Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 209 Demonic Arts and the Vengeful Infant

"This is... the soul of the Blood Shark?"

"The demon core is the essence of the demon king's body, and also the dwelling place of his soul... Demon cores of the third rank and above, also known as 'Spirit Cores,' reside here." "The Blood Fiend Shark's soul has naturally long since perished; this should be the remnant of its spirit power, revealing its true form..."

Fang Qing pondered carefully and came to a conclusion:

"The Devouring Sea Technique kills souls and devours spirits... It can even absorb the essence of spirits to form a ring of malevolent energy around me, similar to an enhanced version of the Myriad Soul Banner... Furthermore, if I encounter the Blood Sea Shark clan again in the future, due to the presence of this wisp of malevolent energy, my attacks will have a special advantage against them?"

"Wait, this seems to be the essence of the 'Sea Devouring Technique,' not just its all-encompassing nature, but also... compatibility and tolerance?" He calculated with his fingers, a thought suddenly occurring to him: "Now, my magic power not only has a special attack against the Blood Sea Shark, but the Blood Sea Shark's demonic energy is also naturally weakened by several times... it has a certain resistance?" "If demonic beasts are like this, then cultivators are probably similar... and can their special defense be continuously stacked?"

"In other words, I can't defeat Master Bingtian now, but if I devour Zhang Xueyue's Frost Sword, it's equivalent to strengthening my defense against Master Bingtian's lineage's Dao techniques, and even increasing their offensive power... If I persist, who knows, I might be able to defeat Master Bingtian, who is at the peak of the Core Formation stage, even if I'm in the late Core Formation stage?"

"If one day I were to devour all the renowned cultivation techniques of the East Sea Immortal Cultivation World... wouldn't that make me 'invulnerable to all laws' to some extent?" "This technique is indeed an absolute demonic art! Not only is the progress extremely fast, but it will also become more and more powerful! No wonder it is feared by the Zhou Tian Star Palace..." Fang Qing was somewhat horrified, and touched his own dantian again.

That third-tier Blood Shark inner core was only initially suppressed and still needs to be slowly refined.

During this period, his cultivation results were better than when he took third-grade pills every day!

"Even... if I have another ten or eight, I should be able to accumulate enough mana to reach the early stage of Core Formation and try to break through to the middle stage?" "You're cultivating very quickly indeed..."

"However, let's refine our natal magic weapon first—the 'Sea-Swallowing Bottle'..."

Before we knew it, a year had passed.

The Ice and Snow Market remains bustling with people.

What many cultivators were talking about was the news that True Immortal Bingtian had captured and killed Venerable Nusha, thus eliminating a major scourge for the nearby seas.

Of course, the presence of a certain cultivator with the Void Spirit Root is also inevitable among them.

They just didn't dare to talk about it in public, since it was already considered a taboo in the marketplace...

The merchant's octagonal building.

"Strange... Fairy Bixin said she was in seclusion and hasn't replied yet, so the custom-made formation for this building has also been delayed..."

Shang Yuanxin held a communication talisman, her brows furrowing: "Uncle Fu?"

"Young Master..."

Uncle Fu's expression was equally solemn: "The Core Formation cultivators invited by True Person Bingtian, such as Chixin and Tianzhu... have also not sent out any news." The inner three-story palace of Bingtian Market is used by True Person Bingtian himself and is usually sealed by an array.

This time, despite inviting many Core Formation cultivators to reside here, there has been little news about it.

"What does Master Bingtian want? Does he intend to isolate himself from the world?"

Shang Yuanxin immediately became restless, yet also somewhat expectant: "A huge change! This is a huge change that is about to happen! What benefits can my Shang family gain from this?" Just then, a clear sound came from Shang Yuanxin's waist.

Uncle Fu's expression changed instantly, and his mid-stage Core Formation power quickly sealed off the surrounding area.

Shang Yuanxin took out a jade token from her waist, her expression extremely solemn: "The 'Ten Thousand Mile Message Talisman' given to me by the family has been activated... This item was personally bestowed upon me by my ancestor when I left Shangjia Island to take up a post outside. It should never be used unless it is an extremely urgent matter or when I am facing a life-or-death crisis..."

This "Ten Thousand Mile Message Symbol" is named after ten thousand miles, but the limit of information it can transmit is far more than ten thousand miles.

More importantly, it can penetrate most array barriers, which is truly miraculous.

However, the required refining materials are extremely rare and precious. Even the Merchant Alliance cannot find many of them, and they have always been only available to direct disciples of the Merchants! Shang Yuanxin took out the "Ten Thousand Mile Message Talisman", then solemnly bowed, and forced a drop of essence blood from his fingertip onto the message talisman.

As he did all this, Uncle Fu bowed and went to guard the outside world.

"A message from the family reveals that the true identity of Master Bingtian is Xue Tianhong, a former disciple of Blood Fiend Island... Years ago, he stole a secret treasure from Blood Fiend Island, the 'Ghost Infant Root,' and a secret technique, and disappeared without a trace... Decades later, Master Bingtian took over Ice Heaven Island and established the Ice Heaven Market..."

"Ghost Infant Root..."

As Shang Yuanxin looked at it, her breathing gradually became heavy: "This item is a one-time treasure refined by the demonic path using the blood refining method! Its function is to devour the essence and true core of a large number of Core Formation cultivators and stimulate the emergence of a 'Resentful Infant Fruit'..."

"This 'Fruit of Resentment' has a similar name to the 'Fruit of Heavenly Infant,' both being spiritual objects for forming the Nascent Soul stage... However, its effects are far inferior to the 'Fruit of Heavenly Infant.' Taking it raw only offers a 50% chance of success, but if combined with specific demonic techniques, there's roughly a 10% chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage... Furthermore, this spiritual object is ultimately created through demonic cultivation, and once consumed, it carries significant risks. Failure to form the Nascent Soul is a given, and even if successful, one might remain stuck at the early Nascent Soul stage for life... Moreover, one's magical power, cultivation, and spiritual sense will be weaker than those of Nascent Soul stage elders of the same level..."

Even so, Shang Yuanxin's breathing remained heavy.

After all, this is the first marriage of a man who will live for a thousand years!

Even as the young master of the Shang family, he will still need to compete with countless other clansmen for the family's Nascent Soul resources in the future.

And now, a spiritual treasure is right in front of him!

Unfortunately, the information that followed quickly dispelled any remaining greed in his heart:

"A legendary old monster from Talisman Sword Island—'Heavenly Talisman Master'—has arrived and is about to exorcise the demon and uphold justice... What a coincidence?"

Shang Yuanxin sighed: "I'm afraid... it's not a coincidence."

The "Ghost Marrying Root" was only a one-time use treasure. There was something suspicious about how Xue Tianhong was able to steal it back then!

"Perhaps, it's a deal between Blood Fiend Island and Talisman Sword Island? Blood Fiend Island produced Ghost Marriage Root, and then let a discarded disciple occupy a piece of land to cultivate 'Resentful Infant Fruit'... When the fruit ripens, the righteous Yuan Qu will naturally come to annihilate it, and take the fruit in a legitimate way with a good reputation... It can be said that they have completely devoured Ice Heaven True Person."

"Of course, it could just be a coincidence, but with Xue Tianhong's news leaked... any righteous sect wouldn't mind reaping the benefits." "No wonder after Xue Tianhong advanced to the peak of Core Formation, he inexplicably started a war with a Core Formation-level Tribulation Cultivator force... and even imprisoned so many Core Formation seniors. I'm afraid their fates are all grim..." Shang Yuanxin's eyes gleamed with fervor as he stepped out of the secret room: "Uncle Fu!"

"Young master, this old servant is here..."

Uncle Fu immediately bowed.

"I received top-secret information from the family that the lineage of True Immortal Bingtian will inevitably be purged... The prices of all the shops in Bingtianfang will plummet... Before that happens, sell all of my family's shops!" Shang Yuan thought to himself, "In exchange for third-tier spiritual items, spiritual artifacts... even spirit stones will do! Just don't leave behind the shop assets!"

"yes!"

Uncle Fu thought to himself, "What is this? The master himself is cheating? To boost the young master's performance?"

"Once the market is ruined, we'll use our spiritual resources to buy up everything... Who knows, the entire Ice Heaven Market might have to be renamed Yuanxin Market!" Shang Yuanxin's eyes shone brightly.

The "Resentful Marriage Fruit" was being eyed by the Old Monster Yuan Qu. He couldn't eat the meat, but he could drink some soup.

This is also the source of his confidence from the merchant island!

Ice and Snow Market.

The inner three palaces.

Inside a heavily fortified underground palace.

A stench of blood spread. Ice Heaven Immortal had changed into a blood-red robe, and the white mark on his forehead had turned an eerie black. In his hand lay a strange iron book, a magical treasure. This treasure was palm-sized, with a ghostly head on each side, its gaping maws biting at one side.

The blue-faced, fanged creature on the left and the red-faced, single-horned creature on the right both exude an aura of ferocity and mystery.

"Bing Tian...you'll die a horrible death!"

A faint voice rang out.

Inside the underground palace was a pool of blood, with rows of dark iron pillars standing upright, covered with dried corpses.

Look at those shimmering robes, they're all of the third rank!

At this moment, the faint voice actually came from an iron pillar, on which a red-robed immortal was imprisoned—it was none other than the Crimson Heart Immortal!

He himself did not know why, but after Bing Tian Zhenren destroyed the tribulation cultivator forces of Nu Sha Shangren, Bing Tian Shangren suddenly launched an attack!

The True Man of Red Heart originally wanted to resist, but he didn't realize that he had also signed a spiritual contract with a deal on the terms of service and reward!

The reward was very generous at the time, including a third-tier spiritual land! This made True Person Chixin exclaim that Bingtian was a kind and generous person.

It turned out that after the falling out, they found out it was a fake third-tier spirit contract!

It was a contract made from a rare treasure called the "Double Ghost Book." As long as one left their own divine sense and magical power imprint on it, it was equivalent to giving Ice Heaven True Person a huge handle. With a slight manipulation of the rare treasure in his hand, Ice Heaven True Person could immediately injure early-stage Core Formation cultivators like Chi Xin.

Only a few mid-stage Core Formation cultivators could put up some resistance, but how could they possibly be a match for True Person Bingtian, who was at the peak of Core Formation?

The inevitable consequence was that he was captured and brought here, his life essence drained, and his true core was used to feed that "evil thing"!

The True Man of the Red Heart lowered his head and saw that on his withered body, there were some strange black roots that seemed to have taken root in his flesh and marrow, greedily sucking his essence... and at the edge of the roots, there seemed to be some illusory ghost heads gnawing on something...

In the very center of the blood pool, there was a strange black spiritual plant, closely connected to these roots.

This spiritual plant is only half a person tall, with a few palm-sized leaves and a fruit hanging from its branch.

This fruit is entirely black with blood-red stripes, and it looks remarkably like a curled-up baby...

"The fruit of resentment... is almost ripe."

Ignoring the resentment of Chi Xin and the other Core Formation cultivators, Master Bingtian greedily gazed at the spiritual root: "What a pity... Xueyue died on the battlefield, not even managing to preserve her True Core..." Thinking of his own Core Formation female disciple, Master Bingtian then thought of "Fang Shui," his eyes filled with resentment and apprehension. He formed hand seals, and streams of magical power flowed into the surrounding walls. This place was already heavily fortified, and after offending Fang Shui, he had come every day to reinforce the void restrictions, ensuring that person couldn't get in... "This place has been under my management for hundreds of years, absolutely impregnable... with the forbidden array and void restrictions, that brat will have a hard time breaking in..." This wasn't a temporary battlefield, but the lair of a Core Formation Perfection cultivator; the difficulty of entering through the void was completely different.

"Besides Yuan Qu the Old Monster's powerful attack, who else can kill me?"

Inside the underground palace, the Ice Heaven Immortal's low voice echoed: "Once the 'Fruit of Resentment' ripens, I will immediately form my Nascent Soul..."