"But refining him won't be that simple, after all, your realm is far weaker than his. You'll first need to find the Three-Star Soul-Snatching Grass. With that, you can then forge him into a puppet artifact."
"No way? That's so complicated! When my second brother was refined into a puppet artifact in the mortal realm, it wasn't this troublesome."
"Your second brother was merely a mortal, whereas the City Lord is a demon king far stronger than you. If I weren't skilled in forging puppets, you wouldn't be able to succeed even with the materials."
"Three-Star Soul-Snatching Grass, where can I find that? I remember the demon spring I stole from the City Lord last time was also a three-star level, wasn't it?"
"Yes, three-star level demon treasures aren't rare, but they aren't found everywhere either. You just need to find the three-star level Soul-Snatching Grass. As for where to find it, I'm not sure. You'll have to inquire later."
"Alright, then if the City Lord is refined, will his power decrease?"
"Of course not. He'll retain his original power. If you want to become the City Lord, you must get through this. Otherwise, if someone comes to kill you, with your current realm, you'll have no power to resist."
Zhou Hong nodded and said no more.
At this moment, Hei Lan Da Mo Wang's voice echoed in his ears, "Zhou Hong, are you going to kill the City Lord now?"
"Wait, don't kill me, don't kill me!" Before Zhou Hong could speak, the City Lord shouted.
"What are your last words?" Hei Lan Da Mo Wang grunted.
"If you kill me, you won't get away with it either. I've been in the Demon Immortal Kingdom for so many years, and I haven't been idle. I have many friends. If you kill me, they will definitely avenge me. I'm not bluffing, I have connections in the imperial court above the Demon Immortal Kingdom; he's an eighth-rank official."
"Heh heh!" Zhou Hong's lips curved slightly. He didn't know if the City Lord was boasting, but anyone would boast to scare others at this point.
"You think I don't have anyone behind me? To be frank, I have a tenth-rank official backing me," Zhou Hong said with a laugh. Who couldn't bluff?
The City Lord froze for a moment, then immediately shook his head, "Impossible, absolutely impossible."
"Heh heh, how do you think I got the Eight Divisions Pagoda cultivation technique? I won't boast anymore. I have a ninth-rank Demon King supporting me."
The City Lord and Lang Qihua were both half-believing, and even Hei Lan was somewhat doubtful if such a person really existed, as Zhou Hong's gaze was so genuine when he said it.
Zhou Hong wasn't lying; he was referring to his grandfather, a ninth-rank Immortal King.
"Alright, Hei Lan, don't kill him for now. Lock him up."
"Yes, what about the other one?" Hei Lan looked at Lang Qihua beside him.
Upon hearing this, Lang Qihua quickly declared, "Don't kill me. It doesn't matter to me who becomes the City Lord. I will pledge my loyalty to whoever it is."
Zhou Hong nodded, "That's good. You'll have the same treatment as before."
"Thank you, can I have the antidote first?" Lang Qihua asked.
"Of course, no problem. However, the antidote must be taken once a month." Zhou Hong took out a pill from his person. The materials for this pill were very common, so Zhou Hong had already refined several thousand of them at once.
"Seriously? Once a month?" Lang Qihua's face immediately darkened. Cultivators of the demonic path often went for years or decades. Wouldn't this mean he had to stop every month to take an antidote? Sudancheng.com
"Don't worry, I know what you're concerned about. If you're worried about your cultivation, you can come to me in advance. I can give you a year's, or even two years', worth of antidote at once."
"Fine." Lang Qihua was helpless, but it was better than dying. He was just very dejected, being so easily controlled.
Zhou Hong directly threw him an antidote.
"I'll give you one for now. The reason I'm not giving you more is so that you'll experience the effects next month and understand I wasn't lying," Zhou Hong said with a smile.
Lang Qihua secretly cursed Zhou Hong as a dog.
"You can go back now. Oh, right, after you take the antidote, the Eight Divisions Pagoda Immortal Art you're cultivating will be usable, and your strength will be even greater than before."
Lang Qihua snorted lightly. He felt no gratitude towards Zhou Hong at all. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have taken even a fifth-grade immortal art, let alone a higher-ranked one.
"Wait a moment." As Lang Qihua was about to leave, Hei Lan suddenly called out.
"Zhou Hong, we can't let him go yet. What if he goes to notify the other seven demon kings now? Then the other seven demon kings...!"
Zhou Hong suddenly realized, he had almost forgotten something so important. What if Lang Qihua left now and went to find the other seven demon kings who were cultivating the Eight Divisions Pagoda, making them stop immediately? Wouldn't that...
"Yes, Lang Qihua, you cannot leave yet. You must wait until all seven other demon kings of Wumeng City have fallen into the trap before you can leave. Otherwise, I won't give you the antidote next month," Zhou Hong quickly said.
Lang Qihua immediately swore, "Don't worry, I absolutely won't reveal a single word to them."
"Verbal oaths are useless. You'll have to stay here and wait."
"Zhou Hong, I'm already under your control. Of course, I hope the other demon kings of Wumeng City will also be under your control. How could I possibly notify them? You can rest assured," Lang Qihua said with absolute certainty.
Zhou Hong saw that she didn't seem like she was lying and said helplessly, "Alright then. If any of the remaining seven demon kings are not under my control, you will not receive a single antidote."
"Okay."
"Then you can go."
Lang Qihua soared into the sky and finally left.
"Zhou Hong, what if she deceives you?" Hei Lan Da Mo Wang looked at Zhou Hong with some concern.
"If she deceives me, then she can wait to die. I won't give her the antidote again. At worst, I won't become the City Lord. She's in my grasp now, she may not dare. Besides, it's unknown how long it will take the other seven demon kings to cultivate to the third level of the Eight Divisions Pagoda, and we can't possibly keep Lang Qihua confined here forever."
"Alright, but why didn't you kill the City Lord? I've already locked him up in the underground secret chamber," Hei Lan asked Zhou Hong, confused.
"Because I have a better plan. I want to refine him into a puppet demon artifact. Then, he will become a magical treasure in my hands."
"What?" Hei Lan Da Mo Wang seemed greatly surprised to hear Zhou Hong say he was going to refine the City Lord into a demon artifact.
"You can forge puppet demon artifacts?" Hei Lan quickly asked, as if forging puppet demon artifacts was an extraordinary skill.
"Of course."
"My heavens, puppet demon artifacts! They are the top-tier among all demon artifacts. No one can forge them. The method for forging puppet demon artifacts has long been lost."