Cultivation (4,000 words)

"No matter how strong the Destruction and Life energies are, they are ultimately not your own power."

Seeing the Seven Old Devils controlled by Undead Magic, Huo Yuhao walked up to them.

Perhaps by utilizing Destruction energy, their attacks can reach their Limit potential, but in other aspects, they fall far short.

Especially Divine Power.

The Old Devil Destruction tried again and found that he could still speak. Seeing that Huo Yuhao did not intend to kill them immediately, he subconsciously asked, "What do you want to do?"

Huo Yuhao stopped and his gaze fell on the Old Devil Destruction.

I said that.

His voice was calm, "I came for Devil Island. You know very well what's here. If you hadn't attacked me, that would have been fine. But since you have, I won't hold back. I'll make the most of it!"

He came here for the power left behind by the two God King. Naturally, these seven old demons who control the manipulation of Destruction and Life energies would be of help to him.

He didn't use Undead Magic immediately because he wanted to see how they used Destruction and Life energies.

So far, it seems pretty good.

Having lived here for Thousand Years, their understanding of these two energies is beyond that of ordinary people. It's just that because they lack physical bodies, they can only mobilize the Destruction and Life energies in heaven and earth; otherwise, these seven people would surely have already mastered some of the mysteries of Destruction and Life.

Now that it's in his hands, it makes it much easier for him to control the Destruction and Life energies here.

"Help me draw upon my Life energy; I need to sense the power here."

You can control our lives and deaths, but you can't make us submit!

Despite his words, the Old Devil Destruction manipulated Life energy to envelop Huo Yuhao, allowing him to comprehend and absorb it.

It wasn't a case of saying one thing but doing another; rather, after his body became immobile, it was driven by an even stronger, more compelling force originating from the depths of his soul, making him faithfully carry out Huo Yuhao's orders like the most intricate puppet.

His body was completely out of control!

The other six old demons stared in astonishment at the scene, and the Old Devil Hatred couldn't help but ask, "What did you do to him?!"

Within Shrek Academy, there are records of the Holy Spirit Cult being able to forge evil objects like the Myriad Soul Banner to control souls. However, because Evil Spirit Master are rare on the Douluo Continent, the Seven Old Devils had never seen one before their "previous lives."

In their eyes, Huo Yuhao's methods were somewhat similar to those of some Evil Spirit Master who controlled souls, but undoubtedly far more sophisticated. Could it be a soul-manipulation technique that only gods could possess?

Huo Yuhao did not answer the question posed by the Old Devil Hatred, nor did he immediately try to absorb the Life energy here. Instead, he continued to cast Undead Magic.

Although the Undead Magic just now was able to forcibly control the souls of the Seven Old Devils, it had no restraint. If he were to become engrossed in cultivation, these old demons would obviously not obediently guard him.

Therefore, Huo Yuhao needs a more stable "insurance".

Huo Yuhao's eyes shone brightly with a gray-white light, and a Magic Array appeared beneath his feet, enveloping him and the seven old demons.

This scene felt somewhat familiar to the Seven Old Devils, as if they had seen it somewhere before, and it made them uneasy, but they had no power to resist.

As Huo Yuhao chanted, seven gray marks gradually formed, eventually landing on the foreheads of the Seven Old Devils.

The few people who were controlled by Undead Magic had no ability to resist, so they voluntarily opened their minds and accepted these marks.

At this point, the Seven Old Devils finally understood where that strange sense of familiarity came from!

"This is a contract?!"

The Old Devil Destruction sensed the information conveyed by that mark, his expression turning extremely grim. "And it's a slave contract, unlike the relatively equal contracts like the Soul Spirit Contract!"

That's right, the Undead Magic Huo Yuhao used was a contract magic targeting the soul. The contract he signed was similar to the Soul Spirit Contract in the original work, but with stronger control. It could completely control the life and death of the seven old demons, and also enslave their actions, using them as Undead Creature.

To rebel, they would have to become gods on the spot, but as mere souls, they clearly couldn't do that.

After signing the Equal Contract, Huo Yuhao set various inviolable orders for everyone, including but not limited to not committing suicide, escaping, and a series of other things that would harm his interests.

Even if I want to die, I'll wait until he's drained of all my value before I think about it.

After doing all this, Huo Yuhao released the powerful control over the Undead Magic.

"Alright, everyone except the Old Devil Destruction, please protect me and prevent any disturbances. Also, tell the Northern Sea Legion's ships that I'm going into seclusion for a while and to return first."

As soon as Huo Yuhao finished speaking, the other six old demons reluctantly obeyed his orders and went to carry Huo Yuhao out.

The Old Devil Nightmare lamented, his face contorted in pain.

Faced with the methods of a god, they had no power to resist, not even the power to commit suicide.

Huo Yuhao ignored the departing six demons, sat down cross-legged, and calmed his mind. The Old Devil Destruction faithfully (forced) stood guard by his side, continuously mobilizing pure and abundant Life energy, which flowed into Huo Yuhao's body like the gentlest stream.

Huo Yuhao quietly comprehended the truth. He already had considerable understanding of the Laws of Life, and now, nourished by this pure Life energy and aided by the insights gained from the Old Devil Destruction's experience, his understanding of the Laws Life had further improved.

The Gold of Life within his body resonated subtly, and his previously dormant Life Aura became increasingly vigorous and dynamic.

Compared to Huo Yuhao's joy in comprehending the Dao, the Old Devil Destruction suffered greatly. He not only had to provide Huo Yuhao with Life energy, but also had to explain his understanding of the Laws Life when needed, passing on all his accumulated knowledge from Thousand Years to Huo Yuhao.

Is it some kind of cultivation aid?!

Such thoughts lingered and deepened over the following days. It wasn't until evening, when the Old Devil Destruction saw Huo Yuhao open his eyes and begin to mobilize his Destruction energy, that he realized what was happening.

Huo Yuhao absorbed all of his Thousand Years of insights in less than a day!

"Does my Thousand Years of insights seem so insignificant to this Fire God?"

A bitter glint flashed in the eyes of the Old Devil Destruction, but his hands moved swiftly, the constraints of the contract forcing him to begin mobilizing Destruction energy.

Huo Yuhao ignored the bitterness in the eyes of the Old Devil Destruction. For him, the efficiency of "absorption" in the past half day was indeed very high, but not because the other party's insights were insignificant. Rather, it was due to his own powerful Divine Power, the energy control brought by the Yin-Yang Complementary Twin Soul Cores, and his basic knowledge of the Laws of Life.

To Huo Yuhao's regret, the Life energy here did not include any creative element.

It seems that to create that part, we need to find the core fragments first.

Thinking this, Huo Yuhao began to absorb the Destruction energy Old Devil Destruction of Destruction. His whole body felt as if it were being cut by a knife, and his body was stained purplish-black.

However, thanks to the Life energy it had absorbed earlier, it did not suffer any damage.

One hour later.

Huo Yuhao flicked the purplish-black light he had gathered in his palm at the ground some distance away, creating a large crater. He stared at the crater, lost in thought.

This place is indeed a treasure.

By continuously absorbing Destruction energy, one can gradually master this power, and even transform the Soul Power within the body into Destruction energy through the absorbed Destruction aura. No wonder Xu Lizhi was able to unleash the "Destruction Steamed Bun" after absorbing Destruction energy here.

However, merely grasping the Destruction energy was not enough for Huo Yuhao. He began to comprehend the Destruction energy on his own while also extracting insights from the Old Devil Destruction.

Although Huo Yuhao hadn't had much contact with the Power of Destruction in the past, he still made rapid progress by drawing inferences from similar cases.

In the days that followed, the seven old demons acted like pre-programmed "cultivation aids," taking turns "on duty."

Their insights into Life and Destruction accumulated over Thousand Years became the nourishment for Huo Yuhao's growth.

With astonishing efficiency, Huo Yuhao methodically and systematically extracted value from each of them, refining their experiences and integrating them into his own system. His understanding of Life and the Power of Destruction rapidly improved and became more complete.

What made the Seven Old Devils even more desperate was that Huo Yuhao was not satisfied with just "theoretical learning". After acquiring enough energy and insights, he still did not let them go, but began to put them into practice.

Huo Yuhao ordered the Seven Old Devils to join forces and Simulation various complex energy environments—a raging Destruction Tide,

Chaotic Life currents, the clash of imbalances, and a storm of mixed energy----

Then, Huo Yuhao entered these Simulation environments and used the Life and Power of Destruction he had mastered to adapt.

Confrontation, guidance, and even attempts at control.

This went on for a month until Huo Yuhao raised his hand and used the dual Laws to mobilize a significant amount of Life and Destruction energy within the valley, accomplishing the same feat as the Seven Old Devils, before he finally stopped.

Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, I've made a preliminary grasp of these two Laws of power."

The Seven Old Devils are like earthbound spirits, and they have an advantage here. They can mobilize these energies purely with the power of Laws, which means they would be just as good in similar places. They have already entered the basics of the two Laws.

The Seven Old Devils, whose souls had dimmed due to recent turmoil:

Is this even human language? Are you saying your initial understanding is our end point?!

Oh, so this is a reincarnated deity, with very high standards. Never mind then.

The Old Devil Destruction's expression was complex. After a moment of deep thought, he stepped forward and said, "If you want to continue to improve, you must come into contact with the fragments of the power of Destruction and the power of Life. The fragment of the Power of Destruction is in that purple pillar of light. We know the location of the fragment of the power of Life."

Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "Cooperating now?"

Although the original work does not directly show the fragments of Life force, it can be seen from some clues that it definitely exists.

The Destruction Fragment occasionally emit Destruction Tide, while this valley also experiences Life Tide every hundred years, which clearly originate from fragments of Life force.

The Seven Old Devils have been here for so many years, they must know the location.

"What's the point of not cooperating? We still have to answer your questions when you ask."

The Old Devil Destruction shook his head with a bitter smile, then his expression turned blank. "I have only one request: kill us!"

Through the Old Devil Nightmare's retelling these past few days, they have learned that Huo Yuhao is not only the reincarnation of a god, but also the mastermind behind Shrek's downfall.

Heaven knows how much pain they suffered after learning this. Seeing their enemy right in front of them, yet bound by the soul contract, they couldn't even turn a trace of hatred into concrete action, and could only be forced to provide assistance. This torment was a thousand times more painful than their souls being scattered!

They no longer wanted to help their enemies; they wanted liberation, they wanted to die!

Huo Yuhao smiled at this.

I dislike indiscriminate killing.

The Old Devil Destruction is on the verge of despair.

"We're no longer of any use to you! Just kill us!"

Are you some kind of language repeater?

Huo Yuhao was speechless, but still shook his head.

"I still need you guys to find those Shrek remnants, you can't die."

Upon hearing this, the Seven Old Devils were about to unleash a torrent of profanities, but Huo Yuhao, anticipating this, ordered them to shut up.

The Seven Old Devils could only stare at him with numb eyes.

What kind of demon are you?!

Even the devils on Devil Island aren't as ruthless as you, enslaving the souls of the dead!

A moment later, the Seven Old Devils, resigned to their fate once again, led Huo Yuhao to a hollow in the valley below, where the fragments of Life force were located.

This was Huo Yuhao's choice after careful consideration.

Even after Thousand Years of depletion, the fragments of power left behind by the God King, though less potent than before, can still kill Limit Douluo.

Therefore, rather than directly encountering the Power of Destruction, Huo Yuhao preferred to first encounter the gentler power of the Goddess of Life.

Upon entering the underground, the surrounding Life energy became even more concentrated. In the very center of the underground space before them was a green pillar of light, which appeared to contain a green gemstone.

"Is this Life Fragment?"

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes, gave the Seven Old Devils the order to protect him, and walked step by step toward the green pillar of light. Only when he reached the deepest part did he sit cross-legged on the ground, preparing to comprehend and absorb this fragment.

The two old demons who remained at the entrance guard saw this scene and began to whisper among themselves.

Do you think he can absorb it?

"I'm not sure if he's a reincarnation of a god, but that's the power of the God King of Life. Even if it's gentle, it can't be shaken without sufficient understanding of the corresponding Laws. Otherwise, we at Shrek would have collected the fragments long ago. And although he has sufficient understanding of Life, there's still something here—"

As the Old Devil Desire spoke, his voice trailed off, and he stared blankly at what was in front of him.

In his eyes, a green pillar of light erupted, piercing through the ground and forming a once-in-a-century Life Tide!

The Life Fragment were actually glowing, subtly resonating with the green energy on Huo Yuhao's body.

"How is this possible!"

While the old demon was in shock, Huo Yuhao thoughtfully turned his gaze to a divine Divine Tool in his Spiritual Sea.

This is Gu Yuena's Reverse Scale!

The Reverse Scale, imbued with the Power of Creation, resonated with this fragment!

A gentle smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's face as he looked at the Life Fragment —no, the Creation Fragment.

"Indeed, this fragment contains the Power of Creation!"

Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao immediately used the Reverse Scale as a guide to comprehend the Power of Creation.

There are many powerful individuals in the Douluo Universe who utilize the Power of Creation.

Among those at the Half-step God King level are Long Tianyang and Gu Yuena.

Among the God King are the Goddess of Life, the Phoenix God King, and the Dragon God.

Among them, the Phoenix God King is the best at Creation. His Creation Simulation all things, and he can use all kinds of abilities at will. He is not limited to the path of Life. He is also extremely strong in combat and was once a great enemy of the Dragon God.

It is evident that the upper limit of the Power of Creation, this Universe Origin, is extremely high.

Huo Yuhao didn't expect to easily reach the level of the Phoenix God King, but he was determined to obtain the Power of Creation.

After all, condensing Divine Spark in the future is also a direction that can be chosen.

During Huo Yuhao's cultivation, the Life energy caused by the Life Tide resonated with the Destruction energy within his body.

A scene slowly appeared in his mind----

"Is this... the Divine Realm?"