"System, are you sure this Ten Thousand Demons Pool is safe to use? Why does it feel so dangerous?" Zhou Qiong looked at the bubbling pool before him. Its refreshing fragrance filled his nostrils, making him want to soak in it. Of course, it would have been even better if electric currents had not occasionally flickered through it.
"Host, this Small Ten Thousand Demons Pool is the best option for anyone below the Martial God Realm. You got it from a basic draw, so count your blessings. Besides, the first use gives the best results."
Gritting his teeth, Zhou Qiong stepped into the Small Ten Thousand Demons Pool. He immediately felt streams of Spiritual Qi burrowing into his body, constantly raising his cultivation. The electric currents he had worried about merely made his body tingle as they steadily strengthened it.
Sitting cross-legged in the Small Ten Thousand Demons Pool, Zhou Qiong silently circulated his cultivation arts and cultivated without pause. His presence rapidly grew stronger as well. Four hours later, a powerful presence erupted from him before slowly subsiding.
Zhou Qiong checked his character panel.
Character: Zhou Qiong (Zhou Wudi) Position: Demon Sect leader Cultivation: mid-stage Martial God Martial arts: Demon God Scripture, Firmament Life and Death Hand, Gods and Devils Eye, Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, second level Mount: Demon Dragon Flying Carriage
Two years had passed since the Demon Sect officially launched its full-scale assault on the continent. Zhou Qiong had broken through to the Martial God Realm a year earlier, and that was with him spending a great deal of time cultivating the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art. This time, he had used the Small Ten Thousand Demons Pool to break through to mid-stage Martial God.
His greatest gain this time was actually the increase in his physical strength. Zhou Qiong felt as though he could shatter space with his flesh alone, without using any magical power. His physical strength alone now rivaled that of an ordinary peak Martial God.
He looked toward the Small Ten Thousand Demons Pool. All the lightning inside had vanished, absorbed by him. Zhou Qiong silently put the Ten Thousand Demons Pool away. In the future, this Ten Thousand Demons Pool would provide the Demon Sect with an endless stream of experts.
Zhou Qiong tapped his fingers, and a figure wearing a diamond mask appeared in the great hall and dropped to one knee.
"Your subordinate Tian San pays respects to the Sect Leader."
"Tell me how your recent investigation has gone!"
"Reporting to the Sect Leader, we discovered that Zhao Li last appeared at Golden Mountain Temple. After that, he disappeared."
Zhou Qiong muttered, "Interesting. Is he dead? Impossible. His circumstances clearly suggested he was a protagonist. Could he have ascended to the upper realm for some reason, like Ximen Di?"
But he did not dwell on it. He had only wanted to see how far Zhao Li's cultivation had progressed lately. If he truly had the potential to threaten him, Zhou Qiong would not mind killing him ahead of time. He was no idiot villain from a television drama who insisted on waiting until the protagonist's cultivation became badass before dueling him. Snuffing danger out in its cradle and cutting out the weeds by their roots was what the Demon Sect ought to do.
"Tell me how Liansheng and the others are progressing!"
"Reporting to the Sect Leader, the Chief Steward and the others have already subdued most of the factions. The Great Wilderness Dynasty and the Great Qian Dynasty have officially declared their submission. Only the Great Yu Dynasty is still stubbornly resisting. There has also been no word of submission from Yellow Sand Fort or the Talisman Sect. The Chief Steward said he could deal with these factions within half a year at most."
Zhou Qiong laughed heartily. "They certainly aren't moving slowly. Notify Liansheng that I told him to slow down. He doesn't necessarily have to unify the continent within a year."
"Also, notify the guardians, hall masters, and demon kings to return to the Demon Sect's headquarters in batches."
"As you command!" Tian San, still kneeling on the floor, gradually vanished from the great hall.
"System, open the Time Room. I want to cultivate."
"All right, Host."
Zhou Qiong had learned from the system that the first four stages of the Profound Understanding Realm counted as the early stage. From the fifth stage onward, each stage brought a transformation, making advancement extremely difficult. Thus, Zhou Qiong wanted to make good use of the system's reward.
As long as he cultivated to peak Martial God before unifying the continent, the reward would raise him to seventh stage Profound Understanding. That would give him greater assurance when he went to the upper realm.
As for why he had summoned the Demon Sect's senior members back in turns, it was naturally to raise their cultivation using the Small Ten Thousand Demons Pool. Zhou Qiong did not want to go to the upper realm alone. Accustomed to being the Demon Sect leader, he could not bear to part with this way of life.
In a city on the outskirts of the Great Yu Dynasty, the red-robed Liansheng was drawing up plans with the Demon Sect's senior members.
"Chief Steward, if you ask me, we should just charge in and slaughter our way through. Can this Great Yu Dynasty really stop us?" The Demon Tiger King slapped his head as he spoke from the side. He truly found working out plans troublesome.
Li Changsheng of the Azure Dragon Hall, standing nearby, also said with a smile, "It may be a crude method, but it really would work. Although the Great Yu Dynasty is stronger than the other two great dynasties, it still falls far short of our Demon Sect."
Liansheng thought for a moment, then nodded. "Tomorrow morning, everyone will follow me straight to the imperial palace. We'll take down the Great Yu Dynasty in one stroke. Then the remaining Talisman Sect and Yellow Sand Fort will be nothing to worry about."
"As you command!" the Demon Sect's senior members replied excitedly. It had been two years, and they were finally about to complete the task the Sect Leader had assigned ahead of schedule.
Just then, a figure wearing a diamond mask appeared beside Liansheng, said a few words to him, then turned and vanished again.
Everyone from the Demon Sect knew this meant the Sect Leader had issued orders. Over the past two years, the Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow Four Divisions had also come to the attention of the Demon Sect's senior members. They occasionally coordinated with their operations, but no one had ever seen what they looked like, because they never removed their masks.
All they knew was that these people were experts, with even the weakest at the Martial Emperor Realm, and that they took orders only from the Sect Leader. Even the Chief Steward had no authority over them.
Liansheng cleared his throat. "The Sect Leader has ordered us to take exactly one year to subdue all the factions. No more, and no less."
Everyone from the Demon Sect was surprised, but no one dared object. Zhou Qiong's word was now absolute in the Demon Sect. In their hearts, he was even more formidable than the founding patriarch. He was their undisputed leader.
Inside a secluded cultivation chamber in the mountains behind the Demon Sect, a figure sat cross-legged, his entire body covered in dust and his presence so faint it seemed nonexistent. It was the Grand Guardian, Bai Haotian, undergoing rebirth through nirvana.
Over the past two years, he had nearly died several times. Yet the image of a phoenix at his heart continually released vitality, sustaining his life. This repeated over and over.
At last, the phoenix stopped releasing vitality. Instead, it spread its wings and flew, giving off red flames. Bai Haotian's entire body instantly caught fire. But rather than burning him, the flames made his vitality and presence grow stronger the longer they burned.
Before long, Bai Haotian recovered his early-stage Martial Sovereign cultivation, and it did not stop there. His cultivation continued to rise: mid-stage Martial Sovereign, late-stage Martial Sovereign, peak Martial Sovereign.
With a bang, something seemed to shatter inside Bai Haotian's body. His cultivation climbed another stage before slowly settling down. An hour later, Bai Haotian opened his eyes, a trace of delight flashing within them.