There were thousands upon thousands of categories of demons.

There were demons of affliction, shade demons, celestial demons, death demons, sin demons, action demons, karma demons, heart demons, and so on and so forth—an inexplicably large variety.

The demon of affliction, which troubles the mind and allows for no rest, was a formidable type among inner demons, the very root cause of birth and death. The so-called demons of desire and perception obstructed the principle of entering the vacuum of stillness for all sentient beings across the six realms: Heaven, Human, Asura, Hell, Hungry Ghost, and Beast.

Shade demons, conversely, were the Five Aggregates: form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. They were not merely inner demons but also outer demons, for form was an outer demon, while feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness were inner demons—the bitter fruit of birth and death.

Celestial demons resided in the heavens of Mara. Because of their deep attachment to worldly pleasures, they generated all manner of erroneous views and perverse thoughts, harboring hatred and jealousy toward the undying, unceasing Daoist methods of all sages and worthies, seeking to destroy them.

The death demon was the great demon for cultivators. A cultivator might exert supreme effort, yet if their Daoist progress failed, they would instead suffer a premature death and dissipation.

Sin demons were those embodying the sins of killing, stealing, lust, lying, and intoxication.

Each of these demon lords possessed unique functions and characteristics.

The Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons gathered and coiled together the characteristic traits and demonic energies of all these demons, synthesizing them into a single force to assault the enemy. A single such force was terrifying enough; now, to have ten thousand such forces simultaneously operating was a formidable array that struck dread into all who saw it, causing gods themselves to weep in terror.

Lu Yuan had never imagined that, within the body of the Chaos Civilization Beast, he would suddenly hear the voice of the Son of Demons.

The Son of Demons was one of the Seven Sons of Destiny, and perhaps the most mysterious among them.

Lu Yuan secretly calculated that although the Son of Demons had currently laid out the Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons, his main focus must surely be occupied by Senior Brother Kong Ni and Senior Brother Kong Mingde. Even if the Son of Demons was powerful, facing two half-step Civilization Realm experts simultaneously would not be an easy victory. Thus, possessing an inherent righteousness, the Son of Demons likely had no spare attention to address him.

The Son of Demons? He really ought to have a proper meeting with the Son of Demons.

He first needed to refine the surrounding demonic energy. This energy cloaking his body was intensely uncomfortable, like being submerged in a sea of writhing black insects, while various demons assaulted him, inducing nausea. Lu Yuan let out a long shout, summoning the Primordial Script character Zheng (). Instantly, the surrounding demonic energy was refined away.

What a Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons! Just as Lu Yuan had refined away one surge of demonic energy, more materialized, flooding toward him in an endless torrent.

To be honest, if he had not possessed the Primordial Script Zheng, relying only on the righteous energy of his Immortal Sword of Nourishment and the righteousness in his own heart, dealing with such an unending flow of demonic energy would have been truly difficult. But now, possessing Zheng, the ultimate nemesis of the character for ‘demon’ (Mo ), he scarcely cared about the surging tide of demonic energy.

No matter how much demonic energy came, upon encountering Zheng, it was like ice meeting the sun—all of it vanished.

Huh!

What is this?

Lu Yuan noticed that at some point, a spiritual stone had appeared beneath his feet. Yes, truly a Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stone. No, wait, not just one, but multiple Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones, and more kept tumbling down to rest at his feet. Were spiritual stones falling from the sky?

Lu Yuan looked up, but the sky was completely dark, obscured by the Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons.

Could it be that these Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones were provided by the Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons?

But that made no sense. He had only ever heard that the Grand Array was for killing; where had he ever heard that it gifted Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones? Demonic cultivators were hardly philanthropists. If it were an illusion, that was also impossible; possessing Zheng guarded his soul and repelled all deviant and evil methods, so illusions could not affect him.

Then who was providing the Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones?

Lu Yuan was puzzled for a moment, then considered a possibility.

His character Zheng had been continuously transforming the demonic energy.

Demonic energy itself was a form of energy, and Zheng only crushed the malevolent intent within it. This energy itself did not disappear; energy neither vanishes nor appears from nowhere; it is conserved. Since this energy no longer carried demonic intent and would not seep back into the remaining demonic aura, where did it go?

With this realization, the explanation became clear: the inherent energy contained within the demonic energy itself was now transforming into individual Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones and accumulating at his feet.

So that was it.

Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones—of course, he had to take them.

There were countless applications for Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones now: breaking through realms, daily cultivation—which of these did not require them? He could also purchase resources. For instance, the two hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones he won at Immortal Gambling Island had allowed him to buy many resources for advancing his realm.

Furthermore, it was rumored that Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones remained quite useful even after entering the Civilization Realm.

Precisely because of this, if there were Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones available, it would be foolish not to profit.

Lu Yuan immediately urged Zheng to its fullest capacity, powering it with complete vigor to dissolve the surrounding demonic energy. Simultaneously, Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones began appearing as if popcorn were popping. Lu Yuan was ecstatic, never ceasing his efforts. Beneath his feet, the stones multiplied. Lu Yuan continuously swept his divine sense over their accumulating count.

One hundred stones.

One thousand stones.

Three thousand stones.

Five thousand stones.

Ten thousand stones. In the blink of an eye, ten thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones had materialized. Earning this many stones so easily was beyond exhilarating. Lu Yuan naturally continued to activate Zheng relentlessly, seizing more Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones.

Twenty thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones!

Thirty thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones!

Fifty thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones!

One hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones! At this point, Lu Yuan was utterly shocked. That previous occasion at Immortal Gambling Island had established the baseline: one hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones constituted an enormous fortune, enough to buy an absurd quantity of resources. To receive this amount so easily now was something he could never have imagined. Lu Yuan swiftly gathered all one hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones into his New Sword World for safekeeping. Only the stones in his possession were truly his. Having earned one hundred thousand, he felt more satisfied than if he had eaten a Ginseng Fruit; with this many stones, what could he not accomplish?

Lu Yuan was now curious: how much demonic energy could the Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons yield for him to convert into Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones? Logically, a normal demonic array should not be able to sustain this much; even having ten thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones supporting a normal array would be impressive. Yet, even after absorbing one hundred thousand stones, the surrounding darkness of the Grand Array remained unchanged, showing no sign of dimming. This was abnormal.

However, regardless of whether it was normal, to pass up such a massive profit opportunity would be idiotic.

One hundred and fifty thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones! Lu Yuan was truly thrilled, unable to believe he had earned one hundred and fifty thousand. It would normally take others tens of thousands of years to amass such a sum. He recalled that at Immortal Gambling Island, even with his Gambling Clone, he had only earned two hundred thousand in total—and that was the most lucrative haul he’d ever managed. He pressed on.

Two hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones! This matched the haul from Immortal Gambling Island.

Two hundred and fifty thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones! This surpassed the Immortal Gambling Island total.

Three hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones! This completely overshadowed his previous record. Lu Yuan vaguely sensed what was happening but dared not be certain.

Three hundred and fifty thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones!

Four hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones!

Lu Yuan was ecstatic beyond measure; forty thousand stones! This was an unprecedented level of satisfaction. Lu Yuan had basically confirmed one thing: the source of the demonic energy was not located here. It must be coming from the Land of Lost Things, likely transmitted here through some special means, a unique artifact, or perhaps spatial mapping techniques used to inject the demonic energy into this location.

This meant that while he was absorbing massive amounts of Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones here, somewhere in the Land of Lost Things, demonic energy was being continuously pumped in. As long as that supply from the other side was inexhaustible, the demonic energy within the Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons would never cease, allowing him to exploit this huge loophole—and enjoy it immensely.

Five hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones, secured!

In the center of the New Sword World, Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones were piled high, almost forming a mountain range. Gu Gu, the Wind Sprite, slept soundly atop the stones. Wind Sprites, by nature, were extremely fond of Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones and occasionally took small bites. However, even a tiny nibble of the intensely concentrated spiritual energy contained within would take the sprite a full month to barely digest.

......

Meanwhile, in the Land of Lost Things, within the Demonic Civilization.

Within the Demonic Civilization stood a mountain range composed of pure demonic energy—a formation of immense resources, precious even within the Demonic Civilization itself. The owner of this demonic mountain was the Son of Demons.

The Son of Demons was the apprentice of the Lord of the Demonic Civilization and one of the Seven Sons of Destiny, possessing boundless future prospects. Indeed, the Lord of the Demonic Civilization essentially regarded him as his successor. Yes, note this clearly: there existed a Lord of the Demonic Civilization, indicating just how powerful this civilization was.

It was said that the Son of Demons, bold and resourceful, had dared to infiltrate the sacred land of the Central Heavenly Dynasty's civilization. However, the Son of Demons had made ample preparations; should circumstances turn unfavorable, he could withdraw immediately back to the Land of Lost Things. Simultaneously, he had issued an order to establish a spatial mapping station at the demonic energy mountain, intending to project the mountain's resources to form the Grand Array of Annihilation of Ten Thousand Demons.

Now, the countless Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones from the demonic mountain were rapidly vanishing into the spatial mapping station.

The energy consumption was unimaginable.

In such a short time, a full five hundred thousand Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones had been used, causing a significant depletion even in the demonic mountain itself.

Gao De Tianzun, the deputy of the Son of Demons, wore a strange expression. What was going on with the Son of Demons this time? Why did he suddenly consume so many Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Stones? However, the spatial mapping station itself was inherently complex; they could only observe the demonic energy being transmitted, unable to communicate or contact the Son of Demons. Fearing that the Son of Demons might genuinely require such a massive expenditure, they could only allow the surging demonic energy to transform into black dragons and plunge into the spatial mapping station.

These various factors resulted in Lu Yuan reaping unparalleled rewards there, achieving the height of elation.