Lin Zheyu failed again and again. With each failure, the next attempt lasted longer. During this time, he killed eighteen yaos that attacked him. Fortunately, he was still near the edge of the barrier, and the yaos here were weak; many were not even at the Grandmaster realm.

Time passed slowly. Amid the howling winds, Lin Zheyu immersed himself fully in studying the golden runes, leaving only a third of his focus to watch his surroundings.

Finally, on the sixty-ninth attempt, it worked! A purple-black glow flickered around Lin Zheyu, spreading to envelop even his Setting Sun saber. The dense demonic qi, under his control, was absorbed by the golden runes the moment it touched his skin.

Then, using his true origin and spiritual sense, he isolated the golden energy in his blood, preventing it from restoring the degrading runes. The principle was simple, but execution was difficult. Only after sixty-eight failures did he succeed.

"Interesting. These runes form an energy system independent of true origin," murmured Lin Zheyu as he stared at the purple-black glow covering his body, astonishment filling his face.

Even he had not expected this result. He had only intended to use the degraded runes to absorb demonic qi and emit a strange purple-black energy to conceal his aura. Instead, the golden runes revealed far more remarkable effects.

A constant stream of demonic qi entered his body, transformed by the purple-black runes into an energy carrying demonic traits. As long as demonic qi flowed in, this energy could be sustained. However, relying only on the surface runes was inefficient. And if too much demonic qi was converted, it would begin to erode his flesh and seep into his blood.

Lin Zheyu felt a surge of excitement and thought, This property of the golden runes must be integrated into the Primordial Golden Body. If I can master it, I might be able to build a second energy system independent of true origin.

This discovery was an unexpected delight. A faint smile curved his lips as he took his first true step into the demon god barrier. Shrouded in purple-black energy, his living aura was completely concealed, replaced by one nearly identical to a yao. With a thought, he walked toward a yao over three hundred meters ahead. The distance closed until he passed right by it without incident.

The yao, over two meters long and covered in jagged spikes, let out a roar. It lowered its head and sniffed Lin Zheyu, then turned and left.

"It worked!"

Lin Zheyu watched it leave, a smile appearing on his face.

All of those failed attempts had not been in vain. This concealment was far superior to any concealment technique. Those could only hide his strength, not his presence or living aura. With this method, he could mask his spiritual qi aura and disguise himself as a weak demon puppet, making this journey much safer.

The tension in his heart eased slightly. His Perception Domain spread outward. As expected of a space-time node that had existed for over two years, he soon discovered a demon river rich in demonic energy. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He found that demon rivers spread throughout the entire barrier, branching outward in countless tributaries. Under the erosion of the viscous demonic qi within them, the land had undergone a strange transformation. Once vibrant earth had turned into lifeless demon-tainted soil, sprouting plants unique to the demon realm.

Curious, Lin Zheyu dug downward and found that even a hundred meters below, the ground had already been heavily corrupted by demonic qi. Though not fully transformed, it was close. Numerous yaos lived within the soil, feeding on it and secreting strange viscous substances.

He only investigated briefly before moving on. Following the river upstream, he advanced toward its source. At the end of the river lay the node connected to the yao Nest.

Lin Zheyu moved swiftly through the darkness. Yaos passed by him constantly. Most ignored him entirely, while a few sniffed him suspiciously before leaving.

The sound of flowing water grew louder as he approached the center of the space-time node. After advancing over ten kilometers, he suddenly stopped and looked up. In the far distance, a beam of golden light pierced through the endless darkness, radiating outward. That had to be the node's center.

Why is there golden light here? Lin Zheyu wondered.

He sensed carefully. Aside from cultivators lurking in the shadows, hunting yaos, or gathering herbs, there were no violent fluctuations from battle. Narrowing his eyes, he advanced another two kilometers. The golden light grew clearer, and at its center, he saw the faint outline of a begging bowl.

Did the Buddhist sect make a move?

A begging bowl was a signature artifact of the Buddhist sect. Combined with that sacred aura, there was no doubt. With Great Wei now cooperating with the Western Regions Buddhist sect, their involvement was not surprising. Lin Zheyu was only mildly curious and had no intention of investigating further.

Suddenly, violent energy fluctuations erupted in the distance, accompanied by thunderous roars of yaos. The disturbance was moving rapidly toward him.

Lin Zheyu muttered, "Trouble..."

He moved swiftly to avoid it, not wanting to draw the cultivator's attention. Disguised as a demon puppet, he no longer feared the yaos, but the cultivators instead. If a stronger cultivator mistook him for a yao and killed him on sight, it would be a disastrous loss.

Lin Zheyu pushed off the ground and advanced further toward the space-time node. The closer he got to the center, the denser the demonic qi became, and more Foundation Establishment realm yaos appeared around him.

Lin Zheyu stopped and thought to himself, I can't go any farther. If I do, Golden Core realm yaos might appear. My disguise isn't perfect yet. If I encounter one, there's a high chance I'll be exposed.

As he moved on, he encountered more and more yaos. The stronger they were, the more sensitive they seemed to his disguise. Any Foundation Establishment realm yao that noticed him would give him a suspicious look. Some would even swipe at him, trying to kill him. But after failing to do so, most did not attack again. Only a few particularly vicious ones would keep watching him closely.

The demon river flowed with a steady splash. The energy within it was astonishing, and countless yaos roamed its waters. With a thought, Lin Zheyu increased his absorption of demonic qi, and the purple-black glow around him grew denser. Shrouded in that glow, he stepped into the river.

I'll start by improving the Ninefold True Demon Body. I've wanted to cultivate this for a long time.

The Ninefold True Demon Body differed from the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual and the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique. Those two focused on strengthening defense, turning the body into something like a corpse-refined demon puppet.

The Ninefold True Demon Body, however, used nine transformations to convert the physique into something akin to a pure yao body. Strength, speed, attack, and recovery all became comparable to a yao. If this technique could also undergo beneficial changes under the influence of Origin Force and the golden energy in his blood, it would be perfect.

At that point, he might be able to build a second energy circulation system, based on the mysterious runes in his flesh and fueled by demonic qi.

"If that works, then even if this world falls completely, it won't affect me much," Lin Zheyu murmured.

That was the worst-case scenario. Even if he survived such a day, a lifeless world devoid of all vitality would be unbearably bleak.