Shu Da felt a bit restless.
Last night, in order to successfully endure the lightning tribulation and ensure he could defeat Hong Lao San head-on, while using Wan Shu Chao Yuan, he drew in a far greater amount of Earth Essence from the surrounding rats than was needed for Jindan, forcing it into his own body.
The excessive Heaven and Earth Essence entering his body at once temporarily forced his cultivation up to the mid-Jindan stage, allowing him to weather the tribulation.
At the same time, he crushed Hong Lao San in terms of cultivation and defeated him fair and square before all the lesser and greater demons, killing that old cat and securing his position as Master of Luoyun Cave—at least for now.
Among the Demonic Beast clan, the strong prey on the weak, and might is respected above all. Subordinates are even allowed to challenge their leaders.
Though the method of drugging Hong Lao San was not exactly honorable, he did give him the antidote afterward and then beat him face-to-face.
That counted as a legitimate challenge, and no one else had any grounds for complaint.
However, forcibly raising his cultivation by absorbing an excessive amount of Heaven and Earth Essence had severely overtaxed his meridians.
Now, he was experiencing signs of backlash, with sharp, knife-like pains stabbing through every meridian and aperture in his body.
Shu Da’s original plan was to have his younger brother, Shu Er, advance to Jindan alongside him.
The two would undergo tribulation together, and both ascend to Grand Demon status.
That way, after defeating Hong Lao San, Shu Er could manage the mountain in his stead, while Shu Da could focus on closed-door healing, curing the backlash and stabilizing his meridians.
But Shu Er had his leg broken by Hong Yanzhi, and was unable to ascend to Grand Demon with him.
Now, Shu Da could only use his demonic power to suppress the pain inside, all the while maintaining a facade of complete normalcy.
He had to prevent the other demons from sensing his weakness and getting any ideas.
Today, he rushed to find Yang Sanhu to inventory the Inner Treasury of Hong Lao San.
He was hoping to find good medicinal herbs to quickly heal Shu Er’s injured leg, help him ascend to Grand Demon, and have him guard the mountain in his place so that Shu Da could heal in peace and rid himself of the backlash.
After obtaining the Inventory List of the Inner Treasury, Shu Da headed to the Yaoshi, handing the list of all the medicinal herbs inside to Elder Huai.
Elder Huai’s eyelid twitched as he accepted the list from Shu Da.
He immediately recognized that every herb listed was extremely precious, all sourced from the Inner Treasury of Hong Lao San’s family.
“You may use any of these medicines on the list at your discretion. I have only one request: in the next few days, heal my brother’s leg as quickly as possible.”
Shu Da said coldly from the side.
Elder Huai carefully examined the list and replied, “I’ll do my best. But Second Lord’s bones are broken—bones are not easy to mend.”
“As the saying goes among humans, ‘It takes a hundred days for tendons and bones to heal.’ Even though we Demonic Beasts are sturdier than those frail humans, it usually takes at least a month for a broken bone to fully recover.”
“But with these Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, the recovery time will definitely be much shorter. Still, it will take at least ten days for a complete recovery.”
“I can only guarantee that I’ll have Second Lord’s leg healed within ten days.”
Shu Da calculated silently. Ten days—he could manage that.
He nodded. “Fine, ten days it is. I’ve already told the Ku Fang. If you need any medicine, just go and get it.”
Elder Huai cupped his hands and said, “Huai Laogen obeys.”
Shu Da glanced at Lin Xue on the sickbed and asked, “What’s going on with this snake spirit?”
Elder Huai hurriedly explained, “She was injured by a spirit beast sent by the Beast Taming Sect a few days ago and was brought here for treatment.”
“This snake spirit is quite something—she’s skilled at detoxifying poisons. The poison on the former Red Cave Master was cured by her. Master of the Cave, this snake spirit could be of great use to our mountain. How would you like to handle her?”
Shu Da thought for a moment and said, “Since she’s useful to us, keep treating her. When she recovers, have her stay here in the Yaoshi as your assistant.”
Elder Huai was overjoyed and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Master of the Cave!”
Shu Da turned and left the Yaoshi.
At that moment, Zhang Zongnian had just arrived at the door and saw Shu Da exiting, followed by a crowd of attendants.
Zhang Zongnian stepped aside to make way.
Shu Da paused beside him, fixing him with a cold stare.
Facing Shu Da’s frosty gaze, Zhang Zongnian hesitated, but ultimately chose to follow the other little demons’ example.
He knelt, lowered his head, and said, “Greetings, Master of the Cave.”
He remembered what Lin Xue had taught him: a true man avoids suffering when he must—when it’s time to bow, one must bow.
Standing stubbornly for the sake of pride would only lead to pain.
When Shu Da saw him submit, he withdrew his gaze and strode past with his followers.
Zhang Zongnian slowly stood up.
It was his first time taking the initiative to kneel to a demon.
It wasn’t as difficult as he’d imagined.
Zhang Zongnian gave a self-mocking chuckle, patted the dust from his knees, and entered the Yaoshi.
Elder Huai saw it was him and, knowing he was here to see Lin Xue, nodded and pointed to the sickbed, then busied himself with his own work.
Zhang Zongnian cupped his hands in greeting and walked over to the bedside to look at Lin Xue.
Lin Xue lay quietly on the bed. Her beautiful, pale face was shadowed with lingering fatigue.
Her eyes were half-closed, her breathing so light it was barely perceptible.
Only when she exhaled and inhaled did her long, thick eyelashes flutter ever so slightly, as if she was enduring some pain even in her dreams.
Seeing Lin Xue so frail, Zhang Zongnian was shocked.
Why, after all these days, was her condition still so serious?
He hurriedly asked Elder Huai, “Elder, how is my younger sister’s injury? Why does she look even worse than before?”
Elder Huai smiled faintly and explained the situation.
Only then did Zhang Zongnian learn that Elder Huai had purposely drugged Lin Xue to make her appear at death’s door, all to protect her from being defiled by Shu Er.
His heart clenched with anxiety.
After finally getting rid of Hong Huzhi, another Shu Er appeared.
Shu Er, like Hong Huzhi, was at the peak of Body Tempering, and both had Grand Demons backing them.
Zhang Zongnian felt as if the path ahead for him and Lin Xue was shrouded in darkness.
Could Heaven not let Lin Xue spend this last half month in peace, and then allow them both to use the Chuanyin Fashu on the ring to escape smoothly?
He could only blame himself for being too weak, too powerless to protect Lin Xue.
Suddenly, he remembered the Changsheng Jue (Upper Volume) he had just memorized in the Ku Fang.
Lin Xue was an unparalleled genius—she could master any cultivation method after reading it just once.
If he gave her the Changsheng Jue (Upper Volume), would she be able to achieve Foundation Establishment right away?
Foundation Establishment required a Foundation-building Pill, and the Yang Family’s Foundation-building Pill was currently in Lin Xue’s possession.
It just might work!
Zhang Zongnian’s eyes lit up with hope.
If Lin Xue could reach Foundation Establishment, she could transform into a stream of light and fly away. The two of them wouldn’t have to wait for the Chuanyin Fashu on the ring any longer.
Unfortunately, Lin Xue was still unconscious. He couldn’t give her the cultivation manual yet.
He could only wait for her to wake up.
Zhang Zongnian stayed by Lin Xue’s side for a while, then took his leave from Elder Huai and returned to rest in his small room in the warehouse.
In the blink of an eye, ten days flew by.
During these ten days, Zhang Zongnian would finish his chores at the warehouse, then go sit with Lin Xue at the hospital for a while before returning to his small room to rest.
He had some knowledge of medicine and occasionally chatted with Elder Huai, who welcomed his company.
Throughout the ten days, Lin Xue remained in a deep sleep.
She could have woken up at any time.
But Elder Huai, wanting to understand how she could advance her cultivation in her sleep, kept her sedated to study her a few days longer. That was why Lin Xue slept for ten days.
Over those ten days, Elder Huai fed her even more medicine containing Beast Core Shards.
With the help of the Beast Refinement Codex, her cultivation steadily increased, now reaching the completion stage of Body Tempering.
Elder Huai saw that if he kept feeding her more, Lin Xue might ascend to Grand Demon right in her sleep and face the lightning tribulation while unconscious, so he had to stop the medication.
Upper cave chamber, in what used to be Hong Huzhi’s room.
Shu Er lay on the bed while two little demons removed the splints and bandages from his leg.
His leg had fully healed.
Ten days ago, Elder Huai had come with these items and told him that to properly heal the bone, aside from medication, he had to stay immobile in bed and keep his leg splinted and fixed.
After ten straight days in bed, Shu Er was practically going mad.
As soon as the bandages and splints were off, he sprang up, eager to stretch his legs and parade through the cave, flaunting his status as Second Lord.
Tomorrow, Shu Da would help him ascend to Grand Demon, and had promised him that once he did, as soon as Lin Xue woke up, a wedding would be held for him and Lin Xue.
These past days, Lin Xue’s beautiful figure filled Shu Er’s dreams.
He blissfully imagined himself, after becoming a Grand Demon, marrying Lin Xue and bringing her to his cave room—her pleading and begging for mercy beneath him like a songbird—he could barely contain his excitement.
And then there was Hong Yanzhi!
These days, word had it that this hot-bodied young lady hadn’t had a moment’s rest, being visited in turns by over a thousand little demons from the mountain, without any break.
Supposedly, after ten days and nights of non-stop ravaging, her cultivation had dropped—she had been reduced from a Grand Demon at Jindan all the way down to late Body Tempering.
Thinking back to when that tigress broke his leg, Shu Er ground his teeth in hatred.
If it hadn’t been for that she-devil breaking his leg, he would’ve advanced to Grand Demon with his brother ten days ago!
That night, his brother had taken a fierce revenge on that she-devil, which made Shu Er envious.
But to successfully survive the tribulation, he still had to maintain his virginity and couldn’t join in the festivities that followed.
Once he became a Grand Demon, he swore to find Hong Yanzhi and take his revenge! Just like his brother did that night—make her beg for mercy for a whole hour, make her wish for death! He wanted that tigress to plead endlessly beneath him!
Thinking of Lin Xue’s lovely face, Shu Er decided to go visit the Yaoshi and see this soon-to-be-wife of his—see how her recovery was coming along and when he could finally consummate their marriage.
He gathered several attendants and eagerly hurried toward the Yaoshi.