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

Chapter 228, Part 227: The Snow Festival, the Dragon's Qi and Fortune
Forest Nest.

This is the largest tree in the entire Dark Forest, and also the ancestral home of the Cat Spirit Tribe.

But the largest tree did not grow on the ground, but was buried deep underground.

Li Chunfeng stood in his nest under the tree.

Although the underground is somewhat dark, it's not entirely devoid of light. The vast root system of the entire forest intertwines and interlocks, forming a unique underground city-like nest, where countless dark mosses emit a faint glow in the darkness. Furthermore, the passageways are inlaid with sparkling, cat-eye-like gems, radiating light like luminous pearls. Overall, the underground is not dark at all.

Deep underground, geothermal energy constantly heats this nest-like city, keeping the interior at a comfortable temperature and free from the cold of the outside.

The fighting outside is coming to an end, and someone will handle the aftermath.

Li Chunfeng then traveled to the heart of this nest city—the Forest Nest.

Countless vines shimmered with a ghostly blue light, spreading outwards like a cage, collectively protecting the vine tree at the very center.

[The Undying Vine: An eighth-tier spirit tree, a branch of the Undying Tree. Born from the spiritual bones of the Undying Tree, it contains the power of life and death. Consuming its fruit has a 50% chance of restoring one to full health, regardless of the severity of the injury, but also a 50% chance of resulting in the soul being annihilated and never to be reincarnated.]

This is one of the Cat Spirit Tribe's most core secrets.

Li Chunfeng refined the primordial spirit of the cat spirit witch and scanned its memories, thus learning how to enter this place.

His gaze then shifted, and his senses landed deep within the roots of the Immortal Vine.

Buried beneath this dark soil are countless skeletons. At the very core lies an inconspicuous bone with a strange shape, resembling not an animal skeleton but rather a plant.

His telekinetic hand reached down, intending to remove the plant bone.

The Undying Vine instinctively developed a rebellious spirit, its massive roots thrashing wildly like giant tentacles, but how could these methods withstand Li Chunfeng?

The immense soul pressure was released, fixing all the roots in mid-air.

A piece of dry bone easily broke through the soil and fell into his hand.

[Fragment of the Undying Tree: A fragment of the Undying Tree, one of the ten ancient spiritual roots, containing immense death energy.]

There are also records of the Immortal Tree in the Earthly Realm. Legend has it that this ancient spiritual root grows extremely slowly, and its fruit can grant immortality, but it can only survive in the Netherworld. Once it leaves the Netherworld, it will turn into bones.

Li Chunfeng immediately thought of the Death Realm.

Plants are rarely seen in the dead realm, and even if they are, they are shade-loving plants.

I wonder if this fragment of the immortal tree can be revitalized in the realm of the dead?

He solemnly took out a jade box, put the fragment of the immortal tree into it, and then put it into his fingernail.

Without this piece of the immortal tree bone, the immortal vine immediately withered considerably.

The fruit on it has long been picked clean, and it's questionable whether it will continue to grow if there is no supply of death energy.

To cultivate it to bloom and bear fruit again would inevitably require countless costs.

Despite its many shortcomings, its unique value as an eighth-order spirit wood cannot be overshadowed.

Those who are healthy and unharmed naturally wouldn't consider it. But those suffering from incurable injuries, especially powerful individuals with injuries to their soul or path, would probably be quite willing to gamble on the 50/50 chance.

"If a sacrifice is made..."

Li Chunfeng shook his head. Offering sacrifices to the Dragon God could yield many things. There were plenty of demon beast corpses; there was no need to use such precious items.

He bypassed this area, entered a deep cave, and after winding around, soon arrived at a huge nest.

This is the sleeping place of the cat spirit, surrounded by altars and braziers.

The fire in the brazier had gone out, and the statue used for sacrificial rites had crumbled with the death in battle. But behind the enormous statue, a black throne statue still stood.

'Cunning!'

[The throne statue of the Goddess of Death, which ascended to the upper realm with divine fire, contains a fragment of the Throne of Death!]

[The Otherworldly Anchor Point of the Goddess of Death!]

A sincere prayer may receive an answer from the goddess of death; remember to bring offerings, for she delights in war.

After reading the message, Li Chunfeng was quite startled.

"The background of this Cat Spirit Tribe is no less impressive than that of Dragon Horn!"

Li Chunfeng noticed a fruit plate below the altar.

On the fruit platter were several strange fruits, which were the spirit fruits of the Immortal Vine.

However, before he could even pick them up, a gust of wind blew them away, and the fruits turned to ashes and vanished completely.

Li Chunfeng found it somewhat troublesome.

Having something like this around is like carrying a time bomb; it must be dealt with as soon as possible.

It's hard to throw it away, so we need to think of a foolproof way to make the most of it.

The next day.

clear.

The desolate region, frozen for months, was once again bathed in the divine sun, and the thick ice and snow began to melt rapidly.

The remnants of the Cat Spirit Tribe have all been captured and taken back to the Dragon Horn Tribe.

The people who stayed behind in the tribe joyfully welcomed the heroes' triumphant return.

As they watched batch after batch of prisoners being brought back, the slaves of the Black Flame Tribe felt a sense of déjà vu, which only deepened their complicated emotions.

When it comes to dealing with prisoners, Longjiao can be described as "very experienced," especially with this batch of Cat Spirit prisoners, most of the strong ones had died in battle, and most of the survivors were women.

Most of them were graceful, with clear voices and soft bodies, cat ears on their heads and tails behind their backs, a stark contrast to the rugged style of the Dragon Horn Tribe. Even when these cat spirit girls were scolding someone, the men and women of the Dragon Horn Tribe could hear it as them being coquettish.

These honest and simple men, born and raised in the mountains, had never seen the myriad charms of the "little civet cat" born in the forest, and they all fell for her.

They were all prisoners of war, destined for slavery. Yet, the Dragon Horn Tribe treated them several times better than the Black Flame Tribe slaves.

If this is a sugar-coated bullet, then it's exactly what they want.

The Dragon Horn Tribe has some manners, but it depends on the person. If Li Chunfeng hadn't been so strict with the rules, who knows what unsavory incidents might have occurred.

Li Chunfeng's rule over the tribes was still short-lived, and it would take time to completely transform them.

Fortunately, having had this experience of fighting together, Li Chunfeng stopped holding back and directly allowed the Dragon Horn Tribe and the Dragon Lantern Base to quickly merge. A large number of elites from the Earthly Realm entered Dragon Horn, bringing about even more drastic changes.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, and the benefits of the war were being rapidly absorbed.

Li Chunfeng also completely refined the souls of Xiangjue and the cat spirit, gaining some of their memories.

Elephant Jue's memory is vast, after all, he is an old fellow who has lived for more than eight hundred years.

Li Chunfeng's two lifetimes combined amounted to less than fifty years. To avoid corrupting his own soul's memories, he couldn't possibly experience all of his vast memories spanning hundreds of years; he could only selectively peruse the fragments he needed.

"So their prodigy Blood Elephant has already left. What a pity!"

"Wow, Blood Elephant Boy has such an amazing talent for sensing good fortune and avoiding misfortune."

It was this talent that allowed Li Chunfeng to be repeatedly foiled when he attempted a kidnapping. The other party's actions were so precisely anticipated that Li Chunfeng almost mistook them for a spy among his own ranks.

"If they've run away, then so be it."

The Moonlight Spirit Elephant Tribe is located far south of the Panlong Mountains, an immeasurable distance from the northern part of the desolate region. Even if they were to travel thousands of miles to reach this place, they could not possibly send all their elite troops.

After all, large tribes also have their own troubles. The abyssal giants are quite active in the wasteland. Small tribes don't feel it as much because their primary targets are those large tribes with huge ambitions.

With such a formidable enemy at hand, the chances of sending the clan's guardian king, the Spirit Emperor, away from the tribe are slim.

Li Chunfeng learned about the Moonlight Elephant Tribe from Xiangjue's memories, gaining a deeper understanding of the strength of large tribes.

A sixth-tier Spirit King can only be considered a mid-level power, while Blood Elephant is a descendant of a seventh-tier Spirit Emperor, a true descendant of royal blood.

The essence of the Moonlight Spirit Elephant lies in the existence of an eighth-tier Spirit Venerable and an eighth-tier symbiotic Moonlight Spirit Elephant.

He usually secluded himself in his ancestral land for many years, and would not easily come out unless he encountered a catastrophe that would wipe out his clan.

The Moonlight Spirit Elephant tribe rarely mobilizes its sacrificial deity. In Xiangjue's memory, the few times the sacrificial deity was invoked, it was always a momentous and earth-shattering event.

The more Li Chunfeng learned, the heavier his heart felt.

Moreover, the experience of taking advantage of the situation to conquer the Cat Spirit Tribe also gave Li Chunfeng a lot of experience and lessons.

The Spirit Clan's rituals are like opening a blind box; one wrong move and you might encounter an unknown, powerful descendant of a deity. Fortunately, the Cat Spirit Clan's true backer has already ascended to heaven. The Cat Spirit Clan is merely one of the Death Goddess's kin; a deity who controls the Great Dao of Death must have many kin, which is why they haven't paid much attention to this small tribe born in the northern wilderness.

However, if they want to target other tribes in the future, they must first find out the details of the other tribe's religious practices.

Otherwise, you might run into a brick wall.

Li Chunfeng also learned the truth about the cause of Kunpeng's fall from Xiangjue's memory.

"Kunpeng is not dead; it is actually attracting those with great fortune to complete its rebirth!"

"This is truly an irresistible and powerful opportunity for the young prodigies of the Spirit Clan, a meteoric rise to the top!"

This Kunpeng is a remnant of an ancient divine beast, possessing immense power. It is estimated that it is only one step away from igniting its divine fire and ascending to heaven.

The ignition of divine fire in the Spirit Realm is equivalent to the Yang God Realm in the Earthly Realm.

Unfortunately, after this fall, a fresh start seems a long way off.

Meanwhile, these large tribes' arrival in the north was merely a preliminary exploration. Once the Kunpeng Nirvana Ceremony begins, a tremendous upheaval will occur throughout the northern wilderness.

The Kunpeng Secret Realm will reappear in the world.

There's also the possibility of an abyssal behemoth attacking.

The northern part of the desolate region was never peaceful again.

As for the cat spirit's sacrificial soul, its memories were incredibly chaotic, filled with images of slumber, sacrifice, and prayer, possessing an extremely powerful bewitching effect. Even in death, Li Chunfeng dared not peruse it extensively. Since it offered little nutritional value, he simply refined it completely.

Ten days after the snow season ended, the temperature rose rapidly, and the ten-foot-deep snow quickly melted. Even children wrapped in blankets didn't feel cold when they went out.

The Luolong River has regained its surging momentum.

Spring arrived so quickly, and everything seemed to come alive again.

Excellent people can quickly stand out wherever they go.

After the last battle, Tai Shiboren and more than a dozen other Yin God Realm cultivators quickly distinguished themselves.

Those who make contributions will be rewarded.

Li Chunfeng was generous; since the man was capable, he simply entrusted him with important responsibilities, allowing him to become a hands-off manager.

The Dragon Lantern Base is still too small to accommodate more elites from the Earthly Realm.

Now that the Cat Spirits have been defeated, the second Star Guiding Array project can be launched.

He plans to use the Dark Forest as a base to build a second Star Attraction Base.

After all, he was from the Kunlun lineage, so even Li couldn't be completely selfless; he inevitably showed favoritism in private.

He simply appointed two senior Kunlun students, Taishi Bolun and Feng Gongsi, to be in charge of this matter, with others assisting.

No one objected.

Even if they had some ulterior motives before, after witnessing Li Chunfeng effortlessly slaughter several sixth-level experts, they had no such thoughts left.

Although everyone is at the same level, their actual status is no longer on the same level.

Knowing that someone like Li Chunfeng is one in a thousand years, he would surely become a Yang God seed in the future, and the seed sequence would definitely be extremely high.

After all, these people were already the pride of their generation, accustomed to the treatment of geniuses, far ahead of their peers, and rarely matched in their own realm. Ordinary fourth-level cultivators wouldn't even catch their eye. Now, encountering Li Chunfeng, they could better understand just how difficult it was to reach someone far stronger than them.

After receiving Li Chunfeng's military orders, everyone began to get busy.

After the snowstorm, the tribe will soon welcome one of the biggest annual festivals, the Snowstorm Festival.

The Snow Festival is the second most important sacrificial ceremony after the Fire Festival. ...In fact, there is no distinction in importance; all sacrifices are of paramount importance to the Spirit Clan tribes.

Since Li Chunfeng took over the tribe last year, the tribe has won two major battles, conquering two other tribes, and the tribe's population has surged to over 70,000 (including the Dragon Lantern Base). After this sacrificial ceremony, the flame of destiny will surely burn even brighter.

Li Chunfeng was also very much looking forward to this sacrificial ceremony.

The entire tribe is busy with this.

On this side of the Earthly Realm, many people are witnessing the rituals of the Spirit Clan tribe for the first time. While trying to integrate, they also find it incredibly novel.

They are still disguised as members of the Spirit Clan, but they are not true members of the Spirit Clan.

It's easy to make a fuss over nothing.

What impressed Tai Shiboren the most these past two days was that many totem warriors who were usually unkempt and looked like barbarians had dressed themselves up very neatly. Even if their animal skins were not good and had patches, they were clean, and their hair, regardless of length, was combed.

On the day of the Snow Festival, the entire tribe was filled with singing and dancing.

Families of all sizes would drag their children out of bed and throw them into the icy river, scrubbing them vigorously with large brushes.

The sacrificial ceremony is held at night, and the snow festival bathing is a tribal tradition.

"Taishi, why are you still dressed like this? Let me give you a necklace of spirit fangs." Commander Hao, who had fought alongside him, saw Taishi Bolun wandering around and immediately grabbed him, enthusiastically taking off the necklace of fangs he was wearing and putting it around Taishi Bolun's neck.

"No... no need."

"No need to be polite. The sacrificial ceremony is a big day, so we must dress up. ... That's right, that's more like it."

Tai Shiberon looked at the necklace hanging around his neck with some resistance.

However, upon seeing Commander Hao's actions, several bolder dragon-horned girls immediately took off the bright feathers that were stuck in their hair and boldly stuck them on Taishiberun's head.

This left the handsome young man somewhat at a loss.

Hehe, haha~

Suddenly, a clear laugh came from afar, attracting the attention of many people.

Taishi Bolun turned around and saw Li Chunfeng's demon pet, Taiyi, leading a chubby little boy in purple clothes. A tiny mosquito girl, no bigger than a thumb, was flying in the air, and several demon spirits were following behind the child king, Xingling, frolicking around. Behind them were the tribe's children, all dressed in their finest clothes, their faces beaming with joy.

As the group moved, it grew larger and larger, with more and more little kids joining in.

All the totem warriors along the way bowed respectfully to them.

Even those who came from the Dragon Lantern Base were no exception.

The horned boy on his head is actually a true dragon of dragon blood. Even though he's only at the fifth rank, he single-handedly suppressed a sixth-rank Moonlight Spirit Elephant in the last battle, demonstrating his immense strength. The chubby little boy has even saved many lives with his clones, earning him even more respect.

Mosquito Taoist has not yet shown her prowess, but as one of the commander's natal demon pets, and given how powerful the former two are, she must also have extraordinary abilities.

No one dares to underestimate them.

Xingling, on the other hand, looks like a grown woman, but she is actually only a few years old. She is innocent and romantic, and is loved by many.

They called on their friends and had a great time.

This left countless cultivators of the Divine Soul with mixed feelings.

into the night.

Every household is brightly lit.

Countless lanterns lit up the entire mountainside. From a distance, it looked like a bustling downtown area.

When Li Chunfeng arrived in full regalia, Lin Shan, Jing Min'er, Taishi Bolun, Feng Gongsi, and others almost didn't recognize him.

Li Chunfeng's adornments surpassed those of other tribesmen.

She wore a crown of spirit feathers made of some kind of demonic bird, several necklaces of animal bones around her neck, and an extremely brightly colored cloak adorned with spirit feathers all over her body.

Besides his clothing, his face was also covered with dragon horn totem patterns, as if dragon patterns were crawling across his face, including his forehead, nose, and chin. A halo appeared in the center of his brow, with shadows writhing within it, as if a third eye had been opened.

Seeing Li Chunfeng dressed like this, the people of the Earthly Realm realized that they had been too conservative.

There are also spirit races in the Earthly Realm, but their customs have long been assimilated, and few still retain this kind of tradition.

So, to be honest, this was the first time that Taishibern and the others had participated in a sacrificial ceremony of a spirit tribe from another world, and it was a very novel experience for them.

The number of participants in this sacrificial ceremony has surged to tens of thousands.

The queue stretched from the top of the mountain to the bottom, and the original space was clearly insufficient.

Those who fall behind simply cannot get on.

As everyone was scrambling to climb, colorful mist suddenly rose from the foot of the mountain, forming clouds that carried figures into the air.

Nearly 70,000 people were all lifted into the air and arranged in a fan shape to surround the fire basin altar, participating in the sacrificial ceremony together.

The sacrificial ceremony begins.

Last year during the Fire Festival, Jiao Xuan presided over the main hall.

This year, Li Chunfeng is hosting the show alone.

Under the somewhat strange gaze of his fellow Earthly Realm comrades, Li Chunfeng, with a devout and solemn expression, opened his arms and began to sing and dance.

The people of the Dragon Horn tribe suddenly went from being excited to tense. Everyone kept their mouths tightly shut and even their breathing was careful, for fear of affecting the shaman's chanting.

As he chanted, Li Chunfeng felt his connection with a dragon god in the dark becoming increasingly clear.

However, the strangest thing was yet to come.

The flames in the fire pit leaped and tumbled, rapidly expanding outwards and burning over everyone's heads.

Including the explorers of the Earthly Realm.

Some people were startled and instinctively tried to flick the flames, but their hands passed right through the flames and they grabbed nothing.

This fire is an illusion.

They made a huge blunder.

Feeling the strange gazes from the surrounding Dragon Horn Tribe members, he felt a little embarrassed, then pretended to join in.

There were also accusing glances from those around: "If this were someone infiltrating another tribe, they would probably already be suspected."

Do what you do and love what you do.

Look at the Commander, isn't he completely dedicated?

As Li Chunfeng's chanting deepened, countless people joined in, and the atmosphere in the tribe rose higher and higher, becoming increasingly passionate and excited.

The Black Flame Tribe, the first to be captured, saw an increasing number of members kneeling in prayer, joining the ranks of those who had already surrendered, accepting their fate and preparing for a new life, except for those who had already surrendered. The Cat Spirit Tribe, having just surrendered, had not yet recovered from their grief, and fewer members surrendered.

And after Li Chunfeng started the sacrificial ceremony.

The vortex of flames spread downwards, completely enveloping and swallowing the offerings.

Li Chunfeng's consciousness was also pulled into that chaotic space.

Ahead was the familiar triangular altar, surrounded by crimson lightning chains.

He recited the final prayer with practiced ease, “…Great Dragon God, I offer this sacrifice to you!”

Countless mysterious runes rose from the altar space, amidst billowing fog and crimson lightning.

After the fog dissipated, three orbs of light appeared before him, from which he could choose one.

[Fortune] [Dragon Energy] [Inheritance]!
In the first round, Li Chunfeng chose [Luck].

As Li Chunfeng selected the reward.

outside world.

People saw the flames in the sky instantly increase more than a hundredfold, forming a huge totem in the sky, which was the flaming dragon head totem that was faintly visible in the clouds.

Li Chunfeng felt streams of seven-colored fortune falling into the broken jade disc, and his own fortune began to surge.

A rough estimate shows that the number of luck points has surged from 49,000 to over 100,000.

This number isn't much.

After all, Li Chunfeng had brought along the base's forces for this sacrificial ceremony, hoping to gather their fortune as well.

It appears to have failed.

The sacrificial ceremony was not over.

After all, Li had been preparing for this for a long time.

Then, one powerful offering after another was presented.

There are undead and monsters.

Taiyi, despite his small stature, personally carried the largest Moonlight Spirit Elephant onto the altar, stood beside Li Chunfeng, and looked expectantly at the brazier.

After a slight hesitation, Li Chunfeng still placed the statue of the Ascended Goddess of Death onto the altar. The people of the Cat Spirit Tribe below stirred slightly upon seeing the statues, but this was quickly suppressed by the totem warriors nearby. With a somersault cloud, the unruly individuals were sent away, ensuring the ritual could proceed as planned.

Li Chunfeng was also somewhat uneasy. Could he use the pretext of sacrifice to get rid of this time bomb?
Then consciousness was pulled into the altar.

The lightning on the altar was exceptionally intense this time, as the throne statue contained a true fragment of the throne of death, a time-space anchor, and the thoughts of a deity.

Can it be digested?

Look forward to.

Boom~
In a daze, Li Chunfeng seemed to see those dragon-like vertical pupils again.

Whether it was a misperception or not, this time the moo of the two dragons wasn't entirely cold; it also carried a hint of satisfaction.

The three-choice reward reappears.

Choose [Dragon Aura]!
Perhaps it was this round of offerings that scratched the dragon god's itch.

Outside, a massive dragon shadow rose from the flames, transforming into a seven-colored dragon-shaped radiance that landed on Li Chunfeng's brow and entered his inner world. He then transferred it to Taiyi.

"hold head high!"

Taiyi seemed to have taken a powerful tonic, but he overdid it. Stimulated by the immense dragon energy, he couldn't help but transform into a dragon.

It manifested a colossal dragon body, thousands of feet tall, moving in and out of the clouds.

The immense power of the true dragon bloodline left countless people stunned.

The Toad Festival and the Ten Thousand Snakes Yellow Merchant stood together.

They felt a complex mix of emotions when they saw Taiyi flying in the sky.

Thinking back to how he was blinded by greed when he saw this true dragon bloodline and dared to plot against this person, which led to his current predicament, he wanted to slap himself a few times.

Li Chunfeng's decision on Huang Shang's fate is still pending, as the man's injuries are too severe and he will need some time to recover.

Li Chunfeng was not afraid of him regaining his strength.

After all, Ran Deng's Soul Devouring talent was already at the Heavenly Gang Divine Power level, and the Death Soul Curse Seal had become an unbreakable curse unless Huang Shang's comprehension of the Soul Dao was even stronger than Ran Deng's.

As for the Toad Festival, it has recently been in contact with the Dragon Lantern Spirit Clan's spirit shaman arranged by Li Chunfeng, and the various novel products have truly excited him.

He also has higher expectations for future expansion.

Upon seeing the true dragon, Huang Shang felt an even stronger longing for his dead spirit snake. Alas, he was now a prisoner.

"O Serpent Ancestor, bless the believers so that they may one day regain their freedom."

The appearance of the real dragon brought the Snow Festival rituals to a climax.

(End of this chapter)