The Demon with Holy Radiance

Golden Wave Pool had no pool, and certainly no water. It was just an ordinary palace-dojo located toward the rear edge of the Floating Island, a fair distance from the battlefield where the Golden Thread Pavilion and Great Virtue Temple clashed.

Yang An didn’t require an escort. He entered the hall of his own accord and shut the doors tightly behind him.

With Life Crane’s intervention, the matter was naturally put to rest.

As a Supreme Elder of the Golden Thread Pavilion, once his word was given, no one from the Pavilion dared to disobey. They all returned to their posts and duties, which left Yang An happy to be left to his own devices.

’At least this is better than Dragonfly Bamboo Peak,’ he thought. ’People from the Great Virtue Temple won’t be attacking at any moment. It’s just a shame that three days is a bit too short.’

Thirty Flow didn’t send anyone to stand guard either. Anyone with eyes could see that Life Crane was showing favoritism toward Yang An. To send people to watch over him like a criminal would have been tactless.

Yang An wasted no time. After entering Golden Wave Pool, he used a Technique to place a Restriction around the area to prevent anyone from prying, then he resumed his research on Techniques.

Before Wen Zhao’s arrival, he had been trying to master the Flash Gu Technique he had obtained from the Qiangui Mountain cultivator—Tide Fire.

Judging by its name alone, no one would have guessed that this Technique was actually a form of Light Magic. Even fewer would have imagined that the people of Qiangui Mountain could cast Light Magic by sacrificing a large number of Gu Insects, thereby avoiding the backlash damage themselves.

However, for a Qiangui Mountain cultivator who practiced the way of the Blood-Crying Insect, this Gu Technique could only be cast once. If the mass death of the Blood-Crying Insects failed to take down the enemy, the consequences for the user would be severe.

But even with only one chance to cast it, the effect could be incredibly powerful if used at the opportune moment.

But this wasn’t what Yang An cared about. His research goal wasn’t to figure out how Qiangui Mountain could use Gu Insects to bear the cost of the Technique. What he wanted was to use this Technique to find a way to create a new light, one different from the Three Spiritual Light.

This path would be arduous, but Yang An had no other choice. He felt it was his most likely path to a breakthrough.

According to the principles behind the Tide Fire Gu Technique, the prerequisite for casting it was to practice the "Blood-Crying Gu" Gu Technique and possess Blood-Crying Insects.

The cultivation of Qiangui Mountain differed from that of other cultivators. The Mana in their bodies didn’t supply their own flesh and soul, but was instead channeled in large quantities to the Gu Insects within them.

In a sense, the Gu Insects were the source of their power for casting any Gu Technique, acting as a secondary transformation of their Mana.

This led to a problem. Yang An had not practiced a Gu Technique and had no Gu Insects, so he lacked the necessary prerequisites to learn this Gu Technique.

’Is there a way to use my own body in place of the Gu Insects?’

Yang An considered the idea. ’The Gu Insects are, in a way, part of a Qiangui Mountain cultivator’s body. It’s just that after activating Tide Fire, the cultivator loses those Gu Insects but their own life is not harmed. This method is tantamount to reverting a Gu Technique back into an ordinary Cultivation Technique.’

’If I can use my own flesh as the Blood-Crying Insects to practice this Gu Technique,’ Yang An mused, ’it would mean I wouldn’t have to bear the cost. That way, my body wouldn’t suffer a backlash from casting the Technique.’

’Let’s try!’

Yang An decided to try it at once. Then, he took a piece of flesh from his own arm...

...

Time ticked by, second by second. The night passed in silence. Soon, bright daylight streamed through the window, illuminating tiny dust motes dancing in the beams.

From time to time, the sound of rushing wind could be heard from outside Golden Wave Pool, as if people were constantly passing by.

But the commotion outside did not disturb Yang An in the slightest. He was currently mired in a difficult problem.

Inside the hall, Yang An raised his hand and looked at the soybean-sized lumps of flesh protruding from his arm. The fleshy bumps were like mushrooms sprouting densely all over his arm, one after another.

These lumps were the product of Yang An using his own flesh and blood to imitate the Blood-Crying Insects.

Soon, the color of the lumps changed rapidly, shifting from pale red to a deep crimson, as if engorged with blood.

POP!

One after another, the fleshy lumps burst in an instant. A thick mist of blood exploded in front of Yang An, spreading in all directions before quickly dissipating.

Watching the numerous craters left on his arm where the lumps had exploded, Yang An shook his head as they healed rapidly in the blink of an eye.

He had used his own body to simulate the Blood-Crying Insects, but in the end, he was still unable to cast Tide Fire. All he could produce was a powerless mist of blood.

’Where did I go wrong?’

Yang An couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

After a long moment, a figure suddenly flew swiftly toward the hall of Golden Wave Pool.

"Elder Mu, the Pavilion Master has decided to grant you a special pardon. The Great Virtue Temple has begun to counterattack, and the Pavilion Master hopes that you will join the battle against them."

The voice of an unfamiliar cultivator came from outside the hall.

Hearing the voice from outside, Yang An looked up, a mocking expression on his face.

’It hasn’t even been a full day, and they’re already thinking of pardoning me.’

"Don’t bother me. Get lost!"

"..."

Silence fell outside the hall. Yang An could sense the man’s somewhat ragged breathing, but he paid it no mind and continued his research.

Soon enough, the cultivator outside had no choice but to depart, dejected.

’Logically speaking, according to Bow Lady, as long as those Qiangui Mountain cultivators can control the Blood-Crying Insects, they can make the insects activate the Gu Technique. In that regard, it’s no different from how ordinary cultivators cast a Technique, just like manipulating Mana.’

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