34. The inner elixir dissipates.

What is the most obvious difference between humans and demons?

Humans have bloodlines and bodies more suited to cultivation, intelligent minds that allow them to acquire resources more easily, abundant emotions that weave together the beauty of humanity, and complex social relationships that outline love, hate, passion, fame, and fortune... All of this clearly shows that humans are born superior to demons.

Therefore, in the eyes of demons, cultivating human form means pursuing the perfect physical form.

Conversely, in the eyes of all humans, the demon race is an uncivilized wild animal, a rejected alien, a strange species, and a monster that inexplicably yearns for the human body.

Within the blessed land of the cave, humans are often treated with extreme caution by the monsters.

Admiring gazes, longing gazes, fearful gazes... The immortals have grown increasingly arrogant and have long been accustomed to receiving flattering and admiring looks.

Therefore, there is no need to use any special tricks. As long as the monsters' deep-rooted obsession with cultivating human form remains, humans will naturally have the advantage of controlling monsters in this secret realm.

By the time Zhuhe realized this, it was too late.

Therefore, when the news spread that the human immortal chieftain of the Demon Management Bureau had been burned to death in the Graveyard Forest and had escaped naked, the demons of the Graveyard looked at this "newly appointed official" with a more subtle look in their eyes.

As Zhu Qianqian accompanied Zhu He on a walk in the forest, they occasionally encountered some monsters. These monsters would quickly scrutinize Zhu He with strange looks before fleeing. Among the crows, the voices opposing Zhu He's ascension to the throne grew louder, believing that Zhu He's audacity in daring to burn an immortal meant he would one day harm his own kind. The crows, usually strictly disciplined, made no attempt to hide their disgust, going straight to Zhu He and saying, "You foreign monster! Step down from your position as ruler!"

Zhu Qianqian was heartbroken and indignant.

"Those guys know nothing, and not only do they not help their own demons, they also spread rumors! How annoying!"

Zhu He chuckled, "Don't worry about it."

Zhu Qianqian stomped her foot in anger, "Can't you just stay angry?!"

Zhu He laughed even louder, "You can't even handle this? You're my protector."

Zhu Qianqian pouted, casually plucked a leaf and played with it in her hand. "Okay, I'll try my best to become more and more composed. Let's go, shall we cultivate?"

Zhu He shook his head. "No, you have to do me a favor today. Come with me."

Zhu Qianqian was puzzled, but didn't ask any questions. She followed Zhu He to a place deep in the forest, where the two walked into a large area of ​​jumbled rocks.

The stone, carved with intricate patterns, exuded a strong spiritual energy. The stones were arranged haphazardly in a circle, with no vegetation growing in the center, only charred black, as if Zhu He had burned them clean beforehand.

Zhu Qianqian exclaimed repeatedly, "So beautiful! Is this your newly discovered secret base?"

Zhu He walked with his back to Zhu Qianqian to the center of the open space, shook his head and said, "No, I deliberately created this. Time is running out."

"time?"

Zhu He paused slightly, but didn't turn around. "...It's nothing."

Zhu Qianqian stared at Zhu He's back for a few seconds with a puzzled look, but her attention was quickly drawn back to the array formed by the giant rocks. After looking around for a while, Zhu He had reached the center of the open space and looked at Zhu Qianqian with his amber eyes. "Protect the array."

Zhu Qianqian was taken aback. "Oh, okay."

Zhu He added, "Please bear with me, this formation will take twelve hours to complete."

"Six hours?" Zhu Qianqian exclaimed in surprise, "The formation won't end until night! Can we manage?"

"No!" Zhu He said seriously, "Zhu Qianqian, this place, this formation, is known only to the two of us, understand?"

"Uh, I know!"

Zhu Qianqian snapped to attention, realizing that she rarely... no, she had never seen Zhu He show such a serious expression.

Zhu He has a naturally cold appearance, but because he loves to laugh and is down-to-earth, he makes the demons feel close to him. When he gets serious, this 'Crow King' and the Lord of the Tomb Land has an undeniable sense of oppression.

Zhu Qianqian became more serious under the gaze and repeated, "Your subject understands."

...

On the other side.

On the edge of a blessed land, outside a building in an abandoned area, there was no one around.

This is a "divided area" in the secret world, where spiritual energy fluctuates unpredictably. Under the lush bushes around the building, there are faintly visible light-gray arrays, which have already dimmed. The building is surrounded by three layers of barriers.

The eighteenth underground floor, however, was a completely different story of bustling activity.

As the evil spirits swaggered past a training ground, they loudly mocked, "Hey, I heard a few days ago a Buddhist cultivator actually came back with two leaves covering his butt!"

"It seems Buddhist practitioners have been suffering for quite some time? Hahahaha..."

Laughter was deafening.

With his body covered in bandages, Shi Jinxiu's temples bulged with veins, his face was calm, and he continued to maintain the cross-legged sitting posture.

You lowly bastard!

Shi Jinxiu opened his eyes, his cloudy, triangular eyes filled with murderous intent.

The healer tending to his wounds was startled and quickly prostrated himself on the ground, trembling. Shi Jinxiu glanced at him, even more impatient, and kicked him, yelling, "Get out!"

The kick tore open the wounds all over his body, causing excruciating pain. Shi Jinxiu was in so much pain that his vision went black. The healer, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, grabbed the medicine bag and crawled out.

Silence fell inside the room.

Shi Jinxiu struggled to get up. Her already somewhat clumsy body was now wrapped in thick bandages, making even the slightest movement look comical.

This crow is very strange, and the red-haired crow beside her is also strange. How can there be an unquenchable demonic fire? She's not a divine beast.

Shi Jinxiu intended to put the plaster away, but when the cabinet was opened, a square jade box the size of a fingernail slid out with a thud.

Shi Jinxiu was suddenly taken aback.

Qi pills?

A Qi-Dispersing Pill that can cause the spiritual energy in the inner core and spiritual veins to continuously dissipate until death!

How could he forget that he still had this treasure!

Shi Jinxiu was overjoyed and forgot that he was covered in bandages. He turned around too quickly and the bandages tore his skin and flesh, causing him to scream again. His eyes became even more gloomy. He didn't even care about the pain. He poured half a bottle of pain-relieving pills into his mouth, put the jade box in his pocket, and went out.

late at night.

The Graveyard Forest was quiet, with the occasional chirping of insects. The ghostly blue phosphorescent lights flickered listlessly, and the crows perched in the trees yawned, keeping watch for anything outside the forest.

A figure slipped into the forest, a long robe brushing against the bushes and trees, making a rustling sound.

Suddenly, a raven flapped its wings warily and cried out, "Watch out! There's a human scent!"

Shi Jinxiu froze in fright, hesitating whether to run or reveal his true form, when another evil crow's voice sounded above his head, "Oh dear, how could this be? Not long ago, a venerable immortal was seriously injured in our cemetery, who would dare to come? This really confirms the 'evil crow's' bad reputation."

"..."

Shi Jinxiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, tightened the invisibility cloak on her body, and quietly leaned against the withered tree.

He has no right to use such a treasure. He barely managed to steal this invisibility cloak while Lord Yao was away for an extended period. Moreover, if the evil crows discover it, he might be caught by Zhu He...

Shi Jinxiu suddenly regretted his haste. He hesitated, clutching the Qi-dispersing pills locked in a jade box in his bosom.

The crow on the withered tree yawned. "Greyfeather, I want to take a nap."

The crow called Grayfeather hesitated, "No, I don't want to be punished with you if we get caught. Wait, how about I burn you a little? That might help you sober up."

The other person screamed, "No! It hurts!"

Shi Jinxiu's eardrums vibrated from the piercing sound waves. He was extremely anxious and secretly reached for the pills in his bosom. He cautiously released a trace of his senses and, seeing that the two evil crows above his head were not visible, he mustered his courage and released another trace of his senses.

As if sensing something amiss, the crows in the distance suddenly flapped their wings and screeched, and the surrounding trees seemed to suddenly light up like a dark abyss, their eyes flashing brightly.

Shi Jinxiu immediately withdrew his senses, secretly alarmed. Fortunately, he hadn't released too much of his senses; if Zhu He had noticed, things would have been terrible.

No, is the security this tight?

Shi Jinxiu complained bitterly.

The two crows on the withered tree were still chatting idly.

Gray Feather: "Painless Bald Feather, the fire of us ordinary crows is nothing like the King's flame, which is inextinguishable."

Bald Feather paused mid-yawn, his tone enigmatic and mysterious: "By the way, Zhu Qianqian's flames are also inextinguishable. Did the King secretly teach her that?"

Huiyu pondered, "Protector Zhu? Possibly. She and the King are very close, inseparable."

The bald man's voice was filled with resentment: "Exactly! It must be! Otherwise, how could Zhu Qianqian cultivate so quickly!"

After a moment of silence, the raven called Bald Feather grew increasingly angry, “The king is so biased! He’s extremely harsh on us subordinates, but so good to Zhu Qianqian! If you throw some stones into the morning dew, Zhu Qianqian might be punished when you present the dew tomorrow morning!”

Gray Feather was puzzled. "Why should I do it? You're jealous of Zhu Qianqian and want her punished, yet you want me to tamper with the morning dew? Please, the morning dew is ultimately for the king to drink."

Bald Feather fell silent, then let out a somewhat defiant snort.

Beneath the withered tree, Shi Jinxiu's eyes darted around, and he silently grinned, revealing a cold smile.

Morning dew? Zhu He wants some?

Here comes the opportunity!

Just in case, Shi Jinxiu cast several more Turtle Breathing spells on himself and wrapped his invisibility cloak tightly around himself. He patiently waited under the withered tree, enduring the peculiar, rotten smell of the grave soil—a smell that was both fragrant and foul, and after a while, it even seemed a little sweet; every breath was cloying.

From the moment the two crows began to speak, until only the chirping of insects remained, until the even, steady breathing came from the withered tree, until the stars in the sky gradually dimmed.

The crescent moon sank in the west, and the sky began to lighten.

The crows on the withered tree finally moved, and as soon as Shi Jinxiu heard the sound of flapping wings, he immediately perked up.

"It's time. I must go and collect the morning dew for the king."

"Go ahead."

Shi Jinxiu looked up and saw one of the crows flapping its wings and taking flight. He quickly gathered his strength and chased after it, carefully following it for a certain distance.

The crow, oblivious to anything amiss, hummed an unknown tune, a small bamboo tube hanging around its neck, and flitted freely through the forest, collecting dew.

Shi Jinxiu waited deliberately for a while, guessing that the dew in the bamboo tube had reached a certain level. He then took out the Qi-dispersing pill he had treasured in his bosom, carefully controlled the Qi-dispersing pill to float in the air, and then casually picked up a small stone and threw it at the evil crow.

The crow that was hit on the head paused, flapped its wings to stay afloat, and looked up.

Now!

Shi Jinxiu's eyes lit up with excitement, and the black Qi-dispersing pill immediately flew into the bamboo tube.

The pill, only half the size of a grain of rice, dissolved instantly in water. When the crow looked up, it could only see the dense foliage that blocked out the sky. Sensing something changing in the bamboo tube on its chest, it lowered its head again.

"Um?"

A crow landed on a branch and muttered to itself, "Strange, why does the dew look dirty?"

It blinked hard, and, not believing it, shook off the bamboo tube from its neck. Upon closer inspection, it found that the dew inside the bamboo tube was clear and clean, with no dirt in sight.

"That's strange."

The crow muttered softly, re-hung the bamboo tube, collected some more dew until the tube was full, and then flapped its wings and flew away.

Once the crows had flown far away, Shi Jinxiu couldn't wait to remove the hood of his invisibility cloak, revealing his round head wrapped in gauze. He watched the crows fly away and gradually disappear into the morning mist, and couldn't help but let out a sinister laugh. He then put the hood back on and turned to leave.

"Hehehe... Zhu He, you asked for it!"

·

On the other side.

Zhu Qianqian looked at Zhu He, who was resting with his eyes closed, with some concern.

Yesterday, Wang expended a lot of spiritual energy to set up that formation, and his face showed undisguised fatigue.

The little crow, responsible for bringing the morning dew every day, landed on the windowsill and immediately noticed that the king's face was pale today, as if he was still not fully awake. It whispered, "Guardian Zhu, is the king sick?"

Zhu Qianqian wasn't sure what the formation was for either, and vaguely said, "Well... for the sake of our graveyard, the king overexploited his spiritual power."

Was anything unusual last night?

This is a question I ask myself every morning.

Zhu Qianqian was getting tired of asking, and the answers she heard were nothing more than "there were unusually few phosphorescent lights in the forest last night" and "there were little demons arguing last night."

However, the little crow on the windowsill tilted its head and pondered for a moment, "I sensed human presence last night, but it disappeared quickly."

"The scent of humans?"

Zhu Qianqian was slightly taken aback. "Are you sure?"

The little crow was uncertain again and remained silent on the windowsill for a while. "I noticed something was wrong and thought it was my imagination, but then it seemed that other watchmen in the depths of the woods noticed something amiss, and I heard a warning cry."

Then it stretched out its neck, gesturing for Zhu Qianqian to take the morning dew, "Please drink it, Your Majesty, to replenish your strength."

Not long ago, Zhu He taught the bald guy a lesson, and then Zhu He set up an unknown array. Immediately afterwards, the night watchman sensed a human presence.

The coincidences were too close together, and Zhu Qianqian couldn't help but overthink it. She said coldly, "Stay vigilant and increase nighttime patrols!"

"yes."

The little crow flapped its wings and flew away, and Zhu He on the bed opened his eyes at just the right moment.

Exhausted, Zhu He looked dazed and empty when he opened his eyes. Zhu Qianqian paused for a second as she offered him the morning dew, feeling that it was very rare for Wang to appear so vulnerable.

King...why did you create that formation?

Zhu He pried open his eyelids with both hands, his voice hoarse, "Who's here?"

Zhu Qian presented the morning dew with both hands, "Your Majesty, last night when the Gray Feather team was on night watch, they seemed to have detected the presence of humans."

Zhu He's eyes quickly focused, "Humans?"

“Yes,” Zhu Qianqian said. “Your subject is worried that the Grey Feather’s perception is too weak, and that evil people might sneak in and tamper with things. I have already notified them to strengthen night patrols.”

Zhu He twitched the corner of his mouth and sat up. "He's starting to look more and more like a protector."

You still have the energy to laugh?

"Drink up," Zhu Qianqian said, slightly relaxed, handing the morning dew to Zhu He and sighing, "Get well soon."