Testing the Field of Merit

The Hairy Head Sun Law Power stopped at the threshold of burning. A faint golden glow enveloped the weakened devil's soul, no longer scorching or devouring it.

Wentesi silently reviewed the two bombshells the devil had revealed before its death.

The first was news that could increase his strength.

The location of a Primordial Essence Gem.

It lay in the ruins of the Elven Forest, a hundred thousand li away.

The Primordial Essence Gem was also recorded in Wentesi's draconic inheritance. It formed from the sap of the World Tree after its death.

It could unconditionally raise the life level of any race, making it exceptionally precious.

The news was indeed a bombshell. Even by the dragons' appraisal of valuables, a Primordial Essence Gem was a high-tier treasure.

But the pros and cons lay plainly before him.

The hundred-thousand-li journey crossed numerous countries and dangerous regions. The road ahead was unknown, with powers intertwined along the way. If he rashly set out in his current young red dragon body, he would likely be courting death.

Besides, the Elven Empire was no pushover. It firmly held its place among the world's foremost powers, with floating elven cities and countless legendary archmages. It was not to be trifled with.

Even if he traveled a hundred thousand li to the ruins, someone else might have already taken the Primordial Essence Gem.

There were too many uncertainties.

The other piece of news concerned the ruins of a dragon's lair piled high with draconic treasures, but that was even more like flowers in a mirror and the moon in water.

A great number of high-level wyverns surrounded the ruins. All were mature extraordinary ferocious beasts, far stronger than he was now.

"After all that, it was nothing but painted cakes."

Wentesi could not help feeling a surge of anger. As a wage worker in his previous life, he had eaten his fill of painted cakes, and now someone dared feed him more?!

Wentesi turned and gave the Abishai Devil an unfriendly look.

But when the Abishai Devil noticed Wentesi looking at him, he wore an expression of resignation, seemingly prepared to be killed by Wentesi.

He no longer struggled or pretended. He simply let his insubstantial soul body spread and disperse, having completely given up and wishing only for a swift death.

The unbearable torment of having his soul burned just now had utterly shattered his mind.

All the torture and pain he had suffered in his life, multiplied a hundredfold, could not compare to the agony of having his soul burned just now.

At this moment, the devil felt that death was not so unacceptable. Once he died, he would return to the Nine Hells of Baator and revive.

It was just that, having failed his mission, he would surely be tortured and punished by the higher-ranking devil lords, perhaps even killed for good.

But what did being tortured, punished, or killed by a devil lord amount to?

Compared with the pain inflicted by the terrifying red dragon before him, it did not amount to even one ten-thousandth!

"Kill me... you damned red dragon..."

In despair, the devil relaxed his soul body and spread it out completely. In that position, the Hairy Head Sun Law Power could burn him faster, and he could die faster.

Wentesi did not respond. He was weighing the pros and cons.

A lower-to-mid-ranking devil of the Nine Hells of Baator was born knowing how to beguile and deceive, seek advantage and avoid harm, and would spend his life trapped in assassination plots and contractual schemes.

Ordinarily, a low-level devil like him could never have known such top-level information affecting the entire main plane: secrets of the gods, abyssal rifts, primordial dragons, and the hidden affairs of nations.

The level of his knowledge and the information at his disposal were completely at odds with his status.

"There's something more to this."

The devil's soul before him was already frail to the extreme, like a candle guttering in the wind. The slightest application of Hairy Head Sun Law Power would send his soul scattering into oblivion.

After thinking for a moment, Wentesi decided to keep the devil alive after all.

Keeping him was far more useful than killing him.

Once his mastery of the Hairy Head Sun Method deepened further and he expanded the Golden Land space enough to convert another Field of Merit, he could simply convert the devil. Wouldn't that be wonderful!

Wentesi's killing intent greatly diminished. He gave the devil's remnant soul a wicked smile and said:

"Kill you? No, I won't let you die so easily. I'm going to keep you and torture you bit by bit every day!"

As the devil showed a despairing expression as if he had eaten shit, Wentesi wrapped him in Hairy Head Sun Law Power and placed him inside the level-two sealing ring.

"Hmm, where should I put this ring?"

Wentesi studied the magic ring floating above the tip of his claw and pondered for a while. He did not feel at ease with the ring that held the sealed devil.

Leaving it in the dragon's lair was out of the question, and leaving it outside would not do either. After considering it from every angle, he decided his stomach would be best.

"No, I have Hairy Head Sun Law Power inside me. If this ring goes into my stomach, it might be purified completely."

Wentesi shook his head. As he did, his gaze fell on Walker, the gnoll still kneeling and bowing devoutly beside him.

Walker's forehead was now covered in blood from kowtowing. He gazed at Wentesi with empty yet fanatical eyes, holding his kneeling posture without moving.

A perfect arrangement instantly took shape.

"I've got it. You'll do! Walker, I'll return this ring to its rightful owner. Take good care of it."

With a thought, Wentesi lifted the sealing ring with Law Power and slipped it precisely back onto the tip of the gnoll Walker's claw, without the slightest error. It had truly been returned to its rightful owner.

"You must protect the ring. You are not allowed to take it off."

Wentesi sent the absolute command of the Golden Land's master into Walker's sea of consciousness.

Walker's soul was already linked to his, and this command was like a heavenly law carved into his soul, impossible to defy.

Wentesi probed Walker's mind again, continuing to inspect the state of his first Field of Merit.

After examining him, he had a general understanding of the situation.

The gnoll Walker's physical wounds were not fatal. A few days of rest would restore him to normal, and his mobility and fighting strength would gradually return.

But the state of his soul was less promising. Because it had been Wentesi's first time using the conversion method, he had forcibly washed Walker's soul with violent Hairy Head Sun Law Power.

Although it had washed away the devil's power within him and removed the evil influence, it had also inflicted irreversible damage on his sea of consciousness and brain tissue.

Even if he recovered in the future, his intelligence would inevitably be greatly diminished. He could never regain his former shrewdness and cunning.

From now on, Walker would be nothing more than an absolutely loyal minion who feared no death, without a trace of disloyalty, possessing only fanaticism and a willingness to serve to the death.

"That's still acceptable."

For Wentesi, never betraying him was enough.

After taking care of all the loose ends, Wentesi walked out of the dragon's lair.

The sky was beginning to brighten, with the first faint light of morning.

The golden-red rays of the rising sun pierced the thin mist over Emerald Valley and spilled across the entire valley.

From his first conversion of a Field of Merit to interrogating and subduing the devil, he had unwittingly stayed up the entire night.

Although the night's cultivation had consumed a vast amount of Hairy Head Sun Law Power, his gains had been considerable.

The Golden Land was completely stable, his first Field of Merit had taken shape, and he held a devil full of secrets as a bargaining chip. What a haul!

Looking at the rising sun, Wentesi felt the urge to cultivate surge in his heart. He began circulating the Hairy Head Sun Method and cultivating.

But as if someone did not want him to cultivate, a strange beastly roar rang out from the edge of his territory.

At first, the sound was piercing, like a cat's cry.

But in an instant, the howl turned fierce and savage, carrying the threatening presence of a large carnivore.

It was the roar of a leopard-type ferocious beast!

An uproar suddenly broke out beyond the dragon's lair.

The kobold guards on duty rushed toward the fishing area in a disorderly formation, clearly warning of an attack.

Wentesi's draconic brows knitted slightly. He greatly disliked being disturbed.

Hairy Head Sun Law Power gathered in his dragon eyes. With a dragon's innate perception augmented by Law Power, he locked onto the incoming enemy's presence.

It was that level-six Beast-Transformed Leopard!

The Beast-Transformed Leopard was currently tearing into a wounded gnoll in the fishing area.

Damn it! How dare it kill my subordinate!

Wentesi grew angry.

He spread his dragon wings, ready to take flight and kill the Beast-Transformed Leopard with his own claws.

Suddenly, he turned his gaze toward Walker, the devout gnoll inside the dragon's lair.

Wentesi blinked, and another plan came to mind.

The Field of Merit was complete, but its loyalty and actual combat strength had yet to be tested.

The Beast-Transformed Leopard was a perfect chance to see what it could do.

Even if the Field of Merit could not win, it could still wear the beast down. Wentesi could step in and finish it off afterward.

Wentesi immediately gave the order:

"Walker, go defeat the level-six Beast-Transformed Leopard!"