A demon?!

"The efficacy of these natural spiritual treasures is weakening..."

Waving the ashes from his palm, Qi Yun gently rubbed his brow and looked at the Law Technique Panel before him.

[Mastered Law Techniques]

[Clear Breeze Technique (4.0): auto-updating (current progress 77%)]

[Basic Sword Qi (4.0): auto-updating (current progress 3%)]

[Talisman Art (3.0): auto-updating (current progress 11%)]

Refining natural spiritual treasures advanced the automatic updates. He had long known this rule.

But as his Law Techniques went through successive version updates, the effects of the natural spiritual treasures he had used before were diminishing drastically.

Originally, a single segment of [Know-Myself Vine] could fill an entire automatic update progress bar.

Now, however, he had already consumed a full six [wood-element spiritual treasures], yet the [Clear Breeze Technique] progress bar had only just reached 77%.

This differed greatly from his earlier estimate.

"Looking at it this way, the later the version, the more powerful and higher-quality the natural spiritual treasures I'll have to refine if I want to speed up progress.

Otherwise, it'll be a cup of water against a blazing cartload of firewood, wasting all that Sacred Yuan.

But high-quality natural spiritual treasures aren't easy to get. Even in the Wuji Treasure Market, they have a price but no supply." Qi Yun frowned. His original plan to use the fortune in his hands to frantically upgrade his Law Techniques now seemed to be running aground.

Natural spiritual treasures had far too many uses: artifact refining, talisman crafting, formation laying, pill refining... even Foundation Establishment!

No one would readily sell truly precious specimens.

Even if they had no immediate use for them, they would hoard them against a rainy day.

Very few circulated on the market, and their prices were enough to make one's tongue click in astonishment!

"If natural spiritual treasures are hard to get, I'll have to start with Law Artifacts." With a shift in thought, Qi Yun came up with another avenue.

Though Law Artifacts were just as precious, restrictions such as True Qi attributes and compatibility with heart methods actually made them circulate somewhat more readily than the more universally useful natural spiritual treasures.

Thus, Law Artifacts were slightly cheaper than natural spiritual treasures, and more people sold them.

Especially within a Devil Dao sect like the Wuji Sacred Sect, if someone killed and looted another person but could not use the spoils themselves, their only option was to sell them.

But that was all for later.

He refined all these remaining [wood-element spiritual treasures] in one go, and the automatic update progress for [Clear Breeze Technique] immediately filled up.

[Law Technique automatic update complete. This update is a minor version update. Law Technique effects adjusted as follows.]

[Clear Breeze Technique: added spring breeze effect. While in the clear breeze state, continuously produces a self-healing effect.]

"Hmm? This is good!"

Qi Yun's eyes lit up at version 5.0 of [Clear Breeze Technique]. This "spring breeze effect" essentially added healing to its existing movement speed and invisibility mechanics.

"As expected of my very first Law Technique. You really know my heart."

Qi Yun was thoroughly satisfied with version 5.0's buff mechanics.

With the Law Technique Panel in hand, he was destined to become a grandmaster of Law Techniques across all schools.

The appearance of a self-healing effect made up for yet another of his shortcomings.

"Keep going." Though the effects of spiritual treasures diminished with each stage, this time Qi Yun had enough Sacred Yuan and had purchased plenty of spiritual treasures.

The remaining [wood-element spiritual treasures] could at least upgrade [Clear Breeze Technique] by another version.

Radiant light shone within the quiet chamber.

One [wood-element spiritual treasure] after another fell into Qi Yun's hands, only to turn into ashes and nothingness in the blink of an eye.

Anyone else might not have used up this entire roomful of [wood-element spiritual treasures] even in a year or two.

Yet in less than five minutes, all these [wood-element spiritual treasures] had been refined by the Law Technique Panel, becoming data traffic that advanced the automatic update.

"Phew... just enough." Looking at the newly updated [Clear Breeze Technique] on the panel, Qi Yun let out a soft breath.

With this, he felt even more confident about competing for the Human Origin Champion title this time.

With his Law Technique improvements temporarily concluded, Qi Yun reached for a smooth jade gourd and gently shook it. The pills inside knocked together with a crisp rustle.

[Heavenly Treasure Pill]

A precious medicine specifically for those at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer or above, capable of accelerating the cultivation and refinement of True Qi.

"The Innate One Qi Heart Method really is vast and profound, but it's also genuinely slow to cultivate..."

Qi Yun pulled out the stopper, a trace of helplessness flashing through his eyes.

The True Qi foundation forged by this heart method was incomparably robust, surpassing his peers tenfold or even dozens of times over, but that also meant the accumulation required for every step forward was all the more terrifying.

Even with pills, his cultivation speed only barely matched that of others.

"Then I'll pile on the quantity!" A trace of a nouveau riche's arrogance flashed through Qi Yun's eyes. He tilted his head back and swallowed more than ten Heavenly Treasure Pills in one gulp.

As the handful of pills entered his stomach, billowing medicinal power instantly surged forth.

Not daring to delay, Qi Yun sat cross-legged and circulated the Innate One Qi Heart Method, sinking his mind entirely into the vast process of refining True Qi.

Woooo-

Without warning, the desolate, drawn-out, piercing blast of a conch horn resounded throughout the Wuji Sacred Sect's nine Outer Mansions!

At that same instant, the Great Void Jade Tallies at the waists of every Outer Mansion disciple vibrated in unison, all receiving a decree.

[The Outer Mansions' year-end assessment has begun. All Outer Mansion disciples must proceed to Jade Blood Hall immediately!]

After receiving this decree, the normally smooth and gently warm Great Void Jade Tallies instantly became scorching hot.

As long as their holders failed to leave their courtyards and head to Jade Blood Hall as required, the Great Void Jade Tallies would grow hotter and hotter, and would attach themselves to their holders' bodies.

Until they scalded them to death!

"Go!"

"Hurry!"

"Fuck, this thing's burning me alive!"

Almost the very instant the conch blast faded, the gates of countless courtyards across the nine Outer Mansions burst open!

Densely packed figures, like a startled swarm of ants or a flood bursting through a dike, each employed their own means, transforming into streaks of escape light in all different colors as they surged madly toward a single destination-Jade Blood Hall!

In less than a quarter of an hour.

More than a thousand Outer Mansion disciples had assembled before an enormous palace carved entirely from a gigantic piece of raw jadeite, which radiated an eerie emerald sheen.

This was the new disciples' first large-scale reunion since they had dispersed after the initiation ceremony.

Yet their numbers were noticeably sparser than at the beginning.

"Silence!"

Just as the disciples were whispering and discussing among themselves.

Boom!

An enormous shadow that blotted out the sky and sun bore down forcefully from the upper reaches of the Great Void Mirror Heaven!

Its wings spread wide, whipping up a hurricane like a solid wall that sent the disciples assembled before the hall staggering, unable to keep their footing!

The dark figure landed thunderously atop the towering steps before Jade Blood Hall. Amid twisting light and shadow, its massive body rapidly shrank, finally becoming a long-faced man clad in a strange, dark green Daoist robe.

His face was stern and his brow bones prominent. Most striking of all were the outlines of a few black feathers, glinting with a metallic sheen, that still lingered at the tips of his brows and corners of his eyes, not yet fully transformed away!

At this sight, a single word surfaced simultaneously in the minds of the Outer Mansion disciples who had only just steadied themselves.

That was... a demon?!