Chapter 487 459: Great Transformation in the Demon Country, The World Is Shocked

But no one knew this, and there was no way to investigate.

Song Ciwan had been in seclusion for forty-nine days. When she emerged, she didn't actually notice the world's great changes right away.

Her Main Cultivation had broken through to Late-stage Divinity Transformation, and her Body Refining Cultivation had even reached the Body Refining Fourth Layer. She had also finished refining her new Peach and Plum Puppet and had traded for a pile of good things. For a time, she felt the satisfaction of a full purse and a relaxed mind.

The moment she emerged from seclusion, she saw that the world around her was quiet and still. The chirping of birds in the forest ahead wasn't jarring; instead, it created a wonderful sense of tranquility, where the birdsong only deepened the mountain's peace.

The mountainside was dotted with green, interspersed with newly bloomed flowers in a riot of purples and reds, swaying in the spring breeze.

'So winter is finally over, and spring has arrived.'

She took a gentle breath. The air seemed to be filled with Spiritual Qi, a truly refreshing feeling that filled her with joy from head to toe.

Seeing such a scene, Song Ciwan was filled with a sense of carefree joy. She put away her Han Guang Glaze Residence and stepped lightly through the mountains.

According to her original plan, after refining the new Peach and Plum Puppet, Song Ciwan's next stop was supposed to be the Four Great Demon Passes.

Her reasoning was simple: going to the Four Great Demon Passes would allow her to grow faster.

Stirring up trouble in the Nine Provinces could indeed let her harvest all sorts of human desires and trade for various supplies, but ultimately, the returns weren't as great as those from killing demons.

Killing demons not only provided Demon Heart Death Qi and Demon Corpses for cooking, but also allowed her to obtain Demon Fiend Malice.

Although Song Ciwan's lifespan was already very long, she wouldn't mind it being even longer.

Longer, and longer still. The longer, the better!

In the end, her true trump card was still her infinite lifespan!

Nothing in the world could withstand the ravages of time. Only "burning life" was a truly unbeatable solution.

It was just that under normal circumstances, she had no need to burn her life.

These days, fewer and fewer things could force her to use her life-burning ability.

'Fewer doesn't mean none at all.'

Song Ciwan checked her remaining lifespan. After refining the new Peach and Plum Puppet, which had consumed 9,800 years, her lifespan was now 298,400 years.

This wasn't a small amount, but Song Ciwan still wanted more.

Lost in thought, Song Ciwan made her way down the mountain path.

Walking through the quiet, deserted wilderness, she was both organizing her thoughts and enjoying the peace and leisure of being alone with nature.

But gradually, Song Ciwan realized something was wrong.

'Wrong. Very wrong...'

She had walked for about ten li since starting down the mountain, yet in that short distance, she had already encountered Low Level Demon Beasts five times!

Admittedly, these Demon Beasts were very low-level and insignificant—a Rabbit Demon, a Mouse Demon, a Bird Demon...

The Demonic Qi of these Little Demons was faint; in Song Ciwan's eyes, they were hardly worth mentioning.

These Little Demons hadn't bothered her, perhaps due to a Demon Beast's instinct to fear powerful beings, or perhaps because Song Ciwan was still maintaining the appearance of Lu Bell—

Lu Bell carried the Spiritual Long Saber, Star River Slash, on his back. Although he had yet to draw it, his cold temperament and intimidating presence as he walked gave him the distinct air of a master.

Little Demons have an instinct to fear the strong, so it wasn't strange that they didn't dare to provoke him.

So at first, Song Ciwan had truly overlooked the presence of these Little Demons.

It wasn't until she reached the foot of the mountain that she suddenly realized: 'This shouldn't be happening!'

Although various Demon Beasts often appeared in the forests of the Nine Provinces, they shouldn't be appearing with such frequency.

Five demons in ten li.

If demons in the Mortal World were truly this numerous, ordinary mortals in villages wouldn't be able to survive.

Even in a deserted wilderness like the one Song Ciwan was in, there shouldn't have been so many demons.

Song Ciwan was first alarmed by the number of demons, but a moment later, she discovered something else. Not only had the number of Little Demons in the forest increased, but more importantly—the concentration of Vitality in the air had also grown noticeably stronger.

And not just by a little.

If the concentration of Vitality were divided into levels, the Vitality in the Nine Provinces was previously at a baseline of "one." Now, however, the concentration had likely reached "three."

In other words, compared to before, the Vitality concentration had tripled.

'What does this even mean?'

As she pondered, Song Ciwan secretly compared the Vitality concentration in the Court's cave mansions to the concentration in the wild right now.

She raised her hand to make a quick calculation. The Vitality concentration in an ordinary Yellow Level Cave Mansion was only about "five."

Yet the concentration in the wild was now at "three," only two points lower than that of a Yellow Level Cave Mansion!

The comparison was particularly shocking.

'What on earth is going on?'

Carrying this shock with her, Song Ciwan's pace quickened unconsciously.

She didn't have a specific destination in mind. She simply chose a northwesterly direction and began to walk with long strides.

With each step, she could cross several dozen zhang. In just a moment, she had traveled far through the forest and emerged onto what looked like a remote official road.

The sky was bright, with the sun hanging high overhead.

Little Demons occasionally scurried across the sides of the road. Song Ciwan ignored most of them, but at one point, she suddenly saw a Snake Demon slithering across the road. Its belly was bulging grotesquely, and a thick stench of blood emanated from it.

Song Ciwan stopped in her tracks. She watched as the Snake Demon, reeking of carrion and with bloodshot eyes, charged recklessly toward her.

She raised her hand and flicked a finger. The Snake Demon instantly let out a hiss and collapsed.

Just like that, the Snake Demon was dead. The Heaven and Earth Scale collected a ball of Death Qi.

[Death Qi, from the death of an insignificant Snake Demon, one jin and two taels, can be traded.]

Song Ciwan walked over and pointed. A wave of Qi Force sliced through the air and across the Snake Demon's belly.

The belly was sliced open, and a spray of fresh blood erupted. From within the snake's stomach, a child dressed in tattered clothes tumbled out!

Yes, there was a human inside the snake's belly.

The child's face was blue and purple, and they appeared to be dead.

Song Ciwan immediately took a Recovery Talisman from her Storage Pouch. It was a Talisman she had drawn herself, based primarily on what she learned from the Five Thunders Righteous Method.

The Five Thunders Righteous Method contained an Exorcism Chapter. Despite its name, the chapter was surprisingly dedicated almost entirely to methods of using Talismans to cure illnesses.

Song Ciwan could use various Talismans, either by drawing them in the air through Void Talisman Painting or by preparing them as Spirit Talismans to carry with her.

The Recovery Talisman ignited without a flame. A ball of pure Vitality settled over the child's body. In an instant, with a SIZZLING sound, wisps of black smoke drifted up from the child's head.

A moment later, the child let out a low moan and began to stir.

The child was alive!

Song Ciwan's expression relaxed slightly, a hint of joy appearing on her face.

The child opened her eyes and looked at Song Ciwan with a dazed expression, murmuring drowsily, "Big brother, are you here to take me away?"

Her voice was clear and young. It was obvious she was a little girl, only four or five years old.

The little girl had probably mistaken Song Ciwan for her own brother.

Song Ciwan held her palm just above the child's head, released a soft breath of Vitality, and activated a Bathing God Talisman for her.

A gentle light from the talisman enveloped her, and the little girl's eyes gradually cleared.

Then, the now-lucid little girl scrambled to her feet.

She got up from beside the bloody snake's corpse, let out an "AH!" as she looked at it, then her gaze swept across the surrounding wilderness.

Finally, the little girl shouted at the top of her lungs, "Dad! Mom! Big brother, the bad snake that ate me is dead! Come on out! Come out!"

Of course, her shouting brought out no father or mother. After yelling for a while and getting no response, the little girl squatted down, hugged her legs, and began to cry in sorrow and grief.

Seeing the child consumed by her tears, Song Ciwan didn't waste any words.

She bent down, lifted the child by the collar of her tunic, and then raised her foot. A ball of mist formed beneath her—this was Cloud Sea Stepping Waves.

Song Ciwan placed the child on the cloud. With a slight movement of her feet, the cloud took flight.

While riding the Cloud Sea Stepping Waves, she plucked a strand of the child's hair and raised her left hand to perform a quick divination.

The strand of hair flew eastward, and so the cloud flew east.

Once one learned an Immortal Technique, many of the world's problems no longer seemed to be problems at all.