Evil Slaying

"So it could level up without fusing with a demon soul!"

Zhang Yang pondered this. Then what exactly was the principle behind using the Village Building Order to fuse with a demon soul?

But he abandoned the thought as soon as it arose. Now was not the time to investigate exactly what the Fantasy Village Building Order was.

"One unit of Azure Wolf Demon blood can be refined into 0.1 units of demonic energy, which can then be purified into 0.01 units of mana. But this mountain monster essence blood is outrageously powerful. One unit of essence blood can be refined into 0.9 units of demonic energy, which can ultimately be purified into 0.09 units of mana."

Muttering to himself, Zhang Yang also examined that tiny strand of pure power stored within his Soul Force Field.

This was mana. Because there was more of it this time, his perception and understanding of it were more direct and clearer than before.

He did not even need the Village Building Order to explain it. Zhang Yang could understand for himself what mana was.

From a human—or rather, an earthly scientific—perspective, this was a power that could be almost perfectly integrated into the human body without any side effects. It could replace food without making people feel hungry.

It could provide strength, and was safer, more reliable, and more effective than any known stimulant drug on Earth. Just 0.001 units of mana would probably be enough to turn an ordinary person into a battlefield superman or a bedroom superman for an hour.

It could also improve a person's physical condition, making the body healthier and stronger on the cellular level. Naturally, this applied to all animals, and even plants.

If this power could be widely applied on Earth, Zhang Yang could be certain that it would be the Spiritual Qi Resurgence.

Finally, this miraculous power could also act on lifeless objects. By changing the molecular and atomic structures of matter, it could cause enormous transformations. So was this the legendary immortal cultivator's artifact forging?

"In short, this is absolutely a miraculous power. It can provide any civilized society with an abundant energy supply. Oil, coal, nuclear power, electronics, and the like are all pathetically weak in the face of this ultra-new energy source."

"Right now, whoever can master this power and apply it on a large scale will be the biggest winner. So whether it's that deer demon or the Jackalman village chief, neither of them is worth mentioning. They failed to discover this power. Of course, it's also possible they simply haven't had time to discover it."

"But I can't let my guard down either. There must be some village chiefs who have bound themselves to Village Building Orders and discovered this power. They're the true enemies in a fight to the death. If I encounter one, then with my current strength, I can only be destroyed."

As Zhang Yang thought, he slowly merged the strand of mana into his body. In an instant, it was as if he had been immersed in a hot spring. Every pore and every cell throughout his body seemed to be cheering. That blissful sensation was something he could never forget for the rest of his life.

After only a few seconds, he could not help but grow drowsy, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

By the time Zhang Yang woke again, night was about to fall. But when he checked the strand of mana in his body, he was stunned to discover that it had vanished without a trace.

Moreover, his body did not seem to have changed much, aside from being exceptionally energetic.

"How strange. Did the mana just disappear? Or is it because I haven't cultivated any of those techniques from the novels? Still, if I fuse with a strand of mana like this every day, I should at least be able to live to two hundred. That much is definitely possible."

Zhang Yang was not disappointed, because he had already mastered the method of purifying mana.

Next, he took out another unit of mountain monster essence blood and began refining demonic energy again, finally purifying it into mana.

This time, it was much easier. The essence hidden within the mountain monster essence blood posed no threat to him. In only half an hour, he had once again purified 0.09 units of mana.

He then released his Soul Force Field once more, enveloped Duan Kuan's long saber, and began transforming it with the 0.09 units of mana.

This time, everything went smoothly. The Soul Force Field was like a guiding beacon, while the mana was a surgical knife. It effortlessly dissected the long saber's first layer of blood aura and its second layer, the attached demonic soul will, before finally reaching the third layer. There, the 0.09 units of mana transformed into countless threads, clearing away some abrupt impurities and reconstructing the grains that seemed to be iron atoms. The entire process lasted only ten seconds.

When Zhang Yang withdrew his Soul Force Field, he discovered that the long saber had actually turned scarlet. Its length had shrunk by ten centimeters, and its shape had also changed slightly.

Looking at its attributes again, he saw that it had become Sharpness +5.

"I can't perform any more fine-tuning. If I do this one more time, the saber will probably be ruined. The material isn't good enough."

Zhang Yang was certain of this. He had only sorted through all the impurities he could sense in the long saber's third layer, yet the saber had become five kilograms lighter and ten centimeters shorter. If he did it again, the saber would probably become a dagger.

"Still, I can strengthen it from other angles. The power of Duan Kuan's long saber is made up of three layers. The first layer is the blood light, equivalent to the killing intent attached to it. The second layer is the demonic soul, equivalent to the mountain monster's will. It allows the saber to break through an enemy's Soul Force Field or aura field during battle. Only the third layer is the essence of the material itself."

After thinking it over carefully, Zhang Yang took out another unit of mountain monster essence blood. This time, he purified it only into demonic energy, then injected the demonic energy into the long saber's second layer—the mountain monster's will.

This time, something extraordinary happened.

The moment Zhang Yang injected the 0.9 units of demonic energy, the long saber began humming on its own. Waves of blood light rippled outward, appearing utterly mystical—at least, that was how it looked to others.

But to Zhang Yang, who had already grasped the secret behind it, this was child's play.

This time, the quality of the long saber finally changed. It rose from its original white quality to black quality, and it gained an additional trait.

"Evil Slaying. It can deal massive damage to ghosts, vile creatures, and soul-type spells."

Looking at the completely transformed long saber, Zhang Yang nearly laughed aloud in triumph. He summoned Duan Kuan, who had been anxiously pacing outside, and regardless of how ecstatic Duan Kuan became, he called over Wu Yuan and the others and had them bring their weapons over one by one. Now that he had mastered the method of strengthening weapons, he naturally had to further expand the soldiers' combat power.

That night, every infantry captain in the village went wild. Every half hour, Zhang Yang could strengthen their weapons another round.

Most of them gained Sharpness +3, along with an additional trait.

The sharpness came from being refined with mana, while the traits were formed by mixing in demonic energy and extracting the essence will from the demon blood.

It took Zhang Yang a full five days to finish strengthening the weapons of all sixty-six Captain-Level Soldiers. He did not spare even the Archer Captain's great bow or the Shieldsman Captain's massive shield.

The price, however, was that nearly all the demon blood in Zhang Yang's hands had been depleted. He was left with only 120 units of deer demon essence blood, which was of a higher level and which he did not yet dare to purify.

But the price was well worth it.

If the five Imprisonment Spears previously issued to each infantry captain had already doubled their combat power, then this round of weapon strengthening could double their combat power again.

The effect was especially pronounced for the Four Berserker Bears. Their weapons had all been forged from that mountain monster's massive hammer, so they had started from a very high baseline, and the strengthening effect was correspondingly greater.

For example, Duan Kuan's long saber had Sharpness +5 and the Evil Slaying trait.

Song Dachui's massive hammer had Heavy Strike +5 and the Evil Slaying trait.

Wang Mumu's shield had Durability +200 and the Evil Slaying trait.

Zhou Datou's throwing spear had transformed into an Armor-Piercing Cone, with Sharpness +5 and the Evil Slaying trait.

They were extravagantly powerful.

Just as Zhang Yang and his subordinates were brimming with morale and confidence, the Ghost Priest suddenly reported that some spying imps had appeared around the outskirts of the village.