At Demon Spirit Lake, in a hall set aside for cultivators to rest, Shi Yi sat quietly cross-legged on a meditation cushion.
Inside the hall, wisps of smoke rose from an antique Beast-Eared Furnace, drifting through the air like sheer gauze. With every breath, a strange, delicate fragrance entered the nose and mouth, soothing the entire body as though one had stepped into an immortal paradise.
This was a precious incense. Once lit, its smoke dispelled fatigue, replenished cultivators' energy, and left their minds clear and refreshed.
Shi Yi was preparing for the crucial milestone of his five-year-old baptism, bringing himself into peak condition.
His father, Shi Ziteng, sat cross-legged opposite him.
Looking at his own son, who seemed at once familiar and unfamiliar, Shi Ziteng could not help recalling the heart-stopping scene in the great hall earlier.
The lord of Demon Spirit Lake and the Azure Demon Black-Eyed Spider were both Venerables, comparable to the human emperors of ancient kingdoms. They ranked among the most powerful beings in the Desolate Region. Ordinarily, Shi Ziteng hardly dared breathe in their presence, and every word he spoke was chosen with utmost care.
Yet Shi Yi had dared speak to them like that on his very first visit. Truly, a newborn calf had no fear of tigers. Watching him had left Shi Ziteng's heart pounding.
Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly. Shi Yi had won the regard of both Venerables, and they had decided to stake their hopes on him.
Shi Ziteng could not help marveling. Talent truly gave one free rein. When someone's aptitude for cultivation reached Shi Yi's level, even supreme experts like Venerables would lower themselves to accommodate him.
"Yi'er, the human body is naturally weaker than those of certain races, and its potential is limited. Even with a Supreme Bone, you can at most approach or match a pureblood creature.
"To wield a hundred and eight thousand jin of strength with a single swing of one arm-that goal is far too difficult. It is simply impossible. Your strengths lie in runes, laws, comprehending the Dao, and Treasure Techniques. Don't lose sight of one thing while chasing another," Shi Ziteng said earnestly.
"Father, do you know why all the living creatures in this world take human form once their cultivation of the Dao reaches profound heights?" Shi Yi opened his eyes. Rather than answer Shi Ziteng, he posed a question of his own.
Shi Ziteng paused, caught off guard by his sudden question. Thinking it over, that did indeed seem to be the case. Powerful beings from many races would transform into humanoid creatures.
However, Shi Ziteng had never explored the answer to that question.
He shook his head helplessly.
Shi Yi spoke again. "Because in this world, certain forms are naturally close to the Dao and suited to cultivation.
"The human body is one of them. By cultivating in the form of a humanoid being, one can approach immortality and indestructibility.
"And we humans are born with human bodies. Our potential is boundless; it is merely difficult to unlock. Once we uncover the endless potential buried in the deepest recesses of the human body, what would pureblood creatures amount to?"
This was the first time Shi Ziteng had heard such an explanation. Although it came from his son, who was only five years old, he could somehow sense that Shi Yi was not speaking nonsense.
"There is some reason in what you say..." In the end, that was all he could manage.
Soon, the hall fell quiet again, with only Shi Yi's rhythmic breathing audible.
Half a month later, the Azure Demon Black-Eyed Spider returned, laden with all the supplementary medicines needed for Shi Yi's baptism.
On this journey, it had traveled to sacred mountain after sacred mountain, visiting many great clans and pureblood creatures to trade for the precious medicinal ingredients, rare beast blood, and other items listed.
The Azure Demon Black-Eyed Spider had paid an enormous price for them. More precisely, Demon Spirit Lake had bled heavily, for those items could only be obtained in exchange for things of equal value.
But none of that mattered. The most important thing was to gather every ingredient without delaying Shi Yi's five-year-old baptism.
The old Golden Spider went out personally and stood before Demon Spirit Lake's mountain gate to welcome the Azure Demon Black-Eyed Spider back.
"How did it go?"
It asked.
The Azure Demon Black-Eyed Spider smiled and nodded. "I fulfilled my mission."
Hearing this, the old Golden Spider relaxed. The ingredients on the list had been carefully selected with reference to the many ancient formulas in Demon Spirit Lake's collection. If the Azure Demon Black-Eyed Spider had failed to gather everything on this journey, they would have had to find substitutes.
Using substitutes would inevitably diminish the potent medicine's efficacy.
Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly, and every ingredient on the list had been gathered.
"Excellent. We will begin refining the medicine at once," the old Golden Spider said.
Naturally, the Azure Demon Black-Eyed Spider had no objections. It, too, wanted to see how far such a heaven-defying furnace of medicine could take Shi Yi.
Before long, the old Golden Spider's voice transmission sounded in Shi Ziteng's ears as he sat with his eyes half closed.
"Zi Teng, bring Yi'er to the Medicine Refining Hall."
Shi Ziteng's eyes snapped open. After half a month of waiting, had the moment finally come?
At that moment, Shi Yi sat upright and composed, his eyes tightly shut. Light glimmered faintly, and a thin layer of blood energy wreathed his entire body.
He had not squandered those fifteen days.
At the old Golden Spider's instruction, Shi Ziteng had brought him the primordial Bone Scriptures, detailed explanations of runes, and other treasured texts from Demon Spirit Lake's collection for his cultivation.
These Bone Scriptures and explanations were far more profound and mysterious than those in Martial King Manor. Shi Yi had immersed himself in them, unable to pull away, and had spent a full half month comprehending the Dao.
During this time, with the aid of his Double Pupils, Shi Yi's understanding of bone text and symbols had deepened further. He had gradually grasped their essence, greatly benefiting his cultivation in the Blood Moving Realm.
Within his body, countless strands of blood divine radiance underwent subtle changes. Whether they took the form of bells, cauldrons, spears... or swords, they were more intricate and lifelike than before.
What followed was an explosive rise in the power of Shi Yi's blood and vital energy, growing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
In just half a month, he had made enormous progress, leaving Shi Ziteng astonished and ashamed of his own inadequacy.
Shi Ziteng marveled from the bottom of his heart. His son was simply too monstrous a talent. He himself was hailed as a prodigy, renowned throughout the Imperial Capital, yet compared with Shi Yi, he was no different from an ordinary mortal.
"Yi'er, the patriarch is calling us. It is time to go," Shi Ziteng said.
As his words fell, Shi Yi nodded, stopped cultivating in the Blood Moving Realm, and rose from his meditation cushion.
Father and son then left the hall and walked onward, passing palace after palace until they arrived before a grand, imposing hall.
This was where Demon Spirit Lake refined its medicines, and also where its young spiders established their foundations.
At that moment, not a single spider stood before the Medicine Refining Hall; the old Golden Spider had already sent them all away. In the long run, Shi Yi's five-year-old baptism concerned Demon Spirit Lake's future. Naturally, they could not afford carelessness and had to eliminate every unfavorable factor.
Standing before the Medicine Refining Hall, they could smell a rich medicinal fragrance drifting through the air, mingled with the heavy stench of blood.
Clearly, Demon Spirit Lake was no kindly place. Even if the creatures that had died in the Medicine Refining Hall did not pile up into a mountain, they were not far short of it.
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