Chapter 1601: Unification
Chapter 1601: Unification
Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. Qiongqi sure was a strange one. However, since he was willing to submit and he was not doing so with ulterior motives, sparing his life was fine too.
As a result, he sheathed his sword. “If that’s the case, I’ll keep your head on your shoulders for now. If you ever dare to defy me in the future or try any tricks, I’ll be sure for you to see absolutely nothing.”
Now that the crisis of the world was imminent and war was about to erupt, the twelve Demon Gods under his command were of utmost importance as the king of the Demon Gods.
It was fine for him to butcher one or two of them, as he could get the Heretic Gods underneath to make up for that, but who knew how much time it would take and how many Heretic Gods it would cost in the process.
He had just experienced the power of the seventh heavenly tribulation. The gods of the thunder department from the heavenly palace would not spare any Heretic God that was trying to become a Demon God. Even if they somehow managed to succeed, their foundations would not be as firm as the original Demon God.
Whether it was their path, laws, or personality, all of them had to match. He could not just find any old Heretic God to succeed them. For example, a freak like Qiongqi probably was not that easy to find in the Demon domain.
He was a mighty true god with his head under a person’s foot, yet Qiongqi could still laugh. “Hehe, I’ve already run out of patience!”
“You have avoided death, but you’re still not getting off without a punishment! Just stay down there and reflect on your actions!”
Li Qingshan lifted his foot, about to walk off.
Qiongqi said in a hurry, “Hold on, how long?”
“Heh, five hundred years.”
Qiongqi rolled his eyes. He had finally witnessed just how vengeful the Demon Godking could be.
Li Qingshan took a step and vanished, reappearing above where the Blood maze was located. Overlooking the ground littered with rotting flesh, he recalled everything that had happened in the past day alone. It still felt surreal.
However, this was the centre of the entire Demon domain.
In order to prepare for war, he needed to summon the twelve Demon Gods for discussing the important affairs, but not right now.
The strong was respected in the cultivation community and even more so in the Demon domain. Not all of the twelve Demon Gods were willing to acknowledge him as king. Even the “pro-war” Demon Gods actually supported the war, not Li Qingshan.
As a result, his priority right now was still his personal strength. Only by wielding the power that belonged to a true god would he be able to claim the title of king.
But right now, he was welcome to test it out first.
Li Qingshan communicated with the twelve Demon Gods and passed the first order—open the borders.
The Demon domain was divided into twelve dominions by the twelve Demon Gods, connected by passes that required customs clearance documents to get through. They remained half-closed most of the time.
They were equivalent to twelve fiefdoms, while the Demon Gods were the kings of these fiefs. All of the demonfolk in their fiefs only worshipped them. They possessed power over the entire dominion.
They were not friendly neighbours with one another all the time either. Instead, it was filled with conflict and disputes. If it were not for the tremendous pressure from the Desireless Heavenly Palace and the fact that they could invade other worlds together, they probably would have descended into chaotic infighting a long time ago.
Meanwhile, the Black Sun Demon Heart was equivalent to the imperial seal. Since Li Qingshan wanted to become the “son of heaven”, he had to change the situation. He had to make the land all his land and make all the kings his vassals.
“If we want to go to war, we must be united. Do you have any objections?”
“As you wish!”
Demon God Taotie tidied his clothes in the Jinyun Food hall and bowed towards Li Qingshan from afar before opening his borders.
“As you wish.”
Demon God Qiongqi remained beneath Qingqi mountain, so he obviously did not have any objections. He opened the borders obediently. At the same time, he licked his lips and widened his eyes. Something very interesting would probably happen next. Not all of the Demon Gods were so compliant.
And how will you deal with it, my king?
Immediately, centred around the land beneath Li Qingshan, Taotie’s dominion and Qiongqi’s dominion immediately became connected, surging with demon qi and dark clouds that slammed together to form a large swirl.
Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the swirl, beginning his rule over the two dominions. From that point onwards, demonfolk no longer required customs clearance documents. They could move between the two dominions freely. They were no longer just Taotie or Qiongqi’s people.
He did not only receive the land and demonfolk, but the authority, belief, and laws too.
The demonic heavens was filled with joy, while his heart was filled with joy as well. The two of them resonated, and his control over the laws of the Demon domain advanced.
However, this was only the beginning. He was still waiting for the other Demon Gods’ response.
“As you wish.”
Before long, the pro-war Demon Gods all opened their territories as well.
Li Qingshan had already demonstrated his power and determination to him. They were not fools. They understood why they would go to war.
It would be different from invading other worlds this time. Their enemies were the gods and buddhas up in the heavens, so the entire Demon domain needed to be unified. Li Qingshan was the only choice here. All of his orders were military orders.
Unless Li Qingshan made a severe mistake with his orders, or he no longer supported the war, they would all submit to him.
With the submission of several Demon Gods, the swirl of demonic clouds immediately became several times larger.
The world was in harmony. The earth rumbled away as mountains rose up, piercing the rotting ruins left behind by the Blood maze.
The mountains spanned like the ocean. The meandering ridges were like dancing demonic dragons, leaping out from hidden valleys.
Li Qingshan was the king of the Demon Gods, the leader of the dragons.
With this terraforming and change of the world, he had truly conquered a place where dragons prowled, upheaving the world in a noble manner.
Li Qingshan was filled with high spirits. Originally, he only wanted to test the Demon Gods’ alignment, but he had changed his mind now. He no longer needed to be so cautious anymore, drawing his sword from its sheath and pointing it at the sky. “I call to the world. Who refuses to heed to my call?”
The remaining Demon Gods that had not submitted experienced a tremendous pressure at the same time, which angered them. This kid has only just undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation. In terms of age, he doesn’t even come close to a fraction of ours. How dare he pressure us like this!
They were not shameless like Qiongqi, who did not even get mad when someone stood on his head. They were lofty gods, having been worshipped for who knew how many years by billions of demonfolk. How could they not have any sense of pride?
To them, Li Qingshan had gone on a meteoric rise through the Black Sun Demon Heart. Whether it was defeating the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens or Demon God Qiongqi, there had been an unconventional element of luck. He had not done so by relying purely on his own strength, so he obviously could not leave them completely convinced.
None of them had the courage to leap out and oppose Li Qingshan, but they still had the confidence to secretly oppose him. Is this kid really bold enough to turn against seven Demon Gods at the same time?
They were rather reluctant to declare war against the gods and buddhas. The risk of death was simply too great. It would be best if they could buy a few days. The gods and buddhas of the nine heavens would definitely launch a heavy strike with the emergence of the daemon star Yinghuo. If they waited until the day that Li Qingshan perished, then they could continue being the same Demon Gods as before. They would preserve their dignity as gods and it would reduce the risk, so wasn’t it perfect?
However, Li Qingshan did not give them the opportunity to buy time at all. Even when he pursed his lips and said nothing, he had clearly expressed his will. If any of you don’t answer me today, I’ll give an answer to you instead! Those who obey me will live and those who defy me will die. What would you prefer?
The crisis of the world had only just begun to unfold. In the centre of the swirl, an internal struggle within the Demon domain was already culminating.