Su Ming studied the glowing crimson Nine-Yang Dragon-Blood Lotus, letting a touch of naive confusion show on his face. "A red hue... Is this a mutated Seven-Yang Vermilion Lotus?" he murmured.
The dragon's voice boomed back.
"To recognize the Seven-Yang Vermilion Lotus at your age is indeed impressive, Junior Su Ming. However, your gaze is still bound by the mortal realm. Look closer. What lies before you is the supreme Nine-Yang Dragon-Blood Lotus, nourished by the pure essence of my dragon clan's blood for hundred thousand years. Refine it, and let it temper your shell!"
Su Ming maintained his facade, though his mind remained cold. The Nine-Yang Dragon-Blood Lotus was a legendary treasure. But as he studied the wall inscriptions, his eyes narrowed as he quietly read the name of the technique.
The Primordial Yang Demon Body.
Beside the inscriptions, the technique pathways were detailed. This physique was divided into nine stages; the first three laid the foundation, stages four through six forged meridian channels, and the final three merged spirit with flesh. Reaching the ninth stage would grant physical strength equivalent to a Peak Saint Realm master using raw physical force, without a single drop of spiritual qi.
As Su Ming's eyes traced the inscriptions, the essence of the technique unfolded. The path of the Primordial Yang Demon was one of violent dominion. It turned the body into a sovereign furnace that subjugated elements rather than absorbing them, welding fire and lightning directly into the flesh. The "Demon" in its name did not mean moral corruption, but this absolute, predatory disregard for the natural order—the peak of physical arrogance under the sun.
But when Su Ming tried to read deeper into the fourth stage, his head throbbed. The pathways were a chaotic web of overlapping, contradictory flows, far too complex. Under ordinary circumstances, he would have activated the Twilight Nether Lantern to decipher the entire manual. But with the Ancient Dragon Soul watching him, he did not dare.
He restricted the Lantern to the absolute minimum, drawing only a basic thread of Essence Sight and a hidden, faint strand of the Halo of Insight. He could only comprehend the first three stages. Although he memorized everything to recall at any moment, he could not understand anything beyond the third stage. He would not let a rare Saint Realm technique go to waste that easily.
Worse, even those first three stages were riddled with hidden, unstable flow lines that would permanently corrupt a human's meridians if cultivated blindly.
Using the thin thread of the Halo of Insight, Su Ming worked quietly. He patched the most lethal corruption parts, correcting roughly forty percent of the flaws. The remaining sixty percent of demonic Yang qi would still trigger physical demonification if pushed too far, but it was the only path forward.
'Tch. Forty percent is barely enough,' Su Ming thought, his eyes opening.
He leaped across the magma gap, his Ethereal Warding Robe shielding him from the heat. The moment his boots hit the central platform, the array flared, slamming him with two times gravity. Stabilizing himself, he reached down and pulled the Nine-Yang Dragon-Blood Lotus.
Without hesitation, he ate the flower.
The lotus dissolved into a thick, searing liquid that burned his throat like molten copper. The heat surged outward, flooding his meridians and rushing to his skin like boiling oil.
*Crack!*
A bolt of red lightning shot from the ceiling, striking Su Ming directly. The Ethereal Warding Robe absorbed some of the impact, but the charge still passed into his bones, driving the heat deep into his marrow.
The pain was excruciating. Su Ming's muscles locked, and he fell to his knees, his hands clawing at the stone floor. Under the double gravity and the rampaging energy, his bones groaned and began to fracture. Decades of accumulated mortal waste were crushed under the pressure. Hairline cracks spread through his shins, ribs, and skull, only to be instantly flooded by the boiling red life-blood energy of the lotus and welded back together.
From his pores, a thick, sticky black sludge hissed and sizzled on his skin, vaporizing into a foul gray mist in the platform's intense heat. The pain of having his marrow scorched and his bones repeatedly broken and mended made his vision turn white. His skin turned a pale red, and two small horns began to poke out of his forehead.
"Good! Very good!"
A grand, voicing boom vibrated from the cavern walls, shaking the surrounding lava pools. The Ancient Crimson Dragon Soul's voice was full of ancient amusement. "Young hero, your bone structure is indeed exceptional. To endure the first stage of this body tempering is no small feat. You are truly worthy of my inheritance."
Su Ming opened his eyes, his breathing ragged as red sparks of electricity crackled across his pale red skin. The intricate black lines wrapping his chest hummed in response to the ambient static. He did not immediately show his strength. Instead, he forced his body to tremble, looking down at his hands and reaching up to touch the two hard, dark horns protruding from his forehead.
He forced a weak, gasping salute toward the void, his voice carrying the perfect touch of fear. "Senior, this junior is an orthodox righteous cultivator. How can I practice such a heinous demonic technique? If the elders of my sect discover these horns and crimson skin, my cultivation path will be ruined!"
The cavern fell silent for a brief moment before the dragon soul let out a deep laugh.
"Foolish child," the dragon soul replied. "Under the heavens and earth, all things belong to the Heavenly Dao. What is demonic, and what is righteous? Is lightning demonic? Is fire demonic? They are simply natural forces. The Primordial Yang Demon Body is the greatest physique under the sun, possessing the absolute strongest physical body in existence. If you complete this body refinement and then accept my dragon clan's inheritance, the two will fuse to forge the Primordial Yang Demon Dragon Physique—a supreme physique that completely surpasses both of our races! Once you hold this body, you shall rule the skies, attaining limitless wealth, power, and glory. All the riches and beauties in the world will bow before you. Do not worry about these trivial matters. Once mastered, you can change back to human form at will."
"Is that so?" Su Ming gasped in mock relief, bowing his head. "This junior was narrow-minded. I thank Senior for correcting my ignorance."
"Focus your mind, clear your thoughts, and continue the tempering," the dragon soul commanded. "The true trial has only just begun."
"Yes, Senior," Su Ming said.
Under normal circumstances, his Yin-Yang Golden Core would have spun to neutralize and balance the demonic Yang energy immediately. But Su Ming did not do so. If he cleaned the demonic traits on the spot, the dragon soul would realize he had modified the technique and grow suspicious. To keep the facade of the naive, trusting disciple, he had to let the dragon see the "success" of the technique.
Instead of purging the traits, he secretly guided the excess, corrupting Yang essence through a hidden diversion pathway, siphoning the wild elements away from his deep life-source and directing the surging energy to fuel his qi cultivation. By funneling this raw, massive Yang force straight into his dantian, he forced his Golden Core to rotate at high speed, compressing the elements and using them to hammer against the barrier of his cultivation realm.
On the outside, his skin remained pale red, the horns poked out, and the black lines hummed with heat—leaving the physical markers of the demonic form fully visible. But internally, a quiet spiritual boom echoed in his soul. The barrier of his cultivation shattered, pushing his qi base to the middle of the Golden Core realm.
Su Ming tested the flow of his Yin-Yang Golden Core. Thanks to his corrections and the balanced core mechanics, he verified with absolute certainty that he held full control over these changes. He could reverse his demonic physical traits at any moment with a single thought, returning to his human form, but for now, he would wear this demonic disguise.
Su Ming closed his eyes, his breathing ragged as red sparks of electricity crackled across his skin. For two full days and nights, he sat cross-legged on the stone platform, enduring the constant lava heat and the crushing pressure, maintaining this delicate balance.
By the third day, a sudden hum echoed through his flesh.
Su Ming opened his eyes and stood up. The two times gravity that had bent his knees on the first day now felt like nothing. The refinement of the first stage was complete. Normally, his frame had stretched, making him two to three inches taller, his physical posture more refined and elegant. Yet, when the wild Yang energy surged and the active demonic transformation took hold, his body expanded further, growing even taller, broader, and wider with imposing, physical presence. His bones were denser, carrying a faint bronze sheen beneath his flesh, and his muscle fibers were tightly woven.
But the sky above was still dark, and the lightning fell continuously. The second stage required even greater tempering.
Su Ming did not hesitate. He reached up, untying the collar of his Ethereal Warding Robe, and pulled it off, casting the defensive garment aside. Bare-chested, he stood up on the platform, exposing his pale red skin and the intricate black lines wrapping his chest directly to the crucible.
*CRASH!*
A heavy, jagged streak of red lightning struck his bare shoulders, the electrical charge wrapping around his torso like chains. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as the lightning elements bit into his skin, but Su Ming did not yield. He focused his mind on the second and third stages, welcoming the violent lightning and the rising fire from the lava pool, letting the elements forge his bare flesh as the red storm raged around him.