Stone Clan

Time was like flowing sand, always slipping quietly through one's fingers when least expected.

Before they knew it.

The Scorching Summer had already been replaced by the Cool Autumn. The branches once lush with green had begun to show hints of withered yellow, and the Shennong Mountain Range, once brimming with life, seemed to wither with the changing season. At the same time, an air of killing intent shrouded the entire mountain range.

With autumn here, winter was not far off. Even magical beasts needed to stockpile food for the winter.

Of course, what happened outside had little to do with Yao Yan. For the past two months, he had been studying alchemy under Hun Xuzi. The man truly lived up to his title as a Ninth Grade Alchemist Grandmaster. His teachings were simple yet profound and easy to understand, while his collection of formulas was downright terrifying. He could be called the formula library of the Dou Qi Continent.

Hun Xuzi possessed nearly every commonly used formula that existed in the world.

After all, he had once been the final disciple of the Pill Tower Master, and he was also the Soul Clan's Chief Alchemist. One could easily imagine just how many formulas he knew.

Still, this benefited Yao Yan. In barely over a month, he had learned the methods for refining several hundred low-grade medicinal pills, ranging from Tier One to Tier Four.

Yao Yan quite liked this cramming style of education.

Likewise.

Hun Xuzi was also very satisfied with Yao Yan, this exceptionally talented and intelligent disciple. He was a genius alchemist himself, so what he hated most were idiots who could not be taught no matter what. A disciple like Yao Yan, who understood everything after a single lesson, naturally made teaching a pleasant experience.

It was still the cave behind the waterfall. Several Moonlight Stones embedded in the Stone Wall dispelled the darkness, illuminating the cave as brightly as day.

Upon the stone bed.

The handsome black-haired youth sat with his eyes closed and his hands forming seals. With every breath, the dense World Power around him gathered, turning into wisps of white mist that curled around his nose and mouth. The aura around him grew increasingly dense and powerful, as though he were advancing toward a higher realm.

His progress was steady and orderly, without the slightest obstruction. Only after reaching the peak did he seem to encounter some kind of pressure and get forcibly suppressed.

"Phew~"

Yao Yan opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. Feeling the abundant Dou Qi within his body, he could not help frowning.

He had now reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zhe. The Dou Qi Cyclone in his body was exceptionally dense and viscous, and he could condense his Dou Qi into liquid at any moment. This was practically his current limit. To continue growing stronger, he had to break through to Dou Shi, but Hun Xuzi had told him to suppress it for now.

According to Hun Xuzi.

If his Dou Qi cultivation advanced, how could the Tunling Clan's Bloodline Power remain stagnant?

Hun Xuzi truly seemed to regard him as a precious pill in the making, intending to make every step perfect and forge him into the most flawless creation.

"I won't be able to suppress it for more than a few days..."

Yao Yan muttered softly. His talent was indeed terrifying. Even if he did not cultivate, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Energy would still surge into his body. Not to mention that the soul crystal within his soul constantly released Spiritual Qi, nourishing both his soul and body. The difficulties of cultivating the Three Flowers Gather Fire Skill had now nearly vanished.

When one's talent was high enough and cultivation resources plentiful enough, the side effects brought by a cultivation method simply ceased to exist.

If a cultivation method was difficult to practice, it was not the method's problem at all. It was a problem of the person and their family.

Fortunately, Hun Xuzi understood Yao Yan's circumstances. He did not make Yao Yan wait long. That very night, he brought him a gift: a body that was not quite dead yet. Its aura was not weak, reaching the level of a Da Dou Shi, while its Blood Qi was extraordinarily vigorous. Its skin was ash-gray, and a pattern resembling a massive boulder was etched between its brows, emanating a heavy and powerful aura.

"Teacher, this is..."

Yao Yan blinked, already having some guesses about Hun Xuzi's gift.

Hun Xuzi let out a strange laugh. "Hehe, this is a core disciple of the Stone Clan. His Bloodline Power isn't high, but it has reached around Rank 6. His talent is decent. Feel his body. The Stone Clan, a Dou God Clan, possesses innate immense strength and terrifying defensive power. Against opponents of the same rank, without a Powerful Dou Skill, they cannot even break through the defense of their physical bodies."

As expected... Yao Yan had guessed it the moment he saw the clan pattern between the man's brows. At the same time, he could not help marveling at Hun Xuzi's audacity. As expected of a Soul Clan member—kidnapping a core disciple from another clan was as effortless to him as playing around.

He crouched down and examined the man's body. That ash-gray skin was like rock, Extremely Solid, with defensive power far beyond what a Da Dou Shi should possess.

"Teacher, won't this cause trouble?"

Yao Yan could not hold himself back from asking.

Hun Xuzi sneered in a low voice. "Don't worry. The Stone Clan is a bunch of brainless fools. I kidnapped this fellow while he was out training. With Nihility Devouring Flame concealing our auras, no one can trace us. As for them guessing... what can they do without evidence? They can't possibly go to war with the Soul Clan over the disappearance of a single core disciple."

Clearly, Hun Xuzi had done such things often over the years. Compared to the Great Emperor Clans, who still cared about their reputation, the Soul Clan would stop at nothing. They not only targeted the Great Emperor Clans, but did not even spare ordinary people. They established the Soul Hall and harvested Soul Origin everywhere to supply Hun Tiandi and the others in their advancement to the Emperor Realm.

Was being a bad guy really this satisfying?

Yao Yan asked himself.

"Try and see whether you can devour his Bloodline Power."

Hun Xuzi Pressed his lips together and spoke expectantly. He had made Yao Yan suppress his realm precisely so he could devour a core member of the Stone Clan. Rank 6 Bloodline Power was not low, especially for a clan like the Stone Clan, whose Dou Di Bloodline was on the verge of drying up.

Fine, I was forced into this too... Yao Yan looked at the still-living Stone Clan man and muttered inwardly. He knew he could not resist Hun Xuzi, and yet he was somewhat eager himself. He also wanted to know just how far the Tunling Clan's innate divine ability could go.

As Yao Yan activated the Tunling Clan's Bloodline Power, a brutal, bloodthirsty aura instantly spread through the cave. A strange pattern appeared between his brows, like a half-closed vertical eye.

Even his previously calm eyes turned violent, covered by a Scarlet Red gleam and filled with an evil aura.

"Teacher, how do I do this? Do I just start eating?"

Yao Yan Pressed his lips together and asked an exceedingly stupid question.

"..."

Yao Yan's words left Hun Xuzi speechless. He glanced at his clever eldest disciple and said flatly, "You can try, provided you can bite through him."

"I was just joking, Teacher."

Yao Yan gave an awkward laugh and placed a hand on the man's chest. Then the Tunling Clan's talent fully activated, and an evil aura erupted from his body. It was a force different from Dou Qi—more tyrannical, more evil, full of aggression and devouring power, as well as an aura of destruction that seemed intent on annihilating everything.

As his talent activated, the half-closed vertical eye between Yao Yan's brows opened completely, its Scarlet Red radiance flickering. At the same time, an indescribable hunger arose within him.

The Stone Clan man's body began to convulse. Thick veins bulged across his skin as the Dou Qi in his body started to drain away. Even his Soul Power began gathering toward Yao Yan.

At the same time.

The palm Yao Yan had placed on the Stone Clan man began to mutate. His fingers became longer and sharper, and his nails directly pierced through the Stone Clan man's skin. That powerful defensive power was now as good as nonexistent, while everything within the man's body began surging into Yao Yan's.

Dou Qi, Blood Qi, Soul Power, and more—he accepted it all.

The Tunling Clan was clearly not picky about what it devoured.

This... A trace of absurdity flashed through Yao Yan's eyes. He clearly sensed that the power within him, distinct from Dou Qi, was rapidly growing. In only a few breaths, it had surpassed his Dou Qi cultivation. Meanwhile, the Dou Qi pouring into his body began pushing him toward a breakthrough. There was no need to absorb external Heaven and Earth Energy; a Da Dou Shi's origin Dou Qi turned into droplets of rain that watered his Dou Qi Cyclone.

In an instant, Yao Yan's Dou Qi surged to the Dou Shi realm and continued climbing rapidly. His Soul Power and Blood Qi also soared.

The sudden explosive growth of power immediately caused Yao Yan to lose his reason.

"What tyrannical power."

Hun Xuzi could not help sighing. This power was even more outrageous than Nihility Devouring Flame. It seemed capable of perfectly absorbing all of the other party's origin, provided one Could Withstand it. Clearly, Yao Yan was still too weak and simply could not withstand such abruptly surging power.

"Very interesting~"

Interest surged in Hun Xuzi's eyes. He raised a hand and controlled a child flame of Nihility Devouring Flame to envelop Yao Yan, beginning to devour the excess power within him while helping him refine the Stone Clan youth's bloodline origin.

With Hun Xuzi's assistance, Yao Yan quickly calmed down. At the same time, lingering fear filled his heart. He had not expected the Tunling Clan's power to be so terrifying.

Was this what it meant to be an Outer Realm Demon?

Putting everything else aside, Solely Discuss their vitality and rate of advancement, Outer Realm Demons truly deserved the word "demon."

Hun Xuzi looked at Yao Yan, who had Sobered Up, and asked, "How does it feel?"

"...Amazing!"

Yao Yan Pressed his lips together. There was a devouring desire in his eyes that he could barely suppress. That sensation of strength rapidly increasing and every aspect of himself being enhanced was much like the thrill of watching combat power numbers skyrocket while playing an online game in his Previous Life. The feeling of cheating, of having his Strength Surges with just a wave of his hand instead of through bitter cultivation, was truly hard to refuse.

Hun Xuzi sneered, red light flickering in his eyes as he warned, "You'd best calm down. You still can't control this power. If I hadn't been here this time, you would already have turned into a bloodthirsty monster."

"I was wrong, Teacher."

Yao Yan took a deep breath and suppressed the desires and impulses in his heart. He began trying to control the Tunling Clan's power within his body. Rather than blindly devouring everything, he selectively devoured only the other party's Bloodline Power, choosing to abandon the Dou Qi and Soul Power.

The power obtained through such devouring was impure and could easily contaminate Yao Yan's own power, cutting off his future path of cultivating Dou Qi.

If that happened.

Yao Yan would truly become a member of the Tunling Clan in the future, able to increase his strength only by devouring others.

Such a path would undoubtedly turn him completely into an Outer Realm Demon.

As his mind recovered its calm, Yao Yan's explosively rising aura gradually settled. His previously soaring Dou Qi began to fall as well, eventually dropping to around the level of a two-star Dou Shi. All the remaining chaotic Dou Qi energy and Soul Power were handed over to Hun Xuzi, left for the child flame of Nihility Devouring Flame to devour.

No, this power seems to be growing as well... Yao Yan closed his eyes and sensed the Tunling Clan's Bloodline Power within him. The evil power it possessed was growing vigorously as it devoured life force and Blood Qi, and it was growing at an astonishing speed.

This was clearly the true essence of how Outer Realm Demons cultivated: devouring life origins to cultivate.

At the same time.

It granted them exceedingly terrifying vitality, making them like cockroaches that simply could not be killed. Even if only a wisp of origin remained, they could still revive.

Which raised a question.

Did the Spirit Devouring King Essence Blood Yao Yan had devoured contain its Life Mark? Would it awaken as this power revived, perhaps even using his body to return to life?

In that moment, countless thoughts ran through his mind.

Because the Tunling Clan's power was simply too sinister!