In the period that followed, terrifying creatures throughout the Yaoxu clashed and fought constantly.
Some battles were far from the small village, while others were very close.
But under the protection of the Old Jujube Tree, the village remained peaceful.
The villagers no longer went out. Everyone was giving their all, striving to break through and form a Demon Core.
Both the hunters and the children consumed Yaoning Paste while training their bodies on the training grounds.
On the training grounds, Hu Zi stood with his hands on his hips, nose in the air, bragging to a few other kids, "I feel like I could kill a wild bull in the mountains with a single punch right now!"
Not far away, a young man whispered to his companion, "I feel a tingling all over. It's like my flesh and blood are being reborn, a complete metamorphosis."
Elsewhere, a clever little kid said, "Uncle Qing Shan is the really amazing one! The other day, he ate nine whole bowls of Yaoning Paste and expelled all the impurities from his body. It was like he shed a whole layer of skin!"
...
Everyone on the training grounds was brimming with energy, all undergoing a qualitative change in their strength.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
One day, Tong Qingshan's joyous cry rang out from the village's training grounds, "Sir, I've formed a Demon Core!"
"Huh?" Everyone froze for a moment.
Immediately, all the villagers rushed over and surrounded Tong Qingshan, their faces filled with envy and curiosity.
"Uncle Qing Shan, how did you form your Demon Core?"
"Qing Shan, what was it like? Tell us about it."
"What does the Demon Core look like? Where is it?"
"This is great! If Qing Shan can form a Demon Core, it means humans can cultivate Demon Techniques. We can definitely form one too!"
"Wonderful! Zaoye Village will become the strongest village in the entire region."
The villagers chattered excitedly, a boisterous and joyous crowd.
At that moment, Tong Qingshan pulled off his shirt, revealing a well-toned, muscular physique. A faint purple glow emanated from his lower abdomen.
"Sir, I can feel it! A Demon Core has appeared here!" Tong Qingshan shouted.
Zhang Chu rubbed his eyes, his face a mask of shock. "A human... really can form a Demon Core!"
In truth, Zhang Chu had always been skeptical about whether the villagers could form Demon Cores.
After all, there was a difference between humans and demons. Zhang Chu had discovered that demons had two paths to cultivation.
One was to return to their ancestry, seeking out their ancient bloodline, purifying it, and evolving their ancestral techniques.
The other path was to take human form after reaching a certain realm and then follow the human path of cultivation.
This implied that there was a fundamental difference between humans and demons; otherwise, there wouldn't be two such distinct paths.
But to his surprise, Tong Qingshan had actually formed a Demon Core.
"It seems my theory was correct," Zhang Chu said. "As long as you temper the body and consume precious medicines, the human body can undergo a sort of mutation on its own!"
Hope ignited in everyone around him, and they all began to encourage themselves.
"I'll definitely be the second one to form a Demon Core!" someone declared.
"Haha, you wish! I'm the one who's going to be second!"
Though they challenged each other, the atmosphere was harmonious.
Many also began asking Tong Qingshan about the experience and feeling of forming a Demon Core.
As it turned out, after a round of questioning, they found that Tong Qingshan himself was a bit dazed and couldn't explain it clearly.
"It was like... there was supposed to be a core in that spot, and then it just appeared." Those were Tong Qingshan's exact words.
Finally, Zhang Chu could only say to everyone, "Qing Shan's physique was already the strongest, and he put in the work. For him, it was a case of 'when the water reaches, the channel forms.' If you all continue to work hard, perhaps you too can form a Demon Core."
"Alright!" the crowd responded, returning to tempering their bodies, striving to also achieve the state of 'when the water reaches, the channel forms'.
Meanwhile, Tong Qingshan looked at Zhang Chu with excitement. "Sir, I've formed a Demon Core. What's the next step?"
Zhang Chu said, "According to the Demon Technique, above the Demon Core are 108 Demon Stars. See if you can count them."
Once a Demon Core was formed, one could look within.
Soon, Tong Qingshan nodded. "That's right. Exactly 108 strange stars."
Zhang Chu recited what he had read in the Demon Technique, "These 108 stars are divided into two types: seventy-two Planets and thirty-six Stars."
Tong Qingshan nodded. "Yes. Seventy-two of them are dim but full of life, while the other thirty-six are bright but filled with an aura of death."
Zhang Chu continued as if reading from a script, "To cultivate, the first step is to open the Life Wells."
"Opening a Life Well means making a Demon Star gather and store spiritual energy. The energy turns into a spiritual liquid, and once this liquid fills the star's cavity, the Life Well is considered successfully opened."
Tong Qingshan nodded eagerly. "Yes, I can feel it. Each Demon Star is like a small grotto, with a bit of spiritual energy inside!"
Zhang Chu then instructed, "Right. When using the star cavities to open Life Wells, you have two choices."
"The first is to open only the seventy-two Planets. Once mastered, this is known as the 72 Earthly Transformations."
"The other is to open only the thirty-six Stars. Once mastered, this is known as the 36 Heavenly Transformations."
"Remember, you can only choose one path. You must not mix them!"
"Otherwise, in the best-case scenario, your Demon Core will be destroyed and your cultivation lost. In the worst case, you will lose your life and your soul will perish."
Tong Qingshan said solemnly, "I'll remember."
He then asked, "Sir, which is more powerful, the 72 Transformations or the 36 Transformations?"
Zhang Chu replied, "Relatively speaking, the 72 Transformations are easier."
"It is recorded in the Demon Technique that the seventy-two Planets are stars of life, nurturing vitality. The thirty-six Stars are stars of death, nurturing mortality. Therefore, most demons cultivate the 72 Transformations, and very few cultivate the 36. In theory, this might mean the 36 Transformations are stronger, because it is a path of being born from death."
Tong Qingshan asked, "Can one cultivate with the stars of death?"
Zhang Chu replied, "To be born from death might be an even greater opportunity."
Upon hearing this, Tong Qingshan immediately declared, "Then I will cultivate the 36 Heavenly Transformations."
Zhang Chu nodded. He knew Tong Qingshan was a proud man who would want to walk the strongest path.
And so, Zhang Chu explained the key principles of the Great Demon Technique to Tong Qingshan one by one.
Before long, Tong Qingshan had committed all the cultivation essentials for this realm to heart. This story is hosted at g.com.
He then bid farewell to Zhang Chu and began his own cultivation, opening his Life Wells.
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Zhang Chu sighed internally. The 72 and 36 Transformations were techniques of gods and immortals back on Earth. But in this world, they were just the beginning, merely the mastery of the first minor realm.
"I truly can't imagine how powerful the legendary Demon Kings and Supremes are," he thought.
"Qing Shan has already formed a Demon Core. I wonder when I'll be able to form mine?" Zhang Chu silently assessed the state of his own body.
The Shanhai Map still hung in his Dantian, continuously emitting waves of mysterious spiritual power that nourished him. In this period, Zhang Chu's own strength had also advanced by leaps and bounds.
The Shanhai Map was too powerful. After absorbing the Neidans of two Great Demons, it was as if it had transformed into a mobile grotto-heaven, causing his physical body to grow stronger with every passing moment.
Now, Zhang Chu could also consume three large bowls of Yaoning Paste.
He even felt that in terms of pure physical strength, he was probably no weaker than Tong Qingshan had been before forming his core.
However, Zhang Chu didn't feel the slightest sensation of "forming a core."
"Lately, I've just felt a tingling all over, and some of my acupoints feel different. But I'm still a long way from forming a Demon Core." Zhang Chu shook his head, feeling the time was not yet ripe.
In the following days, Tong Qingshan's strength increased at a visible rate. Opening a single Life Well could increase his power by two or three times; his progress was incomparable to before.
He could even attack with simple Divine Patterns, making everyone green with envy.
One day, Tong Qingshan sought out Zhang Chu and the Old Village Chief.
He looked somewhat lost.
"Qing Shan, what's wrong?" Zhang Chu asked.
Tong Qingshan spoke, "Sir, I have already opened six Life Wells, but I can't find a way to break through to the seventh, no matter what I do."
The Old Village Chief didn't understand and could only look at Zhang Chu.
Zhang Chu smiled faintly. "You've hit a bottleneck."
Then he said softly, "To only hit your first bottleneck after opening six Life Wells... your cultivation aptitude must be quite good."
Although Zhang Chu sounded casual, he was actually deeply shocked.
According to the Great Demon Technique, most demons cultivating the 72 Earthly Transformations would hit a bottleneck after opening two or three Life Wells.
The later the bottleneck appeared, the higher the demon's aptitude.
It was even recorded that a being who reached the level of a Demon King had only hit their first bottleneck after opening four Life Wells, and their future achievements were limitless.
But Tong Qingshan had reached the sixth well before hitting his bottleneck!
And he was cultivating the 36 Heavenly Transformations!
This cultivation method was far more difficult. One of its Life Wells was equivalent to at least two or three of the other path's!
In other words, Tong Qingshan was very likely a supreme genius!
"Such a genius should not be allowed to go to waste." Zhang Chu made a decision in his heart.
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