One more catty, one more attribute point

"Good!"

Su Heng nodded, also very curious about the extent to which his spiritual power had reached now.

He followed Meng Huan's example from moments ago, closing his eyes and spreading his perception outward.

He quickly sensed the difference between the Silver Cage Sky Cup and the other plants and flowers in the world. Most organisms, no matter how tiny and frail, radiated life force outward, carrying a faint glow in his perception. However, the lantern-like plant in front of him was black, continuously absorbing light from the outside world.

Su Heng used his spiritual power to touch it.

He felt that part of his power was absorbed into it, but the connection wasn't severed.

He immediately felt at ease and injected more spiritual power into it. As Su Heng's brows furrowed slightly, the Silver Cage Sky Cup began to undergo a transformation.

Outside, Meng Huan's eyes gradually widened in shock.

He saw the plant in front of him unfurling its white petals layer by layer. Inside the golden stigma, strands of white, fluffy material rose up, emitting a faint, lingering fragrance. It was like the lingering incense smoke in a temple after rain, whose mere scent was enough to induce a relaxed and soft state of mind.

This kind of extraordinary phenomenon was something Meng Huan had never experienced when he had touched the plant.

Even before Meng Huan had gifted the Silver Cage Sky Cup to Su Heng, this marvelous flower, in his possession for hundreds of years, had never shown such a magical change.

One bloom, two blooms, three blooms...

Soon, the sixth white flower was fully open, signifying that although Su Heng was still a whole realm behind Meng Huan,

his spiritual power had already far surpassed him, leaving him far behind. Moreover, the pace at which the petals opened did not slow, and with a soft "pop," the seventh white flower also fully opened.

"This..." Meng Huan's gaze trembled slightly, and his expression finally changed a bit.

Because the blooming of the Silver Cage Sky Cup was not linear, but exponential growth. As it progressed, the spiritual power consumed by each fully-opened white flower exceeded the total spent on all the blooms previously. Yet, judging by the speed of blooming, Su Heng's consumption of spiritual power was still far from reaching its limit.

Meng Huan had seen Su Heng in combat several times.

He knew this young man had a strong and indestructible body.

But just stepping into Heavenly Deceit and to achieve such proficiency in the spiritual aspect still left Meng Huan astoundingly shocked, almost questioning his life's beliefs.

Finally, after a few breaths,

the ninth white flower on the Silver Cage Sky Cup also fully opened.

Rustling sounds came from the Silver Cage Sky Cup, and after reaching full bloom, it started to wither. Flames suddenly burst forth upon the white petals. A hint of charring appeared on the translucent petals, spreading swiftly while a large number of those white fluffy strands dissipated into the air, drifting away with the mountain breeze towards the distance.

By the time Su Heng opened his eyes, this was the scene before him.

"This..." Surprised, Su Heng didn't understand why it had happened and looked towards Meng Huan.

Meng Huan touched his nose, "It seems that this Silver Cage Sky Cup couldn't reach the limit of your spiritual domain, which is truly a pity." Continue your journey with My Virtual Library Empire

The Silver Cage Sky Cup had turned to a handful of ash, but within the dust, one could see a seed shimmering with a crystal-clear glow. The seed felt smooth, like a piece of jade. Meng Huan bent down, picked it up, and handed it to Su Heng, "Plant it, and in time it will grow again."

"If you find it a nuisance, carrying it with you can also help to focus and calm the mind, and it could be used to aid in your cultivation," Meng Huan explained.

Since it was a gift from an elder, Su Heng had no reason to refuse.

"Thank you, senior," he said, bowing with his hands clasped in thankfulness, and then he carefully pocketed the seed.

But then he remembered another matter that had puzzled him for a long time.

"I once killed a demon god in the King of Law Temple, but I did not find a demonic corpse within him. I wonder why that is," Su Heng asked.

"A demonic corpse is a special organ within the body of a demon," Meng Huan answered. "But once a high-grade demon transforms into a demon god, this organ disperses and merges into the body, becoming the demon god's innate divine skills that are wielded effortlessly. Moreover, there is a significant increase in power."

"I see," Su Heng remarked. "So the highest level of demonic corpse that a Martial Artist can obtain is high-grade?"

"This... not necessarily," Meng Huan replied. "Some sects or ancient powers have methods to refine the entire blood body of a demon god into a weapon."

"In some prosperous martial arts locations, this practice is even relatively common. These weapons are known as Divine Weapons and Demon Blades. Some ancient and powerful Divine Weapons can even sustain a family's prosperity for thousands of years."

"For a demon god, such an end is a thousand times more agonizing than death," Su Heng mused aloud.

"That's natural," Meng Huan chuckled. "Demons and humans oppose each other, and the enmity has deepened over thousands of years of war. Each wants to completely eradicate the other. Once a weakness is shown, what follows will invariably be a devastating thunderous strike."

"Thus we Martial Artists should rise to meet challenges and not fear hardship," Meng Huan stated.

"The senior is correct," Su Heng nodded in agreement.

Meng Huan looked toward the distant, undulating mountains, a hint of excitement on his face, "Thanks to your thunderous methods, my young friend, the internal strife has already been quelled. Next, I will personally review the troops and sweep through Skull Plain, making preparations for the upcoming arrival of the Mythical Battlefield."

"If there's any way I can help, just call for me," Su Heng said, his eyes filled with covetous desire for the many secret transmissions and divine figures of the three Esoteric Sects.

"Of course!" Meng Huan and Su Heng had cooperated many times before.

There was no need for formalities in these matters.

"Right!" Meng Huan clapped his hands and said, "Lingxiao Sect and the Shang Family have moved away from Jiang E. When the time comes, I will have someone tally the resources they've left behind. Combined with the collections of several other immortal sects and noble families, I will compile a list."

"I will send this list to you as soon as possible. Whatever you need, just mark it off," he continued.

Good steel should be used for the cutting edge.

By now, Su Heng had become the undisputed strongest in Jiang E.

Meng Huan was a free-spirited and generous man. Spending these resources on Su Heng was guaranteed to be a profitable investment for them. Moreover, it would tightly bind the remaining two immortal sects and two noble families together through such means.

"Great!" A flash of excitement sparkled in Su Heng's eyes, "Primarily the flesh of demons and other types of high-energy food, the more, the better."

With such abundant resources...

Su Heng should be able to quickly push his cultivation to the limits of Heavenly Deceit.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Skull Plain, at the Mythical Battlefield...

The vast sky was mottled with blotches of blood. There was no sun, no moon, nor could any other stars be seen. Only huge swirls of crimson vortexes gathered and scattered in the distant heavens now and then.

Even demons would feel fear when they gazed upon those blood-red vortices.

For from afar, those swirls looked like the eyes of some colossal beast, ineffable and greedy, wishing to devour the entire world and everything within it.

Below the blood-red sky lay an expansive wasteland.

It was filled with cracked fissures, and only the blood-red thorns, teeming with aggression, could survive in such a harsh environment. Various strange and massive beast bones were visible everywhere, most dried by the wind, while a few still donned a coat of rotten, dirty fur.

In the very middle of this blood-colored plain stood a castle built of black stones.

When a gust of wind passed by, piercing screams echoed from within the stone castle.

It was as if souls bound inside were being tormented, letting out agonized wails filled with chilling despair and gloom.

And at the center of the black castle...

In a courtyard blooming with black thorn flowers, there was a circular blood pool about ten meters in diameter, with an unknown depth. Bubbles rose gurgling from within the pool as if boiling. Soon, a muscular torso burst forth from the water.

The blood ghoul servant nearby, with horns on his head and thorn chains wrapped around his body, hurriedly handed over a clean towel.

Ralph took it and wiped the fresh blood off his body.

After putting down the towel and donning a blood-colored robe handed to him by another servant, Ralph looked up to the sky and asked, "How long have I been asleep this time?"

"About ten blood leaks' time," the blood ghoul said.

In the Blood Realm where there is no day and night, time is measured by blood leaks. A blood leak is the time it takes for a young slave captured and cut at the wrist to bleed to death. One blood leak is roughly twelve hours.

"It took a full five days to fully recover!" A vicious look flashed across Ralph's face as the towering figure of Su Heng once again appeared before him. He clenched his fists tightly, cursing, "Sooner or later, I'll make that ignorant fool pay."

"Prepare the altar; I want to cross realms again," Ralph ordered.

However, hesitation appeared on the hideous face of the blood ghoul next to him, "You're healing your injuries; we don't have many sacrifices left, and we also need to prepare for any wars the other demon gods might wage."

"Should we seek assistance from Lady Lilith?" another blood ghoul suggested.

Lilith was once a Blood Servant adopted by Ralph, but now she is one of the top warlords in the Blood Realm, referred to by many demons with a tone of fear and reverence as the "Blood Queen." Although the relationship was still reasonably good, the glory she had attained was a humiliation for Ralph.

"The hell are you teaching me how to do my job!?" Sure enough, a storm brewed in Ralph's blood-colored pupils. His lips curled back to reveal fangs, looking like a ferocious ghost ready to devour someone.

The blood ghoul only felt his knees weaken, and blood-sweat slid down his rough, uneven skin.

"I dare not!" the two blood ghouls bowed their heads deeply.

"Then get moving!" Ralph barked, "Vengeance, I want vengeance, and not a moment longer will I wait!"