The Mirror Demon King’s figure shattered inch by inch, transforming into countless dark rays of light that frantically poured into Lan Ling’s body.
At the same time, the palace within the mirror also collapsed inch by inch, crumbling into dust.
The eight people present were completely stunned by the scene before them.
Why had the Mirror Demon King entered Lan Ling’s body after being killed?
With the destruction of the Mirror Demon King, the illusion inside the mirror also collapsed, leaving the spirits hiding within it with nowhere to remain.
Before this, the captured Barbarians had their bodies and spirits separated.
Their spirits had all been imprisoned within the illusion inside the mirror, where they lived lives of luxury and prosperity. Meanwhile, their bodies remained outside the mirror, living miserable and wretched lives.
Their bodies and spirits were connected like a kite and its owner, linked by a single invisible thread.
“Hahahahaha…”
The Mirror Demon King was still laughing loudly.
His body continued to vanish inch by inch.
The palace inside the mirror continued to collapse and be destroyed.
Everyone’s spirits and souls gradually withdrew from the illusion inside the mirror and returned to their own bodies.
Perhaps a long time had passed, or perhaps it had only been an instant.
The Mirror Demon King completely vanished into ashes, flowing into Lan Ling’s body. The illusionary palace inside the mirror disappeared completely.
Lan Ling possessed the strongest spiritual power, so his soul quickly returned to his body.
As for the other eight people, they had remained immersed in the illusion for far too long, and their spiritual power was far too weak.
When their spirits returned to their bodies, their consciousness briefly stalled.
For that brief instant, they lost all awareness.
They were completely unable to control their bodies.
The process was extremely short, perhaps only one second, or even less.
But… it was enough.
As soon as Lan Ling’s soul returned to his body, he immediately drew his sword, using the fastest speed and greatest strength.
“Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish…”
His great sword fiercely pierced through the chests of the Barbarians.
“Thud… Thud… Thud…”
His speed was unbelievably fast.
Within a single second, his sword had pierced the chests of seven people.
Three Great Demon Warriors and four Demon Warriors.
During that second, their souls had not yet fully returned to their bodies. Even if they had, they still had not adapted.
When Lan Ling’s sword pierced the chest of the last person, that person’s soul had already returned. Looking down at the sword embedded in his chest, he stared at Lan Ling in disbelief and shouted hoarsely,
“You… you broke your promise…”
Lan Ling’s face turned cold. He violently pulled out the sword, opened his mouth, bared his fangs, and bit fiercely into the man’s neck. Before the man had completely died, Lan Ling crazily drank his blood.
In only a short moment, he had drained him into a dried corpse.
Lan Ling had merely pierced the chests of the other seven people. None of them had died immediately.
He then walked over to each of them one by one, biting into their necks and drinking their blood.
None of them were dead yet. When their souls returned to their bodies and saw the wounds in their chests, their eyes immediately filled with boundless rage and hatred.
When Lan Ling bit into their necks to drink their blood, their eyes filled with horror and terror as they desperately beat him with their fists.
But with their lives already fading, how much strength could they possibly have left?
“Despicable…”
“Shameless…”
“You betrayed your word…”
“Heartless monster…”
“You’re even more vicious than a venomous snake…”
Every one of them uttered the most vicious curses before dying.
Yet every one of them was still drained into a dried corpse by Lan Ling.
The only survivor was the Near Human woman.
After her soul returned to her body, she immediately witnessed the horrifying scene before her.
Taking advantage of the single second during which everyone else’s souls had not yet fully returned, Lan Ling had slaughtered all of her companions and drained each of them of blood.
At that moment, when she looked at Lan Ling, it was as though she were looking at a terrifying ghost.
She let out a scream, raised her wooden staff, and swung it towards Lan Ling’s head.
However, the staff stopped midway.
Because Lan Ling had not killed her.
Several minutes later, Lan Ling had drained all seven people into dried corpses.
Even in death, their faces remained twisted with terror.
Among them were four high level Demon Warriors and three Great Demon Warriors.
After drinking their blood, Lan Ling felt surging energy throughout his body. His blood seemed ready to boil.
His entire body burned with heat, filled with an overwhelming desire to fight.
Seeing the terror in the Near Human woman’s eyes, Lan Ling smiled coldly.
“I will never allow anyone to corrupt my tribe or threaten it.”
After saying that, Lan Ling offered no further explanation.
If the woman harboured resentment towards him, he would kill her without hesitation.
The only reason he had spared her was because, inside the mirror’s illusion, she had helped him kill the Demon Commander.
Moreover, she was passionately devoted to establishing a new tribe.
The Near Human woman looked around at the countless corpses scattered everywhere.
The mountain peak and slopes were covered with bodies, numbering in the thousands.
Many of them had been drained into dried corpses.
A chill immediately ran down her spine, and her fear of Lan Ling grew even stronger.
This was not merely a butcher.
Nor was he merely a god of slaughter.
He was a devil.
His cultivation was still so weak, yet he had already killed thousands of people.
How many would he kill once he became truly powerful?
Moreover, he had not only killed thousands of people.
He had even killed the ruler of this illusionary world, the Mirror Demon King.
The Near Human woman shuddered violently.
Lan Ling stared at her coldly.
“What do you think?”
The Near Human woman immediately knelt.
“I am willing to follow you at all times, Master, and give my life for you.”
Lan Ling said, “I killed your companions. Don’t you hate me?”
The Near Human woman replied,
“The more ruthless you are, the stronger our tribe will become, and the better it will be able to protect its people.”
Then she looked at the corpses covering the ground.
“Besides, after entering the Mirror Demon King’s illusion, they were no longer our companions. Even within the illusion, they schemed against each other, slandered one another, and harmed one another just to climb higher. Perhaps killing them was the right thing to do. That way, the purity of our new tribe can be preserved.”
Lan Ling asked,
“They all became corrupted inside the mirror’s illusion. Why didn’t you?”
The Near Human woman answered,
“I have no interest in wealth or luxury. I only want to bear children. I only want to become a mother.”
Lan Ling stared at her for a while before nodding.
“Very well. From now on, you will follow me. I will find the best possible partner for you.”
…
Lan Ling did not leave immediately.
Instead, he sat down and carefully sensed the energy within his body.
He had just devoured the Mirror Demon King.
Why had his cultivation not increased?
Back in the Human Kingdoms, every time Lan Ling devoured a Divine Dragon relic, his cultivation had increased dramatically.
Only the final time, when Princess Zhi Yan devoured the Divine Dragon’s Fallen Dream, had there been no increase in cultivation. Instead, it had merely awakened her desires.
The Mirror Demon King undoubtedly counted as a Demon God relic.
The reason it had not increased Lan Ling’s cultivation was simple.
This was merely the Demon King’s gaze and the shadow he had left within the mirror.
The Mirror Demon King himself possessed no offensive power whatsoever.
He did not even possess mental attacks.
He could only create illusions.
So after Lan Ling devoured him, why had neither his cultivation nor his spiritual power increased significantly?
Exactly what had improved?
Just then, Lan Ling suddenly felt intense pain in his back.
Then sharp bones burst through his skin one after another.
The bony spurs that formed his wings slowly extended, growing by about another inch before stopping.
After devouring the Demon God relic, Lan Ling’s wings had grown another inch.
Then the Near Human woman suddenly exclaimed,
“Master, your… your eyes…”
Lan Ling froze.
The Near Human woman noticed that Lan Ling’s eyes had suddenly become incomparably bright and incredibly profound, drawing her gaze against her will.
The longer she looked, the more dazed she became.
Lan Ling instinctively commanded,
“Jump.”
The Near Human woman actually walked towards the cliff and prepared to jump.
“Stop!”
Lan Ling was horrified and immediately shouted.
The Near Human woman suddenly came back to her senses, hurriedly stepped backwards several paces, and never dared look directly into Lan Ling’s eyes again.
Only then did Lan Ling finally understand what ability he had gained after devouring the Mirror Demon King.
It was these Bewitching Eyes.
The Mirror Demon King’s unique ability had always been creating illusions to lure others into his trap.
Now that Lan Ling had devoured him, his own eyes had become traps.
Anyone with weak spiritual power who looked directly into his eyes would likely lose their senses, allowing Lan Ling to control them and make them do things against their own will.
These Bewitching Eyes were truly terrifying.
Next, the most important thing was to test his cultivation.
However, there were no measuring stone bars here, so he could not test his strength.
There was another issue as well.
Lan Ling needed to determine how much time had actually passed.
Had it exceeded the planned one month?
He had no idea.
Apart from the later period of slaughter, when he knew how much time had passed, he had completely lost all sense of time while inside the illusion.
Even so, Lan Ling was almost certain that a full month had not yet passed.
However, he still could not leave.
He had to bury and destroy all these thousands of corpses.
Many of them had been drained into dried corpses.
If anyone discovered them, it would cause enormous panic and bring tremendous danger upon Lan Ling.
At that moment, his entire body was overflowing with energy, as though he possessed limitless strength.
So he began digging an enormous pit with his great sword, a pit large enough to bury thousands of corpses.
He dug with all his might.
His speed was astonishing, almost like an excavator frantically tearing through the earth.
Several hours.
More than ten hours.
Dozens of hours.
Lan Ling finally dug an enormous pit.
Then he and the Near Human woman pushed all the thousands of corpses into it and buried them completely.
After everything was finished, he still felt endless power surging within him.
His body remained burning hot.
After all, he had drunk the blood of eight powerful experts.
All that energy remained accumulated within his bloodline and had yet to be transformed into physical strength.
…
After burying every corpse, it was finally time for Lan Ling to leave.
Just then, he sensed a powerful energy rapidly approaching.
It was an extremely powerful aura.
And a very familiar one.
“Little Ling…”
A moment later, Suo Mo appeared before him.
Lan Ling was stunned, then overjoyed.
“Uncle, why are you here? How did you get in?”
Suo Mo rushed over, gripping Lan Ling’s arms and neck, carefully checking that he was completely unharmed.
“It’s good that you’re alright. It’s good that you’re alright.”
He repeatedly patted Lan Ling’s back before saying,
“Twenty five days have already passed. I was worried, so I came to check on you. But after I arrived, I discovered that the Ghost Domain had disappeared. The changing seasons had also vanished. I was afraid something had happened, so I came in.”
Lan Ling immediately felt warmth filling his heart.
Once someone entered the Ghost Domain, there was normally no way out.
Yet out of concern for Lan Ling’s safety, Suo Mo had entered without hesitation.
Such genuine care deeply moved him.
There was another piece of good news.
Only twenty five days had passed.
That meant there were still five days remaining before Lan Ling’s duel with Du Yan.
“Uncle, I killed this Demon God relic, so the illusion it created disappeared,” Lan Ling said. “Everything we saw outside before, the snow covered world and the blooming flowers, were all illusions created by the Demon God relic.”
Then he said excitedly,
“Uncle, what do you think of this place? It’s a hundred li across and completely ownerless. It’s the perfect place to establish our tribe.”
The moment those words were spoken, Suo Mo’s eyes lit up and his breathing became rapid.
Establishing a tribe in the Barbarian Wasteland was almost impossible.
The greatest obstacle was territory.
Although the Barbarian Wasteland was vast, every mountain range and every hunting ground already belonged to someone.
Crossing those boundaries meant war.
Now an ownerless region spanning a hundred li lay before them.
It truly was a gift from heaven.
It was as though heaven itself wanted them to establish their own tribe.
Lan Ling said,
“This region consists entirely of normal land and mountains, with forests, rivers, and water. Now that the Mirror Demon King is dead, wild beasts will no longer fear this place and will gradually migrate into these forests. Together with gathering and farming, it will easily support several thousand people. Besides, this used to be a forbidden land of death. For quite some time, no one will dare enter here or attack our tribe.”
Suo Mo trembled with excitement.
“Excellent. After your duel with Du Yan, we will begin planning our independence and establish our own tribe.”
Their highest priority now was defeating Du Yan in the duel.
Suo Mo asked,
“After devouring the Demon God relic, has your cultivation increased dramatically?”
Lan Ling shook his head.
“No. This Demon God relic was a mirror. Long ago, an Ancient Demon God Monarch glanced at this mirror and left behind a vague shadow. Over countless years, the mirror gradually became a Demon God relic and acquired strange powers. However, it has no offensive ability. It can only create illusions and imprison people’s souls for its own use.”
Then Lan Ling continued,
“However, I fought the Mirror Demon King fiercely, killed countless people, and drank the blood of countless others. My cultivation has improved greatly, but I don’t know by how much. Did you bring the measuring stone bars?”
Suo Mo reached behind his back and took out five measuring stone bars.
A one thousand five hundred jin stone bar represented the arm strength of a One Star Demon Warrior.
At the Warrior level, every additional one hundred jin meant another level.
After reaching the Demon Warrior level, however, each level required an additional two hundred jin of strength.
At the Great Demon Warrior level, each level required another three hundred jin.
That meant cultivation became increasingly difficult after entering the Demon Warrior realm.
Advancing each level required tremendous effort and often one or two years of training.
Lan Ling effortlessly lifted the one thousand five hundred jin stone bar.
Next came the one thousand nine hundred jin stone bar.
Lan Ling raised it with his right arm without too much difficulty.
Then came the two thousand one hundred jin stone bar.
He still lifted it with his right arm, and still had strength left.
Then came the two thousand three hundred jin stone bar.
Once again, Lan Ling lifted it.