A shortcut derived through demonic methods turned out to be even more powerful and flawless than the true core condensation technique, as if tailor-made for him.
In the dimly lit tent, after his excitement had subsided, Shen Yi's handsome face gradually calmed down.
Perhaps due to his past life experiences, he had grown to be quite skeptical.
It was hard for him to believe that good fortune would simply fall from the sky.
The fact that the "Heavenly Demon Yama Devouring Core Technique" seemed so enticing made him uneasy.
Everything in the world comes with a price, and this principle should apply to most situations.
Even if there were something truly flawless... it shouldn't be something that a flood dragon demon and a fox demon could casually deduce in just two hundred years.
If that were the case, core condensation techniques would have long been common knowledge.
After a moment, a faint sigh echoed in the tent.
"Why am I being so picky?"
Shen Yi's eyes flickered with a hint of self-mockery.
From Baiyun County all the way here, he had encountered the black-skinned old dog, the yellow-skinned weasel, the ape demon from Dongshan, the fox from Beiya... the river demon's young flood dragon, and the alligator flood dragon demon.
If he had always played it safe and taken things step by step, he would have died countless times over.
With his level of talent and comprehension, he didn't have the luxury of playing it safe.
He was destined to leave the safety of the city and roam the wilds, plundering lifespan wherever he could.
Once he stepped outside the city walls, accidents could happen at any moment.
Throughout this journey, Shen Yi felt like he was always the one holding the fort.
Whether it was the Li siblings' defeat or Hong Lei and Zhao Kanglin's misjudgments, all of them could have cost their lives.
It was only because he was barely able to handle the situations that they managed to turn danger into safety.
But who would hold the fort for him? The Demon Suppression Bureau? Lin Baiwei, who had the strongest background in Qingzhou and was also at the peak of the Jade Liquid Realm, had survived only because Old Man Liu had swung his staff in a panic.
Relying on such low-probability events for survival was far from reassuring.
"Still, it's always good to be cautious."
Shen Yi took a deep breath and didn't immediately pour his lifespan into the technique.
For the first time, he carefully reviewed the newly deduced technique in his mind.
After all, this involved the critical matter of core condensation, and he needed to be extremely careful.
If there were any hidden dangers that he couldn't resolve for the time being, even if it pained him to waste the demon lifespan, he would have to set it aside.
The "Heavenly Demon Yama Devouring Core Technique" mostly came from the flood dragon demon and the fox demon.
Even Shen Yi found it somewhat obscure.
Lines of text slowly surfaced in his mind as the candle melted away, its flickering flame shrinking to the size of a soybean.
Shen Yi furrowed his brows, using the shallow knowledge he had gained from the system to barely interpret the contents of the external core technique.
Finally...
"Using this marvelous method, one can forge a ferocious devouring treasure."
"Forge? A treasure?"
Shen Yi opened his eyes, his expression strange.
He suddenly thought of the alligator flood dragon.
The scales on its body seemed to have been refined through some method, making them both offensive and defensive.
Even when they were scraped off by the black blade, the demon didn't seem to feel any pain.
So, this external core had nothing to do with his cultivation level... or even himself? It was more like a magical artifact? This was yet another area he was unfamiliar with.
Shen Yi helplessly raised an eyebrow.
His biggest problem was that he had been in this world for too short a time, and his exposure to cultivation was limited.
Without a proper master, there were many things he didn't understand.
However, if it was a treasure, using it would make him feel much more at ease.
Shen Yi's divine sense stirred, and the vast amount of demon lifespan carefully flowed into the "Heavenly Demon Yama Technique."
...
[Year 1: You mobilize the jade dew within your body and begin forging the mysterious treasure described in the external core technique within the Melting Sun Furnace.]
Seeing this prompt, Shen Yi slightly relaxed.
He continued to watch the changes on the system panel as a series of prompts flashed before his eyes.
[Year 32: You accumulate jade dew...]
[Year 98: You gather all the energy that your meridians and flesh cannot contain into your dantian, refining it in the Melting Sun Furnace and forcibly condensing it using a strange method.]
[Year 172: You accumulate jade dew...]
[Year 370: The external core begins to take shape, quietly floating within your dantian.]
[Year 690: The external core within your body is enveloped in thick, golden jade dew, shining brilliantly.
It begins to actively absorb energy.]
[Year 931: Within the Melting Sun Furnace, the golden light dissipates, revealing the perfectly round external core treasure.
It is empty, waiting for you to nurture it.]
[Heavenly Demon Yama Devouring Core Technique (Perfected)]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 1,125 years]
...
As the final prompt appeared, it confirmed Shen Yi's speculation.
The external core treasure wasn't some obscure metaphor—it was exactly what it sounded like.
The "Heavenly Demon Technique" had directly gone from unlearned to perfected, which made it seem more like forging a tool rather than a cultivation technique with intermediate stages.
He closed his eyes and sank into his inner vision.
His organs glowed, golden plasma flowed, and the Melting Sun Furnace, woven from countless dark red meridians, radiated scorching heat like a prison.
Within this prison, a smooth, jade-like pill quietly floated.
If he didn't actively control it, the jade dew within his body wouldn't pass by it.
In his otherwise perfectly harmonious internal body, the pill stood out like a sore thumb, completely isolated by the Melting Sun Furnace.
After pouring over nine hundred years of demon lifespan into it, there was no change in his cultivation level or strength.
"..."
Shen Yi wasn't disappointed.
Instead, he looked intrigued.
He opened his eyes and slowly extended his hand.
In the next moment, the jade pill materialized in his palm.
It could even be taken out of his body...
Demons were indeed demons.
Even their cultivation was achieved through sheer longevity.
They knew nothing about core condensation techniques.
Shen Yi pursed his lips in silence and brought the alligator flood dragon's beast core closer to the jade pill.
In an instant, a domineering, plundering intent erupted from the pill!
"Wait."
As if suddenly remembering something, Shen Yi quickly moved it away and returned it to his dantian.
He had almost forgotten that he still had a chance to comprehend talents from the beast core.
After all, the Heavenly Demon external core only needed the cultivation contained within it.
He placed the alligator flood dragon's beast core in his mouth, tasting the metallic sweetness on his tongue, and opened the system panel again.
He poured demon lifespan into the Heavenly Demon Technique.
[Year 1: You consume the Jade Liquid Realm alligator flood dragon beast core, drawing the vast demonic energy into your body.
It flows through your meridians as you carefully digest the impurities, finally directing all of it into the Heavenly Demon external core.]
[Talent Comprehended: Jade Liquid - Hundred Refinements Alligator Body]
[Hundred Refinements Alligator Body: A natural molting method of aquatic creatures.
Your body is enhanced, with significant breakthroughs every hundred years.]
Shen Yi clenched his fist, carefully sensing the changes.
Compared to the flood dragon demon's power, the increase this time wasn't as dramatic.
His strength had improved by about thirty percent, which was still within manageable limits.
As for the improvements after a hundred years, he wouldn't think about that for now.
After familiarizing himself with his body, he sank back into his inner vision and was slightly startled.
The jade external core showed no change, still perfectly round and translucent.
Only under Shen Yi's intense scrutiny did he notice a faint layer of crimson liquid inside the core.
"A thousand-year-old alligator flood dragon, at the peak of the Jade Liquid Realm, and this is all it gives?"
Shen Yi was speechless.
He placed the flood dragon core in his mouth again, consuming another year of lifespan to direct the demonic energy into the external core.
[Year 1: You consume the flood dragon core...]
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rang in his ears!
Shen Yi's expression changed drastically as he immediately identified the source of the commotion.
The Melting Sun Furnace, woven from countless dark red meridians, was trembling slightly.
Within this prison, the external core remained as calm as ever.
However, the demonic liquid inside it had filled up half of the core!
Fortunately, although the Melting Sun Furnace was trembling, after a few breaths, it managed to suppress the external core again.
"Was it about to exceed its limits?"
Thankfully, it stabilized.
Otherwise, after pouring so much lifespan and the flood dragon core into it, if he couldn't control the external core and had to discard it, that would have been truly heartbreaking.
Shen Yi observed the external core through his inner vision and, using the communication method described in the external core technique, attempted to touch it with his divine sense.
In the next moment, the Melting Sun Furnace slowly opened.
From the jade-like external core, wisps of crimson demonic energy flowed out, adding a dense, sinister aura to the white jade surface.
The energy, blood-red and almost dripping, quickly spread through the pathways provided by the Melting Sun Furnace, rushing toward his limbs and bones!
"..."
Shen Yi suddenly opened his eyes, a bloody hue appearing in his pitch-black pupils.
His handsome features remained calm, not because he was unshaken, but because he didn't know how to express the shock he was feeling.
The power surging within his body was something he had never seen before, something he couldn't even comprehend.
It radiated a terrifying aura, as if a colossal beast had broken free from the abyss, revealing its horrifying form.
This was the cultivation that the Flood Dragon Lord had accumulated over three thousand years...
Shen Yi slowly extended his hand, his well-defined fingers seemingly capable of crushing anything in the world!
At the same time.
On the peak of Qingfeng Mountain, the first light of dawn broke through.
Two core condensation elders, who had been standing silently behind Chen Qiankun, suddenly looked into the distance, their eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
(End of Chapter)