For instance, Han Chi, the current head of the Han family and Han Yue's father, felt deep gratitude towards Xiao Feng.
Han Chi had long reached the peak of the Dou Emperor realm, just a step away from breaking into the Dou Ancestor level, yet he had been unable to overcome the bottleneck.
Now, after absorbing the Ghost King's Blood granted by Xiao Feng, Han Chi successfully broke through to a One-Star Dou Ancestor, making him completely convinced of Xiao Feng's power.
After leaving the Han residence, Xiao Feng stealthily infiltrated the Hong family manor, ambushing the Hong family patriarch in the same manner and secretly bringing them under his control.
With the submission of both the Hong and Han families, the entire Tianbei City fell under Xiao Feng's indirect rule, marking his first step towards conquering Central State.
Early the Next Morning
Swish!!!
A dazzling golden light descended from the sky, landing at the peak of the Tianmu Mountain Range.
Even in the entire northern region of Central State, the Tianmu Mountain Range held great fame, mainly due to the legendary Tianmu Blood Pool that appeared every three years.
It was said that at the summit of the range, within the crater of a dormant volcano, a surge of heaven-and-earth energy would occur every three years.
After this energy surge, the Tianmu Pool inside the crater would be filled with a strange red liquid, known as the Tianmu Blood Pool.
The mysterious energy within the Tianmu Blood Pool greatly increased the chances of peak Dou Emperors breaking through to the Dou Ancestor level.
However, the pool only lasted for about five days, and the accumulated energy was sufficient for only ten individuals to use.
As a result, whenever the Tianmu Blood Pool manifested, numerous young peak Dou Emperors would compete fiercely for the right to enter, with only eight spots available.
The remaining two spots belonged to the indigenous rulers of the Tianmu Mountain Range—the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe!
Technically speaking, since the Tianmu Blood Pool appeared within their territory, it should rightfully belong to them.
Unfortunately, the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe lacked the strength to defend it, as they had no Dou Venerate powerhouses among them and were in no position to monopolize the Blood Pool.
If not for the fact that the various major factions restrained one another and ultimately agreed to let the Gold Swallowing Mouses manage the Blood Pool, they might not have even retained those two remaining spots.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shortly after Xiao Feng arrived at the mountaintop, two elderly figures with small statures swiftly flew in and landed before him.
Judging from the aura they exuded, both of them were Dou Ancestor-level powerhouses, likely the patriarch and grand elder of the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe.
The leading gray-robed elder sensed the powerful aura radiating from Xiao Feng, which was no weaker than his own. His expression changed slightly as he cupped his hands in greeting.
"I am Jin Shi, the patriarch of the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe. May I ask for your esteemed name?"
Before Jin Shi could finish his words—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four invisible attacks materialized out of nowhere, knocking him unconscious instantly.
"Patriarch, you—"
The elder beside him, Jin Gu, was horrified. However, before he could react, he too was swiftly struck down.
Watching the two unconscious elders, Xiao Feng smirked playfully. "You two are lucky. Since neither of you has reached the Seven-Star Dou Ancestor level, you get to live."
In the original timeline, when Jin Shi appeared, he had already advanced to the Seven-Star Dou Ancestor level.
According to his own explanation, he had spent ten years absorbing the residual energy from the Tianmu Blood Pool, slowly advancing from a Five-Star to a Seven-Star Dou Ancestor.
Since Xiao Feng arrived in Central State several years earlier than Xiao Yan did in the original story, Jin Shi had yet to reach the Seven-Star level.
Had Jin Shi broken through, Xiao Feng wouldn't have been able to control him with the Demon King's Blood and would have been forced to kill him, extracting his seventh-tier magic core to refine the Sky Demon Puppet.
After recalling the shadow clones that had ambushed them, Xiao Feng injected a large amount of Demon King's Blood into their bodies, forcibly transforming them into Demons.
Although the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe was weak in individual strength, their vast numbers made them ideal for gathering intelligence and scouting for information.
Moreover, the deep layers of the Tianmu Blood Pool contained fire poison potent enough to kill Dou Ancestors. If Little Fairy Doctor cultivated here, it would drastically accelerate her progress.
When Jin Shi and Jin Gu regained consciousness, they immediately noticed the powerful restrictions placed upon every cell in their bodies.
Both of them could only offer bitter smiles.
"Greetings, Lord Alliance Leader!"
However, as shapeshifted magical beasts, they understood the law of survival—the strong devour the weak.
Realizing their situation, they quickly accepted reality and knelt before Xiao Feng on one knee.
"No need for such formalities. Stand up."
Xiao Feng raised his right hand slightly and ordered, "Summon all Gold Swallowing Mouses with Fifth-Tier magic beast strength. I will personally grant them spiritual blood to enhance their power."
Jin Shi and Jin Gu hesitated for a moment but ultimately cupped their hands and responded, "As you command, my lord!"
Though Xiao Feng's actions placed the entire core of their clan under his control, ensuring that their lives were at his mercy, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
After all, they had experienced firsthand the benefits of the Demon King's Blood—it granted them the ability to regenerate lost limbs and even awakened powerful Blood Demon Techniques.
Jin Shi, once tormented by fire poison, now found that his newly awakened Blood Demon Technique allowed him to convert the poison into a deadly weapon.
Under their summons, all Fifth-Tier and above Gold Swallowing Mouses quickly gathered before Xiao Feng.
Surprisingly, the clan boasted quite a number of strong members, though they lacked top-tier combatants.
Among them, there were over forty Sixth-Tier Gold Swallowing Mouses, equivalent to Dou Emperors, while more than five hundred were at the Fifth Tier.
Since transforming all of them into ghosts required a massive amount of energy, Xiao Feng ordered Jin Shi and the others to capture several magic beasts from the Tianmu Mountain Range as offerings.
At his current level, Xiao Feng could not yet ignore the law of energy conservation. Without additional life essence from the captured beasts, even draining himself dry of Demon King's Blood wouldn't be enough to convert all the Gold Swallowing Mouses.
After over half an hour of effort, Xiao Feng successfully transformed the entire batch.
A few of the peak Sixth-Tier Gold Swallowing Mouses even evolved into Seventh-Tier, fully cementing their loyalty to Xiao Feng.
Rumble…
After subjugating the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe, Xiao Feng used his Stone-Stone Fruit ability to construct a small palace near the Tianmu Blood Pool.
Then, activating his Summoning Technique, he called Little Fairy Doctor to his side.
(End of Chapter)
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