Demon Taming: Start by synthesizing a Lantern Ghost with Divine and Demonic Talents

Chapter 124 Part 1, 2, 3: The Soul-Disliking Insect, its Third Evolution

After the first round of the competition, everyone was teleported out of the Demon Suppression Tower and back to the floating island.

The place was empty except for the Haotian Mirror overhead, which projected the battle scene inside the Demon Suppression Tower, allowing them to view the live footage of their opponents' matches.

I originally thought the results of the first round would be out quickly.

The members of the Shan Hai Academy team waited for a whole day, and because they were so idle, they got hungry. Li Chunfeng waved his hand, and some daily necessities that he had brought with him during his previous training appeared on the field.

"Oh, barbecue!"

Hu Yifei's appetite was immediately whetted, and he quickly got to work.

Xia Xing hesitated, then said, "Everyone else is still competing, isn't it a bit too presumptuous of us to be having a barbecue here?"

"Then just tell me if you're hungry or not."

Xia Xing shrugged and smiled, "Never mind what I said."

Both women laughed and went over to help with the sauce.

Soon, the aroma of meat filled the air on the floating island.

Even while eating, Li Chunfeng did not remove his mask.

I checked the live stream on my phone and discovered that their eating scene was also being broadcast live.

His face immediately darkened.

With a wave of his hand, a purple cloud of mist enveloped everyone and obscured the view.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few comments on their grilling techniques, and some even criticized them for eating grilled meat at such an important conference. He ignored them all and also saw many people discussing the feasibility of using lantern ghosts as monster pets.

Li Chunfeng was not surprised by this.

There are countless lantern spirits in the world, so how can we prevent others from contracting lantern spirits as well?
However, Li Chunfeng did not approve of others contracting lantern ghosts as their natal demon pets.

When it comes to understanding lantern ghosts, he claims to be second to none.

"No one understands lantern ghosts better than me!"

In his view, the wild lantern ghost's potential limit was already reached if it could become a first-tier demon.

As for the Lantern Ghost, its talent and magic potential are extremely low. Not to mention 'Soul Devouring', out of hundreds of millions of them it has handled, it has never encountered one that exceeds the low-grade mortal level.

Other talents and spells, aside from 'Heart Lamp', 'Soul Fireball', and 'Psychic Shield' which occasionally produce spells of different grades, include 'Phantom Clone', 'Psychic Fist', and 'Beacon Fire', which are no better than 'Soul Devourer'. In fact, their scarcity has repeatedly hindered his soul fusion synthesis plan.

They were probably drawn to the lantern ghost's amazing ability to create phantom clones.

However, this spell is even rarer. While it's not entirely composed of low-grade mortal-level spells like 'Soul Devouring,' mortal-level spells are common, human-level spells are considered geniuses, and spirit-level spells are extremely rare.

Only one in hundreds of millions might possess a Spirit-level phantom clone; to date, no Yellow-level phantom clones have ever been discovered.

A mortal-level phantom clone can split into three illusory clones, which are completely threatening.

A human-level phantom clone can split into nine clones, which no longer dissipate with a gust of wind and possess one-tenth the strength of the original body.

A Spirit-rank Phantom Clone can already create 81 clones, each capable of unleashing nearly 20% of the original's power. The Phantom Clone spell can only be of any help to cultivators at the Spirit rank.

If it's just that the initial quality is low, it's not so bad, there's always a possibility of cultivating it to a higher quality.

Unfortunately, the potential of the Lantern Ghosts is already clearly visible; a first-tier Lantern Ghost is the ceiling for this race. In other words, without extraordinary abilities, a Spirit-level phantom clone is the limit.

Without the blessing of the concept of soul fusion and unification, Li Chunfeng would never have been able to create such a heaven-defying lantern ghost.

Perhaps one day, if the Lantern Burning Lamp becomes the "ancestor" of the Lantern Ghost clan and is willing to sacrifice himself to benefit his descendants, it may be possible to change the upper limit of the Lantern Ghosts' talents!
Mosquito Taoist has now completed a phase of soul fusion, and further improvement will require patient nurturing.

Summon the Mosquito Taoist.

She transformed into human form and landed in Li Chunfeng's palm.

"Little Li, your Mosquito Taoist has advanced too! It's so beautiful!" Chen Lingsu and Jiang Lele, two girls, couldn't bear to look at such a small and cute thing, and came over with love on their faces.

"May I touch her?"

"can."

With permission, Mosquito Taoist landed in Chen Lingsu's palm, shyly covering his face with his sleeve, and gave a graceful bow to the two women.

"Wow, so cute."

"She is such a polite little thumb girl."

"Senior Brother Li, why did Mosquito Daoist advance so quickly?" Jiang Lele asked.

Li Chunfeng said, "It's related to my special talent, but it doesn't apply to you."

He spread his hands and pulled out two large piles of source stones and soul crystals, handing them to the two of them. "I have some snacks here that can promote the growth of ice demons and soul refining vines. You can feed them more often to help them improve their strength quickly."

The two women were overjoyed and quickly thanked them before accepting the gifts.

Hu Yifei and Xia Xing were also seeing Mosquito Daoist's transformed form (in the form of a mosquito during battle) for the first time, and they stared wide-eyed with curiosity as they gathered around to watch.

Unexpectedly, when Mosquito Taoist saw the former, his red eyes suddenly emitted a three-inch red light, causing him to instinctively tremble.

The fear of being sucked blood has rekindled.

He quickly stepped back and went outside, pretending to be focused on grilling the meat, not daring to join in the fun.

Li Chunfeng, however, was not about to let him off the hook. "Hu Yifei, Mosquito Daoist hasn't eaten yet today. Would you like to contribute?"

"Don't even think about it, you dog. I've been sucked so many times, I'm useless to her for a long time."

Li Chunfeng's expression turned serious. "Haven't you made progress again? Cultivating the 'Present Tathagata Sutra' has activated your innate sacred body, and your blood has changed again. Mosquito Daoist has also advanced and can control himself to not inject toxins, but only gently suck blood. This time, it won't hurt you, trust me."

At the same time, he used his mind to communicate with the mosquito spirit.

"嘤嘤~"

Mosquito Daoist understood immediately and hugged Chen Lingsu's little finger affectionately.

As expected, Xiao Chen fell for it, saying with a pitying expression, "She seems really hungry. After all, she's been fighting for so long. We all know that when you're hungry, you eat barbecue, but she hasn't eaten anything. Xiao Li wouldn't lie, Fei... why don't you give it a try?"

Hu Yifei looked embarrassed and reluctant.

In the end, Li Chunfeng succeeded.

"You scoundrel, don't let me see you laugh."

While being drained of blood, Hu barked at Li Chunfeng like a dog.

Li Chunfeng's sinister grin vanished instantly beneath his mask. "You've mistaken me for someone else."

"Humph."

Li Chunfeng said calmly, "If you keep squealing like a pig, Mosquito Taoist's poison will get out of control."

Hu Yifei choked, and immediately dared not hum anymore.

After the mosquito Taoist finished sucking the blood, it flew back, completely satisfied.

Li Chunfeng also checked her attributes.

[Blood Feast Evolution: (High-grade Mystic Rank: 2/15)]

Traits: Blood Origin, Evolutionary Forge (36→50/50).

After ten rounds of fierce battles, she has absorbed enough nutrients to meet the conditions for another evolution.

Li Chunfeng glanced up at the scenes on other battlefields. The fastest team had only just cleared the third level, and it would probably take a long time.

Let the Mosquito Taoist undergo its third evolution.

On the branches of the golden tree in its third evolution, some changes have appeared again.

In this evolution, he discovered that, in addition to being able to choose one of the three options at the third fork,

Another option is to enhance the existing 'Indestructible Vajra Defense' or 'Shadow Flash'.

The three options are: Divine Sense Poison Mixed with Poison / White Ze's Eye / Shadow Instant Escape!

After a moment's thought, Li Chunfeng understood the origin of the latter two.

The Eye of Bai Ze, presumably, stems from the special physique of the young boy Feng Yan. He'd always found his sensory abilities somewhat strange; could it be related to the legendary mythical beast Bai Ze? He knew that some ancient families, in order to ensure the continuation of their bloodline, had once researched the forbidden blood-transfer technique, transplanting powerful divine beast bloodlines into their own bloodlines to benefit future generations.

However, that ancient forbidden technique, due to its severe side effects, has long been eliminated from modern methods.

The Feng family must be that kind of family.

The legendary Eye of Bai Ze possesses the ability to see through everything, and can see all the secrets and future signs of the world.

Even if Feng Yan's bloodline doesn't reach that level, he should still possess considerable abilities.

However, after weighing the options, Li Chunfeng still chose 'Shadow Escape'.

This ability was obtained from the bloodline of the Void Shadow Wolf Demon, and it was also the evolutionary branch that Li Chunfeng had longed for.

Shadow Escape is a technique that allows one to escape quickly by using the power of darkness, or even teleport short distances.

When paired with 'hidden and inconspicuous', they complement each other perfectly.

This can ensure the safety of mosquito-borne patients to a greater extent.

After choosing her evolutionary path, she was enveloped in a familiar blood cocoon and then sent into her soul aperture by Li Chunfeng to recuperate.

Li Chunfeng also entered a meditative state, sinking his consciousness into his inner world, where thunder and lightning continued to rumble.

Previously.

When he upgraded the 'Soul Devouring' skill of the Burning Lamp from mid-grade Earth Rank to high-grade Earth Rank, he consumed more than 129.14 million Lantern Ghosts.

To upgrade 'Soul Devourer' from Upper Earth Rank to Lower Heaven Rank, more than 387.42 million Lantern Ghosts are needed.

He had already fused with over 1.43 million souls.

Now, by synthesizing another 2.44 million, it will be enough to upgrade 'Soul Devourer' to the lower-grade Heaven Rank.

The low-grade Heavenly Rank 'Soul Devourer'—it remains to be seen what kind of changes it will bring to him.

And can the Earth-Rank 3 'Phantom Clone' be upgraded?

All of these are unknowns.

Before we knew it, another day and night had passed, and the second qualifying team was finally determined.

They are from the Shun Emperor Academy team in Leize Prefecture.

They suffered considerable losses, including the injury of two substitute players.

As soon as they stepped outside, they smelled a faint aroma of grilled meat, which puzzled them. But Hu Yifei, with a cheeky grin, took out some grilled meat skewers, stepped out of the Purple Clouds and Smoke Robe's range, and started eating them right in front of them, making annoying smacking noises.

The expressions on their faces immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

"Get some rest and get back in shape as soon as possible. We still have a second round to compete in!"

The magnetic and steady voice of Lei Runsheng, the captain of the Shundi Academy team, quickly calmed the team members down, and they all sat down cross-legged to regulate their breathing.

"You've come out quite early, sir. Your strength is truly extraordinary." Lei Runsheng politely cupped his hands in greeting to Hu Yifei.

Hu Yifei said arrogantly, "It's nothing special, except that I waited for you for a whole day and night."

Lei Runsheng was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. "I admire you. I look forward to our next match."

Having said that, he ignored Hu Yifei's provocation.

Another day passed, and the other teams repeatedly showed their talent.

For example, the Tianhe Academy team from Guixu Continent has a captain whose pet is a spirit-dispelling insect with extremely strange talents. It can cast magical spells similar to a magic-suppressing aura. If the magic-suppressing aura is placed on a single individual, it can also weaken the enemy's strength. It has repeatedly made great contributions in battle.

The Tianhe Academy team also complemented this cultivator's lineup, including several powerful melee fighters.

It is widely speculated that if anyone can stop the Shan Hai Academy team, the Tian He Academy team will definitely be among them.

Hu Yifei and the others were also worried that Li Chunfeng would be restrained by the magic-suppressing domain.

Li Chunfeng, however, remained calm throughout.

He was more concerned with the evolution of the Mosquito Taoist, and the blood cocoon finally fell off in the second soul aperture.

Mosquito Man has successfully completed its third evolution.

The shadowy spots on its six wings are a manifestation of the power of the void and shadow.

[Blood Feast Evolution: (High-grade Mystic Rank: 3/15)]

Traits: Blood Origin, Evolutionary Furnace (0/100).

[Spell: Shadow Escape (High-Grade Yellow)!]

'Shadow Escape' starts at the high-grade Yellow rank, truly a bloodline talent ability of a high-level demon race.

This time it's an evolution value.

Another half day passed, and the final seven teams were finally determined.

The remaining twenty teams were defeated and eliminated.

Although it's a bit of a shame, there's no room for mercy in competition.

At this moment, a huge Azure Cloud Ranking appeared above their heads, and it was the first to record their team members into it.

From twenty-seventh place all the way down to eighth place.

Even though luck has turned against us, the trip wasn't in vain.

The final seven teams, in order of qualification, are:

The teams are: Shanhai Academy of the Shanhai Continent, Shundi Academy of the Leize Continent, Tianhe Academy of the Guixu Continent, Huangdi Academy of the Zhulu Continent, Luoshen Academy of the Wushan Continent, Jiuyang Academy of the Cangwu Continent, and Dongjun Academy of the Fusang Continent.

They were all the chosen ones of their respective provinces.

After the rankings were announced, everyone regarded the Shan Hai Academy team as their biggest rival.

In the second round of the finals, the teams faced off, and the team that advanced as the first-place team, Shan Hai Academy, received a bye.

The second-place team plays against the seventh-place team, and so on.

This competition format may seem unfair, but the advantages are all earned through hard work, so it's perfectly reasonable.

On the dragon boat of Shan Hai Bu Zhou, Huang Tianhe and others were also paying attention to the changes on the battlefield. "It seems that Li Chunfeng and his team are very likely to win the championship in this team competition!"

Shen Zhibai was cautious, saying, "We still need to see if Guixu's Tianhe team can cause trouble for Li Chunfeng and his group."

Huang Tianhe said, "Li Chunfeng's close combat ability is not weak. Once he is silenced, his second natal demon pet can make up for his speed disadvantage, not to mention that Hu Yifei is by his side. This guy's physique is very strange and should not be underestimated."

Yu Shishi said, "But it cannot be denied that Tianhe Team is the last suspense in their championship race."

Huang Tianhe said, "Perhaps the two teams will not necessarily meet."

"That's the ideal outcome."

Feng Yan said, "Last time, Li Chunfeng and his group were ambushed, and it is said that they were seriously injured. This time, his natal demon pet has shown extraordinary potential, and I'm afraid it will be added to the demon race's kill list."

Yu Shishi let out a soft "Eh?" and asked, "Didn't you say the injury was healed?"

She looked at Shen Zhibai.

Shen Zhibai shook his head: "It's not convenient to disclose. Since Brother Li has been wearing a mask from beginning to end, he probably thought of this long ago."

As the battle began, the group quieted down.

Li Chunfeng watched the battle quietly, his heart unmoved.

Throughout his journey, apart from losing to Lu Yun'er, he has never been defeated.

Especially after mastering the Burning Lamp Split Technique, he is fearless in the face of any challenge.

But frankly, his fighting style is nothing more than a different world version of the drone swarm tactics from his previous life. Even so, at this stage...

His opponents are no longer his peers.

(End of this chapter)