Chapter 38

The so-called "Demon Race" is not a race, at least not in the biological sense. The official academic name given by Spirit Beast Mountain for the Demon Race is "Demonized Individuals." For example, the Barbaric Lion Demon, which is biologically correctly referred to as "Felidae Panthera leo barbaricus demonized individual."

As for the term "Demon Race," it is more of a cultural identity. Archaeological evidence shows that the Demon Race once had a fleeting civilization. However, by the time the Human Race ruled the world, the Demon Race's civilization had been reduced to nothing, with their language reduced to grunts, and even the most powerful demons could only communicate simple information through spiritual awareness.

By the time of the ancient magical arts' peak several ten thousand years ago, the Human Race had become a dominant force in the land, though far from the supremacy of the Four Sea Dragon Clans, they excelled in cohesion and had a complete civilization system. Thus, some insightful great demons began to learn human writing, and the ability to transform into human form, a skill known as "shapeshifting," was also a product of this period.

Demons do not possess innate intelligence but gradually develop it as their instinctual activities align with the natural rhythms of the world. This principle is similar to the modern magical arts, which were initially created by Spirit Beast Mountain and Ten Thousand Flower Valley, inspired by the cultivation methods of the Demon Race. This is why the Demon Race's innate abilities align with the laws of nature, making them seem invincible to practitioners of the ancient magical arts.

Relying on their innate abilities, the Demon Race, despite being a loosely organized group, faced the Human Race head-on for countless years. When the modern magical arts declared a full-scale war on the Demon Race, they finally had the courage to rebel.

However, the nine idol great demons who refused to give up their right to eat humans and led thousands of demons to freedom were quickly taught a lesson by the modern magical arts' transcendent cultivators using their most skilled methods.

The King of All Fungi, Baste, planted mushrooms on the leading Gao Ling Tree Demon.

Kai Kelvin, the Burning Sky, used his "Heavenly Entropy Technique" to control temperature, burning the Southern Ming Vermilion Bird and freezing the Northern Abyss Cold Dragon.

The Northern Wasteland Fur Bear, who had a close relationship with the Northern Abyss Cold Dragon, had the innate ability to borrow the power of earth, but was crushed into a meat patty by the gravitational force of Newton, the Yuan Power Ascetic.

The Fire-Eyed Water Ape, a great demon wandering the East Sea coast, was known as the strongest in close combat, but was killed bare-handed by Darwin, the first transcendent cultivator of the modern magical arts, the Divine Lord of Natural Selection.

The Poisonous Blackbird King of Naxi Ancient Land, whose poison techniques were unparalleled, was eroded into a pile of rotten bones by the highly toxic techniques of Lavash, the transcendent cultivator of the Gold-Burning Valley.

The Thunder Pool, the lair of the Thunder Beast King, was said to be a place where humans could not advance. Faraday, the Thunder Imprisoning Venerable, stood still and endured the lightning strikes of the Thunder Beast King, Kuiv, using the Thunder Imprisoning Spell. When the Thunder Beast King realized the situation was hopeless, Faraday had already used the lightning to cook a piece of meat. Then, he shot the cooked meat with an electric crossbow, killing the Thunder Beast.

The eighth great demon to be eliminated was the Golden Sword Demon, a transformed ancient sword. This demon absorbed human blood and essence to transform, and after becoming a demon, it became even more ruthless, turning an entire city into a pool of blood, calling itself "Ancient Sword Odd Lake." The Golden Sword Demon was a natural sword cultivator, with every movement emitting sword energy. In the end, Bodhi, the transcendent cultivator of the Light Hall, used the "Great Elephant Phase Wave Technique" to split it apart.

After the death of the Golden Sword Demon, the last influential great demon fled overseas with his followers. Since then, the Demon Race no longer had any influence on the mainland. All mainland demons were placed under the rule of the Immortal Alliance. Those who did not have a history of eating humans and who accepted human education were granted equal rights to human cultivators. Now, some demons have even appeared in the middle ranks of the Immortal Alliance, and half-demons have formed a considerable scale.

After Wang Qi finished speaking, he couldn't help but mock Zhen Chanzi: "Did you hear that? The 'unbeatable demon abilities' are just a joke now. Those who didn't keep up with technological advancements, even if they started strong, can only sigh in defeat after the second phase."

Mao Zimiao: "I don't understand what you're saying, but it sounds really impressive... meow."

"Right, what cultivation technique do you plan to practice? I remember you were studying the Cloudy Mist Covering the Sun Technique of the Flowing Cloud Sect, right?"

The Cloudy Mist Covering the Sun Technique is a relatively primitive technique in the Flowing Cloud Sect, derived from the founder's observations of cloud and mist phenomena, with some traces of ancient water cultivation techniques. It is far from the Flowing Water Technique. However, the Cloudy Mist Covering the Sun Technique has a low threshold, is easy to learn, and has good effects for light movement and health preservation.

Mao Zimiao shook her head: "No, not that. I've already decided, it's the Heavenly Evolution Chart, meow."

Wang Qi was greatly surprised: "You?"

Both Spirit Beast Mountain and the Yangshen Pavilion have stated that there is no evidence that half-demons have lower intelligence than humans, but Wang Qi has always suspected this was a false statement to avoid "racial discrimination." From what Wang Qi has seen, Mao Zimiao's math skills are... abysmal. If Wang Qi hadn't known only one half-demon, he would have considered this a general rule of this world.

Mao Zimiao's limited math skills severely restricted her choices in cultivation techniques.

Mao Zimiao puffed out her cheeks: "Xiao Qi, you're being too mean, meow! Are you calling me stupid?"

Wang Qi smiled sincerely: "Yeah!"

"Are you kidding, meow!"

"However, I suggest you reconsider," Wang Qi said seriously. "The Heavenly Evolution Chart does indeed emphasize accumulation and inspiration, but as far as I know, this technique also requires understanding of mathematical principles at a deeper level."

Mao Zimiao shook her head: "That's not true. Don't most modern techniques require mathematical support at a deeper level, meow?"

"That's true."

The cultivation techniques of the Ten Thousand Methods Sect are considered the orthodox of modern techniques for a reason; almost all techniques of all sects have the influence of the Ten Thousand Methods Sect.

Wang Qi changed the topic: "By the way, why did you suddenly decide to practice this orthodox technique of the Five Greats, Azimiao?"

"A senior who is very kind to me told me that half-demons need to at least study the Heavenly Evolution Chart to maximize their potential, meow. At least before the Foundation Establishment stage, I plan to focus on the Heavenly Evolution Chart and study the Cloudy Mist Covering the Sun Technique as a secondary technique."

Wang Qi whistled: "Very kind? Godfather? Is there something going on?"

Mao Zimiao blushed: "Not at all, meow! Senior Ai... Senior Ai just has a bit of a... free-spirited personality, meow!"

"At first, I thought it was a hidden rule, but it turns out to be a pure lily relationship!"

"Not at all, meow!"

"Hey, does she have..."

Mao Zimiao soon recalled the fear of her integrity being shattered by Wang Qi and the humiliation of being teased by him. In matters of "integrity competition," the simple half-demon was no match for Wang Qi.

However, Wang Qi knew when to stop. Seeing Mao Zimiao's expression twist and her anger meter almost full, he wisely ended the topic and took something out of his storage bag: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this. Here, this is a thank-you gift for helping me sew the pillow."

Mao Zimiao looked puzzled: "What is this... some kind of spirit grass, meow? It looks familiar."

Wang Qi held a grass with a straight stem, a green conical inflorescence tightly clustered in a cylindrical shape, with rough bristles—this is a precise description. A more literary description would be: it looks like a dog tail grass.

"An annual herb of the Poaceae family, genus Setaria... probably annual, but I've only been here for less than a year, so I'm not sure. This place, Xishan, is a treasure of feng shui, so it's not impossible for this thing to mutate into a heavenly treasure."

It really is dog tail grass! Mao Zimiao's mouth twitched: "How do you use this?"

Wang Qi held the dog tail grass in front of Mao Zimiao: "I'll demonstrate."

"Okay."

Mao Zimiao nodded, but after waiting for a while, Wang Qi was still waving the grass. She couldn't help but ask: "What are you doing, Xiao Qi, meow?"

Wang Qi frowned: "Don't you want to pat this grass with your hand? Or do you want to use the ultimate method?"

"Eh?" Mao Zimiao originally wanted to ask what the "ultimate method" was, but when she saw Wang Qi bring the dog tail grass to his chin, she immediately understood.

"Meow—! Don't! Treat! Me! Like! A! Cat!"

A few minutes later, Wang Qi got up from the ground: "The power of half-demons is terrifying..."

Mao Zimiao, who had not yet reached the Qi Condensation stage, almost knocked out Wang Qi, who was at the Qi Condensation stage, with a slap out of embarrassment and anger.

Zhen Chanzi said: "Using catnip to send to a cat demon... you really thought of that."

Wang Qi held the dog tail grass in his mouth: "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Big problem. I was wondering why you were pulling dog tail grass on the road today." Zhen Chanzi snorted: "Also, when villagers hold grass stems in their mouths, it's usually because they want to chew something or enjoy the sweetness of the plant. Dog tail grass stems are rough, so why are you holding it?"

Wang Qi rolled his eyes: "I like it."

Zhen Chanzi was silent for a moment: "Or do you think it's because it's stained with the smell of that half-demon girl?"

Wang Qi opened his mouth wide, and the dog tail grass in his mouth fell to the ground: "Oh my... I've noticed you've been losing your integrity and lowering your standards recently, old man..."

"Near ink, black."

"Ha ha."

"What are you planning to do next?"

Wang Qi shook his head: "Not sure. It's better not to meditate and practice Qi until the conflict in cultivation techniques is resolved. I'm tired from the afternoon, so practicing martial arts won't be effective."

Thinking about the conflict in cultivation techniques, Wang Qi glanced in the direction Mao Zimiao had left.

That clumsy cat has also decided on her path...

What about me? What do I