Record of a Demon's Cultivation

Chapter 548 - The Human-Shaped Elixir

Translator: Cinder Translations

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"You want to possess me?"

Song Wen's lips curled into a disdainful smile.

"Xu Geng, you're courting death!"

Before his voice faded, a deep abyss suddenly tore open within Song Wen's spiritual sea. The darkness within was as deep as ink, vast and unfathomable, like the infinite void of the night sky.

An irresistible force locked onto Xu Geng's soul, dragging him violently toward the abyss.

The devouring power of the black hole was unimaginably strong, rendering Xu Geng utterly powerless in its presence, like a speck of dust in the face of a storm.

Fear surged from deep within Xu Geng's soul. He knew that once he was consumed by the black hole, his soul would be utterly annihilated.

"What is this strange existence?!" Xu Geng cried out in terror. "Spare me! Please don't devour my soul! I don't want to perish!"

Suddenly, the black hole disappeared, and the devouring force ceased.

In its place appeared a transparent blade, just an inch long, hovering at the center of Xu Geng's forehead.

"Xu Geng, tell me everything you know. Otherwise, I'll let your soul experience the agony of being torn apart."

The overwhelming soul power Xu Geng had unleashed earlier now seemed to have completely drained him.

At this moment, his soul was incredibly frail, like a flickering candle in the wind, seemingly on the verge of vanishing at any moment.

Staring at the spiritual blade before him, Xu Geng's eyes reflected deep fear and helplessness.

He had no cards left to play and could only surrender.

"I am not Xu Geng, nor am I the master of the Nether Shrine, nor the deputy master of the Divine Blood Gate. My real name is Bie Chou, and I was merely a Blood Nether Guard of the Nether Shrine."

"Blood Nether Guard?"

Song Wen suddenly recalled hearing that term from Xue Mei before.

"On the surface, the Blood Nether Guards are the strongest enforcers of the Divine Blood Gate. But in truth, they are merely tools for the sect's core members to devour spiritual power and enhance their cultivation."

As he spoke, Bie Chou seemed to be recalling ancient memories buried deep within him. His voice carried both anger and a trace of desolation.

"Years ago, my cultivation had reached the late Nascent Soul stage, and I was nearly unrivaled within the Tianyuan Realm. Yet, in the eyes of the Divine Blood Gate, I was nothing more than a walking pill."

"They not only drained the spiritual power from my body but also imprisoned my soul, attempting to use it as a substitute for a demon soul in refining the Soul-Destroying Demon Pill. But for some unknown reason, the Nether Shrine's entire power in the Chaotic Sea suddenly vanished, leaving my soul to barely survive..."

Bie Chou's experience was strikingly similar to Xue Mei's—both had been trapped as disembodied souls. Yet the mysterious disappearance of the Divine Blood Gate's forces allowed their souls to persist.

What Bie Chou revealed also unraveled many lingering doubts in Song Wen's heart.

The Corpse King Rebirth Art had been split into two techniques by the Divine Blood Gate: The Longevity Technique and the Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique.

The Longevity Technique was widely disseminated to allow the sect to steal the lifespans of those who practiced it.

The Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique, on the other hand, was used to cultivate Blood Nether Guards. These guards served two purposes: providing combat power for the sect and acting as living pills to enhance the cultivation of the sect's upper echelon.

This also confirmed another theory in Song Wen's mind.

Only when a Blood Nether Guard raised the Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique to the Foundation Establishment stage could the spiritual energy within them be devoured. Guards in the Qi Condensation stage had no usable energy to extract.

This explained why the Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique was not widely taught.

"You just said that 'the entire Chaotic Sea has no inheritance of the Corpse King Rebirth Art.' But back in the Soul Cave on Wu Ji Island, you personally promised Yin Shuo that by taking the Life Returning Pill, he could successfully switch to practicing the Corpse King Rebirth Art. So, where did Yin Shuo get his Corpse King Rebirth Art?"

Bie Chou replied, "There was no Corpse King Rebirth Art in Yin Shuo's possession. The technique he had was the same one I just shared with you. It was something I devised during my tens of thousands of years of imprisonment, based on my insights from the Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique and the Longevity Technique." "You've cultivated the Corpse King Rebirth Art, so naturally, you can tell my technique is fake. However, Yin Shuo has never practiced it. The method I derived took tens of thousands of years, and even if there are errors in it, without personal practice, they can't be discovered."

Hearing Bie Chou's words, Song Wen felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment.

He had gone through so much trouble tracking down "Xu Geng," crossing more than half of the inner sea of the Chaotic Sea and traveling all the way to the Cui family. In the end, all he found was a fake Xu Geng.

"It seems there's no point in keeping you alive!"

Song Wen's cold voice resounded, his killing intent surging like a tidal wave.

Bie Chou quickly interjected, "Wait, my friend! While I don't have the Corpse King Rebirth Art, I do know other cultivation techniques. For example, the Undying True Corpse Transformation, the most powerful close-combat secret art of the Divine Blood Gate."

"Hand over the method for the Undying True Corpse Transformation!"

Song Wen's tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Unless you swear a soul oath to let me leave unharmed after obtaining the technique, I won't reveal a single word."

"Stubborn fool! It seems you still don't understand your current predicament."

As soon as Song Wen finished speaking, the spiritual blade within his consciousness trembled slightly before stabbing into Bie Chou's soul at the chest. Slowly, it began to move downward, slicing through his soul and leaving deep wounds.

The pain inflicted directly on his soul was indescribable—a torment that pierced straight into his very being.

Bie Chou's soul began trembling violently, as though on the verge of collapse.

His consciousness blurred, yet the excruciating pain clung to him like a shadow, inescapable.

"Ah... please... give me a swift end!"

Bie Chou screamed in anguish.

"Tell me every cultivation technique, secret art, and formula you know. If I'm satisfied, I might spare your life."

Song Wen stopped the torment. He feared that if he went too far, Bie Chou's soul might scatter completely.

Bie Chou then began reciting the method for the Undying True Corpse Transformation, along with the formula for the Life Returning Pill and various techniques. However, most of these techniques failed to catch Song Wen's interest.

The Life Returning Pill formula was also of little use to Song Wen. For cultivators of the Longevity Technique, after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, the pill offered a slight chance of helping them break through minor bottlenecks.

"What about the formula for the Soul-Destroying Demon Pill?"

After recording everything Bie Chou said onto a jade slip, Song Wen asked again.

"I am a Blood Nether Guard, not an alchemist. I was never qualified to access the formula for the Soul-Destroying Demon Pill," replied Bie Chou.

Song Wen then asked, "With your knowledge, where in the current cultivation world is most likely to have the Nascent Soul-stage techniques of the Corpse King Rebirth Art?"

Without hesitation, Bie Chou responded, "It must be in the former headquarters of the Divine Blood Gate."

"Where is the Divine Blood Gate located?" Song Wen pressed.

"On the far side of the Endless Desert, in a place called the Tuo Cang Mountain Range. But I don't know the exact location. I've never left the Chaotic Sea, let alone ventured beyond the Endless Desert."

Hearing this, Song Wen couldn't help but feel that his journey had been a waste.

This Bie Chou was utterly clueless, unable to provide anything of real value.

Yet, Song Wen could not determine whether his words were true or false.

Although Bie Chou's soul was weak, his cultivation level was higher than Song Wen's, which made it impossible for Song Wen to perform a soul search on him.

(End of the Chapter)

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