If Zhou Hong's Demon Subduing Pestle could be upgraded to rank four, his strength would undoubtedly increase significantly. With his current cultivation as a rank two demon master, using a rank three Demon Subduing Pestle, he could at least contend with ordinary demon masters of rank five or six.
However, upgrading demonic artifacts was not an easy feat, and Zhou Hong lacked experience in this area, unsure of how to proceed.
Coincidentally, Zhou Hong could ask Lang Qihua for advice on the way, as she was a senior and undoubtedly knew more than him.
"Lang Qihua, you just said that if the Demon Subduing Elder hadn't died, the Demon Subduing Pestle might have already been upgraded to rank four, right?"
"Yes, it's highly possible. After all, the Demon Subduing Elder has been dead for over a thousand years. In a thousand years, it's entirely plausible for him to have upgraded his demonic artifact to rank four."
"Then, how does one upgrade it to rank four?" Zhou Hong asked curiously.
"That, I'm not sure. Each person's demonic artifact has different attributes, and the upgrade methods vary greatly. For example, if someone's demonic artifact was tempered by heavenly lightning, then its upgrade would be inseparable from heavenly lightning. If someone's demonic artifact was nourished by flesh and blood, then it would also require such nourishment."
Zhou Hong nodded and said, "My Demon Subduing Pestle was refined using hundreds of millions of living beings. Does that mean that for the Demon Subduing Pestle to upgrade, it also needs living beings?"
"Presumably."
Zhou Hong felt a headache coming on. To ask him to slaughter trillions of living beings to nourish his Demon Subduing Pestle was something he could never do. Although Zhou Hong was not a paragon of virtue, he was certainly not a devil.
It seemed that upgrading his Demon Subduing Pestle would be very difficult. If it couldn't be upgraded later, then the Demon Subduing Pestle would merely be a temporarily usable demonic artifact for him.
"Zhou Hong, you're asking me this, aren't you hoping to upgrade your Demon Subduing Pestle?"
"Heh, if there's an opportunity, of course I'd want to upgrade it. After all, my Demon Subduing Pestle is considered a rather powerful offensive weapon. It's just a pity that if it requires feeding on living beings, it might be difficult. My nature is fundamentally different from the Demon Subduing Elder's."
"That's not necessarily the case. You can also enhance the power of the Demon Subduing Pestle by consuming similar demonic artifacts, gradually upgrading it."
"I'd be eager to hear more." Zhou Hong's eyes lit up.
"There are plenty of similar demonic artifacts. For example, all demonic artifacts related to souls belong to the same category. Also, if you're unwilling to devour billions of living beings, you can find powerful individuals. A powerful soul can be equivalent to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of living beings."
"Indeed!" Zhou Hong felt enlightened.
Yes, if Zhou Hong wanted to upgrade the Demon Subduing Pestle, why would he need to slaughter billions of living beings? Finding a powerful being would be equivalent to thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of living beings.
The previous Demon Subduing Pestle had refined hundreds of millions of living beings, all of whom were very weak.
"Hahaha, thank you for your guidance, Senior Lang Qihua."
"You're welcome." Lang Qihua smiled slightly. It was the first time Zhou Hong had called her "Senior," which made her quite proud.
Thus, Zhou Hong and Lang Qihua continued to fly forward while chatting.
"Senior Lang Qihua, how long will it take for us to reach the Immortal Demon Mountain Range?" Five days later, Zhou Hong still hadn't arrived and was feeling anxious. He had thought it wouldn't take long, but unexpectedly, even at his speed, he hadn't reached it after five days.
"Heh, we're still a long way off. From here to the Immortal Demon Mountain Range, it will take at least a month. Along the way, we'll pass through three or four cities. To avoid unnecessary trouble, we'll try to skirt the edges and bypass the core areas of other cities." Su Dan Novel Network
"What! So long?"
"The demon realm is vast. It's said that the entire demon realm has forty to fifty Demon Immortal Kingdoms, and each Demon Immortal Kingdom has five to six thousand cities."
Zhou Hong secretly gasped. It was too immense. It seemed that Wumeng City, where Zhou Hong was located, was merely a drop in the ocean, an extremely insignificant place.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and they were still halfway to their destination.
Zhou Hong felt a bit tired.
"Lang Qihua, let's find a place to rest for a night ahead."
"Alright." Lang Qihua nodded.
Zhou Hong landed in a forest ahead, preparing to sleep there.
However, before he could land, he saw people fighting in the forest.
He saw a young man holding a banner with a skull painted on it. When he waved the banner, it emitted a black light. Wherever the light passed, trees withered as if poisoned, and people were directly devoured by the skull on the banner.
The young man's strength didn't seem strong, likely around the level of a rank five demon. The group he was fighting against was also not strong, more like a group of bandits.
"This is interesting." Zhou Hong stood in the air, watching the two groups fighting below, and smiled slightly. He was particularly intrigued by the banner in the young man's hand, wondering what kind of magical artifact it was, appearing so vicious.
"Zhou Hong, the demonic artifact in that young man's hand should be a rank one demonic artifact, similar in type to your Demon Subduing Pestle. The skull on his banner looks alive, capable of devouring a living person in one gulp," Lang Qihua said, appearing to watch the spectacle with detachment. However, Zhou Hong's brow furrowed slightly.
Previously, Zhou Hong had heard Lang Qihua mention that to upgrade his Demon Subduing Pestle, he could devour similar demonic artifacts to gradually upgrade it by accumulating power.
"Haha, that banner of his will be mine." Zhou Hong chuckled.
Lang Qihua quickly tried to stop him, "Zhou Hong, don't be reckless. This is an unfamiliar place for us, and that young man, only being a rank five demon, possesses a rank one demonic artifact. He likely has an extraordinary background, probably from a nearby city and with some connections."
"Hmph, so what." Zhou Hong couldn't be bothered whether he had a background or not. Everyone looks out for themselves.
With that, Zhou Hong instantly rushed down.
The young man was about to retrieve his banner and leave gleefully when, in the next second, his banner was snatched away by a hand.
"Ah!" The young man let out a scream. As Zhou Hong ripped the banner away, he also forcibly separated it from the young man's soul. The pain of such a forced separation of the soul was self-evident.
Zhou Hong held the banner and directly fed it to his Demon Subduing Pestle.
However, it was a pity that such a weak rank one demonic artifact was insufficient to even "fill the gaps" for the Demon Subduing Pestle. Zhou Hong had anticipated this. It was impossible for the Demon Subduing Pestle to upgrade to rank four by consuming just one rank one demonic artifact. It was entirely disproportionate. Even by the law of conservation of energy, it was far from enough. However, every little bit counts, and eventually, quantitative change would lead to qualitative change.