Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation

He spent a sleepless night.

Shen Yi tossed and turned, and only barely made it to dawn.

Even though he knew the Fox Demon had sealed all of Lin Baiwei's major acupoints, she would be easy to kill—even the previous version of him, that good-for-nothing drunkard, could have done it, let alone him with his current cultivation.

Besides, he had pinned his saber beneath his arm, ready to draw it at any moment.

But he still wasn't used to having a living person behind him.

Secondly, Shen Yi truly didn't believe the pile of martial arts Lin Baiwei had made up, but he was certain she had at least a few decent skills to fall back on.

The woman refused to tell the truth.

Shen Yi closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, but his mind churned. If he threatened her with violence or food, would he get anything out of her?

By the previous version of his thinking, he would help the local authorities conceal the demonic disaster. As long as he fooled the Demon Suppression Division and the Fox Demon completely took over the identity of the Lin Family's only daughter, he could deal with the woman however he pleased.

But Shen Yi couldn't do that.

He wanted to join the Demon Suppression Division. If the fox woman's identity came to light, he'd be like someone with mud in his pants—he could jump into the Yellow River and still never wash himself clean.

For a fine young wandering swordsman to end up carrying such a huge black pot for no reason was far too unjust!

After turning it over in his mind, Shen Yi decided that the only solution was to kill Lin Baiwei, bury her somewhere, and deny everything if the Demon Suppression Division discovered anything. He'd claim that he, too, had been deceived by the Fox Demon's shapeshifting arts.

After all, the dead couldn't testify, and he could still take the chance to force her to reveal some martial arts techniques.

"..."

His fingertips brushed the scabbard, and he grasped it gently.

Shen Yi slowly sat up in bed. His eyes, bloodshot from staying up all night, were dark as he rose to his feet.

At the sound, Lin Baiwei, leaning against the foot of the bed, blinked groggily and wiped the corner of her mouth. "Is it morning already?"

Shen Yi glanced at her and walked straight out of the room.

Sensing the murderous intent he'd tried so hard to conceal behind that casual look, Lin Baiwei woke up in an instant. She muttered, "Hey, I don't even snore. Why are you in such a foul mood first thing in the morning?"

About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later,

Shen Yi stood at the doorway with a pancake in his mouth and tossed an oil-paper parcel inside, his face blank.

Lin Baiwei tore it open. Inside were several steaming hot baked buns.

She swallowed instinctively, her eyes lighting up. Her neat row of white teeth sank into one, and she said between chews, "Why...isn't there any meat...?"

Shen Yi took out a clean outer robe and rolled his eyes at her. "The ones with meat are meat-stuffed flatbreads. I'm broke, so make do."

Even across two lifetimes, he had never killed a person.

But Shen Yi wasn't afraid to do it. He had even cut down demons and monsters; a mere mortal was nothing by comparison.

He just thought that being forced to kill someone like this made no sense and would make him look like a complete idiot.

Besides, there was more than one way to solve the problem.

As long as he could kill the Fox Demon in the Lin Family before the Demon Suppression Division got there, everything would be fine.

As for the woman in front of him, it was easier to ignore her and have peace of mind.

Shen Yi changed his clothes and left the room.

When his footsteps had faded into the distance, Lin Baiwei stopped chewing and gazed thoughtfully toward the door. The relief on her face was plain to see.

She knew all too well how terrifying a martial artist's desire to transcend could become once he reached Shen Yi's level.

But even with a blade at her throat, Lin Baiwei would never reveal a single thing.

Those were the rules set from above.

If she broke them, the other party would surely be killed, and she wouldn't get off lightly either.

"To hold back even after all that—you're almost as patient as me."

Lin Baiwei breathed in the aroma of the baked bun, licked her lips, and took another bite.

East Street, Baiyun County.

Shen Yi slowed his steps and brought up the panel.

[Current Martial Arts]

Bone-Piercing Grappling Hand (Great Accomplishment)

Demon-Subduing Blade Technique (Perfection): Initial Realm Subduing Demon Yang-Blade

Cloud-Parting Long Fist (Perfection): Mastery of Fist and Palm

Spirit Snake Eight Steps (Perfection)

Wind and Thunder Precious Scroll, Part One (Perfection)

[Remaining Lifespan: Twenty-One Years]

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: Two Hundred Twenty-Two Years]

He casually found an empty alley and sat down.

With practiced ease, Shen Yi poured the demons' remaining lifespan into the Wind and Thunder Precious Scroll.

Whether investing further in martial arts that had already reached perfection would yield anything was unknown.

The Subduing Demon Yang-Blade alone, which involved the Initial Realm, had consumed an additional twenty-seven years of lifespan.

And what Shen Yi wanted now...was a complete cultivation method for the Initial Realm!

For that, he didn't care how much more he had to spend.

[Year One: You gaze at the Wind and Thunder Precious Scroll, which you have long since committed to memory, and begin to reflect on your life...]

[Year Five: Your saber skills and your mastery of fist and palm have both reached the pinnacle of technique. The essence of heaven and earth has completely tempered your body. Yet all the experiences of the first half of your life have lost their usefulness at this moment.]

[Year Twenty: You enter seclusion to comprehend heaven and earth, searching for the elusive auras that haunt your dreams.]

[Year Thirty-Seven: The Wind and Thunder Precious Scroll is a method of tempering the body with medicine. You think the substances in medicines seem no different from those in heaven and earth. You seem to grasp a little of it.]

One prompt after another drifted before his eyes.

Shen Yi couldn't truly feel the pain of watching the years pass without gaining anything.

But even trying to imagine himself in that situation made him shudder.

[Year Sixty: You are as familiar with the qi of heaven and earth as you would be with old friends of many years, but you still cannot make it merge with your body. You look at the saber beside you.]

[Year Eighty-Two: You use the Subduing Demon Yang-Blade countless times. With each strike, a portion of your vital essence is depleted. The body once tempered by essence gradually begins to decay under years of self-inflicted depletion.]

[Year Ninety: You succeed in reducing yourself to an ordinary person, but you still do not put down your saber.]

[Year One Hundred Five: Your flesh and blood are depleted, leaving nothing more to transform. You swing the familiar Yang-Blade and collapse to the ground. Your trembling hand leaves you unable to believe this is your own body. You close your eyes.]

[Year One Hundred Six: Only when a cool trickle seeps into your skin does a faint smile finally appear on your tense face. You know your guess was right.]

[Year One Hundred Twenty: Your reasoning is correct. Since you cannot figure it out, bring your body to the brink of death and use instinct to draw in the gifts of heaven and earth. You repeat this process over the years, growing increasingly familiar with how to draw the aura into your body.]

[Year One Hundred Forty-Six: You finally perfect the entire process and record it in a book, naming it the Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation.]

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: Seventy-Six Years]

Shen Yi clenched his teeth as a sudden wave of weakness swept through him.

He reached out to support himself, his breathing ragged and feeble.

But the information that had appeared in his mind made him care nothing for his body's changes. Instead, excitement welled in his eyes.

Three lives from ape demons had been enough to obtain a method of transcendence, and he hadn't even used them all. What a bargain!

The Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation, acquired at the cost of more than a hundred years, wasn't actually all that obscure.

The human body had three hundred and sixty-two acupoints.

Only twelve major acupoints were suitable for absorbing and storing the qi of heaven and earth.

In the martial arts deduction, he had simply used the most foolish method to identify those twelve acupoints and master how to use them to temper himself with the qi of heaven and earth.

...