Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

Another piece of evidence of that martial demonic aura is just the thing to corroborate this.

And Tan Shuchang was preoccupied with this martial demon because when it first emerged, it was dead. A single touch from the Sword Spirit of the broken Immortal Sword allowed him to wield his fierce ghostly power once, and his overall strength underwent a quality transformation akin to shedding an old self. Slaying those elders from the Sword Mountain was as easy as slicing through vegetables.

Therefore, Tan Shuchang felt that if he could "devour" a martial demon, his strength might increase even more significantly.

After all, something with such a notorious reputation in the Jiawu Realm couldn't possibly be as superficial and weak as the Sun-Walking Spirit Envoy he had previously refined from the forbidden practices of Sichong Gate.

Soon after, Tan Shuchang left Black Heart Mountain.

During this period, apart from being distracted by a young girl which disrupted his cultivation and searching everywhere for clues to treasures that communicate with spirits, he wasn't without gains.

Desiccated Wood left his flying sword to Tan Shuchang and specifically taught him the correct method to cultivate and nurture it.

It turned out that the unique cultivation and nurturing method for spiritual nature at Sword Mountain wasn't entirely unsolvable—there were loopholes, but usually only known to the Cultivator Nurture themselves, and unless they reached the Sword Dao realm of Sword Master of Heaven and Earth, that loophole, even if present, was useless.

The reason for this was that, once reaching the Sword Dao realm of Sword Master of Heaven and Earth, top-quality flying swords still offered significant benefits, but their overall contribution to a Sword Cultivator's strength wasn't as substantial as before.

Thus, leaving such a loophole was merely for the convenience of the Sword Cultivator to gift or pass on their flying swords to others.

During this past half a month, Tan Shuchang had successfully cultivated his own spirit into Desiccated Wood's Silent Spirit Flying Sword, but because he wasn't a Sword Cultivator, the sword in his hands was somewhat of a waste of its potential.

Most of the flying sword's might couldn't be harnessed by him and was used merely for transportation.

Sword Cultivators could travel ten miles in a blink, and Tan Shuchang got to experience this electrifying sensation firsthand. Indeed, in urgent matters, Sword Flight was an excellent option.

Its speed was just slightly lower than when he employed the "Water Spirit."

But the "Water Spirit" was essentially a form of teleportation, and the fact that the flying sword's speed could almost keep up demonstrated the extreme velocity of these top-quality swords.

At this moment, Tan Shuchang arrived at an abandoned valley.

Desiccated Wood had informed him that the leader of the Sword Mountain had mentioned the largest piece of the nine orifices martial demon's body was here. Their original plan was to have Long Zhangyuan practice both the demonic path and martial arts, using the martial demon's aura to enhance his physical strength.

Tan Shuchang wasn't quite convinced, especially since Desiccated Wood had been nearly killed right after leaving the mountain, surviving only by clinging on with the realm strength of a Sword Master of Heaven and Earth.

In addition to this, Tan Shuchang didn't fully trust Desiccated Wood.

After all, he had killed his disciple.

Although Desiccated Wood claimed to be utterly disillusioned, whether he truly was disillusioned was something Tan Shuchang couldn't be sure of, so casting him to the netherworld was undoubtedly the best.

Anyone who had entered his Coexistent Blood Pool, regardless of their location within the Jiawu Realm, would still be somewhat perceptible to Tan Shuchang.

For example, "Peach Lord."

Tan Shuchang could sense that this individual was in the Jiawu Realm, but where exactly he couldn't detect. Without even a rough direction, he only knew of his existence.

Perhaps after he made a breakthrough, his perceptive ability would significantly improve.

Tan Shuchang didn't immediately enter the valley.

He began to test and probe repeatedly.

It wasn't until a day later that he entered and saw, right before his eyes, that something was concealed by a precious plant capable of hiding one's perceptive abilities, making it undetectable from outside the valley, which left Tan Shuchang momentarily speechless.

"So, is the leader of Sword Mountain—Nan Jian's Su Huan'an—really planning to stir trouble?" he mused, somewhat silently.

With that thought in mind, yet still harboring some doubts, he proceeded to the second location that allegedly contained another part of the nine orifices martial demon's body.

This time, Tan Shuchang was still very cautious, not allowing his previous silent experience to make him complacent. After spending a whole day, he finally located that piece of the martial demon's body.

There were no precious plants here, only a piece of the body that was buried too deep.

Then came the third, the fourth... Just like that, within half a month, Tan Shuchang had visited all twelve locations mentioned by his senior from the withered trees. Although a few places posed some trouble during his retrieval, none were serious issues, and none took much time.

Ultimately, Tan Shuchang successfully obtained the components of the body of the Nine-Orifice Martial Demon from all twelve locations.

And so, a Nine-Orifice Martial Demon with a complete right arm, a whole torso, most of a skull, and still lacking two eyeballs, presented itself before Tan Shuchang.

Having learned from his previous lessons, this time Tan Shuchang had come prepared, so the ubiquitous phantasms of the Nine-Orifice Martial Demon did not appear again.

"There seem to be two holes in which something from my body could fit..." Tan Shuchang said, somewhat surprised, as he took out a bead and tried fitting it into an eye socket.

It fit just right!

"This bead was originally part of it, no wonder I couldn't cultivate any spirit from it. But, why does it feel somewhat abnormal..."

After comparing for a while, Tan Shuchang took out the piece of Dream Immortal Sleep Stone.

For some inexplicable reason, he felt that this bead was somewhat related to the stone.

Being an item left by an ancient ascetic who practiced the Dream Immortal technique, the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone naturally couldn't have any familial relations to the bead, so there was only one possibility: the bead didn't seem like part of the Nine-Orifice Martial Demon because someone had sealed it with the Dream Immortal technique.

Tan Shuchang didn't actually care much about the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone; according to his withered tree senior, the heritage inside dissipated on its own after an ancestor from Mount Sword Seekers tried to forcibly obtain it, leaving behind some Dream Immortal power that could only induce a profound dream.

However, if one were to gain something in the dream, they would retain it upon waking.

In essence, this was an excellent method of cultivation, but it wasn't without a cost: lifespan consumed in the dream would, in some measure, affect the dreamer's own body.

But the consumption wasn't one-to-one.

If one experienced ten years in the dream, then upon waking, the real body would lose approximately three years of lifespan.

It was exactly because of this mode of consumption that Tan Shuchang, despite having acquired this wondrous object, reluctantly left it untouched.

Although he now knew from the Lord of the Demon Cultivators that he should have ten ji-chi's worth of lifespan left, the Lord of the Demon Cultivators had only lived over two hundred years, so whether it was truly ten ji-chi, Tan Shuchang wasn't certain.

To play it safe, Tan Shuchang decided to presume he had around three hundred years left.

While three hundred years might seem abundant, Tan Shuchang was still not satisfied.

Before he realized he could live so long, he might have been content; now that he was aware and possessed a few hundred years of lifespan, Tan Shuchang naturally couldn't bear to waste several years of life on the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone.

He would rather spend it on researching and creating something that could extend his life even further!

After all, he didn't need the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone to enhance his strength.

But now, it seemed he had no choice but to squander some lifespan within the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone.

With a light sigh, Tan Shuchang's heart stirred, and the Silent Spirit Flying Sword from his senior immediately flew out, deftly emitting twelve layers of sword light that guarded Tan Shuchang closely.

To Tan Shuchang, these sword lights were optional, but to other cultivators, they were extremely lethal. Furthermore, this Silent Spirit Flying Sword could remotely sense all flying swords of Mount Sword Seekers.

Just like the Demonic Cultivator Order.

If any flying sword from Mount Sword Seekers were within a hundred miles of Tan Shuchang, this Silent Spirit Flying Sword would instantly react.

Tan Shuchang began to enter the dream.

When he had obtained this spoil of war, not only was there the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone but also something akin to an instruction manual.

He quietly channeled his power, sensing the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone.

Tan Shuchang prepared to usher the remaining Dream Immortal power into his dream. However, at that moment, a delicate voice emerged from the stone: "Huh? You're not a Sword Cultivator from Mount Sword Seekers, are you? You're strange, what are you? Why do I feel like if I were to touch you, I would be contaminated by you and turn into all sorts of bizarre things?"

Sensing the weak wave of consciousness in the Dream Immortal Sleep Stone, Tan Shuchang fell silent for a moment.

Why did it feel like a wheel had just rolled over his face?