Spirit Demon

He did not know the answer to the first question, but Liang Zhaohuang had easily deduced the answer to the second from the records the Sun Family had left behind.

According to the information recorded by the Sun Family, the next secret realm earth-tremor, the time of the Spirit Demon uprising, should be ten years later—which was to say, the next time the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm opened, when the aristocratic clan assessment was held.

After Liang Zhaohuang deduced this information, he did not know whether he should sigh over his bad luck or feel fortunate.

The bad luck was that the family would encounter a Spirit Demon uprising so soon. Who knew whether the family would be able to hold on when the time came?

The fortunate part was that the family still had at least ten years to prepare. If the Liang Family only obtained the chance to be promoted to an aristocratic clan ten years later, then ran into a Spirit Demon uprising the moment they entered the secret realm, they would almost certainly die without a doubt—like dying before the campaign was won, their great undertaking cut short before it began. Perhaps the Liang Family might even be directly wiped out.

Therefore, the mission for Liang Zhaohuang and the others entering the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm this time was actually very heavy.

Hunting Spirit Demons and collecting Spirit Source Ore were only the most basic tasks. There was also establishing the family stronghold, seizing the Millennium Sacred Heart Fruit, and understanding the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm and the Spirit Demons as much as possible, so as to prepare for suppressing the Spirit Demon uprising ten years later.

Fortunately, he had found the Sun Family's recorded information on the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm, so the Liang Family could follow what was recorded inside and properly plan their actions and tasks within the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm.

And in the Liang Family's plan, an extremely important item was to search for the Sun Family's stronghold within the secret realm, open it, occupy it, and transform it into the Liang Family's own stronghold.

In this way, not only could they directly harvest the many resources the Sun Family had cultivated within the stronghold, they could also directly obtain a stronghold that had been built up over several hundred years, greatly increasing their odds and their chances of survival when suppressing the Spirit Demon uprising ten years later.

As for the location of the Sun Family Stronghold, the method to open it, and even some of its arrangements, all of these were clearly recorded in the information concerning the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm left behind by the Sun Family.

Liang Zhaohuang, however, was quite intent on finding it, taking it down, and occupying it.

Standing atop the high platform and gazing into the distance in all directions, comparing what he saw against the map of the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm to determine where they were, Liang Zhaohuang quickly confirmed the direction in which the Sun Family Stronghold was located.

At the same time, that was also the direction in which the Millennium Sacred Heart Fruit lay.

After confirming the direction, Liang Zhaohuang led the ten members of the Liang Family down from the high platform and headed toward the location of the Sun Family Stronghold.

They had only advanced a few li when he suddenly seemed to sense something and turned back to look. All he saw was a stretch of green mountains and barren wilderness; how could there still be any sign of the high platform where the secret realm entrance was?

It was as if it had directly turned invisible and disappeared.

Liang Zhaohuang knew that this should be to prevent attacks from Spirit Demons.

However, as long as cultivators like them who had entered the secret realm remembered this location, once they came nearby, they would automatically be able to sense where the secret realm entrance platform was, then ascend the platform and leave the secret realm from there.

Second Sister Liang Zhaoyu and the others also discovered the disappearance of the high platform at this moment, and each fell into thought. Liang Ruiqin and the others even lowered their voices in surprise and began discussing it.

Liang Zhaohuang shook his head and said in a clear voice, "Let's go. Keep moving."

Half an hour later, on a hillside slope somewhere in the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm, Liang Zhaohuang stood to the side, watching as Second Sister, Liang Ruiqin, and the others surrounded and killed a dozen or so Spirit Demon gray wolves on the slope.

The Spirit Demons in the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm basically all existed in the forms of various demonic beasts—jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, birds, and beasts.

The few gray-wolf-shaped Spirit Demons Liang Zhaohuang and the others had now encountered were all only Qi Refining Stage Spirit Demons, and most of them only possessed the strength of the early and middle stages of Qi Refining. There were only two or three leading Spirit Demon gray wolves with late-stage Qi Refining strength.

Originally, according to Liang Zhaohuang's thinking, they would temporarily refrain from hunting Spirit Demons and first find the Sun Family Stronghold. After occupying the stronghold and having a stable "rear base," they would then hunt Spirit Demons, harvest Spirit Source Ore, and study the situation in the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm.

However, while everyone was traveling, the youngest, Liang Ruijian, had carelessly provoked a Spirit Demon gray wolf, and as a result, it had directly drawn the attack of this dozen-odd gray wolf Spirit Demons.

Fortunately, they were all Qi Refining Stage Spirit Demons, so Liang Zhaohuang and the others could handle them completely. They were just right for testing their methods and practically verifying their understanding of Spirit Demons and Spirit Source Ore.

At this moment, Second Sister Liang Zhaoyu raised a blue magic banner. As it shook in midair, one enormous blue tree after another flew out from the magic banner and slammed toward a late-stage Qi Refining gray wolf Spirit Demon.

Fourth Brother Liang Zhaokun also raised a scroll-shaped magic artifact, unfurling it in midair. One massive boulder after another fell from within, smashing toward another Spirit Demon gray wolf.

Eighth Brother Liang Zhaosong, Ninth Brother Liang Zhaobai, Eleventh Sister Liang Zhaoyuan, and the others were also all using heavy magic artifacts such as hammers, peaks, and seals at this moment!

These were all combat experiences concerning Spirit Demons recorded by the Sun Family.

Although Spirit Demons manifested in the forms of various demonic beasts, they were ultimately not demonic beasts, not bodies of flesh and blood. It could be said that they had no weak points, no fatal acupoints, and the like.

Every time one hunted a Spirit Demon, it had to be completely smashed apart before it would truly die and leave behind Spirit Source Ore.

Therefore, according to the Sun Family's records, when hunting Spirit Demons in the Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm, the best and most correct method was to use all manner of heavy magic artifacts and directly smash them.

Something like the Five Elements Body-Piercing Needle in Liang Zhaohuang's hand might be rather wondrously effective when dealing with cultivators, demonic beasts, and other flesh-and-blood creatures, able to directly attack an enemy's weak points and fatal acupoints.

But in this Spirit Cauldron Secret Realm, if he used the Five Elements Body-Piercing Needle to attack a Spirit Demon, even one with only Qi Refining Stage strength, stabbing it through with one needle—even if it pierced straight through its body—would not inflict any fatal damage on the Spirit Demon. It would be worse than a single heavy magic artifact.

It was precisely because they had these clear and explicit records of experience that before entering the secret realm, Second Sister Liang Zhaoyu and the others had all chosen heavy magic artifacts to refine and use. Even Liang Zhaohuang had found a heavy, powerful spiritual artifact among the gains from the Sun Family, refined it, and carried it with him.

"Mm?" Liang Zhaohuang's expression suddenly shifted. His Spiritual Sense discovered something wrong, and with a wave of his hand, he sent a yellowish-brown spiritual banner flying out. It swept up a burst of yellow light that directly shielded the back of the sixteenth of the Rui generation, Liang Ruijie.

"Awoo..." Bang!

Almost in the very next instant, a Spirit Demon gray wolf roared and pounced behind him, but it directly crashed into the yellow light from the spiritual banner. It was blasted away by the yellow light, falling to the ground and struggling to get back up.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Liang Zhaohuang loudly reminded them. The five members of the Rui generation had basically all cultivated within the family before this, doing things like tending spirit plants and drawing talismans. They did not have much combat experience.

They had nearly been ambushed instead by Spirit Demon gray wolves whose strength was inferior to their own.

Bringing them into the secret realm this time was itself also partly meant to cultivate their combat experience.

"Yes! Thank you, Little Uncle!"

Liang Ruijie also seemed to have been startled, and hurriedly responded aloud. In the fighting that followed, he became even more careful and cautious.

Seeing this, Liang Zhaohuang nodded slightly and waved his hand to retrieve the yellowish-brown spiritual banner.

This spiritual banner was precisely what he had obtained back on the Sun Family's Beast Soul Mountain, from killing that Foundation Establishment cultivator who had been protecting the Sun Family's "seed" as they withdrew.

After refining it, Liang Zhaohuang also learned the name of this spiritual artifact. It was called the Earthen Banner, a rare low-grade defensive spiritual artifact.

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