Chapter 83: Heaven-Swallowing Scripture! Demonic Influence!

A few minutes later, Chen Xuan’s sword, surrounded by the brilliance of countless stars, was embedded in Mu Xuanyin’s chest, causing large amounts of blood to pour out.

The next instant, the puppet exploded into countless illusory fragments.

For the first time since obtaining the Seven Trials Tower, Chen Xuan had successfully slain one of the nine puppets.

Unfortunately, before he could celebrate, the Yin-Yang curtain behind him trembled.

It crumbled the very next instant, and the attacks of the remaining eight other puppets engulfed him.

This time, even the Dragon-Phoenix Body failed to withstand the barrage of attacks.

Chen Xuan suffered heavy injuries before the Seven Trials Tower forcibly expelled him from the trial space.

The moment he returned to reality, his body crashed onto the ground, blood pouring from the countless wounds riddling his body.

However, no panic appeared on his face.

Watching as the Dragon-Phoenix Body continuously repaired his injuries, Chen Xuan replayed the earlier battle in his mind.

’As expected... raw physical strength alone isn’t enough to clear the trial.’

’If I wish to go further, U need to master more spells and integrate them into my combat style. Most importantly, I must comprehend the complete Yin-Yang Annihilation.’

Yin-Yang Annihilation—the supreme spell inheritance he had obtained from the Secret Realm. It was a terrifying spell composed of thousands of deeply interconnected spells.

Once fully mastered, it would allow the user to leap realms while in battle.

Combined with his Great Yin-Yang Dao Origin, it would bring Chen Xuan’s strength to the next level.

’Practicing the two Great Origin Dao, mastering the Dragon-Phoenix Body, and even comprehending the Yin-Yang Annihilation spell...’

Chen Xuan let out a helpless sigh.

There were just his priorities.

Besides those, there were several other things he needed to do, albeit slightly less important.

’Is this how protagonists feel?’

’There are so many things to do but so little time. If I were given a few years—no, just a few months—my strength would completely transform.’

’By then, the conflict between the righteous and demonic factions would be but a trivial matter.’

Unfortunately, reality would not wait for him.

He could only seize every moment before the war completely broke out, in order to strengthen himself.

Urging his Nascent Soul to absorb the surrounding Spiritual Energy, it didn’t take long for Chen Xuan’s wounds to recover.

He didn’t rush to re-enter the Seven Trials Tower, but instead shifted his focus to a different matter.

With a wave of his hands, a corpse flew out of his spatial ring, appearing before him.

It was neither the remains of the Black Abyss Dragon nor some ancient demon beast.

Rather, it belonged to a human cultivator. More specifically, a demonic cultivator.

The other party was not too strong, merely reaching the Core Formation realm.

Chen Xuan had encountered him while the demonic cultivator was in the process of massacring several mortal villages, intending to use them as sacrifices to advance his strength.

Fortunately, Chen Xuan had arrived in time to stop him.

Besides the obvious reason of saving the mortals, he had another purpose for making a move.

Staring at the intact corpse before him, Chen Xuan’s eyes narrowed.

The contents of a technique surfaced in his mind.

Heaven-Swallowing Scripture—a supreme demonic art suspected of being developed by Chi Yao in her previous life.

By devouring the essence of other cultivators’ Physiques, one could continuously evolve their own body until it eventually transformed into a legendary Chaos Body.

Ever since obtaining the technique, Chen Xuan had attempted to research this mysterious physique.

Unfortunately, the results were lackluster.

The Chaos Body was only briefly mentioned in a handful of ancient texts, and even then, it was in passing. There was no accompanying information regarding its abilities, much less its secrets.

Just its majestic name, though, was enough to reveal its power and status.

Chen Xuan glanced at the corpse on the ground.

The next moment, he stretched his hand and placed it on its abdomen.

Then, the Heaven-Swallowing Scripture was activated for the very first time.

Spiritual Energy instantly rushed through his arm.

By the time it reached his palm, it had transformed into dense demonic energy.

Like tentacles that had grown out of control, it drilled into the corpse, burrowing into its flesh, blood, and even its very essence.

At an astonishing rate, the corpse began to shrivel.

As if an invisible Devil Mosquito was sucking its blood out, the corpse quickly turned into a dried mummy.

Chen Xuan paid no attention to the grotesque sight.

As the essence of the corpse was extracted, he felt the demonic energy return to his body, accompanied by a high-level power.

That power quickly split apart, spreading through every inch of his body.

It did not enhance his cultivation or temper his physical body. Instead, it nourished his Physique.

Within just moments, the power had been completely exhausted.

Yet, the results were undeniable.

Chen Xuan could clearly sense that a subtle transformation had taken place within his body.

Though the improvement was far from being enough to upgrade his Spirit Body into a High-Grade Physique, the change was obvious.

’Just absorbing a single Core Formation cultivator produced such visible results. If I devoured hundreds of such cultivators, my Physique would undoubtedly transform.’

’Hundreds of Core Formation cultivators equal thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, which in turn equals tens of thousands of Qi Refining disciples’

’For mortals, this number jumps to...’

Chen Xuan’s thoughts gradually drifted.

Strange whispers echoed in his ears, tempting him to slaughter everyone around him.

The demonic energy within his body surged.

A terrifying bloodlust erupted from him, as though he were a demon crawling out from the depths of Hell.

Fortunately, Chen Xuan quickly noticed the abnormality.

His divine sense swept across his body, suppressing the impact of the demonic influence. His Nascent Soul awakened and stabilized his mind.

The crimson in his eyes gradually receded.

Moments later, when everything was finally over, Chen Xuan softly exhaled and shook his head.

’No wonder most demonic cultivators lose themselves. It’s not only the rapid increase in their strength.’

’The techniques they practice are also tempting them to fall into darkness. If their Dao Heart is weak and their will is not firm, it’s only a matter of time before they descend into madness.’