’Did she look down on the Dragon Tiger Treasure Pill just because Immortal Descendants could fight a Cultivator of the Sixth-Transformation Dragon Tiger Treasure Pill on instinct alone?’
His expression turned cold. "As far as I know, a Nine-Turns Purple Sky Golden Core has never once appeared in all of Yongzhou. I truly don’t understand what you mean, Immortal."
"Is it that difficult?" Yu Sheng asked, her mouth agape in surprise.
Qian Yiru was clearly at the end of his rope, and he decided to teach these Immortal Descendants a lesson about the Golden Core Path. "The Sixth Transformation follows the will of heaven, but the Nine Transformations go against it. To attain the illusory Purple Sky Golden Core, one must create three calamities for oneself—emulating the disasters of wind, fire, and thunder—to temper one’s Mud Pill."
"How do you create them?" Yu Sheng asked, like a curious child.
"The most convenient way is if you’ve already learned a Half-Life Immortal Technique corresponding to the three calamities, provided it’s powerful enough. However, our Immortal Qi is pure, and we only cultivate the Immortal Techniques of a single family, so we must rely on external objects."
The words tumbled out of Qian Yiru. "In my case, I have the Wind-Riding Sword Formulas, which can serve as one calamity. For the other two, however, I must seek out supreme treasures of fire and thunder in the world."
"But not only are such treasures difficult to find, introducing an external object into one’s body is fraught with peril. It is incredibly difficult to control the intensity, and each calamity is a life-or-death struggle."
"If one truly manages to form a Nine-Turns Purple Sky Golden Core, they could challenge a Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator of the Third-Turned Spirit Firming True Pill even while only at the Early-stage Golden Core Realm..."
Qian Yiru trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
’If I had a Purple Sky Golden Core,’ he thought, ’with my current Cultivation, I would have sliced them all down with a single sword strike back in that pavilion. As if I’d let Yu Sheng stand there and pass judgment on me.’
"Oh, I see."
Yu Sheng nodded, though she only seemed to half-understand. Then she waved a dismissive hand. "Thanks. You can go now."
With that, she turned and left with Lin Shu, not even glancing back. All her previous interest in recruiting disciples had vanished.
"..."
Qian Yiru’s expression faltered.
Her abrupt change of topic had sidetracked him, and all the explanations and excuses he had prepared were now stuck in his throat.
’Could it be that this Yu Sheng from the Immortal Family actually has no intention of sharing the credit for the demon-slaying operation?’
’Then what in the world is she playing at?’
Normally, Qian Yiru would have insisted on getting to the bottom of it. But his current situation was unusual. It was not a good time for him to be seen by others, let alone to take action.
’Whatever. As long as that master and disciple don’t interfere with me for now, it’s fine.’
’Any grudges can be settled after this is all over.’
"Lin Shu! Lin Shu! Are you about to form your Golden Core?"
"With the two of us as Golden Core Powerhouses, does that mean we don’t have to start out as Mountain Patrol Little Demons?"
Yu Sheng had been bored lately, so she had been reading a lot of tales of gods and monsters.
According to the stories, the first step to becoming a demon was to patrol the mountains carrying a copper gong. The moment a hero approached, you were supposed to beat the gong to alert the Demon General.
She had Yan Jin buy three copper gongs from the market and had been secretly practicing for some time.
’Oh, that’s right. Miss Yun is here now too. I’ll have to buy another one.’
"Almost."
Lin Shu pondered for a few moments before shaking his head.
’Emulate the three calamities of heaven and earth, creating three minor tribulations for myself.’
’For the wind calamity, while I haven’t had an epiphany about the Yu Family’s Sword Formulas, the little chick has. Since our Essence Blood is fused, we practically share a single mind. I should be able to borrow its power.’
’For the thunder calamity, I could consider the Nether Cold Miasma Thunder. However, that technique is only at the First Grade Core Formation level right now. Even if I used the Karma Fire Gold Essence to elevate it into a Half-Life Immortal Technique, it clearly wouldn’t be sufficient.’
’But that’s not an issue, as long as I have enough Sin Coins.’
’The most difficult one, ironically, is the fire calamity.’
’Once things settle down in Anren Prefecture, I’ll have to search for a similar supreme treasure, or perhaps an Immortal Descendant who specializes in Fire Techniques.’
’The Demons must have a way to forcibly strip the innate life-force from an Immortal Descendant.’
’I’ll deal with that after I get back.’
Lin Shu sensed his remaining fourteen thousand Merit Coins but wasn’t in a hurry to create the wind calamity.
’A Seven-Turned Mud Pill doesn’t increase my combat power, anyway.’
Even though Qian Yiru was clearly showing signs of something being wrong, Lin Shu did not let down his guard.
If things went south, a blast of golden light from the Mountain God Mirror, fully charged with Spiritual Power, was what awaited the man.
’But if this Mountain Master Disciple really intended to betray the Immortal Sect...’
’Then Qian Yiru doesn’t have many Demon Monarchs to choose from.’
’After all, with his level of Cultivation and his exceptionally pure Immortal Flavor, the backlash he’d suffer as his Spiritual Power corrupted would far exceed that of an ordinary Cultivator.’
’Once he fell and became a Demon, his need for resources would be even greater.’
’He would desperately need the flesh and blood of a Golden Core Realm Wind-Riding Cyan Simurgh to stabilize his Cultivation.’
’The Immortal Descendants of the Yu Family are notoriously hard to kill.’
’Surveying all the surrounding Demon Mountains, even including Dragon Ridge, I can only think of one Demon Monarch who could provide such flesh and blood and still have enough left over for others.’
"It’s okay if you’re not there yet! I can teach you how to beat the gong!"
Yu Sheng wasn’t too disappointed. ’You have to take things one step at a time,’ she thought. ’Even the most powerful Great Demon King had to start out as a lowly Mountain Patrol Little Demon.’
"That won’t be necessary."
Lin Shu calmly returned to the courtyard. He entered his room and closed his eyes.
「In a small courtyard on the other side of Anren Prefecture.」
The Monkey, who had been waiting for a long time, was starting to doze off when he finally saw the Jade Hairpin rise and quickly trace a message onto the table.
"So many!"
A moment later, he stood up, scratching his head in agitation.
This Anren Prefecture was far too wealthy; they were sending Golden Core Powerhouses into the mountains like they were free. It was a completely different world from the Border Region.
He had to get this information to Demon Monarch Bi Hai quickly and get the group of demons settled first.
"Oh, right."
Just as he was about to leave, the Monkey put away the Jade Hairpin. He hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "My lord, according to a letter from the Border Region, Demon Monarchs Cloud Dragon and Hong Ling are in a rather awkward position right now... because of us little demons..."

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