Everyone felt uneasy at the thought.
Each lost in their own thoughts, they followed Qi Yu, secretly glancing at her.
Qi Nian nudged Yue Zhiyin's arm. "Senior Disciple Brother, go on, ask Junior Disciple Brother Qi Yu if she's ever used the spirit-speaking abilities of the Yan Zhen Mirror before."
"...Why should I ask?" Yue Zhiyin looked resistant. "I'm not doing that. Isn't Si Qing quite close to Qi Yu? She always calls him brother. Let him go."
"...I have nothing to hide from brother, so why would I ask such a question?" Si Qing smiled.
Having been a Divine Venerable for so many years, he had long recognized Yue Zhiyin's true identity at a glance.
He didn't expose him simply because there was no need to.
He was just afraid that if he angered him, Yue Zhiyin might reveal his secret.
Yue Zhiyin looked up at the sky. Since no one else was willing to ask, he wouldn't either.
After all, Junior Disciple Brother Qi Yu wouldn't be able to discover his secret.
Qi Yu, walking ahead, had been preoccupied with the matter of the Life-Devouring Demons and hadn't considered that the minor spell she had just used was anything special.
She was the Yan Zhen Mirror, and although she could use such minor spells at any time, she rarely did so because she disliked it.
She always felt that such spells were akin to prying into people's hearts and were disrespectful to the caster.
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, she seldom resorted to this technique.
The cave of the Life-Devouring Demons was rather gloomy, filled with the skeletal remains of human cultivators.
Although the Life-Devouring Demons did not directly consume humans, they would not dispose of the human corpses after devouring their life force. Over time, the place had become like a mass grave.
Yu Zhen raised his hand and fanned the air, truly disgusted by the stench.
Feng Siqian also stood by, looking disgusted.
Although she, her mother, and her brother were all demons, demons were particularly concerned with bloodline purity. As for low-tier demon seeds like the Life-Devouring Demons, who were almost brainless, she and her mother rarely paid them any attention.
But now...
Alas, for the sake of tempering, even if they usually couldn't be bothered to slay them, they now had to use immortal arts, which they were not particularly skilled at, to kill the Life-Devouring Demons.
Feng Mingqi shared the same sentiment as Feng Siqian and didn't take the Life-Devouring Demons very seriously, hence his leisurely demeanor as they walked.
Aside from these three, Yue Zhiyin also didn't consider the Life-Devouring Demons a significant threat.
Qi Nian chatted and bickered with Feng Siqian, maintaining a relaxed attitude.
Sui You, Chi Ming, Qi Yan, and Ming Lou were all listless.
Throughout the entire ordeal, it seemed only Qi Yu took the Life-Devouring Demons seriously. Even Si Qing was puzzled. "Brother, the Life-Devouring Demons are not difficult to deal with. Master probably just wants to see how you handle the situation, not actually capture them. Why are you so insistent on going?"
"You wouldn't understand~" Qi Yu gave Si Qing a mysterious look and followed the boy into the Life-Devouring Demon's cave.
Once inside, Qi Yu rolled up her sleeves and, under everyone's watchful eyes, dispatched a swarm of Life-Devouring Demons with a palm strike each. Then, one by one, she extracted their ice-element spiritual cores.
Her fingertips were still stained with blood.
Yu Zhen and Li Yu exchanged glances, neither of them understanding what Qi Yu wanted these things for.
Seeing that Qi Yu had finished extracting them all, they assumed they could leave. To their surprise, they turned to find Qi Yu taking out many bottles and jars, as well as a hammer and other tools, from her storage pouch.
Then, she conjured a flame and threw a piece of circular iron ore into it.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi Yu tapped and hammered at the object, then pressed the ice-element spiritual cores onto it one by one.
When she was done, everyone gathered around curiously to look. Only then did they realize that in the time it took for a single stick of incense to burn, Qi Yu had created something round and shiny, though they had no idea what it was for.
"Because Life-Devouring Demons frequently absorb human life force, their spiritual cores possess very powerful human yang energy," Qi Yu said, playing with a spiritual orb she had made from a Life-Devouring Demon's core. "This may not be of much use to ordinary human cultivators, nor to powerful beings, but for demonic cultivators and beast cultivators, it is a rare treasure."
"Many demons and beasts require human yang energy and life force for healing, but if they harm humans, they incur karmic debt."
"And these spiritual orbs, imbued with human life force, can fill this gap."
Yu Zhen was dumbfounded.
This was simply incredible!
What Qi Yu said was true; human yang energy and life force were indeed precious.
Especially for demons and beasts, they were invaluable tonics.
However, regardless of whether they aimed for righteous cultivation, no demon or beast could take a human life, lest they incur heavenly retribution for karmic debt. This applied even to divine and dragon races.
And this item in Qi Yu's hand... it contained human yang energy and life force, yet it did not violate the rules of heaven. It was a sacred treasure that beasts and demons could only dream of obtaining.
Furthermore, Qi Yu's true form, the Yan Zhen Mirror, could transform this item into countless portions!
In an instant, everyone looked at Qi Yu with changed eyes.
It was as if they were looking at a rare treasure.
Qi Nian rubbed his nose and sidled up to Qi Yu. "Then, do you plan to sell this thing at the Ten Thousand Scrolls Library?"
Qi Yu nodded.
Yue Zhiyin hooked his arm around Qi Yu's neck. "Junior Disciple Brother Qi Yu, Senior Disciple Brother has always treated you well, right? Senior Disciple Brother has a friend from the North Sea, a little koi spirit. She specializes in this kind of business. Are you interested? Gold is negotiable; you can have anything you want."
Qi Nian shoved Yue Zhiyin aside. "Senior Disciple Brother, I spoke first. Can't you have some sense of order?"
After speaking, Qi Nian looked at Qi Yu with a fawning expression. "Junior Disciple Brother, you know, our beast race is quite peaceful, right? I've never given your Ten Thousand Scrolls Library any trouble. I've also treated you well at the Beiyuan Sect, so why don't we strike a deal?"
As Qi Nian spoke, he pushed away Yue Zhiyin, Sui You, Chi Ming, Qi Yan, and Feng Mingqi, who were trying to crowd in. He then leaned against Feng Siqian and discussed with Qi Yu. "My request isn't high. I only ask that this item be sold exclusively at the Ten Thousand Scrolls Library. If anyone from other realms wants to buy it, they can only do so through the Ten Thousand Scrolls Library."
"Qi Nian, your calculations are so obvious, I can hear them even in the demon realm," Feng Siqian couldn't help but tug at Qi Nian, trying to drag her away from Qi Yu. "If Qi Yu really agrees to you, then in the future, the demon realm and other realms will have to beg the Ten Thousand Scrolls Library to buy spiritual orbs. You'll definitely create more obstacles, preventing other realms from easily entering the beast realm, and you might even charge a lot more fees to enter the Ten Thousand Scrolls Library. Qi Nian, you truly have ill intentions!"
After speaking, Feng Siqian looked at Qi Nian and grabbed her hand. "Why don't you sell the item in the demon realm instead? I can promise to help you contact the biggest buyer in the demon realm, the Mingcang Tower. You can sell your items at the Mingcang Tower, and I promise to persuade the shopkeeper of the Mingcang Tower to give you eight parts of the profit, while I and the Mingcang Tower will only take one part each! I'll handle the Mingcang Tower, don't worry."
"...Princess Feng San, would the shopkeeper of the Mingcang Tower in the demon realm agree to that?" Qi Yu asked with a look of confusion, but in her heart, she had already begun to calculate.
If it were truly sold in the demon realm, and the Mingcang Tower was hers, then for Feng Siqian to persuade the Mingcang Tower to sell spiritual orbs for such a low profit, Feng Siqian would surely have to offer some benefits to the Mingcang Tower. It was even possible that Feng Siqian herself would purchase a batch to replenish her body and improve her cultivation.
In that case... she would only have to give Feng Siqian one part of the profit, and all the rest would be hers... She could make a good profit in the demon realm!
It was a worthwhile deal!
Feng Siqian patted her chest, assuring Qi Yu that she could definitely persuade the Mingcang Tower.
Qi Yu looked at Feng Siqian, then at Yue Zhiyin, Sui You, and Yu Zhen, who were surrounding her. She felt that she could do it and wasn't in a hurry. Perhaps these people, in their competition, might offer her even better terms later.
So, she gave Feng Siqian a well-behaved smile. "Alright, let me think about it carefully."
That night.
Yue Zhiyin and Sui You secretly contacted their respective clans, who then rushed to the ice forest to negotiate business with Qi Yu.
The next day, when Qi Yu sat down to meditate, she saw a young boy with pure white dragon horns on his head holding a large chest and smiling at her from a distance.
To the left of the silver dragon youth stood a young boy with red hair and a red feather totem on his forehead, also holding a large chest and waiting.
The two stood on either side, clearly having waited for a long time.
Behind them were the Winged Tiger clan, the Divine Witch clan, and the Netherworld clan, all queuing up.
Qi Yu: "..."
Perhaps I should hold a sales event for you all?