The courtyard was deathly silent.
Jiang Yuechu stood quietly where she was.
In her mind, cold notification sounds were frantically overlapping.
[Beheaded an Ink Dot Realm creature, gained 1,723 years of Dao Cultivation]
[Beheaded a Seed Lotus Realm creature, gained 8,510 years of Dao Cultivation]
[Beheaded a Mountain Gazing Realm creature, gained 32,300 years of Dao Cultivation]
The dense succession of sounds continued without pause.
Jiang Yuechu lowered her eyelashes.
Her gaze fell upon the interface that had emerged.
As the final notification vanished,
on the interface,
[Current Dao Cultivation: 18,926,455 years]
Looking at this string of numbers,
Jiang Yuechu's eyelid twitched slightly.
Nearly twenty million years of Dao Cultivation.
The Yu Mountain Great Range is truly a good place... just by attending a random banquet, one can have such gains.
She sighed inwardly with emotion.
Only then did she raise her eyes again to look at the seven Great Demons opposite her.
"..."
Under the girl's gaze, Jue Chen Demon Emperor silently took a step forward.
The other six Demon Emperors tacitly spread out their forms.
They faintly formed a surrounding encirclement, trapping Jiang Yuechu in the center.
The rest of the demons were already dead; no amount of anger would help now.
They were all giant demons who had lived for untold ages; their Heart-Nature and experience far exceeded that of ordinary demons.
It was impossible for them to even harbor the thought of running away.
Moreover, the opponent's methods were so ruthless... a dignified Ascending the Tower expert who wouldn't even spare minor demons of the Ink Dot Realm... she was clearly intent on total extermination.
In such a situation, if anyone succumbed to fear and turned to flee first, their end would surely be to be picked off one by one.
Furthermore,
that earth-shattering lightning technique just now was indeed unheard of and terrifying.
But the more overbearing a killing move, the more horrific the consumption.
There is no such thing as power coming from thin air in this world.
Even if she wasn't completely drained, she would still be somewhat affected.
Thinking of this,
the fear in the eyes of the seven Demon Emperors was completely suppressed by ferocity.
Everyone is at the Ascending the Tower cultivation level... who is significantly lesser than whom?
Almost at the same instant,
the seven Great Demons made a decision with extreme tacit understanding.
Discard the Physical Body.
Boom.
Seven peerlessly powerful auras of Qi soared into the sky.
The seven massive demon bodies that had been standing in the ruins collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
In their place were seven Primordial Spirits that surged out from their crown points.
The foundation of the Ascending the Tower realm was revealed without reservation at this moment.
The night sky was instantly filled with lights of various colors.
A massive wolf-shaped Primordial Spirit burning with eerie green ghost fire howled towards the heavens.
A giant winged serpent Primordial Spirit coiled in mid-air.
And there was that bear demon that Jiang Yuechu had thrown out earlier.
Its Primordial Spirit was like a solid black mountain peak.
Six massive Primordial Spirit phantoms completely occupied the night sky above the Ma Residence.
Only Jue Chen Demon Emperor's Primordial Spirit was different.
It did not manifest as a massive demon original form, but was instead a Primordial Spirit only the size of an ordinary human.
Its entire body glowed with a dazzling gold-white color, clad in battle armor, completely retaining a Human Race posture.
Even the deer head had transformed into the handsome face of a Man in its Primordial Spirit state.
He indifferently reached out into the void.
A three-pointed double-edged blade over ten feet long condensed out of thin air and fell into his palm.
In the next instant,
the tip of the blade pointed distantly at the girl below.
His lips moved slightly, his murderous intent no longer held back.
"Kill."
As the word fell,
seven devastating attacks poured down towards the Girl in Black Robes below like a deluge!
...
Chang'an, Great Tang.
The cold late-autumn wind blew north along Vermilion Bird Street.
In front of the Nine Heavens Eldest Princess Demon-Slaying True Lord Temple, incense was prosperous and blue smoke curled upward.
Old Scarlet Flood Dragon, wearing a brand-new Daoist robe, was comfortably sprawled in a Grandmaster's Chair.
He held a Purple Clay Teapot in his hand.
From time to time, he would take a sip of hot tea and squint his eyes at the bustling crowd in the courtyard.
"This is simply a god-like life... Tsk, if it could stay like this forever, it wouldn't be so bad..."
But just as Old Scarlet Flood Dragon was enjoying his leisure,
a figure swaggered across the threshold, blocking his view of the sun.
The black-faced Man that Running Ox had transformed into was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, sitting down boldly on the stone steps nearby.
Old Scarlet Flood Dragon lifted an eyelid and gave him an annoyed glare.
"You black fellow, instead of staying properly in the Princess's Manor to look after the child, what are you doing coming to my temple?"
Running Ox scratched his crotch and said dully, "Big Sister has gone to sleep, and I'm bored out of my mind, so I came here to catch some air. Is that not allowed?"
Old Scarlet Flood Dragon sneered and spoke sarcastically, "Look at you, a dignified Great Marsh Demon Emperor, now in this Chang'an City, idling about all day, eating and drinking for free."
"You can't even land a proper job; you're a complete vagrant."
"Now look at me."
Old Scarlet Flood Dragon proudly patted his robes and straightened his back.
"I am now the official temple officiant of the True Lord Temple, managing all the incense in the city for Her Highness."
"What is this called? This is called having indispensable merit."
Running Ox's face turned black from being taunted by these barbed words.
He was already slow-witted; when it came to bickering, ten of him couldn't outtalk this Old Loach.
After stifling for a long time, he only managed to squeeze out: "You're just a gatekeeper, what are you so smug about?"
Upon hearing this, Old Scarlet Flood Dragon immediately perked up.
"What's wrong with being a gatekeeper? I'm a gatekeeper for Her Highness! Do you understand the value in that?"
"Which of those civil and military officials doesn't have to politely call me 'Lord Officiant' when they see me?"
"And you? What else can you do besides eat?"
"It's only because Her Highness is kind-hearted... if she's ever in a bad mood, the first thing she'll do is stew a useless oaf like you who only eats and doesn't work!"
Running Ox was driven back by the verbal assault, his black face flushing red.
He clenched his fists, wishing he could punch this Old Loach in the face.
But in the end, he didn't dare to actually make a move.
Seeing Old Scarlet Flood Dragon getting more and more smug, his tail almost curling up to the sky,
a flash of inspiration suddenly hit Running Ox's brain.
He snorted coldly and spoke in a muffled voice.
"What's the point of you babblling all this nonsense with me... no matter how favored you are, no matter how majestic, didn't Her Highness still not take you with her when she went out?"
As soon as these words came out, Old Scarlet Flood Dragon's non-stop mouth instantly shut.
Seeing this, Running Ox was overjoyed: "You guard this broken temple all day, but Her Highness is currently out gallivanting with that one called Tiger Cuihua... how many days has that tiger demon even been with Her Highness? Yet she landed such a heavenly good assignment."
"No matter how much you old dog bark, the most favored position by Her Highness's side probably hasn't been yours for a long time."
These words were simply a heart-piercing blow to the dragon.
Old Scarlet Flood Dragon's previously smug old face instantly collapsed.
He was like a punctured ball, slumping limply in the Grandmaster's Chair.
Even the Purple Clay Teapot in his hand no longer seemed fragrant.
That tiger picked up halfway had simply become his Heart Demon.
He had worked so hard to manage things here, running errands for Her Highness.
In the end, he didn't even qualify to be a follower when she went out.
The more Old Scarlet Flood Dragon thought about it, the more desolate he felt, looking out of the temple gate with a worried face.
The late-autumn wind blew past, swirling a few fallen leaves, making the scene look exceptionally bleak.
"Sigh..."
"When feelings reach a point beyond looking back, the sorrow of spring has not ended before the grief of autumn begins."
"Worry... it truly makes a dragon worry..."