Chapter 313: First Seclusion

The old woman waved slightly, signaling the two women to leave.

Only after A Qing and Xu Wanyun had walked away in a daze did she withdraw her gaze and exchange a look with the other clan elders.

All seven old men saw the shock in each other's eyes.

Everything A Qing had said earlier had made their hearts pound fiercely; it was only due to their status as elders that they had not revealed it before the two of them.

When had the Great Qian Martial Temple become so overwhelmingly powerful?

They actually dared to offend both the Thousand Demon Cave and the Profound Light Cave at the same time.

The old woman fell silent for a moment, then said softly, "Hong De previously said he held the Ghost-Tail Spear. The reason he came to our Xu family was likely truly to temporarily avoid that Demon Emperor, not to plot anything."

She slowly turned her gaze aside: "This is an opportunity."

"Old Fifth, do you mean to rely on a tender youth to lead us out?" one clan elder lifted his teacup, took a sip, and continued, "If the Great Qian truly possessed such strength, why would he need to seek refuge in the Xu family?"

"What you say has merit, but it doesn't matter, because I never intended to go out."

The old woman continued, "What I mean is that the Xu family truly needs an ally outside. Look at A Qing and Wanyun; they are already the outstanding ones of the younger generation, yet their minds are so simple. If we all die of old age here, who will continue to care for these ignorant juniors?"

"If there were someone trustworthy outside, whether arranging for the juniors to travel and gain experience or gathering formation materials, it would be much more convenient."

"It is difficult to use anything to maintain a relationship with the Great Qian; it is simply too vast and fundamentally untrustworthy. Moreover, we do not need such a powerful ally at all. If we only maintain a relationship with one person, things will become much simpler."

After the old woman finished speaking, she let out a long sigh.

Compared to the Great Qian, she hoped to form an alliance with that young man alone... if he truly possessed the genius talent A Qing had described.

"The problem is, will he agree? It seems he is more familiar with Xu Qinger." One clan elder rubbed his brow.

"Xu Qinger's talent in formations makes her the future clan leader of our Xu family. When have you ever seen anyone use a clan leader for a political marriage?"

The old woman gave him an annoyed glance and clicked her tongue, saying, "Arrange for people to set up the formation."

Following that order, countless clan members surged from the village, vanished into the night, and headed toward a secluded spot outside the village.

The division of labor was clear, with each person attending to their own duties.

In just one night, as the sky began to lighten, Xu Hongde had already arrived before Shen Yi's door: "My Lord Shen, the Four Symbols Demon-Suppressing Great Array has been set up. Please follow me this way."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Shen Yi rose and stored the remains of the Bai Yu Yao Huang.

It had taken a full night.

Only then had he refined more than twenty drops of demon blood from the Demon Emperor's corpse.

But the good news was that the Nine Demons Demon-Transformation Great Art had made new progress.

Bai Lu had devoured the three hundred-plus drops of demon blood completely; including the previous ones, it had swallowed a total of four hundred and forty-five drops of demon blood.

This consumption was already somewhat terrifying.

Just one Immortal Demon of its kind required the flesh and blood of three Ultimate Realm Demon Kings to sustain it.

Under such feeding, the body Bai Lu had formed solely from demon power could crush all Demon Kings.

And it was only in its sixth metamorphosis.

Shen Yi felt that the reason the Nine Demons Demon-Transformation Great Art lacked the "Precious" modifier was likely because the technique itself was simply too crude.

For instance, this time it consumed over nine thousand years of his demon lifespan again... averaging thirty years per drop of demon blood absorbed, and that was only because the Immortal Demon had grown stronger, speeding up the swallowing process.

Shen Yi had not deduced any demon martial arts for a long time precisely because he was too poor; compared to proper cultivation methods, the cost-performance ratio was simply too low.

But setting aside the consumption, judging purely by the upper limit, it remained as terrifying as ever.

Xu Hongde led the way ahead.

Shen Yi followed slowly behind.

He saw that although this paradise did not occupy a vast area, it lacked nothing in terms of various precious plants and spirit fields, having fully achieved self-sufficiency.

The Xu family had prepared a stone cave specifically for him.

It looked dry and gloomy, very much like a place used to suppress some demon lord.

"Since it involves matters related to the Demon Emperor, it is not suitable to settle you within the village. Please bear with it, My Lord Shen."

Xu Hongde explained softly, then pointed toward the crowd: "If you need anything, simply instruct Wanyun."

Shen Yi turned his head to look.

He saw that among the crowd of curious Xu family members, both A Qing and Xu Wanyun stood there with somewhat strange expressions.

A Qing had lost her usual smile; she kept her head down, lost in thought.

She was facing her aunt with the back of her head, as if in a sulk.

Xu Wanyun was awkwardly rubbing her sleeve cuffs.

Things had been fine originally; the reason was that after leaving the elders' room last night, A Qing had clenched her fist with certainty, saying her aunt was determined to focus on cultivation, break through to the Transformation of Spirit Realm, and would never accept the grievance of a political marriage.

And she, not knowing which string in her brain had snapped, had added, "Actually, there isn't much grievance in it."

Immediately after, the little girl had ignored her for the entire night.

The problem was that Xu Wanyun truly did not feel there was anything grievous about it. Although books always described political marriages with negative terms, Shen Yi's performance along the way had truly made her quite hopeful.

Powerful and confident, taciturn yet not appearing dull.

Especially every time he acted, his majestic and imposing appearance made people subconsciously look up to him.

A cultivator like this matching with her; the one who should feel grievance was Shen Yi.

"Thank you, Elder Xu."

Shen Yi bowed slightly, asked nothing, and walked straight toward that gloomy cave.

Seeing this, Xu Hongde was also stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face: "You are welcome."

Although cultivators traveling outside could never be too cautious.

But since they were after all helping, if Shen Yi questioned anything again, although Xu Hongde would still explain to the other party, he would feel somewhat uncomfortable in his heart.

The other party's posture of such trust brought him considerable delight.

"Hiss."

As Shen Yi stepped into the cave, a burning sensation surged across his skin.

He rolled up his sleeve and saw the black scales hissing, with wisps of white mist rising from the cracks.

The booming voice of the Four Symbols also reached his ears, capable of stabilizing the soul and dispelling stray thoughts.

Staying in such a place required no active effort; slowly, the influence of the Dark-Tail Spear on himself would be removed.

Shen Yi sat cross-legged and summoned his Yin Spirit to guard the cave entrance.

Then he retrieved Bai Yu's corpse, refining it while flipping open the small booklet Xu Wanyun had given him earlier.

【Demon Refining Treasure: Not Yet Entered】

Merely dispelling the Demon Emperor's influence was not what Shen Yi wanted; such a precious divine spear, destined for him, should naturally be taken for his own use.

The booklet recorded not a cultivation method, but merely a technique, without even a rank.

Closing his eyes, Shen Yi spent just over twenty years of demon lifespan to master it completely.

He took out the Dark-Tail Spear, laid it flat on his knees, and then focused on absorbing the Demon Emperor's demonic blood.

Both tasks proceeded without hindering each other.

(End of this chapter)