Chapter 467: S-rank Task (Combined Chapter, Requesting Everything)

Li Zhangsheng took off his clothes, and the Basalt Essence Blood in the Jade Ceramic Jar flew out one after another, turning into a blue, crystalline Blood Ball.

The next moment, a thread of blood flew out and finally landed on his abdomen.

The moment it touched his skin, a Basalt pattern looking up at the sky appeared on Li Zhangsheng's stomach; compared to the past two days, the Basalt pattern was significantly clearer.

Li Zhangsheng hurriedly pinched a seal with both hands, circulated his Mental Power according to the method of the Xuanji Nine Transformations, and began to draw the Basalt Essence Blood into his body to temper his flesh.

The Basalt Essence Blood slowly permeated his skin, circulating along the meridians in his body to every part of his physique.

Li Zhangsheng's brows were tightly locked, but his body showed no signs of trembling.

Compared to the past two days, his current physical endurance and coordination were significantly stronger, having almost reached the physical strength of an Elite Spirit Beast, and it was still continuing to improve.

Li Zhangsheng was in pain yet happy; as the Basalt Essence Blood rapidly permeated his limbs and bones, he could clearly feel his physical strength rising rapidly.

According to Li Zhangsheng's estimation, once he absorbed all this Basalt Essence Blood, even without transforming into a Basalt, his physical strength would likely reach the level of a Leader Spirit Beast.

After all, Basalt is a Top-tier Divine Beast Essence Blood, and it is known for its defense, so it is normal to have such changes.

During the process of the Basalt Essence Blood tempering his body, time passed slowly, and more than an hour soon went by.

Li Zhangsheng's body gradually began to tremble, and blue veins bulged all over his body like earthworms, giving the feeling that he was about to burst; this was a sign that he was nearing his limit.

At this moment, the last trace of Basalt Essence Blood was fully absorbed into Li Zhangsheng's body.

Li Zhangsheng gritted his teeth and held on, enduring the pain of his flesh tearing, while the Clear Heart and Steady Spirit Bell in his Consciousness Sea began to vibrate, emitting a crisp and pleasant bell sound that dispelled the dizziness in his consciousness.

At the same time, the initially refined Moonlight Order flew out, hovering above Li Zhangsheng's head, and wisps of silver moonlight fell down.

A cool sensation surged into his limbs and bones; although the silver moonlight had no healing effect, it eased the burden on his meridians, preventing any further signs of them bursting.

After about a quarter of an hour, Li Zhangsheng pinched a seal with one hand while gathering the Basalt Essence Blood within his body, gradually guiding them into his mysterious apertures, and his muscles and bones began to glow with an intense water-blue light.

During this process, a faint Basalt phantom appeared, and as more Basalt Essence Blood was inhaled into the mysterious apertures, the Basalt phantom became increasingly clear.

At the same time, a heavy Pressure emerged, causing his Breath Concealment and Defense Restriction to show wisps of fluctuations, which became increasingly distorted.

After a long while, the Basalt phantom became clear to the limit, giving the feeling as if the Basalt had arrived in person; the only flaw was its lifeless eyes.

"Hoo, success!"

Li Zhangsheng slowly opened his eyes, and the Basalt phantom appeared deep within his pupils before quickly fading and disappearing.

Crackle, crackle~

As soon as he stood up from the bed, his whole body began to make sounds like popping beans; Li Zhangsheng felt his body filled with explosive power, and his physical fitness had reached a terrifying level.

At the same time, a strong urge to transform into a Basalt surged in his heart.

Li Zhangsheng took a deep breath and immediately dispelled this unrealistic thought.

Would he transform into a Basalt here?

No, he would not!

If he transformed into a Basalt here, this room would definitely explode and cause quite a stir, after all, the Basalt is a Top-tier Divine Beast.

In the entire Fairy World, it is unknown how many years it has been since any legend about the Basalt appeared.

Gurgle, gurgle~

Without hesitation, Li Zhangsheng took out a bottle of Life Water and drank it all in one breath, feeling a sense of refreshment all over his body.

Because his body was nearing its limit, Li Zhangsheng dismissed the idea of practicing the Demon Tamer Art and lay on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

Li Zhangsheng was awakened by the sound of gongs and drums in the military camp; it was time to receive daily tasks again.

Immediately, Li Zhangsheng finished washing up as quickly as possible and went to the parade ground to assemble.

At this time, most people had already gathered on the parade ground.

Without waiting long, several Cyclops carried over a huge Obsidian Screen.

As General Yu Yuan input his Mental Power, the originally black screen began to display a dense array of various tasks, at least several hundred in total.

Among these tasks, some were joint tasks requiring the cooperation of multiple people or even dozens of people; these joint tasks were mainly focused on terrain exploration and the suppression of demons.

Li Zhangsheng had too many secrets, so to avoid being restricted, he naturally chose single-person tasks.

Unlike the day before, two S-rank tasks appeared this time.

"Sweep the demons in the Devil Forest, reward 5,000 Merit!"

"Hunt one Intermediate Demon, ten Intermediate Demons, and one hundred low-level demons, reward 3,000 Merit!"

The Devil Forest is relatively deep within the Abyss Gate, and because of its large area, it is possible to encounter high-level demons or even top-tier demons, so this is a group task.

Although the first task has more Merit, the number of people sharing it would certainly be high.

Li Zhangsheng watched for a while longer and soon made a decision.

"I want to take the second S-rank task!"

During the Demon Tide yesterday, Li Zhangsheng had marked a Six-Armed Snake Demon with the Mental Seed Secret Technique; he specifically sensed it, and the Mental Seed still existed, especially since the target was only about twenty kilometers away from Li Cheng Fortress.

"This is a serious matter, please wait here for a moment, I need to ask the General for instructions!"

The officer in charge of registration changed his expression; he looked up at Li Zhangsheng and immediately went to ask General Yu Yuan for instructions.

If it were a Fifth-tier Beastmaster, he would definitely register it without a word, but Li Zhangsheng was too young, especially since he was only a Fourth-rank Demon Tamer.

Soon, General Yu Yuan arrived.

General Yu Yuan naturally knew Li Zhangsheng, and he had a very deep impression of him.

Yesterday, Li Zhangsheng killed seven high-level demons in total; even though four of them were killed in collaboration with others, it still demonstrated his strength.

General Yu Yuan asked himself, even he might not be able to achieve such a feat as Li Zhangsheng, and the key was that the other party was only 17 years old.

"If it is him, then naturally he can!"

Although the high-level demons within the coverage of the Abyss Will were clearly stronger, based on the strength Li Zhangsheng had shown, General Yu Yuan believed he could complete this task.

"Hunt one high-level demon, ten Intermediate Demons, and one hundred low-level demons, reward 3,000 Merit, with the demon's left ear as proof of the kill!"

After registering, the officer handed a gold token to Li Zhangsheng; this was the S-rank task certificate.

Gold, silver, iron, and wood—these four types of certificates corresponded to S-rank, first-level, second-level, and third-level tasks respectively.

"Changsheng, I heard you accepted an S-rank mission. You must be careful; if things become impossible, prioritize your own safety!"

At this moment, Instructor Qian Yuanfei heard the news and could not help but feel some worry. However, having already witnessed Li Zhangsheng's strength, he, like General Yu Yuan, believed that Li Zhangsheng truly possessed the power to slaughter high-level demons; otherwise, he would certainly have persuaded Li Zhangsheng to abandon the mission.

"Understood, Instructor, you must also be careful!"

Li Zhangsheng nodded solemnly. Like Li Zhangsheng, Instructor Qian Yuanfei had accepted his first S-rank mission, but he was teamed up with two other Fifth-tier Beastmasters, so the danger level was much lower.

Just after leaving the military camp, Li Zhangsheng's footsteps paused noticeably. After completely absorbing the Basalt Essence Blood, his perception had increased by a large margin.

Li Zhangsheng looked to the left. At the entrance of another military camp, a figure flashed by and disappeared. However, Li Zhangsheng had already seen his appearance, and his brows furrowed slightly.

It was that middle-aged man who had been spying on him yesterday!

Li Zhangsheng had naturally inquired about his identity. Even though not many people knew him, through his "money" offensive, he still obtained some information.

The middle-aged man was named Xiao Chi, a Clan Elder of the Famous Clan Xiao Clan from Huizhou. He was also the family representative for the Xiao Clan here and had been guarding this place for over two months.

Most importantly, the Xiao Clan was also the maternal clan of the Third Prince, Dou Yuanbin.

At this moment, Li Zhangsheng associated this with the information Dou Yuanhua had revealed last time: the Third Prince, Dou Yuanbin, intended to take Ning Bizhen as his consort to completely suppress other competitors and become the successor to the throne, commonly known as the Crown Prince.

Dou Yuanhua had no reason to lie to Li Zhangsheng; it did not serve his interests, so this news was nine times out of ten true, only that the Third Prince, Dou Yuanbin, had not made any moves these past few days.

This Xiao Chi was a Clan Elder of Dou Yuanbin's maternal clan and had likely received instructions from Dou Yuanbin. Judging from Xiao Chi's repeated attempts to spy on Li Zhangsheng, Li Zhangsheng did not hesitate to harbor the greatest malice in speculating about the other party; Xiao Chi and Dou Yuanbin were likely full of malice toward him.

The relationship between Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen was not hidden at all. Perhaps because of this, Dou Yuanbin would make such moves.

Additionally, Li Zhangsheng had performed too many great feats recently, especially breaking the record of the youngest Fourth-rank Demon Tamer held by the Butterfly King, Luo Qingning. Dou Yuanbin likely also had thoughts of probing Li Zhangsheng's secrets.

Of course, these were still Li Zhangsheng's guesses. Perhaps the person behind this Xiao Chi was not Dou Yuanbin, or there was another purpose, but the probability of that was still too low.

Xiao Chi had spied on him time and again; there must be an ulterior motive. In short, Li Zhangsheng directly labeled him an enemy.

Li Zhangsheng pretended not to notice Xiao Chi's actions and went on his way to leave Li Cheng Fortress. However, his perception was amplified to the limit. If Xiao Chi followed him far away from Li Cheng Fortress and entered the area covered by the Abyss Will, he would not mind taking action.

Li Zhangsheng possessed a fragment of the Xuan Kun Creation Stele and would not be affected within the range covered by the Abyss Will; on the contrary, it would be more advantageous. Xiao Chi was different; his Demon Pets could at most exert seventy or eighty percent of their strength, and he would likely not even have a chance to escape.

After leaving Li Cheng Fortress, Li Zhangsheng headed northwest; the Six-Armed Snake Demon was in that direction.

Along the way, Li Zhangsheng naturally slaughtered demons and did not let go of any demons he encountered.

At the same time, he did not relax his vigilance and kept an eye on the movements around him at all times.

After spending half an hour, Li Zhangsheng arrived at the edge of the area covered by the Abyss Will.

Li Zhangsheng could feel that the range of his Mental Power projection had shrunk significantly, probably only half of his usual range.

Li Zhangsheng stepped inside. His body felt heavy, and he faintly sensed an evil will suppressing him, which made his breathing heavier, his movements sluggish, and his strength weakened, giving the feeling of moving while standing in water.

After experiencing it for a while, Li Zhangsheng channeled a wisp of Mental Power into the Xuan Kun Creation Stele fragment.

In an instant, the Abyss Will within a hundred-meter radius was completely expelled.

In this way, Li Zhangsheng's strength was no longer restricted, but he would also be dealing with demons in their prime, whose strength was much stronger than those outside, and their density had also increased significantly.

He was less than ten kilometers away from the Six-Armed Snake Demon. The demons he had killed along the way were almost enough to satisfy the mission requirements, which also caused him to spend nearly an hour before finally finding the Six-Armed Snake Demon.

Unexpectedly, besides the Six-Armed Snake Demon, that one-armed Succubus was also here. They seemed to be discussing something.

Besides that, there was also a group of low-to-mid-level demons; these should be their subordinates.

This could be called an unexpected joy.

When Li Zhangsheng appeared in front of the Six-Armed Snake Demon and the one-armed Succubus, the two high-level demons were clearly startled. They shouted in Abyssal Language that Li Zhangsheng could not understand and subconsciously wanted to flee.

Unfortunately, they were met with a powerful offensive from the Demon Pets.

This wave of long-range attacks directly wiped out most of the low-to-mid-level demons, and the Six-Armed Snake Demon and the one-armed Succubus were also in a sorry state, with some injuries on their bodies.

Among them, the Six-Armed Snake Demon, as the primary target, was severely wounded, with a deep, bone-visible wound on its chest and abdomen, and gray blood flowing out in a gurgle.

The Six-Armed Snake Demon and the one-armed Succubus immediately fled in different directions. As they fled, six Leader-level Demon Pets locked onto them and split into two teams to pursue them.

As for the remaining low-to-mid-level demons, they were dealt with by the other Demon Pets.

Within a few breaths, Aixi knocked the Six-Armed Snake Demon to the ground from behind. Without giving the Six-Armed Snake Demon a chance, Aixi joined forces with Roundy and the Crowned Flame Bird to finish off the Six-Armed Snake Demon, then turned to rendezvous with Li Zhangsheng and chase after the one-armed Succubus.

On the other side, because the one-armed Succubus had cast an acceleration spell on herself, and her own speed was not slow, she was not caught up by Kailan, the Light Blessing bird, and Adai for a while.

The one-armed Succubus was already pale with fright, running for her life while shouting loudly, hoping for some demons to provide support.

Unfortunately, demons were selfish. Seeing a group of Demon Pets emitting powerful auras, those that had originally wanted to play the hero to save the beauty immediately cowered.

In less than a minute, more than a dozen thick vines suddenly drilled out from the ground, instantly binding the one-armed Succubus's legs.

Boom~

The one-armed Succubus did not have time to react and tripped, falling face-down onto the ground, her delicate face smashing hard against the solid ground.

The Light Blessing bird condensed a Light Flame Giant Sword several feet long and accurately struck the neck of the one-armed Succubus.

The Light Attribute naturally countered demons, and coupled with hitting a vital point, how could the one-armed Succubus still be alive? Her neck was cut off directly, rolling a few times, her eyes still filled with the fear of death.

Li Zhangsheng quickly cleaned up the battlefield, but before he could finish, he was enveloped by an aura as heavy as a prison.

Don't complain about why there is English in this world...

(End of chapter)