It was an inner demon, after all.

The ❮Braised Heavenly Tribulation❯ had gone through several complicated steps; it was fragrant, and the smell made people drool when it was finished. On the other hand, the inner demon had been sliced raw, so they were worried about suffering adverse reactions when consuming it.

True Monarch White Crane said, “If possible, it would be better to smoke the inner demon to make it more appetizing.”

“Time is tight. We don’t have the time to smoke the inner demon,” Song Shuhang replied.

Sixteen said, “Then let’s wait for Senior Ruler of Shadows to come over and have a taste of it first.”

Song Shuhang grabbed the little black cup and began to summon the Ruler of Shadows.

Shortly after the signal was sent, a bucket-sized spatial gate appeared above the small black cup. Then, dark shadows drilled out of the spatial gate, filling the entire Inner Demon Cave in the blink of an eye.

The Ruler of Shadows said, “Fellow Daoist Tyrannical Song, we meet again.”

Song Shuhang asked, “Yes, Senior, we meet again. The space where I summoned Senior this time is rather small, would you like to go out to have a talk?”

After being covered by the body of the Ruler of Shadows, the entire Inner Demon Cave had become pitch black.

The Ruler of Shadows said with a smile, “This space is indeed too small. Next time, please summon me in a wider place. After all, my body is very large, and it is uncomfortable when I’m in such a tight space.”

After saying that, most of its shadows began to withdraw into the spatial gate, revealing only enough of itself to cover half of the Inner Demon Cave.

This big shot who had a soft spot for the dishes of the ❮Heavenly Tribulation Grand Banquet❯ had surprisingly a very approachable personality.

“Oh, this is the scholarly faction. No wonder I felt uncomfortable. The attributes of the scholarly faction are opposite to mine.” The Ruler of Shadows then asked with a smile, “Anyway, seeing as Fellow Daoist Tyrannical Song has summoned me, have you made a new dish for me to try out?”

Song Shuhang nodded and replied, “This is the ❮Inner Demon Sashimi Slices❯. Senior, please taste it. Also, the repice I got was missing the steps to materialize the inner demon, so the taste might be different from the original one.”

“Is this ❮Inner Demon Sashimi Slices❯ of yours another modified dish?” The Ruler of Shadows laughed and said, “I like the ❮Heavenly Tribulation Grand Banquet❯, and I also like innovation. As long as the modifications are positive, and the dish tastes better than the original or has its own specialty, I have no problems with it.”

Song Shuhang handed over a plate of sashimi slices and served it along with three different sauces.

The Ruler of Shadows condensed five arms, two of which took the plate, one of which took the sauces, and the last two holding onto a knife and fork.

Under the gaze of Song Shuhang and the others, the Ruler of Shadows tasted one of the slices of Inner Demon Sashimi.

After a short while, the Ruler of Shadows said in a voice filled with satisfaction, “Mm, the taste is beyond my expectations. It tastes delicious.”

While saying that, he tried the three flavors of sauce.

“Senior, how does its taste compare to the original?” Song Shuhang tried asking. He wanted to know how effective the sixth plan that he discussed with the others was.

The Ruler of Shadows said, “How should I say this… There is absolutely no comparison.”

Song Shuhang: “?”

Was the version I made that bad?

“The ingredients are completely different,” said the Ruler of Shadows. “I was wondering why you were talking about inner demon materialization earlier. Now, it seems you directly turned the inner demon into an ingredient. Fellow Daoist Tyrannical Song, this is the first time I’ve seen such a technique. You were able to draw the inner demon out of a cultivator’s body, materialize it, and then slice it apart to make a dish. If you master this technique, I’m afraid that cultivators all over the universe would be frantically making requests to you.”

Sixteen immediately understood the meaning behind the Ruler of Shadows’ words. “Senior, are you saying that an inner demon tribulation was used for the original ❮Inner Demon Sashimi Slices❯?”

The Ruler of Shadows said slowly, “Yes. Although I don’t know how the fellow daoist who created the ❮Inner Demon Sashimi Slices❯ did it, he did seal the inner demon tribulation of a cultivator who was transcending their tribulation. During the inner demon tribulation, there is a short period of time in which the inner demon materializes.”

Song Shuhang said, disappointed, “So I failed.”

The Ruler of Shadows said, “Given our previous agreement, Fellow Daoist Tyrannical Song has indeed failed this time. You did not make the ❮Inner Demon Tribulation Sashimi Slices❯. However, this ❮Inner Demon Sashimi Slices❯ of yours happened to satisfy my appetite. So, I’ll still allow you to request something from me. Of course, the value you’ll get out of it is not equal to a dish of the ❮Heavenly Tribulation Grand Banquet❯.”

Then, he added, “One more thing, I do not recommend you to directly consume this version of the ❮Inner Demon Sashimi Slices❯. These are the slices of a pure inner demon, and it is not good for your body when you consume them directly.”

“Hm… It’s delicious.” While the Ruler of Shadows was saying that, Senior White’s voice came from the side.

Song Shuhang hurriedly turned his head. “Senior White, don’t eat that! These ❮Inner Demon Sashimi Slices❯ are not suitable for us to eat.”

The Ruler of Shadows laughed and said, “Sage White’s body is a clone, right? If it is a clone, then it’s fine to have a taste of it. It won’t hurt the main body anyway.”

Hearing this, Song Shuhang let out a sigh of relief.

“So, Profound Sage Tyrannical Song, is there anything you want?” the Ruler of Shadows asked while eating.

Song Shuhang said, “Yes. In fact, I summoned Senior because I needed to ask you something.”

The Ruler of Shadows said, “Fellow Daoist, please speak.”

Song Shuhang asked, “Is Senior interested in fighting the Heavenly Emperor?”

The Ruler of Shadows replied, “This is not an equivalent exchange, Fellow Daoist Tyrannical Song. Although the Heavenly Emperor has yet to recover her strength, if I attack her, I’ll have to deal with many troubles in the future. Moreover, if I take action against the Heavenly Emperor now, it will imply that I am someone who takes advantage of others while they’re in a weakened state. If I really have to fight her, it would only be after she returns to her peak.”

The pride and confidence of a powerhouse exuded from the Ruler of Shadows.

“However, I can lend Fellow Daoist Tyrannical Song an interesting item. Since we’re in the scholarly faction, this item should work quite well. This item is very precious, and when Fellow Daoist Tyrannical Song uses it, the effects will by no means be lackluster,” said the Ruler of Shadows.

Song Shuhang asked, “Precious… How much is it worth?”

The Ruler of Shadows replied, “Hm, converted into Eighth Stage or Ninth Stage spirit stones, it should be enough to exchange for a small mountain of them.”

Doesn’t that mean that it’s a treasure of the same level as the virtuous lamia’s flat imperial hat? As long as the flat imperial hat has sufficient energy, the virtuous lamia can exert combat power at the level of the Ninth Stage!

The Ruler of Shadows handed over a bracelet. “Its name is Shadow Sanctum. It can draw out the obsession left by a powerhouse in a certain place, and transform that obsession into a shadow clone. The stronger the powerhouse, the stronger the obsession they are likely to have left behind, thereby increasing the power that Shadow Sanctum is able to display. We’re in the scholarly faction, a place where the Scholarly Sage and the 13 Tribulation Transcenders of the scholarly faction once lived. I can sense that there’s a lot of residual obsession left here that has yet to be consumed. If you activate the item, I can assure you that its effects will not disappoint you.”