Chapter 230: Taking Stock of the Harvest, A Bountiful Haul
Chapter 230: Taking Stock of the Harvest, A Bountiful Haul
Shen Yi rode on the clouds and arrived at a desolate slope. In his line of sight was a mountain of demons piled up.
According to Qinghua's report, Songzhou County wasn't considered large. The four counties had a total of 102 counties, and they had slain 636 demons—so many that they couldn't all fit into the Pocket Magical Treasure, and they could only be temporarily piled up here.
Compared to the Howling Moon Demon King in Qingzhou, who had only brought along a dozen or so Demon Lords, the Red-eyed Demon King had firmly established his territory and made a name for himself. He had nearly a thousand demons under his command. Even so, with an average of only six or seven demons per county, he was able to strike fear into the hearts of the people of the entire county.
Among them, the Open Intelligence Demons accounted for 60%. There were over a hundred at the Qi Condensation Stage, dozens at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and sixteen Core Formation Demons.
It was astonishing that they had managed to leave such a large number even after fighting against the Demon Suppression Pavilion and another Demon King.
A small Jade Fluid Stage demon could render over ten million people powerless to resist.
The Condensing Elixir Demons were even more formidable; they could reside in the county office and strike fear into the hearts of the warriors in the nearby dozen or so counties, to the point that they wouldn't even dare to think about fleeing.
Such a strong sense of oppression was certainly not unfounded.
Countless lives must have been used as a warning, shattering the livers and gallbladders of the people of Songzhou, reducing them to their current pitiful state.
"Huh."
Shen Yi let out a slight sigh. When he saw the head impaled on a spear at the entrance of the Demon Suppression General's Mansion, he suddenly thought of General Chen Qianyuan for some reason.
He wasn't a sentimental person.
But witnessing the situation in Songzhou still left him feeling uncomfortable.
And even more absurd was the fact that among the demons, the Red-eyed Demon King's method of feeding was considered "merciful." He fed on incense and faith instead of fresh blood, simply keeping his demons on a regular diet to maintain the people's fear that their lives could end at any moment.
If it had been those who were more decisive in their actions, perhaps Songzhou wouldn't have lasted until today and would have been devoured clean.
Indeed, a small character was a small character.
Even with strength beyond the imagination of ordinary people, Shen Yi still couldn't match the heart of the masters of the Martial Temple, who treated the world as a chessboard and the suffering of the people as mere pawns to be sacrificed.
In the previous confrontation with the Red-eyed Demon King, he had punched and punched, just like when he had stabbed the dog demon in Liumi Temple with a steel knife over and over again, venting the anger in his heart.
Shen Yi shook his head slightly and quickly adjusted his mood.
His eyes turned cold, and he opened his mouth, turning the towering mountain of flesh in front of him into a river of blood. The hideous figures of the six to seven hundred demons quickly turned into shriveled bags.
The river of blood converged in mid-air, visibly condensing into demon blood.
It looked like a sea of crimson, but as it gradually turned dark red, only four drops of demon blood remained, which then entered Shen Yi's mouth.
"...Not even enough to support a single full-power battle for a Dao Infant."
However, their true value didn't lie in that.
Shen Yi raised his eyes to look at the panel, and the ridiculously large number caused his heart to beat slightly faster.
【Remaining Demon Lifespan: 94,600 years】
Among them, only the 11,000 years of the four Nascent Soul-holding Demon Lords and the 7,000 years of the Red-eyed Demon King were personally obtained by Shen Yi.
The rest were all due to Qinghua's efforts.
Shen Yi summoned her soul, and the woman in the Qinghua-patterned robe appeared beside him.
"Go to the edge of Songzhou and look for any stragglers."
"Qinghua obeys the Law of the Master."
Qinghua's face was pale, but she didn't hesitate at all. She bowed respectfully, quickly returned to her Yin spirit, and then left with it, floating into the distance.
Soon, twenty-three drops of demon blood floated out from the four Demon Kings. Judging by the quantity, their strength was only slightly inferior to the Little Demon King, and to have survived the intense battle, they indeed had some skills.
On the other hand, the Red-eyed Demon King left Shen Yi slightly disappointed; with only fifty-seven drops of demon blood, he was far inferior to Madam Qinghua.
"Hmm?"
Beneath Black Bear's empty skin bag was a surprisingly pitch-black wooden box.
Shen Yi swallowed the demon blood and waved his hand to pick it up. Upon opening it, he found neatly arranged envelopes inside.
He opened and browsed through them one by one.
All the letters came from the same force.
The content of the letters was also singular, mostly seeking clarification on cultivation techniques.
The sender was a force that Shen Yi was quite familiar with.
Qingqiu.
In the letters, they addressed the Red-eyed Demon King as "Revered."
After taking all the letters, there was a thick cultivation manual underneath.
"..."
Shen Yi flipped open the manual and quickly scanned its contents.
Soon, a new line of text appeared on the panel.
【Martial Immortal . Myriad Phenomenon Divine Cultivation Technique: Not Yet Initiated】
He recalled the treasure armor and weapons that had condensed on Black Bear's body earlier, transforming the intangible incense faith power into something visible to the naked eye.
No wonder a demon suddenly wanted to change its identity and become some sort of Demon King.
Turns out it had gained a master and a cultivation technique.
"I'll keep it for now."
Shen Yi waved his hand to close the panel. Although he had obtained a substantial amount of demon lifespans, the situation in Songzhou was not the norm. If other states were like this, the Great Qian Dynasty would have fallen long ago.
Time to be frugal.
This type of Yin Spirit cultivation technique was, at most, a desperate choice. Moreover, with Madam Qinghua's current abilities, she didn't have the spare capacity to control a more powerful Yin Spirit.
It would be great if I could find a loose thread and obtain a Transformation Realm Demon Emperor...
Shen Yi directed his gaze towards the demon origin. Maybe I should feed her another one of these? He hesitated.
This was, after all, the lifespan of a demon that had lived for tens of thousands of years. Unless necessary, he didn't want to waste it on Qinghua.
I'll wait a little longer.
It would be better to first return to the Martial Temple and see if there's something more crucial to cultivate.
As for the Red-eyed Demon King having some connection to Qingqiu, Shen Yi wasn't too concerned. Qingqiu had already been on his watchlist, and this incident only served to deepen his impression of them.
"Including the previous ones, I should have about one hundred and twenty-six drops of demon blood, which should be enough."
Shen Yi put away the wooden box, not wanting to waste even the demon cores, as they could now be used in place of demon blood as restorative items.
He sat cross-legged and channeled the demon lifespans into the Nine Demons Transformation Great Technique.
This time, he was feeding the second fairy demon.
【In the first year, you infused demon blood into the limbs and bones of the Mountain King, and it began to unconsciously devour it.】
The same transformation that occurred with the previous demon appeared on the Mountain King's body.
Shen Yi lifted his clothes, watching as tiger stripes quietly emerged on his body. The demon blood merged into its frame, tinting it with a slightly eerie crimson hue.
At the same time, a vast power began to erupt within him.
The number of demon blood drops decreased rapidly.
Soon, over seventy drops were gone, and the Mountain King continued to absorb.
【In the four thousand two hundredth year, the Mountain King's absorption rate began to slow down. Its aura seemed to have climbed to some kind of pinnacle, causing the nearby Immortal Dragon to sense a threat to its status. The colorful tiger glanced indifferently at its opponent and swallowed another drop of demon blood.】
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
