Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 189 Blood Demon Bead
Some fairy dew grass is far from enough.

Neither the Immortal Dew Grass nor the [Heavenly Silkworm Robe] can only temporarily slow down Tang Xiaoyu's aging process. If you want her to truly recover, you either need to rejuvenate her body or free her lifespan from the shackles of her physical body.

However, under the current conditions, it would be difficult to achieve either one.

For example, in the former case, if it is a world with abundant spiritual energy, there are many rare and precious materials, such as pills and herbs that can restore youth.

The latter does have some methods, such as possession or parasitism.

However, putting aside the morality of these actions, they all require a high level of cultivation to accomplish. At least for Zhang Chengdao, a cultivator at the Core Formation stage, it would be difficult for him to even possess another person's body, let alone help his disciple possess another person's body.

Moreover, such behavior will eventually backfire, which is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.

Of course, there is another way that is not a solution.

Zhang Chengdao's gaze shifted to the Blood Demon Pearl.

No, it shouldn't be called the Blood Demon Pearl. It's actually an inner core. Although it's extremely fragile and its spiritual energy is too mixed, resulting in it only reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, it is undoubtedly a complete, unclaimed inner core.

If you help Tang Xiaoyu refine this inner core, she can directly become a cultivator at the "Core Formation Stage"—the kind that only has the title. If she completely refines the Blood Demon Pearl and purifies the impurities inside, her remaining spiritual power will probably only be enough to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage.

In any case, with this inner core, Tang Xiaoyu broke through the shackles of the physical body and could enjoy the lifespan of a Core Formation stage cultivator—at least seven or eight hundred years longer.

This seemingly painless "shortcut" to condense pills also has significant drawbacks.

For example, Tang Xiaoyu will never be able to break through to the Core Formation stage again. No matter how hard she tries to cultivate, she will be stuck at the Core Formation stage forever because her inner core is not her own, so she will not be able to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Unless she strengthens her foundation and tempers her body to the point where she can guarantee she won't age and die, she can shatter her core and rebuild her body.

In this way, she can condense her core again from the Foundation Establishment stage, and there will still be a way out for her to pursue immortality.

In any case, refining this inner core called the "Blood Demon Pearl" is currently the only way to save Tang Xiaoyu's life.

only……

Tang Xiaoyu refused.

As tomb keepers, the responsibility etched in their hearts for generations is to guard the Blood Demon Pearl, neither allowing others to obtain it nor using it themselves; this is the tomb keeper's oath.

Zhang Chengdao felt somewhat helpless and had no choice but to bring up his identity as a "True Immortal on Earth".

Do you believe in your teacher?

Zhang Chengdao boasted calmly, "A mere low-grade inner core isn't enough to cause any trouble!"

The Blood Demon Pearl, controlled by Zhang Chengdao, hovered in mid-air three inches in front of Tang Xiaoyu, spinning around.

Strands of reddish-black, spiderweb-like material were peeled away from the Blood Demon Pearl by Zhang Chengdao. These were impurities that had settled in the inner core. If Zhang Chengdao hadn't already been a Core Formation stage cultivator and could skillfully control his spiritual power to separate these impurities, he wouldn't have dared to make such a decision so easily, allowing Tang Xiaoyu to refine the Blood Demon Pearl.

This inner core, filled with evil thoughts and impurities, could directly affect Tang Xiaoyu himself if he is not careful!
Tang Xiaoyu's vision was still blurry. She couldn't see the scenery around her clearly, but she could vaguely make out a figure. The upper half of the figure was snow-white, and the lower half was cyan.

The image of this figure in her mind was that of Zhang Chengdao, a white-haired man, who had looked at her with a smile at the Immortal Fate Assembly, his face full of satisfaction that she had given up the opportunity to cultivate immortality for the sake of her own path.

Tang Xiaoyu felt extremely ashamed.

She came to participate in the Immortal Fate Conference and even joined the White Stone Immortal Sect. Her purpose was not pure. How could she receive such care from her master?

and……

Can the Blood Demon Pearl really be refined?

If I use it, I will break the oath of the tomb keeper. Will I become the next "Blood Demon"?
"It's not some 'Blood Demon Orb',"

As if sensing Tang Xiaoyu's hesitation, Zhang Chengdao patiently explained, "It is actually a cultivator's inner core. However, the cultivator used a less-than-ideal method when condensing the core, which caused it to become like this. But it is still an inner core in essence and can be used temporarily."

Then, he explained the disadvantages of refining the Blood Demon Pearl into an inner core, and emphasized: "Although this inner core can temporarily disguise your cultivation level as that of a cultivator in the Core Formation stage, it is not an inner core that you condensed yourself, nor has it undergone tribulation. Therefore, after you recover, you should cultivate as soon as possible to solidify your cultivation so that you can shatter the core and condense it again as soon as possible. Only in this way can you be considered to have truly entered the path of immortality."

Tang Xiaoyu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she really didn't have the strength to speak.

Fortunately, Zhang Chengdao seemed to know her inside and out, and reassured her, "Don't worry, if the person who condensed this inner core is the 'Blood Demon' you mentioned, then there's nothing to worry about. He's just a cultivator in the Core Formation stage, nothing to worry about."

We're all cultivators at the Core Formation stage. How could I, an "old man" with a powerful cheat ability and a bunch of disciples who are protagonist templates, possibly be no match for a fake Core Formation cultivator like you, whose inner core has been taken away?
Seeing Zhang Chengdao's effortless demeanor, Tang Xiaoyu inexplicably relaxed and finally nodded slightly.

Zhang Chengdao hurriedly slapped the "Blood Demon Pearl" onto Tang Xiaoyu's chest, and this extremely inferior inner core was forcibly "installed" into Tang Xiaoyu's body.

"Slowly channel your spiritual energy into this inner core, refining it little by little. Remember, if it is reversed and refined, immediately step back and rest until you feel that it has become one with your own body. That is when it has been truly refined."

Zhang Chengdao instructed, "After refining, you will need to remove the impurities inside. But don't worry about the spiritual power; your master will personally protect you."

As he spoke, he waved his hand at Xu Ying and the others, saying, "You can all wait outside. Manager Xu, please reassure the disciples and let them do their own thing. There's no need for them to gather here!"

Xu Ying responded and left the house with the others.

Zhang Chengdao took the opportunity to stuff a dozen or so Immortal Dew Grasses into his mouth to replenish... cough, his body.

The purification of the Blood Demon Beads had taken a considerable toll, and a long battle was yet to come. Sending the others away was not only for a quieter environment, but also to make it easier for me to secretly "take drugs."

Otherwise, if word got out that he, the dignified sect leader of the White Stone Immortal Sect, had to take drugs to help a mere Qi Refining disciple refine his inner core, how embarrassing would that be!
Zhang Chengdao straightened his body to conceal his intentions, and then began to remotely transmit spiritual energy to Tang Xiaoyu.

……

(End of this chapter)