The Demon Slayer Martial Saint Begins with Insect Refining

Chapter 423 Chijiang Prefecture
The Long family was destroyed, and the Northern Barbarian assassin died in a single battle.

No one expected it to turn out this way.

Moreover, this directly led to the outcome for Su Yan, a martial artist at the seventh level of the Dharma Aspect Realm.

monster!

Even a great master like Zen Master Ping An, who was at the seventh level of the Golden Body Realm, couldn't help but be moved when he saw Su Yan's performance.

Its body is as golden as gold, and it is accompanied by four great beast kings: the Giant Flame God Scorpion, the Blood Prison Demon Centipede, the Thunderwing Holy Spirit Insect, and the Void Shadow Spider.

One person is already equivalent to an entire sect, not to mention the Gold-Devouring Emperor Insect that appeared later. Although it was only at the late fourth stage, its talent was much stronger than that of ordinary fourth-stage wild beasts.

If there were a Dragon Gate Ranking among the wild beasts, the Gold-Eating Emperor Insect would surely be among them.

For this reason, both Fan Zhen and Zen Master Ping An regarded him as a peer.

"The entire Long family of Hidden Dragon City has been brought under control, and all three underground ports have been located. The Long family is finished."

Inside the Demon Suppression Guard's residence, Fan Zhen brewed tea for Su Yan while discussing the follow-up handling of the Long family's affairs.

The demise of several of the Long family's patriarchs only defines the nature of the matter, but it does not mean that the matter is over.

The Long family's operations are so vast that, to put it dramatically, the interests involved could span half of Chijiang Prefecture.

"How many people were dealt with in total?"

"There are five people in the Dharma Aspect Realm, twenty-seven people in the Danqiao Realm, and several thousand people in the True Intent Realm and Body Tempering Realm. Long Cangqing is not in the Long family; he must have been sent to the Northern Barbarians."

Fan Zhen spoke up to remind him that Long Cangqing had been severely injured by Su Yan, and even if he were in the Long family, those injuries would probably not be easy to heal.

However, since he wasn't at the Long family's residence, it seems the deal was already made from the beginning.

The Long family was in dire straits. Even if they successfully killed Su Yan and Fan Zhen, they were merely prolonging their lives and buying themselves some time.

Under these circumstances, sending some of the Long family's geniuses to the Northern Barbarians seems to have become their inevitable choice.

When Fan Zhen was cleaning up the Long family's house, he discovered this situation and naturally had to remind Su Yan.

Su Yan remained calm: "He can't cause any trouble. Even if he reaches the Golden Body Realm, there's nothing he can do."

Long Cangqing's injuries were inflicted by him personally; they were not simply a matter of broken ribs.

The power of the ferocious insects eroded his body. Although he didn't intentionally leave any traces, recovery would definitely not be a matter of a day or two.

By the time he entered the Golden Body Realm, Su Yan had already reached an unknown level.

Those who have already been surpassed by him have virtually no chance of catching up with him.

"The classics such as the 'Red Dragon Mystic Water Scripture' and the 'Red Dragon True Body Technique' are all in the treasury, waiting to be inspected and put into storage. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you with this task."

Fan Zhen smiled, and Su Yan also smiled knowingly.

In theory, such books should belong to the Demon Suppression Guard; they are public property.

However, the value of the classic texts lies in their content. The Long family has a lot of fifth-level cultivation techniques and martial arts skills. If they were to be circulated, they might be able to create some small forces.

Cultivation techniques are fundamental, and resources are the pillars; these are essential for building a family.

Having Su Yan review these documents is essentially no different from simply giving them to him.

"Based on your contribution, the spoils from this battle in the Long family treasury should go to you first. These are the first batch of valuable items that have been inventoried. Take a look and see which ones you like."

After handing over the list of treasures obtained from the confiscation of property to Su Yan, Fan Zhen knew that Su Yan needed to examine it carefully, so he did not linger.

After Fan Zhen left, Su Yan opened the booklet and carefully read through a few pages, and couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

The Chijiang Long family is truly rolling in wealth!

Besides the Crimson Dragon Lock, which had already been looted by the corpses on the battlefield, and the damaged Dragon River Grade A Dao Weapon, there were actually four Dao Weapons in the treasury: the Wind Wing Claw, the Wind-Controlling Azure Water Bow, the Azure Dragon Brush, and the Dragon-Slaying Spear.

The name is impressive, but the quality is only low-grade fifth rank, which is not particularly outstanding.

The Myriad Insects Prison Tower and the Myriad Insects Star-Eating Sword in Su Yan's hands have both reached the mid-grade of the fifth rank, which is the result of his continuous refinement.

On one hand, the Ferocious Insect Cauldron serves as a source of power, constantly refining the Dao soldiers with the power of the ferocious insects.

On the other hand, any spiritual artifacts, Dao weapons, or precious metals that Su Yan acquires that are troublesome to sell and that Su Yan doesn't need, he will have them transformed into metal essence by the Gold-Eating Emperor Insect, and then melt a portion of it into the Dao weapon.

Although doing so will reduce the food supply for the Gold-Eating Emperor Insect, the large number of fellow cultivators who send treasures, coupled with the continuous supply of elixirs, means that the Gold-Eating Emperor Insect will not grow too slowly.

With his methods, the speed of refining Dao weapons was indeed quite fast. Even the Hidden God Banner, which he had just obtained, had already been refined from a fourth-grade top-quality spiritual weapon into a fifth-grade low-quality Dao weapon.

In addition, there was one of the apprenticeship gifts given by his master Hong Wuji: the Demon-Imprisoning Nine Dragons Cover, a fifth-grade superior Dao weapon.

Although there's no progress in this soldier's advancement, it has played a significant role in trapping and beating the enemy.

It is precisely because Su Yan possesses a considerable number of Dao soldiers, and their effects are extremely powerful, that the current demand for Dao soldiers is naturally not great.

However, Su Yan became much more interested after turning to the next few pages of Dao Bing.

Among the pills, there are also fifth-grade pills, but in smaller quantities, since the Long family cannot afford to support a fifth-grade alchemist.

After the elixirs, comes the main event—natural and rare treasures.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Long family controls shipping in Chijiang Prefecture.

Traveling between the south and the north, they had a history of conflict with the northern barbarians. The rare and precious materials they accumulated in Hidden Dragon City were two to three times that of ordinary Golden Body Sects, with more than a dozen fifth-order rare and precious materials alone.

"We can't take them all, but it seems like we can give up on the Dragon Transformation Golden Pill."

The Dragon Transformation Golden Pill, despite its name, is actually a fifth-tier pill used on wild beasts to enhance their bloodline and strengthen their comprehension of the power of laws.

The pills came from the Lancang Medicine Pavilion, but of course, not many were used.

After all, aside from a few sects famous for their beast-taming abilities, the pills specifically for cultivating wild beasts are mostly made by independent cultivators who excel at beast taming.

However, reaching the fourth-tier wild beast is already considered the limit. The fifth-tier beast king is usually based on bloodline, and no one would go to such lengths to expend considerable resources to improve their contracted beast instead of themselves.

To put it more plainly, the higher one's cultivation level, the more they converge on the same path. The resources needed by martial artists and wild beasts will gradually converge in the directions of bloodline, enlightenment, and natural laws, and the resources required will begin to overlap significantly.

A sixth-tier demon saint can even create or modify beast techniques suitable for their own kind.

High-level resources are limited, and the demand is similar. No one would abandon resources to improve their own beast instead.

Su Yan also inquired at the Lancang Medicine Pavilion and learned about this pill formula, a fourth-grade top-quality pill. With some modifications by him, it eventually became the current Dragon Transformation Golden Pill.

"Twin Yin-Yang Flowers, Celestial Crystal, Purple Ginseng King..."

Su Yan sketched out several rare and precious materials, but compared to the three main materials and seven auxiliary materials he needed for his Dragon Transformation Golden Pill, he was still one-third short.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar name among the rare and precious materials: Demon Abyss Soul Crystal Gold.

Su Yan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Fifth-grade top-quality Demon Abyss Soul Crystal Gold, is the Long family preparing this for their own use, or for the Northern Barbarians?"

This special metal of this quality is already used in sixth-tier Dao weapons. Although it's not a top-tier main material, its quality isn't bad either. However, the four people from the Long family probably don't need this kind of thing, or rather, they're not worthy of it.

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Even if the Sea of ​​Fiends has the Demon Abyss Soul Crystal Gold, it may not be so quick to acquire it."

Su Yan marked it directly, and after selecting some of the remaining rare and precious materials, he stopped selecting them.

Even spoils of war need to be shared. Since Su Yan took the lion's share, it's natural that everyone should share it.

Su Yan gave instructions on what he needed, and soon Xing Menglan personally delivered the items to him.

He went to Lancang Medicine Pavilion again and bought the remaining rare and precious herbs from Qu Qinglan.

However, this time, he was not only greeted by Qu Qinglan, but also by Neng Yanshan, an elder at the Golden Body Realm.

As for their attitude, they were extremely respectful.

"The medicinal materials for the Dragon Transformation Golden Pill required by Fellow Daoist Su have been prepared. However, the main ingredient, Earth Vein Essence, cannot be allocated in time and needs to be retrieved from the Tianyuan Mansion's branch warehouse."

"A few days won't matter."

Su Yan frowned slightly, but this was normal. Fourth-grade top-quality natural treasures weren't like cabbages; it was impossible to keep them in every place. As long as they could be mobilized, Lancang Medicine Pavilion was already powerful enough.

"but"

Neng Yanshan changed the subject and said, "We have indeed made some progress on the Myriad Fiends Heavenly Origin Crystal that you asked us to inquire about."

Su Yan remained outwardly calm upon hearing this, but inwardly he was delighted and asked, "Where?"

"Nine Nether Sect"

Neng Yanshan said, "The Myriad Fiends Heavenly Origin Crystal is a top-grade fifth-order natural treasure that can be used to refine fifth-order or even sixth-order Dao weapons. Once it is produced, unless it is kept to oneself, the news will inevitably leak out. Previously, the Nine Nether Sect acquired one in an auction in Youdu City. However, it has only been a little over a month, so it is unlikely that it has been used yet."

Nine Nether Sect

Su Yan looked thoughtful and asked, "What are the conditions?"

"The Nine Nether Sect is not in a hurry to make a move; they haven't made an offer."

Neng Yanshan shook his head; that was the real problem.

For the Nine Nether Sect, their cultivation techniques are compatible with the Myriad Fiends Heavenly Essence Crystal, and the sect has Golden Body Realm or even Martial Saint Realm warriors. Naturally, they will not easily part with this item unless there is sufficient benefit to be exchanged.

'Trouble'

Su Yan frowned slightly; exchanging these things from a major sect was not so simple.

After the transaction was completed, Su Yan did not leave immediately, but chatted with Neng Yanshan and Qu Qinglan for a while.

After all, they were partners, and after a brief chat, they learned that Nengyanshan had come to oversee the area because of the market vacated in Chijiang Prefecture.

With the downfall of the Long family and the collapse of the Youlong faction, all the forces that relied on the two families have disintegrated, leaving behind a huge vacancy.

The Demon Suppression Guards maintain order and may control some industries, but they will not interfere with most resources; this is the goal of these sects.

When Neng Yanshan told Su Yan about this, he naturally hoped to get some favors from Su Yan.

However, Su Yan did not give a precise answer, but instead pushed the matter to Fan Zhen.

How to divide the cake is Fan Zhen's business; he has a say in it, but there's no need for him to.

He had already taken enough benefits from the Long family's treasury; those were readily available resources. If he were to exchange them for resources from Chijiang Prefecture, it would probably take a long time to integrate and monetize them.

In his eyes, these resources served only one purpose: to appease the numerous sects that had been defeated and subdued.

A big stick and a date

This is the only way to tame wild beasts. Now, Su Yan has come to challenge them one by one and defeated them. He also quietly destroyed the Long family and wiped out the Northern Barbarian Golden Body Warriors.

Even if they didn't know about the Battle of the Nine Turns Cold Pool, with so many Golden Body Realm cultivators dying, Su Yan must have been involved.

Although Xiao Wujiu, Luo Hongshao, and Chu Jinglan, the three people in the know, would not deliberately reveal it, if they knew someone, they would give them some hints to prevent them from causing trouble for Su Yan.

In this way, although Su Yan's methods were not fully exposed, he definitely possessed abilities comparable to those of the Golden Body Realm.

This is why Neng Yanshan was so respectful; Su Yan was truly no less than a Golden Body Realm expert.

As soon as Su Yan left, Neng Yanshan watched Su Yan's departing figure, his eyes narrowing slightly, revealing a hint of emotion.

"It is truly an enviable talent; it is no exaggeration to call him a born prodigy."

Qu Qinglan, who was listening nearby, nodded slightly: "When I met Champion Marquis, he was just a Danqiao Realm martial artist. Now, in just one or two years, he has already reached the Dharma Aspect Realm."

Neng Yanshan shook his head slightly: "It's not just the cultivation level, the medicinal materials required for the Dragon Transformation Golden Pill have also been modified. Although I don't know the refining method, I observe that the medicinal properties complement each other, making it even better than before. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a pseudo-fifth-grade pill. Moreover, all the required medicinal materials are currently available in this world. Do you know how monstrous this alchemy talent is?"

Even a mediocre alchemist might not be able to refine a new pill formula.

A skilled alchemist, with a formula corresponding to their grade, is confident in guaranteeing a high success rate in producing successful pills.

A top-tier alchemist has a chance to refine a superior-grade pill, making minor modifications to better assist in the pill refining process.

But Su Yan is even more skilled than a first-rate alchemist; he can recombine the raw materials for alchemy.

By understanding the fundamental principles of combining various rare and precious ingredients through the formulas, one can replace and modify them to create new elixirs.

If a recipe consists of three types of medicinal materials (A, B, and C), alchemists can generally only find these three types.

However, the prescriptions have been passed down for too long, and some rare and precious medicinal materials are difficult to cultivate artificially. Over time, as the medicinal materials gradually become scarce, they naturally become rarer or even lost.

However, if an alchemist is skilled enough, and the first type of medicinal material is not suitable, he can find the second type of medicinal material to replace it, or directly change the entire formula while maintaining its original function.

Raw materials may suddenly become readily available, leading to the mass production of new pills. This is what makes top-tier alchemists so terrifying.

Even if an alchemist with such skill wanted to modify a pill formula, it would take years of revisions.

However, Su Yan seemed to have broken free from this vicious cycle, modifying things at an extremely fast speed; he was truly a born prodigy.

When Qu Qinglan heard Neng Yanshan say this, she didn't know whether she was more happy or shocked.

"Make the arrangements. We'll take a share of the pie in Chijiang Prefecture, just like before. We'll also pave the way for the Sacred Insect Path."

"Yes"

Although Su Yan did not endorse them, his suggestion that they go to Fan Zhen was essentially an indication that he allowed them to enter.

Once you're in, everything will be fine.

As for Su Yan, after leaving Lancang Medicine Pavilion, he did not return to the Demon Suppression Guard's residence, but went straight to the outskirts of the city, found a secluded spot, and then released the Nine Dragons Imprisoning Demon Cover.

Immediately afterwards, the corpses of Ashina, Ashiza, and others were all taken out from the space.

"He was a bit too ruthless when he attacked; it's a pity he didn't leave a complete corpse."

(End of this chapter)