White-Robed Chief-Chapter 1055: Secre

Nonetheless, Chu Li's profound meditation skills allowed him to remain calm and not be consumed by his raging emotions. 

These negative thoughts and emotions would not benefit his current situation, so he needed to get rid of them. For now, the most important thing was not to cling on to his resentment and murderous desires but to find a way to survive. Otherwise, he might really end up suffering a wrongful death in this place today, and all that he had accomplished would have been in vain. 

His life in this world had been filled with many wonderful and exciting events so far, so it would be very disappointing to die in this way. He would not have any complaints if he were to die at the hands of an Enlightened Master. However, if he were to die at the hands of this cunning and vicious guy, he would certainly not be able to rest in peace.

As these thoughts circulated in his mind, a surge of excruciating pain washed over Chu Li like a flood, and he felt as though someone had forcefully plunged a needle into the back of his head. Black spots appeared in his vision, and he nearly passed out. 

He knew this to be a sign that he had overstrained his mind as a result of the severe injury he had suffered earlier.

Zhe Ying placed his palm on Chu Li's chest and circulated the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique.

Strange strands of force entered Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb. Following that, the force within his Heavenly Demonic Orb slowly flowed into Zhe Ying's palm, being drained and devoured by Zhe Ying's Heavenly Demonic Orb.

Nonetheless, Zhe Ying was devouring Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb at an extremely slow rate. He could only devour it bit by bit since Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb was unusually pure and refined, making it very hard to be devoured.

However, the more difficult it was to devour Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb, the more delighted Zhe Ying felt.

After all, if he could devour such a refined Heavenly Demonic Orb, it would be possible for him to not only advance into the sixth level but to also achieve perfection in his sixth level, which would save him twenty years of cultivation. This truly seemed like a fortuitous encounter that had come to him straight from Heaven! 

The smile on his handsome face grew wider as he gently asked, "Brother Du, how did you manage to cultivate such a refined Heavenly Demonic Orb?"

Chu Li calmly replied, "Do you think I would tell you how I did it?"

"Hehe." Zhe Ying chuckled. "I know that Brother Du must hate me to the point of wanting to kill me."

Chu Li simply smiled.

Chu Li had completely gotten rid of his raging fury and murderous desires, so his heart had become as calm as a frozen lake. Then, he said, "There's something I still don't understand, so I'd like to seek some answers from you before I die. If you can answer my questions, I suppose I'll be able to die in peace." 

"Brother Du, go ahead and ask me then. I'll certainly tell you everything I know if I have the answers you're looking for." Zhe Ying replied with a faint smile, "Consider this a small compensation from me."

Chu Li asked, "Why did I fall unconscious after touching the Heavenly Demon Statue?" 

"I know the reason behind that, so I'll be able to answer Brother Du's question." Zhe Ying replied with a smile, "This Heavenly Demon Statue is our heritage treasure and is made of some special material. Based on what I heard, this special material fell from Outland into this world. Then, the founder of our sect stumbled upon it and carved it into the Heavenly Demon Statue. This statue is capable of storing soul energy."

Chu Li raised his eyebrows.

As Zhe Ying continued to devour Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb, it felt as though he was having a sumptuous meal and was savoring the best wine in the world. He felt intoxicated and light-headed and came to enjoy this moment even more when he saw how powerless Chu Li was, being shackled on the iron bed. 

Zhe Ying chuckled and explained, "All past seniors of Heavenly Demonic Sect have been storing whatever martial arts knowledge and skills they've learned throughout their entire lives into the Heavenly Demon Statue before dying in a seated posture[1]. Therefore, you can just imagine how much soul energy the Heavenly Demon Statue contains, right?" 

Chu Li slowly nodded.

Although his wrists and ankles had been firmly shackled by the cold iron cuffs, nothing was holding his neck down so he could move his head around freely. 

"Brother Du, you're very lucky to be alive after touching the Heavenly Demon Statue." Zhe Ying said with a faint smile, "I suppose it's all thanks to my good fortune as well since I'm fated to receive this fortuitous encounter!"

Chu Li calmly asked, "But why is it okay for the Four Grand Elders to touch the statue?"

"It's because the Four Grand Elders have cultivated the Inheritance Technique. On top of that, since they've been sitting and meditating in front of the Heavenly Demon Statue all the time, the force in their bodies has become linked together with the force within the statue. That's why they can safely touch the Heavenly Demon Statue. Aside from the Four Grand Elders and the sect leader, no one else can touch the Heavenly Demon Statue. No matter how high a person's cultivation level is, the person will definitely die if they touch the Heavenly Demon Statue." 

"How can someone receive this legacy then?"

"When the Four Grand Elders use the Inheritance Technique to stimulate the Heavenly Demon Statue, a person will be able to receive this legacy by simply standing in front of the Heavenly Demon Statue."

"This Heavenly Demon Statue is impressive indeed."

"Of course!" Zhe Ying said proudly, "If the person achieves a certain boundary in their cultivation, they can also try to discern and comprehend their inner state in front of the Heavenly Demon Statue."

Chu Li nodded.

Zhe Ying went on saying, "I'm quite curious about this too. The Heavenly Demon Statue contains such an overwhelming amount of soul energy. How did you manage to survive?" 

The Heavenly Demon Statue was the most terrifying thing all martial arts masters could encounter.

All disciples of Heavenly Demonic Sect were not afraid to die since they would enter the Heavenly Demonic Realm after their death. Nonetheless, they were most afraid of the Heavenly Demon Statue because this statue was capable of destroying the soul. Once a soul was destroyed, it would vanish into thin air and could never come back into existence.

However, Du Feng did not die after touching the Heavenly Demon Statue. It was no wonder this guy was capable of achieving the sixth level all by himself. He was very tough and lucky indeed.

Whether or not a person could rapidly cultivate the Heavenly Demonic Power depended on how tough and resilient the person was. If the person was not tough enough, they could die from cultivating it too quickly. Only those who were resilient enough could cultivate it quickly by putting themselves in countless life-threatening situations in exchange for attaining rapid improvements in their Heavenly Demonic Power.

Chu Li replied, "I passed out immediately after touching the statue, so I'm not sure how I managed to survive either!"

"Sigh..." Zhe Ying shook his head and said, "Touching the Heavenly Demon Statue could cause your soul to be destroyed. You're very bold and very tough as well. Unfortunately, although you might've gotten lucky the first time, you can't escape the inevitable. You're still going to die." 

Chu Li frowned and fell silent.

As Zhe Ying carried on devouring Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb, he said nothing more and closed his eyes slightly while indulging in this wonderful feeling.

Chu Li also closed his eyes to sense the changes in his body as the force in his Heavenly Demonic Orb came off in bits and pieces and disappeared into Zhe Ying's palm.

At first, it was very hard to take apart this firm and solid force within his Heavenly Demonic Orb. However, later on, Zhe Ying was able to devour it at an increasingly faster speed. Soon, Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb became bigger and grew into the size of a huge water droplet. As more time passed, it turned into a fist-sized ball.

Zhe Ying looked more and more delighted.

As he watched his Heavenly Demonic Orb slowly grow smaller and become more solid, he was unable to suppress his joy.

Chu Li's voice echoed into his ears. "You're going to kill me once you finish devouring it, right?"

"Hehe…" Zhe Ying smiled. "It's better for you to die and be released from your suffering sooner. Don't hate me for this, Brother Du."

Chu Li let out a sigh and shook his head before muttering, "It seems like I'll be carrying my secret to the grave."

"Hehe…" Zhe Ying shook his head.

Zhe Ying could tell that Chu Li was making a final attempt at prolonging his life by offering to tell Zhe Ying some secret in exchange for his own life. This was an old trick, and Zhe Ying was determined not to fall for it.

Chu Li calmly asked, "Aren't you curious to find out how I managed to achieve the sixth level in such a short time?"

"How?" Zhe Ying felt his heart swaying.

Chu Li said, "You should know by now that I've never been to Heavenly Demonic Sect before, so I've never managed to discern and comprehend my inner state in front of the Heavenly Demon Statue. Even so, I was able to cultivate up until the sixth level in one go within only two years."

There was a slight change in Zhe Ying's expression as his gaze began to focus on Chu Li.

At that point, his Heavenly Demonic Orb had already reached the peak of the fifth level. Determination filled his eyes as he stopped talking and turned all his attention to devouring Chu Li's Heavenly Demonic Orb. 

Chu Li saw his Heavenly Demonic Orb growing bigger and bigger, but his expression remained calm as he fixed his gaze on Zhe Ying's handsome face.

"Hahahaha!" Zhe Ying suddenly burst out laughing.

He had finally reached the sixth level, which he had been yearning to achieve for so long. This time, he had managed to do it so effortlessly!

Chu Li smiled and calmly said, "The sixth level is the highest level you can achieve. You have no hope of advancing to the seventh level."

"Tell me then. What is this secret of yours?" Zhe Ying muttered. 

He was no longer smiling as he stared down at Chu Li. "If you tell me your secret, I promise not to do any harm to all those women of yours!"

Chu Li sighed and replied, "The Heavenly Demon Scripture!"

"The Heavenly Demon Scripture?" Zhe Ying frowned and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Chu Li replied, "When I acquired the martial art of the Heavenly Demonic Power, I learned that it should be cultivated hand-in-hand with the Heavenly Demon Scripture. By cultivating the Heavenly Demon Scripture, a person can easily comprehend their inner state and achieve a breakthrough into the next level!"

[1] In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it is believed to be ideal for a person to die in a meditative sitting position so that the consciousness may leave the body from a higher place and migrate to a heavenly realm