Qin Yi was quite surprised. "I'm hurt and can't even move, how can I help the king with anything?"
"Not right now, of course. I'll set up a time," Cheng Huang suddenly leaned in close, revealing a charming smile. "Do you know what the White Bone Token I gave you is for?"
As she leaned in, a tempting fragrance surrounded Qin Yi. He struggled to hold back and managed to mumble, "I don't know."
Seeing his face turn red, Cheng Huang chuckled and sat back down. "You're clearly a boy, yet you always think of yourself as a man."
Qin Yi stiffly stared at the ceiling, not saying a word.
Noticing that he wasn't reacting to her teasing, Cheng Huang lost interest and got to the main topic. "In the territory of the White Kingdom, there is a sacred place formed by the ancestral essence of the Kunpeng, called the Kunpeng Purple Mansion. The mansion has three levels; even the lowest level can help demon beings reach their full potential, while the highest level is very beneficial for those who have reached the ancestral saint level."
Qin Yi felt a stir in his heart.
Such a sacred place was impressive. Since they were in the White Kingdom, it made sense that its overall strength should surpass the other two kingdoms. So why were even the demon kings stuck at the full potential stage?
Cheng Huang slowly explained, "Ten thousand years ago, the demon race thrived using this Kunpeng ancestral ground and almost dominated the Divine Land. However, demons are inherently violent and ended up fighting amongst themselves, especially over the ownership of the sacred place. Eventually, human cultivators seized the opportunity during the demon civil war and launched a massive counterattack, resulting in a great defeat for the demons. The remaining demons fled to Demon City, relying on the bones of their ancestors to survive, and their overall strength has never returned to what it was."
Qin Yi thought to himself, so that's how it was. This matched what Ming He had said before.
Cheng Huang continued, "After suffering, a leader set a pact that the demon race would not fight amongst themselves. They collectively studied a special restriction regarding the ownership of the sacred place."
"The White Bone Token?" Qin Yi guessed.
"Yes.
In addition to the usual protective formations at the entrance of the sacred place, a special formation was set up. It requires twelve specific types of demon blood to be dripped in simultaneously to open it. Twelve drops of blood are stored in the token and distributed to the leaders of the twelve clans.
Every time the sacred place is opened, everyone must cooperate. The unique part is that the token shatters upon contact. Once it breaks, the bone and blood disperse into nothingness, and it will take many years for a new token to form somewhere in Demon City.
Because everyone wants to enter, they dare not forcefully take it, and everything must be negotiated."
Qin Yi shook his head. "That sounds good in theory, but in reality, it would backfire. For example, if someone with the token demands unreasonable conditions from others, and they refuse, then no one gets in. There are always people who harm others without benefiting themselves. This would lead to resentment, and revenge would still happen. There are many scenarios like this... In short, the token would likely be destroyed repeatedly, and no one has ever gathered them all, which means the strength of the entire Demon City has never improved."
Qin Yi even suspected that the demon leader who proposed this idea might have been a spy sent by humans... Could it be that after being defeated by humans, only short-sighted leaders were left?
Cheng Huang sighed. "That's right. After that, the demon race didn't stop; they became even more brutal. Over many years, they split into three kingdoms, which, under mutual restraint, gradually stabilized."
"A triangle is the most stable structure..." Qin Yi mused.
Cheng Huang understood the meaning of this and nodded thoughtfully. She continued, "After ten thousand years, the token has been destroyed and recreated countless times, and no one has ever gathered them all. Over such a long time, many demons have forgotten about it, and new demons have no idea it even exists. Gradually, not many continued to focus on it, except for the kings of the kingdom."
Qin Yi thought this was getting interesting and decided to listen quietly.
"The sacred place is in the White Kingdom, but we can't enter it. The ancestors of our kingdom have never been able to let it go. Each king has made it their greatest goal to gather this item and has never slacked off. The heavens do not disappoint those who are determined. After generations of secret gathering, my father’s generation finally collected them all."
Cheng Huang smiled wryly. "The last one was in the Guo Kingdom. My father sent a spy there to secretly bring it back, but unexpectedly, the spy was assassinated on the way, and the token's whereabouts became unknown."
Qin Yi couldn't help but say, "It sounds like your kingdom has a traitor, perhaps someone high up!"
"Yes," Cheng Huang sighed. "At that time, my father suspected the wolf general because he was in charge of our kingdom's spies. Unfortunately, my father was already nearing the end of his life. In his anger, he left this world, leaving the kingdom to me." She revealed a charming smile again. "Interestingly, the wolf general proposed marriage to me, wanting his son to be my consort."
Qin Yi almost blurted out, "Tell him to go to hell," but he held back. He thought it was crazy; did the demon king really think she would take that position just because he flirted a bit? He could only stay silent.
Cheng Huang said sweetly, "To test him, I issued a royal decree. I declared that whoever finds the last token would be my husband."
"What?" Qin Yi's eyes widened.
"Since you don't wish to join our kingdom, this decree naturally doesn't apply to you," Cheng Huang glanced at him with a teasing smile. "Besides, this decree was just a test. If the wolf general had dared to present the token, the next moment would have been his downfall. Do you want to try?"
Qin Yi was speechless.
"Of course, that cunning wolf general saw through my intentions and pretended not to know about the token, searching for it everywhere instead," Cheng Huang sneered. "He even worried that I might secretly infiltrate his residence, so he deliberately sent the token outside, planning to bring it back later when the situation calmed down, hoping I would fulfill my decree."
Qin Yi finally understood everything. "That wizard belongs to his family. They deliberately had the wizard take the token away and camp outside the city, planning to create an excuse to kill the wizard and claim the token later. That's why the wizard has resources; it’s all secretly supported by the wolf general to avoid being eliminated first. But he didn't expect that the wizard had his own plans and had secretly practiced spells to deal with demons, quickly growing stronger and becoming particularly effective against them, leaving the wolf general helpless and unable to retrieve the token."
"Exactly," Cheng Huang said with a hint of regret. "If you hadn't brought the token, I wouldn't have been able to piece everything together. I always thought that wizard was just a human runaway who hated demons."
Qin Yi asked, "So what does the king want me to do?"
"Once the Kunpeng Purple Mansion is opened, the entrance will close in half an hour. I'm worried someone might follow in and disturb my breakthrough," Cheng Huang said with a smile. "Outside the Purple Mansion, there are already many powerful protective formations. All I need is someone skilled in formations to guard it, and it will be impenetrable. You are just the right person for this job."
Qin Yi wondered, "Why not let a trusted demon do this? There must be demons who understand formations."
"Because the eagle generals are only good at fighting, and those who practice such auxiliary skills are mostly from the wolf general's faction, whom I don't trust," Cheng Huang's voice became even more alluring. "Since you need my help to refine pills, you can be trusted."
Qin Yi instinctively felt something was off. How could a king commanding millions of demons not have a single reliable demon who understood formations? Was the king just a figurehead? It seemed like she was deliberately trying to make him do her work.
But if helping her guard the formation could earn him her pills, he couldn't refuse the task. After thinking for a while, he sighed, "I just hope the king keeps her word."
Cheng Huang smiled slightly. "Then you can rest and heal. I still have some arrangements to make."
With that, she gracefully left.
Qin Yi couldn't help but look around and soon noticed that the spiked club was leaning against the wall. He felt relieved and sent a thought, "What do you think, Bang Bang?"
A cold laugh came from his sea of consciousness. "What do I think? I think you're an idiot!"
(End of Chapter)