The red lightning crackled across Su Ming's bare shoulders, the electrical charges wrapping around his torso like white-hot chains. Standing bare-chested on the basalt platform, he welcomed the heavy blows. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as the intense elements bit into his skin, but Su Ming did not yield. He sat back down cross-legged, focusing his mind on the second and third stages of the physique tempering.
Though his bones had mended and his core had broken through to the Middle Golden Core stage, the refinement was far from finished. The raw, violent energy of the Nine-Yang Dragon-Blood Lotus still coursed through his meridians, demanding to be shaped.
His Essence Sight under the Lantern's illumination did not lie. Under its silent inspection, the hidden pathways of the Primordial Yang Demon Body were laid bare. The technique was indeed a peak Saint grade physique refinement method, but the dragon soul's explanation was highly suspect. The demonic traits were not temporary at all; if he had continued cultivating the unmodified pathways blindly, the physical changes would have set permanently, leaving him with no way to revert. He was only able to maintain control because he was still in the early stages of the physique, and because his unique Yin-Yang Golden Core allowed him to isolate and reverse the elements.
There was a deeper, more sinister pattern hidden in these lines. The pathways did not just temper his flesh; they structured his meridians differently. Over time, this would have made his physical body incompatible with his own human Qi.
Su Ming had a cold suspicion. The dragon soul was not giving away a supreme inheritance out of generosity. It was using this physique as bait, altering his physical container to make use of it. He did not know if the dragon simply wanted a successor, or if it coveted the peerless Primordial Yang Demon Dragon Physique for itself.
He couldn't help but wonder how Lin Fan was supposed to have handled this in the original course of events. Lin Fan practiced a dual cultivation method; with all of this massive, raw Yang energy flooding his system, it would have fit the narrative perfectly, providing him with the ultimate fuel for his techniques and his harem.
But without the Twilight Nether Lantern to rewrite the pathways, and without a unique Yin-Yang Golden Core to quarantine the demonic energy, the original protagonist would still have been completely at the dragon's mercy. Did Lin Fan possess some hidden trump card, or was he meant to be consumed?
Su Ming's expression did not change. Mimicking the struggle of a naive disciple, he secretly adjusted his Qi flow through the modified pathways calculated by his Essence Sight instead of the original techniques' flawed route.
The stone platform hummed again, its ancient inscriptions flaring with blinding light.
*Boom.*
The gravity shifted, scaling to five times normal weight. The sudden drop in pressure popped his joints, and crimson lightning wrapped his limbs like chains. Su Ming channeled the violent lightning and the lotus's fire directly into his muscles and bones.
Under the purified pathways, the demonic energy was stripped of its invasive traps, utilizing only the raw tempering force to rebuild his skeletal foundation. His bones grew denser, taking on a faint, metallic bronze sheen beneath his flesh. By the time he completed the second stage, he could feel the raw strength within his muscle fibers—a power that did not rely on external Qi, but on pure, heavy, raw physical power.
Days passed in absolute silence, broken only by the bubbling lava.
"Excellent," the dragon soul whispered, its voice carrying an edge of anticipation. "Now, the final push. Endure the peak pressure, and the flesh shall be forged."
The stone platform flared with a blinding crimson light.
*CRASH.*
Ten times normal gravity slammed down upon him. The sheer weight forced Su Ming's knees to press hard against the basalt, the stone cracking under his shins. A trickle of blood ran from his nose, and the crushing pressure restricted his lungs, forcing him to draw shallow, burning gasps of air. He focused his mind, his eyes bloodshot as his tempered willpower kept him upright. Drawing the final remnants of the Nine-Yang Dragon-Blood Lotus from his dantian, he directed the massive Yang surge to coat his skeleton, muscles, and skin, completing the third stage of the Primordial Yang Demon Body.
Instantly, the physical demonification reached its peak. His frame expanded further, growing even taller, broader, and wider. His pale red skin flared with intense, white-hot heat, the black lines wrapping his chest glowing with dark, chaotic light. The two demonic horns on his forehead grew longer, anchoring deep into his skull. The surrounding volcanic heat and electricity did not burn him; they warped and slid off his skin, repelled by the absolute, dense Yang energy radiating from his cells.
*CRASH!*
A colossal bolt of red lightning shot from the ceiling, aiming straight for his head. Su Ming did not dodge. He reached up, his bare, dark-lined arm catching the jagged bolt of lightning directly. With a physical grunt, he closed his fist and squeezed.
The electrical charge did not shock his heart. Instead, under the sheer, raw density of his newly tempered muscle and bone, the lightning shattered like dry glass, its runic structures cracked and broken by his physical grip. The residual elements were siphoned directly into his pores, feeding his muscles.
His bones hardened to the limit. The physical strength of his body escalated rapidly, breaking through the barriers of ordinary Foundation Establishment and Middle Golden Core physical limits, finally locking in at the Peak Core Formation level.
Every bone in his body was now a reinforced pillar of dense, heavy bronze. Despite the sweat and blood dripping from his chin, his expanded frame was imposing, his muscles dense and wide, his posture unyielding even under the crushing gravity. The sheer weight of ten times gravity could no longer bend his knees.
But the sheer volume of Yang energy was now running wild, threatening to demonify him further. The demonic transformation was attempting to set his flesh in this state forever. The corrupting pathways of the manual were locking in, threatening to permanently bind him in his current form, which would have stripped him of his humanity entirely.
'Now,' Su Ming thought.
He did not call upon the dragon soul, nor did he panic. Instead, he drew upon his own cultivation base. In his dantian, the Yin-Yang Core rotated in a tight, defensive pattern, casting a protective shield of balanced Qi.
He did not use the Yin elements to neutralize the Yang energy yet. If he did, the physical transformation would reverse, revealing his human form and exposing his deception on the spot, turning the dragon hostile. To keep the dragon convinced of its success, he had to maintain the shell of the Primordial Yang Demon.
Instead of a full conversion, Su Ming used his Golden Core as a vacuum. He drew the chaotic, rampaging Yang elements away from his vital organs and deep meridians, pulling them into his Yin-Yang Golden Core. He converted the wild yang energy into soothing yin energy, maintaining a delicate balance.
On the outside, his skin remained pale red, the black lines continued to pulse with heat, and the two horns remained anchored to his skull. To any observer, he was a fully transformed demonic vessel, but internally, his core and vital organs remained completely human and balanced.
Yet, this massive compression and containment of the lotus's energy released a colossal, pure Qi surge into his meridians. The refined, high-level energy flowed like a raging river, filling his expanded pathways and slamming directly into the bottleneck of his cultivation base.
*Boom.*
A quiet hum echoed inside his head. The barrier between the Middle and Late Golden Core realms shattered like thin glass. His dantian expanded, his Yin-Yang Golden Core growing slightly larger and shining with a denser, more refined luster. The pure Qi settled, wrapping around his core in a protective, balanced manner.
Late Golden Core Realm.
Su Ming stood up. Under the ten times gravity, his body felt light, his feet grounded firmly. He felt the immense power in his bones. Peak Core Formation raw strength combined with Late Golden Core Qi. On the outside, he remained a horned, red-skinned demon, but his mind was clear and his control absolute. He was ready for the next stage.
After a long silence, the Ancient Crimson Dragon Soul's majestic voice echoed, carrying a deep, satisfied resonance.
"Incredible. To finish the flesh tempering in mere days... Good...Good..Good."
"You have successfully forged the foundation of the Primordial Yang Demon Body. Excellent."
The dragon soul's presence vibrated through the chamber, directing his attention to the rear.
"Now, step forward. The gate is open. Welcome to the second trial—the Soul-Shattering Sea. Temper your will, and complete your transformation."
Su Ming did not wait. He looked toward the back of the cavern. A loud, grinding noise echoed as the stone wall behind the platform began to rumble and slide upward. Beyond the gateway lay a dark, misty expanse, filled with a heavy, oppressive spiritual pressure that made the air feel cold.
It was the entrance to the inner ring. The Soul-Shattering Sea. The will tempering trial was open.
Su Ming put away his Ethereal Warding Robe, walking off the platform. The heat and violent qi were not a problem for him anymore.
He looked back once at the lava pools before stepping through the dark gateway.