The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 158 - 143: Evil-Breaking Spiritual Light, Golden Body Skillful Method of Liberation

Silence!

A long time passed without any messages appearing on the Tree of Flesh and Blood, as if everyone had suddenly vanished.

It wasn't until a good while later that a new message from the Workshop Master arrived.

Workshop Master: "How about I just get you a Forbidden Artifact instead?"

Although he didn't know what a Forbidden Artifact was, he was sure it was something extraordinary.

For instance, back at the Ancient Collection on the Xiyue River, the twelve weapons used to suppress and seal Miao Ye were connected to Forbidden Artifacts.

In particular, the Unidentified Arrow in Yang An's possession was connected to an intact Forbidden Artifact.

Furthermore, everyone from Mother Divination True Master to the members of the Scripture Defector Association was searching for something called Forbidden Artifact Fragments.

Mere fragments were enough to make people scramble for them, and just being connected to a Forbidden Artifact granted immense power. These things had to have an incredible origin.

Yang An: "That could work."

Workshop Master: "..."

Yang An's shocking reply once again left everyone speechless, unsure how to respond for a moment.

After a long pause, the Workshop Master sent another message.

"I'm very curious, do you even know what a Forbidden Artifact is?"

"I don't. I'd like to ask the Workshop Master to enlighten me."

This was exactly what Yang An had been hoping for. He wanted to learn from the Scripture Defector Association what these so-called Forbidden Artifacts were and why they were so mysterious.

"..."

"Forbidden Artifacts, as the name implies, are taboo items.

You can think of them as higher-level Magical Artifacts, but the two are worlds apart.

If a Magical Artifact is the manifestation of a function, then a Forbidden Artifact is the manifestation of a Rule.

Whether you're a cultivator or a Demon Fiend, you need to fuse with enough Forbidden Artifact Fragments to reach the Zombie God Realm. And in the future, after reaching the peak of the Zombie God Realm, you must fuse with a complete Forbidden Artifact to step into the Insect Dao Realm!"

This was the explanation in the Workshop Master's message to Yang An.

Yang An understood, his heart reeling with shock.

'So that's what a Forbidden Artifact is!'

The Workshop Master's words contained a massive amount of information; he had even told Yang An about the realm beyond the Zombie God Realm.

The realm after the Zombie God Realm was called the Insect Dao!

He didn't go into any more detail. After all, Yang An's current Cultivation Level was only Visceral Stone, a far cry from the Zombie God Realm, let alone the Insect Dao.

But just knowing this much was enough for Yang An to process for a long time.

"So, you can forget about a Forbidden Artifact. As for the Magical Artifact, I can't satisfy all your requests, but meeting two of them shouldn't be a problem."

A new message arrived from the Workshop Master.

Yang An snapped back to reality from the sheer volume of information in the Workshop Master's words.

He set aside the matter of Forbidden Artifacts for now and focused on the Magical Artifact.

Although he had suspected his requirements for the Magical Artifact might be a bit steep for the Workshop Master to fulfill, Yang An was still delighted that two of them could be met.

So, the Workshop Master meant for him to choose again, selecting only two of his conditions.

If only two conditions could be met, then the choice was obvious.

Yang An quickly made his decision.

"Then I want the Magical Artifact that can condense Mana to raise my Cultivation Level and save my life at a critical moment!"

Compared to the others, these two conditions were undoubtedly the highest priority.

Workshop Master: "Done. However, you'll need to wait for a while. I'll deliver the Magical Artifact to you through the Tree of Flesh and Blood when it's ready."

"Thank you, Workshop Master!"

After thanking the Workshop Master, the Tree of Flesh and Blood fell silent again. With no more messages from anyone, Yang An had no choice but to withdraw his consciousness and return to reality.

This sudden knowledge of Forbidden Artifacts stirred many thoughts in Yang An's mind.

Back at the Ancient Collection on the Xiyue River, Mother Divination True Master had gone there for Forbidden Artifact Fragments, yet that old codger hadn't even given the fragments a second glance.

Recalling this, Yang An found it quite strange.

'If that old codger is in the Zombie God Realm, it must mean he's already fused with Forbidden Artifact Fragments. So why isn't he greedy for more?'

'Could it be that he already has enough fragments?'

'If that's the case, doesn't that mean the old codger's strength is even more terrifying than I imagined?'

'Then why on earth does he use such a cruel method to recruit and train disciples?'

For a moment, a torrent of questions flooded Yang An's mind. Without enough information, he couldn't analyze his way to any conclusions.

He could only put these questions aside for the time being.

Regardless, the most important thing was to raise his Cultivation Level as quickly as possible, obtain the subsequent Cultivation Technique, and ensure his own safety.

Yang An calmed his emotions and resumed cultivating the Celestial Gnomon Body.

It was early morning, the time of day when the Celestial Gnomon Light was most concentrated and easiest to absorb. He couldn't afford to waste it.

Soon, Yang An was completely immersed in his cultivation. Faint white lights would occasionally appear in the void, like wandering threads, and swiftly drill into his body.

Sometimes there was only one, sometimes two, and at most, three at once.

With each strand of Celestial Gnomon Light he absorbed, the warmth Yang An felt grew more intense. It was as if he went from standing near a stove to becoming the stove itself.

Fortunately, this warmth had its limits. At most, it was just a direct sensation that came with practicing the Technique, and he adapted to it quickly.

Amidst this day-in, day-out cultivation, time flew by, and more than half a month passed in a flash.

On this day, Yang An awoke from his meditative state.

After more than half a month of accumulation, he had stored up a considerable amount of Celestial Gnomon Light. It was time to fuse it with a Dao of Destiny Technique and break through to the next level.

His current Cultivation Level was at the Perfection of the Early Stage of Visceral Stone. As long as he fused with a Dao of Destiny Technique, he could advance to the Middle Stage of Visceral Stone.

When it came to cultivation, Yang An never wasted time. He immediately began the formal process of fusing with the Dao of Destiny Technique.

Having already fused with seven Dao of Destiny Techniques, Yang An was quite practiced as he began to fuse with the eighth.

Several more days passed, and his Cultivation Level successfully advanced to the Middle Stage of Visceral Stone.

Having reached this step, the next phase was to continue condensing Mana and practicing Techniques as before.

With the aid of the Flesh Vein Gathering Element Mirror, he spent another half a month or so bringing his Cultivation Level to the Perfection of the Middle Stage of Visceral Stone.

Yang An began to cultivate a new Technique.

[Evil-Breaking Spiritual Light]: From the Spirit Martial Sect; the light of a single life lies in the spirit; it can break evil, repel fiends, eliminate demons, and purge filth.

Cost: Activating the Technique consumes ten years of life for every second it is maintained.

Status: Can be Purified!

This was one of the three Techniques he had obtained from the Yunzang Palace in the Jueyun Sect.

Compared to the Celestial Gnomon Body, the Evil-Breaking Spiritual Light wasn't much different from the other Light Category Techniques Yang An had already mastered.

That's why Yang An had saved it for last to cultivate.

In fact, Yang An had always harbored a doubt.

With the exception of the Lighting Technique, all the Light Category Techniques he cultivated seemed, based on their descriptions, to be purely Righteous Daoist Techniques.

Compared to other sinister or bizarre techniques, these Light Category Techniques felt like they originally belonged to the righteous path, not something that could be created by cultivators of Evil Demons and Outsiders.

Moreover, from the moment he began his cultivation until now, he had never seen anyone else use a Light Category Technique.

The Light Category Techniques he'd mastered had almost all been passed down, with no information about their creators.

'So who exactly created these Techniques?'

'Even my special ability can only trace them back to their source of circulation, not to the person who created them.'

'There must be something fishy going on here!'

As his Cultivation Level grew higher, the number of questions in Yang An's mind multiplied. It felt like a hundred claws were scratching at his heart, yet he had no information to analyze or investigate.

Frustrating!

Yang An could only channel his frustration into motivation. He casually used his Purification Ability and continued cultivating.

Over a month later, after mastering the Evil-Breaking Spiritual Light and fusing it into a Dao of Destiny Technique, Yang An advanced to the Late Stage of the Visceral Stone Realm!

He spent another month or so, with the effect of the Flesh Vein Gathering Element Mirror growing weaker and weaker, to raise his Cultivation Level to the Perfection of the Late Stage of Visceral Stone.

He then began to cultivate the final remaining Technique.

[Golden Body Skillful Method of Liberation]: From the East Buddha Temple. Liberate from peril and overcome hardship to manifest the Golden Body; without disaster or evil, the Skillful Method is one with itself.

Cost: The longer the Technique is active, the user will be sealed by the Golden Body. The seal cannot be broken and will last until their lifespan is exhausted.

Status: Can be Purified!

This was a Light Category Technique from a Buddhist Sect!

'When it comes to Light Category Techniques, the Buddhist Sects must have plenty of them.'

'Looks like I'll have to find a chance to explore a Buddhist Sect in the future.'

Thinking of this, Yang An recalled what his Sixth Senior Brother, Jin Tong, had said when he returned to the Life Crane Sect after leaving the Ancient Collection.

So much time had passed, yet no one from the Great Virtue Temple had shown up.

'Could that madman have just been spouting nonsense?'

...

Another month later, having successfully mastered the Golden Body Skillful Method of Liberation to a proficient level, Yang An could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

All that was left was to obtain the subsequent Cultivation Technique, and he could break through to the Corpse Transformation Realm!

To reach the Corpse Transformation Realm as soon as possible, Yang An had shut himself away, forgoing food and sleep to cultivate day and night.

Now, everything was ready, and he was just waiting for the final piece to fall into place.

As long as he could get the opportunity for visualization at the Earth Spirit Stele, he might be able to obtain the complete set of Cultivation Techniques for the Corpse Transformation Realm this time as well.

But before that, the old monster had set a condition: he could only get the opportunity if he went from being the Ninth Disciple to the Seventh Disciple.

In other words, he had to kill his Seventh Senior Brother, Jiang Hechuan!

This was non-negotiable. If it were possible, Yang An would have even considered persuading Jiang Hechuan to give up his position as the Seventh Disciple, since it was just a title anyway.

But that was clearly impossible. The old codger surely had corresponding rules and punishments to prevent anyone from daring to try such a thing.

'So there's no other choice.'

Looking at the Six Golden Secret Seals glowing brightly in his hand, Yang An was not afraid of Jiang Hechuan, as his own Cultivation Level had already reached the Perfection of the Visceral Stone Realm.

However, having glimpsed Jiang Hechuan's trump card in the Secret Seal Space last time, Yang An was determined to be fully prepared before making a move.

Before that, he should first try fighting the illusion inside the Secret Seal Space. Knowing oneself and one's enemy was the best strategy.

If he had no problems in there, then Yang An would have nothing to fear.

The Six Golden Secret Seals flew from Yang An's hand, quickly forming a gold-rimmed entrance in the void before him.

Not wanting to delay for a single moment, he picked up the Bow Lady from the ground, stepped swiftly into the Secret Seal Space, and vanished.