Chapter 9

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After Zhou Hao absorbed the essence, power, and the lingering resentment from the two bodies, he disposed of their corpses and returned to his place. These two were not yet formal inner disciples, just candidates. As long as no one knew he had killed them, the investigation would eventually pass.

He returned to his shabby room, closed the door, and began to practice the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art from the True Devil Scripture, refining the essence, power, and resentment he had just absorbed. The True Devil Scripture almost encompassed all the devil arts of the Devil Sect, like the Devil Blood Claw and the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art, which were supreme devil arts. The Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art was the most common in the Devil Sect, specifically used to absorb and seize others' essence and power.

However, the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art he learned had been improved by the True Devil, with no side effects. He didn't have to worry about absorbing too much different types of true energy, which could lead to a mental breakdown.

The cultivation levels of these two were not very high. It took him about an hour to refine their essence and power, and at the same time, he refined the resentment into devil energy. A faint, almost invisible black mist circled around him and finally disappeared into his body.

"Hmm, the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art is indeed extraordinary. Refining the essence and power of these two took only an hour, and my power has increased significantly, equivalent to months of hard practice in the past! As long as I have enough people to absorb, it won't be long before I become a true devil master!"

"Right, I haven't had time to examine that devil pearl yet. I wonder what it is and what it can do?"

He took out the devil pearl. When he examined it closely, it seemed like a vortex that could suck out one's soul, giving him a terrifying feeling as if his soul was being pulled out!

He quickly averted his gaze, shocked to the core. When his eyes were focused on the devil pearl, he not only felt his soul about to leave his body, but he also heard countless roars and screams, like a hell of evil spirits, or a dance of a thousand devils. He had a vague feeling of being in the devil world, surrounded by dancing devils and ghosts!

Those roars seemed to shatter one's soul, as if they were real and happening right next to his ear!

"What kind of devil treasure is this, to be so powerful and terrifying?"

Although he didn't know what it was, his intuition told him it was not simple. He dared not show it to anyone, for fear of inviting a catastrophic disaster, from which no one could save him!

He was now highly alert. Since his cultivation had increased, his spiritual awareness had also improved. He heard a faint sound from outside the door and quickly put the pearl away.

The door creaked open, and a well-dressed young nobleman walked in, his eyes flashing with a strange light. He looked at Zhou Hao with a haughty expression and demanded, "Zhou Hao, where have you been these days? My uncle has been looking for you for a long time. If you don't hurry up and go to him, he might chop off your dog legs!"

The young man was the nephew of Elder Qian, an outer sect elder. When Zhou Hao joined the Wanmeng Sect, he was assigned to serve Elder Qian. This young nobleman, Qian Qi, and his uncle treated Zhou Hao like a slave, abusing him frequently. Zhou Hao hated them to the bone, but his cultivation was still low, so he had to endure it for now.

"I've been away on some business these days. I'll go right away!" Zhou Hao didn't dare to delay. Elder Qian was devious and cruel, and he might really chop off his legs.

"Hold it!" Qian Qi stopped Zhou Hao, his eyes scanning around coldly. "What was in your hand just now? Hand it over quickly. Hmph, your life belongs to my uncle, and you dare to hide things? Do you want to die?"

Zhou Hao's heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect Qian Qi to see it. It seemed he couldn't keep the devil pearl today. A flash of inspiration came to him, and he pleaded with Qian Qi, "Sir, that thing is a family heirloom left by my deceased mother, just a simple jade pendant, not worth much. Please, sir, consider my loyalty and let me keep it."

"Hmph, do you think I'm stupid? If it was just a simple jade pendant, why did you hide it so quickly? Besides, you're just a lowly dog, serving my uncle. You're not even worthy to polish his shoes. What woman would be blind enough to marry you? You're destined to be a slave for life, to die alone and childless. What family heirloom do you need? Hand it over, or you'll disappear for no reason, and my uncle won't spare you. I'll break your dog leg!"

Zhou Hao was enraged by the vicious words, his chest almost exploding with anger, his veins throbbing, his face flushed. He wanted to chop Qian Qi into pieces immediately! But he reminded himself not to act rashly, or he might lose his life.

"If I hand over the devil pearl now, won't I expose my secret of practicing devil arts? That would mean certain death. Fine, you've always bullied me, and now you've pushed me to the brink. I won't tolerate your arrogance any longer. I'll send you to hell!"

A fierce light flashed in Zhou Hao's eyes, which Qian Qi noticed. Qian Qi sneered, his voice full of contempt, "Daring to show me a fierce look? Not bad, dog! If it were any other day, I'd break your legs without hesitation. But today, if you hand over that thing, I'll let you off. Otherwise, I'll make you regret ever being born!"

Zhou Hao realized he had been careless and needed to be more cautious in the future. He pretended to be submissive and took out the devil pearl, offering it with both hands.

"Hmm, this pearl seems quite extraordinary!" As soon as Qian Qi saw the devil pearl, he was immediately drawn to its mysterious power, completely lowering his guard. He held the pearl in both hands, his eyes becoming entranced, as if under a spell.

"Hmm, can this devil pearl control souls? Strange, Qian Qi's cultivation is higher than mine, so why is he controlled by the pearl, while I am not?"

Zhou Hao was puzzled. He didn't know that the soul of a divine beast had possessed him, protecting him from the power of the devil soul. Otherwise, even if his cultivation was much higher, he would have been controlled by the devil pearl without any defense.

"Great, this is the perfect opportunity. Heaven is helping me!" Seeing Qian Qi completely entranced, it was the perfect time to kill him. Otherwise, with Qian Qi's cultivation, it would take a lot of effort to kill him.

He slowly approached Qian Qi, taking out a sharp, gleaming knife from his pocket. Using his Devil Eye, he saw a faint black mist surrounding Qian Qi, and several faint resentful spirits roaring and trying to invade his body, but being blocked by a faint aura from Qian Qi's body.

"Qian Qi must have killed many people, with such heavy resentment. He must have done many evil deeds!" Zhou Hao understood immediately. Those resentful spirits were the result of the people Qian Qi had killed, trying to harm him but being blocked by the positive energy in his body.

"Perfect, I'll do justice for the heavens!" He suddenly shouted and slashed with the knife, a large splash of blood spurting out. As he struck, he quickly covered Qian Qi's mouth with his other hand. Qian Qi let out a muffled groan, his eyes rolling white, and he fell straight to the ground.

"Such deep cultivation, such heavy resentment!" Taking advantage of Qian Qi not being dead yet, he used the Heaven-Swallowing Devil Art again, forcibly absorbing Qian Qi's hard-earned cultivation and the resentment and resentful spirits into his body.

His cultivation was rapidly increasing, almost breaking through to the middle stage of the Purple Mansion Realm!

After absorbing the resentment and resentful spirits, the devil energy in his body immediately surged, like a hungry beast, crazily devouring the resentment and transforming it into devil energy. The resentful spirits, now more vicious, transformed into fierce ghostly devil souls!

After disposing of the body, Zhou Hao headed to the back mountain where Elder Qian usually meditated. He arrived at the entrance of the cave where Elder Qian was meditating, bowed, and respectfully called out, "Disciple Zhou Hao pays respects to Elder Qian. I wonder what Elder needs from me?"

"Hmph, you finally came back? Get in here!" A very dissatisfied and angry voice came from inside. Zhou Hao was used to it and suppressed his anger, walking in.

Inside the cave, an old man with long, disheveled hair and a dark blue robe sat cross-legged. The old man had a fierce face, with one eyebrow shaved off, making him look quite ridiculous.

Seeing Zhou Hao enter, Elder Qian's face turned extremely dark, and he suddenly lashed out with his sleeve, a terrifying force striking Zhou Hao from a distance, sending him flying and crashing into the cave entrance.

Elder Qian's voice was cold and merciless, "Didn't I tell you to get in? Who told you to walk in? Can't you understand simple instructions, you dog?"

"Disciple doesn't know where I went wrong. Please, Elder, enlighten me. I will never make the same mistake again!" Zhou Hao dared not speak out against Elder Qian's tyranny and cruelty, knowing that the elder's cultivation was so strong that he could crush him with a single finger. He had to endure it for now and find a way to kill the old dog later!

"Hmph, where have you been these days? I sent people to look for you several times, but you were nowhere to be found. Do you have the nerve to ask me where you went wrong? Forget it, I won't hold it against you today. My Iron Bone Fork is almost complete, and I need a live soul to consecrate it. Go and find someone for me. Come back quickly and don't let anyone know, or I'll use you to consecrate the Iron Bone Fork! Now, get out!"

Zhou Hao was shocked to hear that he was to capture a live person for the consecration. If anyone found out, he would be dead without a burial place. This old dog, Qian, even wanted to use him for the consecration!

Zhou Hao had already decided to kill him. Using his Devil Eye, he saw that Elder Qian was indeed surrounded by heavy resentment, the heaviest he had ever seen. Dozens of resentful spirits were entangled around him, roaring and trying to harm him, but they were powerless against Elder Qian.

"This old dog! He must have done a lot of evil. Hmph, I must find a way to kill him and absorb his cultivation, resentment, and resentful spirits! Then my cultivation will soar, and I might even reach the Golden Core Realm!"

As he retreated, Zhou Hao was already planning how to kill the old dog!

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