novelraw Chapter 740 740: Be King of the Mountain (Two) _1
Chapter 740 740: Be King of the Mountain (Two) _1
A crimson-purple Demonic Qi loomed.
Fairy Pei Yu casually grabbed the corpse of a Class IV Demon. Her cherry-red lips instantly split into a gaping maw, and she stuffed the carcass, along with the Imprisoned demonic soul within, entirely into her mouth.
The Evil-eating Centipede beneath her continuously devoured the vile remnants of the fallen Demons.
SNAP!
CRUNCH!
GULP!
The sounds of tearing, chewing, and swallowing constantly reached the ears of the Three-bodied Snake Demon and the other Demons.
They knelt on the ground, covered in wounds, not daring to make a sound. The defiant troublemakers among the Demons in the Chaotic Stone Stockade had mostly been killed off. Only those who had astutely noticed the changing tide and surrendered in time had escaped Shen Mo's (Fairy Pei Yu's) slaughter!
Devouring the Demon corpses and souls one by one was too slow. Becoming impatient, Shen Mo immediately issued an order to hasten the process.
At his command, Fairy Pei Yu nodded and began to circulate the Demonic Qi.
In the blink of an eye, the Demon corpses enveloped in the dark red Demonic Qi were instantly drained of all their Essence and Qi, becoming desiccated, withered husks. A gust of wind then blew them into puffs of dust that scattered to the winds.
The purple hue within the Demonic Qi surrounding Fairy Pei Yu intensified!
Only when all the demonic blood food had been consumed did Shen Mo's consciousness descend once more, and her eyes regained their clear and ethereal look.
Not bad! Another step closer to Class V.
Devouring a few hundred more Class III and Class IV Demons should be enough for a smooth advancement! Shen Mo (as Fairy Pei Yu) murmured, feeling the ever-expanding and powerful demonic primality within her.
A Demon Soul General, retaining the characteristics of a Heavenly Demon, found advancing its Realm far less troublesome than cultivators. As long as there was sufficient blood food, it could continuously grow stronger. Even for advancement to Class V, when the time was right, it could comprehend the Great Path's inheritance from its demonic primality!
Many creatures from the Outer Zone were similar; unique Dao Marks were embedded deep within their bodies, flesh, and souls. They had no need to arduously search for their own Great Path.
Although the Heavenly Demon Path was not a supreme path, it had enabled the Celestial Demon Clan to thrive and expand to this day. It possessed its own marvels and was certainly not a mere Small Path. Once a Demon Soul General advanced to Class V, even if it couldn't defeat someone like Shen Mo, whose cultivation foundation was far superior, it would still be considerably powerful!
However, one point was rather unique...
Mutant Heavenly Demons and Demon Soul Generals possessed the characteristic of strengthening themselves by devouring blood food, but this characteristic's effectiveness varied greatly depending on their Realm.
When their cultivation was relatively low, they could step into a higher Realm by merely consuming some creature's blood food.
However, as their Realm increased, the amount of blood food required for advancement would also multiply. Moreover, preying on creatures and assimilating their essence took a certain amount of time, thus slowing their progress.
For instance, the Near Sea Demon Cave had previously exhausted its entire clan's resources attempting to cultivate Fairy Pei Yu to Class V. However, limited by the quantity and quality of blood food, nearly twenty years of effort had only managed to elevate her to the peak of Class IV; she remained unable to break through to Class V!
Once they reached Class V, the advantage this characteristic provided a Heavenly Demon, when compared to a cultivator at the Divine Bridge Realm, became less apparent.
An Immortal Master at the Divine Bridge Realm could refine endless Mana with a single breath.
However, a Class V Big Heavenly Demon seeking to bolster its strength through continued devouring of blood food would face a significant dilemma.
Devouring creatures below Class V offered a negligible increase in strength due to the inferior quality of their primal Essence and Qi. The sheer number of such creatures needed would be terrifying. The process of hunting and digestion alone would consume vast amounts of time and energy, making the rate of strength improvement even slower than their regular cultivation!
If they were to prey on powerhouses of the same Class, the quality of primal Essence and Qi would indeed be high. However, every Class V (Divine Bridge Realm) powerhouse was an elite among humans or a king among demons. It was hard to say whether they would devour their target or be 'Slayed and Eliminated as a Devil' by them!
Take the Pig Demon from the Hou Corpse Cave, for example. Despite continuous consumption of blood food for years, it remained stagnant at the early stage of Class V.
Unless its strength was exceptionally superior, allowing it to devour the Tiger Demon King Shan Hao and the intellectual Fox Demon Pei Wanchen, and then consume all the Demons under the Hou Corpse Cave's command, perhaps it could advance to the late stage of Class V in one go. However, if it didn't cultivate to the late stage of Class V, how could it possibly possess the formidable power to defeat and devour such powerful experts?
This also applied to Demon Soul Generals. It was manageable before Class V, but progressing beyond that was quite challenging!
Only if Shen Mo himself consistently possessed strength and combat power vastly superior to the Demon Soul Generals in his banner could he effortlessly hunt Demons of the same Class for them, thereby continually elevating their Cultivation Realms.
...
Listening to Shen Mo's (Fairy Pei Yu's) murmurs, the Three-bodied Snake Demon and the other Demons from the Chaotic Stone Stockade grew terrified and trembled uncontrollably, fearing they would be captured and devoured.
Only after the Demonic Qi, tinged with a violet hue, subsided did the Three-bodied Snake Demon muster the courage to slither forward, its three female faces simultaneously displaying fawning, eager expressions.
"Great King, I know the locations of all the Demon strongholds, large and small, in this vicinity."
"Why not allow me to lead you, Great King, to conquer all these strongholds? While Your Majesty feasts on the meat, I can at least have some broth..."
Mutual conflict and devouring one another was a common occurrence among Demons.
The Three-bodied Snake Demon had managed to climb to the so-called position of 'Master of the Bliss Immortal Palace'; the number of Demons it had killed and devoured was countless.
Now that it had acknowledged a Heavenly Demon as its new King, to avoid becoming its sustenance and hoping to get some blood food for itself, it quickly set its sights on the Demons near the Chaotic Stone Stockade!
However, this perfectly aligned with Shen Mo's (as Fairy Pei Yu) intentions.
The stronger the Chaotic Stone Stockade's forces became, the less the Hou Corpse Cave Demons would dare to underestimate them. While the Hou Corpse Cave possessed the formidable God Slaying Array, which was certainly impossible to resist, when Shen Mo eventually led his major and minor Demons to submit to the Hou Corpse Cave, he would also attain a higher status!
Moreover, Fairy Pei Yu, his peak Class IV Demon Soul General, also required more blood food to advance her Realm.
"Return to the stockade and tend to your wounds. Once you've recovered, you will follow me to conquer the surrounding territories."
"Liu Sanmei, lead the way! We'll take down one or two strongholds to start," Shen Mo (as Fairy Pei Yu) commanded the Chaotic Stone Stockade Demons. These Demons had all sworn Daoist Oaths, and the souls of the leading Class IV Demons were even implanted with Prohibitions. Thus, Shen Mo (as Fairy Pei Yu) had no fear of them deserting and prepared to strike while the iron was hot to conquer several more Demon territories.
HISS~~~~
The Three-bodied Snake Demon flicked its black, forked tongue, its eyes glinting with a mix of excitement and ferocity. It then conjured a fetid gust of wind and flew eastward. "Follow me, Great King! At our current escape speed, we can reach the next stronghold in two or three days."
「In the period that followed,」 Shen Mo continued to subdue Demon factions scattered far and wide, simultaneously having Fairy Pei Yu devour blood food to rapidly increase her strength.
The fearsome reputation of Fairy Pei Yu, the great demon, also spread continuously throughout the region where the mid-slopes and foothills of South Slope Mountain connected with Five Dragon Mountain!