Chapter 404: Chapter 226: Konghui, Nine-winged Saint Demon Zhao Honglie’s path to becoming a true powerhouse had only just begun to take shape; he absolutely could not afford to falter now. Zhao Honglie felt the excruciating pain surging through his body. His expression grew increasingly twisted as he suppressed a deep growl from his throat: "You? Just a drop of Demon General Essence Blood, and you dare try to seize my body? Dream on! Suppress!" Zhao Honglie’s eyes turned pitch-black like ink, and dense clusters of black markings appeared on his face, their edges faintly shimmering with a golden light. The floating runes in the air immediately returned to Zhao Honglie, wrapping him in layers of intense Demonic Qi, as though forming a massive black cocoon around him. The runes and markings emanated an aura of noble supremacy. Under the weight of this aura, the previously raging and aggressive Demon General Essence Blood immediately became much calmer, its offensive nature retracting as a hint of fear emerged. Zhao Honglie’s hands wove together in a blur of seals, and the markings on his face synchronized with the runes on his body, forming an invisible shackle that sank into him. This shackle drove all the energy from the Demon General Essence Blood toward the vicinity of his Dantian, where it transformed into a prison-like cage, completely confining it. Under the runic cage’s restraint, the Demon General Essence Blood reverted to a state resembling normal blood. "Phew! Fortunately, the techniques in the Demon Seed’s memories proved effective, or I really could’ve lost control here." With the situation stabilized, Zhao Honglie wiped the cold sweat off his brow, still somewhat shaken. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮 "Next, I just need to slowly refine it! Heh, Lu Shu and Lin Tianhao may be extraordinarily talented and powerful, but if I want to wipe out everyone who ventured into the Red Cloud Prefecture, I’ll need to take them down one by one." After a long period of contemplation, Zhao Honglie curved his lips into a faint smile. Drawing upon the Demon Seed’s memories, he set up a restriction at the already-sealed entrance before sitting cross-legged again. Demonic Qi surged. A slightly golden-tinted Demonic Qi flowed out from his Dantian, ignited with a sharp hiss, transforming into an eerie flame that began burning the Demon General Blood imprisoned within his body. Exposed to the searing flame, the once-quiet Demon General Blood began thrashing about violently. It split into multiple fierce energies, attempting to break free from the cage. But to no avail—the runic cage was incredibly sturdy and seemed to possess a unique suppressive effect on Demonic Blood. No matter how the Demon General Essence Blood surged and struggled, it remained trapped. Under the relentless burning of the flames, the impurities within the Demon General Blood were gradually being refined out. Zhao Honglie immediately activated his techniques to absorb the purified essence, and with each bit of essence absorbed, his aura grew increasingly profound. Elsewhere, in the Red Cloud Secret Realm, beneath a waterfall, Gu Sheng was furiously scrubbing at the marks left on his body by Lin Tianhao and Lu Shu, using the cascading water as his tool. "Damn it! What kind of technique is this? I’ve been scrubbing for ages, and it hasn’t changed at all!" Looking at his hands, now rubbed raw, Gu Sheng’s expression turned gloomy and full of complaint. It was Gu Sheng’s third day since escaping from the Demon Suppression Sect. For the first two days, he’d done nothing but rest and flee at full speed. By this point, he’d traveled thousands of miles from the Demon Suppression Sect. Feeling relatively safe, he finally stopped to tackle the marks on his body. Gu Sheng, however, had underestimated Lin Tianhao and Lu Shu’s techniques. He had assumed the markings would fade in a few days or could be washed off with water. Yet, despite two days of effort and hours spent scrubbing under the waterfall, the markings hadn’t changed in the slightest. "I hope there’s some kind of range limitation on their technique. Otherwise, being chased around every day is going to be unbearable." Resigned to the fact that the markings wouldn’t come off, Gu Sheng stepped out of the waterfall, pulled a fresh set of clothing from his belongings, and changed. As for his old clothes, he burned them to ashes without hesitation. The waterfall wasn’t too large—the surface spanned only three or four meters—and beneath it lay a small pool of water, about several dozen square meters in area. The pool wasn’t deep, roughly half a meter. Its water was clear enough to reveal its bottom, where only a few ordinary small fish could be seen, with no traces of bloodthirsty beasts or demonic creatures. After scouting the surroundings and ensuring no immediate threats nearby, Gu Sheng opened his storage bag and took out the Demon Suppression Golden Scroll. The scroll felt warm to the touch—unlike ordinary metal. Gu Sheng scrutinized it carefully. At first glance, the scroll resembled an ordinary book, devoid of any peculiarities. Its surface was blank, with no unique markings or symbols. Gu Sheng fiddled with it for a long time but couldn’t figure out how to activate it. He even tried channeling energy into it, but his efforts were like stones sinking into the sea—met with no response at all. "Could it require Spiritual Power to activate?" With that thought, Gu Sheng hurriedly retrieved a Spiritual Bag from his storage bag. Opening the Spiritual Bag, a surge of Spiritual Energy spilled forth. Aligning the Golden Scroll with the flow, Gu Sheng immediately noticed a suction force emanating from the scroll as it absorbed the energy completely. As the Golden Scroll absorbed the Spiritual Energy, a faint golden glow surfaced. Within the golden haze, strange characters began to emerge. With the glow and the emergence of text, Gu Sheng felt a unique energy emanating from the scroll. The energy was incredibly gentle yet exuded purity and authority. Standing within the golden radiance, Gu Sheng was overtaken by a profound sense of reverence. As the scroll absorbed more and more Spiritual Energy, its aura grew stronger and more oppressive. At the same time, the Spiritual Bag in Gu Sheng’s hand visibly shrank at an astonishing rate. "Buzz!" Once the Demon Suppression Golden Scroll had absorbed enough Spiritual Energy, it floated into the air and shed a dazzling golden light that poured down in torrents. Gu Sheng instantly felt an overwhelming pressure descend upon him.