Volume 1, Chapter 179 – Cang Yue

Shi Lan’s current physical strength was such that, without even mentioning lifting mountains and tossing peaks as if it were nothing, leveling an ordinary small hill would cost her hardly any effort.

After a brief test, Shi Lan stripped off the beast hide in a few swift motions and changed into the Yueji Skirt.

The toughness of the Yueji Skirt was indeed extraordinary, and the thin inner armor that lined it lay against her body without causing the slightest discomfort. It felt as if a layer of ice-silk had been laid over her skin.

The skirt’s outer surface seemed coated with a thin membrane. No poison could invade, water and fire could not penetrate, and dust could not cling to it.

In every respect the Yueji Skirt was excellent, yet the style of it made Shi Lan feel a little out of place.

Compared to the simple lines of the White Crane Skirt, the Yueji Skirt was far too ornate. Its hem trailed along the ground, countless rare birds and exotic beasts embroidered as decoration, immortal herbs and auspicious clouds worked into the borders. It was frankly a bit excessive.

Once she had put the skirt on, Shi Lan began to explore its abilities, tentatively channeling a strand of true qi into it.

The cave-dwelling was shrouded in a hazy moonlight. The patterns on the hem of the skirt flowed with radiance as if they were about to come to life.

The true qi within Shi Lan’s body surged and swelled, skyrocketing by several tenths in an instant.

“This…”

Her current true qi already surpassed that of a late Earth Fiend Realm martial artist and was in no way inferior to one at perfected Earth Fiend Realm.

On top of that, to swell by several tenths more was a terrifying increase.

However, this Yueji Skirt had originally been made for transformed demon kings. The cultivation she had just gained might not amount to much for a Myriad Phenomena Realm demon king.

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With that thought, Shi Lan gradually calmed down and began to tally her other gains.

Half an hour later, all of the more than ten wooden boxes had been opened, and the spiritual qi in the cave rose and fell like the tides.

What a grand gesture…

After finishing her count of the treasures, Shi Lan held the dragon pearl in her hand and swept a gaze over the many spiritual materials on the ground.

Of all these spiritual materials, the lowest grade was equivalent to a fourth-grade treasure medicine. Their value was beyond estimation.

Right now Shi Lan was sorely lacking in treasure medicines that could increase her true qi, and this batch of spiritual materials was a timely downpour. If she relied only on the spiritual qi drawn out by Spirit-Transforming Pills, her cultivation would still advance too slowly.

After examining them for a while, Shi Lan put the treasures away and strode out of the cave.

Tian Bai was squatting in the valley, staring dryly at the mountain-like pile of demon beast corpses, satisfying himself with the sight alone.

When he saw Shi Lan appear wearing the Yueji Skirt, Tian Bai reluctantly tore his gaze away from those corpses and lowered his head.

Most demon beasts cared greatly about their food. Demon kings were even more so. Showing interest in what was on their plate was very likely to earn their displeasure.

Bang!

The corpse of a walking beast clad in black armor was thrown down in front of Tian Bai.

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Tian Bai froze, then raised his head to look at Shi Lan standing on the surface of the water, and a faint sense of being moved rose in his heart.

Sharing one’s prey with other demon beasts, especially with those weaker than oneself, was a sign of recognition. Ordinary subordinates would never enjoy such treatment.

For Shi Lan to spare him a portion from this feast meant she already regarded him as one of her trusted followers.

This sort of favor made Tian Bai both overjoyed and a little overwhelmed.

In truth, Shi Lan had not thought that much about it. She had simply found Tian Bai’s look just now rather pitiful and casually tossed a demon beast over. It was nothing more than a simple act of feeding.

Sometimes, differences in mindset and culture could send matters down two completely different paths.

Tian Bai picked up the demon beast’s flesh and blood in front of him and trotted out of the valley. He did not want to disturb Shi Lan while she ate.

Many demon kings disliked being watched while they fed, especially when devouring large quantities of flesh and blood, because that was often when they revealed their true forms.

Tian Bai did not know what Shi Lan’s true form was, nor did he dare ask, but at times like this it was best to stay far away.

Standing amid the many demon beast corpses, Shi Lan slowly closed her eyes and opened the Black Domain.

After the Jade Tempering Art had stepped into the eighth stage, its speed in refining blood and flesh essence had reached a truly terrifying level, faintly keeping pace with the Black Domain’s speed in extracting that essence.

The surging blood qi, once extracted, was immediately digested by Shi Lan’s body. As the blood qi was devoured, her physical strength also began to increase bit by bit.

Day after day, Shi Lan stood upon the water without moving for even a moment. Her skin shone with a crystalline luster, faintly outshining the moonlight on the Yueji Skirt, like the jade statue of a goddess.

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As the Jade Tempering Art grew ever more profound, Shi Lan drew ever closer to a complete Glazed Jade Body.

This time, Shi Lan did not split her focus to run the Yuqing Creation Art to increase her true qi. Instead, she poured all of the blood and flesh essence into her body to push the Jade Tempering Art forward.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed, and the blood and flesh essence of the more than one hundred demon beasts had almost been completely devoured.

Shi Lan’s body had nearly attained the perfect hue of jade.

Once the blood and flesh essence was exhausted, her skin slowly returned to its normal color. She opened her eyes and let out a long, turbid breath. This was the residue mixed into the essence, impurities that her body did not need.

Splash!

The formerly calm pool was stirred by the resulting wave of air, sending water surging several zhang high. For a moment, a light rain fell in the valley.

Shi Lan’s eyes were like purple jade, her aura not leaking in the slightest. She seemed no different from an ordinary mortal.

Although these more than one hundred demon beasts had not forcibly pushed the Jade Tempering Art into the ninth stage, she was already very close to that realm, just one step away.

What concerned Shi Lan somewhat was that as she devoured more and more demon beast blood and flesh, she vaguely felt that a certain latent change was taking place in both the Black Domain and her body.

The change was so subtle as to be nearly imperceptible. Every time she tried to carefully sense it, she found nowhere to begin.

With a sweep of her sleeve, Shi Lan cleaned the valley, then entered it again and took out a purple lotus from the Qiankun Bracelet.

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The Purple Clouds Lotus was ranked fourth grade and had entered the ranks of treasure medicines. Only Heavenly Astral Realm experts could handle something like this.

Before Shi Lan could make a move on the Purple Clouds Lotus, a vast wave of demonic qi swept over from the distance. Within it was a very familiar aura, belonging to Cang Yue.

Shi Lan put the Purple Clouds Lotus away and left the cave. This should be the last batch of demon beasts Cang Yue had mentioned.

When she stepped out of the cave and saw several figures already standing in the valley, Shi Lan frowned slightly. In addition to Cang Yue, there were two unfamiliar men, clearly also transformed great demons.

The two men appeared to be about the same age, both around thirty. One was extremely burly, while the other was somewhat thin and small.

“This little king greets you, Venerable one.”

Seeing Shi Lan emerge, Cang Yue was the first to step forward and bow.

“Venerable one is truly radiant as sun and moon. On other demon kings, the Yueji Skirt sets off their bearing. On you, it is the Yueji Skirt that is graced by your presence.”

This string of flattery left the two demons behind Cang Yue momentarily stunned, and Shi Lan also found it a bit strange.

Once she reacted, Shi Lan did not speak. She merely lifted her chin slightly and gestured toward the two behind Cang Yue.

Cang Yue hurriedly spoke. “These two are demon kings from nearby. When they heard that you had arrived, Venerable one, they wished to see your peerless presence for themselves…”