Sky Flame Ancient Formation Minor Accomplishment, Demonic Body Opens 50th Meridian

Inside the Dead End Alley, the air seemed to have frozen.

Ice Old Ghost knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed hard against the cold bluish stone floor, his body trembling violently like a sieve.

His desperate pleas echoed through the narrow, dark space, miserable and humble enough to make one's scalp tingle.

If it had been someone softhearted, or some green youth newly arrived in the Jianghu, they might truly have been moved by the old man's pitiful appearance and chosen to spare his life.

However.

Liu Yuan merely looked quietly at the old dog wagging its tail and begging at his feet. Those eyes, deep as the starry sky, held not the slightest ripple of emotion—only a chilling indifference.

"Spare your life?"

Liu Yuan murmured softly, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

He had never been the sort of overly kind fool with a bleeding heart.

In this world ruled by the Law of the Jungle, uprooting the weeds by the roots was the first rule of survival!

"Knowing this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?"

Liu Yuan's indifferent voice exploded beside Ice Old Ghost's ear like the judgment of death itself.

Ice Old Ghost, who had been kneeling and kowtowing, suddenly stiffened.

He jerked his head up and met Liu Yuan's cold, emotionless gaze. A wave of despairing chill immediately surged through his heart.

"Y-you really intend to kill me?!"

"Since you refuse to leave me a way out, then this old man will fight you to the death!!!"

With all hope of survival gone, the humility on Ice Old Ghost's face vanished instantly, replaced by hysterical savagery.

Since begging was useless, he would gamble everything on one final fight!

Boom!

The Origin Pellet within him was instantly Circulated to the Extreme, and a violent, icy wave of origin power erupted desperately from his body!

"Profound Ice Palm!!!"

Ice Old Ghost roared as he slammed both palms against the ground. Countless sharp ice spikes burst from the earth and crazily stabbed toward Liu Yuan like venomous snakes!

This was a desperate strike unleashed by burning his life potential, and its power had even approached the threshold of Origin Core Realm Great Perfection!

However.

Faced with this seemingly ferocious counterattack, Liu Yuan did not even shift his feet.

"Pointless struggle."

He gently shook his head, a trace of disdain flashing through his eyes.

Then, he casually raised his right hand and pressed down through the air at the ice spikes filling the sky.

Rumble!

An indescribably terrifying mass of golden origin power instantly condensed in midair into a Golden Giant Hand several zhang wide!

Golden light flowed across the giant hand, radiating an overbearing aura that seemed capable of crushing everything. Even space itself appeared about to be suppressed beneath it!

"Break."

Liu Yuan softly uttered a single word.

Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!

The ice spikes filling the sky were like tofu before the Golden Giant Hand, instantly crushed into countless shards of ice!

Immediately afterward, the Golden Giant Hand continued onward, carrying destructive force as it slammed heavily onto Ice Old Ghost's body!

"No—!!!"

Ice Old Ghost let out a shrill scream, his eyes filled with despair and regret.

He regretted it.

He should not have been greedy.

He should not have provoked this terrifying youth, who looked harmless but was in truth a prehistoric beast!

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Splat!

After a muffled impact, the scream abruptly stopped.

The Golden Giant Hand slowly dispersed.

And Ice Old Ghost, the Sect Master of the Profound Ice Sect whose fearsome reputation in Flame City had terrified countless people, was now completely dead.

This was the gap between Form Creation Realm Great Accomplishment and Origin Core Realm Minor Perfection.

Liu Yuan calmly withdrew his hand, as if he had merely swatted a fly to death.

He walked to the edge of the deep pit and beckoned with his hand, releasing a force of suction.

A dusty gray bag flew into his hand.

It was Ice Old Ghost's Universe Bag.

"Even a mosquito leg is meat, and this Old Ghost was Sect Master for so many years. He should have some savings, right?"

Liu Yuan weighed the Universe Bag in his hand, casually erased the Spiritual Imprint on it, and gave it a rough scan. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Aside from several thousand Yang Yuan Stones, there were also some cultivation techniques, ice-attribute spirit medicines, and other things.

This haul had given him quite a recovery.

After finishing all this, Liu Yuan showed no attachment whatsoever. With a flicker of his body, he turned into a wisp of green smoke and swiftly left the blood-reeking Dead End Alley.

After leaving the alley, Liu Yuan began looking for an inn in Flame City.

Since the system had given him quite a few good things earlier, he needed to fully master those newly acquired methods first.

He wandered around Flame City before finally selecting a high-class inn called Cloud Arrival Inn.

This inn had an extraordinary background. It was said to have ties to one of Flame City's great families. Not only was the environment quiet and elegant, its Security Measures were also excellent. Every room had its own Soundproof Formation, making it ideal for Martial Artists undergoing Secluded Cultivation.

Liu Yuan directly spent a large sum to rent a room and instructed the Shopkeeper that, no matter what happened, no one was to disturb him.

After entering the room and closing the doors and windows, Liu Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed and slowly exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi.

"Next comes the time to raise my strength."

With a thought from him, two Ancient Books emitting faint halos appeared within his mind.

A first-rate Body Refining Technique, Demonic Body.

A Qi Level Intermediate Stage spiritual secret art, Sky Flame Ancient Formation.

"Let's start with the Sky Flame Ancient Formation."

Liu Yuan closed his eyes. The five Natal Talisman Seals in his Mud Pill Palace trembled slightly, and an invisible wave of Spiritual Power instantly spread out, enveloping the entire room.

In the blink of an eye, a month slipped away silently like Flowing Sand Through Fingertips.

During that month, Liu Yuan was like a tireless Cultivation Machine, barely stepping outside his room at all.

Inside the room.

Liu Yuan sat cross-legged, with no particularly intense origin power fluctuations around him. Yet if a Rune Master with keen Spiritual Power had been present, he would have discovered in horror that Liu Yuan was like an Active Volcano on the verge of eruption!

Within his Mud Pill Palace, five Natal Talisman Seals slowly rotated along an extremely profound trajectory. Faint threads seemed to link them together, forming a miniature yet incomparably intricate Formation Prototype.

Within the formation seemed to lie a trace of exceptionally pure Flame Power. Though weak, it carried a terrifying aura capable of Burning All Things.

This was precisely the Qi Level Intermediate Stage spiritual secret art—the Sky Flame Ancient Formation!

This secret art was extremely domineering. It could mobilize Spiritual Power to condense a Sky Flame Ancient Formation. Once trapped inside, not only would one's physical body be burned, even one's Spiritual Power would suffer grievous damage.

It was just that...

"Phew..."

Liu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, a trace of regret flashing through them.

"This Sky Flame Ancient Formation truly is profound. Even after comprehending it with all my strength, limited by my current Five-Seal Talisman Master realm of Spiritual Power, I can only cultivate it to Minor Accomplishment."

"To reach Great Accomplishment, or even perfection, I'll have to wait until I condense several more Natal Talisman Seals, perhaps even break through to become a Spirit Talisman Master."

But even at Minor Accomplishment, its power was enough to grant him an absolute advantage against Rune Masters of the same rank. Challenging opponents above his level would not be a problem either.

"My Spiritual Power cultivation can pause here for now. Next... comes the main event."

Liu Yuan took a deep breath, and his gaze grew fiery.

Compared to the Sky Flame Ancient Formation, this Demonic Body was his greatest gain over the past month!

This was an exceptionally special Body Refining Technique. Not only could it help a Martial Artist open up to fifty meridians within the body, but more importantly, it could later cultivate an even more formidable "Demonic Body."

As for this so-called "Demonic Body"...

Once cultivated, it could be activated in Actual Combat at the cost of origin power.

After activation, his physical body would be covered by a special kind of Fiend Qi. In battle, it would not only greatly strengthen his physical power, but also grant extremely strong Self-Healing Ability and even mildly affect an enemy's mind.

Its functions were quite formidable.

Of course, after merely one month, Liu Yuan had yet to cultivate the "Demonic Body."

But he had already opened forty-nine meridians within his body!

As long as he opened the final 50th Meridian and found Fiend Ghost Yin Soul Grass to assist his cultivation, he would have a chance of truly cultivating the Demonic Body.

Thus, Liu Yuan now intended to begin his attempt at breaking through the 50th Meridian.

"Break for me!"

Liu Yuan shouted inwardly, mobilizing all the power in his body like a flood bursting through a dam as it fiercely charged toward that final checkpoint!

Crack!

It seemed as though an invisible barrier shattered within his body.

Immediately afterward.

Buzz—!!!

A deep, strange hum suddenly rang out from Liu Yuan's body, making the air throughout the room tremble slightly.

Dense black Fiend Qi abruptly spewed from his pores, instantly condensing behind him into a blurry yet ferocious Demonic Shadow!

Liu Yuan abruptly opened his eyes. Two sharp glints flashed through the dim room like tangible lightning!

The 50th Meridian had opened!