"The materials certainly won't disappoint!"
Mingye smiled calmly and turned his right hand over. The Five Thunder Finger appeared, and golden lightning instantly flooded the shabby house.
It seemed to fill the entire world before their eyes, carrying earth-shaking power.
Lightning!
This lightning was even mightier than that found in nature. It could slay demons of this world, while demons of the Otherworld would tremble at the sight of it, terrified to their core!
"This is...!"
Hairinbō's expression abruptly changed. As a renowned swordsmith, even if he did not know this artifact's name, he could recognize how extraordinary the Five Thunder Finger was!
"An object from the Otherworld!"
Hairinbō cried out in surprise. He sensed a power emanating from the Five Thunder Finger that did not belong to this world, and this artifact could harm beings from both this world and the Otherworld!
"Wonderful! What a treasure!"
Hairinbō shouted. As a swordsmith, his greatest ambition was naturally to forge the strongest sword in the world.
The material before him was truly superb. He could not stop cheering, baring a mouthful of sharp fangs as excitement and exhilaration spread across his face.
Under Mingye's control, the lightning receded, and the Five Thunder Finger once again resembled an ordinary object.
"This is the Five Thunder Finger, the Sacred Artifact of my Demon Wolf Tribe. It will serve as the material for the Thunder Sword."
As Mingye spoke, he headed outside. Hairinbō followed closely, and they left the house together.
"As for the materials for the other sword, the evil sword... Mountain Ogre!"
"Master!"
Mountain Ogre hauled over the cart of demon remains and dumped the entire load in front of Hairinbō. Resentment and evil energy of staggering density surged into the skies above them.
"The remains of over a hundred fairly powerful demons!"
Hairinbō was shocked once more, again awed by Mingye's strength. The power of this absurdly young demon of the Demon Wolf Tribe could not be judged by his age!
"With these materials, can you fulfill my requirements?"
Mingye was confident that these demon remains could certainly be forged into an exceptionally powerful evil sword. Among these hundred-odd demons, several had been quite old, with five hundred years of cultivation behind them.
"Of course!"
Hairinbō spoke confidently. When it came to forging swords, only his former master, Tōtōsai, could rival him in this world.
Although he despised that old man's sanctimonious behavior, Hairinbō still acknowledged Tōtōsai's skill as a swordsmith.
Ever since Tōtōsai had driven him away, he had wanted to prove that his own sword-forging methods were the strongest.
And now he had the chance to prove that his techniques were the best!
"Forge the Thunder Sword first. I'll give you three days!"
Mingye took off the Five Thunder Finger and tossed it to Hairinbō. He had already refined the ancestral souls hidden within it on his way here.
Thus, Mingye could control the Five Thunder Finger perfectly, unlike Kōga in the original story, who had been unable to use it properly after obtaining it and could only receive help from the ancestors within it in the direst moments.
After catching it, Hairinbō studied it for a long while, then could not help remarking:
"To think the Demon Wolf Tribe possessed such a treasure! They truly aren't to be underestimated..."
"Hmm?!"
Mingye shot him a cold look and gave a soft snort.
Hairinbō shuddered all over. That glance seemed capable of freezing his blood, chilling him to the bone. He no longer dared comment on the Demon Wolf Tribe.
Mingye also knew that the Demon Wolf Tribe was currently weak, but that did not mean some insignificant demon could insult them.
"Get to work on the sword!"
Mingye barked coldly. He had no intention of treating Hairinbō kindly.
"Yes, yes..."
Cold sweat beaded on Hairinbō's skin. He hurriedly gathered some forging tools and headed to the mountain behind the house, where he had built his sword-forging pool.
"Go. Follow him!"
At the order, Mountain Ogre hauled the demon remains along and followed Hairinbō.
The dark forest was utterly silent. Mingye sat cross-legged on a bluestone beside a stream, taking stock of his condition.
Circulating blood and qi... I can't rush this method. I can only proceed gradually... Demon Power...
Mingye pondered. Demon Power resided within a demon's blood, and its growth was closely tied to blood and qi.
But without medicinal herbs and potent meat, it was difficult to make faster progress through circulating blood and qi.
In this world, demons cultivated in many different ways because they lived in different fashions. But the fastest way to increase Demon Power was to devour other demons!
By consuming other demons' Demon Power, they could strengthen their own.
Naraku's later practice of pitting demons against one another until only the strongest survived proved this. A demon that survived after devouring many others possessed immense Demon Power, which also strengthened its blood, qi, and flesh.
Yet Mingye was not entirely a demon, after all. He had the mindset of an ordinary human. Devouring demons' power this way would not only contaminate him with their impurities, but also required eating them raw.
He could not bring himself to do something so disgusting.
Naturally, he also needed demon flesh and blood to strengthen his blood and qi, but he would roast the meat and cook it first, then use his secret blood-and-qi method to strengthen himself.
Breathing techniques...
Something stirred in Mingye's mind. He had naturally encountered breathing techniques in his previous life, and had even come across quite a few of them.
But the environment of his previous life had been truly terrible.
Ultimately, the Breathing Method had struggled to produce any significant effects.
Yet demons existed in this world, so there had to be some elusive medium present between heaven and earth.
Mingye suspected it was the World Essence missing from his previous life. Its existence was precisely what allowed all manner of beings with supernatural powers to arise in this world.
His mind was far stronger than that of an ordinary demon, allowing him to vaguely perceive that intangible World Essence.
If he integrated the Breathing Method with the circulation of blood and qi, the accumulation and qualitative transformation of his Demon Power would happen faster!
With that thought, Mingye began putting it into practice.
Several hours later, Mingye abruptly opened his eyes. His ink-black eyes, like a vast, boundless starry sky, held a faint glimmer of light.
It... should be feasible...
Mingye had experimented for several hours, but the effects were minimal. There were difficulties he needed to overcome; it was not so simple.
There must be a missing condition...
Mingye resumed his experiments, combining theories from his previous life with this world's methods of demonic cultivation to develop a faster way to cultivate.
This was far from simple and required a great deal of trial and error. Fortunately, Mingye's demonic body was strong enough to withstand the injuries caused by his failed attempts.
That was precisely why he had not taken this step in earlier years. For the first fifty years, he had needed to let this body grow healthily.
He could not undertake such dangerous research.
Only now, with his demonic power and his control over blood and qi reaching a certain level, could he attempt these dangerous procedures.
Throughout these repeated experiments, Mingye's control also continued to improve, so his gains remained considerable.
Pfft!
Mingye spat out a mouthful of blood and finally stopped his experiments for the day. His face was somewhat pale; he could not continue his research.
My approach isn't wrong. I'm just a little short...
Mingye's eyes were bright. Despite his exhaustion, he was still filled with excitement. But he knew that going too far was as bad as falling short, and set all his thoughts aside.
For now, he chose to rest quietly, restoring his body and healing the injuries caused by his experiments.
Before you continue