A gentle breeze blew softly.
The Golden Summit of Five Immortals Mountain had become a thing of the past.
All that remained was a massive, bottomless sinkhole, with scorched earth everywhere and stifling waves of heat.
Jiang Yuechu stood in the Void Realm, her robes fluttering.
[Slew an Ascending to the Tower Realm Creature, obtained 524,872 years of Dao Cultivation]
[Slew an Ascending to the Tower Realm Creature, obtained 524,870 years of Dao Cultivation]
[Slew an Ascending to the Tower Realm Creature, obtained 524,871 years of Dao Cultivation]
[Slew an Ascending to the Tower Realm Creature, obtained 524,868 years of Dao Cultivation]
[Slew an Ascending to the Tower Realm Creature, obtained 524,862 years of Dao Cultivation]
In her mind, the series of notification chimes slowly faded away.
Jiang Yuechu calculated silently.
The Five True Persons had a combined total of over 2.6 million years of Dao Cultivation.
Adding the remaining 100,000-plus years from slaying the Red Silk Demon Empress and the Disciples of Five Immortals Mountain earlier.
[Remaining Dao Cultivation: 2,774,300 years]
But Jiang Yuechu was in no hurry to assign points.
She slowly composed herself and looked toward the north.
Rather than staying here in seclusion to digest her gains,
It would be better to return to the capital with the momentum of this great victory, reassure the people of the city, and then make further plans.
Thinking of this, the young girl's gaze swept over the messy, scorched earth below, and her brows furrowed inadvertently.
It was a bit of a pity.
That "Pay-to-Win Technique" just now was indeed peerlessly fierce and powerful.
But because it was too powerful, it had blasted the Primordial Spirits of the five old monsters into nothingness.
They dissipated too quickly,
So much so that she didn't even have the chance to use the Myriad Demon Swallowing Heaven Method.
What puzzled Jiang Yuechu even more was that...
Even now, the notification for collection had not sounded.
Could she really be that unlucky?
Five demons... and not even one could catch the Golden Finger's Dharma Eye?
She flicked her wrist slightly.
Whoosh—
Billowing black mist poured from her palm, sweeping through the sinkhole like a hungry ghost pouncing on its prey.
As the black mist churned, it did indeed capture a few wisps of battered Divine Soul aura.
But when she tried to absorb them into her body's major apertures, she instinctively felt a strong repulsion.
Jiang Yuechu's brows knitted slightly.
What did this mean?
Could it be... that these Five True Persons were not demons?
If they were human, how could they have such long-standing Dao Cultivation?
But if they were demons... why did her Cultivation Technique have no reaction at all?
Doubt lingered in her mind, unanswered.
She turned her head, her gaze falling on the boy beside her who had not yet recovered from his shock.
"Can you tell whether these old fogies are humans or demons?"
Wang Ziyu was taken aback.
He gave Jiang Yuechu a strange look, seemingly not expecting such a fierce person to lack even this bit of common knowledge.
But on second thought, this girl's common knowledge was pitifully lacking... it was normal for her not to know.
The boy straightened his lapels and coughed lightly, regaining some of the poise of a legitimate successor.
"To say they are human isn't entirely correct, but to say they are demons isn't quite right either."
Jiang Yuechu raised an eyebrow. "Speak plainly."
Wang Ziyu choked for a moment and didn't dare to beat around the bush, explaining honestly, "I noticed earlier that their true forms are indeed demons, but their aura is special. The path they take is different from ordinary demons."
"Ordinary demons Cultivate by either absorbing the essence of the sun and moon or by devouring blood and flesh. But these five beasts... seem to follow the Path of Incense."
"Incense?" Jiang Yuechu's eyes flickered.
"Indeed. Mortals are ignorant; they only seek favorable weather, freedom from disease and disaster, or even wealth and children. When this power of thought gathers, it becomes Incense. In ancient times, this path was quite popular for a while. Back then, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was not as thin as it is today. Some lucky demons or capable Cultivators would have temples built and statues molded by Mortals, enjoying the offerings of incense."
"With the blessing of this Power Of Will, one's cultivation can indeed advance by leaps and bounds, and one can even forge a so-called Golden Body. If the Power Of Will is vast enough, it's not unheard of to transform overnight and enter the Denglou Realm."
Jiang Yuechu's eyes flickered at his words.
A shortcut.
In this world, no matter what it is, if it's a shortcut, there must be a price.
"What is the price?" she asked.
Wang Ziyu gave her an appreciative look.
Though this girl lacked common knowledge, her intuition was sharp.
"The power of thought from Mortals is extremely cluttered and impure, mixed with greed, fear, desire, and jealousy. Having swallowed Mortal thoughts, though their cultivation grows quickly, they themselves are no longer pure... They have already moved beyond the category of demons."
Jiang Yuechu understood.
No wonder her Great Black Heaven Body Forging Scripture had no reaction to the remnant souls of these five.
So they were no longer pure demons... "Furthermore..."
Wang Ziyu changed the subject. "The greatest drawback of the Path of Incense lies in the land. Their power originates from the offerings of the Mortals on this land."
"Within their Daoist sanctuary, blessed by incense, they are omnipotent Immortal Masters. But once they leave the territory where they receive incense..."
The boy shrugged.
"Their strength would be cut at least in half, if not more."
"If they go further away, or encounter some powerful method that cuts off the incense, even with their former Denglou Realm cultivation, they might not necessarily hold their own against a Martial Saint of the Lamp Lighting Realm."
Hearing this,
Jiang Yuechu's previously knitted brows slowly relaxed.
No wonder this Five Immortals Mountain had been entrenched within the borders of the Great Tang for hundreds of thousands of years.
Despite having remarkable combat power, they always stayed huddled in this small patch of land and never thought of leaving.
It wasn't that they didn't want to.
It was that they didn't dare.
"So..."
Jiang Yuechu's gaze was deep as she looked at the scorched earth below.
"The so-called Immortal Masters of Five Immortals Mountain are nothing more than a pack of dogs tied to their own doorstep, reaching such heights only through the charity of Mortals."
These words were blunt and harsh,
But they hit the nail on the head.
Beside her, Running Ox nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of disdain.
"We demons of the Ten Thousand Demon Great Marsh might have a harder life, but at least we Cultivate our own bodies. These idiots looked so fierce just now, but it turns out they're just hollow!"
Although it was simple-minded, it knew the root of cultivation.
Being strong oneself is true strength.
A pavilion built on external forces may look as if it towers into the clouds,
But in reality, it cannot withstand any blow.
Scarlet Sun Demon Venerable also approached at this moment, chiming in with a flattering look:
"These fake immortals, encountering a True Dragon like Master, are naturally like clay chickens and pottery dogs—utterly fragile!"
Jiang Yuechu ignored the flattery of the ox and the flood dragon.
She was silently pondering something in her heart.
The Great Tang had been weak for a long time.
Although she, Jiang Yuechu, had emerged out of nowhere and turned the tide single-handedly,
But this world was too large.
In the end, she alone could not be everywhere at once.
Setting aside the lofty Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, who could protect the lights of ten thousand homes from the demons and monsters eyeing the Great Tang if she were not there?