"Master! What—what did you just say?"
If he had not gone seven or eight days without sleep, he would have suspected he was dreaming.
Red Nose tilted his head. Web-like bloodshot veins densely filled the area around his crimson pupils, making them resemble two balls of red lightning.
Demons belonged to the Abyss!
Red Nose could eat food from the Material World, but it would only keep him from starving to death.
Neither his body nor his bloodline would grow.
Only food infused with Abyssal aura, Soul Crystals, and particular souls could allow Red Nose to grow into a First-Ring Demonic Beast.
A juvenile Quasit could do nothing but suppress Quasit Bloodlines. It was far too weak!
Yin Ming had no intention of hunting demons and shattering the current peace. Staying in the Material World, Red Nose would not be much help either. So he had decided to release him back into the Abyss to fend for himself.
"Not willing? Seeing as you taught me Demon Tongue, I'll allow you to continue teaching me other knowledge."
Yin Ming released his brain from its high-frequency state, and a fierce wave of exhaustion suddenly crashed over him.
Demon Tongue was more complex than the common language. It carried a faint, elusive Dao rhythm and could even resonate slightly with elemental energy. Without high-frequency brain function, he could spend three to five years and learn only its outward form.
"No! The Abyss is a demon's homeland. It isn't dangerous at all."
Red Nose did not hesitate for even a second. To escape this sea of suffering, he spoke the most against-his-heart words of his life.
It was too painful! All he remembered was his hands endlessly writing Demon Script while his mouth mechanically repeated inherited memories.
As for what he had written or said, not the slightest trace remained in his memory.
Even more terrifying, this human wizard had learned it all!
Compared to Abyss Demons, humans were the truly terrifying creatures. Fortunately, this race did not live long. If luck was on his side, he only needed to survive one-tenth of his lifespan before he could send him off.
"Pfft..."
Red Nose spat out a mouthful of blood.
He dipped his finger in the blood as ink and began tracing the energy circuit of a spell formula.
When humans drew runes, they needed to use mental power to trace them, then infuse them with magic power to activate them.
The living blood of Abyss Demons naturally contained substances similar to mental power and magic power. They forged qi and spirit into their bodies, forming essence blood.
[Abyssal Sacrifice!]
The rune Red Nose drew was precisely an Abyssal Sacrifice Rune.
The Abyss accepted all offerings, but only true treasures would receive corresponding recompense.
Demons could return to the Abyssal world through self-sacrifice.
If other races wished to travel to the Abyss the same way, then the sacrifice would become the real offering!
Simple and effective, it prevented the Abyssal world from being invaded by foreign enemies.
"Ten thousand Soul Crystals, quality unrestricted, can redeem the Soulstone you left with me."
Yin Ming had learned about the types of mineral deposits in the Abyss and knew that Soul Crystals were a rare mineral there.
Demons fed on pure, high-quality Soul Crystals.
Clouded Soul Crystals, if consumed over a long period, would lead to corruption, loss of control, and madness. They were food for Demon Bloodlines.
Yin Ming had the Scavenger Gourd, so he did not care about the quality of Soul Crystals.
"Really?"
The Abyssal Sacrifice Rune transformed into a spatial vortex.
Dark, gloomy, bone-piercingly cold—Red Nose's body kept sinking. Before he could finish speaking, he vanished completely.
"..."
[Year 222 of the Landon Duchy, November 9.]
The Golden Lion Count's Estate was livelier than ever. Luxurious carriages and automobiles lined the way from the castle to Tulip Manor.
Every flower in the gardens had bloomed, a riot of crimson and violet. Every passing noble stopped to admire them, voicing exclamations of astonishment and praise.
The serfs had been granted a rare day off. Dressed in rags, they naturally could not enter the castle.
Still, they could glimpse a corner of the grand ceremony from afar, giving them something to boast about in the future.
At the same time, Yin Ming's mental power had reached 16 points.
He was still 4 points of mental power away from permanently fixing his second Mental Rune.
"Brain nerve cells: 24%."
Yin Ming did not go watch the excitement with Randy.
He found a cave and used the gourd to take himself inside.
He took out over a dozen Grain-Repelling Pills and swallowed them, preparing for the intense energy consumption to come.
His brain entered a high-frequency state, and his mental power instantly exceeded 20 points.
"Whoosh..."
He entered meditation.
The Vast Sea was boundless. Waves swept forth, raising towering billows that crashed toward Mirror Reef.
His mental power swiftly caught the splashing droplets and fixed them upon the perfectly smooth Mirror Reef. 190 drops, 191 drops, 192 drops... 200 drops, 210 drops.
Yin Ming's control over his mental power had surpassed 20 points. He now possessed the qualifications to permanently fix a second Mental Rune!
The structure of the second mental-power rune in the Vast Sea Meditation Method was eighty percent similar to the first rune. Only the nodes connecting its beginning and end differed slightly.
"It's time to condense the second rune!"
Yin Ming simulated it once, then began using mental power as his brush to draw the rune.
A stabbing pain came from his brain. During the rune-drawing process, his consciousness gradually became sluggish and muddled.
The first rune had been like listening to an English teacher read mechanically from a textbook at noon in summer.
The second rune was like taking several sleeping pills. As his realm rose, this resistance would only grow stronger.
Once he lost consciousness and interrupted the rune-drawing, his mental power would dissipate with it, falling back to the original 10 permanently fixed points. He would need to meditate and accumulate it anew before attempting a second breakthrough.
But at this stage, it was no obstacle to Yin Ming at all.
As the beginning and end of the rune's spell circuit connected, a smile immediately appeared on his face. "It worked!"
The rune formed. It was as though a bucket of icy water had been poured over his head, and he became incomparably clear-headed in an instant.
Two runes floated in the void, seeming both real and illusory. Shrouded in faint divine light, they devoured elemental energy and transformed it into magic power.
[Name: Yin Ming (Eno).] [Method: Vast Sea Meditation Method.] [Realm: Junior Wizard Apprentice (Mirror Reef, Second Layer).] [Lifespan: 17/98.] [Constitution: 21.] [Magic Power: 10/20.] [Mental Power: 20/20.] [Wizardry: Crimson Flame Ring, Wizard's Hand, Flesh Strengthening (↑).] [Knowledge: Demon Tongue, Potion Studies (Beginner).] [Items: Pure Character Law Fragment, Fire Bull Bloodline Potion (Apprentice).]
The realm breakthrough first raised his mental power and magic power from their original 10 points to 20 points.
However, 20 points of mental power was the foundation, while 20 points of magic power was the limit.
At the same time, the physical enhancement effect of the Zero-Ring Wizardry, Flesh Strengthening, had increased, breaking through its original bottleneck. His constitution could now reach around 30.
"A realm breakthrough is worth celebrating. I should relax a little!"
Yin Ming's way of celebrating was naturally not to visit the red-light district in search of young ladies.
Those nightingales, their faces covered in poisonous lead powder, their heavy makeup painted on, their body odor concealed beneath cheap perfume, could not stir the slightest interest in him under a wizard's powerful senses.
Smack...
Yin Ming casually tossed out a stone, killing a wild rabbit that had been watching the excitement!
He skillfully skinned it, removed its organs, washed it clean, skewered it on a stick, lit a bonfire, and began roasting it.
From the Yellow-Skinned Gourd, he took out salt, cumin, chili peppers—every kind of seasoning imaginable.
Eating Grain-Repelling Pills every day merely saved time.
Throughout the outer region of the Magic Beast Forest, Yin Ming was the absolute king. His supplies were so abundant that he could eat Magic Beast meat for every meal without issue.
"Eh... you serf, why didn't you go watch the excitement with the other serfs?"
Before you continue