Chapter 311

Xu Hongde ordered his clansmen to clean and prepare a wooden house.

He was just about to take Shen Yi there.

A Qing hurriedly blocked her father, glanced around to confirm no one was nearby, then switched to a pleading expression: "Since you've already agreed to let Brother Shen stay here to recover, why not set up a Four Symbols Subdue Demon Array for him?"

"…"

Xu Hongde fell silent for a long while.

As clan chief, he considered that the Xu family had no grievance against the Great Qian, and further, moved by his daughter's and sister's pleas, he had agreed to let Shen Yi temporarily take refuge here.

He never truly believed the young man's promised reward.

But if he wasn't even going to receive payment, why start by making him pay out?

The Four Symbols Subdue Demon Array consumed immense resources.

The Xu family's current situation meant every expedition to seek celestial treasures was perilous beyond measure; their reserves were dwindling with every use.

"Father."

A Qing clung to her father's arm, gently shaking it; before she could finish speaking, she burst into violent coughing, as if vomiting her internal organs.

Xu Hongde's face tightened: "You first—"

"Go heal your wounds." Shen Yi glanced sideways.

"Oh." A Qing, pale-faced, rubbed her stomach, obediently released her father, and turned to follow her aunt away.

"…"

Seeing this, Xu Hongde felt an odd unease, a strange heaviness in his chest.

He turned his gaze back to Shen Yi's arm—beneath the blue sleeve, black scales glowed dark and menacing.

"Lord Shen, what has happened?"

Shen Yi made no effort to conceal it, directly drawing the chilling long spear from his storage treasure: "It wants to possess my body."

At the sight of the spear, Xu Hongde's pupils contracted; he stood frozen, hesitant: "Could this be… the Youwei Spear?"

He kept his expression calm, but inwardly he was grinding his teeth in despair.

Those two girls hadn't just brought in a stranger—they'd brought half a demon emperor into the clan!

Looking at Shen Yi's current state, it was clear he was losing the struggle against the Youwei Spear.

If he truly stood by and watched it run rampant, who knew how much chaos it would unleash upon the Xu family?

"Lord Shen is truly bold… and meticulous. You may stay here for now."

Xu Hongde gave a slight bow, shaking his head: "I must consult with several elder clan members. If we decide to deploy the great array, I'll come fetch you."

He had just turned and walked away.

Behind the nearby house, two heads—one tall, one short—peeked out.

At A Qing's urging, Xu Wanyun tiptoed closer and slipped a book into Shen Yi's hands: "This is what we just stole from his study. Hide it quickly—don't let anyone else see it."

"…"

Shen Yi opened the book and saw four characters: "Communicate with Demons, Refine Treasures."

As the name suggested, it was a method to deal with the Youwei Spear.

Though the Xu family's strength was far from supreme, their collection of esoteric arts was astonishingly vast.

"Thank you. Go heal yourself."

Watching the two girls run off, Shen Yi walked slowly into the wooden house.

The furnishings were simple: only a bed and a table, but it was truly clean—no odd odors, only a faint fragrance of precious wood.

Shen Yi shut the door casually and returned the Youwei Spear to his storage treasure.

To subdue this artifact, his current cultivation level was still too low.

Fortunately, his journey through the Thousand Demon Caves yielded rich rewards.

Inside his storage pouch lay the corpses of three demon emperors and two demon kings—these could be used to refine demonic blood and elevate the Nine Demons Transform into Demon Art's realm.

And two supreme-grade spirit roots.

Shen Yi drew the Thunder Jade and the fruit that seemed forged from flowing water.

Both rolled restlessly in his palms.

Earlier, the Golden Body had exerted tremendous effort to force these already gravely wounded roots into slumber.

If these spirit roots recovered to full potency, their power might rival that of a Soul Transformation cultivator; compounded by centuries of torment by the Youwei Spear, once freed, they might unleash untold slaughter before their resentment and malevolence could be quelled.

Spirit herbs that had developed consciousness, needing no cultivation to reach such a level, were truly astonishing.

Combined with the Xu family's spirit root, the five organs of the Dao Infant would be complete.

Shen Yi glanced toward the door—he had come this far, he must try.

But to strengthen his voice, he needed to raise his cultivation realm further.

Though weakened, the Xu family had once trapped and slain a Soul Transformation mid-stage cultivator; moreover, after suffering the poison of the Xuan Guang Cave, they'd learned their lesson and would be even more cautious.

After hiding, they would surely spare no effort gathering materials to construct defensive arrays.

At least within this secluded paradise, few cultivators would dare confront them directly.

He must make this group believe that the Great Qian was safer than their arrays… a daunting task, nearly impossible.

He could only take it one step at a time.

Shen Yi opened his interface and examined the several notifications he'd previously ignored.

【Slain Hunyuan Realm Jiao Mu Camel Demon, total lifespan 18,200 years, remaining lifespan 4,300 years, absorption complete】

【Slain Hunyuan Realm Fei Huo Leopard Demon, total lifespan 17,900 years, remaining lifespan 3,800 years, absorption complete】

【Slain Soul Transformation mid-stage Qing Ling Ghost-Faced Eagle, total lifespan 84,000 years, remaining lifespan 35,000 years, absorption complete】

【Remaining demonic lifespan: 68,700 years】

With the help of this group of demons, Shen Yi felt a bit more confidence in his heart.

He finally had the qualification to step into that realm only true heavenly geniuses could reach.

Shen Yi slowed his breathing.

He once again fully activated the Melting Sun Treasure Furnace to resist the corrosive power left by the Dark Tail Spear within his body, avoiding any influence on the deduction.

The two supreme-grade spiritual roots, perhaps because they had been connected to the spear shaft for a long time,

had developed some intricate threads of spiritual connection, like brothers born of the same mother.

"Refining both together might be more beneficial."

Although he had never refined a supreme-grade spiritual root before, the previous Yearwood was also a being with consciousness.

Shen Yi already had some experience.

He first called out to Lady Qinghua to guard outside the door, then channeled the demons' lifespans into the Heaven-Devouring Dan Shi method.

【First Year: You simultaneously extract the Lady Longyu Dao Fruit and Jin Lei Bai Yu, two supreme-grade spiritual roots that have awakened consciousness and are now in deep sleep. The Heaven-Devouring Dao Infant wraps its entire demonic power around them.】

Almost at the same time, feathers appeared on the Thunder Jade, a sharp eagle beak formed, and a fish tail flicked out from the fruit.

Clearly, the moment they sensed the demonic power corroding them, they both awoke.

Previously in the Thousand Demon Cave, what suppressed them was mainly the Dark Tail Spear and the Golden Body Dharma Image.

Now, the Golden Body was nearly scattered.

Only Shen Yi himself remained.

However, he was not in a hurry; the claw covered in black scales gently grasped them.

As if smelling a familiar scent, the unformed Thunder Eagle and Lady Longyu both trembled slightly all over and instinctively curled up.

For ordinary spiritual roots, the key lies in the exchange of spiritual energy, making them familiar with each other.

But for these beings with intelligence, besides spiritual energy, making their consciousness submit to oneself is also quite important.

(End of this chapter)