Chapter 563: Heavenly Demon Heart-Devouring

The activity in Zhang Nuo's stone chamber grew increasingly intense, even affecting the entire Cave Abode. Chen Shuang'er could no longer cultivate for the time being, so she had no choice but to stand quietly at the entrance of his stone chamber just like that!

One month later, inside the stone chamber, Zhang Nuo's body was almost entirely transparent. At the same time, the "Beast-Taming Returning-to-One Illusion Immortal Technique" was circulating rapidly. Once this technique, which fused various Mysterious Techniques, was set in motion, its power was not to be underestimated!

A muffled, rumbling sound came from within Zhang Nuo's body. Suddenly, Zhang Nuo felt the world spinning; his state of mind could no longer withstand this pressure and collapsed in an instant!

Once his state of mind shattered, his entire being became muddled. Inside his Divine Sea, his primordial spirit transformed into his own likeness, standing amidst the vast, endless void! Zhang Nuo looked up and surveyed his surroundings, feeling a slight joy in his heart! Previously, even when his cultivation reached the Spirit Severing Stage, his primordial spirit had never been able to enter the Divine Sea, the most mysterious place within a cultivator's body!

Now that his primordial spirit could come here on its own, it meant that his cultivation might have truly entered the Integration Stage! However, amidst the pleasant surprise, Zhang Nuo also sensed a crisis.

Entering the Integration Stage was completely different from previous advancements. Beyond the normal tempering of the physical body, one had to undergo the heart-devouring trial of the "Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon." Once one failed to pass the trial, their primordial spirit would completely fall into the path of demons! They would become a demonic creature, just like those Outer-Realm Heavenly Demons!

But if one passed this trial, their state of mind would be reconstructed, and the primordial spirit would return to the body, becoming a true Integration Stage cultivator!

"Haha! So it is a human boy advancing to the Integration Stage!"

Just as Zhang Nuo was bowing his head in thought, a voice filled with eeriness emerged within his Divine Sea. Following this, a mass of pitch-black demonic light descended from the sky of the Divine Sea, arriving before him in the blink of an eye!

Looking at that mass of demonic light, Zhang Nuo confirmed in his heart that it was the legendary Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon! After retreating several steps, he prepared himself for battle.

While in the Human Realm, Zhang Nuo had heard Chunyangzi and Baji Laomo say more than once that to safely survive the heart-devouring of an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon, one must possess powerful Magic Treasures and some items specifically meant to restrain demonic creatures.

Within Zhang Nuo's body, he had refined Purple Lightning Wild Thunder; this was undoubtedly his greatest trump card! The black demonic light shifted and transformed before him, revealing its true form!

This creature resembled a human, its body radiating pitch-black Demonic Qi as if it were composed entirely of it. A pair of eyes, faintly flashing with black light, emitted an aura that made one's spirit tremble!

"Hehe! It really is you?"

Zhang Nuo was sizing up the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon before him, but unexpectedly, the demon let out a surprised cry and then appeared extremely excited!

This matter was quite beyond his expectations. His gaze swept over the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon repeatedly; he felt a sense of familiarity, but he could not recall for a moment where he had seen it before!

"Hey! Human boy, do you not remember this master?"

The Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon seemed somewhat dissatisfied as it spoke.

"I ask the Heavenly Demon Lord to give me a hint; I truly cannot remember!"

"Hmph! Back when you were in the Human Realm, you once saved this master's life. At that time, this master promised you that if you ever reached the Integration Stage and encountered the Heavenly Demon heart-devouring, this master would appear and spare your life!"

The Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon was greatly displeased and let out a cold snort.

Zhang Nuo's eyes rolled as he recalled everything from the Human Realm. A moment later, he suddenly realized! It turned out that this Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon before him was one of the two that had been captured into a jar by Ba Wang Gui!

Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Demon's promise had finally been fulfilled today!

"So it is you! Hehe, it seems Zhang did indeed do a correct thing back then!"

With a light smile, Zhang Nuo's heart immediately relaxed. Since this demon was willing to let him go, this Heavenly Demon heart-devouring would likely not take much effort!

"I did not expect your advancement speed to be so fast. This master thought it would take another hundred years or so to meet you in this Divine Sea. Very well! The thing I promised you has been done, which settles a matter in this master's heart. However, boy, the next time you advance to the Refining Void Stage, you might not be so lucky! Whether this master will be the one to come then is not for me to decide!"

This Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon was also surprised by Zhang Nuo's astonishing cultivation speed, but the demon did not ask further, merely offering a reminder!

"I am extremely grateful that the Heavenly Demon Lord could spare me this time; I dare not hope for a second time!"

Bowing deeply to the Heavenly Demon, Zhang Nuo said respectfully.

"By the way, boy, let me tell you one more thing: the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demons of the Refining Void Stage are not existences like me. Therefore, during this time in the Integration Stage, you had best search for more items that restrain demonic creatures. Otherwise, if the one who comes next time is not this master, your chances of perishing will be very high!"

"Many thanks for the Heavenly Demon Lord's reminder!"

Zhang Nuo's eyes rolled; it seemed that his decision to spare those two Outer-Realm Heavenly Demons back then was a very correct choice! Otherwise, there would surely have been a fierce battle in the Divine Sea today!

"Alright! This master is leaving! You should hurry back and rebuild your physical body!"

After the Heavenly Demon finished speaking, its body turned back into a streak of black light, rushing toward the high sky of the Divine Sea, and disappeared in the blink of an eye! Just as the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon vanished, Zhang Nuo felt a wave of dizziness! With a muffled, rumbling sound, his primordial spirit was forcibly expelled from the Divine Sea!

Suddenly, Zhang Nuo's body moved, and he opened his eyes. He saw that his entire body was wrapped in a mass of red light. The joy of being spared by the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon immediately vanished, and he immediately began to set about reconstructing his state of mind!

About half a year later, Zhang Nuo's body had returned to its original state, and the stone chamber became quiet! The Divine Tree and the Nine Dragon Sword Case floated quietly beside him!

Slowly opening his eyes, he felt a surge of Spirit Power emanating from the Nine Divine Seas within his body. Zhang Nuo flicked his robe sleeve, and a streak of red light swept out. Upon landing, it revealed a red-faced man. This man was in his twenties, wearing a bright red robe, and had two short horns growing on his head, though they were hidden within his red hair and were not easy to spot at all! A pair of short, fleshy wings behind him flapped slowly, looking quite imposing!

"Qiongqi, I did not expect you to have undergone the Transformation Stage as well!"

Zhang Nuo spoke a faint sentence, and the red-robed man before him bowed slightly to Zhang Nuo!

"Yes! Master!"

This man was none other than the Qiongqi beast after its transformation! After sleeping for several decades, it had finally awakened. However, perhaps due to the green liquid in the Demon Refining Pool, the beast had directly climbed to a Nine-Tier strength, equivalent to a human's Integration Early Stage!

Zhang Nuo flicked his robe sleeve once more, and a streak of Golden Light flew out. Upon landing, it transformed into the appearance of Xuanjin. Sweeping his Divine Sense over Xuanjin's body, Zhang Nuo frowned slightly; Xuanjin had also advanced to the Integration Early Stage along with his own advancement!

However, what puzzled him was that the skin on Xuanjin's body had become increasingly golden, to the point where it didn't even look like human skin anymore!

"Master need not worry! This is due to the metal contained within Xuanjin's body. In order to temper the physical body, I had no choice but to use it. After another period of time, once the cultivation stabilizes, it will naturally return to its previous appearance!"

In terms of the opening of spiritual intelligence, Xuanjin was far superior to Qiongqi, so as soon as Zhang Nuo's thought shifted, he understood!

"En! That puts my mind at ease. I thought you were showing signs of returning to your Insect Body?"

"Master is overthinking! That I was able to advance to the Integration Stage this time is all thanks to Qiongqi. His advancement power was truly immense. It seems that if Master wishes to improve his cultivation in the future, he will have to rely on him a bit more!"

Zhang Nuo and Xuanjin's gazes fell upon Qiongqi at the same time. This beast had only just transformed, so it was momentarily stunned by their gazes. A moment later, it came to its senses, gave a very honest smile, and said nothing more!

"You two return first! Having just advanced to the Integration Stage, I still need some time to stabilize!"

As soon as he spoke, Qiongqi was the first to turn into a streak of red light and submerge into Zhang Nuo's body. Xuanjin was just about to do the same, but was stopped by Zhang Nuo!

"Xuanjin, wait a moment. Now that both you and Qiongqi have the strength of the Integration Stage, it is time to practice some techniques. Although I cannot practice other techniques before my Beast-Taming Returning-to-One Illusion Immortal Technique is perfected, you two are different. Even though you are fused with me, you are still individual existences!"

After Zhang Nuo finished speaking, he glanced toward the door of the stone chamber! Xuanjin's eyes rolled, and he immediately understood Zhang Nuo's meaning!

"Does Master want me to make a copy of the technique Jade Slip left behind by the True Immortal in the cave-within-a-cave?"

With a faint smile, Zhang Nuo nodded slightly. It seemed that after the fusion, as soon as he had a thought in his heart, Xuanjin would understand immediately!

"Master, wait a moment! Xuanjin will be right back!"

"You must be careful; you cannot be discovered by the little girl outside. I am still relying on her to walk out of this Tianfa Forest!"

"Understood!"

Following the sound of his voice, Xuanjin's body blurred and submerged into the ground! About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Xuanjin appeared before Zhang Nuo again! In his hand, he held two extra Jade Slips!

"I have already checked; only these two Jade Slips record techniques. The others are of no great use to Master!"

Xuanjin said with a mischievous smile.

"Very well! I believe that with your Earth Escape, that girl Chen Shuang'er won't be able to discover you!"

With a single hand, he beckoned toward the item in Xuan Jin's hand; immediately, the two Jade Slips were drawn into Zhang Nuo's hand, and then Xuan Jin transformed into a streak of red light and returned into Zhang Nuo's body!

Not in a hurry to look at the contents of the Jade Slips, Zhang Nuo slowly closed his eyes and began to consolidate his cultivation!

As for Chen Shuang'er outside the Stone Chamber, she knew nothing of all this; she was still foolishly waiting outside the Stone Chamber, waiting to see if Zhang Nuo had successfully advanced!