[Year 21: You consumed the demon core of a fox beast, saving time on meditation and increasing your cultivation efficiency.]
[Year 23: You swallowed another demon dragon core, replenishing your depleted beast energy.]
[Year 24: You comprehended the Jade Liquid - Demon Dragon's Power.]
[Year 27: The jade dew from the twelve major acupoints poured out, converging in your dantian like fragrant elixir...
You successfully stepped into the early stage of the Jade Liquid Realm, and your Wind Thunder Sun Melting Scripture reached minor mastery.]
[Remaining Lifespan: 146 years]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 1,473 years]
...
As expected, just by consuming unrefined beast cores and demon pills, the required time was cut in half.
Shen Yi's thoughts drifted slightly.
He exhaled a breath of clear air and closed his eyes.
Before him, a pool of golden jade liquid naturally appeared.
Slightly viscous, it shimmered brilliantly.
It looked like the most delicious nectar in the world, making one's fingers twitch with desire.
Above the jade liquid, countless dark red veins intertwined, forming a large net that enveloped the entire area.
A scorching, searing aura slowly spread, heavy and oppressive, like a fiery hell.
"..."
The twelve major acupoints endlessly absorbed the energy of heaven and earth, sending it to that great prison, where it transformed into drops of jade dew.
Shen Yi opened his eyes again.
He tried to manipulate the jade liquid and immediately felt a qualitative change.
Its density far surpassed what it had been before.
This meant that in the same amount of time, he could now mobilize more than ten times the amount of energy he could before.
In terms of combat, this translated to real, tangible lethality.
"Is this also related to the Jade Liquid Realm?"
Shen Yi reached for the last demon pill but suddenly paused.
He looked at his hand in surprise.
This unfamiliar feeling in his body... the last time he experienced it was when he reached the peak of the Mortal Realm, and it took him half an hour to readjust.
Remembering something, he quickly opened his status panel.
[Jade Liquid - Demon Dragon's Power: With a mortal body, wield the divine strength of a dragon.]
The description was extremely brief.
But it made Shen Yi's breathing quicken.
The demon dragon's true form, over ten zhang long, was unimaginably strong.
Even in a wounded state, it had withstood nine Heavenly Gang Blood Slaughter strikes before finally dying.
To say it could overturn rivers and seas might be an exaggeration, but when it effortlessly tore through his Eight Treasures Mystic Light, it hadn't even changed its expression.
And now, such immense power lay dormant within his human body.
The Diamond Sect used energy to temper their bodies, making them the strongest in physicality within the same realm.
But compared to the innate divine abilities of these natural-born demonic creatures, they paled in comparison.
"This is truly exaggerated."
Shen Yi flexed his fingers, trembling slightly as he picked up the last demon pill, his expression as cautious as if he were using chopsticks to pick up a peanut.
To fully master this power would take several days.
After finally placing the demon pill in his mouth, he poured his remaining demon lifespan into the Wind Thunder Sun Melting Scripture.
The furnace was already formed; all that remained was time.
[Year 1: You consumed the inner core of a fish demon, and your cultivation progress increased.]
[Year 4: Your dantian was filled to the brim, almost overflowing.
The demon core's energy was exhausted, and you failed to comprehend a new ability.
However, under the influence of the demonic energy, your affinity with water increased.]
[Year 6: The jade dew overflowed, beginning to nourish your meridians.
Your meridians could now withstand several times the amount of jade dew as before.
You broke through to the mid-stage of the Jade Liquid Realm, and your Wind Thunder Sun Melting Scripture reached minor mastery.]
...
Starting from this notification, the following text made Shen Yi purse his lips, his expression turning subtle.
Compared to demons and natural treasures, this world was truly stingy to an extreme.
Whether it was spiritual plants, demons, or even humans, the energy it granted was all the same.
[Year 79: You endlessly demanded more from the heavens and earth, hoping for more jade dew to nourish your bones.]
[Year 203: Under the nourishment of the golden dew, your bones became increasingly translucent, as if made of jade.
You stepped into the late stage of the Jade Liquid Realm, and your Wind Thunder Sun Melting Scripture reached major mastery.]
[Year 326: The jade dew began to spread to your internal organs.
Your foundation grew deeper, and your entire body became like a precious medicine, exuding a tempting sweetness.]
[Year 582: Even your blood began to shimmer with golden light.
A glimmer of light appeared in your eyes, only to quickly fade.
You finally learned to conceal your aura, preventing demons from sensing you.
You were no longer a precious medicine but a blade hidden in its sheath.]
[Jade Liquid Realm Perfected]
[Remaining Lifespan: 296 years]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 891 years]
...
Shen Yi clenched his fist and closed his eyes again.
He sank into introspection.
Within the great prison formed by countless dark red veins, a dazzling golden light filled his vision.
It was no longer suppressed but freely coursed through his entire body.
His bones were like jade, his organs shone with brilliance, and his blood shimmered with golden light, like a roaring river, its sound unceasing!
In the face of such an impactful scene, Shen Yi even temporarily forgot his earlier frustration.
When he opened his eyes, he was still immersed in that golden light.
"Ha..."
He steadied his breathing, forcing his mind to calm down.
Such a massive improvement inevitably shook his mental state.
After killing so many demons and coming to the Demon Subduing Bureau, he had finally reaped his rewards.
And the richness of these rewards left Shen Yi with no complaints.
This new body was incomparable to what it had been before.
With nearly three hundred years of lifespan, he was almost like a demon.
He lowered his gaze slightly.
Forget about living a second life—this was enough for him to live three lifetimes.
Even if he found a place to settle down and did nothing, he could live until he grew tired of it.
But after witnessing what he had just seen, how could he be content with mediocrity?
If he wanted to climb higher and live a long life, he needed the means to protect himself.
Shen Yi looked at the top of his status panel.
[Current Martial Arts]
Bone-Piercing Grappling Hand (Major Mastery)
Initial Realm - White Ape Plays with Python (Perfected)
Jade Liquid - Heavenly Gang Blood Slaughter (Perfected)
Jade Liquid - Meridian-Severing Dragon Capture (Perfected)
Jade Liquid - Greedy Wolf Demon Slaying (Perfected)
Jade Liquid - Golden Sun Eight Treasures Mystic Body, Upper Volume (Perfected)
...
After scanning through all his martial arts, Shen Yi pondered.
After this trip to Water Cloud Village, he had gained a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his martial arts.
The Black Blade was sharp, worthy of being a martial art that had been refined step by step.
It could easily cut through demon flesh, replenish stamina, and even heal wounds.
However, it struggled against larger opponents.
Meridian-Severing Dragon Capture could quickly render an enemy powerless, but its drawback was that it required close combat, which carried significant risks.
Heavenly Gang Blood Slaughter was quite good, but it consumed a lot of energy.
After much thought, Shen Yi's gaze fell on the Wind Thunder Sun Melting Scripture and the Golden Sun Eight Treasures Mystic Body.
The former had the potential to evolve into a Core Formation inner technique... probably.
Thinking of his own comprehension ability, Shen Yi wasn't entirely sure.
The latter came from Butcher Zhang.
Even at its perfected level, it only barely allowed his body to cross the threshold of the Jade Liquid Realm.
It had been invaluable in the Initial Realm, but now, the protective mystic light it provided was no longer of much use.
Originally, he hadn't been willing to waste his demon lifespan on it.
But after gaining the Demon Dragon's Power, Shen Yi began to hesitate.
If he wanted to engage in close combat with demons, he couldn't afford to be anything less than tough and resilient.
(End of Chapter)