Terrifying Demon-Hei

Chapter 7: Terrifying Demon—Hei

After this battle, He Yu began thinking about creating several powerful attack techniques of his own. Although he knew countless martial arts moves and a few simple cultivation arts, he didn't want to practice them as they were. The best approach was to combine the strengths of many schools and create a method of attack that suited him best. The cultivation arts in particular would take time to study.

Though they were the simplest of cultivation arts, they were still beyond the reach of martial arts moves. Even when powered by demonic qi, using them successfully was no simple matter.

Setting that aside for the moment, He Yu turned his attention to the Python Demon's corpse. The Python Demon had cultivated for over a century. Its scales, flesh, eyes, gallbladder, and other parts were all valuable, but He Yu didn't care for them. He didn't know how to refine them, and he had no use for its tough scales. As for its flesh, he thought even less of it. To ordinary people, it might be a treasure that strengthened the body and made one immune to poison, but it was useless to He Yu.

What truly interested him was the Python Demon's Demon Core. The Python Demon had stood its ground against He Yu's twenty-five Demon Cores with just one of its own, which showed how powerful it was. Though its death would cause it to lose some demonic qi, it was still a treasure to He Yu!

"If I absorb its Demon Core, my cultivation will surely soar!" He Yu thought excitedly.

He immediately went to the Python Demon's corpse and sent a wisp of demonic qi through its mouth and into its stomach. At the same time, he used his consciousness to locate the Demon Core. It was inside the gallbladder.

The gallbladder was already a treasure among a snake's organs. Eating it could greatly strengthen one's vital essence and spirit, as well as reinforce one's foundations. The Python Demon had placed its Demon Core inside the gallbladder, making perfect use of both. Each benefited the other: the gallbladder helped strengthen the Demon Core, and as the Demon Core grew stronger, it enhanced the gallbladder's effects, creating a virtuous cycle.

Now that the Python Demon was dead, its Demon Core naturally released some of its demonic qi. The gallbladder sensed that its power had greatly weakened and immediately lent it its essence. But the Python Demon was dead and could no longer use the Demon Core to replenish the gallbladder. Before long, the Demon Core had absorbed all the gallbladder's essence and fully recovered.

With a curl of demonic qi, He Yu drew out the Python Demon's Demon Core!

The Demon Core's power was no less than his own demonic qi. It was the size of a pigeon's egg, brown all over and crystalline, like a brown gemstone. It gave off a faint brown glow, with a wisp of brown smoke swirling within. He Yu was astonished. A Demon Core was a demon's most vital treasure, and when a demon died, its core lost at least thirty percent of its demonic qi.

Puzzled, He Yu carefully examined the Python Demon's body. When he saw that the gallbladder had lost all its essence, he understood what had happened. He couldn't help thinking how lucky he was. How could the gallbladder's essence compare to demonic qi?

After obtaining the Python Demon's Demon Core, He Yu immediately found a secluded cave nearby and began refining it. A Demon Core wouldn't last forever. As time passed, it would gradually dissipate into the world. The sooner he refined it, the greater his gains would be.

The Demon Core was no less powerful than He Yu's own demonic qi. Though the Python Demon's death meant its core could no longer resist, its demonic qi was still of a different kind. The moment it entered his body, it would clash ceaselessly with He Yu's own. So the amount of demonic qi he refined into himself was a problem. Too little would be safe, but much of the core's qi would dissipate into the world. Too much could throw his own demonic qi out of control and set it fighting the foreign qi, perhaps even damaging him in the process.

This was He Yu's first time refining a Demon Core, and he didn't dare swallow and refine the whole thing at once. Instead, he drew a wisp of demonic qi from it and absorbed it into his body.

As soon as the wisp entered him, He Yu felt all twenty-five of his Demon Cores tremble. His demonic qi turned restless as well. He was startled, but the reaction wasn't too strong, and he could control it without much difficulty. He immediately relaxed. He didn't hesitate—time was demonic qi! Every extra moment meant more of the core outside would dissipate. At his will, a stream of demonic qi surged from his primary Demon Core toward the wisp inside him.

The demonic qi from his primary Demon Core was over a hundred times stronger than the wisp he'd absorbed. It surged toward the foreign qi, enveloped it, and swallowed it in an instant, increasing his own demonic qi by a little.

With that experience behind him, He Yu absorbed another dose of demonic qi from the Demon Core, this time ten times greater than before.

With ten times as much demonic qi entering him, the twenty-five Demon Cores in his body trembled even more violently. They were somewhat harder to control now, though the trouble was still slight. Ninety percent of the demonic qi in his primary Demon Core surged out in a torrent toward the foreign qi. Swallowing it was a little harder this time, but it still took only the blink of an eye.

After refining demonic qi twice, He Yu had a good sense of the fastest rate at which he could refine it. He didn't push himself to the limit. Though that would bring greater gains, it would also take much longer—not worth the effort!

All twenty-five Demon Cores worked together, rapidly refining the Python Demon's core. It visibly shrank. When only a tenth of it remained, He Yu swallowed it whole and refined it. After all the demonic qi he'd refined earlier, his twenty-five Demon Cores had grown somewhat, and his demonic qi had greatly increased. Refining this last tenth in one go was easy.

Once the refinement was complete, He Yu's face lit up with delight. In such a short time, his demonic qi had nearly doubled, and his twenty-five Demon Cores had grown almost twice as large. He'd gained a great deal!

It was on par with the results of his own cultivation!

He Yu knew that he had only refined the core for now. It would still take some time for its demonic qi to fully merge with his own, and some would inevitably be lost in the process. By his estimate, he'd only gain about eight-tenths of the Python Demon's demonic qi; two-tenths would be lost to dissipation and the adjustment period.

"Roar!"

As he wondered whether he should stay here to let his demonic qi settle, a tremendous tiger's roar came from nearby. He Yu's heart jumped. That was the Giant Tiger Demon he'd seen fighting the Python Demon last time!

I can't be this lucky, can I? Another Demon Core delivered right to my door! Having gained so much from refining the Python Demon's core, He Yu couldn't help wanting to use the same trick again.

The Giant Tiger Demon's cultivation was no weaker than the Python Demon's, so its Demon Core must be just as powerful. He Yu was certain that if he got his hands on it and combined it with the Python Demon's core, his demonic qi would more than double in one fell swoop—saving him countless hours of hard cultivation.

Thinking of the benefits, He Yu immediately strode toward the cave's entrance on his six legs. He took care not to make a sound and kept his aura concealed. Though he was now much stronger than the Giant Tiger Demon, he had absorbed nearly all of the Python Demon's demonic qi, and his own qi no longer flowed as smoothly as before. There were a few flaws in his control. If he fought it head-on, one mistake might put him at a disadvantage. A sneak attack was different!

With He Yu's current cultivation, the Giant Tiger Demon couldn't detect him if he concealed himself carefully. He could catch it off guard and kill it with a single strike.

After leaving the cave and walking a short distance, He Yu spotted the mottled Giant Tiger through the dense trees. To his surprise, a black beast, slightly smaller than the tiger, followed behind it.

The black beast's body was covered in fur about a foot long. Its expression was savage, and it looked like a cross between a tiger and a wolf. A terrifying aura poured from its body.

Even from far away, He Yu could feel how powerful the black beast's aura was. Its demonic qi was probably more than twice as strong as his own now. It was truly terrifying!

Black? Could it be Hei? He Yu thought in shock. In his previous life, he'd read Liaozhai, which described Hei as a fierce creature that preyed on tigers and leopards. Seeing the Giant Tiger repeatedly glance back at the beast with a deferential air only strengthened his suspicion.