Zhao Xueyi remained silent for a moment before revealing the truth. “Master, Senior Brother has already condensed his Golden Core. He is now a Golden Core Realm cultivator.”
Zhao Qiyue’s expression changed. He had already reached the Golden Core Realm?
This ungrateful brat was progressing far too quickly.
She said coldly, “It seems the Sect Master of the Myriad Demons Sect is doing everything possible to nurture him. He must be feeding him pills. His foundation will be unstable.”
“Utterly foolish.”
The other Junior Sisters couldn’t believe it. They all remembered that when Li Chen left, he was only at the Qi Refining Realm—not even at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Only five days had passed, and he had already gone from the Qi Refining Realm to the Golden Core Realm?
How was his cultivation speed this fast?
Qin Fan was even more frightened. Golden Core Realm?
Impossible!
How could that dog have reached the Golden Core Realm? How did he advance so fast?
Even with pills, it shouldn’t be this quick!
There was still an entire cultivation realm between the Qi Refining and Golden Core Realms!
Had he jumped directly from the Qi Refining Realm to the Golden Core Realm?
Qin Fan cupped his fists respectfully. “Master, since Senior Brother advanced so quickly, I must not fall behind. I will go cultivate now and quickly reach the Golden Core Realm.”
Zhao Qiyue nodded.
Qin Fan turned and left, entering the depths of the cave residence.
Deep inside, Qin Fan trembled with rage. “Damn it! Master, how is he improving so fast? He was clearly just at the Qi Refining Realm a few days ago, and now he’s already at the Golden Core Realm? He advanced faster than I did!”
“Nonsense. That Li Chen was once a Great Ascension Realm cultivator. As long as he has enough resources, he can advance quickly.”
“So it’s just feeding him pills? That’s no big deal.”
“Idiot! Do you think this is just about pills? You don’t understand—no cultivation realm is an obstacle to him. He’s experienced it all before. Doing it again is as simple as eating or drinking.”
Qin Fan clenched his fists and roared, “Damn it! He had clearly lost all his cultivation. How did he suddenly regain it?”
“This is likely related to the Demonic Heavenly Maiden he sealed. Now that the chain of fortune has been broken, she can no longer restrain him. I even suspect she’s absorbing his essence—using the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art.”
Qin Fan was shocked. “The Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art is that powerful?”
“Extremely powerful. It devours heaven, devours earth, devours all living things. If cultivated to the extreme, it could even devour immortals. I suspect the Demonic Heavenly Maiden left a Heaven-Devouring Mark inside Li Chen’s body.” Find the original chapter at novelping(.)com.
“What’s the Heaven-Devouring Mark?”
“It’s a unique power—the highest realm of the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art. It allows the user to plant a demonic mark in another’s body.”
“It can silently absorb the spiritual energy from someone else’s body. For example, when someone else cultivates, the energy they produce gets transferred into you.”
Qin Fan was stunned. How could there be such a strange technique?
Didn’t that mean he wouldn’t need to cultivate at all and could just absorb the essence from others?
Such a technique was amazing.
Qin Fan grew excited. “Master, I want to learn this technique!”
“I will teach you.”
“Thank you, Master!” Qin Fan’s face was full of joy.
Inside, Qin Fan was ecstatic. Once he mastered the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art, he could plant marks inside others. His six Senior Sisters could all be used as sacrificial vessels.
Hahaha…
Perfect.
And Li Chen—if he returned, Qin Fan could mark him too. His entire cultivation would be Qin Fan’s to take.
“Disciple, remember this—the Heaven-Devouring Mark can only be planted once. Once it’s bound to someone, they become your slave for life. Unless you break the mark or they die, you can no longer absorb essence from anyone else.”
Qin Fan said excitedly, “Master, one chance is enough. Zhao Xueyi has the highest cultivation. I’ll plant the Heaven-Devouring Mark on her.”
Qin Fan burst out laughing.
…
Zhao Xueyi’s gaze turned cold as she stared at Third Junior Sister Ning Ningyun. “Third Junior Sister, you were only eight years old when you came to the mountain, right?”
Yin Xiumei noticed that the Senior Sister was angry and quickly found an excuse to leave. “Senior Sister, I’ll go refine pills.”
“I’ll help too!”
“Me as well!”
The four of them scrambled away in fear. They knew all too well how terrifying Zhao Xueyi’s cultivation was. At the Celestial Fusion Realm, she was even more frightening than the Sect Master when angry.
She usually stayed in seclusion. Now that Li Chen had been driven out of Qilin Holy Land, she had been completely enraged.
No one dared to provoke her.
All four vanished in the blink of an eye.
Only Ning Ningyun remained. This story is hosted at g.com.
Ning Ningyun lowered her head, her hands trembling. “Senior Sister, y-you still remember?”
Zhao Xueyi snorted coldly. “Of course I remember. You were eight when Master brought you back and handed you over to Senior Brother.”
“How did Senior Brother treat you? I want you to answer truthfully.”
Still looking down, Ning Ningyun answered weakly, “He… he was good to me.”
Hearing this, Zhao Xueyi let out a breath. “At least you still have some conscience.”
“Senior Brother wasn’t just ‘good’ to you.”
“You used to love a certain kind of fruit.”
“Senior Brother went into the Ten Thousand Mountains just to find it. He even ventured deep into the demon lands, battling monsters for three days and nights. He was bitten on the arm by a beast.”
Ning Ningyun looked shocked. “I didn’t know…”
“Of course you didn’t. Senior Brother would never tell you. I was the one who treated his injuries. His arm was nearly crippled.”
Zhao Xueyi clearly remembered—she had followed Senior Brother in search of spirit herbs. They discovered a rare fruit deep in demon territory. Without hesitation, Senior Brother moved to retrieve it, only to discover a powerful demon beast at the Void Refinement Realm. Senior Brother, who was only at the Soul Formation Realm at the time, fought fiercely.
She had hidden nearby, trembling. “Senior Brother, forget it. That beast is too strong. It’s not worth risking your life for food.”
“That’s not just any fruit. It’s a Crimson Gold Fruit. Third Junior Sister has a metal-element constitution. This fruit will help her cultivation. Junior Sister, stay back. Watch as I retrieve the fruit.”
She watched Li Chen battle the demon king for three days and nights before finally killing it and returning with the fruit.
When he came back, he was covered in blood, his right arm dangling loosely.
Zhao Xueyi felt deep guilt and helped stop the bleeding.
“Sob… Senior Brother, your arm is broken…” she cried, her voice choked.
Li Chen only smiled gently. “It’s fine. I’ll be alright after a few days.”
Zhao Xueyi lowered her head. As she recalled these memories, tears welled up and flowed from her eyes.
“Do you even know, for just one bite of fruit, Senior Brother nearly died?”
Zhao Xueyi’s voice turned ice-cold as she looked at Ning Ningyun. “And yet how did you treat Senior Brother when he needed you?”
Ning Ningyun muttered, “I didn’t really do anything to him… It was his own fault. Master said so too. Senior Brother is now a cripple. She told us not to associate with him so we wouldn’t affect our cultivation.”
“Master really said that?”
“Yes. If you don’t believe me, go ask her. That’s what Master said.”
Ning Ningyun looked genuinely surprised.
She hadn’t expected Master to treat Senior Brother that way.