Night fell, and stars hung over the wilderness.
A brilliant golden rainbow arrogantly carved through the night sky from ten thousand feet above.
Jiang Yuechu's expression was calm, but her mind was far from idle.
Inside her stomach, the carcass of the Red Flood Dragon was being frantically ground down by "Myriad Demon Swallowing Heaven."
Surging essence and energy, like a river flowing backward, rushed straight into her Qi Sea.
The Red Flood Dragon was a Mountain Gazing Realm Great Demon; the essence of its flesh and blood was incredibly vast.
The Black Mountain rose higher and higher.
The mountain's terrain became increasingly ferocious, and Evil Qi almost overflowed from her Dantian.
However...
Just as it was about to touch that invisible dome...
It stopped.
It was like a mountain climber who, only half a step away from reaching the summit to grasp the moon, suddenly ran out of strength.
Jiang Yuechu frowned slightly.
She was just a hair's breadth away.
Only a single hair's breadth.
This was an entire Mountain Gazing Realm Demon Venerable, plus that pile of Ink Dot Realm and Seed Lotus Realm small fry from before, and a third of the Silver Bone Demon Venerable's corpse... had she still not achieved a Breakthrough?
Jiang Yuechu exhaled a breath of turbid air.
She wasn't annoyed.
The one thing this world didn't lack was Demons.
As long as she killed enough...
A Breakthrough would only be a matter of time.
Furthermore...
Right in front of her, there were four more waiting for her to "dine" on in Luling.
At this thought, the slight frustration in her heart dissipated with the wind.
Jiang Yuechu stabilized her light of flight and sent a thread of her consciousness down into her Sea of Consciousness.
[Dao Cultivation: 43,577 years]
Excluding the 36,000-plus years spent recording the Crimson Scale Demon Venerable, her remaining savings were still quite substantial.
Her gaze swept over the [Recorded Demons] column.
Since the Black Flood Dragon was already at the dotting the eyes...
She might as well max it out... With a slight thought.
"Add points."
Boom—
9,200 years of Dao Cultivation instantly evaporated.
Within the scroll in her Sea of Consciousness...
The Black Flood Dragon, which had previously only been poking its claws out of the mist, suddenly raised its head.
Its scales were pitch black, as deep as a ten-thousand-fathom ocean abyss.
[Successfully upgraded Black Flood Dragon Jiao Chun to the Heavenly Accomplishment. Received Demon's Gift.]
[Dragon Transformation Scripture · Fragment 2 (Supreme)]
With the appearance of this notification, it signaled that she no longer needed to worry about this Demon for the time being.
Her gaze once again scanned the remaining Demon scrolls.
The 40,000-plus years of Dao Cultivation she had just acquired seemed like a lot.
But if used on two Mountain Gazing Great Demons, it probably wouldn't even make a splash.
No other choice.
It had to be this feathered beast.
Qiankun Demon King.
Although this fellow's abilities relied entirely on his Bloodline, he was ultimately from the Golden-Winged Great Peng lineage, possessing a noble origin.
Jiang Yuechu was quite interested in his background.
Thinking of this, she no longer hesitated.
"Infuse."
With a single thought, the numbers on the system panel began to jump frantically.
Dao Cultivation poured down like a river breaching a dam.
Jiang Yuechu felt her vision go dark, and the wind whistled in her ears, as if she had transmigrated through eternal time and space.
Her consciousness fell... [Year 1: You were born on Spirit Mountain. This place is shrouded in clouds and mist, where purple Qi comes from the east; it is no ordinary mortal Realm.]
[Spirit Mountain has eighty-one Demon caves. Every cave master is a world-renowned Great Demon Emperor, breathing the sun and moon here and enjoying the offerings of heaven and earth.]
[Your father is the master of the 54th cave, the Golden Feather Demon Emperor.]
[You are of the direct blood of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, born extraordinary. At birth, you were already in the Lotus Seed Realm. Golden light pierced the sky, and a hundred birds came to pay homage. Your father placed high hopes on you, wishing for you to soar ninety thousand miles into the sky and bring glory to the family.]
[Year 500: You play at the foot of Spirit Mountain, chasing colorful clouds or sneaking into other Immortal Caves to steal spiritual fruits. Life is carefree and happy. Cultivate? What is that? You were born in the Seed Lotus Realm; why bother with bitter cultivation like those ants?]
[Year 1000: You are still in the Seed Lotus Realm.]
[Year 2000: You are still in the Seed Lotus Realm.]
[Year 3000: You are still in the Seed Lotus Realm. Your father finally can't take it anymore and gives you a harsh scolding.]
[You are defiant.]
[You are a Golden-Winged Great Peng! You possess one of the most noble Bloodlines in existence! As long as you Cultivate seriously, wouldn't breaking through be effortless? Why does this old man need to nag?]
[Year 4200: You are still in the Seed Lotus Realm.]
[Your father has completely given up on you and doesn't even want to look at you anymore.]
[You are furious.]
[You want to leave! You want to venture into the outside world! You want to show that old man that even without his protection, you can carve out a world for yourself!]
[The night before your departure, your mother finds you secretly, her eyes red and swollen. While wiping away tears, she pulls out a pile of shimmering treasures from her robe.]
[Looking at the treasures in your mother's hands, though you feel reluctant to leave, your mind is made up.]
[You put on your precious armor, take up your Great Halberd, and charge out of Spirit Mountain without looking back.]
[Year 4210: You traveled all the way east and arrived at the so-called Western Regions Demon Court.]
[Demonic Qi fills the sky here, and Demons dance wildly. It looks much more lively than the quiet regions of Spirit Mountain.]
[You heard that the lord of this Demon Court calls himself the Demon Emperor, ruling over myriad Demons with great prestige. You are disdainful. A mere Lamp Lighting realm expert dares to call himself a damn Demon Emperor?]
[You barge straight into the Demon Court's main hall, see that high-and-mighty Dominator, and burst out laughing on the spot. You ask him if his throne is stable, and if not, why not let you sit on it for a while.]
[The entire hall is in an uproar.]
[But the Demon Emperor does not get angry. Instead, he politely asks you to stay at the Demon Court. You know he is afraid—not of you, but of Spirit Mountain behind you.]
[Since you can't return to Spirit Mountain to be one of the eighty-one Demon Emperors for now, being a carefree Little Saint King in this mortal world seems quite nice too.]
The scene froze on the bird face laughing arrogantly, then shattered with a bang.
Jiang Yuechu opened her eyes.
The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
Good grief.
So he was a runaway rich kid.
No wonder he was decked out in god-tier gear... however... a sharp light flashed in Jiang Yuechu's eyes.
These eighty-one caves of Spirit Mountain are quite interesting.
Even the master of the 54th cave is an existence above the Lamp Lighting realm... then what kind of terrifying Realm must those old monsters ranked at the front be in?
Jiang Yuechu shook her head, tossing these stray thoughts out of her mind.
It's too far away.
That's something to worry about in the future.
The system panel trembled slightly, and a line of small text appeared.
[Consumed 12,000 years of Dao Cultivation. Qiankun Demon King's progress has reached the crimson dye.]
[Successfully upgraded Qiankun Demon King to the crimson dye. Received Demon's Gift.]
[Obtained Mountain Gazing Realm Technique: "Wisdom King Tummo Meditation" (Perfection)]
["Wisdom King Tummo Meditation": This method is a way to enter meditative absorption by visualizing spiritual heat within the abdomen. Practitioners can see five signs: smoke, fireflies, solar flames, lamp light, and clear sky. Use the blazing Tummo fire to extinguish the Three Poisons, and achieve unobstructed wisdom through the light of clarity.]
The moment the text appeared, an obscure and profound stream of information forced its way into her mind.
It wasn't the Divine Ability she had expected.
Jiang Yuechu's figure suddenly froze, suspended ten thousand feet in the air. In her eyes, which were usually as calm as a lake, a rare flash of bewilderment appeared.
"This is..."
"A technique?"
She frowned slightly, carefully mulling over this new method in her mind.
Visualizing spiritual heat, entering meditation to generate fire, and extinguishing the Three Poisons.
This path clearly belonged to the methods of the Yin Mountain path.
How could the Golden-Winged Great Peng lineage possibly know such delicate work?