It was already morning.
Lin Xue, Hong Yanzhi, Du Niangzi, and six female demons from Xixia Mountain sat around the table.
The table was filled with dishes of every kind.
The meal was sumptuous, with a perfect balance of meat and vegetables, delicious in color, aroma, and taste—no less than the feasts cooked by top restaurant chefs Lin Xue had seen in her previous life.
These dishes were delivered by an old demon whom Zong-Lie trusted implicitly.
Ever since the female demons from each mountain were brought to Qian Si Yuan as “demon consorts for harvesting,” their three daily meals were all delivered by this old demon.
From the care put into preparing these meals, it was clear that the Yao Wang spared no expense for the sake of his life, especially for the demonesses he was about to harvest.
Lin Xue inhaled the fragrant aroma of the food, and her appetite soared.
The other demonesses also kept swallowing, their faces full of anticipation.
But none of them had touched their chopsticks yet.
Du Niangzi was holding a pair of chopsticks, tasting each dish one by one, checking for poison or tampering.
Although the old demon delivering the food was Zong-Lie’s man, after he brought the food, Du Niangzi would still personally test every dish.
Du Niangzi herself was a demon physician and an expert in poison, which was how she earned the name Du Niangzi.
If anything had been done to the food, there was no way it would escape her sharp eyes.
Actually, even if there were poison, Lin Xue wouldn’t be afraid.
The Wood Spirit Detoxification Technique could dispel any kind of poison.
But she still patiently waited for Du Niangzi to finish testing.
After tasting every dish, Du Niangzi nodded and indicated that it was safe to eat.
Lin Xue couldn’t wait to grab her chopsticks and said, “Everyone, let’s eat!”
With that, she began wolfing down food, gobbling it up as if a storm had swept through.
Aside from Hong Yanzhi, who had already witnessed Lin Xue’s way of eating, Du Niangzi and the other six demonesses were stunned.
How could such a beautiful, ethereal girl eat like a starving ghost reincarnated?
Du Niangzi was even more shocked and ashamed by comparison: Such a slender, delicate figure, yet she eats even more fiercely than I do! And even more than me!
Impressive, truly impressive!
Of the entire table filled with food, nearly a quarter was devoured by Lin Xue alone.
Fortunately, there was plenty of food, and since the other demonesses ate very little, it was barely enough for all.
After the meal, a diligent demoness tidied up the bowls and chopsticks. Everyone sat together, and Du Niangzi began instructing them in the Xiyang Art from the Double Cultivation Art.
Hei Pi Yao Wang’s requirement for them was to master this cultivation technique as soon as possible.
Once they were all proficient, Du Niangzi would lead them to see Zong Biao Yao Jiang.
Zong Biao Yao Jiang would then open the Secret Realm of the Valley of Ecstasy and bring in a group of robust, unmarried young human men chosen from local villages—men who had not yet lost their original yang essence. The demonesses would join with these men under the influence of the Extase Grand Formation.
Once the demonesses had absorbed enough yang energy and stored it in their bodies, they would wait for the Yao Wang to harvest them.
Lin Xue had absolutely no interest in this technique.
While her ears listened to Du Niangzi explain the key points of the Xiyang Art, her mind was on other matters.
She thought of Zhang Zongnian.
That poor soul who hadn’t had a single good day since meeting her.
Was he still alive?
If he was, would he return to Luoyun Cave to look for her?
Had Lang Buping followed her instructions and left those words for him?
She was lost in thought when suddenly a system notification popped up:
“A new technique, Yinyang Dual Cultivation Codex (Incomplete), has been fully recorded and can be studied with experience points.”
“This technique is severely incomplete. Use Crystal Stones (five pieces) to restore it to completeness.”
Lin Xue was stunned for a moment.
Five Crystal Stones?
This trashy dual cultivation technique actually needs five Crystal Stones—five thousand experience points—to fully restore?
I’d have to be crazy to waste five thousand experience points on a technique just for serving men!
Though she still had fifteen thousand experience points, a very ample amount,
She would never waste points on a technique she would never use.
After Du Niangzi finished explaining the key points, she required the demonesses to practice on their own.
Normally, she would reveal her true form, unleashing the oppressive aura of a great demon, and fiercely order the demonesses to practice diligently. At night, she would take their pulse to assess their mastery of the Xiyang Art.
The slowest one would be harshly punished.
But now that she had been taken as a slave by Lin Xue, how could she dare to act so arrogantly before the others?
All she could do was warn the demonesses, “The Yao Wang will send people to check on your training progress from time to time. If anyone is too slow in cultivation and the Yao Wang suspects you are deliberately delaying, you’ll be made an example of.”
This sentence was vaguely directed toward Lin Xue.
She had noticed the indifference and unconcern on Lin Xue’s face.
If Lin Xue relied on being her master and refused to practice the Xiyang Art, and was made an example by Hei Pi Yao Wang, then Du Niangzi would be in deep trouble.
Lin Xue snorted coldly and immediately added ten experience points to the Yinyang Dual Cultivation Codex (Incomplete).
The Xiyang Art was only a minor technique within the Yinyang Dual Cultivation Codex. Even with just ten experience points invested, she had already basically mastered the operation of the Xiyang Art.
She reached out her hand to Du Niangzi and said, “Actually, just hearing you explain it once was enough for me to learn it. Take a look—have I mastered it enough? Will the Yao Wang think I’m deliberately dragging my feet and have me beaten to death?”
Du Niangzi didn’t believe Lin Xue had mastered it just by listening once.
She replied, “Yes, Master.” Then, unconcerned, she placed her hand on Lin Xue’s wrist and sent a trace of demon energy into her body.
Lin Xue ran through the Xiyang Art once.
Du Niangzi’s eyes instantly widened, almost popping out of their sockets.
Lin Xue had completely mastered this technique, as if she had practiced for a long time already.
Even Du Niangzi herself had only reached this level with the Xiyang Art.
Among all the demonesses she had trained, the smartest needed two or three days to barely grasp it.
But Lin Xue, after hearing it just once, could already wield it so skillfully.
If she hadn’t witnessed it herself, Du Niangzi would never have believed such a thing was possible.
She felt as if her world had been shaken.
In the blink of an eye, three peaceful days passed.
During these three days, the other demonesses, pressured by Du Niangzi’s warning, trained diligently in the Double Cultivation Art.
Only Lin Xue had nothing to do, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, or wandering idly around the courtyard, enjoying a leisurely life.
During this period, Hei Pi Yao Wang did send people to inspect the progress of the eight demonesses, and was very pleased with their cultivation speed.
On the fourth day, Zong Biao Yao Jiang suddenly arrived.
His face was gloomy as he entered and asked Du Niangzi, “When will this batch of demon consorts be ready for use?”
Du Niangzi glanced at Lin Xue, then answered, “We still need six or seven days.”
Lin Xue had told her to stretch the training period to ten days; with three days passed, six or seven days naturally remained.
Zong Biao Yao Jiang shook his head and said, “No, that’s too long. It must be faster!”
“Last night, there was an incident. The Demon-Slaying Bureau intruded, and one of the cultivators seemed to have reached the Jin Dan Stage.”
“The Yao Wang personally went to confront the cultivator. Though he managed to drive the enemy off, his life force was greatly depleted.”
“Now, all the demon consorts in the Yao Wang’s harem have already been harvested, but the Yao Wang’s condition is not good and could worsen at any moment.”
“This group of demonesses must complete their training as soon as possible, go to my secret realm, absorb enough yang energy, and be ready for the Yao Wang to harvest in time.”
He stretched out his short, thick hand and said, “I can only give you one more day. Tomorrow morning, I will come to open the secret realm.”
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