30: Chapter 30 Devouring Yuan Demon Bone

Limestone caves, stone chambers... everything was as Li Changsheng described.

Li Zhenchuan did not linger in the stone chamber; his goal was clear.

That stone door which had been opened, and the stairs behind it.

Standing before the ancient stone door, Li Zhenchuan's heart accelerated.

He could feel a faint aura emanating from behind the door, one that caused the True Qi which had been dormant in his body for years to tremble slightly.

It was not Spiritual Qi; it was more like...

A more ancient, more primordial power, carrying both temptation and an ominous feeling.

He reached out, circulated his Spirit Ape Fist, and pressed his hand onto the palm print on the stone door.

The stone door slid open silently, revealing the descending stairs and the faintly visible, enormous cavern at the end of them.

The moment he stepped into the cavern, Li Zhenchuan's breath hitched.

A massive space, an eerie dark green pool, floating cyan crystals, a slowly squirming black shadow sealed within the crystals, and nine stone pillars surrounding it (two of which had obvious signs of repair)...

All of this exceeded his understanding.

"Blood... fresh blood... longing..."

A low, seductive whisper resounded directly in his mind!

It was not a sound, but more like a projection of consciousness!

Li Zhenchuan retreated a step in horror, almost turning to flee.

But the next moment, that consciousness came again, though the content had changed:

"Pain... I can feel your pain..."

"Your Meridians are like dried-up wells, your True Qi like stagnant water... unwillingness... resentment..."

Every word precisely struck the most hidden scars in his heart!

"Who... who are you?"

Li Zhenchuan forced himself to stay calm and demanded in a low voice.

"I am... Spirit Devourer..."

The consciousness was intermittent, yet carried an ancient, weathered majesty.

"Imprisoned here... for endless years... Boy, do you desire power?"

"Do you desire to repair your Meridians, break through your shackles, and gain... a new life?"

Power!

New life!

These two words were like heavy hammers, striking hard against Li Zhenchuan's heart.

He clenched his fists, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

"Can you... help me?"

His voice was dry.

"Naturally..."

The Spirit Devourer's consciousness carried temptation.

"Do you see those two broken stone pillars?"

"The shells that Seal my power..."

"The runes upon them are the introductory chapter of the ancient Body Refining secret technique, 'Spirit Devouring Demon Bone Chapter'..."

"By practicing it, you can devour external forces to nourish yourself, repair hidden injuries, and strengthen your muscles and bones..."

Li Zhenchuan's gaze abruptly shifted to those two broken and repaired stone pillars.

Sure enough, beneath the repair marks, the remaining ancient runes were faintly visible, completely different from any martial Dao runes he knew, exuding an evil yet powerful aesthetic.

"Devour external forces... nourish oneself..."

He repeated it, muttering, struggle and longing intertwined in his eyes.

"There is no need to fully release me... you only need to..."

"Occasionally feed these runes with your essence blood... they will naturally establish a connection with you... and teach you true power..."

The Spirit Devourer's consciousness was like a devil's whisper.

"In your Bloodline... there is a familiar aura..."

"That's right... that one called Li Zhenyue... also once lingered here..."

"His son has even inherited things he shouldn't have... do you not want to... surpass them?"

Li Zhenyue!

Li Changsheng!

These two names were like the final catalyst, completely igniting the demonic fire in Li Zhenchuan's heart.

The complex feelings toward his Family, the resentment toward his own situation.

The jealousy toward Li Changsheng's fortunes, and the ultimate desire for power.

At this moment, these overwhelmed his fear of the unknown and his natural wariness of the "Heart Demon".

He staggered to one of the broken stone pillars, looking at the dim runes that seemed ready to extinguish at any moment.

Trembling, he bit his index finger and smeared a drop of crimson essence blood onto one of the runes.

The moment the fresh blood seeped into the rune, a sudden change occurred!

The rune suddenly lit up with a scarlet glow!

A cold, domineering, and eerie energy filled with the desire to devour surged into his body through his fingertip!

Everywhere it passed, his originally stagnant Meridians felt a surge of soreness, numbness, and swelling, followed by...

A strange sense of smoothness!

The True Qi that hadn't increased for years actually fluctuated slightly!

"Argh—"

Li Zhenchuan let out a low roar that was neither clearly pain nor pleasure.

A large amount of chaotic information fragments flooded into his mind.

It was exactly the introductory technique of the 'Spirit Devouring Demon Bone Chapter'!

Although incomplete, the core essence was clear.

Devour!

Plunder!

Use the essence of all things to mend one's own flaws!

"Do you feel it... power..."

The Spirit Devourer's consciousness carried a sense of satisfaction.

"This is just the beginning... continue to feed it... you will receive more..."

"Remember, do not let anyone know..."

"Especially... that boy who possesses the Dao of Longevity..."

The red light gradually faded, and the stone pillar returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.

But Li Zhenchuan knew that everything had changed.

He stood in place, feeling that new, cold, and hungry alien energy within his body.

Looking at his fingertip, the wound healed rapidly, leaving not even a scar.

In his eyes, the initial fear and struggle were gradually replaced by a fanatical excitement.

Power...

This is what power feels like!

Although weak, although evil, it was real, and... effective!

He slowly clenched his fist, a twisted, almost ferocious smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Li Changsheng... big brother... Family...

You wait.

I, Li Zhenchuan, will no longer be a good-for-nothing forgotten in a corner!

He took one last look at the sealed crystals and the dark green pool.

He turned around.

His steps were a bit unsteady, yet he left the cavern with unusual determination.

Returning to the stone chamber, he carefully cleaned up all traces that might have been left behind.

Then, like a truly diligent guard, he completed the routine inspection of the perimeter before walking out of the mine with a normal expression.

The sunlight was a bit blinding.

Li Zhenchuan narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to block it.

The sunlight filtered through his fingers, casting mottled shadows on his face.

No one saw that in the deepest part of his eyes, a flicker of scarlet light flashed and vanished.

The Heart Demon had been planted, and his Dao path was gradually veering off course.

The sky over Qinghe Town remained clear, but above the Li Family, an unnoticed haze had quietly gathered.

And far away, countless miles away, in a certain dark Immortal Cave, the crystal ball in front of a figure in black robes reflected the scene of Li Zhenchuan awakening the runes with his blood.

"Another... pawn has been placed."

The figure in black robes let out a hoarse laugh.

"True Lord Xuan Yun's Seal, as well as the successor, and this poor wretch consumed by desire..."

"Interesting, truly interesting."

"Sect Master's plan seems to be going very smoothly."

He licked his cracked lips, blood-red light flickering in his eyes.

"Li Changsheng... we will meet again very soon."

Time was like sand between fingers, passing silently for several months.

On the surface, Qinghe Town remained calm; after the Li Family took sole control, the town's order was even better than before.

However, an indescribable sense of oppression, like an invisible mist, shrouded the sky over the town.

Unsettling rumors began to circulate in the town.

Old Wang, who sold tofu on the East Street, never returned after getting up in the middle of the night, leaving only one shoe at the entrance of the alley.

Zhang Mazi, the night watchman in the West Market, didn't knock the watch for two consecutive days. When he was found, he was unconscious in his own backyard. After waking up, he was delirious, only muttering, "Red eyes... suck..."

Furthermore, several visiting merchants disappeared along with their goods, mysteriously vanishing without leaving a single trace.

At first, these were just sporadic disappearance cases. The Town Guard Office and the Li Family both sent people to investigate, but they found no clues, and could only attribute it to passing bandits or wild beasts.

But as the number of missing persons quietly increased to over a dozen.

And the missing, without exception, were all relatively vigorous young men or martial artists.

An undercurrent of panic began to surge among the townspeople.