After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

Lin Zhixu thus settled down in the Demon Palace.

He doesn't act like an outsider at all. Today he orders this person to serve him tea and water, tomorrow he sends that person to find him fresh fruits, and the day after tomorrow he complains that his dwelling is cold and damp, so he asks the demon generals to find fire-attribute spirit stones to pave the floor for him to keep warm.

The demon generals were so angry they were practically grinding their teeth to powder, but none of them dared to utter a single word of "no."

Because if they complained even slightly, Lin Zhixu would yell at them.

Li Hanshan was still intrigued by Lin Zhixu, so he naturally went along with everything he said.

She even seemed to enjoy Lin Zhixu's "spoiled and arrogant" demeanor.

So every time he heard Lin Zhixu complain, he would step in and never hesitate to take action.

After a while, Li Hanshan got annoyed by those clueless subordinates who were always causing him trouble.

So, by making an example of them and eliminating the two troublemakers, things finally calmed down completely.

The people in the Demon Palace finally understood that Li Hanshan had forgotten his old friends for new ones.

This kid is in power right now; messing with him is suicide.

When Lin Zhixu deliberately caused trouble again, the people in the Demon Palace dared not speak out against him.

Lin Zhixu found it boring and toned it down a bit.

On this day, Li Hanshan finally finished his work and gracefully arrived at Lin Zhixu's residence.

"Had fun?"

Lin Zhixu leaned back on the soft couch, not even lifting his eyelids: "You let me order them around as I please, so naturally I'll make the most of them."

Li Hanshan smiled and didn't dwell on the topic.

"After so many days of leisure, it's time to get down to business. Now that I've allowed you to join my demonic path, I will naturally teach you the true demonic arts."

Lin Zhixu's expression remained unchanged: "What kind of demonic art?"

Li Hanshan smiled meaningfully: "Something that can transform you completely, freeing you from being controlled by others. But..."

His gaze fell on Lin Zhixu, as if observing his reaction. "You are ultimately a human cultivator, and spiritual energy flows within you. To cultivate demonic arts, you must first eliminate spiritual energy before you can rebuild your foundation with demonic energy."

Lin Zhixu didn't say anything, but patted Xiao Hei's back intermittently.

With his spiritual power completely dissipated and his foundation rebuilt, it meant that he would completely discard everything he had cultivated over the years and start from scratch.

This was within his expectations.

Lin Zhixu asked, "Are those evil cultivators who have been brainwashed by you the same?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hanshan's disdain was almost overflowing: "Them? Those pieces of trash don't even deserve it! They're just pawns I casually tossed out to muddy the waters."

"Those people are all talk and no action. Their foundations are rotten, their character is flawed, they're only fit to be nourishment. If you were to truly teach them your profound demonic arts, let alone cultivate them, they'd be lucky to even die on the spot."

Lin Zhixu raised an eyebrow: "Then I should thank the Demon Lord for thinking so highly of me?"

Li Hanshan laughed and said, "That's for sure. I would never compare you to them. You are different from them."

"What I am about to teach you is the true superior technique of my demon race, a technique that can transform you and allow you to reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao. Oh no, in your mouths, it should be called the Demonic Path."

Lin Zhixu curled his lips: "Alright. Anyway, I have no way out, so I might as well completely fall into the demonic path."

Li Hanshan laughed loudly: "Good! You have guts! But I must correct you on one point." He floated closer to Lin Zhixu, his voice deep, "It's not 'falling' into the demonic path, it's 'joining' the demonic path."

"In this world, there is light and darkness, yang and yin. Why is it that when they cultivate immortality, they are on the righteous path, while when we cultivate demonic arts, we are on the evil path? The distinction between the righteous and the evil path has never been about the techniques used, but about the human heart."

"I have lived for tens of thousands of years. I have seen righteous cultivators slaughter cities and exterminate clans for their own selfish desires, and I have also seen demonic cultivators willing to die to protect their people."

"Who is righteous and who is evil? It's just a matter of whoever wins having the right to write the story of right and wrong. Those so-called righteous paths are best at finding high-sounding excuses to make themselves feel better."

Lin Zhixu was genuinely surprised.

He looked Li Hanshan up and down, as if he were getting to know him all over again.

I never expected that Li Hanshan could say something so philosophical.

Lin Zhixu neither agreed nor disagreed.

He had to admit that Li Hanshan's words were not entirely without merit.

Good and evil should not be judged solely by appearances.

However, even so, he would not actually regard Li Hanshan as a kind person because of this.

After all, some people may have been forced into demonic ways, but this one is the ancestor of the demonic path, inherently evil, and there is no way to whitewash him.

That bastard's every word is just for his own benefit. If you actually believe him, you'll be devoured without a trace, sold out and still have to count the money for him.

Lin Zhixu: "Stop talking nonsense. Aren't you supposed to help me remove the demonic energy that's been introduced into my spiritual power? Let's start now."

Li Hanshan was taken aback by his reaction.

For some reason, he felt inexplicably happy, chuckled softly, and said nothing more.

Li Hanshan's body was surrounded by surging demonic energy, and the black mist enveloped Lin Zhixu as if it were alive.

The black mist was not violent; instead, it was like warm water, slowly seeping into my limbs and bones.

Lin Zhixu had expected to be in excruciating pain.

After all, phrases like "complete dissipation of spiritual power" and "rebuilding of the foundation" sound like major, devastating events.

He was even prepared to lose half his life.

The excruciating pain I had imagined did not come.

I felt something inside my body being peeled away little by little, like pulling silk threads.

It didn't hurt, just felt empty, like something precious was slowly drifting away.

The whole process was incredibly fast.

After the black mist dissipated, Lin Zhixu looked down at his hands.

His spiritual power was indeed gone, and the spiritual light he emitted had turned black, which must be the residual demonic energy within his body.

He blinked. "That's it?"

Li Hanshan asked in confusion, "Otherwise what? What else do you want?"

Lin Zhixu honestly said, "I thought it would hurt a lot."

Li Hanshan scoffed: "That's a bad habit of you righteous cultivators. It's as if you have to go through life and death to be considered to be cultivating, and you can't show your sincerity if you don't suffer."

"We demons always value efficiency. Why make things difficult for ourselves if we can get things done comfortably?"

Lin Zhixu: "..."

I suddenly regret not joining the Demonic Path sooner.

He dared not imagine how much less suffering he could endure.

Lin Zhixu moved his wrists and felt the new demonic energy slowly flowing through his body.

It carries a certain unfamiliar, eager, and aggressive quality.

Strangely, he didn't reject it.

Perhaps it's because the demonic energy planted by Li Hanshan already existed within his body.

Or perhaps, he was simply better suited for this path.

He slowly closed his fingers, clenching the black energy into his palm.

"What should we do next?"

Li Hanshan began to teach him how to circulate demonic energy.

Originally, he only wanted to give Lin Zhixu a few pointers so that he could get a basic understanding of the basics.

But as he practiced, his eyes changed.

The same set of techniques, which would probably take others months or even years to find the feeling of Qi, Lin Zhixu mastered in almost one go.

The demonic energy flowed smoothly within his body, like water flowing into the sea, without any stagnation.

He casually conjured a very basic magic seal, and the black flame that condensed from his fingertips was incredibly pure, even making Li Hanshan stare in disbelief.

He then taught the second level.

Half an hour later, Lin Zhixu was able to use demonic energy to control the wind, his figure as light as a ghost.

Li Hanshan's expression went from satisfaction to amazement, then to complexity, and finally to jealousy towards Yu Linzhou.

This talent, even during the Demon Race's heyday, would have been considered a once-in-a-millennium talent.

If judged by the standards of the cultivation world, it would definitely be a top-grade demonic spiritual root.

It would have been better if he had come out earlier.

If Lin Zhixu could become his apprentice, he dared not imagine how much he would achieve in the past few years.

That damned Yu Linzhou, if you can't teach, then don't teach!

He could tell at a glance that Lin Zhixu was a member of the demon race!

After being displaced for so many years, I was actually tricked by the cultivation world.

That's absolutely outrageous!