The moment the head fell, Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit shot up into the sky.
Just as Zhou Hong was about to pursue, his grandfather in his mind hurriedly stopped him, "Don't chase. You've lost your Demon Subduing Pestle now. Chasing his primordial spirit is useless. Moreover, if you push him too hard, his primordial spirit might self-detonate, and you might lose your life."
"Alright!" Zhou Hong immediately gave up the pursuit. There was no need to take such a risk.
However, unexpectedly, a man suddenly appeared in the sky and instantly grabbed Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit.
This man was none other than Long Yu.
"It's you, Tianji?" Long Yu in the sky didn't seem to know who this primordial spirit belonged to. When he captured it and saw that it was Patriarch Tianji, who had been chasing him, he was stunned. He didn't know what kind of enemy Patriarch Tianji had encountered to be forced to flee with his primordial spirit. After all, for the past few months, he had been on the run from this Patriarch Tianji.
"Long Yu, it's you." Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit also recognized Long Yu. His heart was filled with mixed emotions. Long Yu possessed a soul-attacking immortal artifact, making it easy to deal with primordial spirits. Therefore, he had nowhere to escape, and even self-detonation was impossible.
On the ground, Zhou Hong saw Long Yu appear in the sky and quickly shouted, "Brother Long Yu, hello! We meet again."
Long Yu looked down at the ground and then saw Zhou Hong. He immediately descended, still holding Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit in one hand.
"Brother Zhou Hong, why are you here?"
"Haha, I came to look for the Soul Locking Grass again. I didn't expect to encounter this Daoist Master. He mistook me for you, pretending to be you, and threatened to capture me and take me back to the Immortal Realm to someone. In a fit of anger, I directly eliminated him. However, his primordial spirit escaped, and I was too lazy to chase it. I didn't expect you to catch him red-handed." Zhou Hong said casually, with a hint of arrogance in his tone.
As expected, Long Yu was greatly shocked.
"You're saying you eliminated Patriarch Tianji?"
"Yes, otherwise, who else could it be?" Zhou Hong chuckled. In reality, he wasn't that powerful. It was just a coincidence that Patriarch Tianji had been drawn into his sub-world, which was in its nascent stage at the time. Otherwise, Zhou Hong would have been captured and taken back to the Immortal Realm long ago.
"My heavens, how can your strength be so great?" Long Yu was shocked. He had been chased by Patriarch Tianji for months, yet Zhou Hong had directly killed him.
"Alright, alright, I'm not trying to scare you. Actually, it wasn't as easy as you think. It was just a fortunate coincidence." Zhou Hong then revealed the real situation.
"Hahaha, I knew it! How could your strength be so great? But your luck is truly phenomenal." Long Yu laughed heartily after hearing the explanation.
"What do you plan to do with Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit?" Zhou Hong asked.
"Of course, I'll give it to you. Don't you have the Demon Subduing Pestle? It can be nourishment for your Demon Subduing Pestle."
Zhou Hong said with a wry smile, "My Demon Subduing Pestle has already been confiscated."
"What? Who dared to confiscate it?"
"Naturally, it was the Demon Emperor of the Demon Immortal Kingdom where I am located. Because my Demon Subduing Pestle is a rather powerful demonic artifact, he declared it a wanted item and confiscated it."
"Then you don't have a suitable demonic artifact now?"
"Not necessarily!" Zhou Hong chuckled and instantly released eight puppets.
"These eight puppets of mine can easily kill a fifth-grade Demon King. Strictly speaking, they are even stronger than the Demon Subduing Pestle was. Previously, the Demon Subduing Pestle could only deal with third-grade Demon Kings."
"Impressive!" Long Yu was full of admiration, feeling that Zhou Hong was no ordinary person. However, he also thought that given Zhou Hong's ability to ascend from the mortal realm, he was indeed extraordinary.
"Brother Long Yu, have you been in the Immortal Demon Mountain Range for the past half year?"
"Yes. I hid for about a month or two and was about to return to the Immortal Realm when Patriarch Tianji arrived. He was hired by my enemies to capture me here. Patriarch Tianji possessed a divine ability that made him very adept at capturing enemies. I was almost driven mad by him these past few months. He himself is a sixth-grade Immortal King, and my soul-attacking immortal artifact couldn't deal with him. Even if I could, I would be very weak after using it, so I could only keep dodging. Just now, I was hiding in a secluded spot and didn't sense Patriarch Tianji's aura, so I thought he had left. Thus, I came out and encountered an escaping primordial spirit. I intended to capture it to replenish the energy of my soul immortal artifact, but I never expected it to be that old scoundrel Tianji, and even less that you were the one who eliminated him. Zhou Hong, you've saved me again."
"Haha, it seems we are destined."
"Brother Zhou Hong, please accept my bow." Long Yu gratefully bowed to Zhou Hong. The last time, if it weren't for Zhou Hong's help, he wouldn't have so easily escaped his pursuers. He never expected Zhou Hong to help him again this time. It seemed Zhou Hong was his benefactor. Soudan Novel Network
"If we are brothers, there's no need for such formality." Zhou Hong patted Long Yu on the shoulder, feeling that Long Yu was someone worth befriending. Just now, when Zhou Hong casually asked about dealing with Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit, Long Yu, without a second thought, was ready to give it to him. After all, he had originally intended to use it for his soul-attacking immortal artifact.
"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony. As I said before, if you ever need my help, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."
"Same here!"
"Then I'll find a place to refine Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit properly. My soul-attacking immortal artifact is currently at a bottleneck in its upgrade. With this primordial spirit, it's highly likely to advance another rank."
"But you just said you were going to give it to my Demon Subduing Pestle for nourishment." Zhou Hong gave Long Yu a sidelong glance.
"Haha, I thought your Demon Subduing Pestle was the same. Naturally, I would give it to you first."
"You fellow, hurry up and go. I also need to go into seclusion. My sub-world has fused with Patriarch Tianji's nascent world, so I've also gained some benefits."
"Alright, let's chat again in a few days!"
Zhou Hong and Long Yu each found a quiet cave to seclude themselves.
"Zhou Hong, this Long Yu is quite a decent fellow. Patriarch Tianji's primordial spirit is so important to him, yet he's willing to give it to you first," Zhou Hong's grandfather remarked after they sat down in the cave.
"Yes, he's worth befriending, so I officially consider him a brother."
"Alright, quickly digest the energy from the nascent world and see if you can break through."
"Okay!"
Thus, Zhou Hong entered seclusion in the cave.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed.
Zhou Hong opened his eyes.
"Grandfather, I've broken through." Zhou Hong smiled with some joy. Although the breakthrough wasn't significant, it was still a considerable gain.
"Congratulations, you've become a fourth-grade Demon Master."