Chapter 55: Mutual Benefit

It was time for Lao Hei to eat. He approached one of the Heavenly Demons and sucked forcefully through its gaping mouth, drawing in a wisp of translucent smoke into his stomach. As he continued sucking, the Heavenly Demon grew smaller and smaller, yet it struggled not at all, remaining motionless in midair. This showed that all its abilities were under control by the magical power of the Immortal Prison, even its ability to scream was mercilessly taken away.

Watching this scene, Su Che thought to himself, “This is what retribution looks like. Heavenly Demons love to devour the souls of other creatures, but now they’ve become the ones being devoured.”

Soon, the Heavenly Demon shrank to the size of a small ball. Lao Hei no longer wanted even this remaining fragment.

Lao Hei explained, “Master, the purest power of the Heavenly Demon has mostly entered my stomach. This last remnant contains all its evil thoughts and negative emotions, which bring me no benefit, so I’ll discard it.”

“So good?” Su Che was pleased and asked curiously, “You can separate its thoughts and emotions. Why couldn’t you do the same with the demon souls you consumed a few days ago?”

“That’s due to the uniqueness of these extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons,” Lao Hei continued. “Their innate instinct is to devour living beings, even each other. For them, no matter how they devour or how much they consume, there are no risks. But humans and beasts lack such an innate ability. Even if humans or beasts practice certain devouring techniques, racial traits still impose various restrictions. To be precise, it should be called ‘consuming’ rather than true ‘devouring’.”

“There’s such a difference between consuming and devouring?” Su Che began to understand a bit better.

“The principle behind it is very complex and hard to explain in just a few words,” Lao Hei added. “In short, if I were to consume the souls of humans or beasts, I’d need a digestion process. But when devouring the power of Heavenly Demons, the restrictions are much fewer.”

“Then go ahead and devour as much as you can,” Su Che said with a smile. “If your strength increases, it means my abilities grow too.”

“Understood, master.”

Lao Hei then went to another Heavenly Demon and continued his path of devouring. After consuming the two Heavenly Demons, Lao Hei licked his lips and patted his stomach, saying, “This feeling is still the best. No matter how much I eat, I never feel full!”

“How is it? What do you feel?” Su Che was more concerned about how much Lao Hei’s strength would increase after devouring two Heavenly Demons.

Lao He replied, “Of course there will be improvement. I estimate that by devouring twenty or thirty demons of this level, I’ll be able to advance.”
“Good, let’s continue.”
Su Che felt greatly encouraged. If Lao He advanced another level, it would mean he would have the strength of the fourth level of Qi Cultivation. With him around, he could at least ambush opponents at the fourth level of Qi Cultivation, and in critical moments, even challenge those at the fifth level.
Next, Su Che continued to circle around the teleportation array, searching for traces of lower-level demons. This vacuum area was highly advantageous to him—within a range of a thousand zhang, the density of demons was very low, with no more than three appearing each time.
As long as there were fewer than five, there would be no danger, and Su Che and Lao He could easily take them down one by one.
After a few hours, Lao He had devoured over twenty lower-level demons, leaving behind more than twenty small air masses the size of balls in the Immortal Prison. Each air mass represented a demon whose strength had dropped to its lowest point. Their demonic power was minimal, making them like newbornlings that posed no threat to any cultivator.
So, were these demon offspring completely useless?
Lao He’s answer was: They’re still useful. Keep them for now. After all, they’re just small air masses that don’t take up much space.
“Master, I’m about to advance. It’s best if you retreat to the teleportation array,” Lao He reminded him.
Su Che understood that he wouldn’t be able to assist him in fighting enemies during his advancement. So, he retreated under one of the stone pillars at the teleportation array, took out a cushion to sit in meditation, and also took some pills to start cultivating, not wasting a single moment. However, cultivating in such an environment required constant vigilance, and its effectiveness was certainly not as good as practicing in a safe setting.
In the Immortal Prison, Lao He lay on the ground like a beast, making strange noises, with his body showing intense reactions. Beneath his grayish-black fur, it seemed as though air masses were moving back and forth…
It was unclear how much time had passed when Su Che, who was deeply focused in meditation, was awakened by a roar from Lao He in his mind. He quickly focused his attention on the first layer of the Immortal Prison and saw that Lao He had stood up, roaring triumphantly toward the sky like a demon god.
Not far away, Han Youming and Lu Cheng’an (Lu the Boss), prisoners in the Immortal Prison who were tending to a dozen spirit herbs, were so terrified that they crouched on the ground, holding their heads and not daring to breathe.
These two had long been subdued by Lao He, and their fear of him was deep-seated. Lu Cheng’an had no special skills and could only learn spirit herb cultivation from Han Youming, acting as an assistant at this stage.
Snap!

The mouse’s tail swished with a crisp crackling sound, and Lao He immediately reported, “Master, the upgrade was successful!”
“Good!”
Su Che was overjoyed, but still somewhat greedy. He asked, “Can I keep devouring more?”
“Not for now,” Lao He said, his spirit sinking as he spoke with guilt. “I’m sorry, Master. I was too optimistic before. It turns out that although I can devour a great deal of the Heavenly Demon energy, I still have human and beast bloodlines within me. If I consume too much of this energy, it will cause these two bloodlines to be assimilated by the Heavenly Demon bloodline, and eventually, I will become a true extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon. Master, this means you face two choices…”
“I understand!”
Su Che nodded firmly. He had already grasped that he now faced two options, which also determined Lao He’s future path: if he wanted quick results, he could choose to devour large amounts of Heavenly Demon energy, turning Lao He into a high-level Heavenly Demon or even a powerful demon god.
As for what kind of demons existed above demon gods, Su Che didn’t know for now.
However, Su Che believed that since the Immortal Prison Pagoda had guided him to create such a being that combined human, demon, and beast traits, there must be a reason behind it. If he rushed things, he might take a wrong path, thereby ruining the future Lao He should have had.
“Lao He, endlessly devouring Heavenly Demon energy is likely a foolish and short-sighted act,” Su Che said firmly after thinking it through. “You are so loyal to me, and I must take responsibility for your future. I’ll choose to improve steadily and protect your human and beast bloodlines.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Lao He knelt on the ground with a thud, bowing three times in succession.
This showed that he himself didn’t want to take the path of the Heavenly Demon either. But as a spirit vessel, he had to obey his master’s orders unconditionally, without any concealment or deviation.
“Get up. There’s no need to kneel every time. We don’t do that here,” Su Che said gently. “Lao He, although you call me Master, I’ve long regarded you as my own family member. In this world, you are the one I trust and am closest to. Perhaps no one else can surpass you in this regard.”
“Master…” Lao He lay on the ground, sobbing softly, with large tears quietly falling to the ground.

Lao He was truly moved, for he was right in Su Che’s mind. He knew better than anyone that Su Che’s words contained no falsehood at all. To be precise, these were not mere words spoken superficially, but Su Che’s genuine thoughts.

Then Su Che asked, “So, is it still necessary for us to continue capturing the Heavenly Demons?”

“Of course!” Lao He stood up and replied loudly. “We must capture them in large numbers, with all our might, frantically! Master, these Heavenly Demons are not only beneficial to me, but I’ve just thought of another method that will also be of great benefit to you.”

“Oh? Tell me then.”

“No need to explain. You’ll understand once I do it.” With that, Lao He waved his hand vigorously and began to gather his strength, as if holding his breath…

“What are you doing? It’s like you’re constipated,” Su Che thought with a smile.

“Huh? That’s not right!” Lao He deflated instantly, scratching his head. “Wait, let me try another method.”

“I’m not in a hurry. Take your time,” Su Che said gently with a smile.

In the Immortal Prison, Lao He would sit down for a while, then stand up and take a few steps, wave his arms, or scratch his head…

It was half an hour later before he finally shouted, “It worked!”

At that moment, Su Che immediately felt a warm current surge from his forehead and spread throughout his body.

“It’s just the warm current of the Immortal Prison. What’s so strange about that?”

As soon as this thought arose, Su Che realized that the so-called warm current of the Immortal Prison was actually the vitality of certain creatures within it. So, where did this vitality coming to him come from?

“It comes from me,” Lao He replied immediately, sensing Su Che’s thought.

“You?”

Su Che was surprised. “My body is fine—without any injuries. Why would you draw on your own vitality?”

“Master, the method I thought of is to convert the excess power of the Heavenly Demons into vitality and then transfer it to you. The effects of vitality aren’t limited to healing alone; it can also strengthen and transform your physical body. Its effects will definitely be far better than pills like Soul-Purifying Pills, and there will be no negative side effects. In fact, it’s possible that sufficient vitality can even cleanse residual drugs from your body and eliminate various hidden dangers caused by excessive use of pills. After all, the stronger and purer your body is, the higher the chances of success in establishing a foundation in the future!”

Su Che thought carefully before nodding and saying, “Logically speaking, it should indeed be the case. But won’t drawing your life force cause harm to you?”
“That’s where my cleverness lies! I spent a lot of time thinking about exactly this issue just now,” Lao He said proudly, puffing out his chest. “I really came up with a good solution—by combining the strengths of humans, demons, and beasts, and using their bloodlines, I can transform the excess Heavenly Demon energy absorbed into the body into vigorous life force, which can then be transferred to you, my master. In fact, it won’t consume my own life force at all…”
Lao He explained in great detail, and Su Che finally confirmed that this was indeed a mutually beneficial method.
“Lao He, you’re really smart!” Su Che was also very excited. He never expected that he could benefit directly from such an extremely evil creature as the Outer World Heavenly Demon.
“Then let’s continue!”
Su Che stood up and waved his hand with determination, saying, “Capture the Heavenly Demon!”