The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 82 - 77: To Kill Them, Target: Jinlong City (Part 2)

Chapter 82: Chapter 77: To Kill Them, Target: Jinlong City (Part 2)

This was yet another fellow disciple he knew nothing about, but one he had to face if he wanted to break through.

Yang An now fully understood the cruelty within the Life Crane Sect. This ladder-climbing system, like raising Gu, filled him with a profound sense of danger.

Take the eleventh disciple, Pi Chu, for example. Yang An had only intended to probe him, but the moment Pi Chu saw him, he had immediately gone for the kill.

If the combined power of his stacked Techniques hadn’t been strong enough, and if Pi Chu hadn’t been so careless, he would have been the one to die.

At this thought, he couldn’t help but look toward Fu Ming.

"Senior Brother, may I ask you something?"

Fu Ming coughed, merely looking at him without a word. He nodded, however, as if he had already guessed what Yang An wanted to ask.

"Is this really the only way to obtain the subsequent Cultivation Techniques? Or is there a more peaceful solution?"

For example, through trade. Someone like Pi Chu, who had mastered the Cultivation Techniques for the Early and Middle Stages of the Primordial Feeding Realm and had already reached the Middle Stage himself, didn’t actually need those parts of the technique anymore. He could have easily traded the techniques to someone else.

That way, the two parties wouldn’t have to come to blows, and one could still obtain the subsequent Cultivation Technique. Wouldn’t that be a win-win?

But upon hearing Yang An’s question, Fu Ming simply shook his head.

"Junior Brother, there’s something I need to tell you."

He didn’t answer Yang An’s question, instead bringing up another matter entirely.

’What?’ Yang An looked at him.

"Pi Chu died at your hand, making you Master’s eleventh disciple. This means the thirteenth disciple’s position is now vacant. Before long, we’ll likely have one or even several new disciples joining us."

"And now, the Cultivation Techniques from the Resonance Stage to the Middle Stage of the Primordial Feeding Realm are in your hands. When you face these new disciples, what will you do?"

Fu Ming’s tone was placid, but his eyes, fixed on Yang An, seemed to hold a great deal of anticipation for his answer.

"..."

But after hearing this question, Yang An fell silent for a moment before asking:

"Are you saying... Master doesn’t forbid us from passing the Cultivation Techniques to other disciples?"

"He doesn’t forbid it, but he forbids trading, and he forbids any disciples from forming alliances!"

"..."

Yang An was speechless.

’That’s worse than an outright ban.’

’Looked at this way, we disciples are destined to be on opposing sides, fighting to the death for a chance at the Cultivation Techniques.’

’Giving away the techniques you’ve outgrown gets you nothing in return. All it does is nurture a future enemy.’

’Peace and harmony among his disciples is clearly not the outcome the old man desires.’

’Constant strengthening, constant challenging—that’s what the old man wants to see.’

’But that created a new problem. By that logic, shouldn’t the strongest disciple—the Senior Brother—or the other senior disciples already possess all of the Cultivation Techniques?’

’How, then, did the other disciples after the Senior Brother get their hands on the techniques?’

A thoughtful expression crossed Yang An’s face. He wanted to ask Fu Ming, but Fu Ming spoke first.

"Junior Brother, you can rest easy. All you need to do is cultivate and strive to become stronger. The higher your Cultivation Level, the more you’ll be permitted to know. Master has his own arrangements for everything; there’s no need to ask too many questions."

Fu Ming seemed to see what he was thinking and spoke slowly. As he continued, he started coughing again, a look of great discomfort on his face.

"Alright, I understand. Thank you, Senior Brother."

Taking a deep breath, Yang An accepted the reality of the situation. Fu Ming’s message was clear: don’t ask questions, just follow the rules.

Fu Ming nodded, said nothing more, and quickly left.

After Fu Ming left, Yang An looked at the few items in his hands. He knew he had no other choice.

If he wanted to break through, he would have to face the tenth disciple, Xuan Kang. Xuan Kang’s Cultivation Level was incomparable to Pi Chu’s; he was at least in the Late Stage of the Primordial Feeding Realm.

Now that Pi Chu was dead by his hand, the news was certain to attract the attention of the other disciples.

Therefore, unless Yang An was absolutely certain he could kill Xuan Kang, he knew that the next time they faced each other, Xuan Kang would give him no opportunities whatsoever.

Compared to facing Pi Chu, the difficulty of dealing with Xuan Kang would increase exponentially.

As for his Cultivation Level, the limitations of his current Cultivation Technique meant he could only reach the Middle Stage of the Primordial Feeding Realm. Based on Cultivation Level alone, he was no match for Xuan Kang.

’Then I’ll just have to find another way.’

’Techniques!’

The only things Yang An could think of were Techniques and Magical Artifacts. But obtaining Magical Artifacts was immeasurably more difficult than finding Techniques. Powerful Magical Artifacts weren’t something one could simply stumble upon, so he dismissed the idea.

If he could obtain more or stronger Techniques, he could use their stacked power to bridge the gap in their Cultivation Levels.

’But where could he find more Techniques?’

At this thought, Yang An’s gaze fell upon the Gua Order in his hand.

’It seems I must get to Jinlong City as soon as possible.’

Through the Sacrificial Powers in Jinlong City, he might be able to have them help him collect what he wanted.

Yang An made his decision on the spot: first, he would break through to the Primordial Feeding Realm, and then he would head to Jinlong City as quickly as possible to find the next Dao of Destiny Technique and more Techniques.

Since he had killed Pi Chu, he had definitely drawn the attention of the other disciples.

Until he had the strength to fight back, he had to race against time to increase his own power. And then... to protect himself, and to advance further.

’Kill them!’

...

「More than a month passed in the blink of an eye.」

During that month, Yang An successfully integrated his fourth Dao of Destiny Technique, the One Qi Dao Guang Method he had already mastered, and broke through to the Early Stage of the Primordial Feeding Realm.

Just as he had anticipated, there was no tribulation. At least, so far, nothing had happened, and the breakthrough went smoothly.

Upon stepping into the Primordial Feeding Realm, he became capable of briefly flying through the air, which was a massive upgrade for any Cultivator.

Yang An had tried it. He could fly several hundred meters in the blink of an eye, but the stamina drain was considerable. It was unsuitable for long-distance travel, but it could still play a significant role in combat.

Unfortunately, after entering the Primordial Feeding Realm, although the Mana capacity of his acupoints was larger, his speed of condensing Mana was now far slower than before.

The Elixirs he possessed were only helpful for cultivation in the Fake Food Realm; they had minimal effect in the Primordial Feeding Realm.

This became another problem he had to face; he needed to find a way to increase his Mana condensation speed.

Besides breaking through to the Primordial Feeding Realm, Yang An also used this time to master the several Techniques he had yet to learn, including the Three Vein Beast Transformation Technique.

Next, he would travel to Jinlong City to take over the Sacrificial Powers that had been under Pi Chu.

With the help of these forces, he could more quickly find a new Dao of Destiny Technique, as well as the Pressure Relief Stone required for the Three Vein Beast Transformation Technique.

After his preparations were complete, Yang An arrived at the entrance to Corpse Saliva Valley one morning.

Just like Senior Sister Wen Yin had done, he walked up to the Inscriptionless Stone Stele and placed his hand gently on its surface.

He channeled a bit of Mana into it, and soon the ground he was standing on began to sink, eventually carrying him deep underground.

With the Gua Order on his person, the Earth Worm Mother wouldn’t harm him. Still, arriving alone and seeing that massive human face, Yang An couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Fortunately, he successfully entered the Earth Worm Mother’s massive mouth and followed the fleshy walls down into its stomach.

After randomly picking an Earth Worm, Yang An leaped onto its back. Soon, from beneath the ring of tendrils on the Earth Worm’s head, more than a dozen blood-vessel-like feelers slowly extended, wrapping and intertwining around his outstretched hand.

As if he had gained a simple form of telepathy, Yang An could now control the Earth Worm’s direction of travel.

He delayed no longer.

Destination: Jinlong City. Time to move out!