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

The search is ongoing.

Zhou Ran had no interest in giving that dirty money stained with sin a second glance.

With a wave of his hand, he took all the jade, top-grade medicinal herbs, and even materials for magical artifacts that had been stockpiled in the underground demon cave.

These things are immense wealth for ordinary people, but for him, they are stepping stones to a higher realm.

Xiao Hongli's business team acted swiftly and took over all subsequent matters.

She seized the opportunity presented by the Song family's desperate attempt to survive, and with lightning speed, devoured the vast assets left behind after the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce disintegrated.

Afterwards, she handed a share transfer agreement to Zhou Ran.

"Fifty-one percent of the shares of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce now belong to you."

Zhou Ran didn't look at the document.

With a gentle flick of his fingertip, he pushed it back.

"Money is just a number to me."

He nodded his chin toward the mountain of cultivation resources.

"These are the things I need."

……

Late at night, in the deepest secret room of the Xiao family manor.

Zhou Ran sat cross-legged, his aura extremely restrained, his entire being unfathomable, like an ancient well.

The three treasures floated in front of him, each emitting distinct energy fluctuations, yet they resonated with each other in the unseen realm.

The chill emanating from the 【Frosty Pool】 caused the surrounding air to condense into fine frost.

The 【Drought Demon Corpse Pill】, after purification, contains a pure fire element capable of burning mountains and boiling seas.

Finally, the Old Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain presented me with the [Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill], which contains immense vitality.

Ice, fire, life.

All that's left for building the foundation is dragon's beard grass.

"Gulp."

A sound of swallowing saliva echoed in his mind.

The demonic shadow that haunted the night sky materialized into a tangible form.

His eyes were fixed on the three treasures in the secret room, and his saliva, which was formed from demonic energy, was about to drip down.

"Kid!"

"Very nourishing!"

This is fucking an incredible tonic!

"Don't wait any longer!"

Swallow it all in one gulp now!

"I will personally protect you; we will share the medicinal effects equally!"

"Don't even mention the Foundation Establishment stage; it's not impossible for them to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in one go!"

With a slight thought, Zhou Ran conjured a solid golden Sanskrit scripture, which appeared out of thin air and imprinted itself on Ye Futian's demonic soul.

"ah--!"

"You brat, you have no sportsmanship! I'm just trying to help you out!"

"Ouch! It's hot! It's burning me!"

The old demon's wails gradually faded away.

The sealed room returned to deathly silence.

Zhou Ran composed himself and prepared to take this crucial step.

At that very moment, a strange event occurred in the capital city, a thousand miles away.

……

The old Song family residence in Beijing.

This sprawling courtyard house is located in the heart of the Second Ring Road, where land is incredibly valuable, and its vermilion gates are usually kept tightly closed.

Only the two stone lions at the entrance, weathered by a century of wind and rain, silently testify to the unfathomable depth of this family's heritage.

All the core members of the Song family knew that the true core of this mansion was not on the ground.

But hundreds of meters underground.

There is no trace of modernity here.

The surrounding walls were made of huge blocks of granite, with black dog blood and glutinous rice paste used as an adhesive in the gaps.

The air was filled with a musty smell, a mixture of rotting flesh and mold that hadn't seen sunlight for a thousand years.

Song Tiancheng, the current head of the Song family, was kneeling prostrate before a huge coffin made of golden nanmu wood.

His forehead was pressed against the cold, damp floor tiles, leaving it bloody and mangled.

Dark red blood trickled down his nose, and he dared not wipe it away or let out a heavy breath.

Boom, boom, boom.

The sound of fingernails scratching the wooden planks could be heard coming from inside the coffin.

The sound was piercing, scraping so hard it hurt your eardrums, as if some giant humanoid rat was gnawing on something inside.

"Ancestor, your unworthy descendant Song Tiancheng pays his respects."

Song Tiancheng's voice trembled, a fear that stemmed from his very blood.

The scratching stopped.

Then, the heavy coffin lid slid open a crack little by little.

A hand reached out from the gap.

It didn't look like a human hand; the skin and flesh were shriveled and clung tightly to the bones, and the skin and flesh were grayish-purple.

Its surface was covered with wrinkles like old tree bark and dark livid spots; its fingernails were three inches long, black and curved, gleaming with an inhuman eerie light.

A dark, malevolent aura seeped out from the cracks in the coffin, and the temperature in the basement dropped to freezing.

Song Wuji sat up.

This 240-year-old monster is more like a walking corpse in human skin.

His eyes were sunken, his pupils were cloudy and yellow, and a few sparse white hairs clung to his scalp covered with age spots.

With each breath he took, a thick, putrid stench filled the air.

"Why hasn't my physical body been delivered yet?"

Song Wuji's voice was dry and harsh, as if squeezed out from a leaky coffin lid, making it extremely grating.

Song Tiancheng shuddered and lowered his head even further:

"Grand Ancestor, please calm down! It turns out that you chose that child, Yunfei."

But Yunfei was murdered in Jiangcheng by a young man named Zhou Ran.

And Qing Shu, that child, also had an accident in Jiangnan.

"Accident?"

Song Wuji's ghostly eyes locked onto Song Tiancheng, and a pressure from the Foundation Establishment stage descended!

"Are you saying that the container I've waited fifty years for is now useless?"

"Yes...yes."

Song Tiancheng's back was soaked with cold sweat. He took out a tablet computer and raised it above his head with both hands.

"but!

We've found a more perfect alternative!

A superior vessel, ten thousand times better than Song Qingshu!

On the tablet computer, blurry footage of Zhou Ran's battle with Lingxu Daoren and Hanba in Jiangcheng was playing.

Although the image was shaky, it was clear that Zhou Ran was surrounded by demonic energy, his physical body was able to withstand the magic weapon without being damaged, and his blood and qi were as vigorous as a dragon, and he could tear the Golden Silkworm Gu apart with his bare hands!

Song Wuji's cloudy eyes froze when he saw Zhou Ran's image.

The light that shot from his eyes was like that of a ferocious beast that had been starving for a thousand years finally seeing flesh and blood.

That was undisguised greed, burning and naked.

"This...this is..."

Song Wuji's entire body was shedding flakes of skin. He stretched out his ghostly claw and, through the screen, obsessively stroked Zhou Ran's image.

"Perfect bones!"

Abundant Qi and Blood!

And this...

This domineering and pure demonic energy!

This is a gift from heaven to this old man!

This is a naturally born demonic body!

"As long as I possess him!"

Not only will I be reborn, but I will also break through the Foundation Establishment barrier in one fell swoop and glimpse the legendary Golden Core Path!

Song Wuji let out a strange "hehe" laugh from his throat, and turbid saliva dripped down from the corners of his dry mouth and onto the tablet screen.

Just then, a person slowly emerged from the shadows of the basement.

This man was dressed in a gray robe, carried an ancient longsword on his back, had a sinister face, and narrow eyes.

It was Mo Yunhai, the second elder of the Wuji Sect, with the cultivation level of Qi Condensation Great Perfection.

"Old ghost Song, it seems your tattered body really can't hold on any longer."

Mo Yunhai stared at the monster in the coffin, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust.

"Old Mo, help me!"

Song Wuji turned his head, his eyes gleaming with a bright green light.

"I want this body!"

At all costs!

"As long as you capture him alive and deliver him to us, the Song family will gladly hand over that spiritual vein that your Wuji Sect is coveting!"

Mo Yunhai let out a cold snort:

"You don't need to say anything more, I will settle the score with this kid myself."

Ghost Hand was my apprentice, and Spirit Void was my junior brother; both were killed by him.

"This blood debt, my Wuji Sect will surely settle."

He pulled out a jet-black jade talisman from his pocket, and crushed it with a single squeeze of his five fingers.

"By order of the sect leader, 'Ghost Shadow Asura' Xiao Jue is to take two elder deacons and set off for Jiangcheng immediately."

Mo Yunhai's dough twitched, revealing a cruel smile.

"The authorities are keeping an eye on your Song family, so we cannot use secular forces."

But Xiao Jue is a half-step Foundation Establishment expert, most skilled in assassination and stealth.

Song Wuji lay back in the coffin and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Okay, okay... Tell Xiao Jue not to ruin my new clothes."

"Especially that face, I..."

I really like it.