’There’s been no news on Spiritual Items to improve my bloodline, but I do have a lead on the Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pill.’
To the outside world, Xu Chang’an’s cultivation had already reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
For the vast majority of demons, Late-stage Qi Refining was a considerable bottleneck.
In some mountain factions, the Qi Refining Seventh Layer was already enough to become an Elder.
But although Xu Chang’an’s bloodline was ordinary, given his status as a Tier Two Alchemist, it was perfectly normal for him to break through to this realm.
Regarding the Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pill, besides searching for it himself, Xu Chang’an had also asked Pill Master Ye for help.
As a Gray Rat Demon with an inferior bloodline and a short lifespan, it was perfectly logical for him to be asking about the Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pill.
Tier One Lifespan Extension Pills were one thing, but Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pills were quite rare, even for top-tier Great Demons.
After all, no one would complain about having too long a lifespan.
Therefore, even in Peacock Demon City, there weren’t many Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pills truly circulating on the market.
It was possible to obtain them through some secret channels and small-scale trade gatherings, but with Xu Chang’an’s current public identity, he didn’t meet the requirements to participate in them.
However, although there was no way to obtain a finished Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pill, there were quite a few channels for purchasing the refining materials.
The Lifespan Extension Pill belonged to a special category of elixirs.
It was quite difficult to refine.
But Pill Master Ye’s alchemy skills were superb, and they knew the method for refining the Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pill.
Although the success rate wasn’t high, it was an option, nonetheless.
The Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pill mainly required one key primary ingredient, two rare secondary ingredients, and seven or eight common secondary ingredients.
The seven or eight common secondary ingredients could all be purchased within Peacock Demon City.
As for one of the rare secondary ingredients, Pill Master Ye also had it in their collection.
The key primary ingredient and the other rare secondary ingredient, however, were quite troublesome.
Armed with this information, Xu Chang’an hadn’t actually started collecting the materials yet.
After all, he was still far from the end of his lifespan, so his need for the Tier Two Lifespan Extension Pill wasn’t that urgent.
Instead, accumulating panel Energy and finding Spiritual Items to improve his bloodline were more pressing matters.
He was inquiring in advance partly to spread the news around.
This would lay the groundwork to explain his long lifespan in the future, as he was just a humble Gray Rat Demon in the Qi Refining Realm.
Over the past two years, Xu Chang’an had gradually sold off the resources he had looted from the Snake Demon.
Adding in his salary and profit shares from the Flame Leaf Elixir Workshop, his net worth should have been quite substantial.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. The majority of his sellable assets had been poured into the bottomless pit that was his panel.
Despite pouring in so many Demon Stones, on top of occasionally consuming Spirit Medicine and Spiritual Materials, the Energy accumulated in his panel was still minimal, with the progress bar barely reaching one-tenth of the way.
...
Another half a year passed since Xu Chang’an had successfully refined the Blast Pill.
Major news began to circulate within Peacock Demon City.
A Secret Realm had been discovered in a small mountain range twelve hundred li from the Demon City. It was suspected to be a natural, unexplored realm.
The incident began when two rival top-tier Great Demons, who shared a deep-seated grudge, happened to meet in that mountain range and immediately came to blows.
Their fierce, explosive battle destroyed a great deal of the mountain’s rock formations.
The clashes between their Magical Artifacts and the eruption of their Demon Power caused fluctuations in the Spiritual Qi of the surrounding area.
This disturbance unexpectedly revealed a corner of the Secret Realm.
So-called Secret Realms, with very few exceptions, were mostly natural formations.
They were fragmented worlds, drifting outside the greater world.
As space flowed, they would occasionally connect with the greater world. The gravity of the greater world was extremely strong, making it difficult for them to break away once connected.
But even when connected, they usually remained hidden, their existence unknown to the world.
This time, however, the Demon Power fluctuations from the battle between the two top-tier Great Demons had revealed this particular Secret Realm.
Most Secret Realms maintained their original state, and within them, one could often find numerous Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, as well as Spirit Medicine and Spiritual Materials.
Some medium-to-large-sized Secret Realms even contained unusual life forms.
However, the Secret Realm discovered this time was likely a small one.
But even a "small" Secret Realm was only small in relative terms; the space within was by no means tiny.
For the vast majority of demons, it was an absolutely indescribable opportunity.
With the Secret Realm revealed and such an opportunity before them, the two top-tier Great Demons immediately ceased their battle, wanting to explore it.
However, although the Secret Realm was revealed, its exterior was protected by an extremely strong Power of Restriction, which even the top-tier Great Demons could not penetrate.
Thus, having no other choice, they revealed the news to Peacock Mountain.
It was said, however, that the two top-tier Great Demons received some benefits for their trouble.
Compared to the potential gains from the Secret Realm, these benefits were trivial. But what could they do? They weren’t strong enough to get in!
By the time this news circulated through Peacock Demon City and became common knowledge among the demons, the Secret Realm had already been explored several times over by numerous Demon Kings.
According to rumor, this Secret Realm was located within Peacock Mountain’s territory. The exploration was led by the Peacock Demon King of Peacock Mountain, in a joint effort with the Demon Kings and Quasi-Demon Kings from many other major powers, including Red Cloud Mountain, Ivory Mountain, Sleeping Ox Mountain, Snake and Scorpion Cave, Lion’s Mane Cave, and Leopard Ridge.
Although the numerous Demon Kings had finished their exploration of the Secret Realm, a large amount of rare resources still remained inside.
And while the Secret Realm was within Peacock Mountain’s territory, it was ultimately located upon the Red Cloud Mountain Range, so its final ownership could not be easily determined.
Therefore, the major powers of the Red Cloud Mountain Range discussed the matter and decided that the Secret Realm would be jointly owned by all parties.
Red Cloud Mountain and Peacock Mountain would hold the largest shares.
Each power would be allotted a quota of slots to periodically send Great Demons into the Secret Realm to search for resources. Furthermore, it would serve as a training ground for the Foundation Establishment Great Demons of the various powers!