Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 301 Making a fortune, secret techniques and treasures

From the time this fake alchemist escaped Wu Huayuan and hid in the mountains until Lin Changheng found and killed him, only an hour or two had passed.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to darken and the moonlight was just beginning to shine. Lin Changheng used the [Concealing Breath Demon Technique], his figure flashing through the desolate mountains and wilderness, trying to escape the scene at top speed.

Regardless of whether anyone comes in the future, "absence" is the safest choice to avoid getting caught in the vortex.

But not long after Lin Changheng left, a familiar sound of something cutting through the air came from afar, rumbling like muffled thunder, spreading in all directions.

The speed is obviously astonishing!

"Wu Huayuan!"

"He actually found this place, and arrived so quickly?! Could it be that the fluctuations from the battle just now attracted him here?"

Even though Lin Changheng was more than 20 miles away, he still felt it strongly. The thunder was too amazing, and its majestic power was unfathomable!
Clearly, this True Core cultivator had not given up on hunting down the False Core Demonic Cultivator. Lin Changheng suspected that the other party's relentless pursuit, as if it were a murderer of his father, might not be simply because "those who offend the Heavenly Might of the Immortal City shall be punished," but rather because he was attracted by some benefit or existence associated with the other party.

Only in this way can it be explained!
His heart tightened immediately. Without slowing down his flight, he turned and projected divine light, then withdrew it a moment later.

Then, he activated the [Concealing Breath Demon Technique] at full power and even used the [Great Completion] [Shadow Escape Technique], which had reached the level of [Mastery], to quickly traverse short distances through the mountains and forests like a ghostly figure.

The reason for using the "Shadow Escape Technique" is that this technique can greatly conceal the spellcasting fluctuations, making it extremely difficult to be tracked. As long as you speed up your departure and create a certain distance, you can switch to other escape techniques with large spellcasting fluctuations to stealthily move away!

They also didn't expect to be discovered.

Through years of dedicated practice, this technique has advanced two major steps from the [Mastery] level to the [Great Completion] level.

The distance traveled in a single teleport and the concealment of spell fluctuations are both much more powerful!
However, Lin Changheng still felt uneasy. Once the other party discovered that the fake core demon was not there, they would carefully examine the place and detect the residual fighting aura. They would then guess that someone had gotten there first and would definitely search extensively. At that time, he would be in immediate danger.

Lin Changheng's mind raced, and he immediately took out the [half-finished talisman] and activated it. This talisman was also a speed-type talisman, and it had been nurtured for quite some time. Although it was half-finished, its effect was not weak.

This is the perfect time to use it!

"call!"

The talisman landed on his body, and his speed increased by five times again. He retreated abruptly from the jungle and shot away.

After Lin Changheng fled more than fifty miles away in one go, he heard the loud explosions, roars and collapses in the distance, like a mountain collapsing. He knew that he had been exposed and that the other party was venting their anger!
You painstakingly built up a low-health monster, only to have someone steal your kill!

In the next instant, Lin Changheng dove into the ground, his figure disappearing without a trace as the earth-yellow spiritual light flickered. He used the Earth Escape Technique, enhanced by the Earth Control Demon Technique, to teleport away, covering another thirteen miles!
……

Two days later.

In a secluded valley thousands of miles away, a rather tired figure, but with bright and clear eyes, appeared.

It was none other than Lin Changheng, who had been making a hasty escape.

His divine sense circled the valley and found a natural waterfall. He used his flying sword to cut a cave, about ten feet high and several feet deep, in the mountain wall behind the waterfall, and then crawled inside.

He waved his hand to set up several layers of concealment and protective restrictions before sitting cross-legged, swallowing a readily available pill, and holding a mid-grade spirit stone to begin recovering.

Along the way, because Lin Changheng was extremely cautious, the enraged Wu Huayuan did not discover any concrete traces. However, he continued to flee until he was completely safe before he breathed a sigh of relief!

……

Until late the next night.

Lin Changheng opened his eyes with renewed energy, his fatigue and physical discomfort completely gone.

Looking at the extra storage bag hanging at his waist, Lin Changheng took it off, but did not open it immediately. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the item, and he began to carefully consider it.

After killing the fake Dan Demon, he took the demon's head.

Originally, it was intended to be given to Bai Hengwan, which should be considered a merit and might give her some advantage in the competition for the true successor.

But Wu Huayuan's return caused Lin Changheng's thoughts to change abruptly.

"Absolutely do not reveal the fact that the fake core demon cultivator died at your hands, or trouble will follow."

"But this head shouldn't be completely useless..."

Lin Changheng still remembered that the name of this fake Core Formation demonic cultivator was still hanging on the bounty list of the [Azure Sky Sect]—

Because we must make our stance on exterminating evil clear! We must show it to the [Southern Palace], and to all cultivators under heaven!

In reality, the Core Formation cultivators who could kill this fiend wouldn't care about the bounty, while those who would care about the bounty lacked both the strength and the courage.

Therefore, it remained hanging high, and no one took it off the list.

"I'll go to the Azure Cloud Gate again when I have the chance to collect the bounty. Killing this fiend will also give me an extra reward, which isn't bad."

Lin Changheng made up his mind.

Only then did he open the storage bag and begin to carefully count the spoils of this trip.

Before we begin, we must first rule out any suspicious items.

All items that may be detected or marked will be identified and destroyed.

However, it was soon discovered that the fake Dan Demon did not have such items in his storage bag.

"That's true. This fiend is a demonic cultivator, constantly hiding and running away. How could he possibly leave behind items that could potentially reveal his location..."

Lin Changheng came to this conclusion, and as a moderate, he deeply agreed with it.

The core element is to avoid creating problems for yourself.

But soon, Lin Changheng made another discovery.

What he held in his hand was a ghost-head token, heavy and extremely cold. Holding it for a long time made one feel the chill seep into their body. Even a cultivator with a slightly weaker physique would probably tremble quietly.

The token has two sides. The front is extremely simple, with the two characters "枯泉" (Kuquan) crookedly engraved on it.

The reverse side features a design of an ancient doorway, which looks eerie and sinister; one might mistake it for the gates of hell.

The reason this token caught his attention was that it was connected to something in the dark, and it was a one-way connection. However, upon closer inspection, he found that the other end was shrouded in mist, and he could not see the details.

It's as if it was forcibly isolated and severed by some great force of heaven and earth!
This gave Lin Changheng a very keen intuition that... the other end was probably not in this realm.

"Other lost little worlds? Closed secret realms? Sealed ancient sites?..."

"The above cannot be confirmed, but the only thing that can be confirmed is that this place is involved with demons, or was once directly controlled by demonic forces."

A variety of possibilities emerged, as recorded in ancient texts.

Unable to get an answer, Lin Changheng stopped thinking about it and carefully put the item away, sealing it up layer by layer.

If this token weren't a one-way communication device, Lin Changheng would probably have been lost long ago.

……

Continue inspecting the storage bags.

They discovered that the fake Core Demon was quite wealthy; in addition to piles of spirit stones of various attributes, his storage bag also contained many demonic materials, insidious talismans, and seven or eight jade slips.

Lin Changheng did a rough calculation and found that most of these spirit stones were mid-grade spirit stones, which, when converted at the same price, amounted to more than 100,000 low-grade spirit stones!
His first reaction was summed up in three words: "Too rich!"

It should be noted that this was the wealth that the other party had left after hiding for many years and almost "living off their savings".

The background of a fake Core Formation cultivator is indeed extraordinary.

After spending a fortune at the last auction, the spirit stones were effectively replenished, exceeding 150,000.

This doesn't even include other miscellaneous materials and resources.

……

Then, Lin Changheng looked at the jade slips that had been gathered together.

He picked one up and began to examine and study it. It bore some kind of broken, standard seal mark, suggesting it was obtained from a place similar to a library, broken open, and then kept.

After a moment, he frowned slightly, put it down, and picked up another one.

He repeated this process, quickly browsing through the contents of the entire jade slip. As he had expected, it contained mostly insidious and treacherous demonic techniques.

There is a technique called "Soul-Seizing and Spirit-Refining Method" that extracts living souls and refines them into vengeful ghosts to fight enemies;
There is a technique called "Mysterious Yin Sha Body" that involves collecting Yin energy and corpse energy from underground to temper one's body. Once mastered, one becomes invulnerable to blades and spears, but will also become neither human nor ghost.
There is a fragment of the "Blood Scripture" that allows one to rapidly increase their cultivation level through blood sacrifice.
There are also detailed methods for crafting insidious magical artifacts like the "Nine Ghost Soul-Destroying Nails"...

All these methods are bloody and cruel, no wonder they are not tolerated by the orthodox cultivation world today.

Lin Changheng's expression remained calm, but his heart was not particularly stirred. The path of cultivation is long, and the distinction between good and evil is not always clear-cut. Power itself is neither good nor evil; the key lies in the person wielding it.

However, he has his own code of conduct and his own principles of the Way. These methods, which require the large-scale slaughter of living beings and are contrary to the laws of nature, are cruel and do not seem powerful. They also contradict the methods he practices and the path he takes.

Since there's no profit to be made, he naturally won't touch it.

“However,” he picked up the last black jade slip, the one that was the darkest in color and the oldest in material, “it is not entirely without value.”

Although these jade slips record evil techniques, the ideas they contain, the use of soul power, the methods of controlling yin energy, and even the arrangement of some strange formations are quite unique.

By drawing inferences from similar cases, this can provide valuable insights for his understanding of the essence of cultivation, enriching his methods of combat, and even for perfecting his own cultivation techniques in the future.

More importantly, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. Understanding these demonic techniques will allow you to deal with similar demonic enemies more effectively in the future.

At this moment, the black jade slip in his hand contained a secret escape technique called "Blood Shadow Escape".

This was also the method that the fake Dan demon cultivator used to escape from Wu Zhenchuan.

The last time, the silver-masked cultivator he encountered at Jade Belt Lake used a similar method to escape, but unfortunately, Lin Changheng didn't find the relevant jade slip in his storage bag. Furthermore, the other party's memories were sealed and locked, making it impossible to peek at them, so he had to give up.

Lin Changheng immediately immersed his consciousness into the jade slip and studied it carefully.

The principle behind the "Blood Shadow Escape" is quite domineering. It involves actively burning one's own essence and even a portion of one's original blood energy to instantly unleash a speed far exceeding one's current cultivation level, transforming into a blood-red light and shadow that is almost impossible to capture, covering hundreds of miles in an instant.

The specific distance depends on the level and density of the essence and blood; the higher the cultivation level and the stronger the body refinement, the farther the distance.

Its advantage is obvious—speed, extreme speed! When used during the Foundation Establishment stage, its speed can even rival the escape light of a Pseudo-Core cultivator for a short period, making it remarkably effective for escaping. Even the Pseudo-Core cultivator Wu Zhenchuan was temporarily left behind when the old demon used it.

However, the cost is extremely high. At best, it severely damages one's vital energy and causes a regression in cultivation, requiring a large amount of rare and precious materials and a long period of time to recover; at worst, it damages the foundation of cultivation, severing one's path to immortality. If one forces oneself to use it multiple times when one's essence and blood are depleted, one may even die from blood deficiency!

It is a truly life-or-death art.

“Burning one’s life essence to gain a sliver of hope…” Lin Changheng murmured to himself, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. “Although this method has extremely serious consequences, it is the only option in certain life-or-death situations.”

He did not underestimate it because it was a demonic escape technique; instead, he carefully studied its blood circulation route and explosive method.

His physical foundation far surpasses that of his peers, his blood and qi are vigorous, and his magical power is more refined and pure than that of other cultivators of the same level. Perhaps he can withstand the backlash of this technique better than ordinary cultivators.

"Moreover," he said, his eyes flickering slightly, "if I could extract the essence of its instantaneous burst speed and compare it with my own escape techniques, it might be beneficial. Even without burning my blood essence, I could still increase my escape speed a little."

Lin Changheng carefully put away the jade slip containing the "Blood Shadow Escape" technique, having already decided to spend some time studying it.

You don't necessarily have to use it, but you must understand it. In critical moments, it might be a surprise lifesaver.

The escape techniques he has mastered now include the [Earth Escape Demon Technique], the [Water Shadow Stealth Technique], the [Shadow Escape Technique] for short-distance travel and evasion, and the [Blood Shadow Escape] for escaping. Once all of them are advanced to their peak and perfected, who can compare to him when it comes to escaping with ease?
This greatly contributed to his steadiness.

After all, the higher one's cultivation level, the scarcer the high-level resources become. Many precious items won't just fall from the sky and land on your head while you're sitting at home waiting. Sometimes you really have to go out and even risk your life.

Lin Changheng also paid special attention to the detailed method of refining the [Nine Ghost Soul-Destroying Nails].

Because the embryonic form of this magical artifact had fallen into his hands but was severely damaged, Lin Changheng tried to see if there was any way to remedy the situation.

The normal remedy was extremely complicated, no less than refining it, and required a lot of lives, which made Lin Changheng shake his head and give up.

But when he flipped to the end, Lin Changheng actually found a secret technique for refining weapons.

It's called "Marrying the Spirit"!
Lin Changheng quickly scanned the contents, a strange expression appearing on his face. The technique itself was quite complex, but its underlying principles and methods were relatively clear, perfectly embodying the demonic path!

Generally speaking, the core principle of demonic cultivation is to harm others for personal gain, and this [Spirit Marriage] technique takes this path to a certain "extreme".

Similar to how demonic cultivators directly plunder the cultivation or soul of others to increase their own foundation, the [Spirit Marriage] technique targets other people's magical treasures and their embryonic forms.

The core of this technique lies in "grafting".

Grafting can both repair and enhance the graft.

The caster needs to find a "sacrifice" magic weapon, the higher the grade and the more spiritual energy the better. Then, through a special set of restrictions and blood refining methods, the spiritual energy of the "sacrifice" magic weapon is forcibly extracted and then "grafted" and infused into the damaged target magic weapon!
In this way, the target magical artifact can devour and integrate this foreign spiritual energy, thus repairing its own damage.

This is "repair".

Similarly, if the target magic weapon is in a normal state, it can absorb some of the characteristics and power of the "sacrifice" magic weapon, thereby breaking through and accelerating its transformation to become even more powerful.

Then it is "enhanced".

The downside of doing this is that the "sacrificial" magical artifacts, stripped of their spirituality, will become nothing more than scrap metal, devoid of any spirituality whatsoever.

"This... is practically possession of a magical artifact!" Lin Changheng thought to himself. This method could undoubtedly quickly repair or even enhance the power of a magical artifact, but the price was the complete destruction of another precious magical artifact. The process was domineering, perfectly in line with the style of the demonic path.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the jade box containing the half-ruined [Nine Ghost Soul-Destroying Nails], and then he looked inward at the [Azure Jade Sword Embryo] that was being nurtured in his dantian and whose spirituality was growing day by day.

A bold idea popped into his mind.

"If we use this [Nine Ghost Soul-Destroying Nail] as a 'sacrifice,' and with its material similar to a magical artifact and its remaining spiritual essence, we can perform the [Spirit Grafting] technique to graft it onto the [Sword Embryo]..."

This [Soul-Destroying Nail] is originally of the metal element and contains malevolent energy. It is not completely incompatible with the sword embryo's attributes, which are mainly for killing and warfare. In fact, some of its characteristics can even complement each other.

If successful, the [Sword Embryo] will surely gain a great increase in spirituality, and may even develop even stronger power ahead of time!

The Soul-Slaying Nail itself was already nearly useless, so squeezing out its last bit of value wouldn't be considered a waste.

However, the actual implementation requires careful study, preparation, and planning; it cannot be rushed.

……

Suppressing the excitement in his eyes, Lin Changheng's gaze then fell on the broken bone shield and the small black banner.

The white bone shield is made of a special material. Although it is severely damaged, its spiritual essence has not completely dissipated. Reforging it may yield some rare "bone essence".

Bone Essence is a rare third-tier spiritual material, but it is not directly nurtured by heaven and earth.

Instead, they are the remains of third-order or higher demonic beasts and the remains of body-refining cultivators, which are buried underground and nurtured by the earth's energy, the sun's essence, and the moon's light, forming special spiritual materials.

The amount that can be condensed from a complete corpse is only a few ounces.

More importantly, once the two types of corpses reach the third tier, their value increases significantly, and they are generally not buried underground but used for other purposes.

Therefore, [Bone Essence] is all the more rare and precious.

It is obvious that the fact that this bone shield can reach the quality of a second-tier superior grade is related to the addition of a small amount of [bone essence].

……

The small black banner is a rare demonic artifact called the "Hundred Soul Banner." To be formed, it must imprison hundreds of souls within it, and their resentment must rise to the heavens.

Lin Changheng quickly checked and found that there were less than fifty living souls left inside.

Although the banner was torn apart, its internal space, which stores soul power and carries living souls, was not completely destroyed. Otherwise, if the living souls were to escape, this "Hundred Soul Banner" would be completely ruined, and the cost of repairing and rebuilding it would be far higher than making a new one.

……

"【Vajra Bodhi Wood】? A sacred artifact of the demonic path?"

As for most of the other magical items, Lin Changheng had little interest in them and planned to dispose of them later after a brief classification.

But the material of one of the semi-finished products made Lin Changheng's pupils shrink slightly, and his memory was instantly pulled back to many years ago.

The old Taoist priest Wu Jiu that he met in the [Bixiaomen] area.

At the other party's request, Lin Changheng refined an item.

It's basically the same, just a bit longer!
This item also presents a dull, lackluster golden yellow color throughout, with natural wood grain covering the surface, yet it also has a cold, hard, metallic feel.

Lin Changheng also sensed from within that this object contained a rather powerful, yet mixed and sluggish, wood spirit energy, as if it were wrapped and blocked by countless impurities, which was clearly demonic energy!

Wu Jiu Laodao once told him, "This is a demonic cultivator refining a demonic sacred object, currently in the stage of infusing it with demonic energy."

He was asked to help remove the demonic energy and restore the original form of the Vajra Bodhi Wood, one of the seven sacred woods.

Moreover, he added that the wood "was divided into four pieces, each held by one of the four demonic cultivator leaders..."

It's obvious that this fake alchemist is one of the leaders, because he also has a Vajra Bodhi Wood in his hand, and it can be inferred that his status is much higher than that of the person Wu Jiu killed.

"Of all the things we've acquired today, the most valuable is this seven-inch-long, adult-calf-thick piece of Vajra Bodhi wood."

Lin Changheng was overjoyed when he saw the item. He planned to use the Dark Flame to refine it again and remove the demonic energy. He believed that whether he used it himself or cut it into smaller pieces to barter or trade with others, he could exchange it for some valuable treasures!
Those are the materials for forming the Golden Core; you can exchange for them whenever you have the chance.

……

After a long time.

"Truly a windfall, this trip was worthwhile."

"The collection of a mere fake Core Formation Demon is richer than that of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators I killed before! It has also broadened my knowledge!"

Lin Changheng stood up, removed the restriction, and flew straight out from behind the waterfall.

The valley was filled with the damp chill of dawn, dew clung to the grass and trees, and all was silent.

He took a deep breath, the crisp air filling his lungs and completely washing away the last trace of blood.

Just as dawn was breaking, the outlines of the mountains changed from dark to bluish-gray. He saw a crooked old pine tree in a crevice of the rock, its roots firmly embedded in the stone wall, while its crown stubbornly stretched towards the emerging morning light.

Just like himself right now, having killed a third-tier pseudo-core cultivator, his strength is enough to step into a wider world, but he has also seen clearly the shallowness of his own foundation. In front of pseudo-core and true core cultivators at their peak, he is still not enough!
"I must tread carefully, as if standing on the edge of an abyss, but I will eventually reach the other side!"

With a flicker, Lin Changheng transformed into a faint streak of light and vanished into the horizon, heading towards the Floating Life Immortal City.

This time, it was just to make an appearance in the Immortal City, avoid suspicion, and say goodbye to Bai Hengwan.

……

a few days later.

Lin Changheng returned to the inner city of the Immortal City.

As a result, he overheard a lot of comments on the way, which made Lin Changheng raise his eyebrows slightly. He then went to Lingjiu Restaurant to find out what was going on.

He also basically knew what had happened during the time he was away from the Immortal City.

First, the appearance of fake core-wielding demonic cultivators shook and stirred up the immortal city.

It is astonishing and frightening that an old demon had been hiding in the Immortal City for so long before being discovered!
Secondly, Bai Hengwan, with her invincible body and late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, fearlessly faced the fake Core Formation demon cultivators and saved a group of law enforcement team cultivators. Her character and strength were recognized and admired.

My reputation has soared both inside and outside the Immortal City!
Secondly, there was speculation about the outcome of the battle between Wu Zhenchuan and the fake Dan Laomo, which also sparked speculation about Wu Zhenchuan's strength.

At last……

Lin Changheng actually heard the name of his second identity.

Li Feiyu!
There's even a story about him standing up for what's right and daring to fight against a fake Core Formation cultivator.

At the same time, his general past and personality were also revealed to the public by "insiders".

He has once again been labeled as a pitiful person, impulsive, gloomy, and unpredictable.

In short, Li Feiyu's name... quickly rose to fame.

(End of this chapter)