Li Fei's hand stopped, only half an inch from a battered, dark-red book.
She glanced back, looking at the Song Emperor in puzzlement.
"Minister Li, three hundred years ago there was a peerless demon who threw the world into chaos, raising a storm of blood and slaughter, and was honored as the Blood Sea Demon Lord."
Zhao Bing's face was grave as he cautioned her: "That brute ambushed and slew a demon saint, flayed its skin for paper, and stitched it into a volume; then, using the soul-blood of a ghost saint for ink, he wrote a supreme demon scripture; at last he butchered a million living souls and refined that scroll into his life-bound magic treasure — vicious, cruel, and unmatched in slaughter."
"With the demon scripture in hand, the Blood Sea Demon Lord was all but invincible. His sky-shaking demonic might made the whole world tremble, and human cultivators were crushed so low they could not lift their heads."
"Only, he had attained sainthood through the Asura demon path, slaughtering for a hundred years. Setting aside the countless wounds, great and small, that could scarcely be healed, he had wrung his potential dry and withered his soul, until even his lifespan had all but burned away. Mad he certainly was, but his days were numbered."
"Unwilling to accept it, he sought to wrest his fate from Heaven … And so, on the brink of death, the Blood Sea Demon Lord did not hesitate to slaughter seven cities in a row, laying down an unprecedented demonic array, meaning to use it to ascend to the Demon-Immortal Realm."
"But as the saying goes, the just find many helpers while the unjust find few. The Blood Sea Demon Lord had committed too many killings, forging vast karma and vast hatred; at the critical instant of that do-or-die leap, he was ambushed and slain by the earthbound immortals of many nations, and in the end met the fate of body dead and Dao extinguished … In that battle, of five Saint Realm powers, four fell in combat, and more than ten Heaven-Human experts withered away."
"And our Great Song's Martial King was the one Saint Realm expert who survived back then. Sadly, he too was gravely wounded, and thirty years later his soul returned to the earth."
Zhao Bing paused, then stared earnestly at Li Fei:
"When the Martial King returned in triumph, he brought that scroll of demon scripture belonging to the Blood Sea Demon Lord."
"This one?"
Li Fei looked toward the tattered scripture with its dark-red cover.
"That's right."
Zhao Bing nodded and said gravely, "Over the years, many masters have tried to subdue this demon scripture. And every one of them, without exception, had their temperament change utterly within a short time, until at last they fell into the Asura demon path and met a wretched end!"
"The last to take this demon scripture away was the former sect-leader Celestial Master of the Mountain-Moving Sect … Two years later, he killed his own wife, children, and elderly kin, meaning to refine medicine from the blood of his closest family …"
"Were this thing not truly of immense value, I would honestly want it destroyed."
"It seems this thing really is dangerous."
Li Fei nodded lightly, sizing up the scroll of demon scripture.
It was an ancient, worn book, its cover a dark red like blood about to dry. In the middle gaped a conspicuous hole — surely the mark left by some sharp weapon driven through it — and the yellowed pages curled outward along the tear.
"Mm, better choose something else. Otherwise you may commit a grave mistake beyond all regret," Zhao Bing sighed.
"But the more that is so, the less this minister can stand by and watch this thing go on poisoning the world!"
Li Fei gave a faint laugh and snatched up the scroll of demon scripture.
Sensing the breath of a living person, the slumbering demon scripture slowly awoke. Red light blazed forth, giving off a thick reek of blood, along with shrill, piercing wails and screams of agony.
In that moment, the vast Inner Treasury seemed to become a purgatory, shrouded in a layer of bloody light, filled with bone-chilling howls and cries. Even Zhao Bing, standing to one side, felt his chest clench, and he retreated a few steps despite himself.
At the same time, a sticky, uncanny halo flowed across the cover, then crept up from Li Fei's fingertips. Layer upon layer of blood-colored sludge wound around her arm, driving straight for her head.
Li Fei's face stayed blank as she lowered her head to watch the blood-sludge sprouting endless little Tentacles, her eyes deep and dim.
At last the sludge swallowed her neck, and a formless, brutal, venomous power surged eagerly toward Li Fei's sea of consciousness — like a snarling, clawing vengeful ghost bent on eroding her thoughts and her will.
But moments later, the dim, half-formed consciousness welling out of the demon scripture clearly sensed an abyss darker and more twisted than itself.
A fine wine brewed from such ingredients as greed, lust, lies, Depravity, chaos, selfishness, cruelty, and treachery came brimming up out of that bottomless abyss, gushing and surging, dazzling and alluring as shattered diamonds in sunlight, sweet and sticky as melted honey — so that even knowing poison had been mixed within, one could not resist a taste.
That consciousness lingered a moment, then turned and fled.
The sludge coiled around Li Fei's arm, like a startled little white rabbit, trembled and receded — several times faster than it had climbed up.
— Heh. The Blood Sea Demon Lord?
I'm more demon than the demon lord himself!
Li Fei tugged the corner of her lips, unmistakable mockery in her deep, dark eyes.
[Blood Demon Scripture (Tattered)]
Equipment Grade: Blazing Sun
Attributes: Casting Speed +100% (Damaged State), Intelligence +30 (Damaged State), (Disabled by Damage), (Disabled by Damage) …
Enchantment Effects: Blood Sacrifice, Parched Thirst, Sadistic Heart, Blood Source (Damaged State), (Disabled by Damage), (Disabled by Damage)
Blood Sacrifice: Draws fresh blood amid slaughter to repair the equipment's damage.
Parched Thirst: A keener sense of smell for blood.
Sadistic Heart: Increases spell damage by (current Morality Value / -1) x 1.5%. (Currently +51%)
Blood Source: Using essence-blood as a medium, stores a spell within the demon scripture. A stored spell casts instantly upon release; after one use, that page's essence-blood burns away entirely, and the spell must be stored again with fresh essence-blood; the quality of the essence-blood must match the spell's tier; can hold at most a sixth-tier spell; capacity 0/1 (Damaged State).
Note: Prolonged use of this equipment will cause the Morality Value to keep declining, dropping as low as -20 to -50.
Li Fei stroked the cover lightly, a slight swell rising within her.
Classified by the standards of Enlos, the [Blood Demon Scripture] was cursed equipment — Blazing Sun — mage main-hand weapon — spellbook.
The weight of a Blazing Sun grade needed no words; even a Sequence 4 Transcendent, only a step away from High Sequence, would scramble for it.
Compared with the more mainstream staff, a spellbook — aside from the label of "expensive" — had two main drawbacks: it was more easily destroyed, and its stat bonuses were slightly weaker. But its advantages were just as clear: a spellbook could record and store any number of spells, and unleash them instantly at the crucial moment!
This meant a spellbook could be understood as a "reusable" spell scroll — the latter could not reduce Mana cost, and "loading the ammunition" often came at no small price; if one wished to store a spell one had not mastered, one had to turn to some other mage-lord or mage-lady for help … But when releasing the spells stored in a spellbook, one could not only cast them instantly, but also enjoy the caster's own "Spell Penetration," "Skill Effect Enhancement," Intelligence, and other boosts!
It was the first time Li Fei had obtained equipment of this kind. She turned it over again and again, more pleased the longer she looked.
This piece suited her far too well! Even in its damaged state, it deserved to be called a divine artifact.
First, the bonuses of 100% Casting Speed and 30 points of Intelligence were not to be dismissed.
Second, the 51% spell damage that Sadistic Heart granted in one stroke was frankly absurd.
One had to understand: Casting Speed and Spell Penetration were relatively common equipment effects, while spell damage was a rarer and more precious kind of bonus. Generally speaking, a Full Moon grade staff that could add 20 to 30% spell damage already counted as a fine piece; many Dawnlight grade short staves did not even reach 50%. Only a long staff of the same grade could surpass the spell-damage boost of the [Blood Demon Scripture] in Li Fei's hand — but Li Fei knew her own Morality Value still had plenty of room to fall, whereas the spell-damage figure on a Dawnlight long staff would never rise on its own.
Of course, what Li Fei valued most was still [Blood Source].
Worthy of a peerless Demon Saint's life-bound magic treasure — in essence it belonged to the Sequence 4 tier, and even now, in its damaged state, it could still store a sixth-tier spell!
Li Fei knew exactly what this meant.
It meant she could now cast Abyssal Lava in an instant.
She scanned the equipment description Miss System had laid out, greedily, over and over, her emotions surging.
It was no exaggeration to say that on the strength of just these two enchantment effects — [Blood Source] and [Sadistic Heart] — the [Blood Demon Scripture] in Li Fei's hands was worth no less than any Dawnlight grade piece of equipment.
Not to mention that, thanks to [Blood Sacrifice], this piece could even repair itself, sparing her the sky-high fees of hiring someone's help.
By Li Fei's reckoning, once this piece was fully repaired it would remain formidable all the way to Sequence 4; only upon stepping into High Sequence might there be any chance of it being outgrown.
"Minister Li, you …"
Zhao Bing looked Li Fei up and down in disbelief, his eyes full of astonishment.
That sect-leader Celestial Master of the Mountain-Moving Sect, whose accomplishment rivaled Creation itself, whose cultivation base had already reached the Heaven-Human realm — even he had faced the Blood Demon Scripture like a mighty foe when he took it up, ceaselessly reciting the true incantations of the Daoist Order, spending a full incense stick's time before he could press the demon-laden blood-sludge back into the scripture.
And within a mere two years, the Mountain-Moving Sect had hastily chosen a new sect-leader Celestial Master.
Yet this immortal maiden, with a cultivation base of only the Heaven Realm, had made the Blood Demon Scripture behave with nothing but a single glance?
This woman — she absolutely must be given real responsibility!
Zhao Bing's expression turned solemn. To his mind, this immortal maiden surely possessed the heart of a bodhisattva, or she could never have subdued this lawless relic of a Demon Saint.
"This thing truly is ill-omened."
Li Fei sighed softly, "I shall keep it by my side at all times, striving to redeem its boundless sins as soon as I can, and let the wronged souls find rest."
"But what will become of you?"
Zhao Bing remained somewhat worried. After all, this Blood Demon Scripture had caused far too many disasters, and Li Fei's cultivation base was shallow. Even if her lofty character and strong will could hold it down for a time, as the days wore on she might carelessly fall prey to it, and see a fine life ruined in an instant.
"The benevolent have no enemies."
Li Fei waved a hand, breezy and unruffled. "So long as one keeps a kind heart, what can even a sky-high blaze of karmic fire do to me? Perhaps Your Majesty does not know: this minister already carries several hundred female ghosts about her person, reforming them by her own example and, through that, tempering her own mind … A pity that, cunning as those female ghosts are, they cannot shake my composure."
"This minister was only just fretting over the lack of a better whetstone to hone her will — and this Blood Demon Scripture happens to suit me perfectly."
Lightly as Li Fei spoke, Zhao Bing understood that resisting the erosion of the Blood Demon Scripture was no easy feat — even Nie Yunyi might not manage it.
Gazing at this modestly poised woman, he marveled aloud:
"My dear minister truly is a peerless paragon of the realm!"
"Your Majesty flatters me."
Li Fei waved a hand in modest demurral.
"Do not be so modest, my dear minister."
Zhao Bing's expression suddenly went taut. "Chancellor Liu begged a few drops of the Heaven-Grasping Vase's creation fluid from me and used it to force the Dragon Blood Rice to ripen. You were being modest before, my dear minister — if this seed grain could be spread, the yield per mu might well reach six hundred catties."
With that, he cupped his hands and bowed low, saluting Li Fei:
"On behalf of the common folk, I thank you, Minister Li!"
"This is all merely the minister's duty."
Li Fei waved a hand with a sigh. "To cultivate this seed grain, this minister went so far as to bankrupt herself, and even journeyed to a place of certain death to gather the materials she needed, surviving by the barest margin … But when this minister saw the starving people by the roadside in Luyuan County, she understood that the risks she once took had not been taken in vain."
Zhao Bing gazed at Li Fei, her face wearing an expression of compassion for the world's suffering, and his very heart trembled.
How could this be a mere immortal maiden?
This was plainly a bodhisattva!
"Minister Li, though our Great Song is somewhat impoverished at present, the rule of rewarding merit must not be abolished."
Zhao Bing said gravely, "Just now, I was only keeping my promise. Now, you may take one more item from the collection as a reward for providing the Dragon Blood Rice — or if you have some other request, I shall do my best to grant it."
— Just one item?
Li Fei's face took on a look of flattered surprise, while inwardly she sneered without a sound.
For the state, a humble seed grain was a nation-securing divine treasure, priceless beyond measure.
To a wise ruler, ten thousand stalks of the elixir of immortality would not be as precious as a single grain of that seed.
And Zhao Bing? The elixir of immortality had earned a reward of three items, while the Dragon Blood Rice earned only one — which mattered more to him was plain to see.
Li Fei even suspected that when this dog of a muddleheaded ruler grew gray-haired, he would trade away half his realm for the elixir of immortality without a second thought.
After all, even if the whole realm were strewn with the starving dead, Zhao Bing's quality of life would not be touched in the slightest; even if he made a show of economizing, every meal would still have ten dishes and a soup. But the elixir of immortality was, for him, a genuine, tangible means of extending his life.
It was precisely because Li Fei understood this that she had first tossed out the Dragon Blood Rice offhandedly as a stepping stone, and treated the [Heaven-Grasping Vase] as a great treasure.
In any case, the post of Commander she was scheming for had no need whatsoever of votes from the common townsfolk.
Which brought up a question:
Should she put on a performance of selfless devotion, to make her persona stand firmer?
Facing the amiable sovereign, Li Fei's thoughts raced, and she quickly reached a decision — perform, my ass! Wasn't the whole point of building a persona to reap the benefits? There was no way this dog of an emperor would ever push me into the Commander's seat anyway!
And so she pressed on, and with a bow she voiced her request:
"Your Majesty, three items from the collection are quite enough … Only, this minister would ask for some essence-blood of Saint Realm demons."
At this, Zhao Bing's face at once showed his difficulty, and he gave a bitter smile:
"There is something my dear minister does not know. Our Great Song has gone many years without a Saint Realm expert to anchor it … And the few Saint Realm items the Martial King left behind back then were long ago used up."
"Then …"
Li Fei let a flash of disappointment cross her face — fleeting, yet placed just so that Zhao Bing would catch it — then cupped her hands and said, "When this minister takes up her post at the Demon Suppression Bureau, please permit her to manage the Demon-Locking Tower!"
"…"
Zhao Bing pondered for a moment. In the end, unwilling to disappoint a meritorious minister twice in a row, he swallowed back the words "I must go back and discuss this with the Commander," and asked in a low voice:
"Why the Demon-Locking Tower?"
"Under all of Heaven, no land is not the king's; to the very shores of the earth, no man is not the king's subject."
Light shone in Li Fei's eyes, and every word rang with force. "This minister wishes to emulate the ways of the immortal realm, to reform the goblins and phantoms within the Demon-Locking Tower, and help Your Majesty command the Six Paths and unify men, ghosts, and demons."
The spirited words fell on his ears, and Zhao Bing, stirred despite himself, swept his great hand through the air:
"Minister Li's immortal arts have won unanimous praise even from Perfected Ge and General Nie, and her matchless medical skill has the nobles vying to extol her. Now she is a meritorious servant of the state as well — how could I refuse your heart to slay demons and repay the court?"
"This time I shall decide it myself, and grant your request."
"By tomorrow at the latest, I shall issue the decree."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Fei bowed her head deep, lest Zhao Bing catch the twist at the corner of her lips.
The Demon Suppression Bureau was Lu Qianfan's home turf; and power over personnel within the Bureau was the most crucial thing of all, gripped firmly in Lu Qianfan's hands.
Now this useless emperor was both pressing him to sire children and meddling in the Demon Suppression Bureau's personnel transfers … Would that ambitious Lord Lu, who had yet to show his face, truly stand for it?
Li Fei was quite curious about Lu Qianfan's reaction.
In fact, the imperial physician still remembered to this day how, right after she first arrived in Lin'an, that eunuch dog had used a plate of fish to smear her name — and she had repaid it with methods just as disgusting.
"By the way, Minister Li, there is one matter I wish to ask you about in detail."
Zhao Bing abruptly dismissed the palace guards, leaving only the sovereign and his minister in the room.
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