferocious. They have already destroyed several caves and villages of the Immortal Realm. What’s more, some demons with high cultivation have collaborated with them and slaughtered a small town. Now they have made people panic!”
Li Ye frowned slightly. “They have made people panic?”
“Yes, that’s right! There are a lot of mortals in that town, just like this town!” the sparrow said with certainty.
You Daxiao was surprised. He said, “It’s not the season for the beast flow to appear now. How could such a serious beast disaster happen suddenly? And there are some demons with high cultivation helping them. This is too abnormal.”
The territory of the demon clan was full of Spiritual Qi. It benefited not only cultivators of the demon clan, but also beasts. The wild beasts with powerful cultivation but without spiritual intelligence were the fierce beasts called by demons. They were very aggressive.
According to You Daxiao’s previous introduction to Li Ye, fierce beasts were a major threat to the territory of the demon clan. In order to wipe out the beast flow in the territory, demons had to pay a heavy price.
Li Ye thought for a while. The appearance of the beast flow was abnormal and so happened to be in front of him. Li Ye naturally would not believe that there was nothing wrong with this matter.
Li Ye was deep in thought. The sparrow seemed to understand his thoughts. It shouted on the windowsill, “Your Highness, is it the trouble made by the Macaque King? He can’t deal with you personally, and he can’t ask the cultivators in the Golden Immortal Realm under his command to make a move either, so he intends to kill you with the help of the beasts. This is a good way to deceive the public!”
You Daxiao felt that what the sparrow said was very reasonable. He looked terrible and said seriously, “It’s very likely to be true. If so, we can’t go on the road ahead. We’d better take a detour.”
For the cultivators in the Immortal Realm, there was no only one road because it was very convenient to take a detour.
Li Ye glanced at You Daxiao. “If the Macaque King really did this, there will still be the beast flow appearing in front of us, even if we take a detour.”
That was true. No one stipulated that the beast flow could only appear in one place, so it would probably appear wherever Li Ye went. They were more than 100 kilometers away now, but they would probably appear in front of them later.
You Daxiao could do nothing. “What should we do?”
Li Ye was deep in thought. His fingers unconsciously tapped on the table, making rhythmic thuds.
The sparrow shouted, “What else can we do? Let’s go and fight them! We have many cultivators and we’re powerful. If it’s just an ordinary beast flow, we might defeat them. If the Macaque King really did this, we can also find evidence, right? Then we can ask the other Great Sages for help!”
It spoke very fast and very loudly, looking very excited.
Li Ye glanced at it. “Why are you so excited?”
The sparrow seemed to know that Li Ye would ask this question, so it immediately patted its chest with its wings. “Your Highness, you need a chance to establish virtue, right? Now that the Macaque King gives you the chance, aren’t you happy?”
“Your Highness, you’re popular in the demon clan. You already have some reputation due to the matter of Panfeng City. After you pacify the beast flow, it will be easy for you to call for action and gather a thousand cultivators to follow you. At that time, we can fight on Macaque Mountain. Wouldn’t it be great?!”
Li Ye didn’t find that this guy was actually a militant. It looked like it wanted to make great chaos. Moreover, when it analyzed the situation, it was clear-headed. Li Ye couldn’t help but look at the sparrow a few more times. Were all the birds of the demon clan so intelligent?
Li Ye made a decision. “Whether the beast flow was directed by the Macaque King or not, I don’t intend to avoid it. Let’s go and see who they are.”
Since he couldn’t avoid it, he would face it head-on. Li Ye really needed this chance to establish virtue.
Since the beast flow appeared, the nearby demons would not sit idly by. Many cultivators would go to deal with it. Li Ye would be very happy if he could take this opportunity to “abduct” a group of demons.
To say the least, even if the beast flow was really directed by the Macaque King, Li Ye was not afraid that he would be killed by him.
The Roc Demon King, the Bull Demon King, and the monkey spared no effort to help him fight in the human world and invited him to the demon clan to help them. He didn’t believe that they would watch him be killed by the Macaque King.
Foll𝑜w current novels on fre(e)w𝒆bnovel