In the pitch-black space where one could not see even their own hand, dense demonic qi, otherwise known as Baleful Yin force, stirred up terrifying gusts that howled in all directions. Blood-curdling roars echoed endlessly from the darkness. This was a world without light, a world like Hell itself, where no future remained. Everything was filled with deathly silence, eeriness, and terror. There were no changing seasons here, and no sense of time passing.

An unremarkable figure stepped forward, his expression grave and his vigilance at its utmost. His right hand gripped a long saber as true origin surged within him. From the light behind him, he walked into the world of darkness.

"Hm?" Lin Zheyu reacted in surprise.

He looked up. To most, this place seemed completely dark, but to him, everything was surprisingly visible. It was only a little dimmer than outside, about a third of his usual vision without interference from demonic qi. Still, it was remarkable!

Is this the transformation in perception brought by a stronger physique?

After entering the demon god barrier, Lin Zheyu did not rush deeper. He stayed at the boundary, confirming there were no hidden dangers before proceeding. The moment he stepped in, he noticed something unusual. Compared to his previous infiltration, the oppressive force was far weaker, not even a tenth of what it had been.

His field of vision had improved dramatically as well. Before, he could only see less than a hundred meters around him. Now it was merely slightly suppressed. With a thought, his Perception Domain spread outward. Lin Zheyu found that its limitations had also eased.

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu frowned, his lips twitching slightly. This space-time node had existed for over two years, and the density of demonic qi here far surpassed the barrier he had entered before. When he tried to release his spiritual sense, he was met with a bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze the soul itself.

Lin Zheyu shook his head slightly and muttered, "Without the protection of a Divine Power Crystal, spiritual sense really can't be used here."

He had long learned of the Divine Power Crystal's function. The mysterious energy within it could weaken or even eliminate the effects of demonic qi, allowing immortal cultivators to act freely within such environments without fear of corrosion. Unfortunately, Lin Zheyu had not discovered how to use it.

The method of using this special energy seemed to be common knowledge. Yet no one sold it in the markets, nor was it recorded in any texts. When Lin Zheyu tried to probe indirectly, it immediately raised others' suspicions. Not wanting trouble, he laughed it off and stopped asking. In the cultivation world, knowledge, techniques, and inheritance were guarded far more strictly than in martial cultivation.

Not only was it difficult to obtain high-level techniques or learn talismans, restrictions, alchemy, and formations, but even asking about basic knowledge could arouse suspicion. If someone had to ask about common sense, it meant their background was questionable and lacked proper inheritance. Such a person was either an enemy or someone who had stumbled upon great fortune. Either way, they would attract attention.

I guess there's no point relying on spiritual sense. Luckily, the Perception Domain still works. For me, spiritual sense only acts as support. What truly matters is the evolution of the Perception Domain.

Whether in combat or sensing, he rarely relied on spiritual sense. Most of the time, it was used to retrieve items from his storage pouch or to manipulate objects, granting a form of flight. After all, pure martial cultivation alone could not grant him true flight.

In martial cultivation, true flight was only possible after reaching the Martial Innate realm and forming the Bridge of Heaven and Earth to connect with the world. Alternatively, one could convert true strength into Immortal Dao spirit power. Although Lin Zheyu's true origin was powerful, at its core, it was still true strength, just a more condensed, liquid form of that energy.

True origin and spirit power were fundamentally different energies. Many things spirit power could easily achieve, true origin simply could not. Flight, nurturing spiritual sense, and true sword control all required spirit power. In the Immortal Dao, controlling flying swords or dharma artifacts demanded not just spiritual sense, but also spirit power and spells working together.

If relying on spiritual sense alone, it would have to reach an unimaginable level to propel a flying sword beyond the speed of sound. That was why Lin Zheyu sold off nearly all the dharma artifacts and talismans he obtained. Most of them he simply could not use, and even those he could use suffered greatly reduced power.

***

After confirming that without a Divine Power Crystal, his spiritual sense could not be used here, Lin Zheyu shifted his focus back to the Perception Domain. It had been about two years since his last entry into the demon god barrier. Over those two years, his physique had improved considerably, mainly in defense. Most of these gains came from cultivating demon arts.

Pure defensive improvements had little effect on the Perception Domain. Its coverage had only increased from about 2,500 meters to around 2,600 meters, barely a hundred meters of growth. The Perception Domain was closely tied to sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste, and a martial artist's intuition. Yet outside, Lin Zheyu had not felt any obvious enhancement in these aspects.

"The improvement since last time isn't that great. The demonic qi here is denser than before, yet my five senses and Perception Domain are less suppressed. Could it be these mysterious runes on my body?"

Lin Zheyu raised his right hand. With a thought, golden runes emerged, faintly flickering with an almost imperceptible glow. As the light flowed, even the dense Baleful Yin force was reduced to a negligible level of corrosion.

Lin Zheyu carefully sensed it, a slight smile forming on his lips as he muttered, "It seems I chose the right path!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

When he first created the Primordial Golden Body technique, using demon arts and martial cultivation as dual foundations and Immortal Dao body-refining as support, he had already envisioned this path.

Now, it had been proven fully viable. Demon arts were originally created by the most radical experts of ancient times, who sought to forge bodies suited for survival in the demon realm. They were eventually abandoned due to unsolvable flaws. Now, with the help of Origin Force, Lin Zheyu had preserved their traits while overcoming their severe side effects.

"This feeling... It's remarkable!" Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

He closed his eyes and carefully experienced the sensation of being immersed in dense demonic qi. There was still a faint oppressive feeling, but it was minimal. At the same time, he sensed something entirely new.

Absorb!

With a thought, Lin Zheyu began drawing in spiritual qi.

He possessed an immortal cultivation aptitude, so even without opening the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, he could absorb spiritual qi, though inefficiently due to poor aptitude. However, efficiency also depended on the strength of the spiritual sense and the quality of technique. Though he had never cultivated an immortal technique, by circulating his true origin and using his strong spiritual sense, he could actively draw in energy. Under his control, the surrounding demonic qi surged into his body.

Strange sounds followed as the demonic qi entered his body and merged into his meridians, joining the circulation. The moment it did, it was like water dropped into boiling oil. His true origin surged violently. The portion that did not enter the meridians but seeped into his flesh seemed drawn to the golden runes, flowing into them. Gradually, the runes faded, flickering with an eerie glow, as if reverting to the twisted runes formed by demon arts.

At that instant, Lin Zheyu's body trembled. His crimson blood turned gold, radiating a brilliant glow that merged into the runes. The runes, which had begun to degrade under the demonic qi, were restored to their golden state with the support of that energy.

Lin Zheyu exclaimed in shock, "Huh?"

He had seen the formation of the golden runes before and knew his blood was extraordinary. But now, by actively absorbing and observing their changes under demonic qi, he gained a completely different understanding.

"The true origin behaves as before, but these golden runes have greatly enhanced my resistance to demonic qi. Not only that, but the demonic qi even seems to temper them," Lin Zheyu murmured, his eyes growing brighter.

The golden runes were far more powerful than he had imagined, and the golden energy within his blood was equally extraordinary. Through study, he discovered that the transformation between crimson and gold was driven by a unique energy within his blood. Once activated, it would cause his blood to shine with golden light.

He did not know what this energy was, so he named it golden energy based on its color. It was this energy that transformed the original demon runes into golden ones. Truly, everything seemed guided by fate.

If Lin Zheyu had not stubbornly pushed his blood qi to its limits and forged powerful golden blood qi, laying such a solid martial foundation, this golden energy would not have emerged. Without it, the golden runes might never have formed. Even with Origin Force, the demon runes would have struggled to survive the restoration of his consciousness and likely remained incomplete.

Gales swept through the world, carrying demonic qi with a wailing howl. From the moment Lin Zheyu entered the barrier to when he finished examining his body, only two or three minutes had passed. After understanding the changes, he did not leave. The experiment he had just conducted gave him a new idea.

Lin Zheyu smiled faintly and thought, Perhaps... I can try this.

His true origin circulated, and his spiritual sense extended from his sea of consciousness, not outward, but inward into his body. With another thought, he absorbed demonic qi again. This time, under his control, it did not enter his meridians or touch his true origin, but flowed toward the golden runes across his skin.

After a few breaths, the faintly glowing golden runes dimmed until they vanished. Soon after, they were tinged with an eerie glow. Under Lin Zheyu's control, these runes surfaced and formed a thin layer of dim, ghostly energy that covered his entire body.

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu's body reacted instinctively. With a slight tremor, the ghostly glow formed on his surface shattered and vanished. The golden runes flickered back into existence.

A trace of helplessness crossed Lin Zheyu's face. He took a deep breath and tried again. This time, it was faster and more controlled. A few breaths later, it failed again. However, he kept trying.

Suddenly, from the black, slime-covered ground nearby, a ferocious yao less than half a meter long burst out. It let out a sharp screech, laced with eerie power that shot straight into Lin Zheyu's sea of consciousness. But the moment it entered, it was blocked by layered defenses of true intent.

Without even glancing at it, Lin Zheyu's blade flashed. The yao was instantly shredded into hundreds of pieces and fell from the air. He had sensed it the moment it entered a two-thousand-meter radius, but remained still. Only when it attacked did he strike.

Compared to killing nearby yaos, turning the golden runes into ghostly ones mattered far more. If successful, he could use them to conceal himself within the demon god barrier.