Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 345: Chapter 317: Seal Demon Puppet

"Fellow Daoist! Senior! Please, spare our lives..."

"Have mercy! We were forced into this..."

In the forest, Chu Mu stood with his blade in hand. Before him, two black-robed Demon Cultivators knelt on the ground, completely lacking the dignity expected of Foundation Establishment Cultivators. They were a blubbering mess, kowtowing and begging for their lives.

"Shut up."

Chu Mu snapped.

The noise stopped abruptly. The two of them opened their mouths but didn’t dare to make another sound.

"I ask, you answer."

"Understood?"

Chu Mu asked.

"Yes, yes, we understand."

The two men hurriedly replied.

"You two didn’t reach Foundation Establishment through normal means, did you?"

Chu Mu asked. He was genuinely curious about this.

He wasn’t afraid of being surrounded and attacked by several Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but it should not have been an easy fight.

After all, in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, every Foundation Establishment Cultivator had survived countless trials to get where they were.

Their skills might vary in strength, but their temperament and Battle experience were always extremely well-honed.

Even if he could win against several of them, it should have been a difficult victory.

But just now... it had been a complete rout. It was so easy he could hardly believe it himself.

Aside from the so-called Venerable, who put up a bit of a fight, the others were practically just bystanders, completely at a loss.

’This kind of Foundation Establishment Cultivator... other than their level of Cultivation, they’re probably worse than an ordinary Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivator in every other respect.’

The two men, who just a moment ago seemed willing to do anything to survive, now stammered, unable to get a word out.

Just as Chu Mu was wondering, a voice suddenly cut through the air.

"No need to ask. These two are just Demon Puppets."

Immediately after, Xu Changqing descended from the sky. In his hand, he carried a mangled ball of flesh and blood that vaguely resembled the so-called Venerable from earlier.

"Demon Puppets?"

Chu Mu asked, his curiosity piqued.

"The Demon Dao is an enemy to all, so very few Cultivators would willingly choose to fall into it."

"Take these two, for example. A Slave Seal or some other kind of Seal was likely planted in them from a young age, and then their realm was forcefully elevated using the methods of the Demon Dao."

"They’re just cannon fodder. They have the realm but none of the substance, and their lifespans are shorter than even a normal person’s."

Chu Mu grew thoughtful. He glanced at the mangled mess in Xu Changqing’s hand and asked, "Any leads?"

"This one’s Sea of Consciousness is protected by a restrictive Seal. The Soul Searching Technique can’t reach his core memories."

"I’m planning to take him to the Perfected One and ask for his help."

A flicker of light crossed Chu Mu’s eyes, but he ultimately nodded.

"I gave you that True Demon Qi, Fellow Daoist, so you could track the followers of the Demon Dao."

"Furthermore, I will give you a proper accounting for this matter, Fellow Daoist."

Xu Changqing paused, offering these two cryptic sentences.

With that, his Flying Sword materialized. As it hovered in the air, Xu Changqing leaped aboard. The streak of sword light shot off toward Chu Capital City.

Chu Mu glanced at the two men still kneeling before him. He raised his hand in a grasping motion, and as his Magical Power circulated, he activated the Soul Searching Technique.

As expected, he only glimpsed a few fragmented memories before the man’s Divine Soul abruptly shattered.

He glanced at the other Demon Cultivator, who had collapsed to the ground in terror. Chu Mu stood there, lost in thought as the recent events replayed in his mind.

’One thing is certain: there must be a mole for the Demon Cultivators inside Chu Capital City.’

’Secondly, the Demon Cultivators must have some way of sensing True Demon Qi.’

Furthermore... he thought, summoning the Compass into his hand with a wave.

’Judging from what just happened, those Demon Cultivators all possess a special Concealment method that allows them to evade this Compass’s detection.’

As his thoughts churned, Chu Mu’s gaze landed on the one remaining Demon Puppet.

He raised his hand and formed a series of seals. One Technique after another transformed into bindings that completely restrained the male Demon Puppet before him.

Then, his Divine Sense, sharp as a blade, invaded the man’s body with almost reckless abandon, probing and experimenting to find the root of the Concealment.

’I don’t believe that mere mass-produced, cannon-fodder Demon Puppets could cultivate some profound Secret Skill for Concealment. It has to be some kind of implanted technique!’

The Compass he held now floated to one side.

As Chu Mu continued his experiment, a black dot, representing something right beside him, flickered into existence on the Compass’s face.

It appeared and disappeared intermittently, which was quite strange.

This went on for about fifteen minutes before the floating Compass finally went still. The black dot representing the Demon Cultivator no longer appeared.

The Demon Puppet lay collapsed on the ground, a mangled mess of flesh and blood, his life force faint.

Chu Mu knelt before the body, unable to hide the astonishment on his face. Vaguely, a deep sense of curiosity began to bloom.

According to what Xu Changqing had said, these Demon Cultivators were all artificially created Demon Puppets—all show and no substance.

His initial assumption was that they had used some heretical method to stack up Cultivation and force a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm.

But the results before him were not what he had expected at all.

’This so-called heretical method... it’s more like a complete... Cultivation System!’

Within the Demon Cultivator’s body, he couldn’t find a single trace of the two standard Cultivation Immortal Systems: Qi Cultivation and Body Refining.

And the source of its power...

Complex, faint black patterns, almost like engravings, filled its body both inside and out.

The surface of its skin, its flesh, bones, and even its internal organs were all densely engraved with these complex, faint black patterns.

The source of the Demon Puppet’s power came from these countless interlocking, faint black patterns.

What puzzled him was that these innumerable patterns were completely outside his scope of knowledge.

Artifact Patterns, Runes, Array Patterns, Pill Patterns...

None of them matched. It was a completely different system, something entirely beyond his understanding.

’Demon Puppet... a fitting name, indeed.’

Chu Mu muttered to himself, the astonishment in his eyes growing.

’The human body is the Puppet’s frame, and these complex patterns are like its Artifact Patterns and Array Patterns.’

’Artifact Patterns and Array Patterns empower Puppets and tools.’

’But these patterns empower the human body itself.’

’Refining a human into a Puppet...’

Qi Cultivation, Body Refining, Refining God, bloodlines...

’This is clearly a complete Cultivation System. Even with its massive flaws, it’s definitely not the... useless junk Xu Changqing described.’

However...

’Why would such a complete system be so weak?’

Chu Mu investigated again. The patterns were inscribed and sealed using Demonic Qi as a catalyst. These patterns not only made excellent use of the Demonic Qi’s properties but also perfectly concealed the Demon Seed within them. This was the fundamental reason the Compass couldn’t detect it.

’The Demon Seed... it’s incomplete...’

Finally, the answer presented itself.

Without a doubt, the Demon Seed was the core of this system of inscribed Seals.

And an incomplete Demon Seed was clearly the fundamental reason these Demon Puppets had the realm but not the strength to match.

A Demon Seed is condensed from True Demon Qi, and in the current Cultivation Immortal Realm, True Demon Qi is exceptionally rare.

The major powers were even deliberately suppressing any information about the existence of Demon Cultivators.

If it weren’t for this incident in the Chu Capital, he might never have even learned about True Demon Qi.

’There must be... other flaws...’

Chu Mu withdrew his Divine Sense and looked thoughtfully at the bloody mess before him.

This system of inscribed Seals brought power, but at the same time, the Demonic Qi was also corroding the body.

Furthermore, unlike orthodox Cultivation Immortal Systems such as Qi Cultivation and Body Refining—which also enhance and nourish one’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit, eventually leading to a complete transformation—this Seal system seemed only to corrode the body without providing any such benefits.

This meant that even with a complete Demon Seed, this Demon Puppet would be just as Xu Changqing described: possessing the Combat Power of the Foundation Establishment realm, but with a lifespan likely shorter than that of a mortal.

’To detect traces of the Demon Seed, I’d have to break through or bypass the barrier created by this system of Seals...’

Chu Mu mused as the Compass floated above his palm, spinning rapidly. As he exposed the Demon Seed, the nearby black dot reappeared on the Compass’s surface.

Then, with a flick of his hand, he sent a wisp of fire drifting down. The mangled Demon Puppet was instantly engulfed, turning into a blazing Fireball.

A few breaths later, the flames died out, leaving behind nothing but a charred patch on the ground...

...

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