Chapter 406: The Secret of General Nanyang Sect (Combined, 4k)

Shen Yi sat upright in the great hall.

With the vast lifespan of demons and monsters replenishing him, the Dao Palace expanded to five hundred and thirty-two zhang, finally reaching its ultimate limit.

He continued to deduce for another thousand years.

The second Dao technique recorded in the Wuliang Dao Emperor's Palace, however, still could not be transformed for use by the Demon Emperor's Palace.

Shen Yi opened his eyes and temporarily stopped pouring in lifespan.

In the past, he had always completed incomplete techniques; this was the first time he had actively cultivated a complete technique into an incomplete one.

On the panel, Lady Qinghua had already cut down more than forty lives.

The various Demon Kings who had previously obeyed Bai Hong's orders had, in such a short time, almost all perished at the hands of the Golden Body Dharma Image.

【Remaining Demon Lifespan: 120,300 years. Can be condensed.】

【Demon Suppression Stone: Consumes ten thousand years of life force to condense an image; can absorb demon resentful souls and broken bodies, using the bloodline of the Heavenly Demon to prove my master's divine powers.】

"Suppression Stone?"

Shen Yi pondered for an instant, then suddenly remembered something.

Could this thing be the palace-suppressing object that Ling Xi mentioned?

Fortunately, the Dao Palace had already taken complete shape.

Moreover, this Suppression Stone was far cheaper than Shen Yi had imagined; he had originally thought it would require a hundred thousand years.

Done.

Ten thousand years of demon lifespan rapidly vanished.

In the next moment, Shen Yi's vision suddenly grew dark, as if he had plunged into an endless, silent night.

Within this endless night.

A square stone monument stood there, its entire body appearing gray-white.

"That's it?"

Shen Yi waited patiently for a long while, discovering it was just an ordinary stone.

Right, it needs to absorb demon souls.

He casually grabbed the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor, who was nearby shaking its head and reciting pill formulas, and shoved it into the stone monument.

"..."

The Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor, like a kitten by the scruff of its neck, helplessly waved its limbs, staring blankly at Shen Yi.

It was seen pressing tightly against the stone monument, yet no matter what, it could not melt inside.

"This won't work either."

Shen Yi frowned slightly; a moment later, he glanced at the formation set up at the main gate.

He then took out the corpse of the Bai Ma.

In an instant, Shen Yi suddenly felt the stone monument tremble, as if waiting for his command.

"Eat."

With a slight movement of his mind.

The hideous corpse before him suddenly turned into a river of blood, flowing into Shen Yi's body, surging into the night, and seeping into the stone monument.

In an instant, the rustling sound of stone skin peeling off rang in his ears.

As if a skilled craftsman, holding an invisible iron chisel, had quickly carved it into a majestic running horse; beneath the stone skin, blood vessels and threads were actually visible. Apart from the overall color remaining gray-white, it was lifelike, indistinguishable from a living creature.

【Bai Hong Suppression Stone: Not yet infused with spirit.】

Shen Yi took a deep breath, suddenly feeling as though he had been trapped.

So that ten thousand years of lifespan was just a threshold?

Up until now, he didn't even know what this thing was actually for.

"Hah."

Shen Yi exchanged for the demon origin.

This was the first time he had reshaped the soul of a great Demon Emperor.

Five in a row.

Only then was Bai Hong's demon soul barely complete.

Shen Yi finally understood why this Suppression Stone required remaining demon lifespan to reach one hundred thousand years before unlocking; it was truly calculated precisely.

He sent the just-condensed Bai Hong toward the Suppression Stone.

He held his breath, quietly observing the changes.

In the blink of an eye, a wisp of color spread from the top of the Suppression Stone; as that snow-white color covered the entire body, a flash of spiritual light suddenly flickered within the Bai Ma's black vertical pupils.

This stone statue seemed strangely alive.

Shen Yi fell silent for a moment, reopened his eyes, and exited that night.

Immediately following, a wisp of spiritual light emerged from his brow.

It transformed into a tall, muscular Bai Ma, which lightly stamped its hooves, then respectfully knelt before Shen Yi.

"That's it?"

Shen Yi looked at the Bai Ma; although its colors were vivid, upon closer inspection, one could still observe that its body was made of stone.

Trying to deceive other demons with it should be impossible.

As for letting it help fight.

Is a demon merely comparable to a Soul Transformation perfection worth a full sixty thousand years of demon lifespan?

"No, since it's called a Suppression Stone, it should still be related to the Dao Palace."

Shen Yi looked at the remaining sixty-plus thousand years of demon lifespan.

Once again, he poured it into the Palace of Boundless Demon Souls.

【In the first year, you placed the Bai Hong Stabilizing Stone into the Dao Palace, using its bloodline to accomplish Dao techniques and supernatural powers.】

【Ten Thousand Demons Pay Homage: Breaking Illusions】

【With the support of the Stabilizing Stone, your Dao Palace has become even more stable.】

The deduction process went smoothly, ending after only three prompts appeared.

"It has the effect of a stabilizing object, yet it does not truly count as a Palace-Stabilizing Artifact."

Shen Yi pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

Whether the sixty thousand years spent was worth it still depended on the specific effects of this new Dao technique.

Unfortunately, there is no chance for that now.

However, the stability of this Dao Palace is quite significant.

By the time one reaches the Void Return realm, most battles will be between Dao Palaces; if one can infinitely increase the stability of the Dao Palace, as long as there is enough demon lifespan, where would one find anyone capable of being an opponent?

Thinking of this,

Shen Yi patted the white horse's head, watching it gently rub against his palm, daring not to show any abnormality due to past grievances from its previous life.

"My Lord, you must leave as soon as possible."

After Shen Yi moved his hand away, the Bai Hong Demon Emperor spoke softly: "If Bai Hong does not return to the cave within ten days, that old dog will surely take action. Given its nature of killing the innocent rather than letting a suspect escape, your recent abnormalities will undoubtedly be the first target of investigation."

"It is not a demon; your Transformation Technique is completely useless against it."

"It is not a demon?" This was the first time Shen Yi had heard news about that Cave Lord.

"To be precise, that old dog is the spiritual beast guarding the General Nanyang Sect, officially recorded in the registers. Its familiarity with the General Nanyang Sect's techniques is beyond your imagination."

The Bai Hong Demon Emperor let out a bitter smile: "It has even truly mastered several magical arts, calls itself a cultivator, and despises associating with us demons."

"Then why did it let you occupy the Thousand Demon Cave?"

While Shen Yi manipulated lifespan to deduce the Dragon Leaps Through the Celestial Yin, he looked over with some curiosity.

"Because it was afraid." Bai Hong seemed to know something about those ancient events and recounted them calmly: "When the sect met disaster, the old dog survived. According to the original rules, it should have held the Dao Token to open the General Nanyang Sect, gone out to find a Meng Sect to take over this place, and after at most a few hundred years of recuperation, this place would still be a prosperous Xian Sect."

"But it immediately chose to steal and eat the heavenly treasures and earthly herbs left behind by the sect."

"After it had eaten its fill and drunk its fill,"

Bai Hong blinked its black eyes and whispered: "Its life was then due to end."

The sect met disaster; the guardian stole from within.

If it had been a cultivator, it would have been one thing, but it was merely a watchdog.

"It slaughtered the mortal descendants of the General Nanyang Sect cultivators, raised demons with spiritual medicines, occupied the inner sect, and severed the lineage. The Shen Zongzhu and the elders left behind ten great Dao Tokens; nine were destroyed by it, and only one remained lost outside, simply because that elder happened to return to their clan to select disciples..."

"What is a Dao Token?"

Shen Yi's mind felt slightly dazed.

He had finally touched upon the deepest secret of the General Nanyang Sect.

"You can understand it as an Elder's Token or a Shen Zongzhu's Token; with this object, one can activate the entire array of the General Nanyang Sect."

"That thing is now in the hands of Mount Wutong."

"However, to achieve this, one must place the Dao Token into the Main Hall of General Nanyang... The old dog has not left that place for tens of thousands of years."

"Having eaten so many heavenly treasures and earthly herbs, it merely changed from guarding the kitchen to guarding the Main Hall; it is still that watchdog, and it is even unwilling to remove the iron chain around its neck."

The iron chain is proof of its status as the General Nanyang Sect's spiritual beast.

But from the moment it began slaughtering the descendants of the General Nanyang Sect cultivators,

there was no going back.

"Precisely because of this, it regards the General Nanyang Sect as its private property." Bai Hong looked at the pill formulas surrounding them: "It would rather cultivate us to guard it than destroy these useless things."

"..."

Shen Yi fell silent for a moment, having never imagined this at all.

This so-called chaos of demons arose solely from a moment of greed born in a dog.

"You may find it hard to imagine that, after consuming most of the General Nanyang Sect's remaining treasures, even a mere ordinary spiritual dog could reach such a terrifying level."

Now that Bai Hong had awakened, it finally understood what its master had been doing inside the Thousand Demon Cave during this time.

But even so, it did not believe anyone could truly engage the old dog in battle.

"My Lord, do not expose yourself; otherwise, if the old dog learns that the pill formulas and techniques have leaked, it will not mind repeating the massacre of those years."

"Understood."

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze.

Seeing that Dragon Leaps Through the Celestial Yin had once again stalled at the major accomplishment realm, he took out the pills he had previously scavenged and summoned the Xuanming Spider Emperor.

"Help me check if there are any treasures within these that can cultivate the Spiritual Body Method."

Perhaps it was good luck, or perhaps it was because such pills prepared for techniques were not favored by the many demons.

The Xuanming Spider Emperor actually picked out a bottle of Red Sun Bathing Spirit Pill from them.

The Spiritual Body Method and the Body Tempering Method actually share a common point.

That is, they torture the body, only the chosen methods differ.

Bai Hong glanced warily at that bottle of pills, clearly having suffered losses from it before.

At this time, Shen Yi's mixed spiritual roots proved useful; up until now, it seemed he had not yet encountered any technique incompatible with his nature.

【Soul Transformation: Divine Sparrow Nirvana: Not Entered】

Shen Yi took out a pill into his palm, felt the faint warmth, and then placed it into his mouth.

Immediately following, he felt that warmth ignite within his body.

It was not merely a description of sensation, but a literal burning!

Boom—

Golden flames, from within outward, instantly engulfed Shen Yi's body; the flesh and bones formed by his Nascent Soul were nearly incinerated in an instant, revealing jade bones and the five viscera of his spiritual roots.

【Year One: You used the Crimson Sun Soul-Bathing Pill, attempting to fully integrate its potent medicinal force into your body】

"…"

Shen Yi glanced at the anxious demons watching him, pressed his lips together, and with calm expression, swallowed back his cry of pain.

For any other cultivator, they would never have experienced such a taste in their entire life.

But Shen Yi was actually fine; after all, the suffering from the Immortal-Demon Nine Molts he had previously practiced was no less severe than this.

Since it was a systematic cultivation method, it meant others had tried before—it shouldn't have problems; this was all normal… hiss.

"My lord's endurance is truly beyond comparison."

Bai Hong watched as Shen Yi swallowed the second pill; though its nature wasn't as fawning as Xuan Ming's, having once tasted this pill, it couldn't help letting out a soft sigh.

"Get out of the way."

Xuan Ming glared at it, panicked, and floated over immediately, pointing at the other pills on the ground: "My lord, don't force the refining! This one stabilizes the spirit and dulls pain, this one replenishes spiritual energy..."

Shen Yi slowly clenched his five fingers.

He exhaled gently.

He swiftly opened several vials and shoved the pills into his mouth.

The next instant, the searing pain dropped by nine and a half tenths.

"Damn."

Xuan Ming Spider Emperor sensed his master's cold glance and instantly felt a chill in his heart.

Mainly because he simply couldn't understand: any normal cultivator would have sensed something was wrong long ago—how could anyone keep swallowing a second pill?

Could it be that my lord once endured this same way?

"Huh."

With the agonizing pain gone, Shen Yi finally had the mental space to sense the changes in his body.

Fire forges true gold.

Of course, if this were an ordinary fleshly body, it would have been instantly reduced to ashes without exception.

But a spiritual body after Soul Transformation is different.

With the aid of the True Yang Qilin Stone, this body formed from the breath of heaven and earth was becoming increasingly condensed under the hammering of the pill-fire.

Shen Yi's physical strength, unchanged for a long time, now began to stir once more.

"..."

Within the entire hall, only the hissing of the blinding flame remained.

And upon the body as it continuously reformed, a layer of golden radiance slowly emerged.

【Thirty-seven thousand years: You, like a bird, used the True Yang as an egg, reborn through fire, transformed into a Divine Phoenix, perching upon Mount Wutong】

【Divine Sparrow's Nirvana Complete】

【Remaining Demonic Lifespan: Twenty-six thousand years】

Shen Yi sat cross-legged, his black robe stirring without wind; upon his Bai Xi, jade-like skin, a thin radiance solidified into golden patterns and descended.

A strand of golden flame appeared on his forehead, resembling a vertical pupil.

The instant he opened his eyes, a purer, denser Jin Guang than the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor shot straight to the heavens, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day.

As Shen Yi's breathing steadied.

The radiance faded, the golden flame vanished.

Only in his pitch-black eyes remained a faint, unextinguished heat.

"Memorized it all?"

Shen Yi glanced sideways; several demonic souls instinctively averted their gaze—by their very essence, they could not endure the sweep of that Jin Guang.

Bai Hong Spider Emperor lay quietly prostrate on the ground; with this formidable spiritual body, if his master wished to kill him again, he might no longer need to summon his Dao Palace.

"My lord, I have memorized it all."

Xuan Ming Spider Emperor replied softly.

Shen Yi felt the violent changes in his body, and his anticipation for the subsequent Heavenly Phoenix Immortal Body grew stronger.

Bai Hong's warning was truly important.

He could not keep greedily pursuing more.

He needed to go to the Fourth Grotto once more, retrieve the herbs, then devise a way to abandon this identity without arousing suspicion.

Thinking of this, Shen Yi once again activated the General Nanyang Transformation Art, transforming back into a towering eight-zhang lion, then retracted Bai Hong Spider Emperor into the night-sky within his forehead, becoming a galloping horse-shaped stone statue.

He immediately removed the sealing array at the entrance.

At that moment, a message was finally allowed to enter.

"Hmm?"

Shen Yi reached out and caught the streak of light.

The voice within was familiar, and contained only one gentle, slightly weary sentence.

"Heal well and come out soon—I'm waiting for you."

Hearing this, Shen Yi's brow twitched slightly; a strange premonition stirred within him.

After a moment's hesitation, the Shadow-Tailed Spear transformed into a streak of light and landed in his palm; he stepped toward the alchemy hall's exit.

(End of Chapter)