As the benefits provided by Ding Yun gradually took effect, her domain became the first to buzz with activity. Countless ordinary demons eagerly registered, secured their household registration, obtained contribution cards, and received free cultivation techniques.
Once they confirmed these benefits were real, that they indeed received free Gold Demon level cultivation techniques and could access all low to mid-tier books in the Scripture Pavilion for free, the number of demons undertaking missions for contributions skyrocketed.
Demons eager to join the Blood Fiend Demon Palace and serve Ding Yun appeared in droves, showing overwhelming enthusiasm.
In short, Ding Yun's actions had begun to bear fruit. Within just half a month, the demons in her territory were like they had been injected with adrenaline, exhibiting the urgency of students cramming for a college entrance exam, working diligently.
Some cultivated, others completed missions. As they continuously expanded outwards, increasing Ding Yun's actual territory while completing missions, the high welfare benefits within her domain began to spread, attracting many weaker individuals and small fry.
While the benefits Ding Yun offered were good, precisely because they were so generous, they weren't entirely convincing. Most people's initial reaction was suspicion, making it impossible to attract a large number of high-quality demons in a very short time. Thus, only those from nearby regions willing to take a gamble, or a few demons who didn't even possess cultivation techniques up to the Gold Demon level, were willing to check it out. If it was true, they would grab the techniques and leave.
Of course, here we are talking about the weaker ones. As for the so-called "small fry," they mainly referred to the lords of nearby factions who sent many subordinates to scout for information, to figure out what had happened in the Blood Fiend territory, why they were suddenly expanding their borders, and whether their interests would be encroached upon.
Then, many of these subordinates never returned. Of course, it wasn't that Ding Yun killed them. Rather, they were attracted by Ding Yun's welfare benefits and registered under her. Some even stealthily brought their friends and family over. After all, their original treatment was too poor, and getting Gold Demon level cultivation techniques seemed like a dream that might never come true. It was even questionable if they would have the chance before they died. Now, Ding Yun simply gave them away upon registration. Who among the Earth Demon or Human Demon realms wouldn't be tempted?
...
Nether City, White Bone Demon Palace.
Because the White Bone Demon Lord was the most antagonistic towards the previous Blood Fiend Demon Lord, and their strengths were comparable, the White Bone Demon Lord was extremely wary of the newly appearing demon lord as soon as the Blood Fiend Demon Lord was annihilated by Ding Yun. After all, if she could easily eliminate the Blood Fiend Demon Lord, she could also easily eliminate him.
Upon discovering Ding Yun's continuous expansion of her influence, the White Bone Demon Lord, with caution, didn't send his subordinates to investigate. Instead, he specifically dispatched his disciples at the Gold Demon realm, thus becoming the first to obtain accurate intelligence.
Furthermore, since Ding Yun didn't conceal many of her actions, even adopting a "buy a thousand miles of horse bones" attitude to actively spread information for publicity, the intelligence brought back by the White Bone Demon Lord's disciple was quite comprehensive and highly accurate, reaching ninety-nine percent.
It was just a shame that after listening, the White Bone Demon Lord didn't believe it.
"Are you crazy? You dare to bring back such fabricated news and tell me, that everyone below True Demon realm received a set of top-grade demon artifacts, and everyone at True Demon realm and above received a set of acquired spirit treasures? Are you crazy, or am I? I only have one set of top-grade demon artifacts myself, and one of them is slightly damaged. Do you think top-grade demon artifacts are like qi-gathering pills? One demon stone for a ton? If she truly offered such benefits, I would run over and kowtow three times on the spot, pledging allegiance to her as my master. I'd call her Grandma, or Ancestor, anything!"
"What is an acquired spirit treasure? I've never even seen one! It's something only heard of by name, never seen in person. You dare to believe such fake news? Wait, come here and let me check you. Has something happened to your soul, or has your consciousness been manipulated? Quickly come here and let me check!"
After roaring in anger, the White Bone Demon Lord began to suspect that his disciple had been tampered with, perhaps poisoned, harming his brain or soul, or that someone skilled in puppet arts or蛊术 had ambushed him. These were all possibilities! Otherwise, if his mind were clear, how could he believe such nonsense?
"Master, I'm fine. I'm very clear-headed. You know Xu Shi Hun, right? I pretended to be someone else and spent some time with him. Later, we never broke contact. In the past, I could occasionally glean information about the Blood Fiend Demon Lord's whereabouts from him, which affected several of the Blood Fiend Demon Lord's plans. You should be aware of this, and you know he is at the Gold Demon realm. This time, when I went to gather information, I specifically managed to contact him. But you know what? He has already broken through to the Grand Unity Demon Lord realm. According to him, his new master bestowed upon him a Five Qi Dynasty Dan and many other elixirs, which allowed him to break through successfully. And the information I gathered was also told to me by him. He even showed me the set of acquired spirit treasures he received. Although I haven't seen what an acquired spirit treasure looks like, the few treasures he displayed truly look much more powerful than your top-grade demon artifacts. Most importantly, to win me over, he specially gave me a top-grade demon artifact. I said I would go back and consider it..."
After quickly explaining, Jin Gu Jian somewhat worriedly took out the top-grade demon artifact gifted to him by Xu Shi Hun, afraid that his master would covet it and refuse to return it. The White Bone Demon Lord only began to believe Jin Gu Jian's words somewhat after seeing his disciple take out a sword of top-grade demon artifact quality. Then, he took the artifact and carefully examined it, confirming it was genuine. In fact, its quality was even better than his own top-grade demon artifact. Only then did he murmur in disbelief, "How is this possible? How is this possible!"
He couldn't believe how generous the other party could be. Even the God of Wealth wouldn't act this way! How rich must they be?
"Master, besides this, I also learned that the one who killed the Blood Fiend Demon Lord wasn't a Demon Lord, but a Grand Luo Demon Emperor. Xu Shi Hun said this himself. According to him, that Demon Emperor was in long-term seclusion and only came out recently when he could no longer advance further. The Blood Fiend Demon Lord accidentally offended her and was casually eliminated. That Demon Emperor also has the intention of building her own force, and is likely in the stage of 'buying a thousand miles of horse bones,' hence her current generosity. He also said that the Scripture Pavilion opened by that Demon Emperor contains cultivation techniques that can lead directly to the Demon Emperor realm, but one needs to become her subordinate and make certain contributions to qualify for obtaining techniques of that level."
"I came back mainly to ask you. Should I go over first and test it out for you? If it's true, even if you personally go to pledge allegiance, I don't think it's a bad thing, do you think so!"
Reluctantly shifting his gaze away from the top-grade demon artifact in the White Bone Demon Lord's hand, which he had brought back, Jin Gu Jian quickly continued to persuade him. To be honest, if his entire family wasn't in the White Bone Demon Lord's territory and being monitored, making it difficult to leave, he wouldn't have returned. But regardless, he was still very tempted by the welfare benefits offered by Ding Yun, so he naturally had to continue persuading. It would be best if he could convince his master, the White Bone Demon Lord, to be tempted too. At the very least, he should go over and secure all those great benefits first. Otherwise, it was a pity to even think about it. Thinking about it made him feel like he had suffered a great loss.