DiploNovel #222 - The price of humanity!
#222 - The price of humanity!
Chapter 221: The Value of Humanity!
Zhang Chen had never seen Fox Fairy Nannan so gnashing her teeth; not even when he had reduced her physical body to dust had he seen her so enraged.
But it was also easy to infer just how much that Tu Shan Qing was hated; who knew how many people he had harmed.
Considering how slippery Fox Fairy Nannan was, yet she had repeatedly fallen into his traps, Zhang Chen secretly became more vigilant.
“However, there is something you need to be aware of.” Just then, Fox Fairy Nannan seemed to remember something and quickly reminded him: “Although Tu Shan Qing is like a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone, he is the Fox Clan Ancestor's darling, often serving by the Fox Clan Ancestor's side. The fact that Tu Shan Qing is here most likely indicates that the Fox Clan Ancestor has entered the pass.”
“The Fox Clan Ancestor has entered the pass?” Zhang Chen's heart tightened upon hearing this, and he looked at Fox Fairy Nannan: “Me destroying your physical body, won't that leave any hidden dangers?”
“Of course, there will be, but as long as you release my soul, the Ancestor will definitely sense my location. However, if you keep me within your Dragon Qi, the Ancestor will not sense my aura, and naturally, she won't come looking for you then.” Fox Fairy Nannan said.
“You didn't say so earlier!” Zhang Chen quickly collected Fox Fairy Nannan upon hearing this; he didn't want to face the Fox Fairy Ancestor.
Outside
Chen Sanliang was indeed mad, leaving the city and walking through the desolate mountains outside the city with a silly grin. Suddenly, a figure flickered in the distance; a man in white appeared, his body surrounded by a hazy white light, walking over from afar.
The figure was not tall, but his aura was hazy, and passersby seemed not to notice him.
From afar, the man in white saw the mad Chen Sanliang and couldn't help but sigh: “What a pity for this person's talent and wisdom! If it weren't for the Academy's obstruction, this person would likely be comparable to the Master in the future. My Demon Clan is currently lacking such a great Confucian to educate the masses; if we could invite him into the Demon Clan, the speed at which my Demon Clan opens up civilization and wisdom would be even faster.”
Thinking of this, the man in white came to Chen Sanliang's front, blocking Chen Sanliang's path. Chen Sanliang looked at the man in white blocking his path, gave a crazy laugh, and directly brushed past the man in white.
The man in white turned to look at Chen Sanliang, who was getting further and further away, and pointed at him from afar, drawing a circle at Chen Sanliang's feet. Chen Sanliang seemed to have encountered a barrier, only able to run around wildly within the barrier.
“Eh~” The mad Chen Sanliang seemed to have discovered something fun, squatting down and looking at the circle at his feet, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
At this time, the man in white came to Chen Sanliang's front, then took out a stick of incense in his hand, lit it outside the earth circle, and then, under the control of the man in white, the incense, like small snakes, drilled into Chen Sanliang's nostrils.
As the white smoke continued to pour into Chen Sanliang's mouth and nose, Chen Sanliang's crazy laughter gradually stopped, then gradually quieted down, sitting cross-legged on the ground and closing his eyes to meditate.
When the incense had finished burning, Chen Sanliang opened his eyes and looked at the man in white outside the circle: “Thank you, Your Excellency, for saving me; otherwise, I'm afraid my life would have been ruined.”
“I cherish your talent and couldn't bear to see you reduced to a madman.” The man in white said softly.
“May I ask for Your Excellency's name?” Chen Sanliang respectfully stood up at this time and bowed to the man in white.
The man in white smiled softly upon hearing this, waved his hand to erase the circle on the ground, and then said: “Qingqiu Clan: Bai Cang.”
Hearing the man announce his name, Chen Sanliang's pupils shrank: “So it is the ancestor of the Qingqiu Clan; Chen Sanliang greets Your Majesty.”
“No need to be so polite.” Bai Cang said with a smile: “Our Demon Clan doesn't care about such formalities.”
Chen Sanliang didn't stand on ceremony upon hearing this but stood there respectfully, his eyes looking at Bai Cang: “Ancestor spent precious treasures to save me; I wonder what instructions you have? If I can accomplish it, I will never refuse.”
“Oh? You know my identity, yet you are still willing to work for me?” Bai Cang asked with a surprised expression.
Hearing Bai Cang's words, Chen Sanliang smiled bitterly and said: “Ancestor is joking; if it weren't for you saving me, I'm afraid my mind would be disordered, and my energy and spirit would constantly dissipate, deteriorating day by day, until my soul was scattered. Such great kindness and virtue, even if it costs me my life, I will do it.”
“What if the things I ask you to do are harmful to the Human Race? Contrary to the interests of Confucianism? And conflict with what you have learned? Will you do it or not?” Bai Cang looked at Chen Sanliang, posing a difficult problem for Chen Sanliang.
Chen Sanliang fell silent upon hearing this and only spoke after a long time: “Do it! Of course, I will do it!”
“Are you willing to betray the Human Race?” Bai Cang asked in surprise.
“After I finish, I will kill myself to atone for my sins.” Chen Sanliang said.
Bai Cang nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this; he liked this kind of Chen Sanliang.
“The reason I saved you is because I cherished your talent. The Human Race no longer has a place for you; why not come with me to the Demon Race? As long as you join the Qingqiu Clan, I am willing to appoint you as a Demon Teacher, in charge of the Demon Race's educational duties, in charge of the Demon Race's general trend, and be an assistant by my side, helping me to check for omissions and smooth out the Demon Race's general trend.” Bai Cang said very sincerely: “A talent like you, the Human Race cannot tolerate you, but my Demon Race can. You have such great talent, but you were defeated by the schemes of a group of villains; are you really willing to accept this?”
“You must know that you are pioneering a path, and in the future, you will be enough to be the second saint of the Human Race, comparable to the Master. What kind of good fortune is this? It was actually ruined like this! Prevented by a group of despicable villains, are you willing?” Bai Cang's voice, although calm, was filled with an indescribable sharpness, directly attacking the deepest flaw in Chen Sanliang's heart: “Even your wife sacrificed her life to protect your path, dying at the hands of villains; are you really willing to lose all of this? Are you willing for them to seize your Dao fruit and then rise up, taking away the glory that belongs to you?”
Chen Sanliang's breathing became rapid upon hearing this, his fists clenched tightly, his chest heaving, his eyes were red, and standing in place, he only felt his brain constantly roaring, his body constantly trembling.
On one side was the righteousness of the Human Race, and on the other side was his own grievances; the two thoughts constantly fought, impacting his heart.
“If you agree, I can find a way to revive your wife. My Demon Race has the supreme divine object, the Soul-Binding Lamp. As long as you light the lamp and burn the items left behind by the living during their lifetime, you can capture their scattered aura in the world and re-condense their soul. As for your wife's physical injuries, as long as you find a way, there will always be ways to repair them in this world. There are so many large tombs in the world; you can always dig out things that can save lives. I even have hope for reviving your wife right now; I already have news of a divine object that can revive people's physical bodies.” Bai Cang said.
As expected, upon hearing Bai Cang's words, Chen Sanliang's breathing quickened, his eyes fixed on Bai Cang: "Please enlighten me, Ancestor."
"There is a large tomb emerging within the borders of the Pacifying North Prince's domain, containing a coffin crafted from the Tree of Longevity, within which lies buried an ancient demon god. If you can seize that coffin, there may be hope to revive your wife," Bai Cang said with a serious expression.
"Really? Ancestor, are you not deceiving me?" Chen Sanliang's breathing quickened upon hearing this.
"In fact, my Fox Clan once unearthed a small twig from the Tree of Longevity. Although it was small, only the size of a palm, it still granted me an extension of sixty years to my life. This time, I infiltrated from beyond the White Bone Great Wall, originally intending only to seize dragon meat, but unexpectedly, I was drawn in by the aura of the Tree of Longevity. The moment the aura of that tomb leaked, I sensed the presence of the Tree of Longevity," Bai Cang revealed a hint of greed in his eyes.
A twig of the Tree of Longevity directly extended his life by sixty years. What an incredible stroke of fortune!?
No cultivator ever thinks their lifespan is too long. Compared to the Tree of Longevity, what does mere dragon meat matter?
"If Ancestor can agree to my two conditions, I will abandon my human identity today and follow Ancestor from now on, at your disposal without any objections," Chen Sanliang finally succumbed to Bai Cang's offer and knelt on the ground to pledge his loyalty.
He has now become a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone in the human race. With his own means, he has no chance of obtaining the Tree of Longevity.
"What conditions do you have? Speak them," Bai Cang asked.
"First, please use all your means to save my wife. Second, please avenge me. One day, grant me an army of demons, and I will cross the White Bone Great Wall and cleanse the Confucian and Daoist lineages with blood," Chen Sanliang's eyes were now bloodshot.
"I agree to your conditions, but..." Bai Cang hesitated.
"But what?" Chen Sanliang asked.
"This is the heartland of the human race, with Xie Xuan watching over it. It will be as difficult as ascending to heaven for me to seize the Tree of Longevity," Bai Cang's voice was filled with helplessness.
"Xie Xuan is a member of the imperial court. With Xie Xuan around, the Pacifying North Prince's Estate and the Way of Great Peace will not have an easy time either. Seizing the Tree of Longevity will also be fraught with difficulties. Ancestor, why not go directly to the Yellow Heaven Dao Alliance? If Ancestor allies with the Yellow Heaven Dao and the Pacifying North Prince's Estate, there might be a chance." At this point, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Sanliang's mind, and a ruthless plan emerged:
"I have a plan that can serve as a gift for joining the demon race."
"What plan do you have?" Bai Cang asked curiously.
"Ancestor should also know that the Pacifying North Prince's Estate is now engaged in open and covert struggles with the imperial court. The Pacifying North Prince's Estate is ambitious and may rebel at any time, but because the estate lacks experts who can contend against twelfth-tier mystics, it has to swallow its anger in the face of the imperial court. If the demon race can secretly ally with the Pacifying North Prince's Estate, offering to restrain the imperial court's twelfth-tier mystics as a condition, they could ask the Pacifying North Prince to open the pass, secretly allowing the demon race to enter the pass, cede territory, and establish kingship. Then, the two sides could feign confrontation in public while secretly encroaching on the territory of the Great Victory Dynasty. By then, the demon race will gradually gain a foothold within the White Bone Great Wall, hehe..." Chen Sanliang did not continue speaking, but Bai Cang already knew what Chen Sanliang was implying.
"Does the Pacifying North Prince's Estate have the guts to ally with my demon race? To secretly collude with my demon race?" Bai Cang was quite tempted at this point. "How feasible is this plan?"
"One hundred percent!" Chen Sanliang said.
"How so?" Bai Cang asked.
"The Pacifying North Prince's Estate has been plotting in secret for hundreds of years, wanting to transform into a dragon and give birth to a mystic capable of contending against the Great Victory Dynasty's twelfth tier. His rebellious ambitions are obvious. If he succeeds in transforming into a dragon, then a twelfth-tier mystic will appear in the Northern Lands, and the Great Victory Dynasty will have to accept it. But the key now is that the Pacifying North Prince's Estate has failed, and the Pacifying North Prince's Estate's greatest trump card has been exposed. If you were the Great Victory Emperor, what would you do?" Chen Sanliang asked.
"Of course, I would take the opportunity to uproot them completely and eliminate the hidden danger," Bai Cang's eyes lit up. "But what you said is just a probability. The Great Victory Dynasty has a twelfth-tier artifact and might not take the Pacifying North Prince's Estate seriously. As long as the Pacifying North Prince goes to the capital to plead guilty, the impasse will be resolved."
"If it were in the past, what you said would of course be possible, but... now the Tree of Longevity has appeared!"
At this point, Chen Sanliang drew out his tone: "The dragon body of the Pacifying North Prince, Zhang Shicheng, is still perfectly preserved. If it is placed inside the Tree of Longevity, and supplemented with a Soul-Binding Lamp..."
"Pa!" Bai Cang suddenly clapped his hands, his eyes filled with excitement, and he looked at Chen Sanliang with shock: "Sir, you are a genius! With just a slight move, you have already reversed the situation. With such conditions combined, the Pacifying North Prince's Estate has absolutely no reason to refuse."
Chen Sanliang smiled upon hearing this, his eyes filled with pride: "Moreover, I always feel that the old fellow Zhang Shicheng is not completely dead. If Zhang Shicheng were completely dead, the dragon transformation pattern in the Northern Lands would have been broken long ago, and the floods should have been resolved. But now, the water vapor in the world is still gathering towards the Northern Lands and has not dispersed. Perhaps Zhang Shicheng is really not completely dead. If he is nourished within the Tree of Longevity for a few days, he might really jump out again one day."
Bai Cang took a deep breath upon hearing this: "If we can open the pass of the White Bone Great Wall and cede territory in the human race's land, what does my demon race care about a mere Soul-Binding Lamp and Tree of Longevity?"
"If this plan succeeds, I am confident that I can unite all the major tribes of the demon race to send troops to the Divine Continent, splitting the human race's Divine Continent and leaving a place for my demon race's descendants to live," Bai Cang's voice was filled with excitement.
"If the demon race can take root within the White Bone Great Wall, my demon race is willing to cooperate with you, sir, to slaughter all the Confucian disciples and avenge this blood feud for you, sir!" Bai Cang said.
As for the matter of the Soul-Binding Lamp and the Tree of Longevity for Chen Sanliang to revive his wife, it is naturally unnecessary to mention, because there are enough materials, and the Soul-Binding Lamp is not something that cannot be used again after one use.
Chen Sanliang's eyes revealed a trace of bitterness upon hearing Bai Cang's words, and there was no smile on his face: "I only hope that after the demon race enters the pass, they can treat the human race's people kindly. They are innocent."
"Don't forget, the demon race refers to all races in the world. In the past, the human race also had a name, which was: Human Demons. However, later the human race found an opportunity to split off, and since then they have been unstoppable. The human race returning to the demon race is just a return to their origins. As long as the human race's people do not oppose the demon race, my demon race will never make things difficult for them!" Bai Cang patted his chest and guaranteed.