New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 336 [Forging the Seal] and [The New Changu]

Inside the [Cave Space], only the Tiger Demon and its delicious little desserts remained.

With the added advantage of absolute 'home field', these corrupted goblins, whose minds were already clouded by disease and whose behavior was abnormally manic, seemed to sense an even greater evil and suddenly stopped struggling and resisting.

Faced with the tiger demon's gaze, they became as obedient and quiet as possible, curling up into a ball and trembling, afraid that any large movements would attract the attention of this old demon.

At this moment, the Tiger Demon had already emptied its [Inner Universe], with its mission progress at zero, specifically to make room for these 'sick goblins' so it could focus on refining them one-on-one.

Since opening the [Law Domain] and inexplicably advancing to the new realm of [Gate], Tiger Demon has yet to experience the strength of his various innate supernatural abilities.

After a moment's thought, the giant serpent demon with a pair of glowing blood-red eyes burst forth from the earth, twisted its body in the air and fiercely plunged down, hovering above the heads of the 'sick goblins' with a gust of foul wind.

The giant snake, over ten meters long, arched its body into an "n" shape, looking down at its many prey: "Hehehe... Little beggar, let me see which one I should eat? Hehehehe..."

Her voice, when she opens it, is a sweet, sarcastic, and energetic one, utterly lacking any intimidating quality. This contrasts sharply with her sinister and terrifying appearance.

After advancing to the [Gate] level, even the [Snake Demon] formed from its own snake tail could speak human language, and its size more than doubled. The Snake Demon's size fully reflects the growth of [Inner Universe].

The current [Shadow Serpent Demon (Half-Body)]'s body is covered with translucent black crystalline serpent scales.

The edges of the crystalline scales are sharply serrated; the midline of the scales is slightly raised like a spine, forming a row of sharp barbs. A single scale, if plucked off at random, is larger than an adult's palm.

The entire serpent demon is a massive weapon of war. With just a slight twist or coil of its body, it can unleash terrifying tearing, slicing, and strangling damage.

Beneath the translucent snake scales, the outline of white bones is faintly visible. The protruding fangs on the head and the bony spikes along the spine further highlight the snake's 'bone system'.

At this moment, the snake demon swayed its head from side to side, hovering over the 10 sick spirits, and even the 'possessed chicken brother' hanging in the air couldn't help but tremble.

Suck!

With its snout slightly open, the Serpent Demon swallowed the outermost 'goblin' into its belly and refined it using its 'Inner Universe' technique.

Instantly, the [Inner Universe] was activated at full power, with the entire inner world dedicated solely to serving a single sick goblin, making the refining progress incredibly rapid.

An upgraded version of [Chang Gui + Belly Universe] under a completely new realm ([Gate]); now, he is in the [Cave World], receiving the additional blessing of being in the main arena.

Tiger Demon was now as if divinely aided, his refining efficiency was like downloading a movie at 100Mb/s after a broadband upgrade. He hadn't even had time to unzip his pants before he heard the 'ding!' sound of the download being completed.

Tiger Demon roughly estimated that it would take 15 minutes! It would only take 15 minutes for it to refine this 'sick spirit' at full power on its own, turning it into a [Chang Gui].

Furthermore, it learned from the feedback from the [Cave Heaven] that it had replicated and preserved its innate supernatural ability, [Universe Within the Belly], inside the [Cave Heaven].

Just like the [Shadow Dream Hole] in the Feathered World, a small piece of the 'Cave Heaven Structure' is cut off and separated to simulate the operation mode of the [Inner Universe], extract the energy of the [Law Domain], and perform task management.

The [Changgui] can be automatically refined and cooked into 'cooked food', waiting for the mountain lord to return to the mountain to enjoy it.

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Thinking it, he did it. So the Tiger Demon cut off 1/10 of the 'Cave Structure' and transformed it into the 'Inner Universe. Reactor', transferring the 'Disease Essence' that was being rapidly refined in his abdomen into it, but the refining speed did not decrease.

It is clear that what truly became stronger was not the Tiger Demon itself, but rather its 'divine power,' entirely due to the Mountain Lord's divine position inherent in the 'Law Domain,' as well as the 'Cave Heaven (Divine Kingdom)'.

During the refining countdown, the snake demon swallowed another 'sick spirit' and entered its [Inner Universe]. Then, Yuan Zhu deactivated his 'Tiger Demon Form' and reverted to human form.

Looking at the remaining 8 goblins, he felt a surge of desire. He simply raised his hand and aimed at the nearest sick goblin, casting a [Holy Light Barrier] to imprison and seal it away.

He planned to first use holy light to refine a genuine 'Sick Demon Goblin' to satisfy his insatiable thirst for the [Holy Seal]; then he would burn the second 'Sick Demon' to forge the seal.

This comparison aims to determine which material is more efficient for cultivation.

...

The moment Yuan Zhu opened the Holy Light Barrier in the [Cave Heaven Space], he felt a powerful and heavy suppressive force, like a heavy hammer hitting his body, suppressing his 'Holy Light System' in all aspects.

Although this [Cave Heaven Space] can be regarded as one's own 'private divine kingdom', all rules, parameters, and spatial structure can be changed with a single thought.

The [Cave Heaven] has been given a data-driven model derived from the [Immortal Scripture] and has been included in the [Boss Template], sharing the same origin as the [Holy Light Template].

However, the two forces are still perfectly incompatible!

Yuan Zhu himself was not oppressed by the [Cave Heaven] at all; on the contrary, he felt very relaxed and safe. However, when he activated his own 'Holy Light Power', he was ruthlessly suppressed by the [Tiger Demon Cave Heaven].

It has been weakened by at least 40% from its normal level.

He clearly felt that when he used the 'Holy Light Barrier' to imprison the third diseased goblin, the casting speed of the spell slowed down significantly, and the output of holy light was weakened while maintaining the 'barrier' to refine the diseased goblin. The high-temperature light radiation that erupted within the barrier also made the refining process more difficult.

Left with no other choice, as the master of the [Cave Heaven], I opened the [Law Domain Management Panel] as much as possible and granted myself all exemptions, minimizing the restrictions on 'alien invasion energy'.

After a series of actions, the weakened state on his body dropped to 30%, and it couldn't go any lower. Unless he left the [Cave Heaven Space] and entered the 'Yinshan Law Domain' in the outside world, this weakening could not be reduced further.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

At this moment, his heart was filled with conflict. He didn't know whether to praise his own power and impartiality, or to despise his own (holy light) weakness and lack of intelligence.
He wanted the Holy Light to be unrestrained and freely cast within the [Cave Heaven], yet he also wanted the suppression from the [Cave Heaven] to be so strong that even he himself couldn't use a single trace of 'Holy Light'. That way, any other enemies he trapped within the Cave Heaven would suffer a hellish weakening and be easily suppressed by the [Tiger Demon]!
...

Harboring this blissful anguish, Yuan Zhu vented his rage on the head of the 'Third Disease Spirit'.

The 'Holy Light' stored within the [Soul Crystal] poured out and flowed into the 'Holy Light Barrier'. In order to counteract the suppression of the Cave Heaven and to manually refine the third disease spirit before the 'Chang Gui' was fully automatically refined, he directly released [Seal 1], manifesting the [Sanctuary] to imprison the disease spirit, and maxed out the Holy Light Burning.

With the third disease spirit's desperate screams, the first disease monster was brutally refined. A continuous stream of [Soul Embers] flowed into [Seal 2] through the [First Sanctuary]. The seal-forging process went extremely smoothly, without encountering any further unexpected incidents.

Yuan Zhu carefully examined the material and discovered that the 'embers' refined from the 'sick essence' were of exceptional quality, far surpassing any previous incineration and refining. Moreover, the quantity of 'embers' refined this time was continuously being fused into the [2 Seals], several times stronger than when he previously burned the [Little Pumpkin].

Because of its exceptional quality, he could sense that a new 'Holy Light Skill' was already in the making...

Snake then spoke up: "Quality! It's the quality and purity of 'disease contamination,' continuously refined and elevated through the [Holy Beaker]! Therefore, only extremely high 'purity disease contamination' can produce embers rich in 'contamination rules,' resulting in a perfect imprint!"

Yuan Zhu was struggling against the oppressive force of the external cave, desperately trying to activate the [Sanctuary. Holy Furnace] to 'burn away' the third pathogenic spirit. The holy light consumption was 1.5 times that of usual. In the end, he not only exhausted his [Soul Crystal] reserves, but also burned away a small portion of his own life force before he could completely burn away the pathogenic spirit.

Before dismantling the [Sanctuary], they collected the 'residual holy light' released by the spontaneous combustion of the disease monsters and refilled the dried-up [Soul Crystals] before stopping.

On the ground of the cave, only a scalding, dried-out corpse remained. The still-warm torso was glistening with the red embers of charred remains, like bread overheated and burnt in a microwave.

This thoroughly purified 'holy mummy' was now subjected to the omnipresent shadow aura within the [Cave Heaven]. Like red-hot iron being plunged into icy water, it instantly emitted a large amount of thick smoke, and unable to withstand it any longer, it collapsed into a pile of fragments.

Yuan Zhu bent down and picked up a fist-sized orange glass sphere from among the many charred and shattered 'goblin fragments'.

He held the object in his palm, examining it closely...

"At this point, the seal fell?"

This spherical glassy object is the [Holy Flask] that was previously implanted into the goblin's body. As the diseased goblin continues to feed on contaminated plants in the [Disease Garden], its disease worsens.

The Holy Flask also continuously squeezed out its life force, igniting the internal 'disease fuel' and releasing 'holy cough particles' to heal. It purified and suppressed the disease demons within, and performed a 'sacred' correction on the pollution and distortion of the 'disease essence'.

However, no matter how much they try to control it, the diseased spirit lives in the polluted cesspool of the [Disease Garden], where everything it breathes and eats is contaminated with disease; even the life force extracted by the [Holy Flask] is transformed from the 'morbid life force' that erupts from the 'disease'.

Having been in the abalone market for so long, one becomes unaware of its stench. This "Holy Flask," from its very inception, received no divine replenishment from the outside world (Yuan Zhu), remaining entirely within the body of the diseased essence, immersed in the cesspool of disease, undergoing a pure 'disease cycle'.

It's comparable to a dog pooping and eating its own food; theoretically, it could be an infinite perpetual motion machine, never starving. In reality, it's just a purification process during the defense!
This endless cycle of purifying 'disease pollution' revolves around the [flask], seemingly prolonging the lives of goblins, but in reality, it uses a mere 'small flask' to combat the entire ecosystem of the [Disease Garden].

Eventually, the Holy Flask was contaminated little by little.

The 'holy light' that even the [Changgui Divine Power] couldn't refine was now deeply corrupted by the mere 'Disease Cycle Purification'.

Yes, even the terrifying 'defense cycle' failed to corrupt the [Holy Flask] into a [Disease-related Item], but the [Flavor] was deeply corrupted. Now, after being purified by the high-temperature incineration of the [Sanctuary], it has become a [Bright Orange] glass sphere.

The sphere is the sintered outer shell of the 'Holy Beaker (Pumpkin Ashes)', inside which is a bright orange, viscous liquid substance resembling fluorescent dye. This is the highly purified 'Holy Cough Pathogen'!
The 【Holy Cough Particle】, completely contaminated and diseased, was held in Yuan Zhu's hand, a feeling of familiarity washing over him. It was as if this thing was also his child.

However, compared to the obedient 'Holy Cough Particles,' these high-purity 'Holy Cough Pathogens' have long since gone astray. Once broken and released, they can even quickly contaminate themselves, dragging themselves down with them.

"It feels a bit dangerous!"

He weighed the beautiful, fluorescent, bright orange glass sphere in his hand, like a fluorescent lamp. Unfortunately, it was extremely dangerous and had lost its [Holy Beaker] abilities; it could only be used as a [Sealing Device]. He hadn't yet figured out its purpose.

Therefore, Yuan Zhu stored the [Fluorescent Glass Ball] in his soul space.

……

Meanwhile, the 'No. 1 Ghost Refining Quest' which was being AFK inside the [Cave Heaven] was successfully completed with the full power of the Mountain Lord's Domain.

Then, with a thought, a black-bodied ghost, similar in shape to a standard 'sick spirit' but with a drastically different head, appeared before Yuan Zhu.

This refining process did not yield the [Changgui Plugin], but instead produced a living, fully-formed [Changgui].

This indicates that the quality of the 'refining raw materials' has greatly improved; they are no longer worthless scraps and have been successfully transformed into a small soldier under the command of [Mountain Lord].

It can be stored in the [Inner Universe] for carrying; it can be sent to the [Mountain Lord's Domain] to become a patrolling monster; it can even be thrown behind the [Door] to explore new maps... Finally, naturally, it can be used for Holy Light cultivation to continue forging seals.

Yuan Zhu decisively chose the last option.

The evil method of directly purifying (burning) the pathogenic essence, which "does not burn oneself but only others" forging, may not show side effects in the short term, but it will inevitably create hidden dangers in the long run and will also reduce the purity of one's own "holy light".

Just like the "defense cycle" of the "pathological spirit" itself, it has fallen into the demonic path!

Because the core principle of [Holy Light] is: [To burn oneself to illuminate others and benefit the world.]

The solution lies in burning oneself, not only burning health but also burning one's soul to increase the proportion of one's soul in [Holy Seal, Soul Crystal].

Therefore, burning the [Chang Gui] is the best way! The [Chang Gui] is an inseparable part of the 'Tiger Demon', and is the 'secondary soul dregs' of the Tiger Demon.

The Tiger Demon's 'soul' is my soul, Yuan Zhu's soul.

Burning the evil spirits is like burning myself; turning the evil path into the righteous one.

At this moment, Yuan Zhu looked at the newly formed 'Sick Spirit Ghost'. Its torso and body had not changed much, and its skin and flesh showed the unique semi-transparent and semi-energized characteristics of the [Ghost].

It can easily transform into liquid shadow and merge into its own. The most peculiar feature of the 'Sick Spirit' is its head. Nearly one-third of its entire head is occupied by a single, enormous, bloodshot, orange-red eye!

Without a brain or hair, the skull directly encloses and protects this 'eyeball'. Even when blinking or closing the eyes, it's not covered by eyelids, but by a transparent membrane, allowing the eye to still see everything happening around it.

Below this large eye are two holes without any nasal flesh, and below that is a mouth that can be exaggeratedly split open.

(End of this chapter)