Demonic Arts

Li Fan flew through the rain, mist, and thunderclouds for a while, and soon he could see a vermilion sky pavilion enveloped in thunderclouds and fiery clouds.

The style of this palace and celestial pavilion is just like the flying palaces and pavilions that the Celestial Immortal Palace has always ordered from Heavenly Craft Peak. The buildings are connected, the pavilions have double eaves, the beams are carved and the pillars are painted, and the overall atmosphere is magnificent.

As Li Fan flew closer, he watched intently as the smoke and clouds billowed away from both sides like curtains. He saw that the pavilion was thirty feet above the ground, towering majestically, as high as a mountain. On top of it were five tall buildings, all decorated with red copper and vermilion lacquer, which shone brightly when the sun rose. There was also a two-foot-tall bronze Vermilion Bird standing on the top of the building, its wings outstretched as if in flight.

The pavilions and palaces on the tower were filled with countless palaces and halls, dazzling with jewels and colorful lights that illuminated the surroundings. It was clear at a glance that there must be countless treasures, divine skills and Cultivation Method inside. He was so envious that he immediately wanted to fly towards the tower to seize the opportunity.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'You're wrong. That's not the Demon God Palace. Can't you see such a large Vermilion Bird? It's the Demon Suppression Platform.'"

"The Demon-Suppressing Platform? The one that suppresses the Gonggong Temple? Isn't the seal supposed to be the smog outside?" Li Fan realized what was happening and stopped in time.

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Of course not. Just look at this Vermilion Bird Demon-Suppressing Platform. This is a barrier guarded by the Nangong Family. The Gonggong Temple must have been suppressed underneath by the Divine Palace. Many Demon-Suppressing Platforms, Demon-Locking Tower, and Demon-Subduing Mountains in the Central Plains follow the same pattern. They just suppress you with a snap. Unless the entire Immortal Palace, pavilions, and mountains are pushed down, they will be suppressed and sealed underneath, and no ghost or god can escape.'"

According to the old rules of the Three Enclosures, a demon-suppressing platform for a demon god of Gonggong's level should be guarded by a Nascent Divine Transformation cultivator from the General's family, who resides there to oversee the demon god's restrictions. Tsk tsk, it seems the Nangong Family withdrew all the guards here in their power struggle.

Tsk, neglecting their own duties and only thinking about power and profit, leaving all the mess to others? This family is truly speechless...

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'The magic array and restrictions on the Demon Suppression Platform haven't been destroyed. Since the platform hasn't collapsed, it's impossible to enter the Demon God Palace from the front. Search the surrounding area for any other entrances.'"

Following the guidance of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent and the Si Nan, Li Fan descended and wandered towards the foot of the Vermilion Bird Demon Suppression Platform. Sure enough, he discovered that there was a ruin beneath the Demon Suppression Platform, as if a city in the Lei Marsh Swamp had been crushed and smashed into the mud by the falling pavilions and palaces, never to rise again.

Since it was the temple of the Gonggong Clan, an architectural complex from the era of the Immortal Venerables, the outer buildings had long since been reduced to ruins and were unrecognizable. Li Fan followed Si Nan around for a while before finding a tunnel entrance covered with tree branches and mud on the outskirts of the Demon Suppression Platform.

This tunnel was clearly not formed naturally; it was a huge hole, like a train tunnel through a mountain, but its diameter was four or five zhang wide and its depth was unfathomable. The cultists and monsters ahead had obviously sneaked down to the Demon God Palace from here.

But the demon-suppressing platform above is still intact. How could such a large opening have been left unsealed when the demon was suppressed and sealed?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'So many years have passed. Perhaps due to years of neglect, earthquakes, and floods, the original entrance to the secret passage below has been washed away again?'"

That's why places like this need to be guarded all the time. If there were people patrolling every day, how could such a big hole not be seen? It would have been sealed off long ago!

However, there wasn't a particularly strong divine sense present. Don't worry, the thing being suppressed below is probably already dead.

Alas, this oversight was purely due to a lack of vigilance. If a demon god had escaped, it would have been the people of Li Country who would have suffered. The Nangong Family has truly caused a great deal of harm!

Li Fan was too lazy to curse them anymore, so he leaped into the tunnel pit. But after flying a short distance, he couldn't help but frown and land on the ground.

As if affected by something, the Si Nan began to spin rapidly, and as soon as Li Fan entered the cave, he received a system hint.

Li Fan's mood dropped a little.

What's going on? I clearly didn't sense any demonic or malevolent energy nearby.

Li Fan probed the cave entrance several times, finding that Si Nan was indeed unaffected outside. However, once inside the tunnel, his mood would drop, and Si Nan would begin to experience severe interference. Could there be something beneath this Demon God Palace that was having a significant impact on him?

Because of his previous intense training of the Divine Body and being tricked, which caused his Dao Heart to collapse, Li Fan's mood points are now insufficient. Although his mood increases when he defeats a bunch of monsters and rogue cultivators and picks up a lot of Heavenly Treasure, and he has been grinding away these past few days, his mood only increases by one point each time.

Li Fan glanced at his current mood: 711/3200, still less than 1000. He wondered how far it was from the tunnel to the Demon God Palace, and he might have to fight a big battle down there later. For a moment, he was quite hesitant.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, but I didn't detect any mechanism. Could it be that the seal has loosened, and there's a restriction from the Demon God Palace below, allowing only Demon Race to enter?"

Is it only for Demon Race to enter?

Tunnel...

The Snake Demon was the one who Oldest One wanted to open the Demon God Palace...

Gonggong...

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Li Fan's mind, and Xiao Hong's words inexplicably came to mind.

"If you're going to Lei Marsh soon, you can practice the transformations on the stone chamber of the Fuzi Peak first; it will definitely be of help to you."

Fuzi Peak! A mountain god with a human face and a snake's body!

On a sudden inspiration, Li Fan curled up on the ground and transformed into a giant purple python with a human head, then darted straight into the tunnel!

Li Fan's mood improved a little!

Hey! Just as expected! In the Lei Marsh Demon God Palace, using this snake-bodied mountain god body provides a significant boost!

He immediately spiraled down the tunnel wall, heading straight for the Demon God Cave.

But after swimming for a while, Li Fan stopped again, because he suddenly discovered that there were strange patterns and scriptures hidden on the walls of the tunnel!

This is a talisman that can only be seen from the perspective of a snake, a hidden route that can only be felt when the snake crawls along its belly! Crawling along the snake-like route hidden in this rock wall, not only does one's mood continuously increase, Li Fan can also clearly feel that the meridians and acupoints of the snake's body are constantly stimulated and guided by the protruding stone cones along the route, and a strange Qi sensation is faintly generated!

This rock wall is actually some kind of power transmission diagram for the snake's body!

Could it be that what's carved on this wall is...?

'Li Fan discovers Gonggong Clan's method of body tempering'

Holy crap! It's just placed right at the entrance? There aren't any challenges, mechanisms, or traps; they just put it out there for you to see?

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'That's right, it seems this is the main gate through which the Gonggong clan went to see the main god!'"

Our Nine Yin Mountain has a similar design. When new disciples in the Qi Refining Stage trials, they can climb the stone steps to the top of Nine Yin Mountain to break through the Foundation Establishment stage.

The principle of spreading the Dharma through 'walking the righteous path' is the same! It's just that this path is the path of cultivation for those with serpentine bodies, and it should lead all the way to the main gate of the temple!

Damn, I'm a genius! How could I have discovered that!

Li Fan couldn't help but feel lucky. Although he was initially afraid of losing control of his Dao heart, he unexpectedly found an ancient path for cultivating with a snake's body!

He immediately crawled along the route carved on the tunnel, memorizing the sensations of Qi being stimulated and guided within his body, as well as the acupoints. It must be said that this ancient Demon Race is indeed quite something; the stimulation of this crawling route actually taught the clan members the Qi acupoint chart of the Zhou Qi system. Even those with less comprehension and memory could memorize it after crawling hundreds of times!

And that's exactly what Li Fan lacks.

Although he received the teachings of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent and was proficient in the meridians and acupoints of the human body, to be honest, he knew nothing about the snake body. He could only imitate it superficially, merely capturing its form. But now, by following Gonggong Clan's 'righteous path,' the last flaw in this human -Head-Snake Daoist body has actually been directly filled!

This kind of beginner-friendly theoretical guide is exactly what Li Fan's comprehension needs!

He can directly skip over the Daoist body and meridian structure that other Moshan disciples might take hundreds of years of cultivation to slowly explore and comprehend, and directly replicate it according to the correct answer!

Li Fan had only climbed halfway through the tunnel when he deduced and memorized the entire meridian diagram of the Serpent Body Daoist Formation. He even received official certification for it!

'Li Fan has mastered the Gonggong Clan -forging method of Gonggong.'

' Li Fan, with the North Mountain God Dao Body, has broken through to the Golden Core Realm, and his emotional potential has increased.'

'Li Fan, Mood 999/3400'

Holy crap! So the Dao Body can continue to be cultivated and broken through! And the Dao Body I learned cost 100, and breaking through to the Golden Core Realm actually increased my mood cap by 200! That means that all future Dao Bodies, if the Cultivation Method is appropriate, can continue to be cultivated! And continue to increase the mood cap! Damn, the Tai Su Transformation is simply invincible! Doesn't this mean that as long as my mind doesn't split, I can create an infinite number of accounts! In battles, you can gang up on one opponent!

Li Fan was greatly encouraged and continued to snake his way along, sensing the state of his upgraded Dao body.

In truth, when this Mountain God's Dao Body was first formed, it was just like those demons outside, at the level of Core Formation. Now, having obtained the true Dharma of the Demon Race, and having just walked along the snake path, the Xuanming Zhenqi filling Li Fan's body has been guided and regulated, resulting in a genuine Golden Core of the Demon Race! Under this swamp, Li Fan can feel that his Dao Body is simply invincible!

Ahem, okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but this Mountain God Dao Body has indeed greatly enhanced its perception and control over the Xuanming Zhenqi. Li Fan can clearly feel the underground water veins and underground rivers behind the surrounding stone walls, and he can manipulate the Xuanming Zhenqi at will without needing to make hand seals or chant incantations. In addition, the strength of the Dao Body has also greatly improved, and this snake-bodied Dao Body can finally unleash its full power!

Of course, it wasn't perfect either, because at this point he could only convert Xuanming Zhenqi; he couldn't even use the True Essence Dao Breath of Guixu Wuji Qiankun. Gonggong Clan's method was only suitable for a snake's body. Moreover, Li Fan discovered that even when he tried to control his sword with hand seals, the flying sword wouldn't obey him! Could it be that his Divine Sense wasn't enough?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, ' Sword Control Technique is a secret technique of the orthodox Xuanmen sect. Sword intent is infused during sword forging, and only a human body can wield it. Many high-level magical treasures have such restrictions precisely to prevent the secret techniques from being passed on to the Demon Race. Otherwise, why would all those demons want to cultivate into human form?'"

I see... But it's true, demons are physically stronger than Human Race. If their magical weapons and equipment were on par with Human Race, the outcome of future battles would be uncertain.

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'However, this Demon God Palace is truly a source of trouble. I estimate that there are body tempering methods upon entering, and there are probably also divine powers left by Gonggong to the Demon Race!'"

You can see it yourself, but remember to destroy this Demon Race's heritage. Never allow the Demon Race to rise again, or the world will never know peace!

"Don't worry, I remember." Li Fan readily agreed.

This world is so dark and cruel, the fighting between people alone is bloody enough. Tai Su has already brought so many demons, please, you monsters, just hide in the deep mountains and keep quiet, don't let some kind of demon king rise up, okay?

Fortunately, the Divine Cult cultivators ahead of Li Fan, along with the group of monsters he brought, clearly hadn't noticed the secret of the tunnel walls, indicating that there were no Snake Demon among them. Moreover, it seemed they had taken the wrong path halfway through.

The serpentine trajectory of the Gonggong Clan's body-forging method must be the right path, leading directly to the place where Gonggong inherited his legacy.

Li Fan smelled the monster ahead, indicating that they had lingered at a fork in the road for some time and probably hadn't figured out the way. In the end, they split into two groups and each went off to the left or right.

So you're wrong. If you follow the snake path, you'll find a secret passage above that you can climb over...

Li Fan and Profound Heaven Sword Intent discussed it and decided that the most important thing at the moment was to obtain the Gonggong inheritance and ensure that the Demon Race did not get their hands on the cultivation method. As for the people of the Divine Cult, they would let them go for now, since there would be plenty of opportunities to hunt them down later.

So Li Fan abandoned the target he was chasing and continued along the snake path. He had to pass through a long waterway before finally arriving at a stone chamber that only a snake's body could barely crawl into.

This place was probably where the Gonggong clan spread their teachings in ancient times. Although it has been sealed for countless years, the murals in the stone chamber are still well preserved. You can see many images of demons with human faces and snake bodies, with red hair and scales. Some are wielding axes and shields, some are capturing dragons with their bare hands, and some are riding raging waves that submerge mountains and plains. The images are brightly colored and seem to be alive.

No, the demons in this portrait are truly 'alive'! As soon as Li Fan swam into the room, they all turned their heads and stared at Li Fan with their red-and-gold snake eyes!

Li Fan was stared at by a group of demons. He hesitated for a moment, then looked at himself and realized that he didn't really belong to their category. Fortunately, their features were quite distinct. Since he had mastered the snake body, the other parts were not difficult to change. So Li Fan imitated them, stood up and swayed his snake body, produced two hands, wiped his face, and turned his hair red.

The demon statues were delighted to see this and began to display their best skills, instructing the newcomers of their tribe who hadn't visited in a long time.

Sigh, monsters are so easy to fool...

Li Fan shrugged and began to imitate the demons' skills in a serious manner.

To be fair, the movement techniques, supernatural abilities, and combat skills of the ancient times, even the era of immortals, are really outdated. Moreover, they couldn't even defeat the Immortal Palace and were suppressed here, so they really didn't have any particularly powerful supernatural abilities. They were all strange-looking shamans, with movements that combined dance and combat. Perhaps they were similar to Daoist incantations, drawing on the power of heaven and earth to amplify some spells? But in general, they were still guiding and unleashing the supernatural power inherent in the domineering bodies of the Demon Race.

Li Fan took this opportunity to stretch his muscles and familiarize himself with his newly refined Dao body. Each time he imitated the movements in the mural exactly, the demon in the mural would nod, lose its divinity, and return to being an inanimate object on the stone wall. With Li Fan's comprehension, he naturally mastered all eighty-one murals without making any mistakes in one go.

You know what, after practicing the postures and movements of these eighty-one diagrams just once, Li Fan felt his body was significantly strengthened, his potential was developed, and his sensitivity to the Xuanming Zhenqi and earth was much stronger. It seems that these eighty-one diagrams of Gonggong are also a body-refining technique similar to the Body Domination Technique. With daily practice of this method, it is estimated that reaching the Nascent Soul Stage Great Demon realm will not be a problem.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent is not just for Nascent Soul Stage. This should be the ancient, lost Jiuli Dance, albeit a version modified by the Gonggong Clan for their own tribe. Those who can refine it to become ancient demon gods are equivalent to the Transformation Stage. Don't practice this until your physical body reaches the Nascent Soul stage."

So that's how it is. But there's even a stone chamber? Could it be that there are Cultivation Method for those who have reached the Nascent Divine Transformation stage...?

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Wait a minute! Destroy all of these drawings!'"

Li Fan was taken aback for a moment, "Now?"

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent proclaims, 'Now! Destroy every single painting! Blind those demon gods, sever their heads! Shatter their souls! This set of eighty-one paintings is too complete; it absolutely cannot be allowed to circulate! Sever the fate of the Demon Race here!'"

Li Fan nodded, then suddenly frowned, thought for a moment, and asked, "Is it only for Demon Race, or for external Cultivation Method? Are all Three Great Sects like this? Even the Tai Su Dao of Ink Bamboo Mountain..."

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Hmm, now I understand. Your Tai Su Dao is not just a simple illusion trick. Not only can it cultivate physical transformation, but the transformed Dao body can also be compatible with and cultivate the Dao of demons and gods. This has already violated the taboo of the orthodox Daoist Tradition.'"

"You must never let the Three Great Sects know your true strength, or you will be wiped out!"