A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 99

Chapter 98 The Legacy of a Transformed Demon, A Second Blossom of Wealth

Xiao Cuier and her granddaughter were still quite recognizable.

They lived in the East District and also had an old house in the West District.

Only the grandfather and granddaughter lived there.

One was in his seventies or eighties,

the other thirteen or fourteen.

Furthermore, the girl’s name was clear.

With so much accurate information, as long as Xiao Cuier and her granddaughter were in Yuejing, he didn’t believe he couldn’t find them.

In Yuejing, a city of millions, Han Li used his invisibility technique to enter the Ministry of Revenue, a subordinate government office.

He met the officials, fed them poison, and demonstrated the methods of a cultivator to frighten them; then he asked them to do a favor, promising them a longevity pill upon completion. A big stick and a sweet date, immediately winning them over. After

an afternoon of fuss, the government errand boy found the residence of Xiao Zhen and Xiao Cuier.

Then, the officials were invited to have tea in a small maze-like formation a hundred miles outside Yuejing.

Han Li seized the opportunity and approached the Xiao family grandfather and grandson.

“Found them.”

He knew he’d found the right people at a glance.

He sensed extremely subtle spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from them—

a quality only cultivators possessed .

Without time for pleasantries, he revealed himself and stated his purpose directly:

“Fellow Daoists, your concealment techniques are quite impressive. Would you be willing to make a deal with me?”

…

Half an hour later, Han Li emerged from the Xiao family courtyard, satisfied.

In his hand was a somewhat blackened yellow-covered book, an unnamed Daoist scripture.

One look at the book revealed its antiquity.

The blackened yellow cover was a testament to its age.

The book was made from special demon beast leather; it remained smooth and delicate to the touch, remarkably resilient. It was the unique craftsmanship and materials used that allowed this Daoist scripture to survive to this day.

“This material… should be demon beast leather of level five or higher!”

Han Li deduced.

With his current experience and knowledge, he could easily discern the truth.

The Daoist book was filled with strange symbols he couldn’t understand.

Those were actually the script used by high-ranking demon races.

However,

on the last two pages of the nameless Daoist book, he discovered a set of unnamed incantations that had been added artificially.

He was familiar with the script used in these incantations; it was a type of ancient script commonly used in the cultivation world. Therefore, just as Xiao Cuier and her grandson could understand it, he could also study it.

A few days later,

an old man, a young man, and a young man… the three arrived at a nameless, desolate mountain in Yunzhou, in the southwest of Yue Kingdom.

Led by the grandfather and grandson, Han Li saw a mountain wall hidden by vegetation.

A large stone seemed to be embedded in the mountain wall.

This place was at the foot of a mountain hundreds of feet high, overgrown with weeds and rarely visited by humans. The grandfather and grandson finding this place back then was purely by chance.

“Senior, this is it.”

The old man, Xiao Zhen, pointed to the moss-covered cliff face, which was actually a large rock blocking the path:

“Three years ago, this old woman and I went into the mountains to gather herbs and passed through this place. It was nighttime, and my granddaughter and I had been traversing mountains and valleys, so we stayed overnight in the cave behind this large rock to recover our magical power and internal energy. It was around that time that we coincidentally discovered the nameless Taoist book in a corner of the cave.”

The old man recounted in detail how he obtained the nameless concealment technique.

With their lives in someone else’s hands, how could they dare to play any tricks?

Even the mischievous Xiao Cui’er remained quiet and obedient, afraid of offending the unfathomable and enigmatic senior before her.

Han Li was about to take out his Silver Radiance Sword to break the large rock, but after thinking for a moment, he simply reached out and used his magical power to pull the rock away with all his might.

The next moment…

He easily pried a large rock, about ten feet in diameter, off the mountain wall,

revealing a cave behind it.

This scene stunned the grandfather and grandson.

Years ago, they had gone to great lengths, expending considerable magical power, to move such a large rock to block the cave entrance. They never imagined that their senior could do it with mere physical strength.

Did ordinary cultivators possess such physique and strength? It was comparable to those top-tier demonic beasts.

The grandfather and grandson watched with trepidation, their awe of Han Li growing even stronger.

“Did you bring this large rock?”

Han Li asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Yes, senior, this cave is actually quite deep,”

the grandfather and grandson hurriedly nodded.

The rock was covered in moss and vegetation, so even a passing cultivator wouldn’t give it a second glance. This had preserved the secret of the place.

After entering the cave and re-embedding the rock into the mountain wall,

Han Li finally looked ahead:

“Lead the way.”

These words made the grandfather and grandson’s hearts sink.

However, the next moment, more than a dozen puppets appeared, protecting the three of them in the center.

This gesture warmed the hearts of the grandfather and granddaughter.

Following the cave passage deeper, after walking twenty or thirty feet, the three quickly arrived at a former beast’s den.

This den was five or six feet in size, clearly not dug by a wild animal.

There were still faint fragments of white bones.

“Back then, a large black bear lived in this cave, and I had no choice but to kill it…”

the old man said with a forced smile.

Han Li nodded in response.

Then, he looked around but found nothing. The cave was only so big, a few feet in space; they had reached the end.

“Did you find anything else back then?”

Han Li turned and asked.

Xiao Cuier wanted to speak, but the old man subtly interrupted her:

“Senior, my grandfather and I found the nameless Daoist book in that corner a few years ago, and… nothing else.”

Xiao Zhen arrived at one side of the cave and pointed to the area directly behind a large boulder the size of a washbasin.

“Is that so?”

Han Li didn’t say much, but instead unleashed several ten-foot-long Azure Yuan Sword Beams towards various corners of the cave, piercing holes in the cave walls. However, among the numerous Azure Yuan Sword Beams, two adjacent sections of the cave wall not only escaped the sword beams but also reflected them back.

Seeing this, Han Li was not alarmed but rather pleased.

The Xiao family elder trembled slightly upon seeing this, his entire body tensing.

Because that area was precisely in the opposite direction of the location he had pointed to.

The young girl, Xiao Cui’er, also bit her lip lightly.

At this moment, Han Li suddenly turned to look at the old man Xiao Zhen and said calmly,

“I know you’ve seen more of the world than your granddaughter has, but sometimes, being clever in a petty way is just being self-righteous, and that kind of arrogance is the most annoying thing. Once you offend others, you can’t imagine the consequences.”

He knew that the old man Xiao was very resentful, angry that he had snatched away the opportunity between grandfather and granddaughter.

He also knew that the old man Xiao wanted to leave the secret of this place to his granddaughter Xiao Cui’er, hoping that she would return here after her cultivation was successful and find the true opportunity here. Perhaps with that opportunity, she could form her core?

In the future, the reason why Xiao Cui’er, who had no power, influence, or background, was able to form her core was partly due to the wealth accumulated by Old Man Ma over a hundred years, partly due to her own solid foundation, and most importantly, it was indeed due to the great opportunity she gained here.

“Senior, this old man…”

The old man surnamed Xiao stammered nervously, not daring to speak.

“It’s human nature, I can understand. But some people may not understand or accept it.”

Han Li said this, then placed a immobilization talisman and a mind-controlling talisman on each of their foreheads, restricting their physical power and spiritual sense. He then tossed them back to the cave entrance and summoned the Jade Mantis and Ice-Fire Wolf from his spirit beast pouch to guard them:

“If they dare to make any more moves… kill them.”

Upon hearing this, one of the spirit beasts tapped its sharp bladed feet, while the other coldly glanced at the two.

This scene terrified the Xiao family grandfather and grandson, their hearts sinking into a chill.

…

Inside the cave, on Han Li’s side.

He had already summoned a level four giant tiger puppet.

A scorching beam of light, combined with two crescent-shaped blades, bombarded the section of the mountain wall that the Azure Origin Sword Light had failed to penetrate.

In a short while, an invisible barrier was shattered, creating void folds.

Han Li’s eyes lit up upon seeing this.

He released a large number of soundproofing talismans to isolate the movement inside the cave.

He immediately summoned several level 3 giant wolf puppets to assist in the attack.

Furthermore, he himself used the Greatsword Technique, condensing dozens of azure sword beams and unleashing them. Because of sufficient charging, the power of this attack was comparable to a typical mid-level attack spell.

“Boom boom boom…”

Finally, under his continuous barrage, an invisible barrier was blasted open, and he continued his assault, rapidly widening the opening.

“This restriction… is so strong.”

“Even those late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, without fully activating their attack-type talismans, wouldn’t be able to tear open such a gap, right?”

As the gap widened, the previously solid mountain wall quietly transformed into a hole about ten feet wide, revealing a deep passage behind it.

A surge of powerful spiritual energy poured out, causing Han Li to feel momentarily “spiritually dizzy.”

He had the illusion of being baptized and nourished by excessively pure spiritual energy.

“How can there be such pure spiritual energy in this place?”

Although he didn’t understand the reason, he quickly arranged for several much smaller level 2 puppet beasts to explore deeper into the passage. He then waved his hand and summoned level 3 and 4 puppets, slipping into the passage and temporarily sealing the entrance with an earthen wall spell.

Immediately afterward, he probed deeper with his divine sense. He immediately noticed that the passage spiraled downwards, and strange demonic runes were inscribed on the walls.

The passage stretched for several miles.

He then discovered that at the end was an even larger cave.

This cave was hundreds of feet in size. Its

walls were also covered with restrictive runes.

These runes were very similar to the demonic script in the nameless Daoist book.

In the center of the cave sat a huge demonic bird:

“A transformed great demon?”

Judging solely from its aura, he could tell what level of demonic cultivator this long-dead demonic bird had been in its previous life.

Now, only bones remained of the demonic bird.

One wing was broken, indicating severe injuries to its body.

Furthermore, some bone areas were blackened, an unusual blackness suggesting it had been poisoned by some incurable toxin—a poison that clung to the bone like a malignant tumor.

Perhaps what killed this transformed demon was not the severe injury of its broken wing, but the poison itself.

Then, Han Li noticed an open storage bag beneath the demon.

Around the bag were scattered various items; spirit stones were piled up like a small mountain, numbering at least tens of thousands, many of them mid-grade.

Numerous magical artifacts, jade boxes and bottles containing unknown items, were also scattered haphazardly on the ground. These bottles and jars clearly contained rare treasures, but from the outside, they looked like piles of junk.

He even saw more than a dozen high-level demon beast inner cores.

Unfortunately, due to being on the ground and not properly preserved, their essence had been lost over the years, and they were now dull and lifeless.

Near the demon cores, over twenty spiritual herbs grew. Each one brimming with spiritual energy and vitality, astonishing Han Li, who had entered the cave without incident:

“Thousand-year-old spiritual herbs!”

“There are so many thousand-year-old spiritual herbs here?”

After some investigation, he understood the reason.

It turned out that before the demon cultivator died, it had opened its treasures, searching for an antidote. During this process, many spiritual herbs not belonging to Tiannan fell to the ground and were thrown away like trash. At the same time, high-grade demon cores from the outer sea also fell to the ground, along with a large pile of spirit stones that resembled a small mountain.

Normally ,

these fallen spiritual herbs, unable to be properly preserved, would quickly wither and die.

But most of the demon cultivators couldn’t withstand it and died first.

After the blood flowed out, it gathered into a lake. Although this blood carried some toxicity, it did not completely poison all the spiritual herbs here. Some of them not only survived but were also greatly nourished.

Others, untouched by the poisonous blood, also survived.

Furthermore, the essence emanating from the dozen or so high-grade demon cores, as well as the abundant essence emanating from the demon cultivator’s own level 8 demon core, were highly nourishing, providing the spiritual energy needed for the growth of the herbs.

Crucially, the sealing barrier effectively contained this place, preventing the loss of spiritual energy.

The surge of spiritual energy encountered at the cave entrance earlier originated from this.

Thus,

while many of the precious spiritual herbs scattered from the demon cultivator’s storage bag died—a real pity—some survived.

These were the twenty or so herbs before him.

Nourished by the sealed spiritual energy of this place for many years, they had all grown into thousand-year-old spiritual herbs.

This was Han Li’s deduction based on the traces at the scene.

After careful consideration, he decisively donned his magical gloves and cloak and hid to the side, avoiding contact with the black spots and deadly poison on the demon cultivator’s remains.

Poison capable of killing a transformed demon cultivator was definitely not something he could touch.

Instead, using his humanoid puppet, he collected the soil and spiritual herbs along with the remains. He

then used a large-capacity storage bag to collect the mountain of spirit stones.

“A giant bird belonging to the azure sky, yet buried in the dark underground. This demon cultivator from the Chaotic Star Sea, you were truly unlucky. Of all places to fly, you had to come to the extremely competitive Tiannan region…” He’d better not touch this demon bird’s remains, which were tainted with a special toxin.

“A dozen high-grade demon cores, at least the inner cores of level six or even seven demon beasts, and one that was at least the inner core of a level eight transformed demon cultivator!” Unfortunately, its essence was almost completely depleted, rendering it useless.

His miscalculation was that there wasn’t just one level eight demon core here, but… two.

“Two magical artifacts belonging to human cultivators…”

One was a bottle covered in ancient patterns, the other a bronze cauldron with three legs and two handles.

Both had suffered significant loss of spiritual essence due to improper preservation and the lack of cultivation from Core Formation or Nascent Soul cultivators, as well as the nourishment of their inner fire and nascent soul fire. Now, they were probably no more powerful than ordinary magical artifacts that had just been crafted and hadn’t been properly nurtured.

“Twenty-three spiritual herbs, half of which are poisonous, and the other half are unrecognizable, their medicinal properties unknown…” Use with caution.

He left the eight or nine poisonous herbs untouched.

“Twelve thousand low-grade spirit stones, thirty thousand mid-grade spirit stones.” This demonic bird was undoubtedly a transformed demon comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Whether it was level eight or nine

was unknown.

“A number of other miscellaneous items…” Their value was certainly considerable.

The more Han Li searched, the more rapid his breathing became.

Only those who had experienced poverty truly understood the significance of such wealth.

“The reason Xiao Cuier was able to form her core in the original story was because of this fortuitous opportunity. In my past life, I left this foreshadowing, and in this life, I’m using it myself first.”

This matter made him sigh.

…

After collecting all the non-poisonous items and leaving all the poisonous ones, Han Li prepared to reseal the cave entrance.

Interestingly, the transparent barrier that had been broken earlier was now gradually recovering.

He believed that after a while, the barrier would restore itself to its original state.

Seeing this, he stopped. After thinking for a while, he made a decision and simply began his seclusion in the passage far away from the demon bird skeletons, starting his arduous cultivation. The spiritual energy environment here was incredibly abundant due to the essence leaked from the dozen or so demon cores. Cultivating here, even if it couldn’t match the power infusion of a high-level cultivator, wouldn’t be too far off.

Xiao Cuier and her grandfather made do with their cultivation in a small cave outside the passage.

Anyway, he wasn’t in a hurry. The mission deadline was two months, and with his status, returning a few days later wouldn’t be a big deal.

If it weren’t for considering the feelings of Master Hongfu and Dong Xuan’er, he wouldn’t even want to return to Huangfeng Valley.

“No, I can’t act impulsively.” “

There are still opportunities waiting for me at the Spirit Eye Spring and the Crimson Forbidden Land.”

“It’s not too late to leave after I take the things.”

…

Time flew by, and two months passed.

Han Li opened his eyes in the cave.

Several rare pills, combined with the spiritual energy of the place, had propelled his cultivation forward by leaps and bounds, and he was now not far from the peak of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage:

“Cultivating in this exceptionally pure spiritual energy environment, supplemented by rare pills, is actually twice as effective as taking pills in the Spirit Spring Cave?”

In other words, the pure spiritual energy here is three times more effective for mid-Foundation

Establishment than rare spiritual medicine. Furthermore, this place where the transformed demon cultivator passed away has a unique restriction that seals off the spiritual energy within, preventing the pure spiritual energy emanating from the high-level demon core from being diluted into the outside world.

This makes this place an even more rare treasure, perhaps comparable to the inheritance treasures of major sects that nurture their direct descendants at the Core Formation stage.

According to Dong Xuan’er, there is a similar inheritance treasure in Huangfeng Valley.

It was established by three Nascent Soul ancestors of Huangfeng Valley.

It is the place where those three passed away. It

is also the final resting place for many Core Formation cultivators.

However, this inheritance treasure land is basically only open to outstanding immortal seedlings from the three major families of Linghu, Chen, and Lei, and is used to help those seedlings condense their Golden Core.

This is also a major reason why the three major families have always been prosperous.

The glory of the three major families has continued for thousands of years, with Core Formation cultivators in every generation. At times, there are even five or six Core Formation cultivators at the same time.

Of course, even within the three major families, not just anyone can enter the inheritance treasure land. There are two minimum standards for entry: one is to reach the Pseudo-Core realm before the age of 120. The other is that one’s spiritual root aptitude must be at least dual spiritual roots or a special physique. Those with

three spiritual roots are not qualified to enter.

Such strict conditions mean that only a dozen or so people from each family may be qualified every hundred years.

However, even if a dozen or even twenty or thirty people try, not one of them may be lucky enough to condense their Golden Core.

The difficulty of Core Formation is therefore unimaginable.

“If I could stay here for a while longer, I think I could reach the late Foundation Establishment stage in less than a year…”

But he couldn’t stay outside for that long.

The situation simply didn’t allow it.

The Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the Red Tassel Mountain lineage hadn’t yet gone to the battlefield, but that didn’t mean they could remain securely in the rear.

After pondering for a while, Han Li left that space and came to the outside world, handing Xiao Cuier and her grandfather an identity token.

“Senior, what’s this?”

Xiao Zhen asked in astonishment.

Han Li then handed over four high-grade magic artifacts, two top-grade magic artifacts, and several mid-grade spirit stones, smiling as he said,

“This time, I’ve benefited greatly, so I’ll also give your granddaughter an opportunity.”

“Give Cuier an opportunity?”

The old man blinked, somewhat suspicious, yet secretly expectant.

Han Li continued,

“Let me introduce myself first. I am the fourth disciple of Hong Fu Fairy, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator from Huangfeng Valley of Taiyue Mountain. This token I’m giving you is my identity token. You and your grandfather can use this token to go to Huangfeng Valley. Just say that I introduced you, and you will be accepted. After you join Huangfeng Valley, go to the Sect Leader’s Hall to pay your respects to the Sect Leader of Zhongling Dao and request to see my Senior Sister Dong Xuan’er from the Hongying Mountain lineage. Tell her about my general situation without holding anything back.”

“If she asks any further questions, just say that I need some time before I can return to the sect, and that this place is a great opportunity for me. Ask her to buy me some more time.”

“As for anyone else asking about me? Just use the excuse that I don’t want to reveal my whereabouts.”

As he spoke, he handed over two communication jade slips.

“After you see my Senior Sister Dong Xuan’er, ask her to take you to Senior Brother Ma’s place in the Spirit Herb Garden to become his disciples…”

Han Li revealed another intention of his.

A few years ago, in order to improve his alchemy skills, he frequently visited the kind-hearted Senior Brother Ma.

From Ma’s private herb garden, he purchased a considerable amount of alchemical herbs.

The friendship of several thousand spirit stones alone should have been enough for Xiao Cuier to obtain a ticket to become his disciple. Coupled with the girl’s dual-spiritual-roots prodigy attributes, Senior Brother Ma, who had been lonely for most of his life, probably wouldn’t mind having a clever and mischievous disciple.

In this way, Xiao Cuier’s storyline was restored to its original trajectory, and she even became Senior Brother Ma’s disciple more than a year earlier.

And the benefits of entering the sect early would only be greater.

Moreover, his purpose in arranging for Xiao Cuier to join Huangfeng Valley was not pure.

“Senior Brother Ma, when you find that the sect you have served for more than a hundred years is about to cut off an arm to save itself and abandon you, will you still stay in Huangfeng Valley?”

After letting the grandfather and granddaughter go, Han Li continued his seclusion.

Now, every bit of improvement in cultivation was increasing the risk resistance of subsequent plans.

Thus,

another half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, no one came to disturb him.

With the help of consuming rare pills and absorbing the pure spiritual energy of the area, his cultivation naturally broke through the bottleneck of the peak of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and smoothly entered the late-Foundation Establishment stage! He emerged from

seclusion

and headed straight for the capital of Yue Kingdom, Yuejing.

…

A few days later, he returned to Yuejing.

However, he didn’t immediately storm the palace. Instead, following a pre-planned strategy, he spent a day setting up a reversed Five Elements Array in a desolate valley outside the capital. A 30% replica.

Then he went to the Xin Prince’s Mansion and showed off his immortal skills to the prince,

stirring up trouble.

That very night, the young prince and the manor’s steward secretly left the manor.

While it was said to be secretive, it was actually a deliberate attempt to lure him.

“The fish has taken the bait,”

Han Li murmured, opening his eyes in a side room.

His divine sense followed the two as they fled into the distance. Just as they were about to escape his perception range, he rose from the bed, went to the window, and opened it:

“I wonder if the fish that took the bait this time is Tie Luo, or some other blood servant like Qingwen?”

Han Li leaped out of the window, took to the air, and followed.

Leaving the imperial city, they arrived at an abandoned Taoist temple on a desolate mountain outside the city.

With just one glance, he noticed the unusual fluctuations of spiritual energy surrounding the temple.

After all, he had studied array formations with Xin Ruyin for some time and had researched and dabbled in many arrays. Moreover, the small array at the desolate mountain temple was merely a very rudimentary rockfall array. Anyone who had spent three to five years in a sect wouldn’t be fooled by such an array.

This is the simplest earth-attribute formation.

It’s even inferior to the small-scale illusionary formation acquired by newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Of course,

this formation can’t deal with him, nor can it deal with even slightly knowledgeable sect cultivators, but it can cause considerable trouble for rogue cultivators and Qi Refining cultivators.

“Then let me see what kind of big fish I’ve caught…”

Han Li maintained the nameless concealment incantation, keeping his true cultivation level hidden, making him appear as an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Even now, having summoned over thirty level 2 puppets, he still concealed his aura fluctuations.

Dozens of spiritual energy light bullets spewed from the puppet beasts’ mouths, and several thick beams of light shot straight towards the desolate mountain Taoist temple.

Just as the numerous beams of light and spiritual energy light bullets were about to engulf the dilapidated temple, a thin, enormous light curtain suddenly appeared above it. The light curtain was hemispherical, emitting a faint yellow light, perfectly protecting the ruined temple.

The next moment, a series of booming explosions erupted, and the earthen-yellow light barrier trembled violently, like a calm lake being ravaged by a sudden storm. It only held for a moment before collapsing with a crisp cracking sound.

This low-level rockfall formation vanished instantly.

With the formation gone, no one was visible within.

Han Li didn’t glance at the Taoist temple again, but instead turned to look at the top of a cliff about a hundred feet away.

There, dozens of figures flew up.

Everyone was dressed in blood-red robes.

Among them were the young prince and the prince’s steward, along with a burly, bald man with no eyebrows.

“They only sent the toughest one, Tie Luo, and none of the other Blood Servants?”

Han Li felt a slight pang of regret.

As for the thirty or forty Black Fiend Sect lackeys, he didn’t even bother to look at them.

The next moment, he retrieved his puppet and turned to run.

That’s right.

He ran away,

drawing more than ten Black Fiend Sect members in hot pursuit.

Tie Luo, one of the four Blood Servants, pursued with the most fervor.

“You think you can escape after discovering the secrets of my Black Fiend Sect?”

the burly man sneered.

Suddenly, he unleashed some kind of secret technique, his speed increasing by a factor of three, almost keeping pace with Han Li, who had deliberately slowed down.

Soon, the chase and escape were far from the area, arriving at another valley dozens of miles away.

Han Li plunged into the valley.

Tie Luo followed closely behind.

Upon entering the Inverted Five Elements Formation, the burly man knew he was in trouble. He tried to forcefully break the formation, but to no avail.

When Han Li made his move, after only a dozen breaths of brief exchange, Tie Luo was covered in wounds.

“You’re not an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator; you’re actually a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert? And these puppets of yours…”

The burly man gasped for breath, a very ominous feeling rising within him:

“You, who exactly are you?”

“Stop wasting time, show me your trump card, or you won’t have a chance,”

Han Li said calmly.

Around him were over thirty puppets.

The most eye-catching was undoubtedly the several-zhang-tall, level 4 giant tiger puppet.

The rest were all level 3 giant wolf puppets.

Upon hearing this, the burly man roared, and the crimson light around him suddenly intensified, instantly enveloping him in a thick crimson glow. The crimson glow began to contract, quickly forming a huge crimson light cluster two or three zhang high, floating in mid-air like a giant crimson cocoon. Seeing

Tie Luo take out his trump card, the Demonic Transformation, Han Li took out the Silver Radiance Sword, the Crescent Moon Blade, and other top-grade magic weapons, muttering,

“Let’s test the sharpness of the Silver Radiance Sword first…”

With a single strike, a corner of the crimson light cluster was gone.

Effective.

Inside the light cluster, the burly man undergoing the Demonic Transformation noticed this scene, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

“Impossible!”

Absolutely impossible!

Once he began the Demonic Transformation, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attack power would struggle to forcibly destroy the blood cocoon; how could a top-grade magic weapon possibly do it?

Unless it’s a top-grade magic weapon with significantly enhanced sharpness.

Could this silver sword be a top-tier, top-grade magic weapon?

Han Li struck again with his sword.

He found that the blade could penetrate seven or eight feet into the crimson light, but then it began to lose momentum. This depth wouldn’t be enough to harm the burly man deep within the blood cocoon. Moreover, if he withdrew the Silver Radiance Sword and then summoned it again, the opening in the blood cocoon would close again when the flying sword left the crimson light.

Seeing this, the burly man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness…”

His current state was quite delicate. He

was in a state of high defense and zero attack.

Before completing his demonic transformation, his body was completely immobile.

Fortunately, the blood cocoon was tough enough to hold out until he completed his demonic transformation. At the very least, he could hold out until he completed half of his demonic transformation and regained some mobility.

“It seems that while the Silver Radiance Sword can break through defenses, it can’t easily cleave the blood cocoon in two. Tsk, this giant cocoon formed during the demonic transformation process has pretty good defensive capabilities.”

He immediately sheathed the Silver Radiance Sword and switched to the Crescent Moon Twin Blades.

These twin blades, crafted from the bladed legs of a level 4 top-tier demonic beast, the Golden-Backed Mantis, combined with top-grade magic weapon metal, spun out and circled the blood cocoon once. A head and half a body fell to the ground.

The blood-red cocoon also dimmed rapidly and disappeared.

Tie Luo, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly died in disbelief.

The power of the Crescent Moon Twin Blades was unimaginable.

“So sharp?”

Even Han Li, the one who activated the magic weapon, was somewhat surprised.

“But I haven’t even tried the approximate power of the Giant Tiger Puppet or the power that a Golden Core cultivator can unleash when activating a magic weapon…”

Tie Luo, the tankiest of the four Blood Servants, wasn’t as tough as he had imagined.

…

After killing Tie Luo, he removed the storage pouch from the man’s waist.

“A few hundred spirit stones? Supplies worth over a thousand spirit stones?”

So poor.

He’d never seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator so poor.

Then, he extracted a bead from Tie Luo’s body.

This is not the Golden Core of a Core Formation cultivator, but rather the “Blood Condensation Five Elements

Pill.” It is something similar to the inner core of a demon beast, condensed within the body of a cultivator who has cultivated the “Demon-Slaying Technique.”

With this Blood Condensation Five Elements Pill, which resembles a demon core, the four Blood Servants of the Black Fiend Sect could enter the Foundation Establishment stage even without consuming Foundation Establishment Pills.

Its advantages are: incredibly fast cultivation speed; regardless of whether one possesses three spiritual roots or pseudo-spiritual roots, even a weakling can achieve a cultivation speed comparable to a Heavenly Spiritual Root, making it an excellent method of forcing growth. Furthermore, it allows for Foundation Establishment without the aid of Foundation Establishment Pills, granting the same lifespan as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It even possesses explosive abilities like Demonic Transformation.

For example: Tie Luo’s superhuman strength, Wu Jiuzhi’s incredible speed, the Ice Demon’s ice-based techniques, and the Azure Patterned Wooden Shield, comparable to a top-grade magic weapon.

Finally,

if the five Blood Condensation Five Elements Pills can be combined, there is a one-third chance of condensing a Demon Core, commonly known as a “pseudo-Golden Core.”

When the Demon Core is first formed, its power is slightly inferior to a true Golden Core.

However, the difference wasn’t too great. It

was entirely comparable to an ordinary early-stage Core Formation cultivator,

and also possessed the effect of prolonging life.

The only two drawbacks were: susceptibility to being corrupted by demonic energy, gradually losing consciousness and becoming sluggish and dull, approaching the intelligence of a demon beast of the same level; and the inability to further improve cultivation. However, these two drawbacks were perfectly compensated for by the accompanying external avatar technique.

“Tiezi, in this life, will you still condense that demonic core?”

…

Leaving the formation, he dealt with the dozen or so Black Fiend Cult henchmen who had caught up, lest any foolish ones run back and report.

During this time, he learned about the general situation of the palace from several temporary survivors, especially the young prince.

Then, he took off his outer robe and changed into a well-fitting henchman’s outfit.

And it must be said, wearing the Black Fiend Cult’s blood-red robes made even a villain look villainous.

Even he, with his honest-looking face, was no exception.

Next step: infiltration.

After luring the snake out of its hole, the previously solid defense system developed a flaw, allowing him to infiltrate and strike at the heart of the enemy.

According to the long-standing rules of the Seven Sects of Yue, cultivators of the Seven Sects were forbidden from entering the imperial palace without permission or interfering with the operations of the mortal world; those who violated this rule would be severely punished. This made the Yue imperial palace an unwitting and perfect hideout for the Black Fiend Sect. The

Black Fiend Sect had been developing peacefully for several years, even reaching the Foundation Establishment stage for someone like Wu Jiuzhi, a former lowly Qi Refining cultivator at the ninth level.

Initially, the infiltration went very smoothly.

The Ice Demon guarding the first checkpoint didn’t suspect his identity at all.

The other henchmen didn’t

suspect him either. Almost none of the Black Fiend Sect members he encountered along the way suspected him.

Until he approached the emperor’s bedchamber, he was stopped by a figure.

“Halt! Is that forbidden area for a third-level member like you to approach?”

One could say he was unlucky.

Or one could say the person blocking his way was unlucky.

“Wu Jiuzhi, why bother?”

“Who are you?”

(End of Chapter)