Dao of The Demonic Cultivator

Chapter 77: The Only Hope Lies in the Immortal

Elsewhere, Chu Xuan and Zhou Yu were nearing the exit of the mist. Suddenly, a cold snort echoed behind them.

"Hmph, thinking of escaping? Leave your life behind!"

A foul wind, reeking of blood, struck without warning. Zhou Yu, unable to react in time, was violently hit in the back and sent flying, his fate unknown.

Behind Chu Xuan, a crimson blood shadow abruptly appeared, shielding him from this vicious strike—it was the Blood Evil Shadow!

Chu Xuan grunted, using the rebounding force to break free from the mist and flee for his life.

"The Ironwire Mountain is perilous, beyond my current abilities," he thought. "Time to lay low on the Blue Star for a while."

Gazing at the ever-churning mist, Chu Xuan shook his head and swiftly retreated.

...

On the Blue Star, Chu Xuan once again sat cross-legged within a grand formation, at the eye of a storm. Yin Evil Qi within the formation converged towards him.

"Not enough, still not enough," he murmured. "Even with such an immense amount of Yin Evil Qi to sustain me, it requires painstaking efforts to advance further. The root cause is my own mediocre aptitude."

Chu Xuan could not help but shake his head, knowing well his own limitations.

Spiritual roots are classified from inferior, to common, superior, and ultimate. Above the ultimate spiritual roots are the rare Earth and Heavenly roots, seldom seen talents.

In the entire realm of Yu Kingdom, Chu Xuan had only heard of an ultimate Fire Spiritual Root that appeared four hundred years ago. This prodigy was meant to be taken in by the Divine Star Sect, but the Heaven Burning Sect of the southern Yue Kingdom intercepted and seized the child.

This incident had been the root of the long-standing enmity between the Divine Star Sect and the Heaven Burning Sect Sect.

Chu Xuan's own spiritual root was merely a common Wood-aligned root, suited for cultivating wood element techniques.

His "astonishing" cultivation speed was only due to the significant difference in the flow of time between the Mystic Azure Realm and Blue Star. While others thought he had trained for merely a month, he had actually undergone ten months of rigorous cultivation!

A thought suddenly occurred to Chu Xuan.

"Besides spiritual roots, cultivators also possess spiritual bodies," he pondered. "Both spiritual roots and bodies are innate, but they can be compensated for through acquired means. However, to remedy a spiritual root, one must at least reach the Golden Core stage. For me, cultivating an acquired spiritual body is the best approach. Some demonic techniques allow one to extract others' spiritual bodies and graft them onto oneself. Alternatively, through certain inhumane methods, like the blood sacrifice of numerous beings, one can create an acquired spiritual body."

Chu Xuan contemplated this possibility. It was indeed a viable method.

There existed methods to recreate acquired spiritual bodies in the Blood Evil Demon Refining Scripture, but the requirements were exceedingly stringent.

Chu Xuan had previously dismissed the idea, but now, in his quest to hasten his cultivation, he resolved to prioritize this endeavor.

"The Blood Evil Demon Refining Scripture details three methods to forge acquired spiritual bodies," he mused. "The first is the Ice Drinking Spiritual Body. One must consume ice-attribute spiritual materials daily and ideally cultivate in an extremely cold environment. After three months, the Ice Drinking Body can reach a minor state of completion, where one's every move is accompanied by the essence of frost.

The second is the Crimson Blood Spiritual Body. This requires soaking in the blood of Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts for forty-nine days, changing the blood daily. Once minor completion is achieved, one's blood circulation speeds up, greatly enhancing the power of physical close-combat techniques.

The third is the Evil Wood Spiritual Body. This involves consuming wood-attribute spiritual materials every three days, thirty-three times in total. Once minor completion is achieved, wounds heal much faster, physical defense is enhanced, and one gains the unique ability to manipulate trees."

Chu Xuan pondered these options and dismissed the Ice Drinking Spiritual Body and Crimson Blood Spiritual Body.

The Ice Drinking Spiritual Body, though potent, did not align with his attributes, and extremely cold materials were hard to come by.

The Crimson Blood Spiritual Body was even less feasible—where could he possibly find the blood of forty-nine different Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts?

The Evil Wood Spiritual Body, however, was well-suited to his attributes and not as challenging to undertake. The only question was whether this zombie planet possessed any wood-attribute spiritual materials.

"Seems I need to spend some time searching," he concluded.

With that, Chu Xuan rose and, mounting his flying sword, vanished without a trace.

...

On the outskirts of East Lake City, three strange mushroomen collapsed, facing the sky. After a few convulsions, they lay still.

Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan panted heavily, their tense muscles slowly relaxing.

Wang Gangjian glanced at the gaunt Tang Jinchuan and chuckled wryly. "Tang, it seems your body fat isn't serving you well."

Tang Jinchuan, still frightened, replied, "Those mushroomen were too resilient; I threw several spears, and they didn't die. This body fat isn't good for forming many long spears."

Wang Gangjian waved his hand. The survivors who had been waiting nearby rushed forward, dousing the three mushroomen in gasoline and setting them alight.

Flames roared high, and the corpses sizzled, emitting faint screams as if in agony.

Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan stood in silence, gazing at the charred remains.

Not long ago, these had been three young men from the Black Blade Security Company, reliable and loyal. In just one day, they had been transformed into horrific mushroomen.

Now, all that Wang Gangjian, Tang Jinchuan, and the other Superhumans could do was to burn their bodies, ensuring the dreadful "mushroomization" wouldn't spread to others.

Another figure then arrived by car. It was Wang Gangjian's cousin, Wang Yong.

Wang Gangjian's face lit up momentarily as he asked in a low voice, "Did you get through?"

Wang Yong shook his head, his voice even lower, "No contact, and I've received some bad news."

Wang Gangjian's expression darkened, "Go ahead."

"Some folks from the Ship Gang told me this," Wang Yong whispered. "Dragon River City has completely succumbed to mushroomization. Ye Nantian has vanished, and of the four leaders, only Xiong Xing survived. The Linjiang Army... has completely disintegrated."

Wang Gangjian's face turned ashen. He could not have imagined that within just over a month of the mushrooms appearing, the situation would deteriorate to such an extent.

Even Dragon River City, the stronghold of the Linjiang Army, had turned into a city of mushrooms. General Ye Nantian, a powerful Level 4 superhuman, was nowhere to be found!

"I..." Wang Gangjian tried to speak but found himself reeling.

Wang Yong and Tang Jinchuan quickly steadied him.

Wang Yong spoke solemnly, "Brother, we could seek refuge with the Ship Gang. I've heard they temporarily repelled a group of mushroomen and might have a way to fight them."

Wang Gangjian managed a bitter smile. The Ship Gang had always been at odds with the Linjiang Army. As a former soldier of the Linjiang Army, and with Black Blade heavily influenced by the same, how could they switch allegiance to the Ship Gang now?

"Boss, I suggest we try to find that immortal again today," Tang Jinchuan said earnestly. "The Linjiang Army is no longer a viable option. Our only hope now lies with that immortal. If he won't help us the first or second time, we'll ask a third or a fourth time. Where there's a will, there's a way! We'll give the immortal whatever he wants!"

Wang Gangjian sighed deeply, "I just fear... the immortal might not be interested in what we have to offer."

"Let's try both—the Ship Gang and the immortal," he decided. "Yong, you go to the Ship Gang. Tang, let's head to the Haotai Hotel together. We must persuade the immortal to help us."