52: Chapter 52 seems to have caused trouble.

[When Chu Sheng woke up, the sky was already bright.]

[The lid of the demon refining pot trembled slightly.]

["Still not behaving?"]

[Chu Sheng walked over and patted the body of the demon refining pot, "Settle down, or I'll really refine you."]

[The Crimson Python struggled even harder inside the demon refining pot, causing it to vibrate violently.]

[Chu Sheng was quick-eyed and nimble-handed; he pressed down on the lid and activated the suppressing power of the demon refining pot.]

["You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit."]

[Chu Sheng snorted and added two handfuls of firewood to the stove.]

[The water in the demon refining pot soon began to boil, bubbling and steaming.]

[Although ordinary fire was useless against the Crimson Python, it struggled even more fiercely, yet its demonic aura was tightly suppressed, unable to leak out in the slightest.]

[Chu Sheng sat at the table, drinking tea while staring at the demon refining pot.]

["The demon refining pot has two functions: one is to capture demons, and the other is to refine them."]

[He pondered inwardly, "You use living people as blood sacrifices; you deserve to die. If you behave and let me refine you, you can still provide me with some cultivation feedback."]

[He closed his eyes and tried to communicate with the demon refining pot.]

[A mysterious ripple came from the body of the demon refining pot.]

[He could sense the Crimson Python's anger, unwillingness, and a trace of... fear?]

["If you're afraid, then behave." Chu Sheng sneered and began to activate the refining power.]

[Traces of demonic beast vital energy escaped from the demon refining pot and flowed into his body through his palms.]

[Chu Sheng's whole body shook as he felt the spiritual energy in his dantian slowly increasing.]

[Although the speed wasn't fast, it had the advantage of being continuous.]

["Good heavens, this feels even better than taking medicinal pills!"]

[His eyes lit up, "After refining this Condensing True Great Demon, won't I be able to rush directly to the Half-Step Condensing True Essence stage?"]

Chu Sheng looked at the screen and calculated silently.

The demonic power of one Condensing True Great Demon is enough for a Qi Induction cultivator to break through to Condensing True Essence.

However, refining takes time, and the Crimson Python is still resisting, so the efficiency is not high.

At this speed, it should be able to reach the Fifth Stage of Qi Guiding by next month.

[Just as he was thinking, the courtyard gate was suddenly knocked on.]

[Outside the door stood three Law Enforcement Hall disciples, the leader being a Qi Guiding Rank 8 cultivator with a cold expression.]

["Are you the newly arrived registered disciple, Chu Sheng?"]

["That's me. What do you senior brothers need?"]

[The leading cultivator didn't speak, his gaze sweeping around the room.]

[Finally, it landed on the kettle on the table; he looked at it for a moment, then looked away.]

[He spoke in a businesslike manner, "Open your Storage Pouch and let me see."]

[Chu Sheng's heart tightened, "Storage Pouch? Senior brother, I've just joined the sect and I'm dirt poor, what could I possibly have..."]

["Less nonsense, open it."]

[Chu Sheng had no choice but to take out his Storage Pouch.]

[A pile of Yellow-grade low-tier equipment—protective jade pendant, light-body boots, concealment cloak...]

[The leading cultivator frowned: "Why did you buy so much equipment?"]

[Chu Sheng said righteously: "For self-defense! I'm just a small Qi Induction Fourth Grade, if I'm not fully equipped, what if I encounter bad people?"]

[Another disciple sneered: "With your cultivation level, no matter how much equipment you have, you're just delivering food."]

[Chu Sheng stiffened his neck and said: "Th-that's still better than nothing! I worked so hard to save up these belongings, don't you dare think about..."]

[The leading cultivator waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, alright, put it away."]

[He scanned the room again.]

["What about those? Are those yours too? Confiscate them all!"]

[Chu Sheng's face fell, "Why! I'm an honest and law-abiding cultivator, I worked so hard to save up these belongings, and now you're confiscating them! I want to find the Sect Master to reason with you!"]

[The leading cultivator grabbed him: "Alright, alright, nobody wants your things. The Law Enforcement Hall will return them to you later."]

[The few Law Enforcement Hall disciples looked at each other and shook their heads.]

[This kid is just a greenhorn; he doesn't look like the ruthless person who could sneak into Danxia Peak to steal things.]

["Let's go." The leading cultivator waved his hand and led the others away.]

[Chu Sheng saw them off, closed the courtyard gate, and let out a long sigh of relief.]

[For the next month, the Qinglan Sect was on high alert, while Chu Sheng closed his doors to guests and focused on refining the Crimson Python.]

[His cultivation successfully broke through to the Fifth Stage of Qi Guiding.]

Chu Sheng swapped out Strong Luck and swapped the Sword Saint back into the main slot.

"Strong Luck is top-tier for saving your life, but for combat power, you still have to rely on the Sword Saint."

He opened the simulator interface.

[Current main slots: "Many Children, Many Blessings" (Color), Trash (Black), Sword Saint (Purple), Duobao Heavenly Venerable (Red)]

[Backup slot: Strong Luck (Purple)]

Chu Sheng nodded: With the Sword Saint in hand, combat power is doubled.

If the beast tide really comes, just hiding won't work; you have to be able to fight.

However, Strong Luck must be kept in reserve to save his life at critical moments.

[At night, Chu Sheng boiled water to refine the Crimson Python as usual, and a faint consciousness came from the demon refining pot.]

[It was the Crimson Python's.]

["Human... you... have caused trouble..."]

[Chu Sheng was stunned: "What?"]

[The Crimson Python's consciousness was intermittent: "I... am the array... beast tide... gap..."]

[Chu Sheng's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked for more.]

[In the intermittent message, he pieced together the truth—]

[Deep in the Liuyun Mountain Range, more terrifying demonic beasts are being suppressed. The Qinglan Sect, in alliance with the surrounding areas, set up an array.]

[And this Crimson Python is one of the core array eyes of the array, responsible for suppressing the beast tide on the east side.]

[Elder Zhou raising it was not for personal selfish desires, but to maintain the operation of the array.]

[Those mortals used as "blood sacrifices" were all heinous death row prisoners or martial artists who volunteered to sacrifice themselves.]

[In exchange for the safety of their families.]

"Sacrificing a small number of people in exchange for the peace of the majority..."

Chu Sheng murmured.

He recalled those mountains of corpses and Elder Zhou's cold face.

So, she wasn't a snake or scorpion; she had to do it.

Perhaps it was because of the need for blood sacrifices that people like Han Li and Song He were able to exploit the loopholes.

And he, for personal gain, stole the array eye.

Chu Sheng's face went pale, "I think... I've caused big trouble."]

He quickly recalled the information from the previous simulations.

In the third simulation, the Qinglan Sect hunted down Chu Sheng, the beast tide broke out, and Jin Xiao City was besieged...

At the time, he thought it was the Qinglan Sect playing tricks, but now it seems that perhaps it was because Chu Sheng stole the array eye, causing the beast tide to go out of control?

No, that's not right.

He suddenly sat up straight.

In the third simulation, he didn't get the demon refining pot at all, nor did he steal the Crimson Python.

But the beast tide still broke out.

In other words, the disappearance of the Crimson Python only accelerated the beast tide, not the root cause.

The root cause is that the array itself had problems, or there were other factors.

But this time, he personally ignited the fuse.

[The Crimson Python in the demon refining pot sensed his hesitation and struggled even harder.]

["Let me go back..."]

[The consciousness came again, "Otherwise... the beast tide... everyone will die..."]

[Chu Sheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath.]

[When he opened his eyes, his gaze had regained its clarity.]

["Let you go back? It's too late."]

[He gritted his teeth, "If I let you go now, I'll surely die. If I don't, at least there's a glimmer of hope."]

[Outside the mountain gate, the screeching of demonic beasts could be faintly heard.]

[It was denser and more restless than usual.]

["The beast tide, is it coming?"]

[He touched the demon refining pot in his arms; the pot body was scorching hot.]

"This time, I've really messed up big."

Chu Sheng stared at the screen, his brain working at high speed.

The time point when the beast tide broke out in the last simulation was probably when Chu Sheng was twenty-two or twenty-three.

This time, because he stole the Crimson Python, the beast tide was advanced by at least two years.

He suddenly thought of a question:

After the Qinglan Sect elders find out that the Crimson Python is missing, they will definitely strengthen the defense of other parts of the array.

But they don't know that the Crimson Python is in his hands; they will only think it was done by an external enemy.

"But how do I say it? Should I just run over and say, 'Elder, I stole your array eye, now I'm returning it to its owner'?"

Chu Sheng's mouth twitched, "Isn't that just courting death?"]

And in the third simulation, regardless of anything else, Elder Zhou did indeed screw him over.

He fell into deep thought.

The Chu Sheng in the simulation was also thinking about the same question.

["The Crimson Python cannot be released."]

[He murmured, "As long as it can play a role at the critical moment to suppress the beast tide, that will do."]

[He lowered his head and looked at the demon refining pot in his hand; the pot body was slightly hot.]

["The demon refining pot can capture demons, and it can also release them. When the time comes, you will acknowledge me as your master, and after you suppress the beast tide, you can come back."]

["Anyway, you've already been partially refined by me, you can't run away."]

["You're the real animal!"]

[The Crimson Python in the pot let out an angry screech.]

["Stop screaming, this is your only way to survive."]

["Hehehe..."]

[Chu Sheng sneered, "Cooperate with me, and you can still live. If you don't cooperate, I'll refine you into cultivation power right now."]

[The Crimson Python's struggle gradually subsided.]

["That's right."]

[Chu Sheng smiled, "Don't worry, as long as you don't cause trouble, I won't treat you badly. In the future, I'll feed you some medicinal pills every month, which is much better than eating those mortals."]

Chu Sheng looked at this scene and let out a long sigh of relief.

"This kid, his brain works pretty fast."

He leaned back in his chair.

"But there's still a problem: how do I make the Qinglan Sect believe that the Crimson Python came back on its own, and wasn't stolen by someone?"

He thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Let the Crimson Python crawl out from somewhere when the beast tide breaks out and suppress the demonic beasts?"]

He looked at the simulation screen and began to formulate a detailed plan.