Zhou Hong immediately released Si Teng and Suo Suo.
"Si Teng, Suo Suo, go up to the cave in the cliff and test it out. See if you have the confidence," Zhou Hong said to Si Teng and Suo Suo.
"No need to test. I can already sense it. It's a sixth-grade demon king, but a very strong one. If nothing unexpected happens, he might be promoted to a seventh-grade demon king in a few months."
"Good. If you have confidence, then capture him first."
Si Teng instantly vanished from her spot. Immediately, a massive black vine erupted from the ground, and Suo Suo, entwined around the vine, reached the top of the cliff in the blink of an eye.
The two of them cooperated. Suo Suo launched mental attacks, while Si Teng instantly ensnared and subdued the opponent. In almost the blink of an eye, the Sect Master of the Dragon Tiger Demonic Sect was dragged out of the cave by Si Teng.
"Senior, spare me, senior, spare me!" the Sect Master of the Dragon Tiger Demonic Sect repeatedly struggled, but was quickly subdued.
Si Teng dragged the Sect Master before Zhou Hong.
"Hello, Sect Master," Zhou Hong greeted with a slight smile, surprised at how easy it was.
"Who are you?" the Sect Master of the Dragon Tiger Demonic Sect asked, his face filled with terror.
"My name is Zhou Hong."
"Ah? Could it be, you are the City Lord of Wumeng City?"
"That's right. I heard you didn't take me seriously and told me not to cause trouble."
"You, what do you want? I didn't do that. I've been in seclusion. I haven't managed the affairs of the demonic sect for years." The Sect Master explained hastily.
"Explanations are useless. You're about to reach seventh-grade demon king, aren't you? Once you become a seventh-grade demon king, I won't be able to do anything to you. So, for now, you might as well die."
Zhou Hong gave Si Teng a look. Instantly, a vine pierced through the Sect Master's chest, and his escaping primordial spirit was also instantly captured.
"City Lord, spare my life!" the Sect Master's primordial spirit cried out, begging for mercy.
Zhou Hong immediately collected his primordial spirit into his sub-world. It could be used as a bomb later. While the primordial spirit of a sixth-grade demon king might not be able to kill another sixth-grade, it could certainly injure one at a critical moment.
Afterward, Zhou Hong woke up the unconscious true person and then went to find the other Vice Sect Masters.
"How many Vice Sect Masters does your Dragon Tiger Demonic Sect have?" Zhou Hong asked the true person.
"Nine."
"What is their strength?"
"All are fifth-grade demon kings."
Suo Suo said, "Zhou Hong, they are only fifth-grade demon kings. There's no need to kill them."
"Indeed, there's no need. However, I want to turn them into puppets and have them cooperate in cultivating the Eight Divisions Pagoda. If they cooperate, I'll let them go."
"Zhou Hong, there's no need for such trouble. I can help you with soul replication. We can turn them all into puppets in minutes."
"Really?" Zhou Hong was overjoyed.
"Yes, first kill those nine Vice Sect Masters, but their primordial spirits must not leave their bodies. Then, from those who have already been turned into puppets, perform soul replication. This way, it will be done in minutes."
"You're not tricking me, are you? Is it really that simple?" Zhou Hong found it hard to believe.
"I am the Soul Locking Grass. It's the simplest thing. How many do you want? I'll refine them for you, as long as it's within my capabilities."
"Haha, that's great! My requirements are not high. Puppets below fifth-grade demon king are fine. The most important thing is the quantity. If I have a hundred thousand puppets, then I can form a hundred thousand puppet sword formations. Hmph!" Zhou Hong was full of confidence. If he had such a powerful sword formation, he could directly kill his way to the Immortal Court, and even the Demon Emperor might not be able to stop him. Of course, this was his grandfather's conjecture. Whether it was true or not, he would only know by trying.
"Alright, throughout the Demonic Realm, there are countless beings below fifth-grade demon king. Gathering a hundred thousand won't be extremely difficult, nor extremely easy."
Zhou Hong nodded. This matter needed to be done slowly. He couldn't suddenly start refining puppets on a large scale. If it attracted the attention of those above, it would be suicidal.
"Let's go, let's find those few Vice Sect Masters and experiment with them first to see if it's truly feasible."
Led by the true person, Zhou Hong immediately went to find the nine Vice Sect Masters.
They were indeed only fifth-grade demon kings, and it was effortless. Suo Suo easily refined them all into puppets.
With this, Zhou Hong now had 17 puppets.
Zhou Hong then asked the true person again, "Your Dragon Tiger Demonic Sect, how many people are there from first-grade demon king to fourth-grade demon king?"
"Reporting to City Lord, there are 19 fourth-grade demon kings, 65 third-grade demon kings, 122 second-grade demon kings, and 277 first-grade demon kings."
Zhou Hong counted. There were over four hundred in total. If all these over four hundred demon kings were turned into puppets, plus the previous 17, it would be just enough to reach 500 puppets.
Zhou Hong felt a surge of excitement. 500 puppets meant they could form 500 sword formations.
"Si Teng, Suo Suo, prepare to turn all the remaining first-grade to fourth-grade demon kings into puppets."
"Understood." Suo Suo nodded without hesitation. As long as Zhou Hong asked her to do something, she would do it.
To prevent those demon kings from escaping, Zhou Hong carried out the process silently for the next ten days.
Finally, he had refined all the demon king-level individuals in the entire Dragon Tiger Demonic Sect into puppets, excluding the Sect Master, of course.
With Suo Suo's rapid replication, these nearly 500 puppets could immediately form sword formations. Originally, Zhou Hong would have needed them to cultivate for three years, but now Suo Suo directly copied from the brains of other puppets, saving Zhou Hong a lot of time.
"Grandfather, with my nearly 500 puppets forming a sword formation, what level of strength can it achieve?" Zhou Hong asked his grandfather with a smile.
"Impressive! To form a 500-puppet sword formation in such a short time."
"Grandfather, this was all accomplished with Suo Suo's ability. Otherwise, relying solely on me, it would have been almost impossible."
"Yes, because even I was not confident. Even if I had confidence, it would likely take hundreds of thousands or millions of years of slow accumulation to refine so many puppets. I never expected you to gather 500 in just a few days."
"Alright, grandfather, what level of strength can my 500-puppet sword formation achieve?"
"I believe that even a ninth-grade demon king might not be an opponent, and possibly, a first-grade demon emperor could contend with it."
"Wow! Does that mean your past life as a ninth-grade Immortal King, if you were to appear now, might not be a match for this 500-puppet sword formation?"
"Yes. Although the individual strength of these 500 puppets is not strong, all below fifth-grade, the puppet sword formation formed by them possesses extraordinary power."
"Mhm, then I will keep a low profile for now and continue to accumulate slowly until I have refined a hundred thousand puppets."
(Possibly tested positive for COVID-19 and am currently running a fever. One update for now.)