C641 Demon Heart

A scarlet Demon Heart throbbed in Chen Liangquan's hands, enveloped by a bright, shining light.

The heart of a Fellbeast is the essence of its vitality and demon energy, serving as the power source for both archdemons and human cultivators in their fierce competition.

Archdemons of the evilkind refine their bones and flesh by absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth, storing any excess vitality within their hearts.

The heart of an archdemon has a similar function to the little world of vitality within human cultivators, acting as a blood source.

The archdemon's heart, a fusion of a human heart and the little world of vitality, possesses even more mysterious and profound uses.

For an archdemon, the most valuable possession is its Demon Heart, a coveted treasure among many cultivators.

The Sky Fiend from the extraterrestrial realms and the powerful Otherkin from the Star River are especially desirous of an archdemon's heart.

"Chen Liangquan!"

Yu Yuan's expression jolted upon hearing the name, a wave of unease washing over him.

He quickly realized that the archdemon occupying the room was of no lowly stature, likely a seventh-level archdemon.

Could it be that a seventh-level archdemon, with combat strength equivalent to a human at the Spirit Walk stage, had been captured alive by this remarkable member of the Chen family? And had its heart so brutally extracted?

Wasn't Chen Liangquan merely at the Lunar Spirit level, as the artifact soul had mentioned?

With this in mind, Yu Yuan attempted to sense Chen Liangquan's realm and concluded that indeed, he was at the Lunar Spirit level, perhaps even at the late period of Lunar Spirit.

For a Lunar Spirit cultivator to extract the heart of a seventh-level archdemon with such expert and delightful technique... Had he done this many times before?

This thought made Yu Yuan's gaze towards Chen Liangquan turn increasingly curious.

"Don't worry. If I say there's nothing to worry about, then there isn't," Chen Langzhi reassured, patting his shoulder to ease his mind. "Yu, I took you away in front of so many witnesses. If you were to die, explaining that to the Shadow's Keep would be no small feat."

"In the Forgotten Ruins, while I was deep in cultivation, Senior seized the opportunity to abduct the Silvermoon Queen," Yu Yuan said, taking a deep breath and fixing his gaze on Chen Liangquan with a furrowed brow. "Did you summon me here for retribution?"

Upon seeing Chen Liangquan, Yu Yuan's prior speculations crumbled. He had assumed that Chen Liangquan, the black sheep of the Chen family, would have severed ties with them after daring to rescue the Silvermoon Queen.

The Silvermoon Queen, alongside Shen Feiqing, had sought to resurrect the Shura in the Dark Realm within the Forgotten Ruins, an act that incurred the wrath of the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep. Shen Feiqing had been compelled to take refuge in the Godsblight Marsh, while the real body of the Silvermoon Queen was detained by Shadow's Keep, and the Lunar Spirit was restrained by Yu Zhu.

Chen Liangquan had rescued the Silvermoon Queen, a serious transgression. How could he then dare to appear in the inner city of Afnetalos? Would the Chen family not fear the repercussions from the five supreme sects due to his actions?

Unexpectedly, Yu Yuan encountered Chen Liangquan in the Songbird Empire. His previous act of saving Chen Qingyan emboldened him, leading him to believe that the Chen family would not target him. Yet, the very person who had extended the invitation was the last person he wished to encounter.

"Truth be told, I had intended to eliminate you back on that mid-lake island in the Lost Lands," Chen Liangquan said with a light chuckle. "But then you went to the Godsblight Marsh and freed many from the Sword Prison, all because Qingyan was trapped inside. Observing your actions in the marsh, I gradually reconsidered my stance."

Chen Liangquan, at the Lunar Spirit level, passed the Archdemon heart to Chen Langzhi. "Brother Zhi, when embedding this heart into the rune circle, fortify it with the Celestial Ice Crystal from the Frozen Hellscape. Three pieces should suffice."

"I understand," Chen Langzhi replied, carefully accepting the Archdemon heart and offering Yu Yuan a smile. "Besides the substantial consumption of soulstones, the inner city's operations also depend on a copious supply of vitality. To sustain an uninterrupted flow, the heart of a seventh-level Archdemon is required, with three pieces needed simultaneously."

Yu Yuan surveyed the room, noticing that the archdemon's body was subtly influenced by the rune circle etched into the walls, which was quietly manipulating its vitality.

Reflecting on his arrival in the Golden Carriage, he recalled the rune circle on the stone gate's door, pulsing with spiritual energy and the flow of vitality. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "The circulation of vitality within the inner city, could it be your handiwork?" He directed the question at Chen Liangquan.

"Ah, Liangquan, Yu Yuan is truly astute. He can deduce so much from mere hints," Chen Langzhi commended warmly. "Upon his arrival, he immediately realized there was another city beneath Afnetalos, understanding it to be the private dwelling of our Chen family."

"People who grasp the true nature of things at a glance are fated to walk a different path than those who remain blind to it all their lives," Chen Liangquan remarked with a smile, then gestured for Chen Langzhi to step out first.

"You two chat. I'll return later to escort him to Afnetalos," said Chen Langzhi, excusing himself with discernment.

Catching Chen Liangquan off guard, Yu Yuan inquired, "The archdemon whose heart you extracted, was it from Shadow's Keep or Godsblight Marsh?"

He was genuinely curious about the archdemon's origins.

If it were a seventh-level archdemon from Shadow's Keep, and the Chen family had slain it, the revelation could ignite the wrath of Shadow's Keep against both the Songbird Empire and the Chen family.

But if it originated from Godsblight Marsh...

Chen Liangquan was allied with the Silvermoon Queen and Shen Feiqing, with Tan Yuan of the Forgeroses possibly supporting them. After Shen Feiqing's misfortune, she sought refuge in Godsblight Marsh.

Considering this, shouldn't Chen Liangquan also show respect to the Untamed?

"It's neither," Chen Liangquan replied as he rinsed the blood from his hands in a basin, meticulously drying them with a pristine towel, ensuring even the traces of blood and flesh under his nails were cleaned thrice over. "It's like Lu Qingyu, an archdemon unaffiliated with Shadow's Keep and without the protection of the Untamed."

The Shadow's Keep and the Untamed have no ties to these archdemons; they are like rootless duckweed—once dead, they're gone."

His slender hands were now spotless, and he appeared quite pleased with himself. "Initially, we planned to capture Lu Qingyu when necessary. I would have extracted her Demon Heart intact. You must understand that damaging the heart's meridians and blood vessels makes it exceedingly difficult to align perfectly with a rune circle."

Chen Liangquan cleared his throat before continuing, "Lei Jiao and Huoluo were also on my list."

Lu Qingyu, Lei Jiao, and Huoluo, all seventh level archdemons, had traveled great distances to the Forgotten Ruins after the resurgence of spiritual energy there, seeking Yu Zhu's blessing to establish themselves.

The common thread among these three archdemons was their independence from the Shadow's Keep and their refusal to serve Untamed.

"How many seventh level archdemons like this one has your Chen family secretly slain?" Yu Yuan demanded.

"If my memory serves me, including this one, that makes sixteen," Chen Liangquan replied candidly, revealing the staggering figure. He added another astonishing detail, "We've also killed two eighth level archdemons, but I've only managed to extract the heart from one."

Yu Yuan was profoundly shaken and fell into a stunned silence, offering no further comment.

"The heart of the other eighth level archdemon was extracted by Her Majesty the Songbird Queen a few years back," Chen Liangquan continued, "The heart of the eighth level archdemon was used as a lynchpin, connecting the vitality of the seventh level archdemon hearts when the rune circle was first established."

"Songbird Queen!" Yu Yuan let out a wry smile.

He had not anticipated the Chen family's capability and audacity to construct an inner city beneath Afnetalos!

An eighth level archdemon, on par with a Solar Spirit, was a force to be reckoned with, even without allegiance to the Shadow's Keep or Untamed.

Such archdemons were already capable of soaring into the extraterrestrial realms, and if they so chose, the Shadow's Keep, the three upper sects, and the Devil Palace would vie fiercely to welcome them.

Two archdemons of such caliber had been slain by the Chen family, their Demon Hearts gruesomely extracted—a chilling tale to any who heard it.

In Chen Liangquan's palm, a light purple pill materialized out of thin air. He flashed a radiant smile at Yu Yuan and forcefully crushed the unfamiliar pill.

Instantly, a purple glow and a fragrant scent wafted through the air.

Boom!

Within Yu Yuan's little world, at the Blood Altar, an ancient dire beast stirred, roused by the scent of blood. A torrent of hot blood surged to his head, and Yu Yuan found himself unable to quell the Blood Altar's thirst.

The Evil Body Refining technique activated spontaneously. The twelve main meridians and the eight extra-channels surged like rivers of vitality within his body, whirling into a frenzy.

In the house, the archdemon, now heartless and stripped of its bones, tendons, and flesh by Liangquan, shuddered faintly on the ground.

Almost immediately, strands of vitality were drawn out by Yu Yuan, leaving the archdemon.

In contrast, the arcane circles etched into the house's walls failed to siphon even a trace of vitality or demon energy from the archdemon's body. The Blood Altar within Yu Yuan clearly had a higher priority over the wall's array when it came to absorbing the archdemon's vitality.

Tsssssss!

As the Blood Altar drained the archdemon's vitality, Yu Yuan's temples throbbed.

His mind thundered, as if his rationality had been shattered by the Blood Altar's power.

The heartless seventh-level archdemon withered rapidly, its flesh desiccating before one's very eyes.

A rich torrent of vitality and blood essence, like a vast ocean, poured into Yu Yuan, flooding into the little world of vitality. The Blood Altar, aglow with a sinister light, was bathed in a bloody radiance.

"Just as I expected," Chen Liangquan exclaimed, clapping his hands in delight. His laughter was filled with excitement, unfazed by Yu Yuan's extraction of the archdemon's vitality.

"Feast upon the corporeal body of this archdemon to your heart's content. In the Godsblight Marsh, you were relentlessly hammered into Subtlety by Zhongli Dapan. Yet, you are no ordinary man; you have the resilience to continuously temper your body."

The gleam in the eyes of this extraordinary member of the Chen family was so intense that it was impossible to meet his gaze directly.

He appeared even more elated and thrilled than Yu Yuan, valuing the unfolding events more than anyone else.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The essence of the seventh level archdemon's vitality coursed through Yu Yuan's veins. As it streamed toward the Blood Altar, it simultaneously aided in tempering his corporeal body, embarking on yet another enhancement of his limbs and skeleton!

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