CHAPTER 486: CHAPTER 233: COMPLETED (REQUESTING MONTHLY VOTES)

Assigning tasks was not as simple as just saying a few words. In fact, before each task sub-hall issued tasks, they had to prepare the corresponding Merit Points.

Shen Changqing pointed to several chests inside the great hall and spoke in a deep voice, "There is a total of 57,260,000 Silver Taels here, temporarily stored in the four task sub-halls, to be used for task expenses. As for Merit Points, I can provide the corresponding amount within a year at most. For now, the four sub-halls will mainly issue tasks that reward Silver Taels. Once the Merit Points are in place, we will issue related tasks."

Although the tasks of the Demon-Subduing Division were usually settled with Merit Points, now, as the Defender Envoy of the South Nether Prefecture, he could set some rules himself. Moreover, this task, to a certain extent, could also be considered Shen Changqing’s own private task, so there was no problem.

Originally, he did not plan to issue tasks so soon. After all, the Merit Points were not yet in place, and it would be at least a year before the Yuanyang Auction House could help collect them. However, the recent purging of various Sects had brought in a large amount of Silver, prompting new ideas.

Upon opening the chests, the officials responsible for the sub-halls saw the piles of silver notes, and their pupils visibly constricted. To be honest, it was the first time they had seen so much Silver appearing before them. Seeing several tens of millions of silver notes before their eyes was indeed shocking.

Shen Changqing said indifferently, "Focus on spending all the Silver. If the Silver is exhausted, then temporarily halt the tasks and resume after replenishment."

Though he said so, several tens of millions of Silver Taels were not so easily spent. He estimated that, even if all the Demon Hunters of the Mountain-Breaking City’s Demon-Subduing Division were fully mobilized, capturing so many Demon Evils was no easy task.

"Oh, right." Then he added, "Additionally, issue some tasks for capturing Mountain Spirits. For Mountain Spirits in the Pulse Condensation Realm, 1,000 Silver Taels or two Merit Points per spirit; for those in the Innate Realm, 10,000 Silver Taels or twenty Merit Points each. For Mountain Spirits in the Grandmaster Realm, it’s 100,000 Silver Taels or one hundred Merit Points each," Shen Changqing added.

He wanted to capture Mountain Spirits too, but the rewards offered would not be as plentiful as those for Demon Evils. In terms of capture difficulty, securing Mountain Spirits was much easier than dealing with Demon Evils. The simplest reason was that Mountain Spirits were not as troublesome as Demon Evils, nor did they vanish without a trace. Only powerful Mountain Spirits, those capable of transforming into human form, became somewhat hard to distinguish. For other Mountain Spirits, their capture difficulty was actually not great.

Moreover, unlike the Slaughter Value provided by Demon Evils, the Divine Ability Value from Mountain Spirits was actually very little. For example, two Mountain Spirits from the Pulse Condensation Realm were needed to give just one Divine Ability Value. Mountain Spirits in the Innate Realm each contributed one Divine Ability Value. Those in the Grandmaster Realm provided two Divine Ability Values each.

In consideration of this, the rewards Shen Changqing offered for capturing Mountain Spirits were not as rich as those for Demon Evils, but they were still considerable.

Upon hearing this, the officials responsible for the sub-halls nodded solemnly.

"Lord Defender, rest assured, we know what to do!"

News about Mountain Spirits had not spread much in the outside world. But within the Demon-Subduing Division, many were aware of their existence. Especially those at the level of sub-hall officials; they understood the matter concerning Mountain Spirits clearly.

After giving instructions, Shen Changqing waved his hand to dismiss the officials, also having them take the chests filled with silver notes away.

In the time that followed, he remained in the Demon-Subduing Division. Each day, apart from contemplating the Banishing Evil Great Palm Imprint, he had nothing else to do. It was far better to sit peacefully and have Demon Evils come to his doorstep than to venture out alone in search of them.

In the courtyard, Shen Changqing silently reflected, An individual’s power is limited; knowing how to utilize one’s advantages is the true path to supremacy!

He had to act on his own before because there was no one else he could rely on. Now that the Demon-Subduing Prison was more than half constructed, the first three levels could detain Demon Evils and Mountain Spirits with no issue. And with the Yuanyang Auction House purchasing Demon Evils, he felt there was absolutely no need for him to take action himself.

Ordinary Demon Evils could be captured by the personnel of the Demon-Subduing Division. If a Demon Evil of significant power appeared, he would personally step in to suppress it. In doing so, Shen Changqing felt his time was not as pressed as before, yet his efficiency had increased immeasurably.

「Time passed.」

Shen Changqing remained within the Demon-Subduing Division, making no moves. Meanwhile, he had also made a trip to the black market, found Yuan Sheng, and collected the Demon Evils purchased in the first month. The quantity was not very large. After slaying them all, he had only gained about a hundred Slaughter Value points. But even so, combined with the Slaughter Value gained from slaying the Demonfolk earlier, the Slaughter Value on Shen Changqing’s panel had recovered to about three hundred points.

However, while three hundred Slaughter Value points was a considerable amount, fusing two Divine Skills was clearly more complex than what three hundred points could achieve. This was evident simply by looking at the panel, where no fusion option had appeared. Enhancing the Divine Heaven Golden Body also required more than just three hundred points. Furthermore, up to now, his Divine Soul had not yet advanced from the second to the third stage.

So, after harvesting a wave of Slaughter Value, Shen Changqing once again settled down and continued to comprehend the Banishing Evil Great Palm Imprint.

「Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.」

The construction of the Demon-Subduing Prison was officially complete.

This time, Jiang An paid a visit.

"Brother Shen, the Demon-Subduing Prison in Mountain-Breaking City is officially completed. Would you like to go and take a look?"

"I naturally trust your work, Brother Jiang." Shen Changqing waved his hand, not actually intending to go take a look. In fact, during his time in the Demon-Subduing Division, he had occasionally strolled through the Demon-Subduing Prison, so he was very clear about its construction progress. He was also well aware of its quality. To put it another way, even without an inspection, it was unlikely there would be any problems with the Demon-Subduing Prison. After all, it was the place where Demon Evils would be imprisoned—if there were any problems with the quality of the Demon-Subduing Prison that led to the escape of Demon Evils, then as the builder, Jiang An would be inextricably implicated. A normal person would not bring such trouble upon themselves. Moreover, Shen Changqing believed his relationship with Jiang An was quite good; there was no reason for Jiang An to go to such lengths to sabotage him.

At this moment, Jiang An looked towards the four-winged Tiankui in the courtyard, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"Brother Shen, this must be a mature Tiankui, right?"

"Yes and no," Shen Changqing gave a noncommittal answer.

Hearing this, Jiang An’s face clearly showed confusion.

"Tiankui is not the true name of their kind; their race is called Chixiao. But you are correct about one thing: it has indeed entered its maturity period," Shen Changqing explained.

Chixiao! Jiang An silently muttered the name. It was unfamiliar, but after glancing at the Tiankui lying there and then back at Shen Changqing, he didn’t say anything more. Chixiao or Tiankui, both were merely designations. To him, it wasn’t particularly important. What truly mattered to Jiang An was the energy contained within the mature Tiankui.

"I remember Brother Shen once said you were willing to give me some of the Tiankui’s—the Chixiao’s—blood. I wonder if that offer still stands?"

He smiled, his eyes fervent as he looked at the Tiankui. The blood of a Grandmaster Realm Fierce Beast was already very precious, and the blood of a Grandmaster Peak Fierce Beast was even more so. After all, these were products of the Heavenly Realm. To obtain a Fierce Beast’s blood, one would normally have to wait until the Heavenly Realm opened. But the problem was that in the nine prefectures of Great Qin, the Heavenly Realm had opened very few times over the years. Acquiring a Fierce Beast’s blood was therefore even more difficult.

Shen Changqing nodded, "What I, Shen, have promised, I never go back on. I can give you some of its blood."

This had already been agreed upon, and he had no intention of reneging. After all, a bit of blood wouldn’t have any major impact.

Then, Shen Changqing took out a jade box and collected enough blood from the Tiankui to fill it. Such a quantity of blood, for the Tiankui’s enormous body, was truly just a drop in the ocean.

Immediately following, Shen Changqing, as promised, gave thirty drops of his ordinary blood and one drop of his Essence Blood, each sealed within a jade box.

"The Essence Blood of a Great Grandmaster is pure Yang. Furthermore, the Martial Arts I cultivate are special, so my vital essence naturally contains the attribute of lightning, which has a powerful restraining effect on Demon Evils. If Brother Jiang encounters danger in the future, this Essence Blood alone should be sufficient to deter Demon Evils that are not of the highest echelons," he explained.

This time, the Essence Blood was not imbued with the power of his Divine Soul, so it couldn’t transform into an avatar for combat. Yet even so, with the energy contained within the Essence Blood itself, suppressing ordinary Demon Evils was no major issue.

Clutching the jade box, even though much of its aura was sealed, Jiang An could still sense a formidable presence within. That presence, when compared to his own strength at the Innate Realm, was utterly incomparable. This alone made it clear to Jiang An that Shen Changqing’s statements were true.

"The blood of a Demon Evil is highly suppressive to the Human Clan, so human Martial Artists find it difficult to contend with them. Only after reaching Grandmaster Peak and their Flesh undergoing further transformation can one contend with Demon Evils. But even so, one can only contend with weaker Demon Evils. We have surmised that if one could break through the limits, allowing one’s physical constitution and vital energy to transform further, then the Human Clan would not actually be weaker than Demon Evils. But this idea had always lacked validation. Now, having obtained Brother Shen’s blood, it serves as direct proof of this hypothesis," he said, his expression emotional.

The Human Clan couldn’t contend with Demon Evils because humans were inherently weaker than the fiend-like entities among them. That’s why Defender Envoys existed. But now, having obtained the blood and Essence Blood of a Great Grandmaster, Jiang An truly understood that the Human Clan was not inherently inferior to Demon Evils. As long as one reached the Great Grandmaster realm, the Human Clan could break through their inherent limitations and would fundamentally not be weaker than Demon Evils. He was certain that once he took these items back to the Hidden Heart Pavilion, it would cause an enormous sensation. By comparison, the Tiankui’s blood seemed less significant.

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