Chapter 88

Lifting his head, he swallowed the three demon cores into his stomach, as if swallowing a ball of fire. The acupoints, like long-dry land, eagerly absorbed the energy of the earth, and the primordial energy once again filled up, rushing impatiently to the eleventh acupoint. This time, Wei Shiban did not stop it but instead relinquished all control, observing as a bystander, carefully sensing the changes in the primordial energy within his body.

His first feeling was that the primordial energy had gained life. They knew the limits of the meridians and acupoints better than Wei Shiban did. Without any trial, they reached the limit, always stopping just short of breaking through. The pain could be endured, but the danger could not. Wei Shiban had a chilling sensation that there was another consciousness hidden within his body, slowly awakening from sleep. When it awoke, he would become something entirely different.

Living was a grand gamble; only by betting everything could one win the most.

Eleven levels in seven days, twelve levels in three days. From Dazhui to Yaoyangguan, each acupoint contained a trembling drop of primordial fluid, spinning rapidly.

Upon completion, the twelve drops of primordial fluid merged into one, causing a strong surge of primordial energy. If the meridians and acupoints had not been repeatedly reinforced, the surge alone would have been enough to burst his body.

The surge gradually subsided, and Wei Shiban finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, at a moment when he was completely unprepared, the primordial fluids left the acupoints, rushing into the dantian, like twelve beads colliding and merging, forming a single small demon core, pale yellow and almost imperceptible.

Wei Shiban heard his heartbeat, like a drum, a landslide, a flood, and tasted a bitter taste in his mouth. It was a demon core, not a Dao embryo!

The blood lost control, flowing rapidly within his body. Clumps of blood mist rushed into the demon core and vanished without a trace. Wei Shiban's face turned pale. He clearly sensed that something dangerous was brewing within the demon core.

It was a remnant soul of the Bashi, dormant in his blood, now awakening through the demon core.

Even if the Dao was lost, the soul remained. As long as a suitable body was found, there was a chance for rebirth. The two-headed fierce ape hid its soul in its bones, the three-eyed spirit cat in its demon core, and the Bashi in its blood. Possession, reincarnation, and resurrection through a corpse—there were countless methods to strip his consciousness from his body and take over his flesh.

Without this body, would he still be considered alive?

Human strength had its limits, and this was not something he could choose.

The remnant soul awoke from its slumber, as if opening tightly closed eyes. In an instant, countless fragmented and chaotic images flooded his mind: the Bashi, the grotto, the fierce battle, the grotto, betrayal, the grotto, the grotto, the grotto, the grotto... The image he saw most often was a grotto where the sun and moon hung in the sky and rivers flowed on the ground, a grotto that contained all of heaven and earth within a mustard seed!

The remnant soul, upon awakening, immediately leaped out of the demon core, shaking and lunging toward his head. At the same moment, Wei Shiban's left hand experienced a piercing pain. The Penglai Bag, sensing the threat, roared silently, rushing up his arm into his chest and abdomen, intercepting the Bashi's remnant soul and devouring it without restraint.

The human-faced dove, the ice silkworm, the green iron bee queen, the two-headed fierce ape... The Penglai Bag had consumed the souls of countless demons. A mere remnant soul of the Bashi had no chance of escape. Wei Shiban was as clear as a mirror; the Penglai Bag was a contingency plan left by Ruan Jing. The awakening of the Bashi's bloodline and the remnant soul's attempt at possession were all part of her calculations!

Counting the fingers, she had already saved him twice.

Wei Shiban refined a few more demon cores, and the energy of the earth condensed into primordial fluid in the acupoints, which was absorbed by the demon core in the dantian. The little guy, nourished by the primordial fluid, grew in size and fell into a deep sleep. It seemed that something innate had been added to his body, like the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, with no sense of strangeness. Wei Shiban instinctively understood the importance of the demon core but didn't know how to use it—like the human-faced dove, spitting out the demon core to hit people? He thought of the ox spirit from the Seven Saints of Meishan, who would often spit out ox treasures, which seemed too out of place.

Having escaped a crisis, he decided to leave it at that for now. He owed Ruan Jing a great favor, and he would repay it when the opportunity arose. Wei Shiban had a strong premonition that he must attend the Red Mist Valley Sword Discussion in ten years, to see Ruan Jing again and ask her some questions.

An unknown thread seemed to connect their fates.

Wei Shiban took out the iron rod from his sword bag and swung it a few times, feeling it had become much heavier. In recent days, the iron rod had absorbed the essence of the black gold ore, significantly improving its quality, almost as if it had undergone a complete transformation. On a whim, he tried practicing the "Mad Demon Staff Technique," unconsciously infusing primordial energy into the iron rod. The black light mixed with yellow, shattering wood and stone like steam, slowly rising and turning to dust.

The "Twelve Levels" not only meant abundant primordial energy without the fear of depletion, but also that the primordial energy tide, compressed into primordial fluid, had increased several times in strength, enhancing the power of the Mad Demon Staff Technique. If he were to face the three-eyed spirit cat again, Wei Shiban would have more confidence.

But he still harbored a deep respect for those strange demonic arts and powers.

After practicing for half an hour, Wei Shiban put away the iron rod and looked around at the mess, reminiscent of the aftermath of the battle between Qi Du and Qiluo. He smiled in satisfaction and set out to find his junior sister.

In the distance, he saw Qin Zhen sitting cross-legged at the base of a rock, with a green wolf guarding nearby, its ears trembling slightly, listening to the faintest sounds in the wind.

He stopped, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and her small face showed a look of pain. With each breath, her breath took on a faint red hue. She was condensing a Dao embryo.

It wasn't just him who was taking a desperate gamble. To walk by his side, Qin Zhen had bet everything.