Chapter 88: Heavenly Demon Devours the Jiao

A shortcut evolved through demonic means, yet more formidable and more flawless than a true Core Condensation method, as if tailor-made for him.

In the dim tent, after his agitated emotions had somewhat settled, the expression on Shen Yi's handsome face gradually calmed.

Perhaps it was due to experiences from his past life that his temperament had become rather suspicious.

He found it hard to believe that pies would fall from the sky.

Precisely because this Heavenly Demon Yama Devouring Origin Outer Core Method looked far too enticing, it instead left him somewhat uneasy.

Everything has a price; this principle should apply to most situations.

Even if something truly flawless existed, it should not be something a river demon and a fox demon could casually deduce over a couple of hundred years.

If it really were so, Core Condensation methods would have been commonplace long ago.

After a moment, a faint sigh rose within the tent.

"How did I end up being so picky?"

Shen Yi's eyes flickered, tinged with self-mockery. From Bai Yun County all the way here—the black-skinned old dog, the yellow weasel, the ape demon of East Mountain, the fox of North Cliff... the river demon young dragon, the tusked dragon demon.

If he had played it safe and advanced step by step, he would have died more than eight hundred times over.

With his talent and comprehension, he had no capital for playing it safe; he was destined to leave safe places and plunder lifespans everywhere.

The moment he stepped outside the city, accidents could happen at any time.

Along this journey, Shen Yi felt he had always played the role of "safety net"—when the Li siblings failed, when Hong Lei and Zhao Kanglin misjudged, lives were at stake; only because he could barely handle it were they able to turn danger into safety.

But who would be his safety net?

The Zhen Mo Si's forces?

Lin Baiwei possessed nearly the most formidable background in Outside Qingzhou, and her cultivation was also at the perfection of Jade Liquid Realm; what ultimately kept her alive was a panicked swing of a stick by Old Man Liu.

Entrusting one's life to such low-probability events truly offered no peace of mind.

"Still, keeping a closer eye on it is never wrong."

Shen Yi drew a deep breath, did not directly pour in lifespan, and for the first time carefully reviewed the newly deduced technique within his mind.

After all, this concerned the great matter of Core Condensation; extreme caution was required.

If there were any hidden dangers he could not resolve for now, no matter how much he pained for these demons' lifespans, he could only set them aside for the time being.

The Heavenly Demon Yama Devouring Origin Outer Core Art—most of its content came from the river demon and the fox demon; even Shen Yi found it somewhat obscure at this point.

Lines of text slowly welled up in his mind.

The candle melted bit by bit; the flickering flame gradually dwindled to the size of a soybean.

Shen Yi's brow slightly furrowed, as he used the shallow knowledge gained from his panel to decipher the contents of the Outer Core Art with great difficulty.

Until finally...

Only by crafting it through this wondrous method can the fierce-shah Devouring Origin treasure be obtained.

"Crafting? A treasure?"

Shen Yi opened his eyes, a strange expression on his face.

He inexplicably thought of the tusk dragon.

The scales on its body seemed to have been refined through some method as well—not only offensive and defensive in nature, but even when scraped off by the black blade, the creature showed no sign of pain.

So this outer core, in fact, had nothing to do with realm... or even with himself, but was something akin to a magic treasure?

Another blind spot in his knowledge.

Shen Yi raised his brow helplessly. His biggest problem now was that too little time had passed since his transmigration, his exposure to cultivation had been too short, and he lacked any proper lineage, leaving him ignorant of many things.

Still, if it was a treasure, using it put his mind considerably more at ease.

Shen Yi's divine sense stirred, and the vast demonic lifespan carefully poured toward the Heavenly Demon Yama Art.

【First year, you mobilize the jade dew throughout your body, and within the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace, begin crafting the wondrous treasure described in the Outer Core Art】

Seeing such a prompt, Shen Yi slightly relaxed.

He continued to watch the changes on the panel, as a stream of prompts flashed densely before his eyes.

【Thirty-second year, you accumulate jade dew...】

【Ninety-eighth year: gather all the qi that your orifices, meridians, and flesh cannot contain, converge it into the qi sea, refine it with the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace, then forcibly condense it through bizarre means.】

【One hundred and seventy-second year, you accumulate jade dew...】

【Three hundred and seventieth year, the outer core takes initial shape, quietly floating within the qi sea】

【Six hundred and ninetieth year, the outer core within your body is coated in viscous golden jade dew, incomparably resplendent, and it begins to actively absorb qi】

【Nine hundred and thirty-first year, within the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace, the golden light dissipates, revealing the perfectly round outer-core treasure within—empty inside, awaiting your nurturing】

【Heavenly Demon Yama Devouring Origin Outer Core Art (Perfected)】

【Remaining demonic lifespan: 1,125 years】

As the final prompt emerged, it confirmed Shen Yi's guess.

The outer-core treasure was not some obscure metaphor; it was simply the literal meaning.

The Heavenly Demon Art had gone straight from never-entered to perfected—this clearly resembled forging a tool, so there were no intermediate stages.

He half-closed his eyes, sinking into inner vision.

His viscera radiated light; golden-blood plasma churned; the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace, woven from countless dark-red veins, resembled a great prison, emanating scorching heat.

Within this great prison, a smooth pill, as if crafted from Bai Yu, hovered quietly.

If not actively controlled, the jade dew within his body would not pass by it at all; within this perfectly unified inner body, it appeared utterly out of place, completely isolated by the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace.

Over nine hundred years of demonic lifespan poured in, yet neither realm nor strength changed in the slightest.

"..."

Shen Yi did not feel disappointed; instead, an odd expression crossed his face. He opened his eyes and slowly extended his palm.

The next moment, the Bai Yu pill actually materialized out of thin air in his palm.

It can actually be taken out of the body…

Demons are demons—even their cultivation is just stubbornly endured over a long lifespan. What the hell would they know about core condensation methods.

Shen Yi fell silent, pressed his lips together, and brought the crocodile-dragon beast essence in his other hand closer. In an instant, a domineering intent to plunder suddenly erupted from within the Bai Yu pill!

"Wait."

As if suddenly remembering something, Shen Yi swiftly moved it away and sent it back into his qi sea.

Almost forgot there's still a chance to comprehend a talent from the beast essence.

Anyway, this Heavenly Demon external elixir only needs the cultivation contained within.

Placing the crocodile-dragon beast essence into his mouth, Shen Yi felt the fishy sweetness on the tip of his tongue and opened the panel once more.

He channeled the demon's lifespan into the Heavenly Demon method.

【First year, you consumed the Jade Liquid Realm peak crocodile-dragon beast essence, drawing the surging, vast demonic power into your body. It coursed through the orifices and meridians of your entire body, carefully digesting the dregs within, and finally channeling it all into the Heavenly Demon external elixir.】

【Talent Comprehended: Jade Liquid. Hundred-Refined Crocodile-Dragon Body】

【Hundred-Refined Crocodile-Dragon Body: A natural armor-shedding method of aquatic-kind beings. Your body is augmented, achieving a considerable breakthrough every century.】

Shen Yi clenched his fist, feeling it carefully.

Compared to the power of the flood-dragon demon, this boost wasn't that exaggerated—strength increased by roughly thirty percent, still barely within a controllable range.

As for the boost a century from now, no need to think about it for now.

After briefly familiarizing himself with his body, he once again sank into inner vision, then looked somewhat astonished.

He saw that the Bai Yu external elixir hadn't changed in the slightest, still that same perfectly round and translucent.

Only after Shen Yi observed with great effort did he finally see within the pill a layer of blood-crimson liquid that amounted to almost nothing.

"A thousand-year crocodile-dragon, Jade Liquid Realm peak cultivation, and this is all?"

Shen Yi was a bit speechless and once again placed the flood-dragon pill into his mouth.

Consuming one year of lifespan, he followed routine and channeled the demonic power within into the external elixir.

【First year, you consumed the flood-dragon pill…】

Suddenly, an explosive roar rang by his ears!

Shen Yi's face changed drastically. He instantly located the source of the disturbance and saw that the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace, woven from countless dark-red veins, was now actually trembling slightly.

Within this great prison, the external elixir remained as calm as ever.

Only the demonic-crimson elixir liquid within had actually filled fully half of it!

Fortunately, although the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace was trembling, after a few breaths it still managed—with some difficulty—to suppress the external elixir back down.

"About to exceed the limit?"

Good thing it held steady. Otherwise, with so much lifespan and flood-dragon pills invested, if the external elixir couldn't be suppressed in the end and could only be taken out and discarded, that would truly be heartbreaking.

Shen Yi observed the external elixir in inner vision and, using the communication method from the external elixir art, attempted to extend his divine sense toward it.

The next moment, the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace slowly opened.

From the jade-white external elixir, wisps of blood-crimson demonic qi flowed out, adding a few shades of thick, eerie, blood-red-soaked intensity to the white-jade surface. Then, following the pathway provided by the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace, it rapidly spread toward the limbs and bones!

"…"

Shen Yi suddenly opened his eyes, a blood-colored hue surging within his pitch-black pupils.

His handsome features were calm—not because his heart was still.

It was simply that he did not know what expression to wear to convey his current shock.

What churned and surged within his body was a power he had never seen, could not even comprehend—emitting a terrifying aura in its restless stirring.

It was as if some colossal being had broken free from the abyss, revealing a horrifying form!

This was the cultivation accumulated by the Flood-Dragon Lord over more than three thousand years…

Shen Yi slowly extended his palm, his five distinct-jointed fingers seemingly capable of crushing everything in the world!

At the same time.

At the peak of Qingfeng, the morning light was faint.

The two Nascent Core Realm elders, who had originally been standing silently behind Chen Qiankun, now suddenly raised their heads to look into the distance, their eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

(End of chapter)