Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 399 - 151: The Throne of the Demon Clan

The eight-legged mechanical beast moved swiftly yet smoothly. Wang Qi was so comfortable that he was even able to take out a book to flip through during the journey. Soon, the beast sped through a forest and onto a grassland.

Suddenly, Mo Zhenzhen exclaimed, "Quick, look, what is that?"

Wang Qi put down the book, looked up, and thought to himself with astonishment, "Holy shit, Brother Tiandao, you know how to play!"

Wang Qi was well aware of how easily customs and features could change. With barely two thousand years of history in China, architectural styles had gone through several dramatic transformations. Indeed, people from a thousand years later would hardly recognize their counterparts from a millennium earlier as being from the same clan. So it was understandable that the architectural style of the Demon Clan Civilization from millions of years ago would be quite different from that of the Human Clan.

That's what Wang Qi thought. Based on the consistent spoofing nature of this world, he had already braced himself to encounter Shinto torii gates, Shimenawa ropes, and red-and-white colored demons—things with a distinct island country flair in Fusang. But...

"What the hell is with this strong Aztec vibe! That's totally a Maya Pyramid! Could it be that to the east of Shenzhou continent, Fusang corresponds to America on Earth?"

Before Wang Qi stood a pyramid. It was built of huge stones, three hundred zhang tall with a flat top, where a vast platform lay. The pyramid itself formed near ninety-degree triangular slopes on all four sides, with several levels of steps.

Noticing the astonishment of everyone around, especially Wang Qi, Wu Chengdao took the initiative to explain, "That is an ancient hall from the Ancient Demon Clan, serving a function similar to our Human Clan's Golden Throne Hall or the Immortal Alliance's Council Hall."

Huangfu Lian asked, "Do the members of the Demon Clan hold their councils inside?"

"No, outside," Wu Chengdao said, pointing at the pyramid. "The flat-topped pyramid faces true east, south, west, and north on each of its sides, with ninety-one steps on each face, totaling three hundred and sixty-four steps. At the very top sits the Emperor's throne, one-quarter step higher than the regular steps, adding up to three hundred and sixty-five and one-quarter steps, in accordance with the Sun Calendar."

"When the Demon Clan holds its assembly, the Demon Emperor will sit on the Emperor's throne, while the myriad demons of differing ranks will stand on the steps on all sides. The Demon Emperor is a peerless powerhouse, whose Divine Thought can cover the entire Holy Tower, and standing on all four sides increases efficiency."

Mo Zhenzhen asked curiously, "Senior Brother Wu, you just mentioned the 'Emperor's throne.' Don't we usually call it the dragon chair?"

"Mortal Emperors liken themselves to dragons. Have you ever seen an Immortal Dao Leader claiming the protection of a Dragon Demon?" Wu Chengdao casually replied, "Also, when our Thousand Mechanism Pavilion first came to Fusang, we learned from the local demons that the Demon Clan believes the Ancient Demon Emperors were beings equivalent to the Dragon Clan's Ancient Dragon Emperors."

Wang Qi focused his eyesight, gazing into the distance and carefully counting the steps before laughing, "It indeed corresponds to the Sun Calendar. But speaking of which, wouldn't the Yin Yang Calendar be more in line with intuitive experience?"

The Sun Calendar is based on the Shenzhou's orbit around the sun, while the Taiyin Calendar tracks the waxing and waning of the Taiyin Star. The former does not easily mark a year's passage, while the latter often falls out of sync with the changing seasons, making it ineffective for agricultural timing. The Shenzhou People Clan generally uses the Yin Yang Calendar.

In response to Wang Qi's inquiry, Wu Chengdao became considerably more solemn, "The Ancient Demon Clan did not engage in agriculture or pay attention to seasonal changes. In addition, the Ancient Demon Clan was a Divine Authority, with Divine Tao at its core. The nobility all cultivated Divine Spirits, and the common people were all believers. The Demon Emperor himself was a three-legged crow, self-proclaimed as the Spirit of the Sun, the essence of Yang Fire, hence all Ancient Great Demons revered and worshipped the sun."

Divine Tao Cultivators came in two types: Divine Spirits and Witches. Divine Spirits gather Incense Fire Power to achieve Mana, while Witches receive power granted by Divine Spirits.

Huangfu Lian was shocked once more, "The entire clan cultivates Divine Tao? Are they mad?"

The achievements of Divine Spirits, high or low, all depend on believers, and the strength of the Witches' Mana depends on the Divine Spirits; neither is considered the Righteous Path.

Wu Chengdao explained, "The Divine Tao of the Ancient Demon Clan seems quite different from that of our Shenzhou People Clan; I'm not exactly clear on the specifics, but it's said to be something like a mixture of the current Demon Clan's Cultivation methods and the Divine Tao Methods of the Holy Infant Sect."

Mo Zhenzhen praised, "That is already a lot of understanding."

Wu Chengdao laughed heartily, "There aren't many mortals in Fusang, and there are only two Sects. If one doesn't wish to watch the Mirage Game or read storybooks alone during their free time, one would only have Ancient Spirit Cliff to interact with, to discuss the Ancient Demon Clan."

The developed Mechanical industry as well as the rich Mirage Games and storybooks... this place should correspond to a certain island country, right? But vaguely I remember that the Maya Pyramid was also a place of worship for the Sun God or someone? Because the objects of worship were similar and their calendars matched, could this have resulted in a similar architectural style of civilizations?

Once the conversation box was opened, Wu Chengdao became very talkative. With a wave of his sleeve, a Mechanical hand probed out and grabbed a golden yellow flower from the ground, "This flower is called Thousand-Mile Raid Technique Light Petal, one of the two sacred flowers of the Ancient Demon Clan, the other one being the sunflower—although nowadays these two flowers are one, an ordinary Herbal Medicine, and the other an agricultural crop, in the eyes of the sun-worshipping Demon Clan, these two symbols of the sun are considered Holy Artifacts. Among the Demon Clan's official titles, the highest rank is called 'Saint,' with a total of eight, which corresponds to the eight petals of the Thousand-Mile Raid Technique Light Petal. The personal guards of the Demon Emperor are the melon seeds of the sunflower. According to the remaining frescoes, every hundred years, the Demon Emperor would remove the eight Saints and then select new ones from within the Clan. Each newly selected Saint would receive a specially refined Thousand-Mile Raid Technique Light Petal from the Emperor, while the Emperor himself held onto the flower's core. The personal guards would ingest a sunflower seed personally bestowed by the Emperor..."

I can't help but feel that the eight Saints may forget about political strife and engage in infighting, but oddly enough, due to their equal strengths, none can kill the other, leading to the downfall of the Demon Clan due to internal disputes...

With the advance of the Mechanical Beast on eight legs, Wang Qi and his companions drew closer and closer to the pyramid. Gradually, traces of buildings appeared on the ground. These traces were once the residences, Temples, and clinics of the Demon Clan, but now, only ruins remained.

A million years of Time, long enough to destroy a civilization.

If there was anything that could still function amidst the ruins of the Demon Clan, it would be the city-wide canals. For some reason, the Demon Clan paid great attention to the construction of drainage systems, which even extended throughout Fusang. Now, there were still delicate streams flowing within them.

Regarding this, Wu Chengdao explained, "For a long period, the Ancient Demon Emperor would mix Spirit Awakening Holy Medicine, such as the Emperor's Liquid, into the canals. A drop of Emperor's Liquid could allow an ordinary beast to directly leap over the stages of Spirit Awakening and Qi Storage, to challenge Core Formation. After being diluted in the canals, the Emperor's Liquid was not as formidable, but it could significantly increase the speed of Demon Transformation for the life beings of Fusang Island—this was unique to Fusang; in other places, the Demon Clan had to wait for the Emperor's birthday to scatter the Emperor's Liquid across the land. Some Cultivators from Ancient Spirit Cliff speculate that the reason these canals have been preserved may be that they were nourished by the Emperor's Liquid for a long time, becoming demonized overall. It's a pity they couldn't advance further, with limited Life Span, these canals slowly aged and died over a million years of Time; what we see now is merely the bones of a Great Demon..."

Wang Qi clicked his tongue in wonder, "The whole canal underwent Demon Transformation, I wonder what kind of scene that would be."

Wu Chengdao's next words were particularly astonishing, "Perhaps we can see for ourselves. Now the Immortal Alliance still regularly pours Emperor's Liquid into the canals." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)