Shadow Demon (Part 1)

A faint wisp of black qi suddenly rose from the Jade Crystal and entered the middle-aged scholar's body, where it kept drifting about. Yan Chihuo could clearly see that wherever the black qi passed, the middle-aged scholar's figure seemed to become slightly more solid.

Yan Chihuo understood at once. The middle-aged scholar wanted that wisp of black qi to solidify his body. Then, all of a sudden, he noticed that the scholar had no shadow.

In an instant, a thought flashed through Yan Chihuo's mind. This middle-aged scholar was a shadow—a shadow that had gained sentience! He was not some painting that had come to life. He needed the wisp of black qi within the Jade Crystal. Yet that black qi refused to settle down and continued drifting about, while the middle-aged scholar's body dimmed slightly again. It seemed that only by fully refining that wisp of black qi could he solidify his body.

Yan Chihuo did not know what the black qi inside the Jade Crystal was. He had only absorbed spiritual qi from Jade Crystals before and knew that they contained every sort of impurity, though all in minuscule amounts. Clearly, this demon's target was that wisp of black qi, not the Jade Crystal itself.

At that moment, the Jade Crystal shattered, and a surge of spiritual qi poured into the demon's body, continuously tempering that wisp of black qi. At last, the black qi was refined and merged into the demon's body. Just as the demon's body became somewhat more solid again, its face immediately flushed crimson. It took a full quarter-hour for it to finish absorbing the spiritual qi, but the demon staggered about as though drunk.

Yan Chihuo finally understood why only one Jade Crystal was thrown in here each time. This demon could absorb