Chapter 386

“The demon clan is sending an envoy to visit the human realm? Is this true?”

“Rumors say the messenger has already raced to Shengjing with the visitation list, including members of the demon royal family.”

“Why has the demon clan’s attitude changed so suddenly?”

“No one knows…”

West of Shengjing, in several cities of the human realm’s resurgence, word from Yunzhou had stirred heated discussion among the townsfolk since the cool morning breeze began to blow.

Since You and Yun provinces fell, demons and barbarians had been seen by humans as identical invaders.

The only difference was that humans had a thousand-year history of continuous warfare and wall defense against the barbarians, but held no deep grudge against the demons—indeed, there had once been a period of harmonious trade.

Now, with the human realm still weakened and the Six Immortal Sects riddled with internal strife, unity was impossible; they lacked the strength to counterattack and could only send envoys to sow discord between the demon and barbarian alliances.

Yet from the demon clan’s perspective, they surely understood human intentions; logically, they should have maintained their alliance with the barbarians and refused any envoy.

But now the situation had reversed: the demon clan had received the human envoy and was willing to send their own delegation to visit the heartland of Qingyun.

Are they not afraid the barbarians will grow suspicious? Afraid the demon-barbarian alliance will collapse?

After all, if the demon and barbarian clans were not united, the human realm had a chance to expel them—something the demons surely knew.

That was precisely why those who heard this news were so baffled.

On a mild autumn afternoon, evening clouds dimmed, the sun slanted westward, and merchant banners fluttered unevenly.

A thousand rooftops scaled the golden-hued sky, eaves and brackets hung copper horses that chimed softly in the wind amid the clamor of the market.

The air carried the charred aroma of freshly baked sesame cakes, the sweet stickiness of candied chestnuts, and a faint, intoxicating scent of osmanthus.

In Dongniu City, southwest of Zhongzhou, Ji You and Yuanchen stepped out of a bookstore, each carrying a thick bundle of storybooks, chatting as they crossed the street to the tavern opposite.

Since Ji You temporarily halted his breakthrough attempt, Yuanchen, pent-up and restless, dragged him all over the place—they had now visited eight major cities of Zhongzhou, entered countless teahouses with storytellers, and bought countless storybooks.

Yet his dream of becoming a knight-errant had only grown stronger, not satisfied.

At that moment, Ji You had just sat down when Yuanchen propped his elbows on the table, clutching a storybook, reading intently and absorbed.

“Will these storybooks keep you busy for months?”

“Yes, but these fabrications still can’t match the real adventures of my brother-in-law. Qingyun still needs someone like Gongshu.”

As Ji You flipped a tea cup upside down and poured tea, he smirked: “His storybooks are pure fabrications too—fifty paces laughing at a hundred.”

Yuanchen looked up: “But they’re entertaining!”

“You kids are getting your brains ruined by this nonsense.”

Ji You spoke as he handed Yuanchen a cup of clear tea, drained his own, and lifted a stack of books he’d brought in.

All cultivators in Qingyun revered Dao cultivation, believing enlightenment was the only true path—no one trained their physical body, so texts on body cultivation were as rare as phoenix feathers.

Yet he had already reached the ninth level of Boundless Flesh, and was about to enter Spirit Travel.

Spirit Travel was a realm exclusive to Dao Enlightenment, the purest form of harmony between heaven and human; spirit and flesh were mutually balanced—how could there be such a thing as “body-based Spirit Travel”? This forced him to tread carefully and seek theoretical grounding.

While idly browsing bookshops with his brother-in-law, he’d been surprised to find numerous storybooks featuring body cultivators as protagonists—this reminded him of his search for the Night Watchers.

Sometimes, things abandoned and forgotten by human cultivators drifted into the mortal world and became creative material—a common occurrence—so Ji You believed these storybooks might contain ancient records on body cultivation.

The books he’d brought in were precisely what he’d collected these past days: tales of body cultivators.

He opened the first book, titled *Body Like Vajra*, and began reading with full immersion.

The youth Ji You was a humble mortal who joined an immortal sect after his sister was kidnapped by a demonic sect, but his low birth led to neglect and scarce resources, forcing him to take the path of body cultivation, which required less lineage transmission.

He worked diligently, cultivated relentlessly, and ultimately won first place at the “First Heavenly Enlightenment Contest” with an unsurprising victory.

“?”

Ji You’s eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth twitching.

Dammit, this is my story. No wonder Ji You sounded familiar—I’m already a template for mortal wish-fulfillment fiction.

But thinking deeper, it made sense: these stories were mostly read by mortals, many of whom shared Ji You’s humble origins—only such tales could give them the illusion of someday rising above their station.

But these writers were lazy—couldn’t even bother to invent a new name.

He gritted his teeth through the embarrassment and kept reading: the protagonist roamed freely, rose to fame, then was simultaneously loved by a pair of wealthy sisters, followed by a lavishly described, shameless life.

Fine, this was a new story.

Not from the Shang-Zhou era—this was last week’s.

Ji You confirmed this, then picked up the second book.

The youth Qin Yun was born into a decaying ancient clan, oppressed as his family declined, so he left home to seek a master and met a burly woodcutter in a mountain village, taking up body cultivation.

Finally, not his story—Ji You perked up and read eagerly, but as he continued, his expression slowly stiffened.

In the tale, Qin Yun roamed freely, defeated aristocratic youths to enter the inner sect, was then restricted by a senior elder who forbade him from using lethal techniques—but he overcame it with raw power, and was ultimately loved by a pair of wealthy sisters.

The elder sister by day, the younger by night; the younger one liked to gasp and call him “brother-in-law.”

Some originality, but barely—everything after the opening was essentially his own life.

Ji You’s interest cooled, yet he forced himself to open the third book.

The youth Di Qiu was an orphan who begged for food since childhood; once, he gave half his stolen steamed bun to an old beggar on the street and received a body cultivation legacy from him, later defeated aristocratic youths to enter the inner sect, was targeted, overcame it with raw power, and was loved by sisters, living a shameless life.

So no matter the beginning, I end up living a shameless life with sisters, is that it?

Ji You slammed the book shut, fell silent for a long while, then understood—after all, these “mmm-hmm” scenes were exactly what the common folk loved…

Yuanchen, watching his brother-in-law, thought: Why is he getting angry just from reading? He reached for *Body Like Vajra*, but Ji You slapped his hand down before he could touch it.

“This isn’t for children.”

“?”

As Yuanchen stared blankly, a man in a frayed short robe bearing the Wu Lü Trading Company’s emblem stepped onto the street, scanned the surroundings, spotted Ji You in the tavern, and hurried over.

The man quickly reached the second floor of the teahouse, stopped beside Ji You’s table, and handed him a message scroll.

Ji You took the note, unsealed it, glanced inside, and saw it came from northern Qingzhou, sent by Kuangcheng.

The message was brief: I’m returning to the capital. When will you come back and meet me, Brother Ji?

Ever since Kuangcheng said he’d be sent as envoy to the demon clan and asked if Ji You had any message for old acquaintances, Ji You had feared he’d blurt out Gongshu Qiu’s fictional tales and get his head chopped off.

But since a few days ago, rumors of the demon clan’s impending visit to the capital had spread, easing his worries slightly.

If the demon clan truly sought peaceful relations, they wouldn’t harm the human envoy—Kuangcheng would be safe, so his return to the capital was expected.

Yet after the recent invasion of the Nine Provinces, could peaceful relations be real—or was the demon clan hiding ulterior motives?

Clop-clop-clop—

The sound of galloping beast hooves echoed along the road.

On the Shengjing imperial road, six towering demon beasts snorted heavily, their hooves lightly striking the ground, their scaled hides glinting faintly blue in the sunlight.

Behind them, three more demon beasts pulled a carriage.

Through the gauze curtains of the carriage window, a woman sat still; a breeze lifted the curtain slightly, revealing her coldly beautiful face and striking crimson vertical pupils.