Sleeping for a second increases my blood energy. I become the strongest sky-swallowing snake

Lang Qing's arrival wasn't for anything else.

He came to deliver a mid-grade spirit stone to Xu Chengxian.

Additionally, he inquired whether Ling Yunzi could refine Transformation Pills.

If there were any Transformation Pills successfully refined and available for sale, he could handle the sales.

He was entrusted with escorting the spirit stone to the city where Marshal Fu Li was stationed.

The demons spoke directly, and he told them, "According to custom, anything sold under the name of the stationed demon general requires a 20% cut."

However, Xu Chengxian and the others wouldn't have to pay it.

They only needed to entrust the sales entirely to him.

Of course, the price would definitely not disadvantage them.

Ling Xiao and Ling Yunzi exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

Selling pills under the name of General Yu would at least have a demon general's endorsement, avoiding many troubles.

Many pill shops would, for various reasons, refuse to accept spirit pills of unknown origin.

They weren't very clear on how spirit pills were traded within the demon race, and they couldn't travel thousands of miles to do it themselves. Entrusting it to Lang Qing for the time being was the most reliable and convenient option.

"The fact that General Yu sent this mid-grade spirit stone proves that he is not short-sighted or greedy," Ling Xiao said with a smile after Lang Qing left.

In other words, this demon general currently had no intention of draining the pond to catch all the fish.

"Or perhaps, we are not worth him breaking the rules for," Ling Yunzi said.

Arbitrarily killing subordinate demons, especially high-level demons with potential, was strictly prohibited.

If General Yu were to attack them, all the demons here would run away instantly.

Moreover, for a being who had already become a demon general, even if they ate these demons, it wouldn't greatly improve their cultivation.

On the contrary, it would be a net loss.

Compared to their flesh and blood, General Yu needed superior combat skills, techniques, and divine powers to enhance his combat power, as well as spirit pills to improve his cultivation.

And opportunities to obtain more bloodline inheritance.

The demon race had bloodline inheritance secret realms that opened every so often.

"I didn't expect that we would guess correctly," Ling Xiao couldn't help but laugh.

She might not be so clear about the affairs of the demon race.

But after all, she was once an empress of a dynasty, and General Yu's intentions couldn't be hidden from her.

The stationed demon general was like a local official.

The strong were like high-ranking officials and nobles in the court.

To build a relationship, especially a close one, giving gifts was the inferior approach.

"Why?" Ling Yunzi asked, puzzled.

"Giving gifts alone isn't enough, giving too little isn't enough either, and not knowing how to give gifts can easily lead to trouble," Ling Xiao had never given gifts herself, but she had seen too many people receive them.

"Furthermore, you have to choose a side."

Giving gifts and choosing a side made them one of their own.

But that wasn't enough.

Everyone knew that good things had to be reserved for their own people.

To become one of their own, the easiest path was marriage.

"Nepotism."

"But we have no blood ties or similar close relationships with General Yu," Ling Yunzi said.

Within the sect, there was also competition for interests and power.

He had never participated, but had been an observer countless times.

So he had seen similar schemes to what Ling Xiao was talking about.

And to arrange a marriage, they needed a close junior, either their own child or a direct disciple.

At the very least, they should find someone from their own clan.

They couldn't just randomly pull someone from their sphere of influence and marry them off.

"Don't we? Think again," Ling Xiao raised her chin, signaling him to look at the mid-grade spirit stone in Xu Chengxian's hand.

Mid-grade spirit stone.

Roughly speaking, it was of the lowest quality.

But for them, one such stone was enough for one of them to cultivate to the ninth rank.

With their techniques and utilization of spiritual energy, this was not difficult.

"Binding them with kindness and righteousness?" Ling Yunzi understood.

"That's right," Ling Xiao nodded.

"In the future, when we leave Luyang Mountain, there will be a natural alliance between us and General Yu."

Who didn't have personal relationships in this world?

Moreover, anyone within a faction was bound to have entangled interests and factional disputes.

Before one's personal strength was enough to challenge the rules and overturn the table, one couldn't even stay out of it.

Borrowing strength was inevitable.

"Just like we need General Yu's help to clear the way, selling spirit pills and buying magical artifacts, right?"

Ling Xiao had suggested that Lang Qing help them find protective magical artifacts or refine spiritual materials.

The other party readily agreed.

He also praised Ling Yunzi.

"Is Your Majesty deliberately showing off my abilities?"

"Hmph, showing off your abilities is also to make General Yu invest more capital to win you over," Ling Xiao said with a smile.

General Yu wanted them to send someone to attach themselves to a powerful figure, so he had to give them more benefits.

It was also to make the other party believe that they could advance to the Great Demon realm within three years.

A mid-grade spirit stone.

This offer was quite generous.

But this was the reward for the Ushan bounty.

The Twin-Headed Poisonous Python was killed by General Yu, but Chun Hua Snake also deserved a share of the reward.

Saying it was doing a favor might be an understatement, but it couldn't be considered too important either.

"Wait and see, when Lang Qing sees you advance to the eighth rank, there will definitely be another gesture."

"Not necessarily," Xu Chengxian, who had been looking at the mid-grade spirit stone without speaking, finally said, "General Yu is not a demon general who needs to curry favor with us and then use us to make friends with the strong."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He is strong, very strong," Xu Chengxian said, "I have seen him take action."

In the past few days, he had repeatedly recalled the previous battle in his sleep, and the conclusion he had drawn was that General Yu was very strong.

"The fact that he can be stationed on the edge of the mountain range means that his strength is definitely among the top demon generals," Ling Xiao nodded.

"I heard from Mao Shijiu that General Yu advanced to the rank of demon general ten years ago, and his ranking under Marshal Fu Li can be in the top three."

Moreover, he had only cultivated for sixty years.

It was because he had this strength and still had a long lifespan that he could give away a mid-grade spirit stone so readily.

The demon general occupying a territory was the little demon king of this stationed area.

He killed Ushan himself, and leaving this reward would be considered considerate, exempting Xu Chengxian from tribute for three months.

If he wasn't considerate, not only would he not give anything, but he could also say, 'This general bestows favor without expecting anything in return.'

After all, outsiders didn't know the situation at the time, and they didn't know how strong Xu Chengxian was.

Most likely, they would think that if the demon general hadn't appeared, he would have been swallowed by Ushan.

"But I was also wrong."

After all, demon generals were different from ordinary human officials.

Cultivators were mostly arrogant, and demon cultivators were even more unruly.

With his own strength, he probably didn't need to win over anyone.

"As long as there is a reason to build a relationship with a strong person, one will naturally gain importance."

Therefore, saying it was currying favor was more like a tacit transaction.

What was exchanged was Xu Chengxian and the others' willingness to be the reason.

Even helping them sell spirit pills and promising to buy protective magical artifacts was more like a kind of benevolent promotion.

"If that's the case, then this spirit stone is enough," Ling Xiao said with regret.

This meant that they wouldn't receive more benefits from the demon general later.

In addition, benevolent promotion, for them, was something that had to be reciprocated.

Then should they refuse?

Of course not.

"Can I swallow this thing directly?" Xu Chengxian suddenly blurted out, looking at the mid-grade spirit stone.

Startling Ling Xiao and Ling Yunzi.

"What did you say?"

"Are you crazy?"