Dao Heart's Fortuitous Encounter, Immortal Seed Transformation

Qin Haoxuan immediately understood the sect's good intentions. This water-carrying task was a test to temper the Dao Heart. Otherwise, with the Taichu Sect having countless experts, wouldn't it be more time and labor-saving to simply dig a channel to bring water from the Spirit Spring several miles away?

After carrying water, even Qin Haoxuan, who practiced witchcraft, was somewhat exhausted. After greeting Xu Yu and Murong Chao, he quickly ate in the mess hall and then went to the bushes to cultivate and meditate.

He cultivated until evening, and Gu Yunzi arrived as scheduled. Seeing Qin Haoxuan meditating and practicing Qi, a satisfied smile flickered across his lips.

"This is your pill for today, eat it quickly." Gu Yunzi handed Qin Haoxuan the Corrosion Pill he had prepared earlier. With that gentle smile of a senior expert, if the Undying Witch Demon hadn't revealed the truth last night, Qin Haoxuan would have truly believed he was being appreciated and nurtured by a destined benefactor.

Taking the Corrosion Pill and remembering that the Undying Witch Demon had said it wouldn't harm him, Qin Haoxuan hesitated before swallowing it. After all, if he were poisoned to death by the pill, it would be of no benefit to the old demon; he wouldn't lie to him.

The Corrosion Pill entered his mouth, turning into a sweet liquid that flowed into his abdomen. His muscles felt like they were burning, and waves of heat surged from his dantian to all parts of his body, as if he were in a brazier, refining the impurities within him.

Qin Haoxuan clearly felt that the medicinal power of this Corrosion Pill was incomparable to the one from last night, at least ten times stronger.

After consuming the Corrosion Pill, the waves of heat surging from his dantian were different from the residual heat of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus in his body.

The heat from the One-Leaf Golden Lotus erupted from the inside out, allowing him to absorb spiritual power to neutralize the medicinal effects. Ultimately, this heat, which could have made his body explode, would transform into pure spiritual power to nourish his body and irrigate his Immortal Seed.

However, the heat from the Corrosion Pill was from the outside in. This heat seemed to devour all the vital energy within him. Not only could it not be neutralized by spiritual power, but the more spiritual power he activated, the more potent the Corrosion Pill's toxicity became.

On the surface, it strengthened the physique, but in the long run, it would stiffen all bodily functions.

This surge of heat not only corroded Qin Haoxuan's body but also split off a portion, flowing towards his mind.

The medicinal power of the Corrosion Pill was corroding his consciousness!

"This pill is called the Corrosion Pill. Long-term consumption can make your body impervious to blades and spears, stiffening it like a zombie, but greatly increasing your attack and defense power! It will also erode your consciousness, and soon you will become a mindless walking corpse, completely controlled by others."

Recalling the Undying Witch Demon's words from last night, Qin Haoxuan sneered inwardly. The high and mighty hall master would actually deceive a junior with whom he had no enmity, simply because this junior was suitable to be a corpse soldier! Fortunately, I have the Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique to resolve it; otherwise, I would truly be at your mercy! Now? Let your poisonous pill become the spiritual medicine to strengthen my physique!

Gu Yunzi, who had been closely observing Qin Haoxuan, saw the pained struggle on his face and couldn't help but sigh and nod. "Under the corrosion of the Corrosion Pill, anyone else would have already given up and dispersed their cultivation. But he has persisted until now; his Dao Heart is indeed good. It's a pity he's just a Weak Seed. If his aptitude were better, he could be cultivated! What a shame! I should encourage him and see if he can persist in digesting the medicinal power of this Corrosion Pill. If he can, I can save a few precious Corrosion Pills."

To lure Qin Haoxuan into the trap, the Corrosion Pill Gu Yunzi gave him yesterday only had one-tenth of the potency of a true Corrosion Pill. With Qin Haoxuan's Witch Cultivator body, he didn't feel much. But the Corrosion Pill tonight was the real deal, with ten times the toxicity of last night's.

"Embrace your origin, calm your mind, and don't use spiritual power to resist. This is the medicinal power taking effect, strengthening your physique!"

Gu Yunzi's gentle voice reached him, filled with apparent concern, but it sounded hypocritical and disgusting to Qin Haoxuan.

"Hold on, hold on longer! The longer you persist, the better the effect of the pill!"

As the pain on Qin Haoxuan's face intensified, Gu Yunzi, who was concerned about the Corrosion Pill, spoke again to encourage him.

Waves of heat rampaged within Qin Haoxuan's body, and the heat surging towards his mind also began to act up. Just as he was about to give up, a golden light that had been quietly residing in his mind suddenly flashed. The corrosive medicinal power of the Corrosion Pill, which was about to erode his Spiritual Sense, was completely absorbed by the Spiritual Sense in his mind. At the same time, the Immortal Seed, which had been quietly residing in his dantian, also suddenly emitted a suction force, devouring all the heat that was wreaking havoc within his body.

Gu Yunzi never imagined that the toxicity of the Corrosion Pill would be completely absorbed by Qin Haoxuan's Spiritual Sense and Immortal Seed, leaving behind only the medicinal power that truly strengthened his physique, tempering his body.

After about fifteen minutes, Qin Haoxuan exhaled heavily, stopped his cultivation, and opened his eyes.

His vision was met by Gu Yunzi's beaming, chubby face, which now wore a kind smile as he asked, "How do you feel?"

Qin Haoxuan replied, half-truthfully and half-falsely, "My whole body felt like it was burning, but I got used to it as it burned. Now my body is indeed much stronger."

Since the toxicity of the Corrosion Pill could be resolved by him, leaving only the pure medicinal power for tempering the body, he was happy to continue playing along. It was beneficial and harmless anyway.

Gu Yunzi, with a smile, nodded and praised Qin Haoxuan a few times, but in his heart, he was filled with doubt.

Even he would have to exert great effort to expel the toxicity of this Corrosion Pill from his body. Moreover, under the effect of the Corrosion Pill, most people would give up within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Yet, he persisted until he completely digested the medicinal power of the Corrosion Pill. Was this guy even human?

However, Gu Yunzi didn't think too much about it. The more outstanding Qin Haoxuan performed, the more powerful he would be after being refined into a corpse soldier, and the broader his development potential would be.

"Rest early, don't overexert yourself with constant cultivation," Gu Yunzi kindly advised Qin Haoxuan before departing on his sword.

Looking at Gu Yunzi's hypocritical departing back, Qin Haoxuan couldn't help but shudder.

Cultivators were truly terrifying. These ancient monsters who had lived for hundreds of years treated human lives as insignificant, poisoning others for their own gain, not even sparing their own sect members.

If Gu Yunzi was like this, the Undying Witch Demon, who had spent his entire life in the demonic path, must be even more terrifying. Although he couldn't see anything wrong with him, he must have some ulterior motive.

This old demon claimed that a dying man's words were good. This saying was more applicable to upright gentlemen with no ill intentions. Good people don't live long, but bad people live for a thousand years. If this old demon, who had dabbled in the demonic path his entire life, wasn't so wicked that he had sores on his head and festering feet, how could he have lived this long?

However, Qin Haoxuan, unable to figure anything out at the moment, didn't dwell on it. After digesting the medicinal power of the Corrosion Pill just now, he felt the Immortal Seed stirring, as if it were about to take root!

After watching Gu Yunzi leave, Qin Haoxuan immediately closed his eyes and began to sense the changes in the Immortal Seed.

The Immortal Seed was indeed changing, but it wasn't taking root; it was growing larger. The Immortal Seed continuously absorbed the spiritual power in his dantian, slowly growing larger at an extremely slow pace...

This growth wasn't about transforming from a shriveled Immortal Seed into a plump one; it simply became larger.

Sensing the peculiar change in the Immortal Seed, Qin Haoxuan immediately racked his brain, recalling the cultivation books he had read.

The books clearly stated that a shriveled Immortal Seed could never become a plump Immortal Seed, under any circumstances. As for his situation, where the Immortal Seed was growing larger, the books didn't even mention it, indicating that nothing similar had ever happened before.

An hour later, the Immortal Seed within Qin Haoxuan had doubled in size before stopping. As the Immortal Seed grew larger, the hard shell encasing it became thinner and thinner, further indicating that the Immortal Seed was not growing normally but was being inexplicably stretched by something.

What was going on? Could it be the Undying Witch Demon's doing? This thought flashed through Qin Haoxuan's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

If that old demon could control the changes in his Immortal Seed from such a distance, he would have escaped the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley long ago and wouldn't have been lying there for thousands of years.

Could it be the toxicity of the Corrosion Pill? Qin Haoxuan felt it was increasingly likely the more he thought about it. Ever since the Immortal Seed absorbed the toxicity of the Corrosion Pill, this inexplicable change had occurred.

But Qin Haoxuan dared not ask anyone about the potential drawbacks of the Immortal Seed growing larger. If others found out, what if those fanatical and inhumane cultivators captured him for dissection and research?

After an inspection, Qin Haoxuan discovered that the enlarged Immortal Seed showed faint signs of taking root. However, with the Immortal Seed in its current state, its fortune was unpredictable, and he couldn't be happy at all.

The instigator of Qin Haoxuan's Immortal Seed's anomaly, the Undying Witch Demon, opened his eyes. A sly smile appeared in his cloudy eyes. Ever since Qin Haoxuan's Immortal Seed absorbed the toxicity of the Corrosion Pill, he had planted a trace of demonic energy into his Immortal Seed while cultivating his modified Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique. Now, after absorbing the toxicity of the Corrosion Pill, that trace of demonic energy had finally merged with his Immortal Seed, becoming an Immortal-Demon Seed.

What the Undying Witch Demon didn't expect was that the little snake was not its true form; its true form was actually human!

Thinking that his future body would be an Immortal-Demon Seed that powerful demonic cultivators desperately sought, the Undying Witch Demon's eyes suddenly flickered with ambition that hadn't been seen in thousands of years!

He had originally thought he would languish in this damned place until his lifespan ran out and he turned to dust. Unexpectedly, misfortune had turned into a blessing. Although he had suffered for thousands of years here, if he could refine an Immortal-Demon Seed that countless demonic powerhouses dreamed of, it would be worth enduring thousands more years of suffering here.

Unlike Immortal Seeds, Demonic Seeds have a different rooting method. Immortal Seeds have a taproot system that grows first, with a thick and long main root from which lateral roots grow. Demonic Seeds, however, initially form a fibrous root system when they take root in the Immortal Root, lacking a main root and consisting of fine, hair-like roots. This allows them to absorb spiritual energy quickly and in large quantities, making their cultivation speed much faster than that of immortal cultivators in the initial stages.

As Immortal Seeds grow, they gradually develop many fibrous roots to become complete. Demonic Seeds, on the other hand, gradually develop a main root as they grow, forming the backbone of the root system. Only with a main root can one embark on the true path of longevity.

Because of the difference between Immortal Seeds and Demonic Seeds, before reaching the Immortal Tree Realm, when cultivators and demonic cultivators of the same level fight, immortal cultivators often lose. However, further along, the advantage of demonic cultivators weakens.