Fulong City.
The sky was bright, the sun high, and Lin Sheng finally pushed open the door and emerged from his room.
After a night's rest, his condition was clearly much better than yesterday.
"It's still a bit hard to get used to the drop in Realm."
He stretched out his palms and moved his muscles and bones. After dropping from the Bones Transformation Realm back to Blood Transportation, he could still feel the changes in his body to some extent.
His physical fitness had regressed, but it wasn't too noticeable for him. After all, the boosts brought by the foreign beasts he had integrated were basically no less than the improvement from the Bones Transformation Realm, and even exceeded it in some aspects.
However, compared to the integrated foreign beasts, the improvement from Realm advancement was comprehensive, and the subtle sensations were quite real.
Besides physical fitness, the most obvious change was naturally the energy within his body.
With a thought, a bluish-black halo appeared at his fingertips.
It hadn't regressed to the level of Qi energy, but compared to the previous Bone Strength, it was clearly much weaker.
It's estimated that as his cultivation dissipates further, his energy will degenerate even faster.
The cultivation painstakingly acquired through hard work was constantly receding, and this feeling was not pleasant.
After all, for many Martial Artists, even with the Jin Wu Gu Secret Method assisting, they might not have the courage to start cultivating from scratch again.
Many people wanting to enter the Bones Transformation Realm would have to spend decades.
Those who have the courage to take this step must be geniuses with absolute confidence in themselves.
Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Lin Sheng came to the pavilion again.
Now that the cultivation efficiency of the Jin Wu Gu Secret Method had a qualitative improvement, he naturally wouldn't waste time.
The sooner he dissipates his cultivation, the sooner he can cultivate it back.
He took out a Bonemelting Pill from his pocket. Before taking it, he glanced at the Spirit Bone Python King in the corner of the courtyard.
It was still coiled in the same corner as yesterday, as if it had never moved.
After a glance, he no longer delayed, took out two Bonemelting Pills, threw them into his mouth, and then calmed his mind, completely immersing himself in cultivation.
*
*
Guiyuan Pavilion.
Luo Yin walked out of the alchemy room with his hands behind his back.
Coming into the side courtyard, he looked up at the only pine tree in the courtyard, seemingly reminiscing about something. After a while, he spoke faintly.
"How is the war on the front lines?"
It was as if he was talking to the pine tree in front of him, but soon, a black-clothed figure appeared in the side courtyard.
The figure was like a ghost, appearing abruptly. Looking closely, under the scorching sun, there wasn't even a hint of a shadow, as if it were an shadow itself.
"According to the latest intelligence, the Northern Yan army has basically occupied the entire Northern Wilderness. The Sky Break Sect in the Northern Wilderness was destroyed, and the Prajna Sect surrendered. This matter shook South Qi from top to bottom. Zhao Hongzhang and Tang Zhong fought fiercely at the northern border for two days, both returning injured. However, after this battle, the Sects and schools in various parts of South Qi have chosen to form an Alliance with the central imperial court to resist Great Yan. Without absolute certainty, neither side should easily start a war."
The shadow said in a deep voice, his voice somewhat hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against each other, slightly grating.
"They've actually occupied the entire Northern Wilderness? Their movements are quite fast. It seems the things Tianhong Pavilion came up with this time are indeed not benevolent."
Hearing the shadow's words, Luo Yin's face showed a trace of emotion.
He had thought the Northern Wilderness would completely fall, but he didn't expect it wouldn't even last a few months.
"What about Tianhong Pavilion? What movements have there been in the Grand Capital recently?"
He asked again.
"Because the organization targeted the Beast Suppression Army in various places, many experts from Tianhong Pavilion have left the Grand Capital. It's estimated that their focus will be on us."
The shadow replied slowly, without any emotion.
"Furthermore, although Tiannan Prefecture's Beast Suppression Army gathered after the last incident was almost completely depleted, now that Xiang Kong has arrived, he has quickly assembled a large number of Martial Artists through forceful means. He even intends to extend his reach to Lin'an and Changhe Prefecture. We need to prepare for this early."
"I understand. You may leave."
Hearing this, Luo Yin nodded slightly and spoke softly.
As his voice fell, the shadow behind him had disappeared, as if it had never been there.
"Can't they hold back anymore? It seems I need to speed things up."
Luo Yin rubbed his brow forcefully, smoothing out his furrowed brows.
He then took out a dark green small bottle from his pocket. The bottle was only the size of a child's palm, and many parts of its body were faded, clearly indicating its age. Moreover, it was completely seamless, like a single entity.
A faint light surged in his hand. The next moment, the small bottle seemed to melt, and a gap appeared.
As the gap appeared, a black light suddenly shot out from it towards outside the courtyard. Its speed was like teleportation, covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.
Just as it was about to shoot out of the side courtyard, it suddenly stopped, suspending in mid-air, motionless as if time had frozen at this moment.
"Running so fast? It seems you've been waiting for a long time?"
Luo Yin's deep voice resounded from the courtyard. A faint 'King' character had already emerged on his forehead, emitting faint dark light.
Splat—
The next instant, the black shadow was grabbed by a large hand, resuming its movement.
Hiss—
Low, hoarse roars full of malice continuously emanated from the black shadow. This was a very viscous, somewhat disgusting pitch-black mucus. Anyone would instinctively want to stay away.
Black single eyes emerged from the mucus, filled with indifference and coldness. If Lin Sheng were here, he would recognize at a glance that this black mucus was none other than Gongsun Yuanzhou, who was taken away by Li Shenjun back then.
"How bizarre, how evil. What kind of foreign beast did this come from!?"
Looking at the ball of mucus in his hand, Luo Yin narrowed his eyes slightly, then squeezed it and returned to his room.
*
*
Time flowed like water, quietly passing by.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
In the pavilion.
Lin Sheng's eyes were tightly closed, and sweat beads the size of soybeans continuously emerged on his forehead.
The aura emanating from his body was indescribably weak and listless, even to the point of being almost imperceptible.
Finally, a muffled sound came from his mouth.
Lin Sheng's eyes suddenly opened wide, and bursts of crackling sounds continuously came from his body, as if a long string of firecrackers had been stuffed inside.
As the crackling sounds completely ended, the last trace of aura emanating from Lin Sheng's body also completely disappeared. He was like an ordinary person without any cultivation.
"Finally, I've completely dissipated all my cultivation."
Wiping away the sweat from his forehead, Lin Sheng's face was full of relief.
It took him 10 days to dissipate all his cultivation, which was a bit longer than he expected. The reason for this was the complexity of his cultivation.
Aside from the crucial Qingniao Chasing Star Finger, there were also martial arts like Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill), Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm, and even third-rate martial arts like Raging Bull Fist required some time to refine, which is why the speed was a bit slow.
He glanced at the faintly visible integrated marks on his chest.
With his cultivation completely dissipated, his strength had declined to a certain extent, but thankfully, it did not affect the integrated marks on his body.
If others cultivated the Jin Wu Gu Secret Method, they would definitely need to find a safe place and have experts specifically protecting them.
However, he didn't need to worry too much about this. Although his cultivation was gone, the integrated foreign beasts could still provide powerful combat strength.
Even without the integrated marks, with the blessings of secret methods like Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange and True Yang Change, his physique was in no way inferior to that of an ordinary Bones Transformation Martial Artist.
"Finally, I can cultivate the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture."
Lin Sheng lightly exhaled, his face showing anticipation.
He had long wanted to see the wonder of this profound art that far surpassed the Peerless True Art.
Although he was looking forward to it, he didn't choose to cultivate immediately.
Instead, he clapped his hands, and soon a figure in the courtyard quickly approached, coming close and bowing respectfully.
"Sect Leader."
The person who came was Gou Donglai.
Three days ago, some disciples of the Seven Forms Sect had already arrived in Fulong City.
After all, a large mansion needed some people to manage it, and he couldn't handle every trivial matter in the city himself.
"Go prepare some Body Tempering medicinal baths and top-grade Spirit Beast meat for food. I want the best and the most expensive."
Lin Sheng spoke faintly.
As a true profound art, and from what Qi Ning had said, the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture was also the most difficult among Dark Star's three profound arts. Therefore, he naturally wanted to adjust his state to the best before cultivating.
Gou Donglai's efficiency was very high. Everything was arranged within half an hour.
In the spacious, luxuriously decorated room, in a medicinal tub made of tri-colored fragrant wood, Lin Sheng sat cross-legged. The room was filled with an extremely rich herbal fragrance.
At each of the four corners of the wooden tub, there was an incense burner made of purple gold, emitting a fragrance that cleared the mind and calmed the spirit.
Lin Sheng moved his neck, his pores opened up, and his body absorbed the rich medicinal power from the liquid like a hungry ghost.
His eyes were slightly closed, his mind was calm, and he felt an indescribable ease and comfort.
The fatigue and listlessness from having dissipated his cultivation were recovering at an extremely fast pace.
"As expected of Fulong City. To be able to buy Calming Spirit Incense and medicinal baths of this quality, it might not be possible to gather them in Tainnan and Lin'an without ten days to half a month."
Lin Sheng opened his eyes slightly, a look of enjoyment on his face.
He had to admit that the effects of these things were much better than he had imagined, and of course, the price was also high.
This tub of medicinal bath and these few sticks of incense cost him over a hundred thousand taels of silver.
In the past, he would definitely have been reluctant, but now it was different.
With the treatment of a Blazing Star Envoy and a Dark Star seed, he naturally wasn't short of money.
Especially since the Spirit Bone Python King was already in his hands, and the bounty placed on it by Dark Star had also been withdrawn long ago. Now, he could be said to be wealthy and completely capable of spending lavishly.
Under the medicinal bath and the delicacies made from a large amount of top-grade high-level Spirit Beast meat, Lin Sheng quickly recovered.
His recovery ability was already extremely strong, and with the help of these external conditions, he recovered to his optimal state, especially mentally.
"Now, let me see the effects of the profound art."
Inside the room, Lin Sheng was still soaking in the medicinal bath, but the medicinal liquid had already been replaced, and Calming Spirit Incense had been lit again around him.
Amidst the swirling mist, he began cultivating according to the introductory chapter of the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture.
【Heavenly demons are not external entities, but reflections of the abyss in sentient beings' hearts. Building oneself strongly with inner demons is called a demon carcass. Only after nine transformations of the demon carcass does one become a Supreme True Demon...】
"Nine transformations of the demon carcass, Supreme True Demon..."
Lin Sheng chewed on the words carefully. Although it wasn't the first time he had seen this profound art, every time he read it, his heart couldn't help but tremble.
Although this method is called the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, the heavenly demons within it are not external entities but oneself.
According to the cultivation method, human vitality is endless, but when a person is born, they possess demon resonance. With demon resonance entangled, a hundred evils arise.
The weak are eroded by demon resonance and die prematurely at birth.
Only those who endure demon resonance and whose minds and spirits are not extinguished can be born successfully.
But demon resonance is inextinguishable and omnipresent. Every fluctuation of the mind, whether fear, joy, anger, or sorrow... will strengthen one's own demon resonance, eroding oneself until the body is weak and the mind is feeble, reaching the end of life.
After understanding the brief description of the cultivation method, Lin Sheng felt amazed and shaken.
"This cultivation method is indeed bizarre. This line of thinking is definitely not something a normal person could imagine..."
According to the cultivation method, the endless vitality of each person means that life has no end, which is longevity.
One should know that, as far as he knew, there had never been anyone who lived forever in this world. Even top experts at the Transforming Void Grandmaster level only lived for five or six hundred years.
Being born with the ability to live forever would probably only invite ridicule if spoken aloud.
"Eroded by demon resonance, omnipresent? So what exactly is this so-called demon resonance!?"
Lin Sheng pondered in his heart. Having lived two lives, his way of thinking was naturally different from ordinary people.
In his previous life, he had indeed heard of some similar concepts.
For example, some people had speculated that human lifespan actually far exceeded a hundred years, and that omnipresent oxygen was actually a chronic toxin, constantly damaging the human body, completely depleting the body's vitality by the age of a hundred or even seventy or eighty, finally leading to death.
There were also some medical discussions that various emotional fluctuations would cause damage to the body.
The simplest example is the saying that anger harms the liver, joy harms the heart, sorrow harms the lungs, contemplation harms the spleen, and fear harms the kidneys.
To some extent, it seems to have some common ground with the arguments in the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture.
However, what the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture says is more extreme, radical, and even more bizarre.
"Regardless, if it can be considered a profound art, then it naturally has its reasoning."
Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Lin Sheng's attention once again fell on this cultivation method.
【People are entangled by demon resonance, unable to break free, and cannot even perceive it until death, still unaware. Since demon resonance is difficult to eliminate, one should feed on it...】
The last words seem to be the self-narration of the creator of this cultivation method.
However, there was no ending. It was unknown whether it was lost or intentionally not continued.
"No wonder the cultivation difficulty and danger level are the highest among the three profound arts. Knowing that the so-called demon resonance is not benevolent, not only does one not avoid it, but one even feeds on it. If the demon resonance truly erodes oneself as the cultivation method says, wouldn't that be like dancing on a tightrope?"
Lin Sheng's brows furrowed slightly, but soon smoothed out again, replaced by a hint of excitement on his face.
"Every step I've taken to reach this point has been like treading on a knife's edge. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. This method is destined for me..."