Chapter 478: The Flower Demon Awakens (Part 1)
After leaving Ye Zhiqiu's room, Yang Haoran returned to his study. He leaned back in his chair, a delicate small bottle resting on the table before him.
The bottle was transparent throughout, and inside, a green liquid was clearly visible, occupying more than half of the bottle's space.
While "more than half" might sound like a lot, it was actually just a gulp or two for an adult. Although not a large quantity, this green liquid was incredibly precious.
Of course, this so-called preciousness was only in the eyes of Demon Hunters. For anyone else who acquired this liquid, it held no value whatsoever, unless they intended to trade or sell it to a Demon Hunter.
To put it bluntly, this green liquid was only useful to Demon Hunters.
This green liquid had a name: Demon Spirit Liquid.
Demon Spirit Liquid was a product refined by Demon Hunters using special techniques. The Demon Pill was its primary and sole ingredient. The refining process involved special methods to alter the Demon Pill's properties, making it more suitable for Demon Hunters who possessed Star Spirit Power to consume without negative side effects.
Once successfully refined, the Demon Pill, due to its altered properties, would also change form, transforming from a solid into a liquid. The liquid obtained after this transformation was the Demon Spirit Liquid.
Yang Haoran was not a Demon Hunter, nor could he refine Demon Spirit Liquid. The Demon Spirit Liquid on his table had naturally been obtained from the Second Brother's spatial pouch.
Initially, Yang Haoran had intended to give this half-full bottle of Demon Spirit Liquid to Ye Zhiqiu. However, after careful consideration, he decided against it, choosing instead to present all the Demon Weapons he had acquired from this trip to Ye Zhiqiu.
His original idea was to give Ye Zhiqiu some of the lower-grade Demon Weapons. As for the high-grade Demon Weapons, such as the Eldest Brother's copper hammers, he planned to find an opportunity to sell them. Although the copper hammers were a Lifebound Demon Armament with an owner, their high grade made them excellent material for other Demon Hunters to devour and absorb to enhance their own Lifebound Demon Armaments, thus guaranteeing a good price.
After careful thought, he abandoned this idea and decided to give all the Demon Weapons to Ye Zhiqiu, including the pair of copper hammers that were on the verge of advancing to four Demon Markings.
There were three reasons for his decision.
First, he wanted to use this method to close the distance between himself and Ye Zhiqiu, achieving his goal of subtly influencing him.
Second, he wanted to use this method to enhance Ye Zhiqiu's strength. Only when Ye Zhiqiu's strength increased could many of their plans be carried out more effectively, bringing him greater returns.
Third, as he had told Ye Zhiqiu, it was indeed to strengthen Ye Zhiqiu's Demon Armament. The words he had just spoken to Ye Zhiqiu were not meant to deceive him.
Once a Demon Armament was strengthened, it would become sharper and more resilient, less prone to damage. This would ensure the safety of the female demon within the sword.
Yang Haoran had no prior connection with the female demon and had never known her. His concern for her safety, of course, stemmed entirely from Ye Zhiqiu.
Because the female demon could not die. If she truly suffered Soul Transformation, Ye Zhiqiu's spiritual pillar would collapse. At that point, what reason would Ye Zhiqiu have to follow him?
And what could he use to keep him?
In that situation, he would, more likely than not, lose Ye Zhiqiu, his powerful assistant.
Therefore, the female demon could not die, at least not within these next ten years.
As for after ten years, once his transaction with Ye Zhiqiu was complete, whether he would care about the lives of Ye Zhiqiu and the female demon would depend on Ye Zhiqiu's choices at that time.
If Ye Zhiqiu chose to continue following him, then Ye Zhiqiu and the female demon's affairs would become his affairs, and he would do everything in his power to resolve their problems.
If Ye Zhiqiu chose to leave, given Yang Haoran's character, he certainly wouldn't be able to remain indifferent to their lives or deaths, but he would act within his capabilities.
Since he was willing to give all the Demon Weapons to Ye Zhiqiu, why not give the Demon Spirit Liquid as well?
Yang Haoran had his own considerations regarding this. If he gave away all the good things at once, what would he give next time?
Giving once was giving, giving twice was also giving, but was it better to give two precious things at once, or to give them separately on two occasions?
Some people might choose to give them all at once, believing it would have a greater impact.
But Yang Haoran's choice was different. He chose to give them on two separate occasions, because he didn't want the momentary shock; he wanted a prolonged, gradual influence.
Therefore, he did not give this half-full bottle of Demon Spirit Liquid to Ye Zhiqiu immediately. Instead, he planned to find the most suitable opportunity in the future to give it to Ye Zhiqiu, as the effect would undoubtedly be far superior to simply handing it over casually.
The Demon Spirit Liquid offered no help to his own strength, nor did it have any effect on Bai Xue. This half-full bottle of Demon Spirit Liquid was specifically reserved for Ye Zhiqiu. He only temporarily kept it in his hands to maximize its value, but he would eventually give it to Ye Zhiqiu.
Of course, this was predicated on Ye Zhiqiu not betraying him before then.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Yang Haoran prepared to make a trip to Ancheng to pay Xu Meijing a New Year's visit. If possible, he hoped to stay there for a few days to deepen their relationship.
Although his body was still a long way from fully recovering to its peak, it was much better than when he had just returned from Xinyang City. As long as he didn't deliberately expose it or engage in combat with others, it would be difficult for anyone to discover he was injured.
Precisely because of this, Yang Haoran had the idea of visiting Ancheng, as he felt a New Year's visit would be more meaningful.
However, what he hadn't expected was that Xu Meijing was even busier than him. According to Xu Meijing, she had left early yesterday morning, and her current trip would take a considerable amount of time before she could return, because she had found a Place of Extreme Yin capable of refining a Soul-Refining Cauldron.
Xu Meijing was eager to refine the Soul-Refining Cauldron, and Yang Haoran understood this. Therefore, he was very understanding of her actions. However, Xu Meijing's departure meant his plan to visit Ancheng and spend a few days there had fallen through.
He felt a little helpless and regretful, but compared to the major task of Xu Meijing refining the Soul-Refining Cauldron, his desire to play in Ancheng for a few days seemed insignificant.
In light of this, he could only pray in his heart for Xu Meijing, hoping that this time she would successfully refine the Soul-Refining Cauldron. Then, upon Xu Meijing's return, he would immediately go to Ancheng to congratulate her.
With Xu Meijing occupied, his plan to visit Ancheng was naturally canceled. Yang Haoran then began his next plan: expanding the villa.
To implement this matter more effectively and achieve satisfactory efficiency, he knew that doing it himself would not yield the ideal results. However, entrusting it to Old Master Wu would be entirely different.
Old Master Wu's connections in Lecheng were beyond reproach. In the world of ordinary people, Old Master Wu definitely had more pull than he, the boss. So, without a second thought, he decisively handed this task over to Old Master Wu.
As for how the villa should be expanded, Yang Haoran only conveyed his specific requirements to Old Master Wu. He didn't elaborate on other aspects, as he knew Old Master Wu could handle it well.
After the matter was arranged, Old Master Wu first had people process the necessary procedures, then found designers to plan everything. Once all the essential preliminary matters were taken care of, the construction team immediately moved in.
They did not intend to make any changes to the original villa but instead planned to expand it behind the existing structure.
After the construction team arrived, the expansion project commenced. Although it caused some disturbance to Yang Haoran and the others inside the villa, the impact was not significant.
Regarding these matters, apart from Old Master Wu, who was solely responsible, no one else intervened. They all continued as usual, attending to their own affairs.
On the seventh day after the female demon's death, Yang Haoran once again entered Ye Zhiqiu's room.
Before entering Ye Zhiqiu's room, Yang Haoran took a deep breath. He took such a profound breath because he wanted to remember the sweet scent of the air outside. Once inside Ye Zhiqiu's room, it would be a different smell, one that gave him a headache.
However, when he stepped into Ye Zhiqiu's room, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and his clenched fists involuntarily relaxed.
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