The thick liquid, rich with demonic qi, flowed slowly yet produced a loud, sloshing sound. Gale winds howled all around, carrying dense demonic qi and stirring waves of demonic tides through the formations. Lin Zheyu was enveloped in a purple-black energy barrier, giving off an eerie aura like a demonic puppet.

With a soft sound, the Setting Sun saber shot forward. A yao living in the demonic river was effortlessly split in two.

Black splashes burst up from the formations as Lin Zheyu moved at great speed, his long saber striking again and again.

After a short while, the surface of the demonic river was covered with countless fragments of yao flesh, swept downstream by the current. Even after the danger in the river was resolved, Lin Zheyu did not fully relax. He pushed his Perception Domain to its limit, spreading it outward to carefully scan for any hidden threats.

Only after confirming there was no danger did he let out a slight sigh of relief. He took out an ordinary storage pouch from his robes. It was the lowest grade, with only a single cubic meter of space. Lin Zheyu carried many such pouches, using them to store items that were not important but took up space.

After checking the contents and confirming everything was in order, Lin Zheyu slowly reached his left hand inside. A cool, smooth, viscous sensation met his touch. The pouch contained special herbs, all ground into powder and soaked in water. The sheer quantity made the liquid thick and sticky. These were materials required for cultivating the Ninefold True Demon Body. Such a powerful demon art could not be cultivated with demonic qi alone. It also required large amounts of precious herbs.

Once everything was prepared, he sent out a thought.

Use 3 units of Origin Force to cultivate the Ninefold True Demon Body.

Lin Zheyu's spirit wavered and entered the space of consciousness. The vast white void shifted the moment he appeared, transforming into the environment required for cultivating the Ninefold True Demon Body. A massive formation was inscribed on the ground. Even his entire body was covered in dense, mysterious runes, etched with medicinal liquid refined from special herbs.

This was another function of the consciousness space. Here, with a single thought, a massive and perfect formation could appear without him needing to inscribe it himself. The prerequisite was that all materials required for formation had to be prepared in advance. The storage pouch he took out earlier contained not only the necessary herbs but also all the materials needed to construct the formation.

In the dark void, Lin Zheyu stood within the demonic river. Vast mysterious energy surged from his body, sweeping up the river's energy and pouring it into himself. In an instant, the purple-black glow around him vanished, replaced by a burst of golden light. Yet just as quickly, the gold faded back into purple, then shifted again into gold.

Like a revolving lantern, the light on the runes shifted rapidly under the effects of demonic qi, mysterious energy, and the golden energy in his blood. At the same time, his flesh, tendons, and bones underwent strange transformations. The Ninefold True Demon Body was, in essence, a physique forged through nine transformations, comparable to that of yaos.

This technique was incomplete, containing only the first five revolutions. Completing those would grant a demonic body comparable to a five-pattern yao, equivalent to the Foundation Establishment realm in the cultivation world. If one could reach full completion and achieve all nine revolutions, it was said the body would rival a nine-pattern yao.

Now, Lin Zheyu was no longer the ignorant brute he once was. A nine-pattern yao, by cultivation standards, was equivalent to a legendary Void Refining realm expert, a terrifying existence beyond the Deity Transformation realm! Of course, that was only in theory.

Lin Zheyu suspected that the creator of this technique might have only developed it up to the fifth revolution. After a few breaths, he slowly opened his eyes, a trace of golden light flashing within them. The golden glow on his body vanished instantly upon waking, replaced once more by a purple-black aura that spread across him.

Lin Zheyu murmured softly, "Primordial Golden Body, Primordial Golden Body... A name I chose casually back then, yet it fits perfectly."

Within his inner vision, his flesh appeared no different from before. But with a single thought, faint golden light bloomed within it. The glow was extremely weak, almost imperceptible, far dimmer than the golden energy flowing through his blood.

Lin Zheyu smiled, shaking his head in mild disbelief as he muttered, "So this really is a golden body!"

If he went to the Western Regions and released a full body of golden light, even arhats would likely be stunned for a moment. Unfortunately, the Ninefold True Demon Body only had the first five revolutions. If it were complete, Lin Zheyu would not even need to create a new technique.

A complete Ninefold True Demon Body, even as a demon art, could reach the legendary Void Refining realm. A technique of that level was something Lin Zheyu could neither afford nor even access.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 391]

[Skills: Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Primordial Thunderfire Pill Technique (Perfection), Soul-Chasing Step (Third Stage: 100%), Seven Fiend Ghost Manual (Fifth Stage: 100%), Ninefold True Demon Body (First Stage: 87%), Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique (Sixth Stage: 100%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness. Even with 3 units of Origin Force, he had not been able to bring the simplest first stage to Perfection. The Ninefold True Demon Body had one stage per revolution, five stages in total for the first five revolutions. To cultivate all five to Perfection would require a considerable amount of Origin Force.

Lin Zheyu pondered briefly and said inwardly, Let's continue.

His Perception Domain spread outward once more, scanning the surroundings. When using Origin Force to enhance himself, he could not maintain the disguise of the purple-black runes, which would expose the aura of a living being. Lin Zheyu was wary of attracting stronger yaos.

The black wind howled. Lin Zheyu waited for a moment, and only after confirming there were no disturbances did he let out a slight sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and sent out his thoughts again.

***

Time passed, yet the black wind remained. Lin Zheyu did not know how much time had gone by. Whenever his spirit recovered, he would use Origin Force to enhance himself again. When fatigued, he wandered within the demon god barrier, searching for special herbs and hunting powerful yaos. The plants and materials from these creatures were valuable to immortal cultivators and could fetch a good number of spirit stones.

Lin Zheyu was currently short on money and needed large amounts of spirit stones to acquire more techniques and herbs.

Within the demonic river, a figure glowing with golden light stood quietly, radiating powerful vitality. As his strength increased, Lin Zheyu's vitality grew more intense, his blood qi becoming terrifyingly dense.

A terrifying roar suddenly echoed from the distance. The immense aura of life emanating from Lin Zheyu attracted several powerful yaos. Before they could reach him, his eyes snapped open, blazing with dazzling golden light.

Lin Zheyu's expression sharpened. True origin surged through his body as golden light burst forth from his blood, flesh, tendons, and bones. A fierce wind swept in as the overwhelming pressure of the yaos bore down on him. Yet he seemed completely unfazed as he threw a punch, his fist blazing with radiant golden light. The creatures' roars cut off instantly as their bodies exploded into black mist. The blood mist churned briefly before falling silent.

"As expected," said Lin Zheyu with no surprise in his eyes. He looked at the radiant golden light on his body, his expression calm. Earlier, when he saw the purple-black runes from the demon art transform into golden runes under the erosion of golden energy, he had gained insight. If this golden energy could purify demonic qi within the body, then it might also be capable of erasing the life force within yaos.

Previously, the golden energy within him had not been strong enough for full control. Now, as he cultivated more demon arts and his physique grew stronger, golden energy had even formed within his flesh, tendons, and bones. This vast golden energy could now be released outside his body under his control, forming a new kind of power separate from true origin.

In Lin Zheyu's view, this energy was similar to the blood qi cultivated by ordinary martial artists. It was a special energy condensed through the tempering of his increasingly powerful physique.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 91] 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

[Skills: Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Primordial Thunderfire Pill Technique (Perfection), Saha[1] Scripture (Third Stage: 39%), Soul-Chasing Step (Third Stage: 100%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness. After more than ten days of cultivation, the 300 units of Origin Force had nearly been exhausted, leaving only 91. Over these past days, he had cultivated a total of twenty-four body-refining techniques. Most were demon arts. As for Immortal Dao body-refining methods, he could not cultivate them directly, but after modifying them, he managed to practice five of them. The Saha Scripture was one of them, and also the last.

This is the last technique. There are still a few things I do not fully understand, but once I bring the third stage to Perfection, I should grasp it well enough.

The Saha Scripture did not have great potential and could only be cultivated up to the eighth stage of the Qi Refining realm. However, it was quite unique, being a body-refining technique that took a different path. Having cultivated so many techniques, Lin Zheyu already had enough foundation to create the Primordial Golden Body. But he was not satisfied. He also wanted to integrate the Saha Scripture into it.

The Saha Scripture was a special technique modeled after the totem warriors of the barbarian tribes. There were still many aspects Lin Zheyu had not fully comprehended. It was not yet enough to integrate it into the Primordial Golden Body.

"Primordial Golden Body, dharma form... It should work, right?" Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

As he cultivated more demon arts and body-refining techniques, Lin Zheyu's vision for the Primordial Golden Body underwent a complete transformation. At first, he only wanted to create an unprecedentedly powerful body-refining technique. Now, his ambition had grown. He wanted to incorporate the Saha Scripture, using the dense golden runes on his body as a foundation to construct a totem and to condense a golden-body dharma form.

However, one issue remained unresolved. The golden-body dharma form was still only a concept. Lin Zheyu estimated that he would need to iterate through several versions of the Primordial Golden Body before he could possibly condense it.

1. Saha (娑婆) is the mortal world of suffering and endurance where beings struggle, persist, and seek transcendence. ☜