Father and Son

The black and white twin horses are rare Spirit Artifact, but Zhang Xuezhou discarded them quite quickly.

He stopped using this Spirit Artifact several years ago.

Not only could cultivators of the same age not keep up with Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation progress, but even rare and precious Spirit Artifact could not meet Zhang Xuezhou's needs.

The Venerables can use it for a lifetime, but Zhang Xuezhou truly has nowhere to use the Black and White Twin Horses.

Although Zhang Xuezhou could give away some unused treasures to make it easier for others to travel far, this set of Spirit Artifact had some problems.

Firstly, Zhang Xuezhou was unsure whether the two Venerable Ones, White Bone and Black Mountain, had left a backdoor.

Secondly, this was Spirit Artifact given to Hongku by the Venerables White Bone and Black Mountain. It wouldn't be surprising if these two Venerables took it back if anyone else used it.

The best user of the black and white twin horses is undoubtedly the true Hongku.

Zhang Xuezhou even suspected that Hongku had been playing coy with the Venerable White Bone and others over the years, and that he needed to create a false impression, which was why the Black and White Twin Horses could be kept quietly in Zhang Xuezhou's possession.

But whether it's Hongku or Venerable White Bone, these people are likely to be disappointed. Zhang Xuezhou has not exhausted the Black and White Twin Horses to this day, and his own Law Power has not been used to refine this set of Spirit Artifact.

He did not serve as a diversion for Hongku, nor was he ever traced back to the source by the Venerable White Bone and others to uncover his true form.

"We still need to travel another eight hundred miles to deplete the Law Power the two Venerable Ones previously cultivated!"

Shanglin Garden was an important royal garden, somewhat like Liang Garden. It added artificial buildings to the original mountains, water, and woodlands to create a harmonious integration of mountains, water, and architecture.

Even the city walls and moat surrounding Chang'an City couldn't stop Zhang Xuezhou, let alone the Shanglin Garden, which took advantage of the terrain.

Two horses, one black and one white, galloped through the forests of Shanglin Garden and crossed the river.

Sitting on the back of the white horse, Zhang Xuezhou tried his best to exhaust the black and white horses before Hongku arrived in Chang'an City, so that Hongku could trade with peace of mind.

The defenses of Shanglin Garden, which spans hundreds of miles, are extremely weak. As long as you don't venture into the palace area of Shanglin Garden, you will hardly encounter anyone.

Zhang Xuezhou and galloped aimlessly for a while.

He searched for Changxing in Huainan by flying and riding horses, but to no avail. His attempt to find Changxing by chance eventually turned into a rescue mission. After failing to find him, Zhang Xuezhou decided to try his luck at Shanglin Garden.

Of course, the result was the same as always.

Whether it was because the hidden secret of Shanglin Garden was too well concealed, or because his luck had been average recently, or because his fortune level was not up to par, or for some other reason, Zhang Xuezhou rode his horse through the mountains and rivers without seeing any unusual areas to explore.

This finally made Zhang Xuezhou give up his hopes of getting lucky and instead focus on exhausting the Black and White Horses as soon as possible.

The distance the black and white horses could run, originally 1,000 li, decreased to 800 li, then to 600 li, and then to 400 li...

"There are quite a few lesser demons in here!"

The secret location wasn't found, but Zhang Xuezhou unexpectedly discovered some demonic creatures.

These monsters were bound hand and foot with iron shackles and locked in boulders or caves, their range of movement extremely limited.

Simple-minded wild beasts would die from such restraints, but creatures that have developed intelligence are much more resilient.

Some remaining skeletons prove that these monsters were regularly fed, preventing them from starving to death while trapped inside.

"It seems to be a demon-raising elixir!"

Although Zhang Xuezhou found some moth cores that hadn't grown for many days to replace the demon core in reality, for a strict Alchemist, a large demon core that had cultivated for a long enough time was the best medicinal catalyst.

Many Alchemist attribute their failed pill-refining attempts to demon cores, believing that the insufficient quality of demon cores leads to the mediocre or even failed effects of their Creation Pills.

In this situation, a good demon core is extremely precious.

Liangyuan Garden in Suiyang also cultivated many Rare Flowers and Exotic Herbs, as well as rare and exotic animals, and similarly nurtured monsters.

It is also normal for some minor demons to be raised and nurtured in the Shanglin Garden.

Moreover, the new emperor had mentioned using the keen sense of smell of wild beasts to find secret locations, and this arrangement is a step further.

Zhang Xuezhou traveled and discovered six lesser demon lairs, which he observed carefully for a short time.

"It seems unlikely that we can rely on the little demon!"

There were no secret places near the demons' lair, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't find any either. He sighed, and then he heard a cry coming from a cave.

"Grandpa wants meat! He wants big chunks of meat! Only by eating big chunks of meat can Grandpa get the Great Elixir! Bring me big chunks of meat right now! It's been twenty whole days! What do you mean by not giving me any for twenty days...?"

The voice, heavy with resentment, also carried a hint of familiarity.

Even the emperors of Chang'an City didn't have meat to eat, let alone the monsters they kept as pets.

Some people may eat meat secretly, but they cannot eat it openly, much less slaughter livestock for meat.

Demons that can accept a vegetarian diet can eat a couple of bites, but demons that eat only meat can only starve. If they don't starve to death, they can be fed again after the mourning period. If they starve to death, they can be disemboweled and their core extracted.

"You can't treat me like this! I, your humble servant, have my own principles. I'd rather die than be humiliated... Sir, has the imperial court allowed us to eat meat now?"

The calls were incessant, and after hearing them many times, Zhang Xuezhou felt that they sounded somewhat familiar.

He jumped off the white horse and approached the cave. Footsteps echoed, and the grumbling voices inside the cave had changed to a different one.

"It's you?"

Turning past the rocks, Zhang Xuezhou peered into the cave. In the cave, which was less than five meters deep, a stone slab lay horizontally as a bed. Water droplets fell from the stone wall and landed in a stone urn next to the slab bed.

On the stone bed, a gray toad demon, about half a person's height, had its leg bones pierced by chains and nailed to the stone slab. When it saw Zhang Xuezhou crawl in, it lowered its head and folded its front legs in a gesture of respect.

It wasn't until Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise that the gray toad demon raised its head.

"Sir... sir?"

Don't you recognize me?

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to himself, then looked at the toad demon.

If he hadn't shed that outer layer, Zhang Xuezhou would have had to give the gray-skinned toad demon a new name.

Without the Toad Skin, all that remains is the essence of a toad demon.

Zhang Xuezhou spoke repeatedly, and the gray toad demon's eyes widened, his gaze shifting from astonishment to confusion, then to disbelief, and finally to a bittersweet mix of joy and sorrow, followed by tears streaming down his face.

"I recognize you! Even if you turned to ashes, I would still recognize you, Godfather! Please save me, Godfather!"

Zhang Xuezhou felt that he had been a bit shameless since his debut, but Zhang Xuezhou later realized that people are not all the same, and some people talk without thinking because they haven't been in danger themselves.

When faced with a predicament they cannot solve, no one would fail to grasp at any glimmer of hope.

Looking at Jin Wanliang, who recognized him, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but feel a little wistful.

Although he didn't really want to have such a son, the Golden Toad Dharma King took Jin Wanliang under his wing as his grandson, and he then became the Golden Toad Dharma King's godfather. By forcibly creating a connection between the human and the demon, they were able to establish a relationship.

"How did you end up locked up here?" Zhang Xuezhou asked suspiciously.

"Since the Ancestor left the Sacred Land Sacred Land on business, my days there have been unpleasant. The bird demons around me are my natural nemesis; I'm terrified of them. I've been living in constant fear there. Later, I thought about going back to my hometown, but I was caught not long after I got back!"

Jin Wanliang wept bitterly as he recounted his days of suffering.

This made Zhang Xuezhou feel that this kind of life was too simple, without any thrills or excitement whatsoever.

After being tossed around and imprisoned, coupled with the fact that demons generally don't cultivate at a fast pace, Jin Wanliang Jin Wanliang exactly the same person Zhang Xuezhou had seen years ago.

"Godfather, you are now a great cultivator, you must save me!"

Jin Wanliang, dragging the iron chain, lifted his leg and hopped twice, trying to look up at Zhang Xuezhou's head.

More than a decade ago, Zhang Xuezhou, covered in dust and grime, rolled around in the snowy mountains, eating raw meat to survive. But as time passed, Jin Wanliang discovered that the mortals he could once devour in one bite were now beyond his reach.

He sniffed hard and Jin Wanliang sensed an extremely terrifying aura emanating from Zhang Xuezhou.

It was as if Zhang Xuezhou could kill him with a single thought.