Chapter 534: Chapter 527: Ceasing Hostilities

As the man and the monkey were happily interacting, a commanding Divine Sense delivered an aged voice: "Human, you must be Little Wukong’s friend. A guest from afar is always welcome. Would you care to come in for a cup of Monkey Wine?"

"With such a sincere invitation from our host, how could I possibly refuse!" Du Youqian then entered at an unhurried pace, Little Wukong at his side.

Although this place was home to a Tier Five Vermilion Bird Emperor, two Tier Four Monkey Kings, and a large number of Tier Three ones, there were no arrays.

’Even if I can’t beat them, can’t I still escape?’

Thus, Du Youqian wasn’t the least bit worried, and he walked with an air of calm confidence.

The monkeys along the path had all been given their orders and dared not make a move.

Every last one of them was inwardly relieved. ’Thank goodness a fight didn’t break out.’

Otherwise, monkeys like them—at Tier Two and Tier Three—would be nothing more than cannon fodder.

A Tier Five human could easily tear them to shreds with a casual gesture.

The most tragic part was that in a battle between Tier Five experts, even if the monkeys weren’t the target, the slightest aftershock would be more than they could bear.

A Tier Five’s control over their power was already exquisite, so normally no energy would leak out.

But if the fight grew heated, the entire forest would be destroyed.

Countless monkeys were already praying in their hearts, ’Don’t let them fight. Please, please, don’t let them fight!’

When Du Youqian came before the Tier Five Demon Emperor, the demon looked vaguely familiar.

In a clearing in the forest, several tree stumps had been fashioned into tables and stools.

On one of the larger stumps sat bowls and cups carved from fruit husks and tree roots. Some held fresh fruit, while others were filled to the brim with Monkey Wine. Even from a distance, the refreshing aroma of fruit and wine wafted through the air.

The Demon Emperor, who exuded a commanding Tier Five aura, was sitting on one of the stumps. He gestured for Du Youqian to have a seat.

The Demon Emperor’s head was covered in white fur, as were his eyebrows.

Further down his body, however, the fur grew darker.

Below the waist, his fur was as bright red as a dancing flame.

By the time it reached his feet, it was as crimson as blood.

Du Youqian had seen this Demon Emperor before, in the Relics of the Cyan Yang Sect!

’No, it can’t be the same one. They just look very similar.’

’It’s perfectly normal to have trouble telling members of Alien Races apart.’

’So this is a Vermilion Bird,’ Du Youqian thought to himself after sitting down. ’I wonder if the upper limit for this race’s bloodline is Tier Six or Tier Seven. The one I saw in the Cyan Yang Sect Relics must have been an illusory image of a Tier Six Vermilion Bird. How laughable. My Cultivation was so low back then I mistook it for a Tier Four Demon King.’

"Human, drink!" The Vermilion Bird pointed to a cup carved from a tree root on the stump.

Du Youqian lifted the cup. The amber liquid was aromatic and tempting.

Little Wukong somersaulted to his side, squatted on a stump, cupped a bowl made from a fruit husk in his paws, tilted his head back, and chugged the whole thing. GULP, GULP, GULP.

Du Youqian didn’t hesitate either, downing the wine in the root cup in a single gulp.

Du Youqian didn’t hesitate for a moment. At the Divinity Transformation Realm, it would be utterly laughable to fear being poisoned.

The Monkey Wine was sweet and cool on the palate. A single belch brought a rush of fragrance.

The aroma was sweet without being cloying—a rare quality.

"Drink!" The Vermilion Bird pointed to another cup.

Most members of the Demon Race had no concept of etiquette, so Du Youqian didn’t hold it against him and simply drank another cup.

"Another!"

With a faint smile, Du Youqian drank another.

The wine was rich in Spiritual Qi. If a Core Formation Cultivator were to drink three cups, they would likely have to meditate immediately to absorb it all.

As a Divinity Transformation expert, Du Youqian had no such trouble. His body greedily devoured all the Spiritual Qi in an instant.

"Good! Human, you’re all right," the Vermilion Bird said, his tone full of admiration.

When Du Youqian communicated with the Demon Race, he mostly used his Divine Sense, as the vast majority of them couldn’t speak the human tongue.

This Vermilion Bird, however, spoke the common human tongue flawlessly.

"Your Majesty Demon Emperor, I trust you won’t mind if I call you Fellow Daoist."

A smile spread across the Vermilion Bird’s furry face. "I would be honored."

’So he knows some manners after all.’

Du Youqian smiled. "Fellow Daoist Vermilion Bird, I’ve come to see my friend. I heard Little Wukong hadn’t returned for several months, and I grew worried about him."

"He’s doing great here. We all love him. He spends all day drinking wine and eating fruit. You have no idea how happy he is."

Du Youqian nearly burst out laughing.

’Eating fruit...’

’This Vermilion Bird is quite an interesting character.’

Du Youqian was curious to ask about matters concerning the Demon Race, but he felt it wouldn’t be appropriate, given his standing as a human.

As it turned out, the old Vermilion Bird was quite the conversationalist. He proactively shared anecdotes about the Demon Race’s Royal and Imperial Courts and mentioned several regions where the conflict between the Demon and Human Races was particularly intense. Du Youqian learned a great deal.

"Fellow Daoist Sui, what is your opinion of us, the Ten Thousand Races?"

Du Youqian didn’t want to elaborate and replied evasively, "I view them as I should."

The Vermilion Bird pressed on. "And how is that? There aren’t many humans like you, who befriend the Ten Thousand Races. I asked Little Wukong. You don’t want anything from him; you truly see him as a friend. Even knowing his bloodline is powerful, you haven’t tried to rush his development to make him your enforcer. So I want to know, what do you truly think of the Ten Thousand Races?"

Du Youqian thought for a moment. Deciding he wasn’t afraid of the Vermilion Bird turning hostile, he answered honestly, "I am very fond of the Human World. I am even fonder of a Human World where, under the leadership of the Human Race, all of the Ten Thousand Races can live and thrive in peace."

The Vermilion Bird stared at Du Youqian, anger seeming to brew in his crimson eyes.

Du Youqian, unafraid, slowly sipped his wine.

The Little Monkey also seemed unconcerned, taking big gulps of wine and large bites of fruit.

After staring at Du Youqian for a long moment, the Vermilion Bird turned to Little Wukong. "Little Monkey, if I were to fight this human, who would you help?"

Little Wukong let out a few squeaks, then went back to stuffing his face with fruit.

Du Youqian had to suppress a laugh.

"He’s my best friend. Of course I’d help him."

The Vermilion Bird sighed, then quickly broke into a laugh. "Fellow Daoist Sui, don’t be fooled by Little Wukong’s youth and naivete. His heart is as clear as crystal. If you had even the slightest ill intent toward him, he would know."

Du Youqian nodded. "I’ve always known that."

The Vermilion Bird added, "I don’t like you."

Du Youqian smiled. "I know."

The Vermilion Bird looked him straight in the eye. "But since Little Wukong likes you, I’ll try to be your friend, too. In the future, if you ever find yourself in the territory of any branch of the Monkey Race, you can use my name. I am Yuan Fei. My father was one of Yuan the Great Saint’s personal guards, and the Great Saint himself gave me my name."

Du Youqian unconsciously sat up straighter.

He, of course, knew who "Yuan the Great Saint" was.

It was Yuan Liulang’s true form!

And Little Wukong shared Yuan Liulang’s bloodline.

’Does this Yuan Fei know that?’

The Vermilion Bird’s smile was ugly, but his intelligent gaze softened slightly as he nodded. "Of course I know. The Great Saint is the one who sent me to see Little Wukong."

Du Youqian was silent for a long time before asking, "What did Yuan the Great Saint say?"

Yuan Fei’s smile vanished. "The Great Saint’s decree was: ’Go and see the Little Monkey. If he’s happy, leave him be. If he’s unhappy, kill everyone around him and bring him to me for a carefree life.’"

"However," Yuan Fei said, looking at Du Youqian with a smile, "Little Wukong says he’s very happy. So, I don’t have to kill you."

Du Youqian shook his head. "You couldn’t kill me."

Yuan Fei’s expression turned dangerous. "I could."

"You couldn’t."

"I could!"

"If I say you couldn’t, you couldn’t."

"Want to test that?"

THWACK! Little Wukong slammed a paw on the tree stump. The stump itself was unharmed and the wine didn’t even slosh, but the entire thing sank a foot into the ground.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

Yuan Fei laughed cheerfully. "Fine, we’ll listen to Little Wukong. No arguing, only drinking."

Du Youqian was a little surprised by Little Wukong’s progress.

The aura he was exuding suggested he had already reached the Tier Four Middle Stage.

’He’s improving so quickly!’

The crucial part was that Little Wukong never practiced Cultivation.

He just drank wine, ate fruit, and played wildly with the other monkeys every day, and his power increased naturally.

’How infuriating is that?’

Du Youqian, however, wasn’t infuriated at all. ’It’s a good thing he’s getting stronger. The more powerful my companion, the better.’

After chatting a while longer, Du Youqian stood up to take his leave. Speaking plainly, he said, "I’m very happy to have met you today, Fellow Daoist Yuan Fei, but I have other matters to attend to, so I can’t stay. Little Wukong, you can stay here and play, but not for too long. Remember to return to the Chen Kingdom in a while. We’re being paid, so we need to have some professional ethics."

Yuan Fei also stood and said gravely, "Yuan the Great Saint has no ambition to unify the Human World. If the Human Race is willing to grant the monkeys and apes of this world a suitable place to live, Yuan the Great Saint is willing to cease all hostilities."

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