Starting at the Nascent Soul stage, a rogue cultivator is incredibly poor.

Qingyouzi abruptly stopped his escape, pressed one hand to his chest, beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his breathing became unusually heavy and rapid.

Not right.

An indescribable restlessness and coldness emanated from the depths of his dantian, as if something extremely ferocious and filthy was awakening within him, attempting to erode his physical body!

His expression changed slightly. He suppressed his discomfort and his sharp gaze swept across the desolate mountains below. Then, he plummeted down and landed in a secluded mountain stream.

Leaning against the cold, slippery stone wall, he took a few quick breaths, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"What happened?"

Without the slightest hesitation, his divine sense instantly spread out, like an invisible giant net, meticulously sweeping over every inch of land, rock, stream, and even the dust floating in the air within a radius of hundreds of miles.

There was no ambush.

There are no trackers.

There were no unusual formations or poisonous miasma.

Business as usual.

But the strange throbbing and chilling malice within him became increasingly clear!

Qingyouzi's heart sank. He immediately sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes and focused his mind, letting his consciousness sink into his body to carefully examine himself.

The magical power flowing through his meridians seemed to be surging as always, and his nascent soul in his dantian was sitting cross-legged as usual, but just as his divine sense touched the depths of the nascent soul...

A thick, inky, filthy, and cold aura, filled with madness and murderous intent, erupted from his limbs, bones, and dantian simultaneously without warning!

Black energy burst forth from his body, condensing above his head into a churning, menacing cloud that emitted a terrifying, malevolent aura. The surrounding vegetation withered upon contact, and the rocks turned a gloomy gray.

"A malevolent aura?!"

Qingyouzi suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with shock, anger and disbelief.

"How could I possibly be tainted by such a strong malevolent aura? And to such an extent?"

Although he had committed many killings, his Daoist heart was firm, he had his own rules, and he always paid attention to dispelling the malevolent energy, so there was never any sign of the evil energy backfiring.

Moreover, this malevolent energy arrived so suddenly and fiercely, like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone, that it could not have been caused by any unconventional accumulation!

In a flash, a terrible thought crossed my mind.

"wrong!"

Qingyouzi's pupils contracted sharply as he suddenly remembered the depths of the Northern Plains.

The Nascent Soul stage cultivator he finally killed, who was controlled by the ancient demon! He recalled the strange words the cultivator spoke before his death and the black energy bursting from his eyes!

"That's not ordinary ancient demonic possession... it's 'Fiendish Demon'! An extremely rare branch of ancient demons that specializes in manipulating and condensing fiendish energy!"

His face instantly turned extremely ugly.

"In that battle... when it self-destructed, it didn't just want to perish together with me! The black smoke that exploded must have contained a trace of its original 'demon energy,' which quietly invaded my body the moment I relaxed my guard while resisting the explosion!"

"Damn it!"

Having figured things out, Qingyouzi felt a surge of anger in his chest and couldn't help but let out a low roar!

As his emotions fluctuated, the dark, malevolent energy hovering above his head seemed to be stimulated, suddenly surging and transforming into a ring-shaped black ripple that spread outwards with a roar!

"Boom—!"

The mountain stream trembled violently, and countless cracks appeared in the stone walls on both sides, with large rocks tumbling down with a roar.

The stream surged backward, and the trees within dozens of feet of the bank were swept by the malevolent energy ripples containing negative intent, snapping in half and instantly withering and dying.

Within a radius of several miles, life suddenly diminished.

Qingyouzi quickly composed himself and began to circulate his internal energy.

The immense magical power surged like a tide to his limbs and bones, and with his divine sense far surpassing that of others of the same level, he painstakingly suppressed the restless, erupting evil energy little by little, forcing it back into the depths of his body.

The black mist slowly receded and disappeared back beneath the skin, but the cold, filthy, and restless feeling remained clearly as a brand.

His face was so gloomy it could drip water.

"We must find a solution as soon as possible! Either a cultivation technique specifically designed to suppress or purify the evil energy, or a rare elixir from heaven and earth that can neutralize it!"

This malevolent energy is no small matter. It originates from an ancient demon and will not only continuously erode his magical power, pollute his divine consciousness, and shake his foundation, but over time it may even lead him to become a demon or cause him to explode and die!

Even more frightening is...

"That fiend said 'I'll come back to find you myself' before he died... that was probably more than just empty threats!"

A cold glint flashed in Qingyouzi's eyes.

"This demonic energy that has invaded my body is like a tracking barrier! As long as the demonic entity itself is not destroyed, or if there are other entities of the same origin, it is very likely that it can sense my location within a certain range by relying on this aura!"

"At that time..."

The consequences could be disastrous.

Faced with a desperate situation, my mind raced.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into his mind!

"Oh, right! In those two old geezers' storage bags..."

Qingyouzi immediately reached into his robes and took out an ancient book with an animal skin cover.

It came from Elder Yang's storage bag. I only glanced at it at the time, and I remember that it seemed to mention something related to malevolent energy.

He quickly flipped through the pages, his divine sense scanning the lines of ancient seal script.

Soon, his finger stopped on a page.

"The malevolent energy, the essence of ferocity, is the result of the killing and resentment of all living beings. Those who are tainted by it are easily agitated, their magical powers are corrupted, and over time, their minds become clouded and their meridians decay..."

"However, all things in the universe are interconnected and mutually restraining. Even malevolent energy can be refined and controlled. In ancient times, there were cultivators who specialized in refining 'malevolent treasures,' using killing to nourish malevolent energy and using malevolent energy to temper treasures..."

Qingyouzi's gaze was fixed on the following lines of text:

"Those who refine 'evil energy magic treasures' must first find a magic treasure embryo with strong endurance and special texture, and then use secret methods to continuously temper it with their own or external evil energy."

Once the magical artifact is complete, the malevolent energy will find its place, feeding back into the artifact and greatly increasing its power. It is especially adept at breaking through defenses, defiling artifacts, and harming the spirit... However, this method is dangerous, and the malevolent energy's backlash is even more intense. The holder of the artifact must have an iron will and be vigilant at all times...

"A malevolent magical artifact..."

Qingyouzi murmured repeatedly, her eyes suddenly brightening before quickly dimming and being replaced by a strong sense of annoyance and anger!

He remembered!

When the mysterious man in black was chasing him, the black longsword in the man's hand, which was elusive and incredibly powerful, left a deep impression on him!

The blade was pitch black and menacing, clearly a magical artifact imbued with malevolent energy! Given its ability to contain malevolent energy, it might be able to draw out, suppress, or even harness the ancient demonic energy within him for his own use!

but……

"That knife... I used it as a life-saving measure, throwing it out to self-destruct and block that white-robed late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!"

Qingyouzi slammed his fist into the stone wall beside him, sending shards of stone flying.

"It's all that damned old man in white robes' fault! If he hadn't pushed me so hard, I wouldn't have destroyed my only hope!"

The influence of anger mixed with murderous aura caused bloodshot veins to appear in his eyes, and his killing intent rose uncontrollably.

"roar--!"

A suppressed, violent growl escaped from his throat, his aura became unstable, and the suppressed murderous aura showed signs of surging outwards again.

The birds, beasts, and insects in the surrounding mountains and forests seemed to sense the terrifying pressure of a natural enemy descending, and all of them prostrated themselves and trembled in silence.

Qingyouzi forced herself to calm down after taking a few deep breaths of the cold mountain air.

Anger is useless, regret is of no use.

The most urgent task is to find a solution. Now that we know that using a magical artifact to counteract the malevolent energy is a viable path, let's go find it! Let's find the method of crafting it, find a suitable magical artifact, and find a spiritual medicine that can alleviate the malevolent energy!

He stood up, suppressing the murderous intent and restlessness surging in his heart. His figure transformed into a slightly dim streak of light, soaring into the sky and flying towards the territory once under the jurisdiction of the Myriad Immortals Dynasty in his memory.

Several days later.

It was a medium-sized city, with pedestrians coming and going on the streets and shops open. Although it was no longer as prosperous as before, it exuded a rare tranquility in the midst of chaos.

This city was originally controlled by the reformist faction of the Wanxian Dynasty. Now that the dynasty has collapsed, this place has been taken over by a local force. Because it is far from the front line, it has not been directly affected by the war for the time being.

Qingyouzi strolled along the street, wearing a black bamboo hat that completely concealed his aura, his steps indistinguishable from those of an ordinary person. He focused his divine sense, carefully sensing the state of his body.

The ancient demonic aura was like a leech, forcibly suppressed deep within him by his magic power, yet it was constantly stirring, trying to erode his magic power and stir up his negative emotions.

What's more troublesome is that he has a vague feeling that this malevolent energy is still growing and spreading at an extremely slow rate...

"This is outrageous..."

Qingyouzi cursed inwardly, his face growing even more gloomy under his bamboo hat.

He walked to the door of a fairly clean-looking inn, preparing to step inside, rest for a while, and gather some information.

suddenly.

An aged, peaceful voice, seemingly resonating directly within his mind, came from behind him:

"What a pity, what a pity..."

His voice paused, carrying a sense of worldly wisdom mixed with a barely perceptible regret.

"Such pure and intense malevolent energy surrounds you, and within it lies a hidden ancient demonic nature... Young friend, if you do not find a way to resolve this soon, I fear... your days are numbered."