115: send off

Meeting Luo Hongzhuang's cold gaze, Xiao Cheng subconsciously lowered his head.

He clenched his fists, clearly unwilling, but found it difficult to defy her instructions.

"Yes!" After a long silence, Xiao Cheng could only comply, stepping forward to take the wooden box and the precious bow.

"Brother, be careful on the journey. The mountain path is rugged and difficult, especially with that precious bow; don't let it get damaged," Lu Ming thoughtfully advised.

This was a casual piece of advice, but to the already depressed Xiao Cheng, it sounded full of mockery. Though rage simmered within him, he dared not show it in front of Princess Luo Hongzhuang, only managing a forced smile as he said, "I understand."

With that, as if barely able to contain his emotions, he quickly walked away, disappearing into the mountain forest.

At this moment, Luo Hongzhuang, no longer able to hold it in, burst out laughing.

"You're really interesting, you know? You almost made me die of laughter," Luo Hongzhuang said with a bright smile, looking even more lively and spirited in the sunlight filtering through the trees.

Lu Ming was momentarily puzzled, unsure what exactly had tickled her funny bone.

And at this moment, Luo Hongzhuang began to explain on her own.

"I really don't like that guy named Xiao Cheng. He's been sticking to me like a dog's plaster these past few days. If my father hadn't thought highly of him, I probably would have beaten him up already."

Luo Hongzhuang clearly detested Xiao Cheng's arrogant behavior in front of her. These days, her frustration was reaching its peak, and now she had found an opportunity to get rid of his entanglement... The group immediately set off towards the main peak of the Hundred Weapons Sect.

Just as Luo Hongzhuang had said, all they saw along the way were Government Soldiers collecting corpses. The Hundred Weapons Sect's resistance, under the combined assault of the Government Soldiers and the Demon Suppression Division, collapsed completely in less than two hours.

Now, only scattered remnants of their forces were struggling in Qingfeng Mountain, but it was clear that after today, the entire Hundred Weapons Sect would be struck from the records of Yunzhou.

On the journey, Lu Ming and Luo Hongzhuang walked side by side.

The Princess seemed very curious about Lu Ming, asking all sorts of questions along the way, especially about his previous incident of eliminating the tiger demon, which she was very curious about.

"You mean that tiger demon could manipulate a dark blue Nether Force?" Luo Hongzhuang's eyes showed surprise, and she asked subconsciously.

Lu Ming nodded silently. He whispered, "I heard that tiger demon claim to be from the Nether Tiger Clan, saying that its clansmen would come to seek revenge on me later. I don't know the specific differences between that demon and ordinary tiger demons, but the only thing I can confirm is that the quality of that demon core was indeed excellent."

Hearing the words 'Nether Tiger,' Luo Hongzhuang's expression became even more moved. She subconsciously asked, "Where is that demon core?"

Noticing the urgency in her voice, Lu Ming was a little surprised. Could it be that she knew the origins of the Nether Tiger Clan?

"I refined it," Lu Ming said directly.

Luo Hongzhuang, who was about to confirm, was instantly speechless. She looked at Lu Ming as if he were a monster.

"You mean that in just a few days, you completely refined the demon core of that Peak Realm Demon? How could your Physical Body possibly withstand the impact of that fierce Qi?"

She could tell that Lu Ming wasn't lying, and it was precisely this confirmation that made her find it so incredible.

One must know that every demon core of a Peak Realm Demon has been refined for hundreds, even thousands, of years, and the power accumulated within it has reached an extremely terrifying level. Without the cooperation of a special Cultivation Technique, a Martial Artist would need at least several months to refine a demon core of a demon of the same rank. Even with extraordinary talent, this number could not be less than half a month.

Moreover, if what he said was correct, the demon core born from a tiger demon with the Nether Tiger Bloodline would be even more difficult to refine than an ordinary demon core, especially the Nether Force contained within it, which could easily cause a backlash if one was not careful.

Lu Ming naturally wouldn't say that he could refine that Nether Tiger demon core so quickly because he had a system. If he had to refine it himself, with his own Aptitude, it would take at least half a year to fully digest it.

Silently raising his palm, Lu Ming focused his mind and condensed a faint, dark blue glow in his palm.

Although Lu Ming could activate the Nether Tiger Power flowing in his blood, he found it difficult to form effective offensive techniques with it.

The reason for this was that the boost he received from that Peak Realm Nether Tiger's demon core was too weak. Although the Nether Tiger Power was constantly transforming his body after being refined, that was all it did.

The dark blue glow emitted a chilling coldness, as if to freeze the Soul. Even in the bright sunlight, Luo Hongzhuang keenly noticed the change in the surrounding temperature.

Luo Hongzhuang stared intently at the dark blue glow in Lu Ming's palm. Although the aura was very faint and posed no threat to her, Lu Ming's ability to manipulate this power spoke volumes.

She hadn't expected that he not only refined the demon core but also extracted a trace of Nether Force from it.

Raising her eyes, Luo Hongzhuang looked at Lu Ming with a complex gaze.

Recalling when she first met him in the dense mountain forest, she simply found Lu Ming, who was hunting demons late at night, quite interesting. However, through their repeated interactions, he had subverted her perception with his strength.

She originally thought that reaching the Perfected Extreme Realm at such a young age, and even touching the threshold of the Dao Realm, was already enough to be considered a Genius. Even within the Sect, she could be called exceptionally talented. But today, upon seeing Lu Ming, she realized that in terms of talent, he seemed to be even above her.

As they conversed, the group had already approached the main peak of Qingfeng Mountain.

Along the way, they saw many Government Soldiers guarding the entire peak, surrounding it tightly, which made Lu Ming realize that he had been somewhat rash earlier.

If he hadn't met Luo Hongzhuang, it would have been difficult for him, as a Centurion of the Demon Suppression Division, to reach the peak.

Ascending the last stone steps, Lu Ming looked intently. Grand buildings and pavilions stood amidst them, with the largest area occupied by the plaza where they now stood.

The plaza, paved with bluestone, stretched far into the distance. With its vastness, it could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people.

However, now the plaza was enveloped in a murderous atmosphere, with the smell of blood lingering in the air. It seemed to have witnessed a fierce battle before their arrival. Although the bodies had been dragged away, the sticky blood on the ground had not yet dried.

Scanning the surroundings, Lu Ming even discovered many slain demons among the corpses on one side. Clearly, at this point, the Hundred Weapons Sect no longer concealed its collusion with demons and had made every effort to resist.