After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

A spirit undergoing tribulation is very difficult to kill.

Having cultivated for thousands of years, as long as his primordial spirit remains intact, he will always have the opportunity to reshape his physical body.

He had barely gone ten feet when Zhou Ran had already left the inn.

He walked very slowly.

The Taihuang Black Blade hung limply at his side.

No one could see that his spiritual energy had been completely drained, and several cracks had appeared on his Nascent Soul stage.

That last strike relied on the Demon Bone, the remnant intent of the Grand Commander's Order, the White Bone Brush, and his own primordial spirit.

Of these items, three were ruined.

The primordial spirit that swallowed the bone is still there.

Zhou Ran lifted his foot.

The Bone-Swallowing Primordial Spirit hovered in mid-air.

He tried to escape, but found that the space around him was locked by the rules left by that slash.

The bone-swallowing creature finally got scared.

"etc!"

"I am willing to submit!"

"You want the Sixth Heaven? I'll give it to you!"

You want the Demon Palace? I'll give it up!

"You want the Demon Emperor's essence? I can find it for you!"

Zhou Ran walked down below him.

"Didn't you just say that I only stole the relics?"

The primordial spirit of the Bone-Swallowing Man trembled.

"I was wrong."

"Um."

Zhou Ran stomped down.

The primordial spirit of the Bone-Swallowing Man shattered.

The surrounding lightning and fire had not completely dissipated, and the shattered primordial spirit was swept away by the black lightning, leaving no trace.

Zhou Ran looked up at the surviving warships and remnants of the army outside the city.

Not all of the 100,000-strong army perished.

Those who survived were in complete chaos.

Some demon generals knelt on the ground, some still held their weapons, and some wanted to escape but dared not move.

They looked at Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran was pale, his clothes were covered in blood, and he hadn't put away the Taihuang Black Blade.

No one dared to mistake him for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

They all died after swallowing bones.

Who dares to go up and try?

Zhou Ran looked at them.

"I have said so."

"Seeing me is like seeing the heavens."

After the death of the Bone-Swallowing Duke, no one spoke first outside Blackwind City.

The remnants of the army are still there.

The warships are still there.

But the military order was broken.

The commander of the 100,000 demon soldiers was beheaded with a single stroke, and his primordial spirit was crushed. The remaining soldiers were unsure of where to retreat.

A commander in the Integration Stage stood in mid-air, clutching a military flag in his hand.

His name was Gu Ji, and he was the commander of the Third Army under the Duke of Tun Gu.

Gu Ji followed Tun Gu for over four hundred years, relying on the resources provided by Tun Gu to climb from the Refinement stage to the Integration stage.

He had no loyalty, but he understood that the stronger one's backing, the longer one would live.

Now that I have no backing, I've lost my support.

Gu Ji looked at Zhou Ran.

On the surface, he is at the Nascent Soul stage.

But he witnessed Tun Gu being chopped off with a single blow.

Gu Ji had no idea what was used in that strike.

He understood one thing: whether the person in front of him had a second chance to strike was something no one could predict.

One wrong bet, and you're dead.

Bone-dead and unwilling to gamble.

He was the first to fall from the sky, landing outside the north gate of Blackwind City.

The military flag in his hand was planted in the ground.

"Commander of the Third Army, Gu Ji, pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor."

He knelt down on one knee.

Everyone behind him was looking at him.

Some people criticized him for being spineless, some thought he reacted too quickly, and others breathed a sigh of relief.

Someone has to kneel first.

Otherwise, if they continue to stand there, and Zhou Ran includes them in the remnants of the Bone-Swallowing Clique, no one will escape.

The second commander knelt down.

Third place.

Then, the remaining demon soldiers outside the city knelt down one by one.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The sounds weren't as uniform as when the 100,000-strong army had besieged the city, but they carried far.

Inside Blackwind City, people from various factions hid behind doors to spy on the scene.

Kuishan opened the window a crack.

He saw the 100,000-strong army of the Bone Devourer kneeling outside the city, unaware that the magic crystal in his hand had fallen to the ground.

A subordinate nearby whispered, "Master, shouldn't we go and offer a supplementary tribute?"

Kuishan turned his head.

"What do you mean by 'supplement'?"

"Was the 30,000 mid-grade magic crystals I gave you last time too few?"

Kuishan remained silent for a while.

"Send my sixth-tier magical beast, Curry, over there too."

"Master, those were the ones you were saving for breeding."

"You've already died from swallowing bones, and you're still thinking about breeding?"

"That monster has a terrible temper."

"The bigger the temper, the better. If the Emperor doesn't like it, he can just eat it."

The subordinate dared not ask any more questions and turned to fetch the beast.

In front of the inn, Zhou Ran did not immediately take over the army.

He stood there for a while, and his legs felt a little weak.

The cost of severing the bone in one strike was far greater than he had anticipated.

The cracks in the Nascent Soul and Primordial Spirit did not widen, but they also failed to heal.

The Taihuang Black Blade was still absorbing the remaining demonic energy around it, sustaining him.

He cannot fall here.

The 100,000-strong army had just surrendered, and various factions within the city were watching closely.

No one can guarantee that there aren't any die-hard loyalists among them, or spies planted by other dukes.

Zhou Ran sheathed his sword.

"Bone silence".

"Your subordinate is here."

"Is the main ship of the Bone-Swallowing Clan still around?"

Gu Ji looked up and glanced at it.

The main ship was cut in two by Zhou Ran's blade, with its bow and stern falling outside the city.

Fortunately, the main battle formation was not completely destroyed, and there were still many soldiers and resources inside the ship.

"Your Majesty, the main ship is damaged, but it can be repaired."

"Where is the Demon Palace that swallows bones?"

"The central part of the Sixth Heaven, the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace."

How far is it from Blackwind City?

"The warships will take three days to move."

Zhou Ran nodded.

"Repair the warships that are still operational, take the wounded away, register the bodies, and seal up the magic crystals and weapons."

Gu Ji was taken aback.

He originally thought Zhou Ran would order them to immediately attack the city, cleanse, and plunder.

The first order was to register the bodies.

"Your Majesty, our fallen brothers..."

"Even after someone dies, the accounts must not be in disarray."

Zhou Ran looked at him.

"It's Tun Gu's fault for bringing them here to their deaths. Since you've knelt down, this debt should be placed on his head first."

Gu Ji's throat moved.

Many men in his Third Army died.

Some of them were his old subordinates, and some were young demonic cultivators he had handpicked from the mines.

He led troops into battle, and with so many deaths, he grew accustomed to it. But no major guild ever asked where their bodies were or if anyone was still alive.

Gu Ji lowered his head.

"Your subordinate obeys."

Zhou Ran turned around and walked back to the inn.

As soon as I entered the door, my legs went weak.

Qin San was prepared and reached out to support his arm.

Zhou Ran did not push him away.

"How's the situation outside?"

"Gu Ji is willing to accept the order, and the other commanders dare not act rashly for the time being."

Yan Lie led three thousand Dark Armored Soldiers to guard the north gate, not daring to approach.

"Where is Yan Lie?"

He said he came to apologize.

"Make him kneel outside."

Qin San nodded.

"Master, you are badly injured."

"He's not going to die yet."

"There is a crack in the primordial spirit."

"I can see it."

Zhou Ran sat down against the wall.

Xiao Rou ran over and stuffed the Demon Infant Fruit that he hadn't eaten earlier into his hand.

"Can we eat this now?"

Zhou Ran looked at the fruit.

"able."

"Then I'll peel it for you."

"I'll do it myself."

Your hands are covered in blood.

Zhou Ran didn't say anything.

Xiao Rou took the fruit back, carefully peeled off the skin, and then handed it to him.

Zhou Ran took a bite.

It tastes astringent.

Xiao Rou stared at him.

"Is it tasty?"

"good."

You're lying.

"Um."

Xiao Rou didn't ask any more questions.

She opened the Gu box, and several Nourishing Yuan Gu crawled onto Zhou Ran's hand, absorbing the residual power of the lightning tribulation near the wound.

Xuan Ying and Gu Li sat not far away, both of them seriously injured.

Xuan Ying looked at Zhou Ran and remained silent for a long time.

"Your Excellency."

"explain."

"With Tun Gu dead, the Sixth Heaven will not be at peace."

"I know."

"Besides Devourer, there are three other Grand Dukes in the Sixth Heaven: Rift Mountain in the east, Crimson Scale in the west, and Formless in the south. Once news of Devourer's death spreads, they won't avenge him, but they will certainly come to test him."