Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

by <unknown>

  She knew for a fact that, after such a long war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven's Origin Sector, few demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons had slain experts in the Nascent Soul Stage before.

  But the old monster here talked about killing Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators so casually as if they were nothing but harmless hens. What a ferocious demon!

  Jin Xinyue calmed herself down and said, "For starters, creatures of pure energy are very unsteady and prone to interference.

  "More importantly, a body of flesh and blood is the ultimate essence of the materials in the universe. Life is the greatest mystery in the universe and a boundless treasury!

  "Every cell is like a tiny universe and boasts infinite potential. Isn't it catching at the shadow and losing the substance when you explore the great universe in a hurry but you haven't figured out the small universe yet?

  "Therefore, the demons regard our bodies as the source of our strength. We are more focused on developing the potential of our cells by attacking them with energy. All our techniques are based on that, too!

  "With your expertise, you must know a lot of secret training arts. However, if I may be so bold to ask, have you ever thought of the mechanisms of the secret arts, senior?"

  Li Yao pondered for a moment and glanced at Jin Xinyue coldly.

  Jin Xinyue shivered, but she bit her lips hard and widened her eyes, staring back at Li Yao.

  She was very clear that she could not keep retreating and submitting herself during the competition with such an old monster. She had to take the initiative at the crucial moment even though it might be risky.

  As she expected, Li Yao lowered his head after a moment and said frankly, "It's true that I don't know how many secret arts work even though I can use them adeptly. I only know that training through those methods will make me stronger, but training is always followed by endless combat. Is there any time for me to consider the mechanism of training at all?"

  Ecstasy beamed out of Jin Xinyue's eyes. She knew that she had hooked the old monster.

  Now that she had achieved her purpose, she did not dare test him any longer. She said in a hurry, "According to the modern theories of training, the secrets of demons lie in the genes.

  "You may find it hard to believe, senior, but if you magnify a cell billions of times, you will be able to clearly see the gene strands deep inside the cells, which are in pairs and in helical forms.

  "On those gene strands, the greatest experts and sages, such as Zhurong, Gonggong and Kuafu, left astronomical hereditary information billions of years ago.

  "If you think that such an explanation is too obscure, you may consider that the greatest experts in the primeval era wrote all the training methods possible on jade chips named 'gene strands'. Then they connected all the jade chips and hid them deep inside every cell.

  "However, under normal circumstances, all the 'unparalleled techniques' are in the state of being sealed and locked. They are known as 'dormant genes' and 'recessive genes'.

  "The training mechanism of demons is in fact importing spiritual energy into the body and piercing it deep into the nucleus to trigger the dormant genes, forcing them to shift from recessive to dominant. As a result, they will be able to perceive the unparalleled techniques that the ancient experts bestowed upon us instantly and demonstrate the demeanor of the primeval warriors again!

  "Therefore, the entire training system of the modern demons is based on cells and genes.

  "For the demon soldiers at the bottom level, they can guide the spiritual energy to blow their membranes consciously and stimulate the activity of the membrane by the vibration of spiritual energy of a certain frequency, facilitating the exchange of materials in and out of the cells and making their bodies stronger.

  "For the demon generals, they can train with their cell nucleuses directly and bombard the gene strands with their spiritual energy so that the dormant genes are awakened.

  "For the demon emperors, they can even directly analyze parts of their genes and grasp the legacy that the prehistoric experts passed on to us in our genes. Then, they regain that unimaginable primeval power again!

  "All theories, studies, and secret arts regarding the cells and genes are known collectively as 'biochemistry'. Biology is the study of life, and chemistry is the study of changes. All the changes and mysteries of life in the entire universe are explored in biochemistry!"

  Chapter 850: Transformation of Cultivation |

  "When biochemistry developed to the peak point, terrifying existences known as 'biochemical beasts' were invented!

  "Training genes can be dangerous because the world of hereditary information is as vast as an ocean and utterly unpredictable. There is no telling what kind of changes would happen to somebody when they activate part of their dormant genes. They might grow scales all over their body, and they become as tough as iron, but they also might suddenly turn into a pool of pus and die a miserable death. It is possible that their appearance might not change at all, but their breathing organ might no longer be compatible with the air. As a result, they would suffocate even though the air is plenty.

  "Therefore, we all tread lightly during our training and never dare to unlock the gene strands randomly.

  "But biochemical beasts are different. They are the artificial creatures made through combining the genes of dozens of stronger demon beasts. They do not have the ability to think or self-awareness, and they can be connected to the user through nerves or brainwaves, which essentially makes them 'clones' of the user.

  "On the biochemical beasts, the imagination and creativity of the experts of genetics and cytology are no longer restricted. Therefore, such terrifying weapons that are as magnificent as the primeval animals have been invented!

  "When a demon is connected to a biochemical beast, their combat ability is multiplied, and if it is a top-tier biochemical beast, their combat ability could even be enhanced by ten times!" Jin Xinyue said delightedly.

  Li Yao frowned and, pondering for a moment, said, "When I chased after the prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom and almost killed him, an enormous centipede that was dozens of meters of long crawled out of the earth. It had three bloody horns on its head that were spurting poisonous gas with a sweet smell. Then, the prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom crammed into the head of the centipede, and the two of them seemed to meld into one. Was it a biochemical beast?"

  Jin Xinyue shuddered and gasped. "Yes. That was the 'Red-Horned Centipede', a biochemical beast personally brewed by Elder Nether Spring. It is one of the strongest biochemical beasts of the Blood Demon Sector. I did not know that Elder Nether Spring was resolute enough to deploy such a precious weapon! What then? Did you kill Yuan Du and the Red-Horned Centipede in the end, senior?"

  Li Yao shook his head. "I didn't. I slashed at the centipede and chopped off one of the red horns on its head. Then, it spurted out a cluster of intense fog and escaped with the coverage of the fog.

  "I was more interested in the item that you were all fighting over, so I chose to go after you and ignored the little bug."

  Jin Xinyue secretly clicked her tongue. Yuan Du was a middle-level demon king. With the enhancement of the 'Red-Horned Centipede', he could certainly fight a high-level demon king. She did not expect that the guy would only be able to run away desperately under the threat of the old monster, and even the venomous horn of his biochemical beast had been removed.

  The old monster was indeed unfathomably strong!

  With a brilliant smile on her face, Jin Xinyue clapped her hands and said, "You are indeed invincible with your amazing skills, senior. With a cough of yours, Yuan Du could only be scared out of his wits. If you have access to a few super biochemical beasts and build them into your 'clones', which you can manipulate as if they are your body parts, I cannot imagine how strong you will be by then!"

  Li Yao chuckled for a moment but suddenly stopped smiling. He said coldly, "There's no need to flatter me. In fact, all your talk is merely mean
t to trigger my interest in the modern theories of training so that I will escort you back to the Gold Crow Kingdom safely and even join your father's side against the Nether Spring Kingdom, right?"

  Jin Xinyue smiled even more brilliantly as she replied, "Your eyes are indeed keen, senior. I knew that I could not hide my intention in front of you."

  Li Yao snorted and said, "After listening to what you've just said, I'm indeed quite curious about the modern theories of training. It seems that forty thousand years is truly a long time. The world has completely changed!

  "It's not impossible for me to escort you back to the Gold Crow Kingdom. Joining the war between you and the Heaven's Origin Sector is my wish, too. Although you have not mentioned it yet, I'm very curious what kind of experts are in the world of Cultivators now waiting to be butchered by me and how powerful the so-called crystal suits are. Are they enough to resist one attack?

  "However, you must tell me everything that you know honestly. If I discover that you are keeping anything to yourself, hehehehe…"

  The intimidating killing intent around him made Jin Xinyue shudder violently again. She hurried to kneel down and swore that she did not dare to.

  Li Yao narrowed his eyes and said, "I did not kill the prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom. He must've returned already with news about us. I do not think that Elder Nether Spring will let us walk out of the Hundred Desolation Mountain easily.

  "He is just a demon emperor. Of course, I'm not scared of him, but with the mutations inside your body, you are quite a nuisance now."

  Thinking for a moment, Li Yao opened his right hand and summoned a fire out of nowhere before he patted the fire into the top of Jin Xinyue's skull.

  A hot stream immediately flooded into Jin Xinyue's brain.

  Jin Xinyue was so scared that she was almost peeing. She thought that the temperamental monster was determined to kill her.

  She was about to exclaim and run away when she sensed that she was not harmed at all. Instead, with the hot stream flooding into her body, brand new strength was woken up inside her internal organs.

  This—this is the secret technique through which the Cultivators and demons forty thousand years ago assessed the expertise and aptitude of their disciples!

  Jin Xinyue quickly realized what was going on.

  Forty thousand years ago, the demon race had only just risen and was deeply connected to the Cultivators. On many occasions, the demons were like the Cultivators' students. They learned everything from their teachers crazily.

  Therefore, the greatest experts of the demons at that time, besides their naturally-endowed talents, were all adept at the secret arts of the Cultivators. If they polymorphed into human beings, they would look divine and elegant, absolutely no different from real high-level Cultivators.

  Jin Xinyue had an absurd thought when she was tested with the ancient bone-touching technique. She was wondering if it was her who travelled through time instead of the old monster.

  But Li Yao was ten times more shocked than Jin Xinyue was.

  Odd. Really odd. Why are there such immense spiritual waves inside her body?

  Li Yao sensed the tremendous spiritual energy stored inside Jin Xinyue's body. It filled her internal organs and every vessel and nerve. Part of the spiritual energy was even condensed in her lower abdomen where it was spinning slowly and forming what appeared to be a core!

  "I—"

  Under Li Yao's guidance, Jin Xinyue gradually perceived the new strength inside her body, too. She thought of a possibility and was dumbfounded.

  Li Yao made the conclusion for her. "It seems that the weird drug only changed the forms of your cells but did not remove your strength from you. Your strength is now demonstrated in a completely different way. That's all.

  "In the past, you were a demon king.

  "After the transformation, you have become a Cultivator at the corresponding level—the Core Formation Stage.

  "Of course, it is only in terms of the immensity of spiritual energy. You don't know the first thing about the utilization of spiritual energy and are absolutely no match for a real Core Formation Stage Cultivators. Even Building Foundation Stage Cultivators could defeat you easily. You are like a three-year-old who has unbelievable physical strength, but that does not mean that you can fight a real warrior."

  Jin Xinyue was relieved at first. In the Blood Demon Sector, where the strong preyed on the weak, strength meant everything. It was not the most terrible thing to turn into a human being, but if she lost her strength, she would be a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of anybody. It would be a better ending for her if she killed herself right now under such circumstances.

  Her strength remained, but it had been shifted to a different paradigm. It was the greatest news for her today.

  However, there was still one problem. How exactly should she utilize the strength?

  Li Yao observed her ever-changing facial expressions casually. It was not until Jin Xinyue came back to herself and looked at her earnestly that he retrieved ten or so high-purity crystals from his Cosmos Ring unhurriedly.

  With his left hand behind his back, Li Yao raised a stream of invisible spiritual energy that made the crystals float in midair without support.

  With the stimulation of the spiritual energy, the crystals crashed and polished each other. Powder spluttered like a hazy mist. The most solid crystals seemed to have turned into the softest plaster. Their forms changed continuously until they split into delicate components in the end.

  Brilliance suddenly shined in Li Yao's eyes. He closed his hand, and all the components were combined together after cracking noises into a vintage jade chip.

  Shua!

  Seven-colored fire rose up inside Li Yao's palm, which seared the jade from top to bottom. In the end, the fire did not die down but dashed into the jade chip like a small dragon, turning into colorful, glamorous stripes on the surface of the jade chip.

  After only a few seconds of refining, the jade chip was translucent and as smooth as oil. It also boasted a vigorous air, as if it had been polished by a craftsman for ten days and ten night and worn as a pendant for decades. It looked like an out-and-out ancient treasure!

  Jin Xinyue was truly shocked!

  If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she certainly would have mistaken the jade chip for an ancient treasure that had just been excavated from some ruins. She never would have believed that it had been refined just now with only one hand!

  This is definitely the most standard, professional method of ancient refining. It is not something that modern demons or human beings can grasp!

  Besides, he was only using one hand, and he has crafted an ancient jade chip after only several minutes!

  So horrifying! So skillful! So unbelievable!

  Jin Xinyue was so shocked that she was soaked in cold sweat again.

  She was aware that professions were ambiguous in the ancient times forty thousand years ago. At that time, the Cultivators and the demons were all full-profession experts. They could refine as proficiently as they could kill.

  If the old monster had just woken up recently after a sleep of forty thousand years, it was not strange that he knew the secret arts of the Cultivators and the methods of refining.

  But even the experts of refining in ancient times might not have been able to produce a jade chip singlehandedly in only several minutes!

  Li Yao touched the jade chip to his forehead, and his telepathic thoughts flooded in like a tide.

  The capacity of the ancient jade chips was small, but they were convenient to use. The information could be stored or wiped as long as they were stuck to the forehead.

  Li Yao retrieved a few classics hidden in the Heavenly Refining Tower from Ou Yezi's memory pieces and transcribed them to the jade chip before he tossed the jade chip to Jin Xinyue casually.

  "There are some crude training methods in the jade chip, which I retrieved after killing several Cultivators. Take a look at them."
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  Chapter 851: Greetings, Elder |

  Mimicking what Li Yao had just done, Jin Xinyue stuck the jade chip to the middle of her forehead, too. She summoned the spiritual energy inside her body, somewhat clumsily, and triggered it through the spiritual root that had only just grown.

  Her telepathic thoughts extended deep into the jade chip like threads and were connected to the billions of telepathic thoughts that Li Yao had poured in just now.

  Information streams resembling a tsunami immediately flooded into her brain. A series of glittering names of Cultivation techniques made her dazzled and dumbfounded.

  'Candle Dragon Polar Light Art'!

  'Fleeing Cloud Sword Art'!

  'Soul Hunting Memoir'!

  Dozens of Cultivation arts, from elementary to advanced, constituted a complete training system for Cultivators, including the most fundamental training skills to the most powerful, unstoppable killing moves!

  Jin Xinyue had seen the names of a few Cultivation arts in some ancient notes before. They were all powerful, unparalleled techniques that had once raised storms of blood before.

  As for the other Cultivation arts, although she had never heard about them before, after browsing through the introduction and the table of contents, Jin Xinyue could also envision their magnificence.

  The old monster tossed out so many different kinds of ultimate techniques so casually!

  Jin Xinyue could not have been more awed. She felt that she was even more certain about Li Yao's identity now.

  The ancient techniques came from different Cultivation sects. It was impossible for a Cultivator to grasp all of them.

  Only a ferocious demon who had slaughtered countless Cultivators in the ancient times could have been able to collect them!

  He—he is really a strong ancient demon from forty thousand years ago who only just woke up recently!

  Maybe the forest fire deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain half a month ago was caused when he woke up!

  Yes. Yes. Everything makes sense now. He woke up in the forest fire, only to find that the world had greatly changed and the things that he was familiar with were gone. So, he hid himself in the Dry Leaf Village while he collected information about modern society. He accidentally ran into me and Elder Nether Spring's subordinates and naturally wanted to know more stuff from us!