"Fang Han! You must heed this; after the cauldron has absorbed too many heavenly demons, you must use Blood Soul Origin Qi to feed them. If the heavenly demons have nothing to eat, they will become listless and might even slaughter each other!"
Seeing Fang Han vigorously operating the King Cauldron, sucking heavenly demons in one by one, "Yan" quietly emerged, looking at the boundless Blood Flesh Mire.
"What? Heavenly demons need to eat too?"
In a short moment, Fang Han absorbed over five hundred heavenly demons. Those heavenly demons flying back and forth in the mires and swamps saw such a figure suddenly drop from the sky and initially intended to swarm over and share the bloody food. But seeing Fang Han so fierce and hideous, they instantly knew he was formidable and fled in all directions, which forced Fang Han to give chase.
"Of course heavenly demons need to eat. They sustain themselves on the Blood Soul Origin Qi of living beings. You have not fed the fifty thousand heavenly demons you absorbed into the King Cauldron these past few days. This will not do. In another ten days to a half month, they will begin to slaughter each other." Yan said solemnly: "This is the same logic as raising soldiers in the secular world. You have an army of fifty thousand; could it be they do not eat or drink? Will they still fight battles for you?"
"That is actually true! I absolutely must let them absorb Blood Soul Origin Qi." Fang Han thought about it, and indeed this logic applied. Experts of the Divine Ability Realm all had to consume pills to maintain their physical stamina. Heavenly demons were also a kind of living being, not stones, so naturally they had to eat. He had actually neglected this these past few days: "If this continues, I will have to slaughter living beings every day to feed them? How can that be? Wouldn't they become my burden? How much Blood Soul Origin Qi does one heavenly demon need to absorb every day?"
"Once a heavenly demon has sucked its fill of Blood Soul Origin Qi, it can go for three months without eating. However, for a heavenly demon to suck its fill, roughly calculating… back in the day, elders of the Yellow Spring Demonic Sect also raised heavenly demons. The current Demonic Sect, the Blood Shadow Sect, is also a major demonic path that raises heavenly demons. Taking the Xuanhuang fiery horses of the Great Xuan Empire as an example, a heavenly demon sucking about ten Xuanhuang fiery horses dry is equivalent to having eaten its fill."
"Yan" calculated and said.
"What?" Upon hearing this, Fang Han almost jumped up. Thinking slightly in his mind, with fifty thousand heavenly demons in his cauldron, and one heavenly demon needing to suck ten Xuanhuang fiery horses to be full, those fifty thousand heavenly demons would require five hundred thousand horses.
Every three months, he would essentially have to use five hundred thousand horses to feed the heavenly demons. He was even thinking of having the Five Hells King Cauldron absorb eight million heavenly demons. If so, wouldn't the Blood Soul Origin Qi for feeding the heavenly demons be insufficient? Eight million heavenly demons, how many living beings would they need to suck dry?
"The sea has abundant living beings. If you fish a few million catties of fish and shrimp every day for the heavenly demons to suck, that will be enough," Yan said.
"Then I don't need to cultivate anymore?" Fang Han shook his head.
"Then let the heavenly demons out and let them find food for themselves. But if you let them out, these heavenly demons will also run away. Unless you place restrictions on these heavenly demons one by one, but placing restrictions on tens of thousands of heavenly demons seems impossible. Furthermore, raising heavenly demons and letting them out to suck the blood qi of living beings is a major taboo in the immortal dao. I'm afraid the Yuhua Sect would be the first to not spare you."
"Yan" thought about it and also felt that raising heavenly demons was truly a difficult task.
"Raising heavenly demons is a troublesome task. Back in the day, the big shots of the demonic path only let their subordinate disciples raise them. If you could obtain that Dao artifact, the All-Heavens Blood Pool of the Blood Shadow Sect, then raising even ten million heavenly demons would be a piece of cake. Otherwise, you can learn from that Demon God and turn a star into a Blood Flesh Mire."
"These are all delusions; where do I have such immense magic power?" Fang Han shook his head.
"There is no way around it; you can only let them slaughter each other. I searched the memory of the Water Gu Heavenly Demon. He once had an army of millions of heavenly demons. After being sealed, they had no Blood Soul Origin Qi to extract, so they slaughtered each other, and finally only a hundred thousand remained. After a few months, if you do not feed your fifty thousand heavenly demons, they will probably dwindle by thirty thousand. A year later, only a few thousand will remain."
Yan sighed: "Having a heavenly demon army, one cannot afford to feed them. If there were ample Blood Soul Origin Qi, heavenly demons would even divide. However, you must also constantly observe them to prevent demonic kings from evolving from among the heavenly demons. A demonic king is capable of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Method; if it self-destructs, it would be unbearable."
"Raising heavenly demons seems to be a troublesome matter, just like raising horses, with so many complications." Fang Han originally thought that by capturing eight million heavenly demons and putting them into the cauldron, he could thoroughly urge the power of the Five Hells King Cauldron, and from then on, he could contend with great experts of the Golden Pill level. But he didn't expect there to be various precautions for raising heavenly demons.
His time was exceptionally precious. If he spent it all on feeding heavenly demons, where would he have time to cultivate?
"Hmm? That's right! Within this Blood Flesh Mire, it is entirely filled with Blood Soul Origin Qi. Apart from absorbing heavenly demons, you can inclusively absorb some of it, at least letting the heavenly demons absorb it."
Yan could not think of any other method either.
"Very well!"
Fang Han circulated the King Cauldron, spinning fully in the sky. The Spirit-Devouring Grand Array operated even more fiercely. Apart from absorbing heavenly demons, it also sucked in massive amounts of grayish gas, sending everything onto that hundred-ghost folding screen.
The Blood Flesh Mire was created by a Demon God-level expert who used a blood sacrifice to turn a tiny star beyond the region into a swamp-like existence. The mud of those swamps was actually entirely formed from the decay of flesh and blood. Precisely because of this, the depths of the swamp could endlessly produce flesh and blood qi, providing the infinite and exhaustless heavenly demon army with the blood qi they relied on for survival.
Heavenly demons also needed to eat. Only by absorbing nutrients could they continue to exist, and only then could they evolve, cultivate, and ultimately achieve a true form, a body of flesh and blood, turning into a demonic king. If a heavenly demon did not consume the blood soul of living beings for a long time, it would become listless and powerless, finally dying and dissipating between heaven and earth.
If a heavenly demon became self-sufficient on the Blood Soul Origin Qi of living beings, it might even divide into two. If a heavenly demon cultivated a certain demonic art, it could prevent itself from dividing, cultivate its origin qi, and through various transformations, turn into a demonic king. However, Fang Han had to prevent this from happening, because once a demonic king was born, it would be difficult to control, and it would shatter the hundred-ghost folding screen and fly out.
On the hundred-ghost folding screen, fifty thousand heavenly demons were now gathered. Looking from afar, it was like a picture with profound artistic conception, with tens of thousands of devils layered over one another, from far to near.
This folding screen was not a spatial dharma artifact, and the Five Hells King Cauldron was not a Dao artifact, so it could not open up space. Therefore, the folding screen could only accommodate formless existences like heavenly demons; it could not accommodate demonic kings. Once a demonic king gained physical form, it would detach from the folding screen and jump out.
Heavenly demons, one after another, accompanied by massive amounts of grayish mist, were sucked into the folding screen. Instantly, the originally slightly listless heavenly demons all vigorously inhaled that grayish mist.
These grayish mists were Blood Soul Origin Qi, just somewhat stale and not fresh, unlike steaming fresh blood qi. However, it was better than nothing, and it still allowed the heavenly demons to fill their stomachs.
At this time, Long Xuan also flew out of the cauldron. Utilizing the "Myriad Water True Qi," she captured heavenly demons one by one. Although her speed was much slower compared to the "Spirit-Devouring Array," it allowed her to temper her true qi.
Fang Han's ingenuity in utilizing true qi was seen in Long Xuan's eyes.
"Ah!"
A powerful heavenly demon was captured by Long Xuan's true qi, wrapped into a crystal-clear water ball. That heavenly demon seemed to have cultivated a certain demonic art as well, struggling with all its might. However, Long Xuan split her true qi and suddenly fused it with an Ice Soul Divine Thunder. With a jolt, it was frozen into shattered pieces and was also sent into the King Cauldron.
The shattered heavenly demon still wanted to recover on the folding screen of the King Cauldron, but seeing the easy prey, countless heavenly demons opened their mouths and swallowed it down.
Such injured heavenly demons naturally could not survive within the heavenly demon army.
"The heavenly demons here are too few. After absorbing for so long, I only captured five thousand heavenly demons. Gathering eight million is truly a drop in the bucket." Spurring the King Cauldron, Fang Han circled through the sky and discovered that all the heavenly demons had been sucked dry. He immediately called out to Long Xuan, and both flew into the cauldron, flying towards the distance once more.
"Going further into the distance, we will encounter demonic kings," Long Xuan reminded.
"That's nothing much. As long as we do not encounter a demonic king who has refined the Heavenly Demon Golden Pill, I am not afraid. Demonic kings with a Heavenly Demon Golden Pill are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; how could we possibly run into them?" Fang Han knew that demonic kings of the Golden Pill level were extremely rare even among heavenly demons. I am afraid there were none in this Blood Flesh Mire. If there were, they would have long been besieged and killed by the Daoist portals.
Long Xuan thought it over and agreed. She was very familiar with the Blood Flesh Mire and knew that Fang Han clearly possessed extensive divine abilities now; encountering a demonic king would not matter.
Right at this moment, in the distance!
A castle completely condensed from dark clouds floated in the air. On the throne in the center of the castle sat a young man, possessing an incomparably handsome appearance and a high, straight nose bridge. He wore an intricately embroidered silver robe, and on his head, he wore a crown. Looking at him, he seemed like the crown prince of some dynasty.
The physical aura of this young man was extremely powerful, rolling and scattering like the tide.
Below the throne he sat upon stood a row of women and a row of men. The women were enchantingly charming, seemingly like female immortals of the Daoist portals. The men were all extraordinarily handsome, wearing battle armors that were not illusions, but magic treasures! These were surprisingly not those formless heavenly demons, but demonic kings who had condensed solid forms!
There were nine men and also nine women.
That is to say, this silver-robed young Heavenly Demonic King, who looked like a "crown prince," had eighteen great demonic kings under his command!
"Seven Leaves Demon Lord, you have recently arrived at this Blood Flesh Mire, and we wish to report a matter to you. Recently, a major event occurred in the Daoist portals. The Demonic Commander of the Innate Demonic Sect killed three true disciples of the Taiyi Sect. Now he is being hunted down, and I fear he has entered Guixu. I do not know if he will pass by our Blood Flesh Mire."
A male demonic king stepped forward to report.
"With this kind of matter, we can pick up an easy advantage." The Seven Leaves Demon Lord waved his hand, "You pass down the order; let the various heavenly demons be strictly on guard and go outside to gather information. If any little heavenly demon gathers accurate intelligence, I will reward them heavily."
"Understood!"
"My arrival at the Blood Flesh Mire this time is to enter the Xuanhuang Prime World and cooperate with Lord Nine Yang Demon God to rescue my father. I do not mind telling you this either," the Seven Leaves Demon Lord said.
"We already know that Lord Nine Yin Demon God suffered a sneak attack jointly by the Monster God and the Heavenly Silkworm Matriarch, and is currently sealed and suppressed. Master Seven Leaves, as Lord Nine Yin Demon God's most formidable son, naturally must come to the rescue."
The eighteen male and female great demonic kings said.
"Mhm, it's good that you know. Lord Nine Yang Demon God will soon shatter the void and enter the Xuanhuang Prime World. However, to guard against detection by the formidable figures among the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao, we must make more preparations," the Seven Leaves Demon Lord said.
"Lord Seven Leaves Demon Lord, a group of formidable figures has entered this Blood Flesh Mire. They are currently slaughtering our heavenly demon army and are already heading this way." A heavenly demon suddenly flew to the main gate of the castle but did not dare to enter, kneeling on the ground and speaking.
"Hmm? Is it the Demonic Commander and the Taiyi Sect disciples?" a female demonic king asked.
"No, they are using a cauldron the size of a house! Absorbing our army, I do not know what they intend to do!" That heavenly demon did not dare to stand up, speaking while prostrating.
"A cauldron the size of a house? Could it be?" After hearing this, the Seven Leaves Demon Lord waved his hand. "Thousand-Mile Round Light Art!" Instantly, a round, bright light the size of a washbasin appeared in front of him. Within the round light, a great cauldron instantly appeared, spinning fully in the sky. A massive amount of heavenly demons were sucked into the cauldron, along with the Blood Soul Origin Qi in this Blood Flesh Mire.
"It truly is the Five Hells King Cauldron! The top-grade treasure artifact Uncle Five Hells used to command eight million heavenly demons back then! I want to enter the Xuanhuang Prime World, and one of my thoughts was exactly to inquire about the whereabouts of this King Cauldron. I didn't expect that wearing out iron shoes searching for it fruitlessly, it came to me entirely without effort!"
The Seven Leaves Demon Lord burst into hearty laughter, rising from his seat!
"Yin-Yang Eighteen Demonic Kings! Follow me together to capture the King Cauldron and the people inside. Having obtained this King Cauldron, we can house the heavenly demon army within it, and entering the Xuanhuang Prime World will be much easier. At the same time, you can also use the King Cauldron to temper your bodies and elevate the cultivation of your demonic arts."
"Good! The deeper we go, indeed there are more heavenly demons!" At this time, Fang Han once again discovered contingents of heavenly demons. Amidst gusts of sinister winds, fully over ten thousand heavenly demons actually conglomerated into a formation resembling a grand array, attacking towards him. The heavenly demons within his King Cauldron were gradually increasing, and its power was growing ever greater. Seeing an army formation of over ten thousand heavenly demons, he merely rejoiced secretly in his heart, abruptly urging a "Soul Devouring Grand Array" once more!
Within the Five Hells King Cauldron, there were thirty-six acceleration array formations, and there were even more array formations for absorbing various spiritual bodies of heavenly demons, magic treasures, and flying swords—a full fifty-four of them.
Back when the Five Hells Great Heavenly Demonic King engaged with enemies, if others cast magic treasures, he only needed to urge the fifty-four grand arrays to perform an inhalation. The opponent's magic treasures would immediately be sucked into the cauldron and suppressed. Even people could be sucked into the King Cauldron. However, Fang Han did not have such immense magic power. Maintaining the speed of the King Cauldron while simultaneously activating two absorption grand arrays was already his limit.
The "Soul Devouring Grand Array" was considerably much more powerful than the "Spirit-Devouring Grand Array." Amidst a bout of ghosts crying and gods howling, a patch of dark cloud rushed out from the King Cauldron, fully dozens of acres in size. It condensed into a devil's head, opening its mouth and inhaling!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle… Those ten thousand over heavenly demons couldn't help but throw themselves toward the devil's mouth, like long whales sucking water. All were thrown into the cauldron.
The King Cauldron instantly gained the power of over ten thousand heavenly demons. Immediately, a few more array formations were urged anew! The suction force increased greatly!
Now, the entire King Cauldron had fully over seventy thousand heavenly demons, approaching eighty thousand. Its power increased nearly twofold. Added to Fang Han's own magic power, the galloping force of twelve thousand fiery horses, when urged, the entire King Cauldron seemed to form a black hole, absorbing all formless spiritual bodies and auras.
The void around the King Cauldron contorted, seemingly about to collapse inwards.
"Hmph!"
Right at this moment, a cold snort transmitted from a distance. A silver-clad young man appeared dozens of miles away from the King Cauldron. Spreading his hand wide, instantly, swish swoosh, a heavenly river akin to quicksilver emerged from the top of his head. This heavenly river flowed in midair, transforming into a demonic palm, and forcibly grasped toward the King Cauldron.
"Such powerful magic power!"
Fang Han was shocked!