Black Reverse Scale

"Does anyone still have investment slots available? Please give one to Loli, thank you."

Snake Abyss - Second Level

Su Qingqiu inhaled, and the vapor from the void surged towards him. Then, a fiery red blaze erupted, causing the vapor to boil. Countless Evil Remains tumbled within.

Three to five minutes later.

The 'tea soup' was ready.

He was a man of refinement, and before the main meal, he first downed three cups of this tea soup. The steaming hot liquid, mixed with the slightly spicy and numbing sensation of Evil Qi that tickled his mouth, was quite flavorful.

His unsettled emotions after the battle slowly calmed down.

These Evil Remains were indeed good things; even made into tea soup, their effects were extraordinary.

He had not expected to encounter the Hundred-Eyed Devil during this fight.

Even though it was only a wisp of its will that had come here, its power far surpassed that of other Devil Master soul fragments or the Great Asura Lord, and other such Devil.

It was definitely the lord of a true Upper Three Ranks evil Devil.

Whether it was Third Rank, Second Rank, or even the legendary First Rank, Su Qingqiu couldn't judge.

According to some knowledge he had acquired, the Nine Ranks of the Three Stages corresponded to the three phases of Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, and Refining Spirit into Void.

Essence and Qi were the spiritual light cultivated by the Cultivators of the Ten Nations and Twelve Veins. As for evil Devil, they were formed from the five impurities of Devilish Qi scattered across heaven and earth, mixed with fallen spiritual light.

Therefore, the Hundred-Eyed Devil could also be called a Refining Spirit expert.

Reaching the Refining Spirit stage meant that one's own essence, Qi, and spirit were infinitely close to that of beings who cultivated spiritual light. Similar to the Monks of the Dragon-Raising Temple, the Upper Three Ranks Buddha could briefly transform into Spiritual Snake or Spiritual Python.

To a certain extent, they were equivalent to half a Spirit Lord, not in terms of power, but in the essence of their existence.

This was the first time Su Qingqiu had encountered such a powerful being.

The Hundred-Eyed Devil controlled a hundred miles of Evil Qi, bringing the energies of heaven and earth under its command, suppressing everything with the might of heaven and earth, and its overwhelming momentum.

The so-called thousand kinds of miraculous methods, ten thousand kinds of artifacts, whether spells, weapons, or various incredible techniques, all had to bow before such a powerful being who controlled a region of heaven and earth!

The Upper Three Ranks Refining Spirit experts, known as Land Immortals, truly defied logic.

Yet, Su Qingqiu was able to contend with it, not falling behind. His ten thousand years of Daoism Cultivation and his Spiritual Light transforming into Spiritual Essence were also exceedingly rare in the world.

However, Su Qingqiu had the advantage of home ground and asymmetric information. If the Hundred-Eyed Devil had known his true situation, the outcome would have been entirely different.

The two sides probed each other, neither delivering a killing blow. The Hundred-Eyed Devil mistakenly believed Su Qingqiu to be a thousand-year-old Spirit Lord or a living Buddha. Su Qingqiu, on the other hand, knew his own situation best: he was merely a novice with immense Spiritual Light.

This sudden crisis from the Devil Master was thus narrowly averted.

"My methods are still insufficient. Ten thousand years of Spiritual Light can only maintain my current state, preventing me from losing. But against a true Upper Three Ranks expert, relying solely on the might of Spiritual Light is absolutely not enough."

Su Qingqiu pondered inwardly.

Perhaps with the addition of his physical body's attacks, he could contend with an Upper Three Ranks expert for a while, but only a fool would use his physical body. He sought to suppress all enemies with his Spiritual Light without leaving his abode.

As he was now, he was extremely close to being an Upper Three Ranks existence, capable of briefly contending with a Third Rank expert.

Therefore...

His sense of security was gone!

Spiritual Light needed to be strengthened further!

Ten thousand years wasn't enough, so two thousand years. If two thousand years wasn't enough, then three thousand years. Snake Abyss had plenty of Evil Remains.

Such a vast amount of Evil Remains was enough to elevate his Spiritual Light to an even more exaggerated level.

He set a small goal: to accumulate a hundred thousand years of Daoism Cultivation and Magical Power.

Next time the Hundred-Eyed Devil came, he'd scare it to death!

Slurp

He swallowed.

After rinsing the Great Asura Lord in the Pond and adding some flavorful evil Devil bones, Su Qingqiu once again used Spiritual Light to control the void, added fiery red energy, and stewed a large pot of soup.

A look of bliss appeared on his massive snake face as he gulped down the rich broth.

This Great Asura Lord was indeed an evil Devil close to Third Rank. Even though its soul and consciousness had been erased by Su Qingqiu's Spiritual Essence, the Evil Qi within its body still surpassed the combined total of all Evil Remains and Devilish Qi Su Qingqiu had ever consumed.

Cruel. Bloodthirsty. Savage. Mad.

The Devilish Qi boiled within his body.

Su Qingqiu felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of chili powder made from Devil peppers, the stimulation almost bringing him to tears.

It was simply unimaginable.

"Cough, cough... that was a bit too intense."

Even with Exorcism and Blessing's digestion speed, it couldn't process such a large amount of Evil Qi all at once. The numerous Evil Qi clashed violently within his body, emitting mournful cries.

Faintly, it seemed as though some incredible, unimaginable Devil life form was about to be born from these Evil Qi.

"Hmph!"

"The Great Asura Lord is dead, and you residual Devilish Qi, still dare to cause trouble?"

Su Qingqiu remained unfazed.

He had encountered this before, where new Devils would be born from some of the more powerful Evil Remains.

But those were formed through prolonged immersion and erosion by Evil Qi. For Devilish Qi to attempt to establish its own domain immediately after death, like the Great Asura Lord, was quite rare.

However, since it had entered his belly, it had to behave, whether it was a dragon or a tiger.

A massive surge of Spiritual Essence instantly sealed the Evil Qi within his body, then carved out a passage, directing all the Evil Qi to the seven-inch mark on his neck, into the Reverse Scale that grew against the grain.

Dragons have Reverse Scales, and touching them invariably enrages them.

His Reverse Scale was also unique; he had discovered long ago that these Reverse Scales had a particular fondness for Evil Qi.

The reason Su Qingqiu could devour so many Evil Remains without being corrupted and eroded like other Spiritual Snakes was not just due to his innate Spiritual Power, but more importantly, because of the Reverse Scales on his neck.

They absorbed all the Evil Qi that entered his body.

He wasn't entirely clear on the specific effects of the Reverse Scales absorbing this Evil Qi, but it didn't stop him from actively utilizing them.

After all the Evil Qi flowed into the Reverse Scales without a drop remaining, Su Qingqiu faintly felt that these scales had undergone further changes.

The Reverse Scales had completely spread to the entire seven-inch area of his snake form, becoming darker and shinier. They stood in stark contrast to the surrounding crimson dragon-ridge scales and the golden snake scales.

From afar, it looked as though he was wearing a black bracelet.

Black, crimson, gold!

Coupled with the massive crimson fire horn in the center of his forehead.

Su Qingqiu was becoming increasingly distinct from other Spiritual Snakes.

However, the Reverse Scales were still transforming, and their ultimate purpose required further observation.

[Processing Exorcism and Blessing...]

The most anticipated part had arrived.

Both the memory fragments of the Great Asura Lord and the rewards after Exorcism and Blessing were highly anticipated by Su Qingqiu.

This was an Evil Devil of nearly third rank, the strongest Evil Remains he had ever devoured.

It would be unreasonable if he didn't receive some powerful Spiritual Power or something miraculous like the Crimson Fire Horn.

Images began to emerge, one after another.

And Su Qingqiu witnessed the Great Asura Lord's epic, bloody, and dark life.

During this, he even discovered an event related to the Dragon-Raising Temple three hundred years ago.

The Great Asura Lord actually originated from the Snake Abyss of the Dragon-Raising Temple!