So it turns out I'm the demon!

I have to say, it's good to be rich.

Nourished by the superior medicinal bath and the abundant animal meat and blood, Jiang Mu's overdrawn body recovered extremely quickly, and she was able to walk again in less than half a day.

However, his legs still felt unsteady when he walked.

He looked weak, as if the female demon had drained all his yang energy.

In the afternoon, he went to the Demon Slayer Division.

Seeing his unsteady gait, everyone cast mocking and disdainful glances at him.

When Xu Fu first mentioned that this kid was going to cultivate, everyone was already skeptical. Now it seems that this kid has clearly gone to a brothel to cultivate.

As expected, a spoiled brat is a spoiled brat; he's hopeless.

Jiang Mu was too lazy to explain and went straight to Xu Fu.

"Demon corpse?"

Xu Fu put down the official document in his hand, looked up at him strangely, and asked, "Why are you asking that?"

Jiang Mu said:

"I just want to see what it's like and gain some practical experience."

Looking at his weak and listless appearance, Xu Fu smirked and teased, "Haven't you seen enough, you vixen? Why bother coming to a place like this?"

Perhaps realizing he had gone too far with his sarcasm, he coughed and said seriously:

"Demon corpses are highly susceptible to breeding diseases and are usually burned on the spot. Even those that are valuable are specially sealed and sent to the chief.

"I see."

Jiang Mu was very disappointed upon hearing this.

Xu Fu thought for a moment and then said:

"However, there are a few low-level demon remains over at the ice cave, used for dissection and research. You can go take a look. I'll have someone take you there; as the hall master, you have the right to see them."

Thank you.

Jiang Mu's eyes lit up.

Xu Fu summoned a subordinate, gave him a few instructions, and then had him take Jiang Mu to the ice cave.

Watching the other person stagger away, Xu Fu shook his head: "Sigh, this young master. I guess he wanted to brag in front of women, so he came to look at some kind of monster."

He stopped thinking about it and focused his gaze on the official document in his hand, his brows furrowing.

Then he took out a secret letter.

"What exactly does the Imperial Observatory mean by this? That wicked empress was already burned to death, why are they still..."

Xu Fu's eyes flickered.

Four years ago, in order to protect itself, the Kingdom of Jing offered its princess, who was known as "the most beautiful woman in the world," as a bride for a political marriage.

The new emperor, blinded by lust, defied public opinion and made her empress.

However, the Empress suffered from a strange illness that made it difficult for the Emperor to approach her. The Emperor, heeding the advice of treacherous officials, spared no expense in building the Deer Terrace and gathered sorcerers from all directions to use secret methods to cure her, hoping to resolve her affliction.

After that, the demonic calamities intensified, monsters roamed freely, natural disasters occurred frequently, foreign invaders continued to attack, and rebellions broke out from time to time.

The people were filled with fear and resentment.

The Kingdom of Mirror was destroyed by demons.

In this situation, rumors and prophecies arose, all pointing to "a wicked empress bringing disaster to the world."

Beset by internal and external troubles, and with the spread of prophecies among the people, the emperor finally came to his senses, executed the treacherous ministers around him, issued an edict of self-reproach, and burned the wicked empress who had brought disaster to the country to death on the Deer Terrace.

"Beauty is a curse...beauty is a curse..."

Xu Fu sighed softly.

-

Upon arriving at the ice cave, Jiang Mu saw the remains of the demons that were stored there.

Looking at these low-level monsters, he felt somewhat speechless.

Huskies, honey badger, koalas, groundhogs... and a creature that looks like a Psyduck.

"this……"

"My lord, these are all the true forms of the demons."

The guards explained, "This is what happens when these low-level monsters are reverted to their original forms."

"All right."

Jiang Mu secretly touched the corpses of these monsters a few times.

But there was no response.

"It seems that it must be a fresh, warm corpse that has just died."

Jiang Mu was completely disheartened and had no choice but to go home and continue practicing diligently.

……

And so, several more days passed without anyone noticing.

noon.

Jiang Mu stood shirtless in the scorching sand.

The scorching sun baked his back until it shone, and every muscle was taut like a fully drawn bow.

He raised his arms horizontally, his ten fingers loosely clasped, his body as solid as a mountain, firmly rooted in the "Tiger-Taming Stance" recorded in the "Body Casting Secrets".

Within his body, the qi and blood accumulated from days of medicinal diet and animal meat, combined with the breathing techniques, gave rise to strands of true qi.

The true energy continued to sink down, spreading into the limbs and bones.

Jiang Mu could clearly feel a series of subtle soreness and tingling from deep within her bones.

It felt as if countless tiny hammers were beating and reshaping his bones.

After completing the static stance, Jiang Mu slowly exhaled, her body transitioning from stillness to movement.

Pushing mountains, coiling pines, embracing the moon...

With his increasingly skilled breathing rhythm, the flow of internal energy and heat was stimulated to become even more active.

The repeated impacts cleared away the sluggish, subtle pathways.

"Snap!"

With a crisp sound, as if a joint had been dislocated and then put back into place, Jiang Mu slowly stopped his movement.

He took a deep breath and murmured:

"With the enhancement of the demonic physique, my speed has indeed increased significantly. At this rate, I should be able to reach the threshold of the first realm in at most ten days."

During this period, he pushed himself to the limit during the day and used Zhang the butcher's physique to train extra at night.

The effect is also immediate.

Now, after a medicinal bath, he no longer needs a long rest before he can continue practicing.

His basic physical condition has become much stronger.

Moreover, he can freely summon the phantom of the word "demon".

However, as time went by, Zhang the Butcher's demonic shadow became fainter and fainter, and the physical strength it provided gradually weakened.

"It seems that this 'borrowed' power is not unlimited and will be consumed as it is used."

Jiang Mu secretly guessed.

Sure enough, a few days later, Zhang the Butcher's demonic shadow completely dissipated after a night of cultivation.

Only the groove for the character "魔" remains.

He finally drained this "power bank" dry.

"Alas, you have fulfilled the mission history entrusted to you, helping me through the most difficult start. Rest in peace."

Jiang Mu sighed.

Although he felt a little disappointed, he didn't care too much.

Because after this period of grueling training, his physique was now fully capable of withstanding the intense physical demands of physical conditioning.

They were just one step away from reaching the threshold of the first realm.

However, according to the manual, the most difficult part of the path of cultivation is not only the daily grind, but also the breakthrough of each major realm.

That is, breaking through the realm.

It's not as simple as things falling into place naturally.

It requires a foundation of innate talent and physical constitution, the assistance of external aids, a deeper understanding and compatibility with the cultivation method, and a moment of "enlightenment".

Even... some luck is still needed.

For the vast majority of those in the Body Tempering stage, the success rate of breaking through from a mortal to the first formal realm is less than 50%.

Moreover, a failed first breakthrough will damage the foundation, making the success rate even lower on the second attempt.

If three consecutive attempts fail, this route is essentially cut off.

This is what is known as "things shouldn't happen more than three times".

The higher one's cultivation level, the narrower the bottleneck becomes.

Therefore, every time a cultivator at a high level breaks through a barrier, they must make thorough preparations.

For example, seeking out blessed lands and grottoes, preparing rare and precious materials to help one break through barriers, adjusting one's body and mind to the best state, and even asking teachers and Dharma protectors for guidance, calculating auspicious days, burning incense and bathing to calm the mind...

The preparations are numerous and varied.

In short, it's extremely difficult!

The difficulty of spiritual cultivation is greater than ascending to heaven!

Jiang Mu was quite uneasy about this, and inwardly resented that her father wasn't being helpful.

He even started to consider whether, when he was about to make a real breakthrough, he should also burn incense and take a bath, go to a temple to burn a lot of incense, and find a fortune teller to pick an auspicious day.

However, he soon realized that he had been overthinking things.

……

Time slipped away quietly amidst sweat and the aroma of medicine.

Several days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The midday heat was intense on the sandy ground.

Jiang Mu stood still like a pine tree.

The skin has a healthy tan from long-term sun exposure and exercise, and the muscle lines that are beginning to show are taut in the sun.

He took a deep breath and suddenly pushed his arms outward.

As the muscles and bones stretched, the joints of the whole body made a series of "crackling" sounds like popping beans.

Then, he lowered his shoulders and elbows.

He threw a powerful punch at the hardwood stake in front of him!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud exploded.

The sturdy wooden stake, as thick as a bowl, cracked inch by inch, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

At the same time, a faint golden light of blood and qi flashed beneath Jiang Mu's skin, and the beads of sweat on her skin were shaken into a fine white mist.

"call--"

Jiang Mu exhaled a long, stale breath and stood still.

He looked down at his arm.

Its texture is fine and firm, fundamentally different from its previous flesh and blood body.

One realm!

That's how it's done!

Just now, he felt his blood and qi surging and was about to stop and choose a day to prepare for a breakthrough when, with a thought, the huge character "demon" suddenly appeared.

The next moment, the demonic blood stored in the groove transformed into streams of pure energy that flowed into his entire body.

Immediately afterwards, he felt a lightness in his body.

That so-called solid bottleneck was as easy to break through as a windowpane.

"Hey, it's not that hard."

Jiang Mu looked at the word "demon" floating in front of her.

The blood in the groove was almost completely used up, leaving only a trace at the bottom.

He finally figured out the wonderful use of this cheat code.

This is a conversion storage device.

He absorbed demonic energy and refined it into demonic blood for storage. This demonic blood could ignore bottlenecks and forcefully help him break through realms!

"So, what's an insurmountable barrier for ordinary people, I can... break through with ease?"

Jiang Mu sighed, suddenly feeling somewhat bored.

Not interesting.

He is someone who enjoys challenges and a sense of accomplishment, so this smooth sailing makes him quite unhappy.

Jiang Mu slowly clenched her fist.

But in any case, this crucial step has finally been taken steadily.

What the future holds remains to be seen.

But at least, he now has the right to look up.

Jiang Mu was filled with excitement and was about to turn off the magic slot when she suddenly noticed a light spot next to it.

What is this?

Jiang Mu frowned and focused her attention on the spot of light.

The next moment, the last bit of demonic blood in the magic tank was injected into it, and the originally dim light spot immediately burst into bright light.

The next moment, Jiang Mu felt a blur before her eyes.

A shadow shrouded in black demonic energy suddenly appeared beside them.

His figure was exactly the same as his!

What's even more amazing is that no matter what Jiang Mu does, the demonic shadow follows him perfectly in sync.

"This is... my demonic shadow?"

Jiang Mu's heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly had an idea and began to temper his body and practice stance training.

The demonic figure indeed joined in the stance training, even mimicking the breathing and energy circulation techniques exactly. Jiang Mu clearly felt that his body tempering speed had increased significantly.

"I see!"

Jiang Mu's eyes gleamed, "It's like two of me are cultivating at the same time, gaining double the experience points."

But the surprises didn't end there.

He soon discovered that the Demon Shadow could also cultivate alone!

As long as Jiang Mu rehearses the entire process and gives the demonic shadow instructions in his mind, the other party will follow them, and the effect will be entirely given to Jiang Mu himself.

Even if Jiang Mu is resting nearby, he can still benefit from the body tempering effect.

It's like someone is working for him.

The only downside is that the two sides cannot be too far apart.

Once the two sides are more than ten feet apart, the demonic shadow will dissipate, which is equivalent to the signal being cut off.

"This is good stuff."

Jiang Mu was overjoyed, "In this way, my cultivation speed has increased significantly."

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Just then, a knock on the door suddenly sounded.