The room was now empty, leaving Shen Yi alone.
He lay on the bed and summoned the interface panel.
When it came to martial cultivation, he was still a complete novice, having only recently learned about things like Qi Gathering Pills, Condensing Liquid Pills, and the Jade Liquid Realm from the woman he had spoken to earlier.
His thoughts began to wander, and soon, he took out the fleshy orb to test his idea.
The orb was slightly smaller than an egg.
Shen Yi closed his eyes and placed it in his mouth.
A bitter, metallic taste spread across his tongue, but the aura of heaven and earth contained within it was as alluring as honey.
Immediately, he began pouring his lifespan into the "Wind and Thunder Demon Subduing True Art."
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 672 years]
[Year 1: You spent seven months refining the essence of the beast core, discarding the impurities while continuously absorbing the aura of heaven and earth.
Your cultivation progressed rapidly.]
[You successfully filled the sixth acupoint, achieving minor mastery of the Wind and Thunder Demon Subduing True Art.
However, the essence from the beast core continued to pour in, and you filled the seventh major acupoint.]
[You comprehended the Blood Fiend (Incomplete) from the beast core.]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 671 years]
...
As the lifespan poured in, Shen Yi's eyes lit up with surprise and awe.
His idea had been correct.
As long as the treasure medicine was within his body, it could influence the process of martial arts cultivation.
However, he hadn't expected the effect to be so astonishing.
Previously, filling two acupoints had taken him twenty years.
Now, a single beast core was equivalent to twenty years of hard cultivation.
This also answered a question that had been lingering in his mind.
Mortals, at most, lived for a hundred years.
Even if they achieved perfection in their mortal bodies and entered the initial realm, they would only gain an additional forty years of life.
In contrast, demons and monsters lived for hundreds of years.
The yellow-skinned demon he had encountered, who was at a lower realm than him, had a lifespan of over 570 years.
Over time, the demons would simply outlive the human experts.
It seemed that the essence of martial cultivation was plunder.
If one foolishly relied solely on absorbing the aura of heaven and earth, they would likely remain at the initial realm even as their hair turned white.
"What is this Blood Fiend?" Shen Yi looked at the panel, where a new line of text had appeared below his current martial art.
[Blood Fiend (Incomplete): After consuming a demon beast core, you were tainted by its impurities.
By comprehending and assimilating them, the aura of heaven and earth within your body now carries a corrosive effect.]
After reading the description, Shen Yi suddenly thought of the yellow-skinned demon's demonic technique.
If it weren't for the fact that his realm was far higher than the demon's, he would have ended up like those piles of bones, reduced to a puddle of pus once his internal energy was depleted.
"This at least gives me a bit of offensive capability," Shen Yi thought to himself, then continued pouring in the demon lifespan.
[Year 27: You filled the eighth major acupoint.
However, due to the excessive amount of energy within your body, which now carried your own aura, it clashed with the pure aura of heaven and earth, slowing your cultivation progress.]
[Year 49: All nine acupoints were filled, and you achieved major mastery of the Wind and Thunder Demon Subduing True Art.]
Perhaps because he now had an abundance of resources, Shen Yi didn't feel any regret and decided to push it all the way.
[Year 72: You finally filled the tenth acupoint.
In your eyes, the world gradually became clearer.]
[Year 104: Like a cup overflowing with water, your body could no longer contain any additional energy.
All twelve acupoints were filled, and you achieved perfection in the Wind and Thunder Demon Subduing True Art.]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 568 years]
If cultivating a martial art was a guaranteed way to reach perfection, then creating a new martial art was like a lottery.
Shen Yi hesitated for a moment, setting aside 300 years for other purposes and pouring the rest into the creation of a new technique.
Immediately, a series of identical notifications flooded his mind, leaving him dazed.
[Year 1: Even though you had reached perfection, you believed that stagnation meant regression.
You continued to refine your body tirelessly, endlessly absorbing the aura of heaven and earth...]
[Year 10: You continued to absorb...]
[Year 20: You were still absorbing...]
The notifications kept appearing, one after another, repeating countless times.
Shen Yi's palms began to sweat, and just as he was about to stop, a new line of text finally appeared.
[Year 130: Perhaps heaven rewards the diligent.
A wisp of energy within your first major acupoint condensed into a drop of jade dew.]
[Year 150: A second drop of jade dew appeared.]
[Year 268: Nearly half of the energy within your first major acupoint had transformed into jade dew.]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 300 years]
Shen Yi's expression was complicated as he finally realized what had happened.
The condensation of energy into liquid was likely the next realm, the Jade Liquid Realm, as Lin Baiwei had mentioned.
Perhaps when all the energy within his twelve major acupoints transformed into jade liquid, he would officially enter the next realm.
The problem was, he hadn't found the proper method! In the simulation, he had simply used the most brute-force approach, spending an absurd amount of time to force the transformation.
How much demon lifespan would it take to fill just one major acupoint? It wasn't just inefficient—it was downright wasteful.
Shen Yi closed his eyes and sensed the changes within his body.
The jade liquid seemed denser than ordinary energy, but it didn't appear to have any additional effects.
He sighed and turned his attention to the remaining martial arts.
The remaining 300 years were reserved for them: blade techniques, fist techniques, and movement techniques.
Recalling his earlier battle with the yellow-skinned demon, Shen Yi realized that what he lacked most was offensive capabilities.
He chose the Demon Subduing Blade Technique.
[Year 1: Even though this blade technique was now far too rudimentary for your current realm, you picked it up again, practicing it meticulously as if you were just starting out in martial arts.]
Perhaps because he had suffered too many setbacks before, things began to turn around quickly.
Shen Yi's brows relaxed as he continued.
[Year 46: You swung the final blade, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
The simple techniques merged in your mind, gradually forming something entirely new.]
[Year 50: You had comprehended an entire set of blade techniques, but something still felt lacking.
You stared at the mist swirling around your fingertips, deep in thought.]
[Year 55: You comprehended the Initial Realm: Blood Fiend Blade Technique.]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 245 years]
[Initial Realm: Blood Fiend Blade Technique (Beginner)]
With the endless infusion of lifespan, the blade technique's realm began to rise rapidly, from beginner to perfection.
...
By the time the rooster crowed, the Baiyun County government office was filled with constables.
Chen Ji stood in the center, surrounded by the heads of thirteen dog demons.
At the head of the room sat an elderly man with white hair and a beard, dressed in a green robe.
His eyes were closed, and his bony hands gripped the armrests tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.
"Chief Liu, dealing with demons is part of our duty..."
Song Changfeng explained softly.
Hearing this, the old man slowly opened his eyes, glancing at the demon heads on the ground before quickly looking away, as if he couldn't bear to see them any longer.
He waved his hand.
"This old man has no such ability. It's your ability, and it's Lord Shen's ability... Since that's the case, let him handle all matters related to demons from now on."
As he spoke, Chief Liu suddenly stood up, kicking over the table in front of him in a fit of rage.
"Let him handle everything alone!"
(End of Chapter)