187: Chapter 187 [The Marrow Cleansing and Sainthood Transformation Technique]

Shi Jian did not take the matter of Qingqi too much to heart.

The five Enlightenments were nothing more than a casual move for him, like tossing a seed on Mushou Mountain.

What would grow from it was entirely up to fate.

He was more concerned about another matter.

The demonic disaster was drawing to an end; this turmoil, stirred up by Zhou Yuan, had lasted for nearly five years and was finally quelled under the suppression of the Shangqing Sect's Nascent Soul True Monarch.

With the cooperation of the Protectorates in various provinces, low-level demonic Cultivators were mostly purged, and the rest either fled into Jin State or died under the blades of Cultivators throughout Qingcang Kingdom.

In Ming Prefecture, it was excessively peaceful.

From beginning to end, White Cloud Temple hadn't made many moves; they fought a few inconsequential corpse tides, caught a dozen or so petty Loose Cultivators, and didn't even encounter a single proper demonic Cultivator.

Daoist Yun Du was very satisfied with this.

However, Shi Jian had some other thoughts on the matter...

That night, Zixiao Peak was silent.

The purple-gold lightning fluid in the lightning pool churned slowly; Shi Jian lay by the edge of the pool, his front paws resting on the stone platform, his eyes half-open and half-closed.

"Zixiao."

"Hmm?"

"You have cultivated in the Sect for nearly ten thousand years and have vast knowledge. I want to ask you something."

Zixiao was silent for two breaths before saying, "Ask."

"Is there a Cultivation Technique that can make Human Race Cultivators... demonize?"

Once these words were spoken, Zixiao did not respond immediately.

After a long while, he spoke: "You Foolish Bear, you've only had a few days of peaceful life, what are you trying to do now?"

"Answer my question first."

Zixiao was silent for a moment.

"Yes."

"In the ancient times, during the era of the human-demon wars, such evil arts were not rare."

"In order to expand their forces, the Yao Race would capture Human Race Cultivators, infuse their bodies with Yao blood, and forcibly alter their Bloodlines and Meridians, transforming them into half-human, half-Yao existences..."

"Cultivators transformed in this way were mostly called: Yao-humans."

"The combat strength of Yao-humans is higher than that of ordinary Cultivators in the same Realm because they possess both the intelligence of the Human Race and the physique of the Yao Race."

"But the price is high. After Yao blood enters the body, the Cultivator's Divine Soul will be eroded by the beastly nature remaining in the Yao blood. In time, they will either become useless creatures that only know how to kill, or their minds will be completely controlled by the Yao Race that provided the blood."

"Later, when the Human Race gained power, this evil art was listed as a forbidden technique, and even most of the records were burned. Now it is almost extinct."

"But since you asked, there are still a few relevant Incomplete Manuals remaining in my Spirit Race mind that should meet your requirements."

Hearing this, Shi Jian's ears perked up.

"Tell me in detail."

"There is one, called 《Blood-Devouring Transformation Art》, which comes from an annihilated Dragon tribe of the ancient Yao Race."

"The core of this Cultivation Technique is to use the essence blood of a high-level Dragon to transform the Meridians and Physical Body of the Human Race Cultivator."

"In the Early Stages of cultivation, the Cultivator needs to use a large amount of flesh and blood for Body Tempering, devouring various types of flesh and blood to expand their Physical Body's capacity. Once they reach a certain level, they then introduce the Dragon essence blood, allowing the Yao power within the essence blood to fuse with the Cultivator's Qi."

"After a successful Fusion, the Cultivator will undergo their first transformation, thus becoming beast-like."

"Becoming a half-human, half-Dragon Yao-human, their strength and defense will be greatly improved. In this state, the Cultivator's combat strength will at least double."

Shi Jian didn't speak immediately upon hearing this, his tail sweeping slowly on the stone platform.

"What about control? How do you ensure these Yao-humans won't rebel?"

"The original version of the 《Blood-Devouring Transformation Art》 had very crude control methods, relying on the Divine Soul imprint left in the Yao blood."

"The higher the cultivation level of the Yao Beast providing the essence blood, the deeper the imprint, and the harder it is for the transformed Cultivator to resist. But this kind of imprint fades over time and is not very reliable..."

Zixiao paused.

"However... if it were your blood, it could be done more thoroughly."

"How so?"

"You are a Mid-stage Golden Core Yao General; the Way of Thunder Divine Soul imprint contained in your essence blood is extremely intense. If you add a hidden hand to the Cultivation Technique—for example, requiring them to consume your essence blood again to advance when they reach a key Breakthrough point—then these Yao-humans will never be able to leave you..."

"If the blood supply is cut off, their cultivation will regress, or even their Meridians will collapse."

"This is much more effective than a Divine Soul imprint."

Shi Jian's Thunder Pupils brightened.

"Good method."

"But I must warn you."

Zixiao's tone changed: "Once this kind of thing is done, there is no turning back. If you do this in the Human Race's territory, it's equivalent to dancing on the tip of a knife."

"If discovered, not to mention the Shangqing Sect, even that old Daoist Daoist Yun Du might not be able to tolerate you."

"It won't be discovered."

When Shi Jian said this, his tone was flat and without fluctuation.

"Who said this has to be done in Ming Prefecture?"

Zixiao was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood.

"You intend to... stretch your hand outside the borders?"

Shi Jian didn't answer; he rolled over, changed his posture, and lay down, his eyes filled with a playful look.

"Liang Kingdom."

Liang Kingdom had tense relations with Qingcang Kingdom and Wei State, and there were many Schools within the country. The four Sects of the Righteous Path had been at odds for a long time, each with their own agenda.

Furthermore, the previous national war had not damaged their foundations.

If chaos were to arise within Liang Kingdom at this time, Qingcang and Wei State would certainly be happy to see it. Coupled with the division of power in Liang Kingdom, it was the perfect time to infiltrate and exploit the loopholes!

Another point was that in Wei State, Jin State, and Qingcang Kingdom, his name as the Thunder Bear was known to some extent.

But in Liang Kingdom, Shi Jian had never dealt with them.

Causing trouble there would result in a relatively lower probability of exposing himself.

"You bear..."

"You really are getting more and more wicked as you live!"

Shi Jian ignored him and began to seriously ponder the details.

The Cultivation Technique needed to be modified; the original 《Blood-Devouring Transformation Art》 was too crude and needed to be streamlined and packaged into something that looked like a proper Cultivation Technique.

The candidates for spreading the technique also had to be chosen.

He couldn't use Elder Rat; Rat Yao were too conspicuous. He couldn't use the Bear Clan either; those stupid bears couldn't even speak clearly and would give themselves away as soon as they went out.

Shi Jian's gaze traveled over thousands of mountains and rivers, landing in the direction of Mushou Mountain.

The Green Ape Clan was actually not bad.

High intelligence, good at imitation, proficient in management, and most importantly, the Green Ape's physical form is human-like. With a little disguise and a mask, they would look no different from ordinary people at first glance...

Within the Green Ape Clan of Mushou Mountain, there were two Foundation Establishment Great Demons.

One was named Cang Ya, steady and experienced, good at dealing with various tribes, and was the Clan Chief of the Green Ape Clan. The other was named Bi Luo, young and vigorous, with a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation, and possessed quite impressive Wood Element Dao techniques.

These two were excellent candidates.

In the following months.

Shi Jian and Zixiao worked together to modify the 《Blood-Devouring Transformation Art》.

The original Cultivation Technique had seventy-two methods; Shi Jian cut out forty of them, keeping only the most core aspects of Body Tempering with flesh and blood and the Yao blood transformation.

At the same time, he changed its core from Dragon-related to Bear Clan-related.

Zixiao was responsible for refining the Cultivation Technique's pathways, deleting all content involving Yao Race secrets and replacing them with terminology and cultivation frameworks that Human Race Cultivators could understand.

Shi Jian personally embedded three hidden hands into the Cultivation Technique.

The first hidden hand was hidden in the Body Tempering stage.

The Cultivator must process the flesh and blood in a specific way. This specific method requires an ingredient, needing to collect five hearts—bear, tiger, wolf, eagle, and human—to mix into the flesh and blood.

This strengthens the blood Qi, but the only thing truly needed is the bear heart.

The reason for needing to collect all five hearts was mainly to cover up the truth. If someone with discerning eyes looked at it, they would only need the bear heart, and based on this clue, they would soon associate it with him.

Adding these external items was also to cover up the truth.

The second hidden hand was hidden at the key node of the Yao blood transformation.

Every time the Cultivator breaks through a small Realm, they need to consume a drop of "Holy Blood," and this so-called Holy Blood is Shi Jian's diluted essence blood.

Without consuming it, the cultivation Bottleneck cannot be broken through; after consuming it, another layer of Divine Soul imprint from Shi Jian will be added to their body.

The deeper the cultivation, the heavier the imprint, until in the end, they cannot escape.

The third hidden hand was the most poisonous.

Once this technique is cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Realm, the Cultivator's Bloodline will undergo irreversible demonization. From then on, in the perception of Righteous Path Cultivators, they will be a Yao, not a human!

Once they advance, there is no turning back.

Either continue on this path or be killed by Righteous Path Cultivators as demonic evil.

"Truly vicious, it harms the harmony of heaven, but if it harms the Human Race, I am happy to see it. I don't like the Human Race."

Zixiao mocked sarcastically, while Shi Jian had no expression, murmuring:

"If it's not vicious, how can I ensure loyalty? Do you think the Human Race is reliable?"

Zixiao sneered, expressing his agreement.

After the Cultivation Technique was modified, Shi Jian spent three more days giving this set of things a new name. It couldn't be too demonic, otherwise, it would look like an evil art and no one would dare to Cultivate it.

It had to be packaged to look high-end and grand, making people feel like it was some kind of ancient Legacy at first glance.

Shi Jian thought for a long time.

"Let's call it... 《Saint Ancestor's Gift of Body Scripture》."

Zixiao: "..."

"Are you serious?"

"What's wrong?"

"That name is terribly tacky."

Shi Jian glared at him.

"Then you come up with one."

Zixiao cleared his throat: "How about 《Marrow Cleansing and Saint Transformation Art》? It sounds very proper."

Shi Jian pondered for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Fine, let's go with that!"