The embers within the hall had not yet faded.
Jiang Yuechu withdrew her gaze from the direction where the old woman had dissipated.
The two or three Demon Emperors who were lucky enough to survive had long since had their souls fly away and spirits scatter, collapsing into a pile of limp mud, lacking any of their previous defiance.
Jiang Yuechu couldn't be bothered with them.
She flipped her hand, clutching the Jade Slip in her palm, and found a relatively intact stone platform in a corner of the hall to sit cross-legged.
She wasn't in a hurry for anything else first.
She called up her panel.
Her gaze shifted down, landing on the Dao Cultivation column.
[Current Dao Cultivation: 24,116,210 years]
Even though Jiang Yuechu was used to great storms, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl slightly at this string of numbers.
Just now, there had been a great slaughter.
Of the fourteen Demon Emperors of Qingwu Mountain, eleven had died.
The two dragons, Move Mountain and Overturn Sea, plus the Old Monkey of Mang Mountain, all possessed profound Dao Cultivation of nearly a million years. Although the remaining few were slightly inferior, even the smallest mosquito is still meat—totaling it all up, she had gained a full 7.8 million years.
Adding that to her previous foundation.
It directly surged to twenty-four million.
While the Celestial Demon Martial Practice consumed her Dao Cultivation to deduce the Chess Condensation Method, she was also constantly gaining on the other end... it could be considered earning while spending.
Unfortunately, the speed of deduction was truly terrifying.
A consumption of a million years per day—no matter how thick her family assets were, she couldn't withstand such squandering.
She had to hurry.
With this thought.
Jiang Yuechu withdrew her mind and focused her gaze back on the Jade Slip in her palm.
She extended her Divine Sense into the Jade Slip.
A vast array of scriptures spread out before her.
Jiang Yuechu patiently scanned the scriptures from beginning to end.
On the panel, new writing slowly emerged.
["Great Dream Spring and Autumn Chess Condensation Art" (Not yet initiated)]
Jiang Yuechu glanced at the panel to confirm it was correct.
Then, she closed her fingers.
Crack.
Another Jade Slip for a Chess Condensation Method, enough to drive the world's Cultivators into a frenzy, turned into a handful of powder and scattered through her fingers.
Everything that needed to be recorded was in.
The rest she would leave to the Celestial Demon Martial Practice.
She closed her eyes.
Her mind sank into that ancient plaza.
Within the plaza, thousands of demon soul phantoms shuttled back and forth, arguing incessantly.
Jiang Yuechu didn't waste words and directly threw the "Great Dream Spring and Autumn Chess Condensation Art" inside.
The two Chess Condensation Methods collided in the martial arena.
Pure Yang was extremely rigid, while Spring and Autumn was extremely soft.
Like water and fire clashing, it instantly stirred up a significant disturbance.
The arguments of the demons grew even louder.
Noisy.
Argue harder.
Anyway, whoever wins the argument holds the truth.
As for the losers... it didn't matter.
Jiang Yuechu was about to withdraw.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
Wait.
What was it like the last time she deduced the Great Black Heaven Body Forging Scripture?
She reminisced for a moment.
Back when she deduced Great Black Heaven, she had thrown all her existing Cultivation Techniques into the Celestial Demon Martial Practice together.
The more materials there were and the broader the reference, the more perfect the final deduced product would be.
It was precisely because of this that Great Black Heaven could be pushed to such a terrifying level in her hands.
Then...
Did the same logic apply to the deduction of the Chess Condensation Method?
After considering for a moment.
Jiang Yuechu made a bold decision.
She called up the Cultivation Techniques she was currently practicing one by one in her mind.
"Dragon Transformation Scripture".
"Seven Whites Body Breaking Method".
"Yu Shan True Form Diagram".
All sorts of them—as long as she had practiced them, she threw them all into the Celestial Demon Martial Practice.
As for the "Great Black Heaven Body Forging Scripture"...
Jiang Yuechu hesitated for a second.
This Cultivation Technique had already been pushed to the supreme level.
It was the foundation upon which she currently relied for her life.
If she threw it in and something went wrong during the deduction process, affecting the operation of Great Black Heaven itself...
The loss would outweigh the gain.
Forget it.
Put it aside for now.
She would make other plans once the deduction of the Chess Condensation Method was complete.
She withdrew from the Celestial Demon Martial Practice.
The speed at which the Dao Cultivation numbers on the panel were ticking suddenly accelerated by a notch.
The more Cultivation Technique materials were invested, the higher the complexity of the deduction, and naturally, the more terrifying the consumption of Dao Cultivation.
Looking at the rapidly shrinking numbers, Jiang Yuechu's teeth felt a bit itchy.
"Damn it... if nothing comes of this deduction, see if I don't whip your asses raw..."
...
The deduction had already started, and being anxious wouldn't help.
Jiang Yuechu simply stood up and walked out of the ruins of the hall.
The commotion just now had naturally caught the attention of all the demons throughout Qingwu Mountain.
Feeling her terrifying aura.
They all hid away in a flash.
A few small demons were poking their heads out from the bushes in the distance.
Seeing her walk out, they all pulled their heads back in fright.
Jiang Yuechu scanned the surroundings.
That old thing only said she shouldn't kill any more demons.
But he didn't say she couldn't occupy territory.
She was now, after all, a Demon Emperor of the Yu Mountain Great Range.
Seizing territory was only natural.
Thinking this with such self-righteousness.
She indifferently raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
A sharp whistling sound pierced through the mountain forest.
In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.
Demon Emperor Jade Dust led a massive crowd of Wangchuan demons, rushing up from the foot of the mountain like crazy.
The Deer Demon ran the fastest, his half-collapsed deer face filled with a mix of surprise and joy.
He had been waiting at the foot of the mountain just now, anxious and worried, calculating how to provide support if a fight broke out inside.
In the end, after waiting and waiting, what he got was a technique signal fired by Jiang Yuechu.
What this meant was self-evident.
"My Emperor... this Qingwu Mountain..."
"Most are dead."
Jiang Yuechu said nonchalantly.
Demon Emperor Jade Dust's mouth twitched violently a few times, and he didn't ask any further.
He wanted to say some complimentary words, but he opened his mouth and couldn't squeeze out any rhetoric more magnificent than before.
After all, the flattery back in Wangchuan had already hit the ceiling; if he tried to make up more, even he would be embarrassed.
"Occupy this place."
Demon Emperor Jade Dust's spirits were greatly lifted: "Yes!"
No second word was needed.
The demons of Wangchuan swarmed into every corner of Qingwu Mountain.
Those low-level demons who originally belonged to the Qingwu lineage had no intention of resisting when they saw the Wangchuan army pressing down overwhelmingly.
Those who ran fast were already gone, and those who couldn't run just knelt and surrendered.
Demon Emperor Jade Dust worked quite efficiently.
In less than half a day, he had thoroughly investigated all the caves, Ore veins, and herb gardens of the entire Qingwu Mountain.
"My Emperor, although Qingwu Mountain's family assets aren't very thick, it excels in having many Ore veins, especially those Purple Gold Ores in the deep mountains, which are of excellent quality..."
Jiang Yuechu only threw out two words: "Pack it up."
Demon Emperor Jade Dust was already used to this style of doing things.
Without a word, he directed the demons to clear out the Ore, Spiritual Plants, Medicinal Pills, and Magical Artifacts accumulated by Qingwu Mountain over hundreds of thousands of years in one go.
They didn't even spare the stone slabs paving the halls.
After doing all this, Jiang Yuechu handed over the remaining few Demon Emperors to Jade Dust for resettlement. She wouldn't kill them anymore... since she had promised someone, she had to make a show of it.
But as for the matter of seizing things...
She really didn't plan to only seize Qingwu Mountain.
On the first day.
The Wangchuan demons set up camp in Qingwu, expelling all Loose Cultivator demons within a hundred-mile radius and claiming it as their own territory.
On the second day.
Scouts reported that there was another ownerless small Ore vein on the western side of Qingwu Mountain.
Jiang Yuechu waved her hand.
Occupy it.
On the third day.
Demon Emperor Jade Dust tentatively reported that there was a Spiritual Spring of decent quality on the edge of Elder Black Rock's territory to the north.
Jiang Yuechu tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"Occupy that too."
Demon Emperor Jade Dust's half-collapsed deer face froze for a moment.
"But... that belongs to Elder Black Rock..."
"This Emperor is looking after it for him, is there a problem?"
"...No problem."
Demon Emperor Jade Dust silently swallowed his objection.
After three days like this.
Nearly thirty percent of the southwestern territory of the entire Yu Mountain Great Range had been pocketed by this new Demon Emperor.
The news spread throughout Yu Mountain.
It was said that the remaining three Elders were already hopping mad.
They jointly planned to go to Xirang Mountain to seek an explanation from The Main Seat.
But the petitions seeking an explanation were like stones sinking into the ocean, with not a single response.
The Main Seat remained silent.
The three Elders looked at each other and could only swallow their anger.
Meanwhile, in the main hall of Qingwu Mountain.
Within the remaining half of the hall.
Jiang Yuechu alone sat cross-legged.
The Dao Cultivation numbers on the panel were still steadily decreasing.
But the arguments within the Celestial Demon Martial Practice had gradually begun to subside.
An unprecedented, brand-new Chess Condensation Method was slowly taking shape amidst the fierce collisions of thousands of demon souls.
According to this progress.
Perhaps ten days, perhaps half a month.
Once the deduction was finished, she could directly max it out and step into the rank of Chess Player!
But the premise was...
One more thing was missing.
A object of dao integration.
Jiang Yuechu opened her eyes.
A cold glint flashed in the depths of her pitch-black eyes.
Three days.
That old thing said he would deliver the object of dao integration within three days.
But three full days had passed.
Let alone a object of dao integration, not even a single strand of that old thing's hair had been seen.
Jiang Yuechu stood up and walked to the gap in the hall.
Looking out from a high vantage point, the peaks of the Yu Mountain Great Range stretched out endlessly and vast.
Could it be...
He was tricking her?