Chapter 345: The First Baize Emperor
Baixue Ling returned to the Baize Dynasty, where her Qilin Avatar was still reviewing official documents.
Among the Eight Great Demon Kings, the position of Qilin King had been vacant ever since the previous Qilin King—Baixue Ling’s elder brother—was foolish enough to attack Jiang Li while flaunting his auspicious beast status, only to be killed by a single finger flick from the Human Sovereign.
Rather than appointing a new Qilin King, Baixue Ling had her avatar fill the role instead. She even bestowed a new title upon her Qilin Avatar: Regent.
……
“You went off exploring other worlds and returned with such peculiar findings.” Immortal Elder Changcun bent over the blood sample Jiang Li had brought back from the Executor of Karma.
“Celestial-grade Outer Realm Demon blood is extremely rare even in the immortal realm. I’ve only seen it a handful of times when accompanying my master.”
The master Immortal Elder Changcun referred to was none other than the Dao Ancestor of the Dao Sect.
Jiang Li recounted his experiences in Lingxi World, prompting frequent nods from the ancient immortal.
“The First Baize Emperor was truly a prodigy. I met him when he was just a child.”
The Baize Dynasty had been established over thirty thousand years ago, by which time Immortal Elder Changcun had already been an immortal residing in the Nine Provinces for centuries.
“The First Baize Emperor must have experienced bloodline reversion. His parents were ordinary demon beasts—you’d have to trace back countless generations to find any Baize ancestry.”
“What made him extraordinary was awakening intelligence at the Foundation Establishment stage, far earlier than any other demon beast. Back then, only demon beasts at the Divine Transformation stage or above possessed true wisdom. After gaining sentience so young, he found himself fundamentally different from other demon beasts and began pondering profound philosophical questions.”
“He could answer these questions himself initially, but as he grew older and more ancestral knowledge surfaced through his bloodline, the questions became increasingly complex.”
“These quandaries tormented him, leaving him no heart for cultivation.”
“One day, he learned of my existence and came to the Dao Sect seeking answers.”
“I was astonished by the child’s questions. Having seen Baize cubs in the immortal realm before, none compared to the depth of the First Baize Emperor’s inquiries even as a juvenile.”
“Recognizing his exceptional potential, I decided to nurture this connection and answered his questions with great care.”
“Under my guidance, the First Baize Emperor’s growth progressed much more smoothly.”
“However, he possessed remarkable independence. Determined to develop beyond my intellectual framework, he gradually stopped relying on me until our interactions ceased entirely.”
Here, Immortal Elder Changcun showed rare embarrassment. “Thankfully he preferred independent thinking. As his life experience grew, his questions became so profound that not only couldn’t I answer them, but likely no one in the immortal realm could either.”
“Later, he achieved a breakthrough through mortal peril, successfully reaching the Tribulation Transcendence Stage. Then he posed me a final question: How could demon beasts awaken intelligence earlier?”
“When I asked his reasoning, he explained that humanity’s dominance over demonkind stemmed largely from their superior intellect.”
“I countered that many immortal beasts existed in the celestial realm, and humans treated demons quite amiably. Why perceive demonkind as disadvantaged?”
“He responded that while immortal beasts were numerous, most served as mounts for immortals—this so-called kindness was merely how one treats pets. He wished to change this paradigm.”
“I told him prematurely awakening demon intelligence meant elevating beasts from the Animal Realm to the Human Realm within the Six Paths of Reincarnation, which violated cosmic laws.”
“Unconvinced, he vowed to find a way regardless.”
“Eventually, he activated his racial talent ‘No Secrets’ to seek answers from Heaven’s Dao, obtaining a method to awaken demonic intellect.”
“After acquiring the formula, he worried several rare ingredients might go extinct, so he refined the recipe further by integrating it into the Baize bloodline itself.”
“This ensured future generations could continue awakening demon intelligence as long as the bloodline endured.”
“History proved his foresight correct—you’ve seen the formula from young Baixue Ling.”
Jiang Li nodded. “Five-Hearts Soul-Severing Grass, Longevity Paste, Ten-Thousand-Year Bamboo Viper, Feiyi Blood… along with several other ingredients that have become exceedingly rare.”
“Exactly. Take the Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Bamboo—it grew everywhere across the Nine Provinces back then. But cultivators recklessly harvested them for petty displays of strength, taking without replenishing until only a few specimens remained.”
These surviving specimens were now meticulously cultivated by the Spiritual Herb Sect, considered one of their few achievements that could rival the Dao Sect’s Alchemy Peak.
“As for Feiyi Blood, while the immortal realm likely still has Feiyi creatures, none remain in the Nine Provinces.”
“Using this foundation, the First Baize Emperor established the Baize Dynasty—though it was called the Baize Kingdom initially.”
Only nations enduring ten thousand years earned the right to be called dynasties.
“The Baize Kingdom quickly gained renown, uniting most of the Nine Provinces’ demon beasts into a military force rivaling contemporary dynasties.”
“After the First Baize Emperor ascended, he made quite a name for himself in the immortal realm. When I encountered him there, he’d become a rising star among immortals, with numerous powerful figures extending offers to take him under their wings.”
“His cultivation talent surpassed mine—he achieved Celestial Immortal status in just ten thousand years.”
“Then the Celestial Ladder vanished, and I never heard from him again.”
Immortal Elder Changcun sighed wistfully before refocusing on the present. “This is indeed Baize blood.”
“Does this mean there are Baize among the Outer Realm Demons?”
“Unclear. As I’ve mentioned before, theories about the demons’ origins vary wildly—some claim they emerge from void itself, others believe they’re manifestations of living beings’ negative emotions, among other bizarre hypotheses.”
“You’ve witnessed how Earthly Immortal-grade demons appear as chaotic amalgamations of multiple creatures. Some immortals attribute this to their formation from the negative emotions of countless species.”
“This would explain why each demon’s structure differs—they’re born from different combinations of malign emotions.”
“Regarding the Baize blood, I see two possibilities.”
“First, the Executor of Karma may have ascended from an Earthly Immortal-grade demon, purging all chaotic elements to retain only the Baize aspects—given how Baize symbolizes wisdom.”
“Alternatively, it could have formed from the collective negative emotions of all Baize, making it nearly indistinguishable from a true Baize.”
“The Executor’s blood represents the polar opposite of the First Baize Emperor’s. It likely incorporates aspects born from the First Emperor’s own negative emotions.”
“Of course, all this assumes the negative emotion origin theory holds true.”
Jiang Li casually inquired, “Could the Outer Realm Demons be fallen immortals? Or otherwise connected to celestials?”
After a prolonged silence, Immortal Elder Changcun burst into laughter. “Preposterous! What an imagination you have.”
Jiang Li smiled faintly. “Indeed, how ridiculous. I must be overthinking things.”