373: Chapter 373 Ancestral Demon Body, Greed, Anger, and Ignorance

Chu Sheng sat on the edge of the bed, reviewing the gains from his simulation in his mind three times over.

Retaining traits, keeping Magic Treasures, upgrading his Heavenly Demon Body—he weighed every step in his mind, finally deciding to handle the most urgent matters first.

"Retain [Heavenly Calculation]." Chu Sheng spoke, his voice not loud, but sufficient for the simulator to hear.

[trait retention confirmed: [Heavenly Calculation (Gold)] has been locked.]

Immediately after, he said: "[four swords of zhuxian], keep all of them."

Those four swords vibrated slightly within his Dantian, as if responding to him.

In the simulation, the last sword was taken by the Old Lord, but that was a loss within the simulation; in reality, the four swords of zhuxian had always been within his body, not a single one missing.

A warm power rose from his Dantian; it was the simulator truly transferring those four swords from the simulated state into his control, stabilizing them deep within his spiritual power.

[Detected that trait [Heavenly Demon Body (Gold)] can be upgraded.]

[Consume 5000 simulation points to upgrade to Red quality: [Ancestral Demon Body].]

[Confirm?]

Chu Sheng's finger paused.

The Heavenly Demon Body can still be upgraded?

Above Gold is Red, and above Red is Color; he had originally thought the Heavenly Demon Body was capped at Gold.

He asked, and the simulator's reply was crisp and decisive.

"The Ancestral Demon Body is the ancestral form of the Heavenly Demon Body. It is the body that the Heavenly Demon Ancestor cultivated, capable of suppressing all Demon Race Bloodlines."

"It greatly increases affinity with Demon Race Cultivation Techniques, Magic Treasures, and Formations, and possesses the ability to devour the Origin power of the Demon Race."

Chu Sheng was silent for a moment. He thought of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor, thinking of that existence who, with his own strength, suppressed the entire Five Regions, leaving them unable to raise their heads.

That person had spent a lifetime cultivating the Ancestral Demon Body, yet he could obtain it directly for five thousand points.

This was a good deal. "Upgrade," he said.

Strangely, it wasn't a simple upgrade; the simulator provided two upgrade paths.

Chu Sheng sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the two upgrade paths on the simulator panel, his brows knitted tightly.

First path: [Heavenly Demon Body (Gold)] → [Heavenly Demon God Body (Red)].

This path was clearly marked.

With the seven types of Devilish Qi automatically gathered, following the old path of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor, the final form is the Heavenly Demon God Body, sharing the same Origin as the Heavenly Demon Ancestor.

This path is stable, as stable as a well-trodden official road; those before have already walked it, and those who follow just need to walk in their footsteps.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor relied on this path to suppress the Five Regions, proving that this path is indeed viable.

But he noticed a detail: this path had no continuation. Gold to Red was the end.

The Heavenly Demon God Body was the final form; once at the end, there was no way to go further.

Chu Sheng's gaze shifted to the second path: [Heavenly Demon Body (Gold)] → [Ancestral Demon Body (Red)] → [???].

The final three question marks were like three hooks, piercing his eyelids, making him unable to look away.

There was still a path after the Ancestral Demon Body. Although the simulator did not explicitly state what that path was like, the question marks themselves were a promise.

There was higher space, stronger forms, he just couldn't see them now. Chu Sheng took a deep breath.

He chose the Ancestral Demon Body. Because the three question marks behind the Ancestral Demon Body were more attractive than the end point of the Heavenly Demon God Body.

[Consume 5000 simulation points. Current balance: 32000. Heavenly Demon Body (Gold) → Ancestral Demon Body (Red). Upgrading—]

The Devilish Qi in his Dantian began to surge. That originally quiet Devilish Qi was like boiling water, rotating, expanding, and then suddenly contracting, as if being reshaped.

Chu Sheng felt his skin burning, and a layer of fine black patterns appeared on his arms. They quickly faded, as if suppressed by some power.

That Devilish Qi flowed through his Meridians, thicker and more solid than before.

It was like being forged from a sharp short blade into a heavy sword; the power remained the same, but the weight had increased more than twofold.

A moment later, everything calmed down. Chu Sheng looked down at his arms; his skin was smooth as usual, but the surface of the rotating small ball deep in his Dantian had an extra layer of dark gold luster.

That aura was more restrained, yet it suppressed him to the point where he could hardly breathe.

Just then, a strange change occurred deep in his Dantian. The seven strands of Devilish Qi simultaneously retreated—Greed, Gluttony, Arrogance, Wrath, Envy, Lust, and Sloth—all retreated, as if a group of subjects were voluntarily making way for a monarch.

[Ancestral Demon Body has completely fused.]

[Detected that the host's Bloodline resonates with the Ancient Demon Origin; three evolution paths are now open: Greed, Hatred, and Delusion.]

[Please select one.]

Greed, Hatred, and Delusion? Chu Sheng suddenly realized something he had never thought of before.

He had always thought that the Heavenly Demon Ancestor walked the orthodox Demonic Path; after all, that was the Heavenly Demon Ancestor, a legend revered by all Demon Race in the world.

All Demon Race regarded the Heavenly Demon Ancestor as the ancestor, as the end of the Demonic Path, and Chu Sheng was no exception.

In the simulation, whenever he felt the power brought by the Heavenly Demon Body, he would involuntarily develop an illusion that "I am approaching that existence."

But at this moment, looking at these two paths, he suddenly discovered a possibility he had never noticed before.

The path the Heavenly Demon Ancestor walked might not be the orthodox Demonic Path.

That legendary Demon Venerable who suppressed the Five Regions with his own strength was actually walking a narrow path he had carved out himself.

Based on his own talent and encounters, the Heavenly Demon Ancestor uniquely created the branch route of the Seven Sins, cutting the Demonic Path into fragments of seven desires, and then reached the Peak on this fragmented path.

And those three more ancient roots—Greed, Hatred, and Delusion—are the true mainstream.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor's Seven Sins are the tributaries, branches, and heterodox paths of these three roots.

That existence, revered by later generations as the Demon Ancestor, was actually walking a path of his own within a larger framework.

Chu Sheng felt as if someone had pushed him from behind, and his whole body leaned forward.

He recalled the reaction of those Demon Race in the simulation to his Heavenly Demon Body.

When those Demon Race saw the Heavenly Demon Body on him, they would indeed show expressions of awe, but that awe carried a subtle, indescribable sense of distance.

They respected him, but seemed not to consider him one of their own.

They regarded the Heavenly Demon Ancestor as the supreme source, but that source itself did not seem to be the only choice.

Chu Sheng suddenly understood.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor was the Lesser Vehicle of the Demonic Path, walking a narrow path of his own within the grand framework of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion, reaching the end of that narrow path and unable to go any further.

Although this end point was considered the ceiling for the vast majority of Cultivators in the Five Regions.

And Greed, Hatred, and Delusion are the Mahayana Demonic Path; that path is wider, deeper, more ancient, and has more potential to go further.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor chose to walk the Seven Sins path back then because he could only walk that path.

His talent, his encounters, and his era determined that he could only extract one branch from those three roots to walk.

But this does not mean that people of later generations must be like him, trapped in that branch.

Chu Sheng lowered his head to look at his palm, where those seven strands of Devilish Qi were slowly circulating.

He had always thought that he had inherited the mantle of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor, the continuation of that legendary, great existence.

But now he realized that he had only inherited a branch chosen by the Heavenly Demon Ancestor.

If he could gather those branches back into the roots, then he would not be inheriting the Heavenly Demon Ancestor's path, but walking a path more ancient and more fundamental than the Heavenly Demon Ancestor.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor chose a branch from Greed, Hatred, and Delusion and reached the end.

And what Chu Sheng is facing now is standing directly on those three roots themselves.

This is equivalent to an apprentice who has always worshipped a titan, suddenly discovering that the titan he worshipped actually only borrowed from a more distant Great Master, and that the titan was walking a heterodox path.

"Then, make your choice."