Coercion and Lures

Speaking of the Blood Demon Pill, one must first discuss the Blood Demon Art.

This technique has three extremes.

The easiest to cultivate, the fastest to cultivate, and the most treacherous.

The reason for this is that the technique's content is simple and straightforward—anyone can comprehend it.

Moreover, its cultivation speed is astonishing, with almost no bottlenecks.

As for being the most treacherous.

It's because this technique has one aspect that differs wildly from normal methods.

Normal techniques increase lifespan as cultivation rises, even allowing one to live long and see far, matching the heavens and earth in longevity.

But this technique is the exact opposite.

The higher the cultivation, the shorter the lifespan!

Conventional cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage live slightly longer than ordinary people, roughly around one hundred and twenty years. Foundation Establishment doubles that, Golden Core doubles it again, and Nascent Soul doubles it once more.

Those who cultivate the Blood Demon Art lose twenty years of life upon entry, Foundation Establishment cuts it in half again, and Golden Core and Nascent Soul each halve it further.

Suppose you have a hundred years of lifespan. If you cultivate this Blood Demon Art, entry leaves you with eighty. If you reach Foundation Establishment, you'll only live to forty.

If you're fortunate enough to become a Golden Core Old Ancestor, congratulations—your lifespan drops to just twenty years.

And if you have heaven-defying luck to achieve Nascent Soul, heh, your lifespan plummets to ten years.

Truly becoming an infant in the truest sense.

Of course, these are all theoretical effects.

In reality, the highest cultivation achieved by practitioners of this technique is Foundation Establishment.

After all, no matter how fast the cultivation speed, it's impossible to reach the Golden Core Stage before the age of twenty.

And if you exceed that age, breaking through to Golden Core means the moment of your death.

Thus, Foundation Establishment is the limit.

Even so, the moment this technique appeared, it caused immense shock.

Because once you enter the gate, Foundation Establishment is almost guaranteed.

Though forty years of life is short, as long as you reach Foundation Establishment before forty, you can still enjoy a glorious time as a Foundation Establishment expert.

Especially those burdened with deep blood feuds—they flock to this technique like ducks to water.

But while the Blood Demon Art is easy to cultivate, entering the gate is difficult and requires the aid of a specific pill.

That pill is the Blood Demon Pill.

After flipping through the original owner's memories, Chen Lin got a general idea.

But there were still many unclear points. He only knew that this pill was hard to refine, with an extremely low success rate—even lower than the Foundation Establishment Pill.

After a rough recollection, Chen Lin turned his gaze to the Old Man, showing a questioning look.

"Fellow Daoist Yu wants to refine this pill?"

It wasn't that he doubted it, but the man's appearance clearly showed he was in his seventies or eighties. At that age, if he'd cultivated the Blood Demon Art, wouldn't he just drop dead on the spot?

Of course, he wished the man would die instantly, but that was obviously impossible.

Yu Yuehai gave a faint smile.

"Fellow Daoist Chen seems to know this pill as well. But don't worry, I'm not about to court death. To be honest, though I look old and decrepit, I'm actually only thirty-five. As for why I've become like this, I'll explain slowly later. For now, let's talk about the alchemy."

Hearing this, Chen Lin showed surprise.

This old geezer was only thirty-five?

He sure didn't look it!

But a thirty-five-year-old Late Qi Refining cultivator was considered exceptionally talented. He could easily reach Foundation Establishment through normal means—why would he want to cultivate a technique that cuts off his own Dao Path?

Ignoring Chen Lin's confusion, the Old Man urged again, "Fellow Daoist Chen, do you have the confidence to refine this pill?"

Chen Lin immediately shook his head.

"How could that be? This Blood Demon Pill is notorious for its low success rate. I'm just a low-level alchemist—how could I possibly have confidence?"

If it came to confidence, no one was more certain than him that he could refine it. Regardless of wasted materials, as long as he had ten sets, he could produce a furnace of pills.

Moreover, this Blood Demon Pill didn't have very high cultivation requirements—Qi Refining Mid-stage was just enough.

But he couldn't show that. He flatly denied it.

The more the other party knew, the worse it would be for him.

At Chen Lin's outright denial, the Old Man frowned.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "Fellow Daoist Chen, there's no need to hide. I know more about you than you think. I believe that if anyone can refine this pill, it's you."

Before Chen Lin could respond, the Old Man continued, "But don't worry. Whatever secrets you have, I have no desire for them. As long as you refine the Blood Demon Pill for me, I'll not only give you the method to cure the Enlightenment Pill's side effects but also take you away from this place!"

"Take me away from here? Fellow Daoist Yu, what do you mean by that? I have no intention of leaving this place."

Chen Lin's eyes flickered as he looked at the other man.

"Hahahaha!"

The old man suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, are you still trying to hide it at a time like this? Those blood-red fine lines filling the sky—I don't believe you can't see them!"

The old man's words made Chen Lin's entire body jolt. He stared back in surprise.

"You... you can see them too?"

After the initial shock, a look of sudden realization dawned on his face.

No wonder. Ever since the old man had appeared, he'd felt something was off. It turned out the other party had never once shown that sidelong, sneering expression.

Chen Lin felt as though he'd encountered a kindred spirit. With a hopeful look, he said, "Then do you know what's causing it? What exactly are those red lines?"

The old man snorted coldly. "You want to know? Then honestly help me refine the pill. Once the pill is finished, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Hearing this, Chen Lin pondered for a moment before saying, "How can you be so certain that I can refine the Blood Demon Pill? And since you have such an advanced alchemy furnace, you must be an alchemist yourself—why not refine it on your own?"

Although he was confident he could refine the Blood Demon Pill, he dared not do it. Once it was completed, he would be of no further use. Everyone understood the principle of killing the donkey after grinding.

Even if he were in the other man's shoes, he'd probably resort to silencing him.

After all, the Blood Demon Pill was no righteous elixir. Those who practiced the Blood Demon Art were rejected by all cultivators, hunted down like rats.

Because anyone who cultivated this art had very little lifespan left and would stop at nothing—they were ticking time bombs.

It was precisely for this reason that the Blood Demon Art had gradually been lost to history.

The old man looked at Chen Lin with a strange gaze and spoke. "If I could refine it myself, would I still be trapped here for so long? As for why I think you can do it, you don't need to know. Just understand this: if you fail to refine it, I will kill you."

With that, he let out a cold laugh. "I won't hide it from you either. The recipe for that First Origin Pill you used was also given by me to Zhao Zhengyuan. I originally wanted to test him, but who would have thought I'd stumble upon you instead!"

His tone turned icy as he barked, "I don't care if you have great fortune or some other special method—I don't covet any of that. I only want the Blood Demon Pill. Refine it, and we'll each go our separate ways. I'll even give you a reward. But if you can't, don't blame me for disregarding the bond of living in the same courtyard!"