Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Foundation Establishment Great Demon
Peacock Demon City was majestic and boundless, its sheer scale far beyond anything one could imagine.
Even the surrounding mountain ranges seemed small and insignificant before it.
The closer Xu Chang’an drew, the more awestruck he became.
’A city of this magnitude could rival the great cities of the Human Race cultivators!’
Peacock Demon City possessed a Tier Three Spirit Vein, along with numerous Tier Two and Tier One branch veins.
The Spiritual Qi within was incredibly dense. The chance to cultivate inside was a dream for countless demons.
Attack, defense, surveillance, illusion barriers...
A Tier Three Array enveloped the Demon City, and the light of its formations occasionally flashed along the perimeter.
Let alone the Demon King who presided over the Demon City, the Array alone was enough to dissuade any demon with ulterior motives from trying anything.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Even at night, the sound of figures streaking through the air could be heard from time to time.
The gate to the Demon City was massive, standing a full thirty zhang tall.
At such a scale, even colossal demons with unusual body shapes could pass through with ease.
BOOM! BOOM!
A tremor ran through the ground, as if the very earth was shaking.
Xu Chang’an looked toward the source of the sound.
He saw a gorilla demon, immense and powerfully built, approaching from the distance. It stood a full ten zhang tall.
Every step it took made the ground tremble.
The demons nearby scrambled to get out of its way.
’A Foundation Establishment Great Demon!’
Xu Chang’an’s eyes narrowed, his focus sharpening.
For comparison, the Mountain Boar Demon he’d encountered outside the White Maple Mountain Marketplace—a Qi Refining Old Demon—was only three zhang tall.
Typically, a demon in the Qi Refining Realm would struggle to grow larger than five zhang.
For a Demon Body to be as massive as this gorilla’s, it had to be a Foundation Establishment Great Demon.
Only a Foundation Establishment Great Demon could cultivate its physical form to such a terrifying size.
Only their daily cultivation, the constant intake and refinement of energy, could sustain the immense consumption required by such a massive body.
The gorilla demon strode forward, continuing on its path.
Following the example of the other demons, Xu Chang’an moved aside as it passed him.
Even in that brief proximity, he felt the immense, oppressive presence of a Foundation Establishment Great Demon.
’A Foundation Establishment Great Demon...’
Xu Chang’an mused, his eyes narrowed slightly.
With all the other demons making way for it, the gorilla demon quickly reached the entrance to the Demon City.
"Please halt, Senior! You must pay the Demon Stone fee and complete the entry procedures!"
A Demon City guard stepped forward, blocking the gorilla demon’s path.
Countless demons passed through Peacock Demon City, and Foundation Establishment Great Demons were not an uncommon sight.
The guard’s tone was respectful, but held no trace of fear.
"Alright."
The gorilla demon’s voice was a deep, thick rumble, like rolling thunder.
Another Demon City guard then began to process the gorilla demon’s entry.
After paying the entrance fee of Demon Stones, the Foundation Establishment Great Demon strode into the city.
However, the moment it stepped through the city gate, the gorilla demon’s body suddenly shrank.
It went from ten zhang tall to just two.
Foundation Establishment Great Demons possessed the ability to change their size.
They could not grow larger than their true form’s limit, and there was also a limit to how small they could become.
This was one of the hallmark Divine Techniques of a Foundation Establishment Great Demon.
Within Peacock Demon City, powerful demons were innumerable, making even Foundation Establishment Great Demons a common sight.
Entering in one’s true, massive form would be far too conspicuous.
To avoid trouble, the gorilla demon had shrunk its body to two zhang after entering the city.
Approaching the Demon City in its true form was a display of power.
Shrinking its form upon entry was a show of respect.
With a Demon King presiding over the city, what Foundation Establishment Great Demon would dare act presumptuously?
The order of the Demon Race was built on the foundation of absolute power!
After the gorilla demon entered the city, order was restored outside the gates.
Xu Chang’an queued up, paid the two-Demon-Stone entrance fee, registered his information, and entered the Demon City.
Peacock Demon City was divided into three sections: the core grounds, the Inner City, and the Outer City.
The core grounds were not open to outsiders.
It was reserved exclusively for the core members of the Peacock Mountain Demon Race.
The Inner and Outer Cities, however, offered cultivation abodes.
For a sufficient fee of Demon Stones, anyone could rent a space to cultivate and absorb the city’s rich Spiritual Qi.
’I have plenty of time on this trip, so there’s no need to rush.’
It was still before dawn.
After entering the Demon City, Xu Chang’an didn’t rush to liquidate his inventory or inquire about Top-grade Magical Artifacts.
Instead, he found an inn in the Outer City that rented out cultivation abodes, paid one Demon Stone, and checked in.
The cultivation abode wasn’t large. It contained a meditation cushion and a few simple furnishings.
Xu Chang’an surveyed the room and sighed.
’One Demon Stone for a single day’s stay... It’s so expensive!
A month’s rent here could buy a decent Low-grade Magical Artifact!
And this is just the Outer City...’
Living in a Demon City was far from easy.
’If he wanted to be independent, to enjoy a life of leisurely cultivation without having to toil for Demon Stones, the amount he’d need to save up...’
’...was astronomical!’
’And that didn’t even include a Top-grade Magical Artifact!’
’Or an Alchemy Furnace!’
Suddenly, the Demon Stones Xu Chang’an had on hand felt wholly inadequate.
Counting his earnings from White Maple Mountain, Xu Chang’an’s total net worth was a little over eight thousand Demon Stones.
That sounded like a lot.
However, a significant portion of that was tied up in his Guarding Methods and couldn’t be liquidated.
He planned to keep three of his Middle-grade Magical Artifacts for his own use: the Yuanbao Seal, the Illusory Bell, and the Earth Suppression Order.
He also wouldn’t part easily with some of his high-quality Demon Talismans and Array Flags.
After setting those aside, even if he sold off all his other Middle-grade Magical Artifacts and Demon Talismans...
...he would have five thousand Demon Stones at most to spend.
Not a single stone more.
With five thousand Demon Stones, he had to scheme for a Top-grade Magical Artifact.
He also needed to purchase elixirs and Spirit Plants to accumulate Energy Points!
The Clearing Qi Pill, an elixir suitable for Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
It sold for ten Demon Stones a bottle.
A bottle of Clearing Qi Pills contained ten pills.
Previously, one bottle of these elixirs would grant him two points of energy.
But since he broke through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, the energy he could convert from them seemed to have dropped significantly.
Now it took a bottle and a half of Clearing Qi Pills just to accumulate a single point of energy.
Right now, he was still over two hundred and seventy energy points away from the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
In other words, he would need to buy over four hundred bottles of Clearing Qi Pills.
That would cost over four thousand Demon Stones!
Even if he liquidated everything he could, his current funds would barely be enough!
The Qi Refining Ninth Layer versus a Top-grade Magical Artifact.
After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Chang’an chose the Top-grade Magical Artifact.
Once he stepped into the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, the amount of Demon Power he could wield would undoubtedly increase significantly.
But since both were part of the Late-stage Qi Refining realm, there was no fundamental difference between the Eighth and Ninth Layers.
However, the boost to his combat prowess from a Top-grade Magical Artifact would be far greater than the gain from breaking through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
Of course, that was true for Xu Chang’an, specifically.
Because he could adapt to and master a Top-grade Magical Artifact in the shortest possible time.
Unlike ordinary demons, who, even with a Top-grade Magical Artifact in hand, would be limited by their experience and perspective, unable to unleash its full power.
He could slowly accumulate the energy needed to break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer anywhere.
Opportunities to acquire a Top-grade Magical Artifact, however, were rare. Since he was now in Peacock Demon City, that had to be his priority.
Even for Foundation Establishment Great Demons, a Top-grade Magical Artifact was part of their standard arsenal!
It would be able to serve him for a very long time.
’If it comes down to it, I’ll just have to sell one more Middle-grade Magical Artifact!’
Xu Chang’an thought, gritting his teeth slightly at the prospect.
