Chapter 565: Heavenly Demon Body Infusion [Combined]

Several days later.

In the Central Continent of Great Jin, the Su family of Dragon Court Lake.

Hua Tianxiong, following Qin Ming's instructions, personally delivered items to Su Yuqing.

He directly flew in the Golden Palanquin and landed near the Su family's mountain gate, coming alone without any extra attendants.

When he arrived, he saw many cultivators from prominent clans also waiting before the gate.

Among them were no shortage of Golden Core elders from major sects, all seemingly here to request elixirs from the Su family.

"Oh? Isn't this Chairman Hua?"

A voice of surprise emerged from the crowd, and nearby cultivators quickly parted to make way.

Hua Tianxiong had once been infamous, with Senior Elder Gan of the Li Huo Palace as his patron; ordinary cultivators had always kept their distance.

And recently, rumors spread that the deaths of two elders from Shen Dao Mountain and Tian Laomo of the Yin Mo Sect were also linked to him—no one dared provoke this demon.

Now, Hua Tianxiong's name was known far and wide.

"Hmm? So you're Elder Hai of Tian Gong Men?"

"Chairman Hua, Master Su is notoriously hard to meet—I've been waiting here for days already."

"Still haven't managed to see him."

"Chairman Hua might have made a wasted trip."

Master Su's temper was eccentric—even elders from the Li Huo Palace received no special favor; ordinary people found it nearly impossible to meet him.

How much less would Hua Tianxiong, even as chairman of the Thousand Mechanism Trading House, be granted an audience?

The surrounding cultivators thought this, when suddenly they saw Hua Tianxiong pull out a message talisman and send it off.

Moments later, the Su family's gate opened, and an old man resembling a steward stepped out, glancing across the crowd.

He immediately walked up to Hua Tianxiong, bowed, and said: "Chairman Hua, my young master requests your presence."

At these words, all the visitors stared at each other in shock.

They never imagined Hua Tianxiong had any connection to Master Su.

Then Hua Tianxiong lifted his head, puffed out his belly, and strode inside.

Inside a study of the Su residence, he met Su Yuqing, dressed in white.

"So it's Brother Hua. Has something happened with Brother Qin?"

Su Yuqing set down the ancient book he was reading and poured Hua Tianxiong a cup of spiritual tea.

Hua Tianxiong quickly handed over the jade slip and storage bag to Su Yuqing: "Brother Su, these are from Brother Qin. The situation is urgent—please take a look."

"Oh?" Su Yuqing took the items and immediately immersed his spiritual sense into the jade slip.

But in the next instant, his expression changed drastically—the longer he read, the darker his face became.

"Heavenly Demon Catastrophe. The Great Li Demon Realm has invaded the Great Zhou Immortal Realm."

"Has the situation become this severe?"

"Indeed. Senior Elder Gan of the Li Huo Palace also leaked me some intelligence, but nothing as detailed as what Brother Qin possesses."

"He asked me to inform you that the Su family must prepare early."

Su Yuqing nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Brother Hua, for making the journey yourself."

"Not at all—it's my duty." Hua Tianxiong waved his hand.

Next, Su Yuqing opened the storage bag and took a look. Even he, with his vast experience, couldn't help but draw a sharp breath at what he saw.

In his hand appeared three emerald-green plants resembling dew grass. "Fourth-rank shape-shifting spirit herbs!"

Others might not know, but as a Grand Alchemist, he knew perfectly well these were one of the primary ingredients for crafting the Nascent Soul Elixir.

Even though Qin Ming had already told him this concerned the chance for Nascent Soul formation,

his spirit still trembled as he examined the other spirit materials—all were auxiliary ingredients for the Nascent Soul Elixir and the Ice Heart Jade Soul Elixir.

Combined with the materials Hua Tianxiong had already gathered, he now had enough to assemble several full sets for alchemy.

Once the remaining materials were collected, he would have sufficient resources to brew the elixirs himself.

"Please thank Brother Qin for me."

Su Yuqing then pulled out a Divine Wood Pill and presented it to Hua Tianxiong. "A small token from me."

"I—I can't possibly accept this!"

Hua Tianxiong was utterly stunned, hesitating and accepting the spirit pill with reluctance. The two exchanged brief words afterward.

After seeing Hua Tianxiong off, Su Yuqing took the intelligence jade slip and hurried straight to his father Su Tiannan's chamber.

Hua Tianxiong, glowing with joy, exited the Su family gate. Amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the crowd, he mounted the Golden Palanquin and vanished into the sky as a golden streak.

In the Great Zhou Immortal Realm, Fan Sheng Mountain.

This was the mountain gate of the Tian Yin Chan Temple, one of the four great powers of Great Zhou.

But now, the mountain rang with battle cries—the sect's protective array had been shattered, rivers ran red with blood, and it was completely surrounded by Yin Mo Sect demons.

What was once a serene Buddhist sanctuary had become a living hell of slaughter.

Suddenly! Above the battlefield.

Wum wum wum! Ripples echoed mysteriously through the void, then the space writhed and twisted, as if something were about to emerge. Three crimson lights exploded, spewing dozens of crimson runes into the air, which spiraled and interwove to form three crimson portals.

The portals resembled the gaping maws of three abyssal demon heads. The space rippled, then violently trembled.

Moments later.

From the demon-mouth portals emerged three figures radiating immense power.

All three wore crimson masks and dark crimson robes etched with demonic patterns, appearing profoundly eerie.

Their spiritual pressure was so overwhelming that every cultivator below turned pale! The Yin Mo Sect cultivators, upon seeing them, immediately bowed: "We pay homage to the Three Holy Envoys!"

Yet the demons paid them no mind.

"Brother Chou, I heard there's a Pagoda atop this mountain, beneath which a blood demon nearing third-rank peak is sealed. My core demonic weapon still lacks a demon soul to feed on—could you spare it for me?"

The leftmost demon youth, whose cultivation was at Golden Core Late Stage, asked the central figure with respectful deference.

Though all were true disciples of the Blood Refining Demon Sect, there were still hierarchies—his tone carried a hint of request.

The demon called Brother Chou was towering and muscular, his body covered in dark demonic tattoos, his cheeks and neck even scaled with black scales.

Under the sunlight, they gleamed with chilling luster.

More astonishingly, beneath his mask were a pair of grotesque crimson vertical pupils. "Since Brother Meng desires it, it's yours," the central youth replied with a sinister grin.

"Thank you, Brother Chou!" The demon with the surname Meng quickly said.

"Hehe! Brothers, shall we begin?"

"I still need more flesh and souls of cultivators to cultivate my demonic arts," the rightmost demon licked his lips, grinning wickedly, his eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty ferocity.

"We can't compete with Elder Jiang Yuan and Sister Lan Bing—they're looting the Xuan Qing Temple. But we can still scavenge here, hehe!"

"After finishing here, we'll join them."

Among the three demons, the central demon with the surname Chou was clearly the leader.

This "Brother Chou" cultivated the demonic body refinement technique known as the Heavenly Demon Body Infusion Art, and once single-handedly slew a third-rank peak Blood Demon Dragon, devouring and refining it with demonic arts.

It was said this Blood Demon Dragon was immensely powerful, rivaling a pseudo-Nascent Soul demon.

It was only one final step away from true dragon transformation.

Yet it still died at Brother Chou's hands.

Since then, his demonic cultivation surged—he swept through the Blood Refining Demon Sect with his demonic body alone.

Even during the competition for descent slots, his strength ranked among the top five.

Competition within the Blood Refining Demon Sect was brutally fierce—survival of the fittest. All three of them had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Holding a place among the top five true disciples proved their terrifying power and extraordinary abilities.

At that moment.

Two powerful golden auras flew out from Fan Sheng Mountain, blocking the three demons' path. The golden light faded, revealing two monks with long white eyebrows and beards, clad in saffron robes.

Both were at Golden Core Peak.

"Amitabha! We've long heard of the Blood Refining Demon Sect's grave sins. I, a humble monk, wish to guide you three out of suffering."

One monk, with a benevolent face, held a golden dharma staff; his white robe stirred without wind.

"Jie jie jie! Old baldy, still struggling as death approaches? Soon you'll taste the agony of soul-devouring!"

The demon with the surname Chou's crimson pupils flashed a chilling light, instantly dropping the temperature of the entire space.

"Hmph!"

The abbot monk swung his dharma staff, forming a hand seal. Golden light erupted from his body, coalescing behind him into a golden divine form.

It was a wrathful Arhat holding a demon-subduing club, its golden shadow towering over thirty zhang high!

The Arhat's demon-subduing club radiated divine light, unleashing a force capable of annihilating heaven and earth as it crashed toward the three demons!

BOOM! CRACK! In an instant, the heavens and earth trembled!

Yet the central demon, Brother Chou, upon seeing this overwhelming attack, merely smirked.

His figure blurred and vanished from the spot.

Suddenly!

Demonic energy surged violently through the void—a black demonic dragon, a hundred zhang long, emerged. Its body was covered in black scales, crowned with twin horns, and its dark eyes suddenly opened to reveal a pair of crimson vertical pupils!

BOOM! THUD! The golden demon-subduing club slammed into the black demonic dragon.

The entire space shuddered, erupting in a violent collision. Then a massive shockwave exploded outward.

It instantly obliterated the low-level cultivators below.

Some Yin Mo Sect disciples who failed to dodge were reduced to dust by the residual force.

Yet as the blinding golden light in the sky faded, the black demonic dragon's scales shimmered, utterly unscathed.

"Huh? This—"

"How is this possible?!"

Even the Tianyin Chan Master nearby wore an expression of disbelief.

But before he could react—

The next instant.

The black demonic dragon opened its razor-sharp, pitch-black claws, striking once to instantly pierce the Golden Vajra Phantasm before it, then crushed the monk's body into a cloud of blood mist with a single grip.

Then the demonic dragon opened its massive maw and swallowed the Tianyin Chan Master whole—man and Golden Core alike. "Heavens! Even the Abbot Elder has perished!"

"Flee, quickly!"

In an instant, the cultivators were thrown into chaos, fleeing blindly in all directions.

Yet—

Before they could escape the mountain, the other two demonic cultivators of the Blood Refining Demon Gate drew their demonic weapons and began slaughtering the Da Zhou cultivators en masse.

Such scenes played out repeatedly across the Da Zhou cultivation world.

……

Time passed, and several more months slipped by.

In the spirit fields of Wuxing Mountain.

Qin Ming held the Shennong Hoe, tending to ten mu of Tianluo grass.

But at that moment—

Jia, the old manager of Jingxue Pavilion, rushed in from outside the spirit fields, gasping for breath as he reported to Qin Ming:

"Manager Lu, your foresight was correct!"

"Major news has arrived: Da Zhou's cultivation world has been invaded by the Li Dynasty's demonic sects. In just a few months, the frontlines have nearly collapsed."

"Thanks to your early warning, we cut off all commercial ties with them in time—otherwise, our losses would have been incalculable."

News of the Li Dynasty's demonic invasion had finally reached the Da Jin cultivation world—even the Lingxu Marketplace had heard.

Seeing Jia's shaken expression, Qin Ming knew the Da Zhou situation had deteriorated beyond repair.

He set down the Shennong Hoe. "What rumors are circulating now?"

"Uh—I've only heard that Da Zhou's situation is dire, with one-sided reports: demonic sect disciples are massacring indiscriminately, and countless refugees are flooding the borders."

"That's how the news reached Da Jin."

"Hmm, don't panic. These demonic sects won't reach here for now—at least Da Jin remains safe for decades. Even if the Li Dynasty conquers Da Zhou, it will take time." Qin Ming pondered briefly, then reassured Jia.

"Just focus on running your shop. I'll inform you if anything changes."

"Yes, Manager!"

Now, "Manager Lu" was the anchor of Jingxue Pavilion in Da Jin! …

Qin Ming's eyes flickered. In truth, over these past days, he had repeatedly sent Hua Tianxiong to gather intelligence.

He held near-real-time control over the latest developments in Da Zhou.

After hearing Jia's report, he contacted Hua Tianxiong via the Black Talisman.

"Hua Tianxiong, what's the situation in Da Zhou now?"

Hua Tianxiong was riding his Golden Throne Chariot, having just left Qian Elder of Li Huo Palace, heading back to the Wanda Merchant Alliance.

Suddenly, Qin Ming's voice echoed in his mind, jolting him upright.

"Master, I was just about to report to you."

"Da Zhou… is on the brink of annihilation."

"It's merely a matter of time."

"Huh? How could it be this fast? It's been less than a year." Qin Ming exclaimed.

"The Li Dynasty's demonic forces surged with overwhelming force, and with the Heavenly Demon Tribulation, Han Ya, the True Person of Xuanqing Temple who controlled Da Zhou's cultivation world, fled with his core disciples—without a fight."

"He abandoned the outer low-level disciples to draw the demonic cultivators' attention, using them all as cannon fodder."

"What?!" Qin Ming, upon hearing this, was speechless.

He thought of Han Ya, a Nascent Soul True Person, so callously abandoning all dignity. "Sigh—apparently, Da Zhou is truly in hell. When things were peaceful, Xuanqing Temple always enjoyed tributes and taxes from the subordinate factions."

"Now, when disaster strikes, Han Ya is the first to flee with his disciples."

Qin Ming: "."

Hua Tianxiong sighed too. "Li Huo Palace and the Wanda Merchant Alliance, joined by major factions within Da Zhou and those from Da Jin, have formed the 'Defend the Dao Alliance' to support Da Zhou and resist the demonic sects."

"But before they could even mobilize, Xuanqing Temple had already vanished."

"Without a Nascent Soul sect leading the resistance, the lower factions of Da Zhou's cultivation world lost all will to fight. The fragile unity collapsed instantly. Sigh!"

After hearing Hua Tianxiong's report, Qin Ming sneered inwardly: That old Han Ya really is ruthless. "Good work. Keep gathering intel and report again." He instructed Hua Tianxiong.

Qin Ming then used the tunnel dug by the Shi Tian Rat to glance at the secret realm's entrance under Shendao Mountain's control.

He found the Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree's growth still painfully slow, far from blooming.

This eased his mind.

At least Da Jin's cultivation world wouldn't be dragged into this war so soon.

When that Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree blooms, it will be the moment the three kingdoms erupt into an unprecedented war.

At that time, the Blood Refining Demon Gate disciples who descended from the Xuehuan Realm will all gather together.

"Hmm, by then, I'll have gathered nearly all the materials needed to refine the Nascent Soul Pill. I'll slip away and return to the Southern Wastes to prepare for my Nascent Soul cultivation."

"Let the chaos here have nothing to do with me."

Qin Ming had always kept his distance from the feuds of the cultivation world.

Even the greatest temptations within ancient secret realms could not shake his Dao heart.

(End of Chapter)