Chapter 235 - 227: Multiple Disguises
Li Yuan returned to the open space of his camp and sat down, taking out the Demon Evil Banner from his storage bag.
The banner’s surface was deep purple, its twisted patterns seeming to float slightly under the perception of Spiritual Power. The Demonic Qi stored within the banner was dense and heavy, far purer than the Demonic Qi he converted from his own Spiritual Power.
This Demonic Qi was a ready-made cultivation resource.
Cultivating the Demon Essence Skill required Demonic Qi. Normally, he could only convert it from Spiritual Power, which was inefficient and hindered his own cultivation progress.
The Demonic Qi stored in the Demon Evil Banner eliminated the conversion step, allowing him to advance his cultivation by absorbing it directly.
Li Yuan placed the Demon Evil Banner on his lap and began to circulate the Demon Essence Skill.
The guiding technique was different from his usual method.
Usually, he would draw Spiritual Power from his Dantian, turn it into Demonic Qi at the conversion nodes, and then have it seep into the deeper layers of his body following the path of the Demon Essence Skill.
Now, he was drawing Demonic Qi directly from the Demon Evil Banner, skipping the conversion step and letting the Demonic Qi permeate deep into his body through the gaps between his meridians, the fissures in his muscle fibers, and the micropores of his bones.
The first wisp of Demonic Qi was drawn from the banner’s surface, surging into his body through his palm.
The quantity was several times greater than what he could convert himself, and its texture was much richer.
The Demonic Qi left the meridians and seeped between his muscle fibers. The rate of penetration was more than twice as fast as usual, and the toughness and elasticity of his muscle fibers changed rapidly where the Demonic Qi passed.
Li Yuan wasn’t greedy. He controlled the speed of absorption, allowing the Demonic Qi to permeate his body evenly.
The corrosive sensation followed.
It was stronger than the Demonic Qi converted from Spiritual Power. The effect of his Demon Essence Incarnation trait reduced most of the corrosion, but the high concentration and purity of the Demonic Qi from the Demon Evil Banner made the residual sensation more pronounced than usual.
After absorbing seven or eight wisps, Li Yuan stopped the Demon Essence Skill and switched to the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill.
Wood Spiritual Power flowed along his meridians, and a gentle life force seeped into his muscles and organs, repairing the corrosion left by the Demonic Qi bit by bit.
Under the boons of the Demon Essence Incarnation trait, the Demonic Qi left no trace on his body.
After two full cycles, the corrosive sensation faded.
He continued absorbing.
The Demon Essence Skill and the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill circulated alternately, the rhythm much faster than usual. Demonic Qi was drawn continuously from the Demon Evil Banner. The amount absorbed in each round increased, and his body’s adaptability to the Demonic Qi improved rapidly.
The Demonic Qi within him increased bit by bit, and his body was also being strengthened.
Traits like Aura Concealment were taking effect. From the outside, there was no trace of Demonic Qi on Li Yuan.
This continued for the better part of a day.
The color of the Demon Evil Banner’s surface gradually faded from deep purple as the Demonic Qi stored inside was rapidly depleted, round after round.
By evening, the last wisp of Demonic Qi was drawn from the banner and seeped deep into his bones.
The banner’s surface dimmed completely, no longer showing any fluctuation of Demonic Qi.
Li Yuan put the empty Demon Evil Banner back into his storage bag and closed his eyes to feel the changes within his body.
A panel popped up.
[Cultivation Technique: Demon Essence Skill—Adept (0/400)]
The Demon Essence Skill had gone directly from Entry-level to Adept.
The concentrated absorption of a large amount of high-purity Demonic Qi had maxed out his progress in one go.
The transformation of his body’s deep structures had undergone a qualitative leap over the past half-day. The toughness of his muscle fibers, the strength of his bones, and the elasticity of his organ membranes had all changed significantly under the permeation of Demonic Qi.
Li Yuan circulated the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill for one full cycle, cleansing the last trace of corrosion, then paused to carefully perceive the state of the Demonic Qi within his body.
It was completely different from Spiritual Power.
Cultivators absorbed Spiritual Qi, converted it into Spiritual Power, and raised their Cultivation.
Spiritual Power was stored in a liquid state in the Dantian and circulated through the meridians. It was clean, condensed, and controllable. It was like a river confined by its banks, with a clear direction and distinct boundaries.
Demonic Qi required no conversion, nor did it travel through the meridians.
Instead, it directly permeated every inch of his body’s deep structures—between muscle fibers, within the micropores of bones, in the gaps of organ membranes. It was everywhere, yet it didn’t overwhelm the host. It was like water seeping into soil: invisible and intangible, but definitely there.
Summoning it was also different. Spiritual Power was drawn from the Dantian and sent to a designated location along the meridians. Demonic Qi seeped out from every corner of the body’s depths simultaneously, converging where it was needed.
It was slower, but its coverage was broader.
Li Yuan tried to draw a wisp of Demonic Qi from the muscle fibers of his right arm and gather it in his palm.
A dark stream of qi seeped from his palm, coalescing at his fingertips into a thumb-sized ball of dark mist.
According to the Demon Essence Skill, his current demonic cultivation realm was in the Mid-stage Qi Refining category.
The texture of the Demonic Qi was heavy and viscous, carrying a natural corrosiveness. Completely unlike the clear, condensed nature of Spiritual Power, Demonic Qi was more like a living thing with its own instinct to permeate.
Li Yuan pressed this ball of Demonic Qi onto a nearby rock.
The moment the Demonic Qi touched the rock’s surface, a layer of visible corrosion appeared. The grayish-white stone face turned dark brown, its texture changing from hard to loose. A press of his finger crumbled a layer away.
Corrosion.
This was the most fundamental difference between Demonic Qi and Spiritual Power.
Spiritual Power attacked through impact, explosions, and cutting—essentially using energy density and speed to cause physical destruction.
Demonic Qi attacked through permeation and corrosion. It didn’t need immense force; as long as it made contact with a target, it could break down its structure from within.
Li Yuan withdrew the Demonic Qi and looked at the corrosion marks on the rock.
’My demonic cultivation is at the Qi Refining stage, while my Immortal Dao cultivation has already reached Foundation Establishment.’
The two systems operated in parallel within the same body, without interfering with each other.
The Immortal Dao used the meridians and the Dantian, while the Demon Dao used the gaps between meridians and the body’s deeper structures. Their paths were completely separate.
The effect of the ’All Rivers Flow to the Sea’ trait allowed the two systems to circulate in automatic coordination, preventing any conflict.
Li Yuan circulated the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill for another full cycle. After confirming that his internal state was completely normal, he stood up.
Night had fallen.
The dense fog deep in the Ghost Mist Forest grew even thicker at night, reducing visibility to less than ten zhang. However, his passive perception from his Illuminated Spiritual Sense covered fifty zhang, the Early Warning Array covered eighty zhang, and the large-scale warning array covered the entire periphery.
’The fact that the Demon Cultivator was able to sneak into my camp shows that my current defensive system still has flaws.’
’The Early Warning Array can detect auras, but that Demon Cultivator used an aura-simulating Array Bead to disguise himself with the aura of a Li family cultivator. If the array only triggers an alarm based on aura intensity, a disguised aura won’t be identified as a threat.’
’I need to reinforce it.’
Li Yuan walked a lap around the open space, checking the operational status of the three arrays.
The Early Warning Array, Spirit Gathering Array, and Golden Light Array were all operating normally. The Array Foundation Stones and Conductive Spirit Sand showed no signs of wear. However, the defensive strength of a Tier One array was limited. The Golden Light Array’s shield could only block a full-power strike from the Qi Refining Ninth Level; it was practically useless against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
’I need to upgrade my array system.’
’I have the Array Dao inheritance from the Wang family and have learned three Tier One arrays, bringing my Array Dao proficiency to the Adept level. But the upper limit of a Tier One array is what it is. To defend against a Foundation Establishment Level threat, I’ll need a Tier Two array at least.’
’Next time I see the Wang family, I’ll ask if they have any High Tier Array Dao inheritances.’
Li Yuan made a mental note of this and turned back to the center of the clearing.
He took all the spoils from the Demon Cultivator out of his storage bag and organized them one by one.
’A few Magical Artifacts, average quality, useless to keep. I’ll sell them next time I go to the market. A few dozen Spirit Stones, I’ll keep them. Two bottles of medicinal pills, poor quality, I’ll set them aside for now.’
Then there was the aura-simulating Array Bead.
The dark gray sphere rested in his palm, its surface covered in dense Spirit Patterns that glowed faintly under the illumination of Spiritual Power.
He had only given it a cursory glance before, knowing it was a Magical Artifact for disguising one’s aura. Now, he examined it closely, his Divine Sense probing the structure of the Spirit Patterns inside the Array Bead.
The Array Bead stored three different aura patterns.
The first, Li Yuan already knew. It was highly similar to Li Ze’an’s aura and was likely the template corresponding to that vial of blood. The Demon Cultivator had used this template to operate outside while disguised with the aura of a Li family cultivator.
The second was a completely unfamiliar aura pattern. The Spiritual Power signature was skewed toward a yin, gentle nature, like that of a cultivator who practiced a Water Element Cultivation Technique.
The third was also unfamiliar. Its Spiritual Power signature was steady and heavy, carrying faint Earth Element attributes.
’Three aura patterns, three identities.’
’This Demon Cultivator wasn’t just impersonating a Li family cultivator. He had at least two other identities, operating in different places with different auras.’
’He was probably used to operating with multiple identities long-term.’
’This wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment disguise.’
Li Yuan put away the Array Bead and glanced again at the empty Demon Evil Banner and the vial of blood.
The Demon Cultivator’s body was still in a hollow on the outskirts of his camp; Li Yuan had only dealt with it hastily before. Since he now planned to report this to the Primordial Yang Sect, the body needed to be properly preserved as evidence.
Li Yuan got up, walked to the hollow on the camp’s periphery, and sealed the body under a rock with Spiritual Power to prevent it from decaying.
Just then, the Early Warning Array triggered.
The Sensing Jade lit up with a pale golden luster, transmitting an aura signal.
A Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Approaching from the direction of the Ghost Mist Forest’s outer edge, not moving fast.
Li Yuan’s nerves tensed instantly. His fingers rested on his Token without moving as his Divine Sense extended outward.
About ninety zhang away, a figure was walking along a path in the Ghost Mist Forest.
Li Yuan recognized this aura.
Li Ze’an.
’It’s not a disguise. The aura is a perfect match for the person.’
’And my Demon Essence Incarnation’s perception detects no residual Demonic Qi on the newcomer.’
It was Li Ze’an himself.
Li Yuan returned the Protector Token to his storage bag and stood up to wait.
A moment later, Li Ze’an’s figure emerged from the dense fog.
He wore a well-made, grayish-blue robe. His features were proper, his steps steady. He looked exactly the same as he did at the trade meet.
Li Ze’an saw Li Yuan standing in the middle of the clearing. He paused for a moment, then clasped his hands in a salute.
"Li Dao You."
"Li Dao You, what is it?"
Li Ze’an walked to the edge of the clearing and stopped. His gaze swept over the traces of arrays and cultivation arrangements around him, but he made no comment, getting straight to the point.
"There’s a matter I’d like to ask you to keep an eye out for."
His expression was a few degrees more serious than usual.
"For some time now, the Li family has discovered that someone has been acting outside using my aura. It’s happened more than once; people in several different places have seen a cultivator with an aura extremely similar to mine."
He paused.
"Li Dao You, you are stationed long-term in the Ghost Mist Forest, and your coverage area is not small. I wanted to ask if you have recently seen such a person? Someone whose aura is almost identical to mine, but is not me."