Chapter 20: Coercion and Inducement

When speaking of the Blood Demon Pill, one must speak of the Blood Demon Art.

This cultivation technique has three "mosts."

It is the easiest to practice, the fastest to cultivate, and the most deceptive.

The reason for this is that the technique's content is simple and straightforward; anyone can comprehend it. Furthermore, the cultivation speed is astonishing, and there are almost no bottlenecks.

As for being the most deceptive—it is because this technique possesses a characteristic entirely different from normal cultivation methods.

With normal cultivation methods, as one's cultivation level increases, so does one's lifespan; one can even achieve longevity and live in harmony with heaven and earth.

But this technique is exactly the opposite.

The higher the cultivation, the shorter the lifespan!

For a conventional cultivator, the Qi Refining stage allows for a slightly longer life than an ordinary person, living to about one hundred and twenty years. The Foundation Establishment stage doubles that, the Golden Core stage doubles it again, and the Nascent Soul stage doubles it once more.

For those practicing the Blood Demon Art, merely entering the realm results in a loss of twenty years of life. Foundation Establishment cuts it by half again, and both the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages reduce it by half each time.

Suppose you possess a hundred years of lifespan. If you practice the Blood Demon Art, you will have only eighty years left the moment you enter the realm; if you reach Foundation Establishment, you can only live until age forty.

If you are lucky enough to become a Golden Core Ancestor, then congratulations—you will have only twenty years of life remaining.

If you possess heaven-defying luck and achieve the Nascent Soul stage, hehe, your lifespan drops directly to ten years.

You truly become a newborn in terms of lifespan.

Of course, these are all theoretical effects. In reality, the highest cultivation level achieved by those practicing this technique is Foundation Establishment. After all, no matter how fast the cultivation speed is, it is impossible to reach the Golden Core stage before the age of twenty. And if one exceeds that age, the moment of breaking through to the Golden Core stage is the moment of death.

Therefore, Foundation Establishment is the limit.

Even so, once this technique appeared, it caused a massive sensation. Because once one enters the realm, reaching Foundation Establishment is almost a certainty. Although forty years of life is short, as long as one reaches Foundation Establishment before age forty, they can still enjoy a period of glory as a Foundation Establishment expert. This is especially true for those burdened with deep blood feuds, who flock to this technique with fervor.

However, while the Blood Demon Art is easy to practice, it is difficult to enter the realm; it requires a specific medicinal pill for assistance.

That is the Blood Demon Pill.

After browsing through the original owner's memories, Chen Lin gained a general understanding. But many things remained unclear; he only knew that this pill was extremely difficult to refine, with an extremely low success rate—even lower than the Foundation Establishment Pill.

After a brief recollection, Chen Lin turned his gaze toward the old man, his eyes conveying an inquiry.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, do you intend to refine this pill?"

It wasn't that he suspected him, but the man looked to be in his seventies or eighties. If someone of that age had practiced the Blood Demon Art, wouldn't they have died instantly? Of course, Chen Lin hoped the man would die immediately, but that was clearly impossible.

Yu Yuehai gave a faint smile.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Chen is also familiar with this pill. But there is no need to worry; I am not so foolish as to seek my own death. To be honest with you, despite my aged appearance, I am actually only thirty-five years old. As for why I have come to look like this, I can tell you the story slowly later. For now, let us discuss the matter of pill refining."

Hearing this, Chen Lin showed a look of astonishment.

This old fellow was only thirty-five? He didn't look it at all!

However, a late-stage Qi Refiner at thirty-five could be considered exceptionally gifted. He could have cultivated to Foundation Establishment through normal means; why would he choose a technique that cuts off his own path?

Ignoring Chen Lin's confusion, the old man urged again, "Fellow Daoist Chen, are you confident in refining this pill?"

Chen Lin immediately shook his head.

"How is that possible? The Blood Demon Pill is famous for its low success rate. I am merely a lowly, low-grade alchemist; how could I possibly be confident?"

If we are talking about confidence, no one would be more certain of refining it than him. Regardless of the waste of materials, as long as he had ten sets of ingredients, he could produce one batch of pills. Furthermore, the requirement for cultivation level to refine this pill was not very high; the mid-stage of Qi Refining was just enough.

But he could not show this; instead, he decisively denied it. The more the other party knew, the more disadvantageous it would be for him.

At Chen Lin's flat denial, the old man frowned. After a long silence, he spoke slowly, "Fellow Daoist Chen, there is no need to hide. I know much more about you than you imagine. I believe that if anyone can refine this pill, it must be you."

Before Chen Lin could speak, the old man continued, "But you also need not worry. No matter what secrets you hold, I have no greed for them. As long as you help me refine the Blood Demon Pill, I will not only give you the method to resolve the side effects of the Enlightenment Pill, but I can also take you away from this place!"

"Take me away from here? What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Yu? I have no intention of leaving this place." Chen Lin's eyes flashed as he looked at the man.

"Hahahaha!" The old man suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Fellow Daoist Chen, do you still intend to hide it at a time like this? I don't believe you can't see those crimson threads filling the sky!"

The man's words sent a shock through Chen Lin's entire body, and he looked over with eyes full of surprise.

"You... you can see them too?"

After the initial shock, a look of realization dawned on him. No wonder; ever since the man appeared, he had felt something was wrong. It turned out it was because the man had never once displayed that characteristic sideways, cold smirk.

Chen Lin felt as if he had encountered a kindred spirit. With an expectant expression, he asked, "Then do you know the reason? What exactly are those red threads?"

The old man snorted coldly. "If you want to know, then behave yourself and help me refine the pill. Once the pill is finished, I will tell you everything you wish to know."

Hearing this, Chen Lin pondered for a moment and said, "How can you be so certain that I can refine the Blood Demon Pill? Moreover, since you possess such a high-grade alchemy furnace, you should be an alchemist yourself. Why don't you refine it yourself?"

Although he was certain he could refine it, he didn't dare to. Once the pill was finished, he would have no further use. Everyone knew the logic of "killing the donkey once the grindstone is removed." Even if he were in the other man's position, he would likely kill the witness to silence them.

After all, the Blood Demon Pill was not a righteous pill, and those who practiced the Blood Demon Art were shunned by all cultivators, treated as outcasts. Because those who practiced this technique certainly had little lifespan remaining, they could do anything extreme; they were essentially ticking time bombs. It was precisely for this reason that the Blood Demon Art had gradually been lost to time.

The old man looked at Chen Lin with a strange gaze and said, "If I could refine it myself, would I have been trapped here for so long? As for why I believe you can refine it, you don't need to know. You only need to know that if you fail, I will kill you."

As he spoke, he sneered, "I won't hide it from you—the recipe for that Primordial Pill you used was also given to Zhao Zhenyuan by me. I originally wanted to test him, but I didn't expect it to work out so perfectly that it led me to discover you!"

His tone turned cold and sharp. "I don't care if you possess great fortune or some other special method; I do not covet those things. I only want the Blood Demon Pill. Refine it, and we shall both go our separate ways in peace; I can even give you a certain reward. But if you fail, do not blame me for disregarding our shared residence!"