As he passed the first cell, he paused.
Inside sat a wolf-headed, human-bodied demonic beast cross-legged. Even bound by thick iron chains, the aura emanating from its body far surpassed that of the earlier Blood Scale Demonic Beast.
A Commander-level Demonic Beast, its strength was comparable to a Human Race martial artist in the Primordial Qi Realm.
The Wolf Demon seemed to sense his presence. It slowly opened its eyes, gave him a casual glance, then closed them again, as though Shen Che were merely an ant passing by, unworthy of even a shred of its attention.
Shen Che did not mind.
He had no interest in living demonic beasts for the time being.
He continued deeper inside.
Before long, he found the long-stiffened corpse of a demonic beast in the corner of an empty cell.
It was a leopard demon, with a massive wound piercing through its chest. It had clearly been killed in a single blow.
Shen Che pressed the black Demon Suppressing Token against it.
[Absorption successful. Time Value obtained: 400 points.]
Not bad.
Delighted, Shen Che continued onward.
The third level was vast. Though it held many demonic beasts, dead ones were not common.
He walked for quite some time before finding two demonic beast corpses in another cell, locked together in a brawl that had ended with both sides perishing.
[Absorption successful. Time Value obtained: 220 points.] [Absorption successful. Time Value obtained: 230 points.]
Shen Che opened the system panel.
[Host: Shen Che] [Time Value: 2500] [Techniques:] [Black Tiger Saber Technique (Level 6) (Cannot be upgraded for now)] [Golden Bell Shield (Level 13) +] [Iron Shirt (Level 10) (Cannot be upgraded for now)]
Two thousand five hundred points.
Shen Che estimated that the Demon Suppressing Prison would not yield much more profit in the short term.
It was enough.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly sensed an extraordinarily dense demonic aura at the deepest part of the third level.
The demonic aura there had almost condensed into blackish-red mist, churning without end.
As if possessed, he walked in that direction.
After crossing an empty stretch of space, he saw a massive cage unlike any other.
Within it, an incomparably burly figure was bound against the stone wall in an extremely humiliating posture by dozens of chains of black iron, each thicker than an adult's arm.
The figure stood a full two and a half meters tall, its entire body covered in dark scales. Even without moving, the terrifying pressure seeping from its body seemed to freeze the surrounding air solid.
The Innate Realm!
This was a terrifying great demon comparable to a Human Race martial artist in the Innate Realm!
Just as Shen Che's mind reeled.
The great demon suddenly opened its eyes.
There was no killing intent, no fury—only a deathly stillness of blood-red, as if it could devour everything.
In an instant, a terrifying will like mountains of corpses and seas of blood crossed space and slammed viciously into Shen Che's mind.
Shen Che's breathing stopped at that moment.
Even his soul trembled ceaselessly beneath that blood-red gaze, as though it could be torn to pieces at any moment.
Too strong.
Strong to an absurd degree!
This was no longer an existence on the same plane.
Alarm bells blared in Shen Che's heart. He did not dare linger a moment longer, turning and leaving at once, his steps swift.
He did not notice.
After he turned away, the great demon bound in chains curled its lips into a soundless smile, and an almost inaudible murmur slipped from its throat.
"Soon..."
"Very soon..."
"When that time comes, let this place run red with blood."
After returning to his little courtyard, Shen Che locked the courtyard gate tightly behind him.
He opened the system panel and focused his mind on the plus sign after Golden Bell Shield.
"System, upgrade Golden Bell Shield!"
[1000 Time Value points consumed. Golden Bell Shield is beginning its upgrade...]
An unimaginably vast warm current erupted out of nowhere through Shen Che's limbs and bones.
His body began undergoing an astonishing transformation.
His originally bronze-colored skin membrane became even tougher, faintly glowing with a jade-like luster.
His bones crackled as they grew increasingly dense, their surfaces taking on a faint silvery sheen.
The most astonishing change took place within his body.
A tough, nearly invisible membrane formed on the surfaces of his internal organs, perfectly protecting every organ.
Inside and outside as one!
This was the true Golden Bell Shield!
It could not only defend against slashing blades and swords, but also withstand the shock force of heavy blows. It even possessed powerful resistance against potent poisons.
[Golden Bell Shield (Level 14) (Cannot be upgraded for now)]
He had broken through the limit!
Shen Che clenched his fist, feeling the explosive strength within his body.
He felt that the divine force in one arm had increased by at least ten thousand jin!
If he combined it with the power of Iron Shirt, the strength in one hand could reach a terrifying twenty thousand jin!
What kind of concept was that?
Even an ordinary True Meridian Realm martial artist at perfection, who had opened all twelve true meridians, might not surpass him in sheer strength.
The current him was enough to crush more than ninety percent of True Meridian Realm martial artists!
Shen Che suppressed the excitement in his heart and turned his gaze back to the system panel.
Then he froze.
[Iron Shirt (Level 10) +]
A plus sign had unexpectedly appeared after Iron Shirt, which had previously displayed "Cannot be upgraded for now."
Had Golden Bell Shield breaking through its limit shattered the shackles and triggered Iron Shirt's breakthrough condition?
So it could be played like this?
"System, upgrade Iron Shirt!"
[1000 Time Value points consumed. Iron Shirt is beginning its upgrade...]
Another thousand points of Time Value vanished.
This time, there was no warm current, no infusion of cultivation.
Shen Che only heard a dull boom like thunder erupt from within his flesh, tendons, and bones.
It was as though something had been born in the deepest recesses of his body.
It was a vast, incomparably pure qi.
This qi coursed through his meridians. Everywhere it passed, it not only strengthened his bodily functions once more, but also nourished his flesh and meridians.
Feeling this entirely new power within him, one born wholly from his own physical body, Shen Che was completely dumbfounded.
Everyone knew the path of martial arts.
Internal arts cultivated true qi; external martial arts tempered the body.
The two were as clearly divided as the Jing and Wei Rivers, two completely different paths.
But now...
He, a man who had trained external body-tempering arts to their limit, had actually produced true qi within his body?
This was fucking absurd!
[Iron Shirt (Level 11) (Cannot be upgraded for now)]
Shen Che stared at the panel, then felt the ceaselessly flowing true qi within him, his mind completely blank.
This... this was true qi?
I practice external martial arts, yet I cultivated true qi myself?!
Before you continue