Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu, Swine Black Ape

At that thought, Bai Yu could not help but sigh. Even among inner disciples, most merely shared the same status; the resources they commanded behind the scenes were their true foundation.

"Miss Li, this is far too valuable."

Bai Yu said with a smile.

The Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu being worth two hundred thousand contribution points was itself proof of its value. It could even be said that this was one of Gu Refining Peak's foundations.

Though he wanted it badly himself, accepting it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble down the road. After all, his current status was only that of a formal disciple.

At his words, Li Shishi shook her head solemnly.

"Junior Brother, do you think my life isn't worth this Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu?"

"Don't worry. This item comes from an entirely legitimate source, and there won't be any trouble behind it. Aunt Qing... your Gu Refining Peak's Peak Master knows about it as well."

Li Shishi explained.

"Originally, I wanted to give you some cultivation pills, but then I remembered that you are a disciple of Gu Refining Peak. A powerful Gu may be more important to you."

"The Mother-Child Ghost Baleful Spirit you obtained can serve perfectly well as a vessel for the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu."

"This suits you very well."

"So just accept it. Otherwise, I won't be at peace."

Li Shishi turned her head, brushed the dark hair by her ear back, and spoke slowly.

Though Li Shishi made it sound casual, he knew perfectly well that such a thing could not possibly be obtained so easily.

After thinking it over, Bai Yu finally accepted the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu's refining method, silently committing this favor to heart as well.

"Then, thank you for your gift, Senior Sister."

"If you ever need help in the future, Senior Sister, just say the word. So long as Bai Yu can do it, I will not shrink from my duty."

Hearing Bai Yu's words, Li Shishi was briefly taken aback, then a faint smile curled her lips.

"I've heard people say that compared with the others in the Heavenly Demon Sect, you seem rather different."

"I didn't notice it back in the White Bone Mountain Range, but today, I understand why they say that."

Li Shishi teased.

"You're too upright. You don't seem like someone from a demonic sect. At the very least, no one here is more polite than you."

At those words, Bai Yu shook his head. Was that really the impression others had of him?

That was not bad either. After all, courtesy never offended anyone. If he could maintain this persona, it would bring him quite a few benefits.

"To refine the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu, aside from the basic materials, the most important material is souls."

"Although the Heavenly Demon Sect fears nothing in its actions, and even slaughtering an entire city to refine Gu is nothing unusual."

"The mortal dynasties and sects all have major powers protecting them from behind. If you slaughter cities on a large scale for the sake of refining Gu, you will easily become a target."

"So, I prepared something good for you."

Li Shishi looked at Bai Yu, casually picked up the Golden Gourd beside her, and placed it before him.

Seeing this, Bai Yu picked up the Golden Gourd and poured his mana into it.

Very quickly, he discovered that there was actually an enormous grotto-heaven inside!

Unlike the grotto-heavens used for daily residence, the Golden Gourd's grotto-heaven contained only a primitive mountain range, where several pairs of black-furred apes lived.

Their expressions were filled with numbness. Other than eating, they did nothing but continuously breed.

The adult apes had already given birth to quite a few young apes.

And those young apes were actually growing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Senior Sister, what is this?"

Looking at the strange scene within the Golden Gourd, Bai Yu raised his head in confusion.

"Swine Black Apes, an extremely peculiar species."

"Their entire lives consist of nothing but eating, drinking, and breeding. From birth to death, they live only half a month. Yet strangely enough, their souls are very similar to human souls."

"The sect elders once conducted experiments. The souls of ten Swine Black Apes are equal in quality to the soul of one ordinary person."

"So, these creatures are a major source of souls."

"Though the conditions for raising them are extremely harsh, fortunately, their reproductive ability is astonishing."

"I used my contribution points to exchange for a hundred pairs of Swine Black Apes for you. As long as you raise them properly, their numbers will only keep increasing."

"Though it will cost quite a lot of resources, when you cultivate the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu in the future, you won't lack anything to feed it."

Li Shishi explained.

At that moment, Bai Yu finally understood why, on Gu Refining Peak, practically every talented disciple refined a Ten Thousand Souls Gu, and where the disciples of Ghost Refining Peak found so many souls to feed their ghostly creatures.

Logically speaking, given the Heavenly Demon Sect's current astonishing scale, even if they slaughtered every person in the entire lower reaches, they might still not be able to gather so many souls.

It turned out that the Heavenly Demon Sect had long since achieved freedom of souls.

Though the quality of Swine Black Ape souls was far inferior to that of humans, they made up for it with sheer numbers. Even by piling up quantity alone, one could pile up whatever one wanted.

"Senior Sister, how should I feed this thing on a daily basis?"

"Is there any good method?"

Now that he had accepted the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu, Bai Yu no longer felt the need to stand on ceremony about this gourd grotto-heaven.

A hundred pairs of Swine Black Apes might seem like a lot, but to Bai Yu, it was less than a drop in the ocean.

Expanding the Swine Black Ape population and letting it grow was his primary task.

"These beasts don't possess much intelligence, so raising them is difficult in one sense, yet absurdly simple in another."

"For example, this gourd grotto-heaven normally consumes one spirit stone a day. But because there are a hundred pairs of Swine Black Apes inside, the spiritual energy will be depleted faster. One spirit stone might only last half a day."

"The more Swine Black Apes there are, the faster the spiritual energy is consumed. At the same time, the denser the spiritual energy inside, the faster they reproduce..."

"You'll need to prepare things that can increase the concentration of spiritual energy in the grotto-heaven... such as spirit stones, medicinal herbs, magical artifacts, and so on."

"Of course, I've already planted the fruit these Swine Black Apes eat for you. Like these beasts, it grows very quickly, but that too depends on the concentration of spiritual energy."

"With your current strength, I suggest you don't go beyond two hundred pairs. Otherwise, the pressure will be enormous."

"Some things are better done step by step..."

As he listened to Li Shishi speak with growing unease, the smile on Bai Yu's face slowly froze.

He finally understood. This thing might be good, but it was a bottomless pit—a genuine money-devouring beast!

Two spirit stones a day could only support two hundred apes, equivalent to twenty human souls. If that kept adding up, then ten thousand Swine Black Apes would cost five thousand spirit stones a day...

Thinking of this, Bai Yu suddenly felt that people really were different. A rich woman like Li Shishi probably had no idea what that many spirit stones meant to someone like him.

But now that he had gotten his hands on it, wouldn't it be a pity not to raise it?

As a result, Bai Yu was now itching to earn spirit stones.

Seeing Li Shishi's puzzled expression, Bai Yu thought for a moment.

Then he spoke.

"Senior Sister, you're still with the enforcement squad, right?"

"If you're free today, could you accompany me for a stroll around Joyous Union Peak?"

Li Shishi: ??????