The First Immortal of Destiny-Chapter 511: The Demon-corrupted Li Zhong_1
"Lord Blood Demon, this way, please!"
Having announced his identity, the Class II Smoke Demon guarding the entrance to the valley ushered Shen Mo inside.
This Smoke Demon guiding the way, upon seeing that the visitor was a native evil cultivator, contorted its smoky figure, transforming into an enchanting woman in human eyes and even adopting human language to speak.
However, such transformations could deceive only ordinary cultivators and could not escape the scrutiny of Shen Mo’s Dharma Eye.
Even without invoking "Insight into All Beings," under the suppression of his Realm, he could still rely on his powerful soul power to probe the true nature of this Demon.
The Class II Smoke Demon initially intended to get close to Shen Mo, hoping to use its "beauty" to perturb his mood and absorb some of his stray emotions and desires. However, a shout from the Soul General guarding him frightened it into submission; it abandoned its tricks and obediently led the way with its head bowed.
The valley that was home to their clan was nestled between several large mountains, occupying a substantial area.
Both inside and outside the valley, measures similar to Formations were established to prevent unauthorized intrusions. Furthermore, within the valley stood immensely tall towers, some reaching heights of over a thousand feet—more accurately, cages shaped like towers, each imprisoning numerous creatures!
There were mortal men and women, cultivators, and Outer Zone beings with peculiar appearances... All were captives plundered by the Smoke Demon experts from various places, serving as fodder for their cultivation.
As Shen Mo passed one of these tower-shaped cages, he extended his sense for a quick inspection. As expected, the creatures imprisoned within were involved in all sorts of unimaginable, extreme acts of desire. Much like the men, women, and children in the small town he had seen before, they provided the Smoke Demons with pure and potent emotions and desires!
These intangible "resources" were collected by the Smoke Demon clan through special methods. As for the imprisoned and exploited creatures, once they were utterly drained, their corpses would also be traded away, ensuring nothing went to waste.
Suppressing his emotions, Shen Mo proceeded expressionlessly towards the deeper parts of the valley. When dealing with Smoke Demons, one had to maintain composure and avoid restlessness; any trace of emotional leakage or mental distraction would allow the Smoke Demon clan to detect an anomaly!
This caused the Class II Smoke Demon leading the way to feel quite regretful. After all, for them, the fluctuating emotions and stray thoughts of powerful beings were high-grade cultivation resources, as valuable as High-Grade Spirit Pills to cultivators! But at this moment, Shen Mo’s Path Heart was as calm as undisturbed water; naturally, it couldn’t absorb a shred of his emotions or thoughts.
「...」
In the depths of the valley, a dozen evil cultivators and Outer Zone Demons had already gathered. Some were grouped in twos and threes, others sat alone, forming roughly five small circles. In front of each was a stone table, laden with various "nectars and dainties" according to their respective species and tastes!
Before some Demons lay standard fare: hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, kidneys, eyeballs, slices of meat, and Blood Wine. Judging by the shapes of these "foods" and the Spiritual Qi they contained, they likely originated from high-Realm beings of the Immortal Path. Other Demons and evil cultivators had relatively lighter diets, with Spirit Fruits and spiritual wine on their tables. Most peculiar were the three Smoke Demons seated in the host positions; their plates held clusters of colorful, smoke-like orbs. Occasionally, they would take a puff, an act that sent shivers of pleasure through their smoky bodies!
Under the guidance of the Class II Smoke Demon, Shen Mo quickly arrived among this group of Demons. After a quick glance, he roughly estimated the strength of those present: Three Smoke Demons—one at the peak of Class III, the other two in the late stages of Class III. Five human evil cultivators, their power ranging from the middle to late Spirit Sea Realm. One late-stage Class III Thousand-eyed Demon, one peak Class III Human-faced Willow Demon, and one middle-stage Class III mutated Heavenly Demon...
Hmm?
When Shen Mo’s sense swept over the only Heavenly Demon present, he was momentarily startled, his expression quickly darkening.
Senior Brother Li... This mutated Heavenly Demon, its body Demon-corrupted, was none other than Shen Mo’s old acquaintance, Li Zhong, an Elite Disciple of Stars Peak from the Riverside Sect!
Years ago, shortly after Shen Mo participated in the Tianshan grand ceremony, a Heavenly Demon passage opened beneath Tianshan Mountain. After rescuing Zhao Lingyin, he was pursued by the Thousand Martial Heavenly Demon. He had to dig tunnels, fleeing all the way to Tianshan City. Afterwards, he sought help from the Elite Disciples of Stars Peak via a Sound Transmission Talisman... Li Zhong, along with his friends—Shangguan Jie, a disciple of the Heaven Sword Sect, and Song Fang, a disciple of the Profound Moon School—came to help him slay the Thousand Martial Heavenly Demon!
Later, Shen Mo also invited them to explore the Underground Palace of Prince Yongzuo with him. Their relationship had been good ever since. Even though Shen Mo rarely teamed up with him for missions afterwards, they still kept in touch.
Before the world underwent drastic changes, back when Sound Transmission Talismans and Teleportation Arrays were still functional, Li Zhong had boasted in the talisman group chat. He claimed he would break through his current Realm and advance to the Spirit Sea Realm within half a year. He even messaged Shen Mo to ask about the benefits for Elders on Green Cloud Peak! Aside from being a bit verbose, this "Senior Brother Li" was open-hearted and resolute, leaving Shen Mo with a very good impression of him.
After the world’s upheaval, Li Zhong never came to the subsidiary courtyard on Chong’a Mountain. Shen Mo had assumed that, like other disciples of the sect, he was either trapped in the Jade Pool Dungeon or had been devoured by Soaring Serpents and Bizarre Dragons in Qing State. He never expected Li Zhong to have died at the hands of an Outer Zone Heavenly Demon, becoming a mutated Heavenly Demon!
Pained and astonished, Shen Mo quickly reviewed his past interactions with Li Zhong. He was certain he had never revealed his current appearance to him, nor had he ever used the Soul Refining Flag or summoned the Soul General in the flag in his presence. However, he had used the flag several times on demon-slaying battlefields. Many within the sect knew he possessed a Soul Refining Flag, a demonic artifact capable of controlling Soul Generals. Shen Mo couldn’t be sure if Li Zhong had learned of it this way.
If Li Zhong could recognize the flag, then the mutated Heavenly Demon, having inherited all of Li Zhong’s memories, would naturally recognize it too! Immediately, Shen Mo focused his five senses on the "Li Zhong Heavenly Demon." As expected, a look of contemplation and confusion appeared on its face.
Seeing this, Shen Mo no longer hesitated. His soul power surged out in strange fluctuations, and a Soul Destruction Curse struck the "Li Zhong Heavenly Demon." Soul power like a blade! The Li Zhong Heavenly Demon couldn’t react in time; its Dao Body trembled violently from the impact, its soul on the verge of collapse.
Spells like the Soul Searching Spell, Soul-binding Spell, and Soul-annihilation Spell were essentially confrontations of soul power, making them extremely dangerous. However, Shen Mo’s soul cultivation had reached a level far beyond that of middle-stage Class III creatures. Furthermore, protected by two great Soul Magics, he was only slightly shaken. Under the radiance of his Scorching Sun Soul Phase, he recovered in an instant!
WHOOSH! 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
The Soul Refining Flag fluttered loudly, a curtain of blood light engulfing the Heavenly Demon and dragging it into the flag. All of this happened in a flash. The mutated Heavenly Demon that Li Zhong had become through Demon-corruption didn’t even have time to scream for mercy before being refined into a Demon Soul General.
