Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

Gou An withdrew and returned to the General Dan Hall.

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I saw Shen Yu, who had returned earlier, standing in the courtyard, calmly practicing a set of qi-cultivating and body-strengthening boxing techniques.

His movements were graceful and relaxed, surrounded by spiritual energy that stirred a gentle breeze.

Although he looked less handsome after the disguise, he still appeared exceptionally refined and otherworldly.

The female demon servants in the mansion stood at a distance under the eaves, not daring to approach, all watching the figure in the courtyard with amazement and admiration in their eyes.

They watched and discussed amongst themselves, reluctant to leave.

Pig Ninth, who was on duty nearby, saw this and immediately became displeased, his heart filled with jealousy.

Before Shen Yu arrived, these female demons admired the Hall Master Gou An the most. However, due to the Hall Master's noble status, they dared not have any other thoughts, so they were very fond of this pig steward.

But after this Jade Taoist arrived, all the female demons in the mansion were drawn to him, and some even ignored him.

In particular, every time Shen Yu appears, she attracts a crowd.

He curled his lip and muttered disdainfully, "What's so great about that? Skinny arms and legs, frail figure, how can it compare to my muscular and sturdy physique?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he straightened his chest and pulled in his stomach, exerted force in his arms, and deliberately tensed all his muscles, trying his best to show off in front of the group of succubi, wanting to steal everyone's attention.

However, the group of female demons completely ignored his actions, their gazes remaining firmly fixed on Shen Yu, who was practicing his boxing in the courtyard, not even sparing him a glance.

Seeing this, Pig Ninth looked helpless and secretly felt a lot of resentment.

Just then, Gou An stepped into the courtyard and said directly to Shen Yu, "Little Shen, stop practicing and come with me."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu stopped what he was doing, stood firmly, and gathered all the spiritual energy in his body.

He nodded slightly, followed Gou An, and headed straight for the alchemy room inside.

The two stepped into the room one after the other, and closed the door behind them. The next second, the array lit up, isolating the inside and outside of the courtyard.

When the group of female demons in the courtyard saw Shen Yu follow the hall master into the house, they were all in an uproar, and each of them looked disappointed.

"Why did it stop so quickly? It had only been playing for a short while."

"Yes, every time the hall master suddenly calls Yu Daoren in, he stays there for a long time and never lets anyone else get close."

"I wonder what's going on in the alchemy room. It's all so mysterious."

A soft murmur of discussion arose and reached the ears of Pig Ninth, who was standing nearby.

His pent-up anger vanished instantly, replaced by a playful and smug smile. He spoke with feigned profundity, "Don't ask questions you shouldn't. You're all swooning over Master Yu every day, do you even know who he really is?"

Upon hearing this, the group of female demons turned around, their faces full of curiosity, and surrounded them: "Does Steward Pig know? Tell us quickly!"

Pig Ninth raised his chin, becoming increasingly smug, and slowly said, "Think about it carefully, Jade Daoist's appearance is delicate and exquisite, even more beautiful than a woman's."

"Furthermore, our sect leader is usually very cold to all the female demons in the manor, yet he suddenly brought back a Jade Daoist who is more handsome than all of you?"

Upon hearing Pigsy's words, the female demons' expressions changed drastically. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock, and countless images flashed through their minds.

"Could it be... that the Hall Master and Master Yu have that kind of relationship?"

"No wonder he always brought us into the alchemy room alone and strictly forbade us from getting close to spy on us!"

"I see, no wonder it's always been so mysterious, it's truly incredible..."

"The sect leader is handsome, and so is Daoist Yu. It's such a pity that two such good-looking men are... such a shame!"

The demonesses immediately let out a wail.

Seeing the dejected expressions on everyone's faces, Pig Ninth quickly put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, his tone stern: "Keep your voices down! This matter must never be leaked. If it is, you will face certain death!"

The group of female demons immediately fell silent, nodding vigorously and daring not to utter another word, suppressing all their curiosity.

"So that's why!" Pig Ninth said with a hint of smugness, "From now on, put away your thoughts and stop fantasizing about Jade Daoist. You have absolutely no chance."

Seeing the group of female demons looking dejected and disappointed, Pigsy's jealousy completely dissipated, and he felt refreshed.

He puffed out his chest and tucked in his stomach again, showing off his muscular physique with smug satisfaction, and said, "If you ask me, we still have to look at your Pig Brother. He's strong, brave, and resolute. He's the perfect Daoist partner for you!"

Meanwhile, inside the alchemy room.

Gou An and Shen Yu sat facing each other across a red almond table.

Gou An had already repeated word for word all the words the Demon King had said to him in the Demon King's mansion, including his promises of a bright future and his proposed changes to the visitation schedule.

After saying that, he frowned, looked at Shen Yu opposite him, and tentatively asked, "I'm asking you, do you have any way to make the Demon King determine in advance that Yun Yao's headache is completely cured? I really can't be bothered to wait."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu gently shook his head: "Difficult."

He slightly raised his eyes and slowly analyzed, "Having spent this time in the City of Ten Thousand Demons, I have already seen through him. The Demon King Huang Ku may seem casual and lazy, and not very bright, but in reality, he is deep and shrewd, and not as foolish as he appears."

"His affection for Yun Yao was genuine, but so was his intense desire for control. He kept Yun Yao confined to Wuheng Greenland for years, isolating her from everything outside. It seemed like he was taking care of her quietly, but in reality, it was the ultimate form of imprisonment and possessiveness."

"He cherishes Yun Yao like a treasure, so he certainly won't let go so easily."

Gou An's heart sank upon hearing this, and he quickly asked, "So what are you planning to do next? At the Demon King's pace, with each day decreasing to three, seven, and one month, and each observation period lasting a year, it will take at least several years in total."

"Although I don't want to wait, I can bear with it. What about you, Young Master Shen?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "There is another way that might speed up the process."

"Oh?" Gou An was overjoyed and quickly asked curiously, "What method?"

Shen Yu nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the alchemy furnace beside him, and slowly said, "You shall personally refine another pill, and then report to the Demon King, stating that this pill is a miraculous cure that you painstakingly refined with all your alchemy skills, and that taking it will completely eradicate the princess's headache and prevent future troubles."

Gou An frowned immediately and retorted, "If I could refine pills like this, would I have called you here?"

"It doesn't need to have a real cure-all effect, just an excellent appearance and abundant spiritual energy," Shen Yu smiled slightly and continued, "In the end, whether it has a cure-all effect or not is never determined by the pill, but by Yun Yao."

Gou An grew increasingly confused, his brow furrowing: "What do you mean?"

"It's very simple." Shen Yu lowered his voice and slowly said, "The Demon King has kept Queen Yun Yao confined in the Green Land for decades. It seems like she is living a peaceful and quiet life, but in reality, she has long been tired of this cage-like life and desperately longs for freedom."

"Although we are enemies, we currently share the same goal."

At this point, Shen Yu's tone became more serious: "She wants to break free from her imprisonment, leave the Green Land, escape the Demon King's control, and regain her freedom. As for me, I want to take her away from the City of Ten Thousand Demons to find a way to awaken Qingwei's remnant soul and separate them."

"Therefore, Princess Yunyao and I have reached a cooperation agreement."

"A collaboration?" Gou An immediately became interested and quickly asked, "What kind of collaboration? Tell me about it!"

Shen Yu smiled but did not continue to explain.

Seeing that he was keeping him in suspense, Gou An became extremely anxious and continued to press, "Young Master Shen, stop beating around the bush. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"I can only tell you that as long as you can refine a pill that can fool the Demon King," Shen Yu slowly replied, "then Yun Yao and I can make the Demon King believe that she has recovered ahead of time."

"Okay, it's just a scam pill, easy!" Gou An agreed.

So over the next few days, Gou An began his process of forging documents.

Various spiritual materials with abundant spiritual energy were specially selected and combined together, but their medicinal effects were made to cancel each other out, ultimately achieving a strange and perfect result.

That is, this pill looks like it has abundant spiritual energy and is of extraordinary quality, but in reality, apart from resembling a large Qi-replenishing pill, it has no special effects.

In addition, Baihe also came to Gou An to purchase goods these past few days.

Gou An specially developed a new special spirit cigarette, turning the thin spirit cigarette into the shape of a thick, black cigar.

Furthermore, the content of the spirit tobacco inside has been specially purified, making the flavor of this large spirit tobacco even stronger.

In this way, the higher purity of the large-sized spiritual smoke will have a faster corrosive effect on the meridians.

Gou An was initially worried that the Demon King wouldn't like it, but to his surprise, after the white crane was presented to the Demon King, the Demon King immediately fell in love with it.

The old, small cigars would be gone in no time, but the new, larger cigars can last a long time.

Moreover, it feels much more imposing in your hand than before.

One is better than ten.

In addition, although the pills that could fool the demon king were successfully refined, Gou An did not present them to him immediately.

Instead, we should wait a while, so that it doesn't seem abrupt.

Furthermore, the Demon King stated that in order for him to become the Protector of the Nation, in addition to the Queen Consort being diagnosed and cured, he would also need at least the Golden Core cultivation level.

Therefore, during this period, apart from necessary matters, Gou Anping basically spent all his time desperately absorbing spirit stones to increase his demonic power.

Furthermore, Gou An began to cultivate several demon cultivation techniques obtained from the blind tiger. After mastering the demon cultivation manual, his absorption of spirit stones accelerated significantly, and his demon power also increased much faster.

Three months have passed in this way.

After consuming a large number of spirit stones, Gou An finally had almost accumulated enough demonic power to break through to the late stage of demon transformation.

[Current Realm: Late Stage of Demon Transformation]

[Demon Power Value: 8954260/9000000]

With only 40,000 more demonic power left, Gou An took out several valuable high-grade spirit stones and began absorbing them in an attempt to break through.

As the pure spiritual energy within the superior spirit stones was continuously absorbed into Gou An's body, it was then transformed from the demon core into the demon power required for his breakthrough.

As the progress value rapidly increased, the demonic power required for the final breakthrough was finally gathered.

[Current Realm: Late Stage of Demon Transformation]

[Demon Power Value: 9000080/9000000]

[Demon power points have been fully accumulated, automatically breaking through...]