Chapter 286: The Theory of True Dan

The successful refinement of the Wood Emperor Nail lifted a heavy stone from Qin Ming's heart.

It meant that soon, he would gain a powerful trump card.

If he encountered another strange demon like Lin Zixiao's, he could surely slay it.

Next, the Moon Viewing Island returned to peace.

After several days of adjustment, Qin Ming restored his depleted primordial energy.

During this time, Qin Ming sent Wu Jiang out to gather information.

He learned that the beast tide outside had receded considerably, yet from the Mouth of the Devouring Rat, he learned otherwise.

This situation likely meant the beasts within the Beast Roar Mountains were secretly gathering strength, preparing to launch a larger-scale assault on human territories.

After all, having tasted the nourishing sweetness of devouring human flesh, once addicted, it was hard to stop.

The spirit peach blossoms outside the cave entrance bloomed again, their pink petals lush and fragrant with spiritual energy.

Qin Ming used several 【Temporal-Spatial Leaves】 keywords to further ripen a few more Five-Element Spirit Peach Trees, planting them separately across the island.

They added a striking beauty to the scenery of the main peak.

The spirit bees in the hive buzzed among the peach blossoms, pollinating and collecting nectar.

Qin Ming sat beneath the peach tree, leisurely sipping Jade Lin Wine, studying the third-rank spirit plant inheritance jade slip in his hands.

On the stone table beside him rested a jade box containing a black, date-like seed core.

It was the spirit seed of the 【Fengyou Ghost Date】.

"The Dark Abyss Spirit Liquid can cultivate spirit plants that reach Core Formation."

"But to activate the Spirit-Planting Technique, you need the corpses of ghostly or spiritual entities."

"Obtaining such ghostly corpses is difficult. To gather enough to condense sufficient Dark Abyss Spirit Liquid, you'd typically need only Yin-Wraith Zones or Demon Sect strongholds."

"Where am I supposed to get so many ghostly remains?"

Qin Ming muttered to himself, deep in thought, tapping his fingers on the stone table.

At that moment,

the Devouring Rat, hearing Qin Ming's words, ran over carrying the Shennong Hoe and said, "Hehe! Master, I know where to get ghostly and spiritual corpses."

"Oh? Tell me."

"If it's true, I'll reward you handsomely."

Qin Ming said, intrigued.

Hearing "handsomely rewarded," the Devouring Rat immediately grew excited, grinning widely: "It's the old Thousand Leaf Spirit Island."

"Beneath that island once lay a demonic cave ruin. After several major upheavals on the Spirit Island, countless beasts and cultivators died there. It was also the former nest of the Demon Vines—its depths must be filled with ghostly and spiritual entities."

Hearing this, Qin Ming asked doubtfully:

"Wasn't the Thousand Leaf Island destroyed by the Jin Dan elders' spells during the Three Factions' Demon Purge?"

"How could ghostly entities still exist?"

The Devouring Rat spoke mysteriously: "That's only the surface. When I was badly wounded and fled to the spiritual energy Archipelago, I passed by Thousand Leaf Island."

"But through my bloodline ability, I sensed that deep underground, thick demonic energy still lingers—just well-hidden."

"I believe the demonic cave absorbed the accumulated deathly energy of all the beings who perished on the island, and hasn't fully died out."

Hearing this, Qin Ming's expression brightened.

Given its talent for burrowing and sensing energy, it was almost certainly true.

"Though the demonic plants on the island were eradicated by the Jin Dan elders, I wonder if there are still dangers inside?"

"See if this energy matches."

Qin Ming spoke, then pulled from his storage pouch the black iron fragment that had fallen from the Blood Curse Demon Vine, handing it to the Devouring Rat.

"This! This! This!"

"Such potent demonic energy—it's even stained with demonic blood!"

The Devouring Rat, upon receiving the fragment, was stunned speechless.

To be honest, he was growing increasingly unable to fathom his master—how could such an otherworldly artifact be in his possession? "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"The energy is extremely similar."

"But since the demonic plants were destroyed and the key demonic artifact is now in your hands, the demonic cave should contain only low-grade ghostly entities."

"They shouldn't pose much threat to you."

The Devouring Rat spoke clearly, quickly voicing his assessment.

Qin Ming, upon hearing this, relaxed—but given his cautious nature, he still didn't plan to rush in.

After all, this was once the place that had nurtured a third-rank demonic plant.

He intended to further strengthen himself before investigating.

Qin Ming dismissed the Devouring Rat and returned to the cave.

He then took out two jade vials, each containing the perfected second-rank beast blood he had previously purchased.

One vial held the Stone Ape Great Beast blood traded from Jin Yan the Old Monster; the other, the Giant Mi Cang Ape Great Beast blood exchanged from Lin Zixiao's disguise as the pale-faced middle-aged man.

These two ape-like beasts were among the elite in the beast clans, only slightly weaker than the Twin-Pupil Demon Ape.

Moreover, ape beasts generally possessed extremely high intelligence, were hard to hunt, possessed immense strength, agile and unpredictable speed, could wield weapons like humans, and were fiercely formidable in battle.

Hunting them was exceedingly difficult.

Even Jin Yan the Old Monster had lost several companions to obtain just one vial of Stone Ape Great Beast blood.

Qin Ming immediately uncapped the vial and swallowed the entire contents of the perfected second-rank Stone Ape Great Beast blood.

Boom! Scorching, violent blood energy exploded within him.

But Qin Ming had already assimilated the Twin-Pupil Demon Ape's blood, and met the conditions required for the third transformation of True Gang Form, so his body had undergone a radical transformation.

Now, swallowing the Stone Ape's blood brought no prior agony—only a chaotic surge of energy within, and faintly, the spirit of a Stone Ape struggling and roaring in defiance.

Qin Ming activated the 【Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture】—no, according to the Devouring Rat, it should now be called the 【Heavenly Demon Transformation Strategy】.

Suddenly!

After assimilating the first vial of Stone Ape Great Beast blood, Qin Ming's blood and True Gang surged higher still.

At the same time,

the beast hide in Qin Ming's bosom flew out on its own; a white glow suddenly ignited on a specific spot of the map and shot into Qin Ming's third eye.

The Hundred Beasts Contemplation Map manifested vividly within his spiritual sense.

After entering the third transformation of True Gang Form, the Hundred Beasts Contemplation Map seemed to have undergone some transformation.

The images Qin Ming could perceive now lasted longer—not just one or two breaths.

In the depths of his mind, a vision unfolded strangely before Qin Ming's eyes.

The first scene: on a vast, wild land, war raged, countless cultivators and beast clans perished, their blood drenching the earth crimson.

Human cultivators joined forces and finally wiped out an entire ape beast clan, leaving not even the youngest cub alive.

The scene shifted.

Before him stood a magnificent human celestial city spanning tens of millions of hectares—its scale more than ten times that of Canghai Celestial City.

Suddenly, the earth trembled! A colossal thousand-zhang mountain ape appeared, its entire body covered in silvery-white fur, muscles bulging with explosive power.

Along with the mountain ape's terrifying aura surged a fury that pierced the heavens: "Petty humans! How dare you exterminate my offspring!"

His roar sent all cultivators fleeing in terror. The mountain ape strode with regal authority between the peaks.

With each step,

his pressure and killing intent grew more horrifying.

Until black lightning exploded around him!

The mountain ape crouched and leapt, shooting toward the heavens.

His right hand clenched into a fist, radiating a brilliance like a dying star.

That punch was blindingly radiant.

The entire grand human celestial city was engulfed in crimson light.

When the annihilating killing intent spread,

heaven and earth dimmed in that instant!

The mountain ape gripped the sun, his voice shaking the cosmos: "Beneath the wilds, all are my offspring—how dare you?" No more words.

The "Void Annihilation Fist Shadow" crashed down! One punch unleashed the birth and death of the universe before his eyes.

Spanning the distance from sky to earth, it was a strike from the galaxy falling from heaven.

From afar,

the thousand-zhang mountain ape seemed entirely absorbed into the blaze.

A blazing meteor tore through the heavens.

A terrifying aura erupted violently!

Boom! Instantly, nothing within the celestial city could be seen.

Only white light consumed all—the square bathed in radiance, countless towering buildings reduced to dust.

More and more pavilions collapsed under the shockwave.

The exaggerated blast wave hurled tens of thousands of cultivators through the air.

After the explosion at the city's center, a pillar of fire shot skyward, igniting rolling smoke that spread across half the city.

Black lightning swept everything; wherever it passed, countless human cultivators instantly shattered into fragments.

Just one punch.

The white mountain-sized ape flattened the entire massive immortal city, and immediately afterward, Qin Ming's mind was struck by a violent wave of dizziness; his vision blurred as he exited the Hundred Beasts Visualization.

He was utterly immersed in profound shock.

"What kind of physical strength is this?"

"It's like dropping a nuclear bomb on the earth!"

"This level of power must far surpass the Golden Core realm."

"But what does this mean?"

"Why did I see this terrifying scene?"

"Can the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Strategy truly reach such a height?"

Qin Ming fell into deep thought; clearly, he could not wield such power.

Then, a mysterious insight surged into his mind.

It was the faint fist intent from that cataclysmic punch! At the same time, as he exited the Hundred Beasts Visualization, Qin Ming fully refined the second-grade perfected Stone Ape Great Demon's blood essence, making it part of his own strength.

Seizing the momentum, Qin Ming swallowed the second-grade perfected Giant Mi Cang Ape's blood essence and began cultivating again.

Refining the second blood essence was far smoother than before.

As his cultivation progressed, the Hundred Beasts Visualization reactivated, and the shocking scene reappeared before Qin Ming's eyes.

His understanding of the fist intent deepened once more.

It also accelerated the refinement of the second blood essence, pushing his physical strength to an unprecedented height.

"Just one more blood essence left—I can then perfect the third transformation of True Gang Forming, achieving the legendary True Ultimate Body."

"Moreover, after completing the third transformation, I will awaken a physical divine art like a great demon," Qin Ming clenched his fingers, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Ever since he had witnessed the majestic form of the mountain-sized ape in the Hundred Beasts Visualization, he had been envious of such a divine art.

Of course, its power would never match the mountain-sized ape's—yet even if it reached one ten-millionth of that strength, Qin Ming would be satisfied.

Once Qin Ming fully perfected the Foundation Establishment third transformation of the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Strategy and achieved the True Ultimate Body, he would be able to withstand magic treasures directly.

Beyond that, he must also consider how to obtain the next stage of the cultivation technique—likely involving Golden Core-level body refinement arts.

In his cave.

Qin Ming opened his pitch-black eyes and exhaled a long breath.

"Just one more blood essence left!"

At this moment, even the aura he emitted made the Sky-Devouring Rat outside tremble in fear.

"Unbelievable, utterly unbelievable."

"Master has completely refined the demonic scripture, the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Strategy, to the third transformation—just a hair's breadth from perfection!"

"If this continues, Master might truly reach the legendary 'Blood Qi Embracing Core' realm."

"Countless demonic race prodigies failed to master this scripture—never did I imagine a human cultivator would succeed."

"That would be the greatest joke in the world."

The Sky-Devouring Rat forgot its work, standing frozen with its Shen Nong Hoe, staring blankly toward Qin Ming's cave, muttering to itself.

Qin Ming's spiritual sense moved, and he heard every word the Sky-Devouring Rat had spoken; he summoned it inside and asked:

"What do you mean by 'Blood Qi Embracing Core'?"

The Sky-Devouring Rat, sensing the primordial beast-like terror radiating from Qin Ming, shuddered and quickly grinned back: "Hehe! Your humble servant reports, O honored Master: 'Blood Qi Embracing Core' is the realm achieved after completing the third transformation of the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Strategy."

"It's roughly equivalent to what your human cultivators call 'Physical Core Formation.'"

"But it is even stronger than physical core formation."

"Blood Qi Embracing Core condenses a Blood Qi True Core upon the foundation of the True Ultimate Body—equivalent to the human Golden Core realm. Yet in the past hundred years, not a single great demon, even among the demonic royal bloodlines, has ever formed a Blood Qi True Core."

"Once the True Core emerges, even among demons of the same realm, one is invincible."

Qin Ming frowned; he hadn't expected this gray-furred rat to actually possess such valuable knowledge—information crucial to him.

He then asked, puzzled: "How do you know the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Strategy can reach this realm? And how do you know so clearly about the Blood Qi True Core?"

"Didn't you say you didn't know the whereabouts of the next stages of this technique?"

"Are you hiding something?"

As Qin Ming spoke, the air grew tense.

"Hey, how could I dare hide anything!"

"As for the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Strategy, it's been passed down through generations in my clan, so I've heard a little."

"The demonic scripture is of immense importance—I truly don't know its whereabouts."

"But the Green-Faced Poisonous Cobra very likely possesses a copy."

The Sky-Devouring Rat couldn't resist throwing in another jab at the Green-Faced Poisonous Cobra—it was because of that beast that he'd been reduced to his current state.

'With Master's fate as a world-chosen one, he might actually avenge me and vent his fury!'

The Sky-Devouring Rat's thoughts drifted far away, secretly fantasizing. (End of Chapter)