I manage female characters in all the heavens.

"Yes, my lord!" the demons replied in unison and withdrew from the hall.

Chapter 228 Don't Trust Cooperation with the Demon Lord

Watching their departing figures, "Nie Xiaoqian" smiled knowingly.

The reason for setting the reward of "one elite zombie in exchange for ten years of cultivation" was not only because zombies were indeed needed to replenish the body, but also to give these subordinates something to strive for.

After all, if you want a horse to run, you have to feed it grass.

A regime maintained solely by fear cannot last long; only by tying their interests to one's own can one truly motivate them to risk their lives.

Demons can increase their cultivation by devouring humans, which is essentially the same as devouring energy. It's no different from her direct empowerment, and her empowerment is even more efficient.

As for the cost of the initiation? That little bit of magic power was negligible to her.

With her possession of four martial arts worlds and the Absorption Technique, her true energy can indeed be described as inexhaustible, and since her magical power can be converted from true energy, it can naturally be described as inexhaustible as well.

She simply has a limited capacity; there's no problem with the source of her power.

The time flow in the four martial arts worlds is much faster than in this world, and the reserves of internal energy are so vast and fast that they can't possibly be used up.

After finalizing the positioning and development strategy of the Heavenly Demon Palace, she remembered something and called her subordinates back.

They were given a time-limited task: to find the lost legacies of many former major immortal sects that had been lost in the long river of history.

"If you can find something that satisfies me," she said, sitting on her throne and looking down at the kneeling demons below, "even if it's just a piece of information, I will reward you handsomely with cultivation that ranges from one year to a hundred years."

"Everything depends on the value of what you find."

The demons' eyes gleamed, and they all kowtowed and left to accept their orders.

They excitedly left the Heavenly Demon Palace, carrying the corpse fungus that Lord Netherworld Demon had just distributed as the first batch of seeds.

They need to go out and find a place to establish a zombie cultivation base, to rob people, territories, and things, to collect various cultivation or entertainment products, to expand the power of the Heavenly Demon Palace, and at the same time accumulate resources to hand over to their master.

In a short time, the Heavenly Demon Palace launched attacks in all directions, conquering all sides. Its forces increased rapidly in a short period of time, absorbing thousands of demons and monsters to join it. Its momentum was overwhelming, and it seemed poised to sweep across the six directions and conquer the eight wastelands.

This has alerted many powerful forces in the demon realm.

However, because the Heavenly Demon Palace's expansion strategy is very clever—first picking on the weak and swallowing up small forces without powerful demons in charge, while temporarily observing the truly tough opponents—it has not yet triggered a large-scale counterattack.

but……

"My lord," the spider demon reported, "our people have advanced to the vicinity of Lanruo Temple, where the master..."

She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully: "It's a thousand-year-old locust tree spirit who calls himself 'Grandma Tree Demon.' Our people issued him an ultimatum, demanding his submission, but he not only refused but also attacked and injured several of our lesser demons."

"Oh?" Nie Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow, a playful smile on her face. "Grandma Tree Demon... I almost forgot about him."

Lanruo Temple is indeed not far from here, and tree spirits rarely move their territory, so it's not surprising that they came to him first.

I haven't seen him for several months; I wonder how his cultivation is progressing.

"Pass down the order," she said calmly, "I will personally go and meet it."

Near Lanruo Temple, in a secluded valley.

The giant locust tree, tens of meters tall, was rooted in a patch of land teeming with yin energy, radiating a rich, green, demonic light.

He has been entrenched here for over a thousand years, managing this territory as if it were an impregnable fortress.

Although he was a spirit of plants and trees, making cultivation difficult, he actually cultivated quite quickly thanks to the Yin vein beneath the ruins of Lanruo Temple.

Moreover, it is inherently more difficult for plants to become spirits than for animals, but once they succeed, their achievements are extraordinary, far surpassing those of ordinary animals of the same cultivation level.

Although the Tree Demon Granny is not considered a top-tier demon, she is an absolute authority in this area spanning hundreds of miles.

Until recently, the Heavenly Demon Palace rose to prominence.

In the past few days, small demons have been running wild in its territory, demanding that it submit to some Netherworld Demon Lord.

The Tree Demon Granny had no idea who this Netherworld Demon was, but after a few exchanges, she discovered that these little demons were actually quite powerful.

In particular, the spider demon with eight hundred years of cultivation was very skilled and showed off its superior mobility.

but……

"Hmph, what Heavenly Demon Palace, what Netherworld Heavenly Demon!" the Tree Demon Granny sneered. "I've been operating here for a long time; do you think you can just swallow me up like that?"

Although he was stubborn, he was actually a little uneasy inside.

The origin of that Netherworld Demon is too mysterious, as if it sprang from a crack in a rock, and in just a few months it has gathered such a huge army.

It is said that even a thousand-year-old demon was instantly killed by the opponent in one move, which made him somewhat conflicted.

However, as a tree spirit, he could not easily leave his rooted place, and he was also reluctant to part with the Yin vein beneath Lanruo Temple, so he could only bear it for the time being.

Just then, a silvery-white rainbow streaked across the sky at an astonishing speed.

The tree demon grandmother suddenly looked up, her pupils shrinking sharply!

Within that rainbow, a slender figure stood on a flying sword, her robes fluttering, like a celestial maiden descending to earth.

And that face...

"It's you!!" The Tree Demon Granny was so shocked that many of her tree roots were uprooted. "You...how did you get here?!"

"Hey, old monster, long time no see."

The rainbow landed and dissipated. The figure jumped down from the flying sword and looked at the tree demon grandmother with a smile: "It's been a few months, and you've grown even more delicate."

The tree demon's face turned pale and then red as she stared at the smiling woman before her, momentarily speechless.

She had fought a great battle with the Heavenly Demon Palace's forces. Although she defeated the enemy, she was not unscathed, and many branches on her body were cut off.

It does look less ferocious than before, and has a sense of order, as if it has been pruned by a gardener.

Why is she here? What is she doing here?

Could it be... they're here to split the profits?!

He was somewhat surprised, because after the other party forcibly took the method of creating living corpses from him, the two had agreed to split the profits 50/50.

In other words, he provides the technology, and Nie Xiaoqian provides the labor, and together they produce living corpses, splitting the output 50/50.

I thought it would take the other party at least ten years to successfully produce living corpses, since they are human, and the method of refining living corpses is a demonic art, which must be studied and transformed.

Unexpectedly, it happened just a few months later.

Sure enough, the other party's talent as a demon is far greater than that of a human!

The Tree Demon Granny used a section of her root to condense into a human-shaped fragment, and walked towards "Nie Xiaoqian" with a smile, her face full of admiration: "Miss Nie is truly trustworthy, unaware of my living corpse..."

“Let me introduce myself,” Nie Xiaoqian interrupted him with a bright smile, “the Lord of the Heavenly Demon Palace, the Netherworld Heavenly Demon.”

An overwhelming demonic aura burst forth, completely enveloping the area. This demonic aura stirred up the malevolent spirits and resentment in the world, causing ghostly wails and howls. The entire world seemed to darken, as if it had fallen into the underworld.

Tree Demon Granny: "..."

what?

It opened its mouth, and the whole tree was stunned.

Rumor has it that the Netherworld Demon is a ferocious demon who eats hundreds of demons every day. His demonic power is earth-shattering, and he even roasted and ate a thousand-year-old demon. You say you are the Netherworld Demon?

Just a few months ago, you were still a tiny human being!

She had already come to believe it; this demonic power was simply earth-shattering, befitting the image of a Netherworld Demon.

"What...what exactly do you want?" After holding it in for a long time, it finally managed to utter a question tinged with helplessness and resentment, "Aren't we partners?"

"Cooperation?" Nie Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow. "When did I say I would cooperate with you? Don't make things up without evidence. I eat demons!"

How could you trust a deal made with a devil?

The demonic energy surged even more fiercely, and a ferocious and terrifying aura enveloped the Tree Demon Granny, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

As expected of a great demon, he's so despicable and bullies demons too much!

The tree demon was so angry she trembled all over, and her trunk rattled loudly: "You! You! You!"

"Alright, alright, stop with the 'you, me' stuff." Nie Xiaoqian waved her hand, interrupting its accusation.

"I'm not here to settle old scores with you. I'm here to give you two choices. Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

"Either submit to me and become a protector under the Heavenly Demon Palace; or I'll kill you and devour your thousand-year-old tree heart to replenish my body."

She paused, then added, "I'm actually quite democratic; you can choose for yourself."

The Tree Demon Granny's face was darker than the bottom of a pot. After a long silence, she slowly spoke: "What if... I don't choose either?"

"Oh?" Nie Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow, reached out and beckoned, and the white iron sword transformed into a stream of light and flew into her hand. "Then I'll have to help you choose."

The sword light swirled, exuding a sharp aura.

The Tree Demon Granny looked at the flying sword, recalling how this woman had been so troublesome just a few months ago with her sword-controlling skills alone, and now she had become the Netherworld Demon, her demonic power overwhelming...

Finally, he let out a long sigh: "I surrender, please spare my life, Lord Heavenly Demon."

The Netherworld Demon's strength was undeniable; any further resistance from him would only bring him humiliation.

In just a few months, Nie Xiaoqian's strength and identity have undergone such a tremendous change that it's truly unimaginable to demons...

"Those who understand the times are wise." Nie Xiaoqian sheathed her flying sword and nodded in satisfaction. "Following me will definitely lead to a brighter future than if you stayed here as a mountain bandit. Don't worry!"

"I don't have a cook under my command yet. I see you have some talent, so you'll be cooking for me from now on. Of course, besides your main job, you'll also have to take on the side jobs at the Heavenly Demon Palace, or I won't hold back!"

What you're saying doesn't reassure me at all!

With the Tree Demon Granny's submission, the Heavenly Demon Palace's power expanded once again, bringing all the territory within a hundred miles of Lanruo Temple under its control.

Thus, from Guobei County to Jinhua Prefecture, passing through Liuyun Sect's mountain gate, Hongsha Town, Fengshui Village, and other places, a vast area of ​​land spanning thousands of miles came under the control of the Heavenly Demon Palace.

The infamous Netherworld Demon has made a name for itself in the demon realm.

Meanwhile, far away in the capital, Nie Yan was unaware that his exceptionally talented daughter had become a powerful overlord of the demon realm.

He was still puzzled by his "friendly colleagues" in the court and worried about his "power that would sometimes get out of control".

Little did he know that the seemingly kind and benevolent Imperial Preceptor, Pudu Cihang, was already preparing to take action against him.

Chapter 229 Dead, all of them are dead!

Two months have passed since the Heavenly Demon Palace began its expansion under the orders of "Nie Xiaoqian".