"Wherever I went, money was important."
Kaelan could not help sighing inwardly.
Even in the Void, wealth had been necessary.
From his inherited memories, he knew of several cities scattered throughout the Void that permitted Void Monsters to enter.
However, those cities were not places of order or civilisation.
They were lawless cities.
Places where strength determined everything.
In the Void, a Tier Four Transcendent, an existence worshipped as a god within countless worlds, was no different from a newborn child.
Tier Fives were merely children.
Only after reaching Tier Six was one considered an adult capable of protecting themselves.
That was precisely why Kaelan had spent most of his life wandering along the outer edges of the Void.
The outer regions lacked resources.
Without resources, high-tier Transcendents rarely visited.
The stronger a world became, the closer it drifted toward the centre of the Void.
Worlds resembled floating islands suspended within an endless ocean.
The higher their level, the stronger the attraction drawing them inward.
As a result, the centre of the Void contained the greatest opportunities.
It also contained the greatest dangers.
Kaelan shook his head and forced those wandering thoughts aside.
Dwelling on the Void would not solve his current problems.
At that moment, movement at the edge of his vision caught his attention.
A High Demon Realm rat stood upon a nearby tree branch.
Its crimson eyes flickered toward the owl's corpse lying within the crater.
For a brief moment, it remained motionless.
Then it leapt from the branch and scurried away.
Kaelan's eyes narrowed.
From the owl's memories, he had learned a great deal about the Blue Flame Demon Lord.
The Blue Flame Demon Lord was a Tiger Demon.
The owl had been one of his subordinates.
Its mission had been to search for Tier One demons and recruit them into the Demon Lord's faction.
The reason was simple.
A ruin had recently been discovered near the Danube River.
The Danube River served as the boundary between Human Territory and the Southern Demon Territory.
The Brevis River was merely one of its tributaries.
The Blue Flame Demon Lord had discovered the ruin first.
Unfortunately for him, the human race had found it shortly afterwards.
The ruin remained sealed by a powerful array.
According to estimates, the array would naturally dissipate in another six months.
When that happened, both sides would compete for the treasures hidden within.
To strengthen his position, the Blue Flame Demon Lord had begun recruiting additional forces.
That was why the owl had been searching for Tier One demons.
As Kaelan watched the rat disappear, another memory surfaced.
One of the Blue Flame Demon Lord's generals was a Rat Demon.
There was a high probability that the rat he had just seen belonged to that general's faction.
For that reason alone, Kaelan should have killed it immediately.
Unfortunately, he had reacted too slowly.
The rat had already dived underground.
As an Earth-Moving Rat, travelling beneath the earth was one of its innate abilities.
Through his Spiritual Perception, Kaelan could still sense it.
The creature was rapidly moving away through the soil.
Yet he did not attempt to attack.
Soil.
Stone.
Roots.
Layers of bedrock.
All interfered with spiritual attacks.
Although his Spiritual Perception could track the rat's location, striking it through the earth would be difficult.
By the time he broke through those obstacles, the creature would already be far away.
A sense of urgency settled over him.
The owl's disappearance would eventually be noticed.
If the rat reported what it had seen, the Blue Flame Demon Lord's faction might begin investigating the area.
Kaelan lowered his gaze toward the owl's corpse.
For a moment, he remained silent.
The owl had attacked him.
Yet it had also provided him with valuable knowledge.
Cultivation methods.
History.
Geography.
Language.
Without those memories, he would still be stumbling through ignorance.
Looking at the owl, Kaelan spoke softly.
"Thank you for helping me so much."
He paused briefly.
Then he shook his head.
"But I cannot give you a burial."
The urgency pressing upon him left no room for sentiment.
If the Blue Flame Demon Lord's forces arrived, he would need to leave immediately.
The owl's body still contained valuable flesh and Demon Energy.
Allowing such resources to go to waste would have been foolish.
However, Kaelan had no intention of eating the corpse directly.
Among demons, other demons were considered valuable resources.
Their flesh could be consumed.
Their corpses could be sold.
Their blood, bones, and organs could all be used for cultivation.
Yet selling demon corpses carried considerable risks.
A demon of the same species as the deceased might attack the seller upon discovering the truth.
Blood relations were irrelevant.
Many demons viewed such actions as an insult to their entire race.
Because of this, experienced demons usually converted corpses into something else before trading them.
Flesh and Blood Pills.
From the owl's memories, Kaelan had learned the origin of the technique.
After the fall of the Night Dynasty, a curse descended upon the demon race.
Demons lacking powerful bloodlines found it nearly impossible to break through the Demon Lord Realm.
The curse damaged their Spirituality.
Without sufficient Spirituality, advancement became almost impossible.
The simplest solution was to consume humans.
Humans possessed abundant Spirituality, and devouring them could gradually repair the damage caused by the curse.
Unfortunately, humans were not weak.
They possessed powerful warriors and spiritualists.
During the height of the Sacred Holy Empire, their strength had been overwhelming.
Demons who hunted humans recklessly often paid with their lives.
Hunting humans one by one within human territory carried enormous risks.
Eventually, a demon genius developed an alternative.
The Flesh and Blood Pill Technique.
Instead of consuming flesh directly, living beings could be refined into pills.
The resulting pills retained much of the original vitality and Spirituality while becoming easier to absorb.
More importantly, the technique worked on any flesh-and-blood lifeform.
Humans.
Demons.
Beasts.
All could be refined into pills.
Kaelan descended into the crater and looked down at the owl.
Although it had suffered devastating injuries, it was not truly dead.
His soul search had destroyed its memories and intelligence, reducing it to an empty shell.
As a result, the quality of the resulting pill would be significantly higher.
He began circulating Demon Energy.
The Flesh and Blood Pill Technique is activated.
Dark energy spread across the owl's body.
The flesh trembled.
The bones cracked.
Gradually, the entire body began collapsing inward.
Flesh and bone were crushed into a thick paste.
The mass floated into the air under the influence of Demon Energy.
Then the true refinement began.
Kaelan continuously compressed and purified the substance.
Impurities seeped out and evaporated.
Blood essence condensed.
Vitality concentrated.
The process continued without interruption.
The massive owl gradually shrank.
Its flesh disappeared.
Its bones disappeared.
Its blood disappeared.
Everything was refined into pure essence.
As the final impurities vanished, the remaining energy condensed into a single pill.
The pill was crimson-black.
Faint patterns covered its surface.
Dense vitality radiated from within.
Kaelan suspended it before him with Demon Energy and carefully examined it.
The rich scent immediately entered his nostrils.
A powerful urge rose within him.
Every instinct in his body urged him to swallow it.
His Essence hungered for the vitality contained within.
His Energy desired the concentrated power.
Even his Spirit sensed the benefits hidden inside.
Kaelan suppressed the impulse.
Judging from the intensity of its energy fluctuations, this was a high-quality Entry-Level Tier One Flesh and Blood Pill.
A normal Demon General would treasure such a resource.
After studying it for a moment, he carefully tucked the pill beneath his feathers.
A thread of Demon Energy wrapped around it and secured it in place.
Only then did he spread his wings.
The sun had already begun descending toward the horizon.
Golden light painted the forest in shades of red and orange.
Long shadows stretched across the earth.
With a single beat of his wings, Kaelan rose into the air.
The wind rushed past his feathers as he left the ruined hill behind.
As the sun slowly set, he flew toward the demon city described within the owl's memories.
The Flesh and Blood Pill hidden beneath his feathers would serve as his starting capital.
For now, that was enough.
The distant horizon glowed crimson beneath the setting sun as he disappeared into the gathering darkness.
---
George Twenty-One burst from the ground and immediately scanned his surroundings.
His eyes swept across the forest.
Then they turned toward the sky.
Several moments passed before he finally released a sigh of relief.
The Crow Demon had not followed him.
"I need to report this immediately."
The thought flashed through his mind.
Without hesitation, he began running.
His destination was the territory of his superior.
The Rat Demon General.
The Rat Demon General and the Fire Owl General had been rivals for decades.
The reason was simple.
Owls ate rats.
Even after becoming demons, that instinctive hostility had never completely disappeared.
The Fire Owl General frequently looked down upon the Rat Demon General because of their racial relationship.
Neither side ever missed an opportunity to undermine the other.
Recently, the Blue Flame Demon Lord had assigned an important mission to all of his Demon Generals.
Recruit foreign Demon Generals.
Whoever recruited the greatest number would receive the Blue Fireball Spell as a reward.
The Blue Fireball Spell was one of the Blue Flame Demon Lord's signature techniques.
For any fire-attributed demon, obtaining it would be a tremendous opportunity.
The Fire Owl General naturally desired it.
That was why George Twenty-One had been sent to spy on him.
Unfortunately, the situation had taken an unexpected turn.
The Fire Owl General was dead.
Killed by a mysterious Crow Demon.
The thought made George Twenty-One shiver.
The pressure released by that Crow still lingered within his memory.
Fortunately, he had escaped before attracting its attention.
As he raced through the forest, his small body moved with remarkable speed.
Roots, rocks, and bushes offered no resistance.
Eventually, he arrived at a secluded hillside.
Without slowing down, he dived into the earth.
The soil parted before him.
As an Earth-Moving Rat, travelling underground was as natural as swimming through water.
Minutes later, he emerged within a vast underground tunnel network.
This was the domain of the Rat Demon General.
Numerous rat demons moved through the tunnels.
Some carried food.
Others transported ores and herbs.
The moment they noticed George Twenty-One, many stepped aside.
Lower-ranked rats bowed respectfully.
Those of equal status merely nodded.
George Twenty-One returned the greetings absentmindedly.
Soon, he rose onto his hind legs and straightened his body.
The posture felt awkward.
He hated walking this way.
Unfortunately, the Rat Demon General had ordered all intelligent rats to imitate humans.
According to the general, civilised demons should behave like civilised races.
George Twenty-One had never understood the logic.
Still, disobeying orders was not an option.
Suppressing his discomfort, he continued deeper into the tunnels.
The underground passages gradually became wider and more elaborate.
Stone pillars supported the ceilings.
Carvings decorated the walls.
Crystals embedded within the rock illuminated the surroundings with a soft yellow glow.
Eventually, he arrived before a massive stone door.
Two Intermediate Demon Realm guards stood on either side.
The guards immediately straightened when they saw him.
George Twenty-One wasted no time.
"I have urgent information for the General."