Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme - Chapter 326
Chapter 326: Chapter 217: Disassembly_1
Boxun?
Mara?
The Brahma chant, like a demon’s test, struck directly at Xu Yang’s divine soul.
In the void, the dark fog surged like a tide, and demonic qi boiled like a soup cauldron.
If it were an ordinary cultivator, at this moment they would surely face the Demon Catastrophe; the Demon Seed transforming into a Demon Fetus, and from the Demon Fetus, a demon object would be born.
Xu Yang was not ordinary, not a cultivator of this world; within his body, there was no rooted Demon Seed, nor was there a gestating Demon Fetus.
Even so, under the demon test of the Brahma chant, he was still influenced and could not remain detached from the situation.
With every Brahma chant, with every sound of Zen singing, the demonic qi moved accordingly, like tadpoles, earthworms, or perhaps like flood dragons and snakes. With every breath and thread, line by line, they burrowed into Xu Yang’s body, attempting to implant a Demon Seed and nurture it into a fetus.
It affected not just the flesh and body; the Internal Yuan Mana, even his divine soul’s sea of consciousness, was also undergoing a strange transformation at this moment.
Threads of demonic qi and streams of darkness moved like earthworms, swimming like tadpoles, sketching out one complex, indecipherable character after another, as if they were stringing together into sentences, compiling into texts, writing into a scripture…
What scripture?
The Transformative Freedom Boxun Heart Sutra!
“Ah!!!”
In an instant, Xu Yang woke up with a shout, rising like thunder.
Within the shout of anger, the thunder startled away, blasting away much of the demonic qi, and the Boxun Heart Sutra, which was about to become clear in his mind, was also struck.
Characters, one by one, and demon seeds, one after another, twisted like insects, screaming, wailing, and ultimately collapsing apart.
As the Demon Seeds collapsed and the Heart Sutra dissolved into illusion, remnants of demonic qi, unwilling to disperse, were still taking root in the sea of his consciousness, as if they wanted to re-condense and rewrite the True Mara Scriptures.
Xu Yang was unable to refine them, nor did he have the time to do so.
Because…
A person, a monk in white, appeared before him.
Shrinking the ground to an inch, spatial transference?
Or was it because he was distracted just now, providing an opportunity to be approached?
Xu Yang had no time to think further because the other party had already made a move.
The monk had no face, with a hollow skull, blood-red talismans anchored on his forehead, below which faintly visible compassionate eyes could be seen.
With eyes and facial features all gone, where did these compassionate gazes come from?
Unknown, but that was the sensation.
The faceless monk, compassionate for the world, as if an immortal or a Buddha had descended to the lower realm to save the suffering sentient beings.
Just like that, he approached, reaching out his hand, pure white as jade, to cover Xu Yang’s forehead and head.
Being touched by an immortal on my crown, receiving lifelong devotion?
“Roar!!!”
The response he received was a dragon’s roar and the bursting of dazzling thunder.
The thunder dragon roared mightily, exploding forth, using every bit of Yuan Skill to directly strike at the opponent.
At the brink of life and death, Xu Yang held nothing back, uniting the Martial Path and Taoism, with the dragon thunder in full force.
However…
“Bang!!!”
The thunder shattered, the dragon’s image collapsed, and fresh blood was scattered across the sky.
A figure flew out, twisting in mid-flight, exploding into a streak of blood light, and storming away with the wind and thunder.
The Dismantling of Heavenly Demon, Blood escape secret skills!
One of the last-resort techniques, originally based on the “Heavenly Demon Strategy” from the Great Tang world, it integrated the secrets of Heavenly Demon, escape techniques, Phantom Demon Body Skill, Undying Seal Technique, and martial arts. Later, it incorporated the forced vital energy maxing secret techniques from the current world of cultivation and some Side-Path Left Way arts from the World of Dao and Law, eventually being reasoned into the Wandao School system.
In this way, after a thousand years, through refinement and selection, a forbidden technique was finally obtained, capable of stimulating the body’s potential, at the cost of sacrificing life force for a brief period of substantial improvement in the power of the body and mana. It can be used for a desperate fight, destroying both the enemy and oneself, or to perform a blood escape to save one’s own life.
At this moment, Xu Yang performed both, both stimulating the body, unleashing potential, rivaling his opponent with power, and exhausting his qi blood and life force to execute the Blood escape secret skills, fleeing tumultuously away.
The Dismantling of Heavenly Demon, blood escape into the sky, in an instant, left no trace behind.
Only the monk remained, standing in his original spot, silent and wordless.
After a moment…
“The Bodhi tree does not exist; nor is there a stand for the bright mirror.”
“Originally there is not a single thing; where could any dust be attracted?”
“Amitabha, indeed, indeed!”
The verses of enlightenment rose again, and the Brahmic chanting became loud once more, as the monk’s figure gradually distanced and disappeared.
Elsewhere…
“Bang!!!”
The blood light burst into a colorful arc, the wind and thunder startled, rushing into the midst of a small island, then exploding and collapsing, transforming into a figure that fell to the ground.
It was Xu Yang.
At this moment, his clothes were tattered, soaked in fresh blood, under the remnants of fabric, blood thick as paste, oozing out from everywhere, every pore, almost instantly accumulating into a pool below him.
This was the Dismantling of Heavenly Demon, Blood escape secret skills.
Self-mutilation to stimulate the body, unleashing potential, and gaining a temporary surge in power, then squeezing out the lifeblood, combined with the methods of the Side-Path and Left-Way, maximizing the transformation of mana, all to perform a blood escape, it’s incredibly rapid; even that True Demon was incapable of detaining him.
Incredibly formidable, worthy of a forbidden technique.
But a forbidden technique is thusly named because all its effects come at a tremendous cost.
“Pfft!”
Xu Yang’s body shook, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, within which pieces of flesh were visible, evidence of damaged internal organs.
When he created this forbidden technique, Xu Yang had a clear goal: either mutual destruction with the enemy or survival from the brink of death; the stronger the power the better. As for the price, as long as it was not fatal, it was acceptable.
For this reason, not only did he not reduce the side effects of this secret technique, but he even deliberately intensified them, seeking maximized sacrifice and eruption in exchange for a chance of survival in a desperate situation.
Sometimes, the difference between life and death hangs by a thread.
The results of the moment just passed also proved this point.
It was precisely by virtue of this forbidden technique, with the force of an extreme outburst, that he was able to contend with that monk in a clash, and then perform the blood escape at high speed and leave.
That monk was a True Demon, the core of this Demon Realm, the most terrifying existence. Compared to the Golden Core demon object that Shen Hongyu had transformed into, although not as different as heaven and earth, still a vast disparity like clouds and mud.
With his current strength, at most, he could only kill demon objects like the Golden Core transformed by Shen Hongyu. Facing this True Demon without using the forbidden technique to erupt to the limit, he simply didn’t have the ability to fight or cope.
Even using the forbidden technique, he could only clash once before having to perform the blood escape and flee.
The might of this demon is evident.
Had it been someone else, let alone Qi Refinement, even at the Golden Core stage, they would struggle to escape from its clutches.
…
With no time to enter the hut, Xu Yang sat down on the spot and tossed out the Qiankun bamboo basket.
The basket rolled, emitting Spirit Light and releasing three people.
“Immortal Master?”
Qing struggled to her feet, still unclear of the situation, when she saw Xu Yang sitting there, drenched in blood. Her expression changed drastically as she repeatedly asked, “What has happened to you…?”
Xu Yang ignored her and continued to channel mana. The Qiankun basket suspended in mid-air, slowly emitting a beam of Spirit Light, forming a light shield.
Within the light shield, lightning flickered, and a serpentine silhouette could be faintly seen — it was the Wuzhe Fish King he had fished up earlier.
“Hmm!”
At that moment, Xu Yang’s body trembled again, and fresh blood spilled from his lips.
His injuries were too severe.
The Dismantling of Heavenly Demon was a forbidden technique, used to maximize potential at the cost of consuming essence blood and lifespan, which left him not only with greatly depleted Yuan Qi but also with severe injuries and shortened life expectancy.
Mere mortals would have died long ago.
It was only because of his internal and external training, and his robust Qi Blood, that he could withstand such devastation.
Although he was not dead, with such grave injuries, death was not far off.
And to say the least, the physical injuries were not the worst.
The most severe and terrifying were the injuries to his Divine Soul, and the contamination by demonic nature.
“Amitabha, Prajna and Mara… ”
“My demon is merciful, salvation to all sentient beings… ”
“Lord of the Desire Realm, the Sixth Heavenly King… ”
“Boxun Heart Sutra, freedom in the Mana Point… ”
Brahma Sounds echoed in his mind, along with the incessant temptations of demons.
Dark undercurrents also coursed through him, as if demon seeds had taken deep root, resembling wriggling tadpoles and earthworms moving about, wanting to form demon talismans and sketch sacred texts.
This was—Demon Seed!
The Demon Seeds had taken deep root, and the Demonic Qi was filthy!
In their recent exchange, although the monk failed to take his life, he still managed to implant the seed of Demonic Qi into him. Now, the Demonic Qi, like a seed that has rooted deep into his flesh and blood, not only sullied his Divine Soul but also corroded his mind.
If he could not hold his ground, he would end up like Old Ghost Mo and Shen Hongyu, falling into the Demon Path and becoming a demon object.
His body was severely injured.
The Demon Seeds were deeply rooted.
In the Demon Realm, there was no way to heaven and no door to earth.
Time flowed by, and death crept ever closer.
What should he do?
“Heh!!”
Xu Yang inhaled deeply, forcibly suppressing the turmoil within his injured body, then looked at the Spirit Eel Fish King, which was enclosed by the Qiankun basket: “Fish, I need you to aid my cultivation!”
“Wu! Wu!”
The Qiankun basket spun, shining with Spirit Light like a cage trapping, enclosing the body of the Fish King.
The Spirit Eel Fish King swam within, its golden body tangled with currents of lightning, uttering cries like those of a child, even moving its body in an attempt to break through the Spirit Light.
Being the Fish King, it possessed Spirit Wisdom; it was not ignorant.
Earlier, this person used some kind of bait that caused it an instinctual impulse, uncontrollably dashing out from the water stream to bite the hook and fall into the basket.
It thought that was the end of its life, subject to being stir-fried, steamed, or stewed by humans. Who would have thought that in just one day, this detestable fisherman would end up in such a state?
Indeed, justice is clear, and retribution is certain!
But what is this person saying?
Aid your cultivation?
Are you joking? You fished me up, and now you want me to help you with your cultivation?
If I don’t take your life while you’re down, that’ll be merciful enough.
The Spirit Eel paid no heed, activating its innate abilities, the power of thunder and lightning, to shatter the precarious light shield of the Qiankun basket.
Xu Yang remained calm and said in a gentle voice, “I’m gravely injured and sullied by demonic nature. There is no other way; only by borrowing your power, the tempering of lightning, can I cleanse the demonic taint and have a slim chance of rebirth.”
After speaking, he paid no attention to the reaction of the Spirit Eel and withdrew his mana.
As the mana retracted, the magic artifact lost its support, and the already precarious Qiankun shield shattered immediately, releasing the thunder-illuminated, electrically entwined Spirit Eel Fish King.
“Majesty!”
The Spirit Eel, regaining its freedom, let out a long cry, turning into lightning in an attempt to fly away.
But unexpectedly…
“Boom!”
Xu Yang, sitting cross-legged inside, released his mana, and around him lightning threatened to bolt away, only to see dark streams entangled.
Having created a self-maiming forbidden technique, he certainly made preparations, including a set of healing methods.
If you survive a lethal calamity by disintegrating and fleeing, then die of severe wounds later, that would be a joke.
A healing method, needless to say, is based on the “Life Scroll” from the Martial Arts Scripture. It harnesses the body’s Qi Blood and Martial Path Yuan Skill for endless regeneration, healing injuries. Then there’s the combination with Taoist Scriptures’ Natural Thunder Skill, where the destructive force is turned into a source of creation, and the current system of cultivation, with all kinds of rejuvenating secret techniques. All were incorporated into the Wandao School system, refined and renovated…
Thus, after a thousand years, a Dao and Martial Healing Holy Skill was finally created, still named “Life Scroll.”
The effectiveness of the Life Scroll in healing does not need to be elaborated; it undoubtedly lives up to the name of Healing Holy Skill.
But there is a problem: for everything, there is energy conservation.
Even a Healing Holy Skill cannot arise from nothing, producing effects without anysupport.
With Xu Yang’s current physical state, even running the Life Scroll was insufficients to heal his injuries and remove the demonic contamination.
Therefore, he needed external assistance, someone to co-operate with him in running the Life Scroll, in order to survive this deathly ordeal.
“Majesty!”
The Spirit Eel leaped up, the lightning trying to leave, but it felt a surge of Qi from behind, which pulled at its instincts and dragged at its body.
