The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 152 - 137: Drawing the Celestial Gnomon Light into the Body, Wielding the Power of the Red Sun

'Seriously? Is this old guy in such a hurry?'

'He kicked me out before I could even say anything?'

Yang An clutched the three Magic Scriptures and looked at the painting on the wall before him. Its contents had completely changed.

The old man holding the fishing rod still stood by the riverbank, but the river, once blood-red and filled with gore and limbs, was now engulfed in monstrous waves of fire. It had completely transformed into the scene from just before Yang An left.

The painting of the old man fishing had become one of him watching a fire.

But since he'd already been sent out, Yang An couldn't be bothered to care. He had the Magic Scriptures he wanted, and that was enough!

He could take advantage of the undisturbed quiet to start studying them right here in Yunzang Palace.

With this in mind, Yang An settled down right there on the 6th Floor, placed the Magic Scriptures in front of him, and picked up the one that interested him the most.

...

「Meanwhile, inside the painted world of "Wearing a Conical Hat."」

The old man, still in his conical hat, stood by the riverbank, gazing at the raging flames that burned unceasingly upon the water's surface. He let out a long sigh.

From under the conical hat, the child slowly poked its head out again.

Seeing that Yang An was gone, it dared to reach its hands out, resting them on the brim of the hat with a timid look.

When he turned to look at the river's surface and saw the waves of fire scorching the very sky, all the flesh and corpses on the river reduced to ash, his little face turned pale with fright.

He turned to the old man, opened his mouth as if to speak, then hesitated. Finally, he summoned his courage and asked:

"E-Elder, that man set fire to... to the Celestial Decay River. Are you just going to let him go?"

"What else could I do but let him go?"

"If it were anyone else, I would have already tossed them into the river. But that fellow just took the Forbidden Artifact Fragment left behind by Exquisite. If I killed him, the hope for my Jueyun Sect's future would never be restored."

The old man known as the Elder sighed faintly and spoke slowly.

Exquisite was his senior brother and also the Sect Leader of the Jueyun Sect. Although he called himself Exquisite True Master, this title was not the same as a Visceral Stone True Master.

The Jueyun Sect possessed two Forbidden Artifact Fragments. One was in the hands of Exquisite True Master, passed down through the Sect's lineage and the very foundation upon which it was built.

The other Forbidden Artifact Fragment was obtained a hundred years ago and should have been his.

Unfortunately, the entire Yundan Country was overthrown by Demon Fiends. The tide had turned, and the Jueyun Sect was annihilated and occupied. He had no choice but to use the "Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell" technique, abandoning his physical body to survive the crisis.

And so, he hid that Forbidden Artifact Fragment within the Jueyun Sect.

If anyone else had come, forget about giving them Techniques—for daring to set fire to the Celestial Decay River, he would have torn them to shreds and thrown them into the water long ago.

The Celestial Decay River was crucial to whether he could reconstruct his physical body in the future, and now, this fire had destroyed most of it.

The old man's heart ached with pain.

"Oh."

The child under the hat nodded, only half-understanding.

SMACK!

The old man slapped him on the head.

"Oh, my ass! Hurry up and spit water! Put out the fire!"

...

With three Light Magic techniques in hand, and with his current Cultivation Level at the Early Stage of Visceral Stone, Yang An had enough to reach the Corpse Transformation Realm. At the very least, he wouldn't need to search for more Dao of Destiny Techniques until then.

This kind of haul was only possible in a place like the Jueyun Sect, a once-Major Sect.

He would never find anything like this in the outside world.

Light Magic was already incredibly rare, and these were exactly the kind Yang An had hoped to find: techniques with outrageous costs and formidable power.

He felt an indescribable excitement, as if the Corpse Transformation Realm was already within his grasp.

Now that he had the Techniques, and with the Flesh Vein Gathering Element Mirror to help him condense his Mana, it was only a matter of time before he reached the peak of the Visceral Stone Realm.

He picked up the Technique that interested him most, and an information box immediately appeared before his eyes.

"[Celestial Gnomon Body]: Source unknown, passed down from the Jueyun Sect. Draw the Celestial Gnomon Light into the body to command the Power of the Red Sun and empower oneself.

Cost of Use: The Celestial Gnomon enters the body, but cannot be sustained for long. Body and soul are annihilated, with no chance of reincarnation.

Status: Can be Purified!"

'Celestial Gnomon... that means the sun!'

This was why Yang An had picked up this Technique first.

Of all the Techniques he had mastered, though they were all Light Magic, none could truly compare to the light of the sun.

Moreover, judging by its name, this was a Light Magic technique that seemed more oriented toward close combat or strengthening the physical body.

While he no longer feared any enemy getting close when he activated all his Light Magic at once, his close-combat methods were still too one-dimensional.

Besides his Body Technique and a single Fist Technique, he had nothing else.

If an enemy had a way to prevent him from getting near, or if they were prepared for him, things would become difficult to handle.

The cost of this Technique was also extremely high. It was less a Technique and more of a final, explosive gambit.

Because once this Daoist Technique was activated, even if the enemy didn't die, the user would die as soon as time ran out.

The greater the cost, the greater the power. No one would ever practice such a suicidal Technique, but in Yang An's eyes, it was like giving wings to a tiger.

Yang An eagerly opened the Magic Scripture and began to read it, word by word.

Half an hour passed quickly. When Yang An closed the final page, he had already grasped the essence of this method.

In short, it was indeed a Technique that could enhance the explosive power of his physical body.

It was as if a Cultivator was a power bank. As long as they could draw in a single sliver of Celestial Gnomon Light to store in their body, they could unleash it at a critical moment, commanding the Power of the Red Sun with every action and thought.

The more Celestial Gnomon Light one accumulated, the greater the power they could display after activating the Technique.

It could almost be considered a small-scale Cultivation Technique. The stored Celestial Gnomon Light was equivalent to another form of Mana that could be commanded at any time.

'Train!'

'I must train in this!'

'Right now!'

Yang An's blood boiled with excitement. He tossed the other two Techniques into his Meat Burial Talisman, leaving only the "Celestial Gnomon Body" before him, eager to master this Technique first.

'Anyway, it's unclear when the others from the Scripture Defector Association will find this so-called Forbidden Artifact Fragment. That's not why I came here in the first place. It's best if I can just fish in troubled waters.'

Yunzang Palace was a great spot. People and Demon Fiends from the outside couldn't get in, and no one else would know what he was doing.

After using his Purification Ability, Yang An sat cross-legged and began to practice, following the instructions in the Magic Scripture.

Compared to the other Techniques he had mastered, the "Celestial Gnomon Body" was surprisingly easy to practice.

Yang An felt he had discovered a pattern: Techniques with extremely high costs were relatively simple to learn.

In just under half an hour, he had already learned how to sense the Celestial Gnomon Light. The next step was to try and draw it into his body.

It was currently late afternoon, approaching dusk, and the sky was growing increasingly overcast.

However, just because clouds obscured the sky and he couldn't see the sun didn't mean he couldn't attract the Celestial Gnomon Light.

The sun was always there.

It was just a matter of how much Celestial Gnomon Light could be attracted at different times of the day.

Sensing the Celestial Gnomon Light was easy, but drawing it into his body was considerably more difficult.

After an hour had passed, a faint, thread-like sliver of white light drifted down from the heavens, swiftly entering his body through the spot between his eyebrows.

In an instant, a warm, comforting sensation spread throughout Yang An's entire body.

He felt as if he had been stranded in a frozen wasteland and had suddenly stumbled upon a roaring stove, instantly dispelling the chill from his body.

'So this is the Celestial Gnomon Light, the Power of the Red Sun?'

He looked at his right hand, where a white light suffused the flesh and blood. The light was completely contained within his body, not radiating outward at all, yet it seemed to hold a terrifying power.

Yang An's eyes burned with fervor and excitement.

Compared to his other Techniques, it seemed that the Celestial Gnomon Light alone could match the intensity of his Qi Guang Technique.

If he accumulated enough Celestial Gnomon Light, it could easily become even more powerful than when his Qi Guang Technique absorbed the light of all his other Techniques into his body.

'This is a scalable, explosive Technique!'

Of course, Yang An didn't dare to imagine what kind of destructive power he could unleash if he combined the Celestial Gnomon Body with the Qi Guang Technique's Light Absorption Form.

Add to that the ability to amplify the power of his Techniques once he entered the Corpse Transformation Realm... he dared not even think about it!

Calming his excitement, Yang An prepared to draw more Celestial Gnomon Light into his body. By now, the sky was about to turn completely dark.

Another hour passed.

Practice makes perfect. After successfully drawing several more wisps of scorching light into his body, Yang An was immersed in the pleasure of accumulating Celestial Gnomon Light.

But just then, it felt as if something had gently tapped on his brain.

A new message had arrived from the Tree of Flesh and Blood!

Yang An had no choice but to stop. He submerged his consciousness into the Tree of Flesh and Blood and saw a Broken Hand Fruit hanging from its branches.

Broken Hand: "Possible lead discovered. High probability it's the Forbidden Artifact Fragment we're looking for! It's south of the Jueyun Sect entrance, in a place deep within the sect grounds called the Demon-Banning Stele. Everyone get here fast! Remember, do not alert the Demon Fiends!"

'South? It shouldn't be too far from here.'

Yang An immediately got up, ready to leave Yunzang Palace.

From entering the Jueyun Sect to finding a clue, the people from the Scripture Defector Association had spent nearly a full day. Now, there was finally a glimmer of hope.

However, it was already dark. At night, the Demon Fiends would become more active and numerous, so he had to be extra cautious.

Before leaving Yunzang Palace, Yang An headed to the top floor, the Seventh Floor, not wanting to miss any possibility of finding more treasures.

Unfortunately, the Seventh Floor was no different from the others, still hung with a few paintings that served as traps.

When he reached the bottom floor and passed the stone plate again, he did not re-enter the Stone Plate Map. Yang An walked unimpeded to the palace gates.

He could sense that the Demonic Qi of some nearby Demon Fiends was indeed beginning to stir.

Seeing that no Demon Fiends were currently passing by Yunzang Palace, Yang An instantly melted into the night, transforming into a dark shadow that slipped into the dense forest and sped off in the direction Broken Hand had indicated.

A little over a quarter of an hour later, Yang An finally arrived at the Demon-Banning Stele that Broken Hand had mentioned.

But when he got there, he was shocked to find no sign of anyone's presence. There wasn't a single soul in sight.