Volume 1, Chapter 177 – The Strange Treasure

Taking Tian Bai back to the Vast Land of Shenzhou was definitely out of the question.

Even setting aside that Shi Lan would definitely have to return to the Demon-Suppressing Army and that bringing a demon beast back with her was obviously inappropriate, if Tian Bai learned that Shi Lan was human, his attitude toward her might not stay the way it was now.

But simply leaving him alone felt somewhat improper to Shi Lan as well. After all, Tian Bai had been running around diligently for her these days, saving her quite a lot of trouble. In those early days when she had first arrived in the Boundless Demon Domain, Tian Bai had also helped her quite a bit.

Even if it had been for all sorts of reasons and hardly from his own willingness.

After pondering for a moment, Shi Lan set the matter aside for now. She could deal with it when it was time to leave.

The blood and flesh essence was an enormous boost to the Jade Tempering Art and did wonders for strengthening her body, but when it came to advancing her cultivation, it was a little less than satisfying. Nearly a hundred Earth Fiend Realm demon beasts had only allowed her to break through a few more acupoints; the efficiency was far too low.

In truth, for an ordinary martial artist, breaking through even a single acupoint in a year already counted as respectable talent.

Shi Lan knew that the speed at which she was strengthening herself was already far from slow; it was no exaggeration to call it changing with each passing day. Yet she was still not satisfied.

After joining the Demon-Suppressing Army, whenever she looked around, all she saw were peak experts. These peak experts who could casually shatter heaven and earth magnified that sliver of unease hidden in Shi Lan’s heart.

That thread of unease had been lurking in Shi Lan’s heart ever since she first arrived in the Lingyang Realm, born from the emptiness of having no foundation or backing to rely on.

In just over a year, Shi Lan had changed too much. From the muddle-headed daze at the very beginning to the constant tautness of the present, where she did not dare relax in the slightest, her mindset had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.

Just speaking from the perspective of increasing her strength, in the past she had been driven forward by the ever-changing situation around her and the System’s tasks pricking at her back like thorns.

But now, it was she herself who had begun to crave the growth of her strength. That slight difference carried a completely different meaning.

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She did not know when it had started, but her reverence for life had faded too much. Her hands were already stained with blood, the blood platforms piled high, yet she did not feel there was anything unusual about it. Through battle after battle, her feelings toward killing had grown ever more numb.

Habit was a terrifying thing.

Shi Lan calmed her emotions and took out the Demon-Suppressing Token hidden beneath the beast hide at her wrist.

The Demon-Suppressing Token could not be stored inside the Qiankun Bracelet, so when she first went into battle, she had stuffed it into the belt of her White Crane Skirt. Fortunately, it had not been lost in the spatial turbulence.

After staring at the token in her hand for a while, Shi Lan stilled her mind and began to sense it.

One million seventy-three thousand two hundred and sixty points.

That was Shi Lan’s current battle merit.

Back in Twin Moon City, according to what Huangfu Yun had said, battle merit could be exchanged in the Imperial Court for anything you wanted. For most of the Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers who staked their lives to fight the demon race, that battle merit was the number one driving force.

Yet in all the time since she had joined the Demon-Suppressing Army, Shi Lan had never heard anyone mention battle merit, much less how to convert it into tangible rewards.

She had no idea when this battle merit would actually come into play.

After rubbing the Demon-Suppressing Token twice between her fingers, Shi Lan tucked it back into her sleeve, took out a Spirit-Transforming Pill, and began cultivating as she quietly waited for Cang Yue to visit again.

…

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Time flew like a shuttle, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.

Since that time he had delivered nearly a hundred demon beasts, more than twenty days had gone by before Cang Yue finally came again, bringing with him roughly another hundred and twenty-odd Earth Fiend Realm demon beasts.

After settling those demon beasts in the valley, Cang Yue did not leave. He stood not far from Shi Lan, hands hanging respectfully at his sides.

“Is there something else?”

Hearing Shi Lan’s question, a troubled look crossed Cang Yue’s face. He cupped his fists and replied, “Venerable one, this little king truly cannot gather five hundred Earth Fiend Realm and above demon beasts within two months. May I offer other compensation instead?”

In these past twenty-odd days, Cang Yue had run over hundreds of thousands of li, only then roughly scraping together these demon beasts.

Because he had accidentally crossed the boundary, Cang Yue had even stretched his limbs a bit with another demon king, and it had taken no small amount of argument and effort before he managed to smooth things over.

Even so, the number of demon beasts he had caught still fell far short of Shi Lan’s demand.

Shi Lan’s brows moved slightly. She nodded, signaling for Cang Yue to bring out his compensation directly.

Cang Yue raised a hand and stroked the air. Ripples spread through the void, and from the spatial fluctuations he took out more than ten simple wooden boxes in succession, placing them in front of Shi Lan.

“This is a Purple Clouds Lotus.”

Cang Yue opened one of the wooden boxes, revealing a purple lotus. At the heart of the blossom, clear nectar was gathered, suffused with a thick, verdant spiritual aura. Its fragrance in the air made one’s mouth water.

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“This is a Blood Rain Flower…”

“This is the dragon pearl condensed from the cultivation of a Golden Dragon at peak Heavenly Astral Realm.”

“This is…”

One wooden box after another was opened. Radiant treasure light poured out in all directions, auspicious clouds roiled, and the auras of more than ten precious treasures clashed and mingled in the valley, making the spiritual qi boil and surge without end.

The more than one hundred heavily wounded Earth Fiend Realm demon beasts all around sensed the various treasure auras. They squeezed out the last of their strength to let out hoarse roars, struggling with all their might.

Tian Bai was huddled at the mouth of the valley, staring longingly at one of the wooden boxes. In that box lay a transparent sphere roughly half a foot across, with energy like golden mist churning at its very core.

It was precisely the dragon pearl of that peak Heavenly Astral Realm Golden Dragon Cang Yue had mentioned earlier, a priceless treasure.

Shi Lan’s mood at this moment was not far off from the violently churning spiritual qi in the air; if anything, it surpassed it.

Faced with so many incomparably precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures laid out before you to take as you pleased, there were few martial artists who could remain calm.

The value of these items far exceeded that of those Earth Fiend Realm demon beasts.

Although she was inwardly quite excited, Shi Lan’s expression remained very calm, not revealing the slightest trace of it.

Seeing that Shi Lan’s face did not so much as ripple, Cang Yue let out a silent sigh. “Fortunately, I came prepared.”

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He then reached out and took out another box.

This box was much more ornate than the previous dozen or so wooden boxes, carved all over with hollowed-out patterns.

“This is a treasure that this little king obtained from the Su branch of the fox clan. I hope it will please you, Venerable one.”

Seeing the solemn look on Cang Yue’s face, Shi Lan’s heart gave a little stir. Yet another extraordinary treasure.

Once Cang Yue finished speaking, he opened the wooden box.

The instant the box was opened, several bands of multicolored light shot out, dazzling to the extreme.

Shi Lan focused her gaze, and for an instant, her eyes froze.

A neatly folded light-purple silk skirt lay in the center of the box. A pure, moonlike radiance curled around the skirt.

“This Yueji Skirt was woven from the silk spat by Cloud-Swallowing Silkworms of at least the Heavenly Astral Realm, and then refined through the Su clan’s secret arts…”

Cang Yue spoke at length, and when he saw that Shi Lan’s expression had finally changed, he could not help but breathe a little easier. It seemed this skirt was indeed the right gift.

No female could resist the allure of the Yueji Skirt, not even a Half-God Race Heaven Demon.