Comprehensive Improvement

Shen Yi was left alone in the room.

Shen Yi lay on the bed and summoned the panel.

Regarding martial arts cultivation, he was still a complete novice who understood nothing. Having learned many things from the woman—Qi Gathering Pills, Liquid Condensation Pills, the Jade Liquid Realm—his thoughts could not help but wander.

A moment later, Shen Yi took out the meat ball, wanting to verify his hypothesis.

This object was a circle smaller than a chicken egg.

He closed his eyes and held it in his mouth. A fishy, astringent taste spread from the tip of his tongue, yet the breath of heaven and earth contained within it attracted him like honey.

Immediately after, Shen Yi began to pour his lifespan into the Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation.

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 672 years]

[First year: You spent seven months removing the dross from the Beast Essence, taking only its essence. At the same time, you did not forget to absorb the breath of heaven and earth, and your cultivation progressed rapidly.]

[You successfully filled the sixth orifice, and the Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation reached minor completion. However, the essence from the Beast Essence continued to pour in, and you filled the seventh major orifice.]

[You comprehended Blood Baleful Intent (Incomplete) from the Beast Essence.]

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 671 years]

The moment the lifespan infusion began, surprise and shock surged in Shen Yi's eyes.

His hypothesis was indeed correct.

As long as the precious medicine was within his body, it could influence the process of martial arts deduction.

But he had not expected the effect to be so terrifying.

How long had it taken to fill two orifices previously? A full twenty years.

A single Beast Essence in his belly was equivalent to twenty years of bitter cultivation.

This also resolved the doubt in Shen Yi's heart: a mortal's lifespan was at most a hundred years, and even if one perfected their mortal frame and stepped into the Initial Realm, they would only gain a total of forty years of life.

Yet demons were hundreds of years old as a matter of course; even a Yellow Weasel with a lower realm than his own had over five hundred and seventy years of life ahead of it.

With such a disparity, demons could simply outlast human experts by attrition.

Viewed in this light, the essence of martial arts cultivation was still plunder. If one foolishly spent all day asking from heaven and earth, by the time their hair turned white, they would likely still be in the early stages of the Initial Realm.

"What is this Blood Baleful Intent?"

Shen Yi looked at the panel. Beneath his current martial arts, a new line of text had appeared.

[Blood Baleful Intent (Incomplete): Having been eroded by filth while consuming demon Beast Essence, you have comprehended it and made it your own. The breath of heaven and earth within your body now carries a corrosive effect.]

After reading the description, Shen Yi suddenly associated it with the demon art used by the Yellow Weasel.

Truth be told, if his realm had not been far above the opponent's, once the energy in his body was exhausted, his end would likely have been the same as that pile of bones, dissolving into pus.

"It can be considered a barely sufficient means of attack."

Shen Yi settled his mind and continued to pour in the demon lifespan.

[Twenty-seventh year: You filled the eighth major orifice. Because the energy in your body was too full and stained with your own scent, it conflicted with the pure breath of heaven and earth, slowing your cultivation progress.]

[Forty-ninth year: All nine of your orifices are full, and the Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation has reached great completion.]

Perhaps because he was wealthy and bold, Shen Yi did not feel any heartache and prepared to fill it completely in one go.

[Seventy-second year: You finally filled the tenth orifice. In your eyes, this world gradually became clear.]

[One hundred and fourth year: When water is full, it overflows. Your body is already saturated and can no longer contain any extra energy. Twelve orifices are full, and the Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation is perfected.]

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 568 years]

If practicing a technique could be considered a guaranteed outcome that would eventually reach perfection, then deducing a new technique was truly no different from a lottery.

Shen Yi hesitated for a moment, keeping three hundred years for other uses, and poured the rest in.

Immediately after, a series of identical prompts left his brain feeling numb.

[First year: Even though your realm is perfected, you believe that not advancing is equivalent to retreating. You continue to diligently temper yourself every day, endlessly demanding from heaven and earth...]

[Tenth year: You continue to demand...]

[Twentieth year: You are still demanding...]

Lines of prompts jumped up rapidly, only to be squeezed out by the next one.

This repeated countless times.

Sweat seeped from Shen Yi's palms. Just as he was about to stop, a line of text that was clearly different from the previous ones flashed before his eyes.

[One hundred and thirtieth year: Perhaps heaven rewards diligence; within the first major orifice in your body, a wisp of energy suddenly condensed, turning into jade dew and dripping down.]

[One hundred and fiftieth year: A second drop of jade dew appears.]

[Two hundred and sixty-eighth year: Nearly half of the energy in your first major orifice has turned into jade dew.]

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 300 years]

Shen Yi's expression was complex; only then did he barely react to what had happened.

Condensing Qi into liquid—linking it to the Jade Liquid Realm mentioned by Lin Baiwei—it was not hard to guess that this should be the change for the next realm.

Perhaps when all the energy in the twelve major orifices turned into jade liquid, that would be the formal step into the next realm.

The problem was, he hadn't found the method!

During the deduction, he was just using the stupidest method, endlessly piling on time to force the energy in his body to transform.

How much demon lifespan would it take to fill one major orifice?

It couldn't even be called "half the effort for twice the result"; it was simply squandering and waste.

Shen Yi closed his eyes and felt the changes in his body, discovering that other than being more robust than ordinary energy, the jade liquid seemed to have no further utility.

He sighed and turned his attention to the remaining martial arts.

The remaining three hundred years were prepared for them.

Blade technique, fist technique, movement technique.

Shen Yi recalled the previous battle with the Yellow Weasel; what he lacked most now was definitely a means of attack.

He selected the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique.

[First year: Even for your current realm, this blade technique seems too crude, but you pick it up again, practicing it upright and properly just as you did when you first stepped into the martial path.]

Perhaps it was because he had lost too much before and things were turning around after reaching the extreme.

Soon, the corners of Shen Yi's brows relaxed.

[Forty-sixth year: You swing the final blade, feeling completely refreshed. The crude moves blend in your mind, gradually turning into something brand new.]

[Fiftieth year: You have already comprehended a complete set of blade techniques, but you inexplicably feel it is not enough. You look at the mist winding around your fingertips and fall into deep thought.]

[Fifty-fifth year: You have comprehended the Initial Realm Blood Baleful Blade Technique.]

[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 245 years]

[Initial Realm Blood Baleful Blade Technique (Entry)]

Under the infusion of countless years of life, the realm of the blade technique began to climb rapidly, from entry to perfection.

By the time the rooster crowed.

Inside the Baiyun County yamen, the duty room was filled with bailiffs.

Chen Ji stood in the middle, with the heads of thirteen dog demons beside him.

In the main seat sat an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in a green round-collared shirt. His eyes were closed, and his skin-and-bone hands gripped the armrests tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging hideously.

"Clerk Liu, eliminating demons is also our duty..." Song Changfeng explained in a low voice.

Hearing this, the old man slowly opened his eyes. His gaze swept over the demon heads on the ground and quickly moved away, as if he dared not look at them for another second.

He waved his hand: "This old man does not have this ability. It is your ability, it is Magistrate Shen who has the ability... Since that is the case, let him manage the demon affairs as well."

As he spoke, Clerk Liu suddenly stood up, furious, and kicked over the table in front of him.

"Let him manage it all by himself!"