Modifying the Human Body with Law Artifacts

"I've only been gone for half a year, and the changes are really quite significant," Hu Mang muttered to himself.

"Back then, I'd mostly just do some Spirit Invocation or activate demon blood. Things are so high-tech now."

"Do you want to go in? I can introduce you to some important local figures," Liang Yanqiu said.

No, I'm perfectly fine staying outside.

The Hu Mang now has developed a strong interest in these modified cultivators.

Liang Yanqiu didn't try to stop her, but nodded and walked directly into the Nanyang mansion.

Soon, there were fewer and fewer Golden Core outside. In Nanyang, Golden Core were either big shots or close bodyguards of big shots, naturally with VIP rooms to accompany them. Those outside the door were just lackeys.

Hu Mang walked up to one of the modified monks who was adjusting his prosthetic limb. He didn't get too close, but stopped under a coconut tree not far away. He leaned against the tree trunk seemingly casually, his gaze sweeping over the crowd in the courtyard.

The "complete leakage" perception state brought about by the Subduing the White Tiger has been activated.

At this moment, the fluctuations in the aura of everyone around him, the flow of vital energy, and even the subtle tremors of the internal Fortune within their bodies would naturally be transmitted to his senses like ripples on the surface of water.

"No wonder famous Daoist priests keep creating their own cultivation methods. It turns out that after Subduing the White Tiger, they can see other people's methods firsthand. Indeed, thinking is no match for doing."

He closed his eyes and focused his attention on the modified monk who was adjusting his prosthetic limb.

In his perception, the person's body presented a scene completely different from that of ordinary cultivators.

The acupoints and meridians of an ordinary cultivator are like a network composed of starlight and rivers. The starlight is sometimes bright and sometimes dim, and the rivers are sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, but they are a unified whole.

However, a foreign object that did not belong to the human body was forcibly embedded in the body of this modified cultivator.

On his right arm, where the three Yang meridians and three Yin meridians of the hand should have passed through, most of the acupoints have now shrunk, shifted, or even disappeared completely. In their place is a structure made of metal and runes, radiating a stable spiritual pressure.

The structure was connected to his body through several specially modified acupoints. These acupoints were deliberately enlarged and reinforced, and a small metal ring was embedded around the edge of each acupoint to enhance the efficiency of energy transmission between the acupoints and the prosthetic limb.

In this section of the meridian, the True Qi is expanded to three times its normal size.

"Common sense dictates that if using a human-modified magical Law Artifact were similar to using a normal Law Artifact, there would be no need for human modification. Therefore, this kind of modification must enhance combat abilities, and by a considerable margin, otherwise it wouldn't be so popular."

Let me see.

"The internal acupoints and the Law Artifact's circuitry are now fully integrated. This means that every time you circulate your internal energy, it's equivalent to storing power for the Law Artifact. During combat, not only do you not need to consume Law Power, but you can also unleash attacks instantly."

In most low-level battles, the outcome is decided upon the first encounter, and having the upper hand from the start is a significant advantage.

This is especially true for defensive magical Law Artifact.

Because a significant portion of the lower-level cultivators who died fighting underground might not have had the chance to activate their defensive magical Law Artifact before they died.

"Because the True Qi and the Law Artifact are integrated day and night, no break-in is needed when using them, increasing combat skill by 20%."

"The internal structure of Law Artifact prosthetic limb can be designed according to needs, and its spiritual energy conduction efficiency can be several times, or even more than ten times, higher than that of the human body's meridians. This means that a Foundation Establishment Early Stage can even control a top-tier magical Law Artifact for a short period of time."

"Once cultivators acquire Law Artifact artifacts and prosthetic limbs, they can attack from a distance or engage in melee combat without being restricted or harmed."

Hu Mang sensed the changes in the other party's prosthetic body through "Zhou Tian Wu Lou" and then came to an astonishing conclusion.

That is, for cultivators of the same cultivation level, the difference in combat power between those equipped with Law Artifact those without is not just one or two percent, but one or two times, or even more.

In other words, given the current underground market conditions, it's hard to say whether Hu Mang, with his strength back then, could achieve the same feats as "Heavenly Blood Python."

After all, if a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator suddenly unleashes several times the combat power, even if he is a fighting prodigy from Heavenly Gate, unless he is in perfect condition, he may not be able to withstand it.

In any case, if they were ganged up on, they definitely wouldn't be able to withstand it.

In this place where there are no laws, no moral constraints, and everything is based on strength, what does losing a few arms and legs matter as long as you can become stronger?

"So the question is, what is the cost?"

Hu Mang quickly reached a conclusion.

"That means these cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage and Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, whose cultivation cycles are not complete, cannot progress in their lifetime and are trapped at the Foundation Establishment level."

This is why more than half of the cultivators here have undergone modifications, but the cultivators who are truly in the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, including the younger generation of the Liang Household whom I met before, show no signs of modification.

Once modified, the upper limit is locked.

Unless someone is an oddball like him or a freak like Gu Yunshu, the highest combat strength Foundation Establishment Realm can achieve is only at the Foundation Establishment level.

Is it possible to completely transform someone into Golden Core cultivator through continuous modification?

The answer is yes.

Because of the transformation of demonic paths by those at the Golden Core level, Hu Mang himself had witnessed two such cases.

But then another problem arose.

This level of renovation is expensive!

Even with the subsidies from Heavenly Gate Medical Insurance, a single Foundation Establishment level artificial meridian system costs over a million yuan, not to mention all the Law Artifact and components that need to be installed.

It's at least 5 million.

This is Hu Mang's judgment.

This is still the wholesale price in Heavenly Gate.

Lower-level cultivators rarely receive such good treatment.

After figuring it out, Hu Mang was actually quite disappointed.

This kind of Law Artifact modification is very similar to the ancient demonic arts techniques that consume one's foundation and force a breakthrough.

The only difference is that modern magic has turned it into Law Artifact and industrialized it; the fundamental nature of it remains unchanged.

It's still the Old Devil way of thinking: harming others for personal gain, and it's not very sophisticated.

If you could really mass-produce Golden Core cultivators at a price of 1 million, even the lowest level Golden Core cultivators, Hu Mang might actually think more highly of you.

A civilian official's Golden Core is Golden Core, and a reformed Golden Core is also Golden Core; no one should look down on anyone else.

But right now, it's purely a low-end industry... unless there's a breakthrough in some kind of technological transformation.

Moreover, Hu Mang also discovered a very important problem.

That is, for a "Dao of Alchemy" like him, this kind of human body modification has a fatal flaw.

To put it simply, if your Qi circulation is not complete, you will die if you actually fight him!

And he died a horrible death!

Just as Hu Mang was figuring out how many seconds it would take to deal with the hundreds of Foundation Establishment present, a figure hurriedly appeared, looked around, and his eyes lit up when he saw Hu Mang.

"A-Mang!"

Under the big tree, Hu Mang squinted at the approaching barbarian and quickly recognized who it was.

Foreigner Jiacha, Zheng Qingbo's white paper fan, is now called the chief secretary.

"Haha, it's been so many days, and you didn't even bother to come see me. Don't you consider me a friend anymore!"

Jiacha stretched out his arms, grinned, and his brown skin revealed white teeth that were even whiter than Hu Mang's.

This guy is said to have studied in Heavenly Gate, and he speaks the Heavenly Gate dialect quite fluently.

Hu Mang smiled and gave the other person a light hug. "How could I dare to go? A scoundrel like me, who stole his sister-in-law, wouldn't I be stabbed three times and pierced six times? Wasn't that guy whose limbs were broken by my sister-in-law before, the one who came looking for trouble with me?"

"Haha, those were all decisions made by the subordinates themselves. Others might not know, but do you think I don't know you? You wouldn't go to a brothel even if I asked you to, but you sleep with that big gun of yours every day. You're not that kind of traitor. It's all a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding!"

If Hu Mang believed what the other party said, he would be out of his mind. He cut to the chase:

"What's up?"

"Boss Zheng wants to meet with you during a break in the meeting to discuss things thoroughly."

Hu Mang looked up at the clear sky divided by the shade of the trees and suddenly laughed.

"Since we're going to have a proper chat, let's invite him over. Since there's nothing to hide, there's no need to avoid outsiders. It's all above board; why bother finding some small, inconspicuous place? Those are where bigwigs from Nanyang discuss business; it's not a place for a nobody like me to go."

Jiacha immediately looked troubled. "A-Mang, you're putting me in a difficult position. The bosses have so much to do, and you've already squeezed in time for this."

"It's alright, I can wait for him. Meetings always end eventually." Hu Mang smiled, revealing his white teeth.

Jiacha gave Hu Mang a deep look. The barbarian's face once again showed a kind smile. If his skin wasn't natural, it would be similar to that of an old man.

"Okay, I'll report to my boss and get back to you shortly."

"Good."

Watching the other person's disappearing figure, Hu Mang's smile gradually faded.

Now it seems that the sister-in-law may not be trustworthy, and Zheng Qingbo is definitely not trustworthy.

The reason he chose Nanyang as his first foothold was because it was a place teeming with all sorts of strange and supernatural beings, a melting pot of humans, demons, and foreigners, rife with unorthodox witchcraft, and where even demonic practices could openly establish businesses. So what else was impossible?

If he wants to do business here, he must have his own territory and manpower here; otherwise, according to the old saying among local Chinese, if a thug only knows how to fight, then he will be a thug for life.

The reason he didn't cooperate with his sister-in-law Liang Yanqiu wasn't anything else, but rather that no matter how good she was to him, she was still just a high-class thug.

Instead of truly treating him as an equal.

Since Liang Household Garden and Zheng Family Garden are both unethical, he himself wouldn't mind opening a Hu Household Garden to have some fun.

Even if he were incredibly capable, it would still require a long period of development.

However, as a holy son of the demonic path, sometimes it's not unacceptable to take shortcuts.

As the Holy Son of the Demonic Path, it would be a waste of his exceptional talent if he didn't engage in behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

Just then, Spirit Pivot No. 1 rang. Hu Mang glanced at it and thought, "Hmm, it's the person who asked me to investigate the Demonic Saint."