Qiu Niu's Hall

The defenses of Jianmu were not very strict.

Because outsiders simply cannot enter this Restricted Area thousands of miles deep in the sea, and which of the various sea creatures would dare to be so audacious as to run wild on Jianmu? Qiu Niu's formless power is no joke; even the lowest-ranking Pixiu could easily trigger Jianmu's power and any intruder would be utterly defeated.

For tens of thousands of years, this Jianmu tree has been even more peaceful and leisurely than the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace back then, which is why Qiu Niu would hold a concert here at this hour.

However, there is some competition among the various ethnic groups on the islands within the Restricted Area. For example, the winged people and sea monsters have fought many battles before, and some of the Clam Clan have been captured... There are quite a few similar ethnic conflicts, and the Dragon Son have found the pleasure of ruling by mediating and other such matters.

Qin Yi sometimes thinks about how pathetic these Dragon Son are.

For tens of thousands of years, they have been holed up in the forbidden area and never ventured out. Their overall strength is so great, yet they remain confined to one place, calling it Restricted Area. They are self-protective and content with the so-called rule of the hundred races, but they do not seek to expand or make progress. No wonder most of the Dragon Son' cultivation is just so-so.

I used to find it strange that they had cultivated for tens of thousands of years relying on the Jianmu tree yet still only had this much cultivation, essentially just surviving on the Jianmu tree. I found it very puzzling. Now that I think about it, it's not surprising at all. Every seemingly incomprehensible result has a cause.

Of course, it could also be said that it was precisely because they relied on the Jianmu tree for survival and could not easily leave that they were in this state of partial peace, and the cause and effect were intertwined and difficult to distinguish.

In any case, Qin Yi had no time to worry about the Dragon Son. He followed the Clam Girl to the Jian Mu Summit, where Qiu Niu was located.

At the Jian Mu Summit, the canopy was covered in lush green leaves. When Qin Yi saw these leaves on the main trunk, he realized how unreliable his previous idea of replacing Qing Cha's leaves with Jianmu leaves had been.

Because each leaf is several meters large, several people can lie on it and sleep without feeling crowded.

If you were to replace the Qing Cha with this, wouldn't Qing Cha just turn into a giant tea? Wouldn't that be like a tank?

If we really have to replace it, it would be better to replace the branch with the one belonging to the Feathered Man, at least the size of the leaves looks relatively normal... Of course, the best solution would be to replace the sap, similar to the blood transfusion for animal-type Demon Cultivator.

As the thought of changing Qing Cha's bloodline was swirling in his mind, he saw a huge palace hidden among the leaves.

Every tree branch is a huge open space, and building a palace on such a space would be easy for someone with the resources of the sea. Theoretically, this could be considered a dragon palace... except that it's different from the dragon palace in Qin Yi's mind; it's not underwater, but rather in a tree...

This palace is located at the very center of the entire Jianmu tree. The plaza outside the palace is already filled with people from all races. There are guards outside the palace, mainly Giant Race. Each of them is about ten zhang tall. Although their numbers are not large, each one is very powerful.

People of various ethnicities filed into the palace, the scene remarkably quiet. However, not everyone was allowed inside; even the guards who had escorted the musicians were not permitted to enter. The concert was governed by regulations; for example, the Clam Girl had already submitted her list, and only An'an and Qin Yi were permitted entry.

It's supposed to be a performance for the king, how could it be like a vegetable market where anyone can just walk in?

The giant guards looked at An'an and Qin Yi, who were staring at them, and laughed. "Princess An'an, you're not going to throw a tantrum again this time, are you?"

An'an blushed deeply and said stiffly, "I'm here to play a piece!"

The giants looked at Qin Yi: "Is this the musician you hired?"

An'an said seriously, "Sir, your skills are superb."

The giants remained noncommittal. Having been Qiu Niu for so long, they weren't without taste; what high-class musicians hadn't they seen? Their questioning, seemingly casual, was actually a way to verify identities. An'an had been here before, everyone knew her, and she said these were the musicians she had hired—that was fine; she would take responsibility for any problems.

The so-called guards were so lax.

The truly reliable ones are Qin Yi's Feathered Men.

Upon entering the outer palace, one sees winged figures guarding the main passages around the hall, standing as straight as spears, their phoenix eyes like lightning, closely watching everyone coming and going. Their attitude is much more reliable than that of the lazy giants outside.

Even though they knew perfectly well that no one would dare to cause trouble in this place, in Qiu Niu's territory, and that the giants were indifferent, the Yuren were just so serious.

They are indeed the most reliable protectors. Only a fool would turn against such a people.

Just as they were thinking this, the winged people saw Qin Yi. Their sharp eyes all changed, becoming gentle, and they knelt down in unison.

Qin Yi was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and quickly transmitted his voice. "No!"

The winged creatures blinked, and then Qin Yi continued, "Playing like this in front of Qiu Niu will cause big problems if it's even slightly stingy. Be good, stand up straight."

The winged people stood up reluctantly, as if they all felt it was a bad thing not to pay their respects to their own divine envoy. What does it have to do with Qiu Niu that we kneel before our own divine envoy?

Qin Yi glanced at An'an's sly smile and sighed, speechless.

I just said they were reliable, and they immediately showed their unreliability... Nobody's perfect... Qin Yi sighed with regret.

Looking around, Qin Yi didn't see Yu Feiling or Yu Shang; their status meant they were probably guarding the inner palace. Yu Lan was the one guarding the inner palace entrance. Standing before her, Qin Yi jokingly asked, "Should we check if you're carrying any contraband?"

Yu Lan, with a serious expression, said, "Search me."

Qin Yi raised his hand to slap Yu Lan, who covered her head and cowered.

Qin Yi handed him a lollipop.

Yu Lan looked around, snatched the lollipop and hid it, then continued to act as if nothing had happened while guarding.

Inside the ring, the dog looked down at its empty palm, then looked up outside. "Qin Yi, if you steal my candy again to curry favor with girls, I'll fight you to the death!"

"You have a bow in your hair now, so next time please refer to yourself as 'Old Lady'."

Dog: "..."

"Isn't there no difference between men and women? If you can't even see through this, I don't think you'll ever recover from the Formless Realm."

Dog: "..."

While complaining, Qin Yi and An'an had already entered the hall.

The hall was filled with people from all the tribes, but the scene was rather empty, since each tribe had only a few people. The largest group consisted of a band of a dozen or so people. The huge scene looked sparse. Each tribe took their seats under the guidance of some dwarves, waiting for the king to come out.

There was a throne at the front of the hall, but no other seats on or below the stage. It seemed that Qiu Niu was enjoying his concert and had no intention of sharing it with his brothers, and in fact, no one else was interested either.

Behind the throne is a screen of leaves, beyond which should Qiu Niu's own palace area. It's unclear whether it will be luxurious or secluded. From the outside, it doesn't appear particularly luxurious, but there are quite a few musical instruments. In the center of the main hall, there is a very heavy set of chime bells, a whole row of them, clearly part of human court music.

As Qin Yi was reading, he suddenly realized a problem and thought to himself, "Oh no!"

The history of this kind of chime bell is at most a few thousand years. It is obvious that Qiu Niu has been to human countries in the past few thousand years. It can be seen that it has heard ancient human music. So how much of its own flute music is still distinctive?

We're doomed.

When An'an arrived at the grand scene and saw the solemn crowd of people from various ethnic groups in the hall, she nervously tugged at Qin Yi's sleeve. "Sir, is it... is it alright?"

Qin Yi gritted his teeth. "A man can't say no!"

Just as they were talking nonsense, a figure resembling a dragon or a snake suddenly appeared on the throne and then sat cross-legged on it like a lump of... well, you know.

For a moment, Qin Yi thought he had seen Ye Ling.

Upon closer inspection, something's not right. This is... a dragon's head, with a plump snake's body coiled up...

The surrounding crowd had already prostrated themselves, shouting, "Greetings, Your Great Great King!"

Great Great King... This is Qiu Niu.

So Qiu Niu isn't a cow after all? It's clearly a snake, so why is it called Qiu Niu? Qin Yi couldn't help but stroke his chin. Could it actually refer to a cow?

His divergent thinking was actually an attempt to avoid a problem.

Everyone else knelt down, including An'an.

But he didn't want to kneel.

In my entire life... I've never knelt before anyone, never.

Even when he first entered the world of martial arts and met Qing Jun's father, he did not kneel. To this day, he has never knelt before. He knows that everyone kneels at such times, and that standing alone would make him stand out and be an oddity. But his knees are straight, and he can't bend them no matter what.

He was so eye-catching that in an instant, all eyes in the hall fell on him.

Those who didn't kneel were the winged figures standing guard by the hall. Yu Feiling and Yu Shang stood to Qiu Niu's left and right, all their beautiful eyes fixed on his handsome figure, sparkling with admiration. An'an also looked up at her master, as if looking at a god.

A hint of surprise flashed in Qiu Niu's dragon eyes, but there was no anger. He said calmly, "Who is this person? Why don't you kneel?"

Qin Yi took a deep breath and calmly replied, "Divine Land People only kneel to Heaven, Earth, the Sovereign, Parents, and Teachers. After cultivating the Dao, one no longer even kneels to the Sovereign."

The main hall was completely silent.

In the silence, Qin Yi seemed to hear a very faint female voice. He exclaimed "Ah!" in surprise, then quickly covered his mouth.

Um?

Is it just my imagination? That voice... sounds so familiar...