Longevity: My Talents Are a Bit Abundant

The next day.

Starlight Immortal City, Heaven-grade room.

Shen Xuan draped a robe over himself and stood by the window, overlooking the Starlight Immortal City below, his gaze deep and pensive.

Wan Meng Demon Venerable lazily reclined on the soft bed, her robe half undone, fingertips twirling a strand of black hair, her eyes flowing, alluring and charming, exuding a unique charm.

"Shen Lang, is your Body Refining Technique about to break through?"

Wan Meng Demon Venerable’s voice contained a hint of admiration.

"Not that fast."

Shen Xuan said indifferently, "I need a large quantity of High Tier Divine Dragon Descendant Inner Core Essence Blood Reverse Scales to break through the bottleneck."

At this point, there’s no need to lie.

Many Spirit Pills and Demon Pills for breaking through bottlenecks are refined from the essence materials of Demon Beasts.

"Just these!"

Wan Meng Demon Venerable waved her hand, and five Jade Boxes appeared on the table.

Shen Xuan scanned with his Divine Sense.

The Divine Dragon Essence contained in these Demon Pills and Reverse Scales was quite thin.

They should be ordinary Tier Three Lower Grade Demon Flood Dragons.

"What do you wish to trade for?"

"Trade for Blood Demon Pills."

Wan Meng Demon Venerable chuckled charmingly, "Shen Lang, you have so many Blood Demon Pills, trade a few more for me!"

"A trade is a trade."

Shen Xuan said seriously.

He estimated in his mind.

"Six Inner Cores, three Reverse Scales. A total of twenty-one Blood Demon Pills. Deal or no deal?"

"Deal!"

Wan Meng Demon Venerable said angrily.

This trade price still earned her some profit.

Shen Xuan didn’t say much, taking out twenty-one Blood Demon Pills to trade with Wan Meng Demon Venerable.

The trade completed, the atmosphere was subtle, filled with slight detachment amidst the romance.

Wan Meng Demon Venerable got up, tidied her clothes, ready to leave.

Shen Xuan expressionlessly took out a stack of Ice Talismans and pushed them in front of Wan Meng Demon Venerable.

"What kind of talisman is this?"

"Ice Soul Flying Sword Talisman."

Shen Xuan said indifferently, "Tier Three Middle Grade Ice Talisman, each can match a full strike from the Early Stage True Pill."

"These nine Ice Soul Flying Sword Talismans, I have re-refined with my own Spiritual Essence, set into a small Talisman Array. They can be activated simultaneously, the power comparable to a full strike from Late Stage True Pill."

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, Wan Meng Demon Venerable was a bit surprised.

Comparable to a full strike from Late Stage True Pill, the power of this Ice Sword Talisman Array exceeded her imagination.

Years ago, in the Demon Realm space, if she had these nine Ice Soul Flying Sword Talismans, perhaps she could break open the Flame Bird’s Flame Array and escape.

"Wan Meng, this Yan Country trip has been arduous for you. Consider this as compensation."

Shen Xuan’s expression was calm.

Nine Ice Sword Treasure Talismans, out for sale, would be at least two million Spirit Stones.

Not less than a Demon Flood Dragon Demon Core.

Shen Xuan gave them away straightforwardly.

This moved Wan Meng Demon Venerable somewhat.

This rascal, cold and indifferent to her, being together meant either bodily pleasure or artifact trades.

This time, he unexpectedly gifted her Tier Three Ice Talismans for protection.

That moment of dissatisfaction instantly vanished.

"Thank you, Shen Lang!"

Wan Meng Demon Venerable embraced Shen Xuan, kissing him warmly.

After she finished kissing, Shen Xuan gently pushed her away.

"Wan Meng, the demon surge in Yan Country is overwhelming, the sects of the four countries reached a consensus, I am about to embark on an expedition to Yan Country."

"Liang Country will also dispatch experts to Yan Country. You in Liang Country, help me acquire Water and Fire Attribute Tier Three Demon Beast Inner Core Essence Blood."

"No matter what price you acquire it for, I will pay you a twenty percent commission, alright?"

"Alright!"

Wan Meng Demon Venerable agreed readily.

Tier Three Demon Beast Inner Core Essence Blood, though precious, is heavy with Demonic Qi, making its use relatively limited for Human Race Spirit Cultivators, its market price far lower than that of Tier Three Demon Beast Inner Core Essence Blood.

Though Demon Cultivators can use it, they need to strip away the Demonic Qi within, requiring corresponding Demon Sect Secret Techniques or sinister Demon Soldiers for refinement and usage.

Theoretically, as a Spirit Cultivator, Shen Xuan has no use for Tier Three Demon Beast Inner Core Essence Blood.

Wan Meng Demon Venerable is clever enough not to inquire further.

She smiled charmingly, "Rest assured, Shen Lang, Wan Meng’s work is always reliable. Still trading with Blood Demon Pills?"

"There are only twenty Blood Demon Pills left. Spirit Stones, Demon Stones, Demon Soldiers, Ice Talismans, Life-Extending Pills, Golden Transformation Pills, choose as you wish."

"Alright. Wan Meng trusts Shen Lang."

She has unshakable trust in Shen Xuan’s wealth and character.

Under his governance, Starlight Immortal City is thriving, flourishing beautifully.

Moreover, he has initiated large-scale trade with the Wilderness Demon Race, bringing in a fortune.

"Just do your best, be mindful of your own safety."

Shen Xuan advised.

Demon Cultivators do not abide by morals or credibility.

The higher the tier of artifact trading, the more dangerous it gets.

Double-crossing is commonplace among Demon Cultivators.

This is also the reason Shen Xuan is willing to offer a twenty percent commission.

Wan Meng is an elite Demon Venerable of the Hehuan Sect, with a Holy Pill master behind her. Ordinary Demon Venerables wouldn’t dare to lay hands on her.

The two lingered for a while.

Wan Meng Demon Venerable whispered many sweet nothings.

Shen Xuan regarded it as nonsensical, in one ear and out the other.

Finally, after Shen Xuan pushed her away once more, Wan Meng Demon Venerable stamped her foot and flew towards the city gates.

"Two Demon Cores, three Reverse Scales, should be enough for the needs of three years."

Shen Xuan mused inwardly, transformed into a streak of blue light, flying back to Cold Ice Cave.

...

"Unexpected how there’s only two months’ time to form the Expeditionary Army!"

Inside Cold Ice Cave, while reading the confidential message from Mysterious Trace True Master, Shen Xuan fell deep into thought.

Previously, Mysterious Trace True Master had communicated with him.

The demon surge in Yan Country is overwhelming, the war escalating urgently.

Yan Country’s sects appealed to neighboring Liang, Song, and Lu countries for aid.

The major sects in the three countries repeatedly discussed, eventually deciding to dispatch troops.

Also delineating the paths for each country’s troop dispatch, the regional scope of exterminating Demon Beasts.

The task assigned to the Cyan Cloud Sect was to manage three prefectures within Yan Country, close to the Hundred Crafts Sect’s area of influence.

After multiple negotiations, the Cyan Cloud Sect formed an expeditionary army with Celestial Thunder True Master as the central army leader, True Master Ling Xiao leading the left army, and True Master Profound Ice leading the right army.

All three armies advanced side by side, supporting one another.

Celestial Wind True Master led the sect disciples, overseeing overall support, responsible for communications and logistics supply.

Deploying four Golden Core True Masters at once, the Cyan Cloud Sect intended to swiftly complete the demon eradication mission with overwhelming force, minimizing their losses.

This expeditionary army to Yan Country could only obtain monster material spoils.

The sects in Yan Country would not provide additional compensation for losses.

For the Cyan Cloud Sect cultivators, this was definitely a losing proposition.

"In the right army, apart from me as the lead Golden Core True Master, we need a few deputies and several Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with recruiting a thousand late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators."

Shen Xuan pondered over this.

As per tradition, he was supposed to travel with True Master Cold Jade and True Master Gu Feng.

However, one was fiery-tempered, and the other was not good at fighting.

Shen Xuan directly ruled out both masters.

He had better candidates in mind.

"In battles against demon beasts, the Howling Moon Fox and the Three-Tailed Cat would be more useful."

"Besides, not too many Foundation Establishment cultivators are needed."

Junior Sister Wen Luoying of Little Gu Feng, Junior Sister Fang Huixue of Cold Jade Peak, Lv Sihao from the Lv Family, Ding Lingchong from the Ding Family, Shangguan Cheng from the Shangguan Family, Tie Xinye, the son of Tie Wenda, Wen Yinfeng, the grandson-in-law of Lin Zhongyue, and Chu Wenhai, the son-in-law of Chu Dianlang.

Joining the expeditionary army was both a duty and an opportunity.

For instance, Wen Luoying had long reached Foundation Establishment Perfection but had been honing her skills continuously.

Years ago, Senior Sister Yun Chixin failed in her Core Formation, which made Wen Luoying hesitant to attempt Core Formation lightly and kept grinding away.

In Shen Xuan’s view, it was necessary for Wen Luoying to go to the frontline and engage in real battles to strengthen her Dao Heart and consolidate her Dao Foundation.

The same went for Fang Huixue and others.

These were newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been well-protected since childhood.

With the support of the sect and their families, rich in resources, their path was smooth to build their Dao Foundation.

However, to advance further down the path of cultivation,

they must participate in battles, gain insights into the Dao in life-and-death confrontations, and elevate their mental realm.

For cultivators, the strong are respected, and combat power is the best measure of strength.

The pressure of life and death is more likely to tap into one’s potential.

All kinds of spells must also be tested in actual combat.

Secluding oneself and working behind closed doors is not feasible.

If fear arises, tempting retreat when facing strong enemies, it easily breeds a Heart Demon, affecting the Dao Heart.

In Shen Xuan’s view, a cultivator’s journey is akin to rowing against the current; not progressing means falling back.

Appointing these newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators was actually for their own good.

With him leading, these people would be safer.

The real danger lay with the over thousand late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators.

Of these, some were sect disciples.

More were cultivators from subordinate cultivation clans.

Their goal in joining the expeditionary army was simple.

It was to earn sect merit and exchange it for a Foundation Establishment Pill, aiming to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Whether within the Cyan Cloud Sect or its subordinate clans, the number of Foundation Establishment realm cultivators was controlled by an invisible hand behind the scenes.

The Cyan Cloud Sect’s territory was limited, as was the number of spiritual lands.

The number and structure of cultivators needed to maintain positive momentum.

Thus, the Cyan Cloud Sect always controlled key spiritual objects like Foundation Establishment Pills.

This is a common practice among major sects.

Among the over thousand Qi Cultivation cultivators, at most a few dozen could establish their Dao Foundation.

Not that they lacked the talent.

But they lacked the finances to gather essential items for Foundation Establishment such as Foundation Establishment Pills and Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects.

...

Somewhere in the Demon Realm.

On a vast jade platform carved from emerald.

A handsome young man with golden skin and a charming, delicate beauty of a young girl sat in the center.

Beside them stood several attendants with peculiar appearances and a graceful, pretty maid.

Beneath the jade platform stood densely packed demon soldiers, numbering in the tens of thousands.

These demon soldiers, with bizarre appearances and to some extent bearing traits of demon beasts, had scaly armor, sharp claws, and varying numbers of limbs, their expressions dazed, exuding a strong rancid odor.

Behind the jade platform, there was a lotus-shaped passage, with a giant vortex whirling, surrounded by complex, strange symbols.

If Shen Xuan were here, he would recognize it at a glance.

This was the entrance to a Demon Realm passage.

The handsome young man was none other than Jin Lijian, the Young Master of the Golden Spirit Race.

At this moment, in the lotus passage, a stack of blackened upper-grade demon stones lay piled up.

"Brother, are you sending these demon soldiers into the Xuanyuan Realm?"

Jin Lijian’s voice was icy cold: "These demon soldiers are all worthless. It’s good to send them to the Xuanyuan Realm to scout."

He pointed a finger.

A streak of golden light split into tens of thousands of golden particles, scattering onto each demon soldier.

"They’re all useless things, perfect for testing the quality of Xuanyuan Realm’s cultivators."

Then, Jin Lijian called out: "Niu Dali."

From among the attendants, a nine-foot-tall bull-headed demon general stepped forth in response.

"You are about to break through to a higher level, a perfect chance to train in the lower world."

"Yes, Young Master."

Niu Dali responded loudly.

"Ding Chunhua."

A seductive shadow demon appeared from the shadows.

"At your service."

"Accompany Niu Dali on this trip."

"Yes, Young Master."

At this time, the charming young girl beckoned with her hand.

The beautiful maid beside her bent down.

"Yanting, accompany them and observe. No need to act, just report the situation below in detail."

"Yes, Miss."

The maid’s body became ethereal, transforming into a demon soldier with scaly armor and sharp claws, identical to the many demon soldiers below.

It turns out that the maid named Hua Yanting was also a shadow demon, who had already condensed a demon pill.

Shadow demons could merge into shadows, naturally adept at disguise, stealth, and assassination.

"Watch closely."

Jin Lijian pointed into the air.

Golden light flashed across the air, transforming into a human figure that remarkably resembled Shen Xuan.