"Huff!"
Accompanied by a chilly night breeze, Su Heng appeared on a steep hillside, overlooking the forest sea in front of him.
And the distant county seat, which looked like a dormant beast.
He spread his hand wide open, and in the palm of his hand were the two demon corpses he had acquired earlier.
"Crack!"
He undid the fusion with the Water Ghost Poison Sack demon corpse and casually placed it on the grass beside him.
Su Heng affixed the "Heng Public Fish" demon corpse to his body. This demon corpse resembled fish scales in appearance and felt cold to the touch.
Analysis began... Currently analyzing... Fusion successful.
Su Heng's body swelled slightly.
The special ability of the demon corpse activated, and dark brown fine scales appeared on his arms and chest.
Su Heng gently touched them with his fingers, feeling the hardness akin to golden iron.
Bang!
The unique Golden Arc Power of the Miniature Mist Skill activated with a light tap.
A crisp "crack" sound echoed.
Delicate cracks appeared on the fish scales, which eventually fell off his body; but the skin underneath remained unscathed.
"As expected... it is somewhat redundant," Su Heng shook his head.
As he had anticipated this outcome, there wasn't much disappointment on his face.
Most of these demon corpses directly enhanced basic attributes. But as Su Heng's physique had grown, his basic attributes were already quite exaggerated.
The extra defense brought by the Heng Public Fish demon corpse.
It couldn't be said to be completely ineffective, but it was much like having a layer of tissue paper affixed to his body.
As for the "Bloodthirsty Demon Vine" demon corpse, Su Heng also tried to fuse with it. The effect of this demon corpse was to summon a mass of vines from his body, capable of suppressing the opponent's vigor.
Among the many demon corpses he had learned about.
The "Bloodthirsty Demon Vine" was one that significantly enhanced combat prowess.
The Song Ting brothers did not directly choose to fuse with it, possibly because the demonic nature of this demon corpse was too strong for martial artists to control.
As for Su Heng...
Though Su Heng was unaffected by the adverse impact of demon corpses.
The combat enhancements brought by the "Bloodthirsty Demon Vine" were still very limited for him.
Rather, it was the auxiliary-type demon corpse like the "Tai Sui Fungus Strain" which, since the start of his cultivation journey, had brought him very, very great assistance.
Be it the ability to summon mist or the capacity to produce flesh Tai Sui.
Both could often be put to good use.
"Speaking of which, maybe it's time to upgrade the 'Tai Sui Fungus Strain,'" Su Heng pondered silently.
The Shadow Tai Sui also had one ability: to create fungus strains that could transform fleshly beings. If he could get a handle on this fungus strain.
Then...
He would be able to modify demons, increasing their meat yield and immortality.
In time, raising them like livestock, by feeding them some ordinary meat, he would be able to continuously obtain high-quality pure demon flesh.
A powerful demon.
Falling into his hands and undergoing such modifications.
It would be no different from a field of meat, stripped to the bone and sucked dry without leaving anything behind.
Such actions might be somewhat cruel to demons, but Su Heng, as a person, had never had much empathy for his enemies.
...
...
...
Time flitted by to the next day.
Su Gui's face wore a look of panic, while Mother Su had a smile and appeared much calmer.
"Long time no see." Su Heng's face broke into a smile as he half-knelt on the ground, enveloping his parents in his embrace.
"You are..." Su Gui struggled out of the embrace, his eyes wide.
It took him a good while to exclaim in surprise, "Little Heng!"
"Honestly, it hasn't even been a month, and you don't recognize your own son," Mother Su chided softly on the side.
"You must have eaten quite well in Baihua County," Mother Su said with a smile.
"That's true indeed," Su Heng nodded.
*
*
*
Besides seeing his parents and sister, he had another purpose for this trip.
It was to select a suitable Cultivation Technique from the Scripture Pavilion of the Demon Suppression Bureau to complete his Five Elements system.
Now, for the fire attribute, he already had the "Crimson Sun Dark Destruction" Technique as a benchmark.
When the time came, he simply had to strengthen it.
The only thing lacking now was a true technique for the earth attribute.
With the Demon Suppression Bureau backed by the imperial court and hosting a multitude of treasures, Su Heng quickly found what he wanted.
"Giant Rock Technique" was a powerful Cultivation Technique that involved smashing the body with huge rocks to enhance physical strength and cultivate power.
When cultivated to a high level, one could become invulnerable to blades and incredibly strong.
The only pity was that the secret medicine needed to complement this technique had been lost to time.
Therefore, it was placed in the Scripture Pavilion, merely for reference. With a property panel to assist him, this was naturally not a concern for Su Heng.
"Strictly speaking... 'Giant Rock Technique' still falls short compared to top-tier techniques like 'Green Wood Longevity Technique' and should be considered second-rate. Relying solely on this technique, it might be difficult to cultivate one's bone strength," Su Heng mused as he continued to browse the Scripture Pavilion.
"Mountain Shattering Fist," "Tablet Breaking Hand," and "Iron Ridge Clothing" were three other techniques that he also successively added to his collection.
"Would you like me to copy a set for you and send it to the Demon Suppression Tower?" The disciple responsible for guarding the Scripture Pavilion approached Su Heng and asked politely.
The books in the Scripture Pavilion were not allowed to be taken out.
You could only read them here.
If you wanted to train outside, you had to have a specialist copy them; that was the rule.
"No need," Su Heng replied calmly, "I'll just read here. No need to take them out."
"Alright." The disciple nodded, handing him a pot of tea and a matching set of cups and utensils, "If you need anything, just let me know."
"Mmm..."
Su Heng found a set of steps and simply squatted down.
The sunlight streamed in through the window, casting its light upon the pages as he patiently flipped through them.
An hour went by.
All four secret manuals were carefully read by Su Heng.
The property panel updated with the corresponding "uninitiated" status.
He rubbed his temples, stood up, put the selected books back in their original places, then left the Scripture Pavilion and returned to the Demon Suppression Tower.
He didn't go back to his study on the fifth floor but instead went up to the seventh floor.
As a large number of demons were killed,
The seventh floor of the Scripture Pavilion, which used to be empty and cold, seemed to lose its tangible darkness.
And even a few golden shafts of sunlight seemingly trickled in through the skylight, leaving patches of light on the floor.
Su Heng walked forward until he stopped in front of an opened cell.
In the straw-lined cell, Li Hongxiu's petite figure curled up into a ball. Hearing the noise, she slowly and sleepily lifted her head.
"It's you..." She tilted her head, "Are you here to kill me?"
"Not yet," Su Heng said, "I'm just curious why you didn't escape with Wang Bingquan when he broke the seal?"