Threats and Temptations

To discuss this pill associated with the Blood Demon Technique, one first had to discuss the Blood Demon Technique itself.

This cultivation technique had three superlatives.

It was the easiest to cultivate, the fastest to cultivate, and the most treacherous.

The reason was that its contents were simple and straightforward. Anyone could comprehend them.

Moreover, cultivation progressed at an astonishing speed, with virtually no bottlenecks.

As for why it was the most treacherous...

It had one feature that differed radically from normal cultivation techniques.

With normal techniques, one's lifespan increased alongside one's cultivation. One could even attain everlasting life and live as long as heaven and earth.

But this technique did precisely the opposite.

The higher one's cultivation, the shorter one's life!

Ordinary cultivators in the qi condensation realm could live somewhat longer than mortals, reaching around a hundred and twenty years. That doubled in the foundation establishment realm, doubled again upon forming a golden core, and doubled once more upon attaining a nascent soul.

Those who cultivated the Blood Demon Technique lost twenty years of their lifespan upon Initiation. Reaching foundation establishment halved what remained, and forming a golden core and attaining a nascent soul each halved it again.

Suppose you had a lifespan of a hundred years. Once you began cultivating the Blood Demon Technique, you would have only eighty left after Initiation. If you reached foundation establishment, you could only live to forty.

If you were lucky enough to become a Golden Core Ancestor, then congratulations-your lifespan would be reduced to just twenty years.

If you had heaven-defying luck and attained a nascent soul, heh, your lifespan would drop straight to ten years.

You would truly have cultivated yourself into a baby.

Of course, these were all theoretical effects.

In reality, the highest cultivation anyone practicing this technique had reached was foundation establishment.

After all, no matter how fast one cultivated, reaching the Golden Core Stage before twenty was impossible.

And if one passed that age, the moment one broke through to a golden core would be the moment of death.

Thus, the foundation establishment realm was the limit.

Even so, the technique had caused an enormous stir when it first appeared.

Because once someone underwent Initiation, reaching foundation establishment was practically guaranteed.

Forty years was a short lifespan, but as long as one reached foundation establishment before forty, one could still enjoy a glorious stretch of life as a foundation establishment expert.

Those burdened with vengeance as deep as a sea of blood, in particular, flocked to this technique.

But while the Blood Demon Technique was easy to cultivate, Initiation was difficult. It required the aid of a particular pill.

That was the Blood Demon Pill.

After searching through the original owner's memories, Chen Lin gained a general understanding.

But there was still much he did not understand. He only knew that this pill was extremely difficult to refine, with a success rate even lower than that of Foundation Establishment Pills.

After briefly recalling what he knew, Chen Lin turned his gaze toward the old man, a question in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, you want to refine this pill?"

It was not that he doubted him, but the man looked seventy or eighty years old. If he cultivated the Blood Demon Technique at that age, wouldn't he drop dead on the spot?

Of course, Chen Lin would have loved for him to die immediately, but that was clearly impossible.

Yu Yuehai smiled faintly.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, it seems you know of this pill as well. But don't worry, I'm not about to seek my own death. To be frank, despite my aged appearance, I'm actually only thirty-five. As for why I ended up looking like this, we can discuss that another time. For now, let's talk about refining the pill."

Chen Lin looked astonished at his words.

This old fellow was only thirty-five?

He certainly didn't look it!

Still, reaching the qi condensation late stage at thirty-five made him remarkably gifted. He could reach foundation establishment through normal cultivation, so why practice a technique that severed his own Dao Path?

Ignoring Chen Lin's confusion, the old man pressed him again. "Fellow Daoist Chen, are you confident you can refine this pill?"

Chen Lin immediately shook his head.

"How could I be? The Blood Demon Pill is notorious for its low success rate. I'm just a lowly, low-grade alchemist. How could I possibly be confident?"

When it came to confidence, no one could be more certain of refining it than he was. Whether or not he wasted materials, as long as he had ten sets, he could produce a batch of pills.

Moreover, the Blood Demon Pill's cultivation requirement was not particularly high. The mid qi refinement realm was just enough.

But he could not reveal that. Instead, he firmly denied it.

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

The old man frowned at Chen Lin's flat denial.

Only after a long silence did he slowly speak. "Fellow Daoist Chen, there's no need to hide it. I know far more about you than you imagine. I believe that if anyone can refine this pill, it can only be you."

Before Chen Lin could speak, the old man continued, "But you needn't worry. Whatever secrets you possess, I have no desire to covet them. As long as you help me refine the Blood Demon Pill, I'll not only give you a way to eliminate the Enlightenment Pill's aftereffects, but also take you away from this place!"

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

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

"Hahahaha!"

The old man suddenly burst into laughter.

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

His words sent a tremor through Chen Lin's entire body, and he stared at him in astonishment.

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

After his surprise passed, understanding dawned on his face.

No wonder he had felt something was wrong ever since the man appeared. The man had never shown that sidelong sneer.

Chen Lin felt as though he had met someone of his own kind. With an expectant look, he asked, "Then do you know what caused this? What exactly are those fine red threads?"

The old man snorted coldly. "Want to know? Then obediently help me refine the pill. Once it's finished, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Hearing this, Chen Lin pondered for a moment before saying, "Why are you so certain I can refine the Blood Demon Pill? And since you have such a high-grade pill cauldron, you must be an alchemist yourself. Why don't you refine it?"

Although he was certain he could refine the Blood Demon Pill, he did not dare do so. Once the pill was finished, he would no longer be of any use. Everyone knew the principle of slaughtering the donkey once the grinding was done.

Even if their positions were reversed, he would probably kill the other man to silence him.

After all, the Blood Demon Pill was no righteous pill. Those who cultivated the Blood Demon Technique were shunned by all cultivators, the sort everyone cried out to strike down.

Because anyone practicing this technique was certain to have little lifespan remaining, they could resort to any extreme. They were a ticking time bomb.

It was precisely for this reason that the Blood Demon Technique had gradually been lost.

The old man looked at Chen Lin strangely and said, "If I could refine it myself, would I have been trapped here so long? As for why I think you can refine it, you don't need to know. All you need to know is that if you can't, I'll kill you."

Then he sneered. "I'll be frank with you. I was also the one who gave Zhao Zhengyuan the Chuyuan Pill formula you used. I originally wanted to test him, but that stray shot hit the mark and led me to discover you instead!"

With that, his tone turned icy, and he barked, "I don't care whether you have extraordinary luck or some other special method. I covet none of it. All I want is the Blood Demon Pill. Refine it, and we can both go on in peace. I can even give you a reward. But if you fail, don't blame me for disregarding the friendship of neighbors sharing a courtyard!"