The Demon Palace, A Hairpin

The wool Jiang Che had sheared from the myriad clans of the Nine Heavens had arrived!

Although the beings of the myriad clans were extremely reluctant to pay this so-called 'protection fee,' especially some of the second and third-rate factions!

There was no other way. Even though the middle and lower echelons of the major powers were unwilling to be fleeced, the thoughts of their higher-ups like sect masters and clan leaders were not aligned with theirs!

They were Great Emperors, even Immortals!

The mortal realm was an indispensable factor for the future consolidation of the Immortal World and absolutely could not be left to be eroded by the power of the alien realm.

But sending large numbers of high-level powerhouses was impossible, so they could only place their hopes on Jiang Che.

Especially after yesterday, when the Ghost-Face Evil Deity Mother was inexplicably repelled, it gave many powerhouses in the Nine Heavens a glimpse of hope.

"Young Lord, these are the resources promised to you by the myriad clans. This is only the first batch, the resources sent from the Eastern Cangtian. A single storage ring couldn't hold it all... Of course, many clans and sects didn't have enough spirit stones, so they substituted equivalent heavenly treasures and rare materials..."

An elder who had descended from the Jiang Clan of the Nine Heavens approached Jiang Che with a smile.

This person was an elder from the inner clan of the Jiang family, originally a mighty Creation Realm expert... but to descend to the mortal realm, he severed his own cultivation, forcibly suppressing his power to the early Nirvana Stage.

"Hmm, as long as the resources are sufficient," Jiang Che took the spatial ring!

This was a Quasi-Emperor grade spatial artifact.

One must know that spatial rings are made from spatial stones. The spatial rings of some powerful experts can even contain a small world.

But even a Quasi-Emperor grade artifact couldn't hold that many resources!

From this, one could imagine just how much wool Jiang Che had sheared from the myriad clans of the Nine Heavens.

"Young Lord, this old one is a bit confused... What use do you have for so many cultivation resources? Could it be you truly intend to fund the cultivators of the mortal realm?" the elder frowned.

Jiang Che raised an eyebrow, "What? Can't I just be greedy for wealth?"

As he spoke, he sent his divine sense into the storage ring. A moment later, he couldn't even hide the smile on his lips.

This wave was truly a fortune!

One storage ring, filled with spirit stones so numerous they seemed enough to fill an ocean. As far as the eye could see, it was all spirit stones!

Although Jiang Che had asked for top-grade spirit stones, many sects were dirt poor and simply couldn't produce top-grade stones, so they used high-grade or even mid-grade spirit stones as substitutes.

If the quality isn't enough, make up for it with quantity!

And as for funding mortal realm cultivators, he was just saying that. How could Jiang Che possibly do such thankless and strenuous work?

"These spirit stones... I have my own uses!"

With that, Jiang Che stored all these spirit stones away and glanced beyond the sky... Due to the pressure of the evil spirits, the sky was already shrouded in black mist.

Spirit stones aren't just for cultivation; they are also a very important energy source.

Many artifact-refining immortal sects in the Nine Heavens use spirit stones as the driving force for crafting various puppets, automatons, and even immortal-powered airships and cannons.

Jiang Che understood clearly that no matter how great his talent, he couldn't ascend to immortality in a single step!

Right now, relying on system item cards, he could ensure his own invincibility even when facing an Immortal, but that would cost far too many points.

For Jiang Che, legendary or even supreme-grade item cards were like nuclear weapons, while he still needed a massive amount of conventional weaponry to arm a powerful 'army.'

Rely on those cultivators or Chosen Ones of the mortal realm?

He never had such plans. For him, the Chosen Ones were merely tools to farm points.

Now that he possessed a vast sea of spirit stones, his plan could finally be implemented!

Jiang Che took a look at his system warehouse.

What lay inside were all major killing weapons!

As an ultimate schemer, one could never have too many trump cards.

With several hundred little leeks (Chosen Ones), the entire group of Jiang Clan ancestors, and even his business of scamming having developed into the Nine Heavens, the points he generated daily were now an astronomical figure.

Perhaps Jiang Che had finally understood the meaning of what the little system had said before: it wasn't the system that had high status, but himself.

If Jiang Che guessed correctly, he should be the reincarnation... no, not reincarnation, all of this originally belonged to him.

That's why the system's permissions were completely open, and even now, shopping in the system mall was practically no different from taking things for free.

Sometimes, he earned points faster than he could spend them.

If Jiang Che's guess was right, in the near future... the system's point function would completely degrade and disappear. Then, all system permissions would be unlocked... he would be equivalent to having fused with the system.

No, it would be mastering the system, becoming omniscient and omnipotent!

......

The Abyssal Plane.

Before a dark palace, countless vibrant red spider lilies bloomed, their bewitching petals seeming to symbolize the aura of death.

Although there was no swirling black mist here, it contained the most extreme evil and eeriness.

"Thud—"

A tattered ghost-face fell, precisely the Ghost-Face Evil Deity Mother that Jiang Che had messed with before.

Its massive form had also completely retracted. Before this demonic palace... no eerie evil demon dared to act recklessly.

Flanking both sides of the demonic palace were two neat rows of stone statues. These statues were terrifying and grotesque in appearance: monsters with goat heads and serpent bodies, aberrant evil deities with countless tentacles, and even a lone eyeball flickering with a sinister red light.

“Well, well, how did a dignified first-layer Ghost Immortal end up in such a state?”

A goat-headed statue on one side suddenly came to life, its massive serpentine body extending out... the eerie goat head wore a sinister smile.

"Scram!" The Ghost-Face Evil Deity Mother slowly floated up and returned to its own stone pedestal.

"The Demon Ancestor is definitely still alive. I was attacked by the Demon Ancestor's methods. He might not have recovered his past life memories yet... the means weren't particularly strong, just blew some dust into my eyes..."

The Ghost-Face Evil Deity Mother's words left the many stone statue Ghost Immortals speechless.

"Jiejiejie, are you sure it was just some dust? I saw bloody tears streaming from your eyes!"

"So it seems... could the Demon Ancestor have truly been reborn?"

A tall, thin black stone statue spoke. It sat on a stone throne, its limbs long and slender like a monkey's. "Are you questioning the words of the Demon Lord?"

"The Demon Lord..."

Upon hearing the name of the Demon Lord, all the stone statues fell silent.

Compared to the never-seen Demon Ancestor, the name of the Demon Lord was what truly made them tremble with fear. The Demon Ancestor was talked up as so powerful... yet he died. But the current master of this demonic palace... was verifiably, horrifyingly peerless!

"Speaking of which... if the Demon Lord intends to bring the Demon Ancestor back, what about us? How can a demonic palace accommodate two kings?"

"No matter who the Demon Ancestor is, I will forever follow the Demon Lord!"

"The Heavenly Dao of the mortal realm has vanished, but for some reason... the realm barrier still exists, and the Abyssal Mist cannot corrode it. Why?" The Ghost-Face Evil Deity Mother suddenly spoke.

"What else could it be but the work of the Demon Ancestor! To withstand the corrosion of the Abyssal Mist requires the power of the Great Dao. That tiny, insignificant mortal realm... who besides the Demon Ancestor could possess the power of the Great Dao?"

Just as all the stone statues were discussing, a somewhat languid voice came from the depths of the demonic palace.

"Take this object. It can shatter that realm barrier."

Before the words had fully faded, a red light flew out from the depths of the demonic palace.

It was... a hairpin!