Heart Rot Black Sha

However, the instant the needle tip touched that withered area.

A sudden change erupted!

The black Sha Poison clinging deep within the wound seemed like a dormant venomous snake jolted awake, suddenly coming alive!

A black thread finer than a strand of hair shot up the silver needle against the flow at a speed too fast for the naked eye to catch!

"Not good!"

Alarm bells blared in Lu Chen's heart, and he instinctively tried to let go and abandon the needle.

But that black thread was simply too fast!

Almost at the very instant the thought arose, it had already spread to his fingertip.

A faint sound, so soft it was nearly inaudible.

The specially made glove, said to ward off Killing Intent, was pierced through in an instant before that black thread, as though it were mere paper!

An utterly chilling, deathly, savage force burrowed fiercely into his body through his fingertip!

Lu Chen felt his right index finger lose all sensation in an instant. Immediately after, bone-piercing cold surged up the meridians in his arm like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam. Wherever it passed, blood congealed and meridians withered!

He watched helplessly as the skin on his arm rapidly turned bluish-black at a visible rate, the discoloration spreading upward!

"Damn it!"

Lu Chen's expression changed drastically. He made a snap decision and immediately circulated the Turtle Breath Meditation Method he had only just begun to grasp, desperately trying to draw upon the faint warm current in his dantian to resist it.

At the same time, he drew on his mastery of the Demon Suppressing Saber Technique, forcibly gathering a thread of invisible Demon Suppressing Qi to seal the meridians in his arm.

Yet the effect was negligible!

The Sha Poison was incredibly tyrannical. The moment the warm current from the Turtle Breath Technique made contact, it was instantly crushed.

That tiny wisp of Demon Suppressing Qi merely slowed its spread by the slightest fraction.

In just two breaths, the bluish-black color had already reached his elbow!

If this continued, the poison would attack his heart within ten breaths. By then, not even immortals could save him!

At this razor-thin edge between life and death, a decisive gleam flashed through Lu Chen's eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, he let out his most urgent roar at the system in his mind!

"System! Repair my body! Expel the poison!"

[Unknown high-intensity Sha Poison detected invading the body, eroding the host's vitality...]

[Repair plan generated...]

[Estimated consumption: 41 years of Demon Devil Lifespan. Confirm execution?]

"Confirmed! Execute immediately!" Lu Chen practically forced the words through clenched teeth.

[Command confirmed! Consuming 41 years of Demon Devil Lifespan. Beginning Sha Poison expulsion and damage repair!]

The moment the words fell, a warm current far more vast and pure than the one that had replenished his lifespan before came roaring out of the Bronze Tome!

Rather than flowing into his limbs and bones, this warm current transformed into a golden torrent and charged with flawless precision toward Lu Chen's arm, which had already turned bluish-black!

The warm current and the Sha Poison began a silent yet fierce battle within his meridians!

On one side was vibrant life energy; on the other, deathly and savage power of destruction.

Lu Chen let out a muffled groan. His entire arm felt as if it had been thrown into a world of ice and fire—one half scorching like red-hot iron, the other cold as the Ninth Netherworld.

The two utterly different forces collided and annihilated one another madly within his flesh and meridians, bringing waves of heart-rending agony.

He gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead as beads of sweat the size of soybeans poured down.

At last, after consuming a vast amount of life energy, the surging warm current gained absolute dominance.

The black Sha Poison entrenched in his meridians was driven back from his arm to his elbow, then to his wrist, until it all finally gathered at the tip of his pierced index finger!

"Get... out of here!"

Lu Chen roared and violently flicked his hand.

A thick plume of ink-black smoke was forcibly driven from the wound on his fingertip. It let out a shrill, sizzling screech in the air before finally dispersing completely into nothingness.

The instant the Sha Poison left his body, the tearing pain vanished with it.

The golden warm current swiftly flowed through his damaged arm. The withered meridians and necrotic flesh healed and regenerated at an unbelievable speed under the nourishment of that life energy.

In only a few moments, his arm had returned to normal, even becoming tougher and stronger than before.

Lu Chen braced himself against the cold stone bed, gasping heavily. His back had already been thoroughly soaked in cold sweat.

He lowered his head to look at his completely uninjured palm, sweat beading on his forehead as lingering fear filled his heart.

Just a tiny, insignificant strand of Sha Poison had nearly taken his life—and cost him a full 41 years of Demon Devil Lifespan!

The price was far too great!

Yet at the same time, he had gained an entirely new understanding of just how powerful this cheat was.

It could not only burn lifespan to level up—it could burn lifespan to heal wounds and neutralize poison as well!

As long as he had enough Demon Devil Lifespan, it was practically the same as possessing an immortal body!

Lu Chen steadied his emotions, supported himself on the edge of the stone bed, and slowly straightened up.

As thoughts raced through his mind, the System Panel in his mind silently turned a page, and a line of brand-new golden text slowly emerged.

[Host has successfully resisted high-intensity Sha Poison and developed a minute degree of resistance to this type of Sha Poison.]

[Based on the host's deep contact with the Sha Poison, new function unlocked: Trace Source.]

Lu Chen's breathing abruptly caught!

A new function!

He immediately immersed his mind in it.

[Trace Source: A small amount of lifespan may be consumed to analyze demonic aura, Sha Poison, and special energies with which the host has previously had deep contact, tracing part of their origins and characteristics.]

This function had practically been made for him!

Within the Demon Suppression Division, where danger lurked on every side, intelligence was often more important than strength itself. To see through an enemy's true state was like lighting a lamp in the darkness.

System, Trace Source the Sha Poison I just came into contact with. Lu Chen issued the command in his mind without hesitation.

[Command confirmed. Consuming 1 year of lifespan. Beginning analysis...]

The text on the panel flowed rapidly before finally freezing in place.

[Sha Poison Name: Black Claw Heart Rot Sha]

[Nature: Extremely yin, corrosive, Life Devouring. This Sha Poison is not naturally formed, but refined through a special secret technique from Demonic Power mixed with Corpse Qi and resentment. It possesses an extremely strong suppressive and contaminating effect against the vital blood of living beings.]

[Source deduction: It most likely originated from a "Corpse Rotter" or "Yin Claw"-type demon devil. This demon devil possesses at least Entry Grade strength and is highly likely to know part of a Sha Refining Secret Technique.]

[Characteristics: Once this Sha Poison invades a living body, it will prioritize attacking the heart meridians before corroding the channels. It spreads with extreme speed. It fears Pure Yang Gang Qi, Lightning Magic, and powers with a Holy Attribute. Ordinary medicine and Gang Qi cannot eradicate it.]

[The host has gained a minute degree of resistance. Should Sha Poison from the same source be encountered again, resistance will increase slightly.]