Chapter 17

Creak!

The Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace was slowly opened.

In the sky shrouded in mist, Yang Qifeng saw the vast expanse of the heavens.

The change in the Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace interrupted the conversation between the Blue Dryad Demon God and Yang Qifeng.

Both Yang Qifeng and the Blue Dryad Demon God gazed upward.

The divine ice iron had been forged into a divine weapon, shaped like a nine-toothed rake with double rings and golden leaves.

The divine weapon was arranged according to the six stars, five planets, four seasons, and eight festivals, dividing the sun and moon on both sides, and the Eight Trigram stars were neatly aligned.

At first sight, Yang Qifeng's eyes lit up with excitement. What a magnificent divine weapon, what a fine nine-toothed rake.

Initially surrounded by the divine fire of the Six Ding, Yang Qifeng couldn't see clearly, but now that it was revealed, it shone with golden light and radiated with brilliance.

However, the excitement came quickly and disappeared just as fast. Yang Qifeng knew that such a divine weapon would never belong to him.

Just looking at it made him feel a chill, and to wield it, he would need the power of a transcendent being, which was simply out of the question.

Bang! The lid of the Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace closed again.

The world of flames returned to its former solitude. Yang Qifeng gazed upward at the vanished divine weapon, his eyes filled with melancholy.

After a long while, he finally spoke to the Blue Dryad Demon God, "I have always had a question. The Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace has been opened many times, yet no one has discovered my presence?"

Yang Qifeng voiced his inner doubt, a question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time. Ever since he realized where he was, this doubt had lingered.

From the Blue Dryad Demon God's account, Laozi was undoubtedly a great sage with extraordinary abilities, a being even the Blue Dryad Demon God feared.

With such power, it was inconceivable that Laozi had not discovered Yang Qifeng's presence in the Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace.

What was the Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace? It was Laozi's treasure. Imagine a mouse wandering around in a bowl; how could the owner not know? Yang Qifeng had been avoiding this question, but with the furnace opening again, he could no longer keep it bottled up.

In the path of cultivation, the demon race valued spontaneity. If this doubt lingered, it would eventually become an obsession, hindering Yang Qifeng's future cultivation.

Yang Qifeng recognized this, so he took the opportunity to ask his question when the furnace opened.

"This is uncertain. Perhaps he hasn't discovered you, or perhaps he has," the Blue Dryad Demon God's face appeared on the ring, swaying gently as he continued, "But even if he has discovered you, it doesn't matter. The old official follows the principle of non-action, letting everything take its natural course. As long as you don't do anything out of line, he won't interfere."

The Blue Dryad Demon God's last words carried a warning.

Yang Qifeng heard the warning but could only smile bitterly. Since he knew he couldn't achieve great success in his soul cultivation within the Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace, he had thoughts of escaping. However, because the furnace was closed, and he couldn't break through the world of flames inside, he had to be patient.

With the furnace open, Yang Qifeng was eager to act.

But in the end, he abandoned the idea. Escaping the Eight Trigram Immortal Furnace wasn't difficult, but what would he do afterward? Laozi would not remain passive.

As the Blue Dryad Demon God said, non-action and letting things take their natural course did not mean Laozi would do nothing and let Yang Qifeng run wild.

The obsession with escape would eventually become a hindrance.

Yang Qifeng sighed inwardly, looked at the ring on his claw, and asked softly, "How can I solve the problem of the demon god's blood for the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang?"

Revisiting the old topic, this time Yang Qifeng asked directly without beating around the bush.

"Two methods, it's up to you to choose," the Blue Dryad Demon God's tone was somewhat low, clearly affected by Yang Qifeng's previous words.

"The first method, as you mentioned, is a simplified version of the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang. It has completely abandoned the body-strengthening effects and focuses solely on transformation techniques. You don't need the blood of thirty-six demon gods; just some ordinary demon immortals' blood will suffice. In the current era, all those who practice the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang use this method."

"The advantage is that it's easy to master quickly, but the disadvantage is that its power is only one-tenth of the original version."

"The second method you already know."

"Does that mean I have no choice?" Yang Qifeng frowned and asked.

Yang Qifeng wanted to strengthen his body, but the simplified method had minimal body-strengthening effects and focused on transformation techniques, which didn't suit his needs. He asked tentatively, "If there's the Heavenly Gang, what about the Earthly Fiend?"

"Are you talking about the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Fiend?" the Blue Dryad Demon God asked.

"Yes!" Yang Qifeng replied.

"The Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Fiend are merely a derivative of the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang. After the ancient war, people found the Thirty-Six Transformations too difficult to master and couldn't gather the demon gods' blood, so they evolved the Heavenly Gang into the Earthly Fiend. The number of transformations doubled, but the quality of the blood required did not increase; instead, it decreased, changing from demon gods to demon saints."

"In the current era, the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang cannot be mastered, so the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Fiend dominate. If you want to practice the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Fiend, it's a good idea, but unfortunately, I don't know them, just like the Nine Revolutions of the Mystic Art and the Eight-Nine Mystic Art." The Blue Dryad Demon God said this with confidence, showing no embarrassment.

Yang Qifeng looked at the face the Blue Dryad Demon God had conjured, but the expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to tell if he truly didn't know or was pretending.

One sentence sealed off all other possibilities. To strengthen his body, Yang Qifeng had to practice the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang and gather the demon gods' blood.

"Don't be discouraged. Although the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang require demon gods' blood, which is hard to obtain, once mastered, their power is immense, enough to let you dominate the world."

"Moreover, as an ancient demon god, I was one of the thirty-six demon gods observed by the emperor. I know all the secrets of the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang. The demon gods' blood is not entirely irreplaceable. As long as it's the blood of a demon god's descendant, with my help in refining and purifying it, there will be some impact, but it's not necessary to have the true demon gods' blood."

"Here is a drop of my blood, enough to help you complete the first transformation."

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