Demon Taming: Start by synthesizing a Lantern Ghost with Divine and Demonic Talents

Chapter 1 The Enemy in the Boundary Abyss (I beg for everything, I beg for everything!)

Winter is coming.

Although it hasn't snowed yet, the bitter cold is getting worse every day.

In the endless winter, a desolate silence reigned, broken only by the howling of the fiercest north wind. Each gust felt like a sharp sword, piercing to the bone. Even with thick cotton clothing, ordinary people could not withstand this cruel onslaught. It was like a bottomless abyss, leaving people helpless and with no escape.

Shanhaijie City is the northernmost gateway to the Xia people.

The Xia Dynasty was at its peak, with vast territory and abundant resources. It had a population of 600 million and 60 million cultivators, making it the supreme empire of all races in the entire Yuan Realm.

This year marks the six thousandth anniversary of the establishment of the Celestial Court of the Xia Dynasty over the world.

Over the past six thousand years, under the leadership of successive councils of elders of the Celestial Court, the Earthly Realm has witnessed a massive explosion in the number of living beings and a rich diversity of species, with humans and other races living in harmony. It has reached a golden age of flourishing prosperity.

People are willing to believe that if this development continues for thousands of years, the entire world will ascend to immortality.

I wonder if there is truly a destiny in this world where everything rises to the top and then declines?

Before the Earthly Realm could even ascend to immortality, its immense power attracted a powerful enemy: the covetous gaze of mighty deities from the Abyss of the Heavens. Under the relentless devouring force, the Earthly Realm was inevitably sliding little by little towards the Abyss.

The current Earthly Realm not only has to contend with the devouring power of the Abyss, but also faces invasions from the Ghost Realm and the Myriad Demon Realm.

The three realms unexpectedly meet on their way to the Abyss of Boundaries, each wanting to devour the other in order to use the power of the other's world to escape the Abyss of Boundaries.

War after war broke out.

The most recent cross-dimensional war was when the human race led a hundred races to fight against ten thousand demons outside Shanhaiguan.

After that battle, the defense line of the various Xia states expanded by 100,000 kilometers into the depths of space.

Shanhaiguan was the rear area of ​​Shanhaiguan.

Shanhai Academy.

"Snapped."

The dormitory door was pushed open, and Hu Yifei walked in, braving the cold wind and sniffing the icy snot forming under his nose. As soon as he closed the door, he saw his roommate Li Chunfeng's actions and was immediately stunned.

Li Chunfeng, who should have been resting in bed, was now sitting up cross-legged.

He slightly raised one palm, and a flying needle, about the length of an index finger with vein-like patterns on its surface, swirled between his five fingers. An invisible mental force controlled the flying needle, allowing it to move freely and at his command.

[Blood-Patterned Flying Needle: A superior-grade magical artifact, imbued with nine magical restrictions. Crafted primarily of Blood-Patterned Steel and supplemented with Star Iron, it makes controlling the sword with divine sense more effortless. Its exceptional materials also leave room for further upgrades.]

A message that only Li Chunfeng could see appeared on the flying needle.

Hu Yifei watched him manipulate the flying needles in mid-air, his eyes red with envy. "Is this the power of the divine soul? It is indeed a power completely different from the blood and qi of a martial artist. You've really struck gold. You're almost sixteen years old, and you've already opened your divine aperture. If people knew that confessing to the school beauty and getting beaten up instead would open your divine aperture, I'm afraid all the boys in the school would want to try it."

"Why do you think girls wouldn't want to try it?"

Li Chunfeng smiled and finally put away the flying needles. "My opening of the divine aperture has nothing to do with Zhou Si."

"Keep bragging. You confessed and got rejected, so why are you defending her? Have you suddenly become a simp and awakened your 'simp' side? Don't tell anyone you know me when you go out. The Casanova of Shan Hai Academy can't afford to lose face like that."

"You call yourself a Casanova? You're still completely smitten by Chen Lingsu, you deadbeat simp."

"Hold!"

It's hard, the fist is hard.

"Where did you lick? Where did you lick! Helping a classmate practice their skills is called licking? Your thoughts are so filthy, I don't even want to talk to you." Hu Yifei, like a husky whose tail has been stepped on, clenched his fists and jumped up, barking loudly incessantly. If it weren't for the fact that he was injured, I would at least give him a punch on his smug face.

Li Chunfeng gave him a look, letting him figure it out for himself.

"Do you still want to eat something? My good son, look what delicious food Dad brought you. The cafeteria made tiger bone soup today, so I got up early and brought back a few extra portions of meat. Call me Dad, and this meal is on me. You are what you eat, so drinking tiger bone soup will help your broken bones heal faster."

"roll!"

Hu Yifei ducked and dodged the smelly sock that flew towards him in a crumpled ball.

Then his hand was empty; the food box seemed to have grown wings and flew away, landing in Li Chunfeng's hand.

Spiritual power...

Hu Yifei cursed under his breath.

Seeing Li Chunfeng eating heartily, he felt a sense of raising a son and decided to be magnanimous and not argue with his son.

"But then again, isn't Zhou, the school beauty, being a bit too heartless? It's just a confession, there's no need to beat her up and break her bones." Hu Yifei's eyes were suspicious. "You kid...did you do something bad to her?"

Li Chunfeng remained calm and composed, saying, "Children should not meddle in adult matters."

He would tell the other person that his predecessor was too narcissistic. He was just an ordinary guy, but he thought the school beauty liked him. He finally mustered up the courage to confess, but was rejected and couldn't stand it. In a fit of anger and embarrassment, he lost his mind and proposed to fight the school beauty. As a result, he accidentally touched her during the sparring and got a good beating.

A confession turned into a full-blown brawl; nobody else could pull that off.

It's also because when they usually have martial arts classes, Zhou Si, who is also a big school beauty, could find anyone to spar with, but she always takes the initiative to partner with him, a boy from the next class, which is why he misunderstood.

The biggest illusion in life: She likes me.

Youthful arrogance, youthful infatuation, youth is fleeting and never returns.

Li Chunfeng admired his predecessor, unlike him, who couldn't confess to the person he liked even when the world ended, and remained a virgin until his death.

But he's the one who has to clean up this mess.

That's right, he's from another time.

The story of his predecessor's confession and beating was posted online, and the entire academy knew about it. Then he died and was replaced by a soul with the same name and surname from another world that night.

Li Chunfeng's original world was destroyed, yet until the very last moment, he didn't even know who the real enemy that destroyed the world was.

The last thing I saw in my past life was a colossal beast larger than a planet, opening its chaotic maw to swallow the entire world whole, as boundless darkness surged forth.

Li Chunfeng's soul arrived in the Earthly Realm carrying the last remnants of the world's destruction. Only after merging with his predecessor's memories did he learn the true reason for the world's destruction—the enemy was in the Realm Abyss. He possessed all of his predecessor's memories, including those dramatic scenes: Zhou Si, during a sparring match, was accidentally tripped over a puddle of ice, which pulled him down with her, landing squarely on top of him, his hands seemingly gripping a steering wheel.

...This wave is called "Basic Instinct".

The girl was initially bewildered, then her pretty face flushed crimson, and she went on a rampage, beating him mercilessly. The original owner of this body knew he was in the wrong and didn't dare fight back, which is why he was beaten so badly.

Uh ~
Why are my hands now shaped like chicken claws? Are you still reminiscing about the feeling from back then? This embarrassing, socially awkward feeling has been inherited too?
"It's best to let this kind of thing remain unknown to anyone."

"Anyone who mentions this from now on will die!"

His previous life's planet, Water Blue, was a technologically advanced world, similar to the Earthly Realm. He was quite young when he died, and now, having merged with the soul of a sixteen-year-old boy, he felt no sense of alienation. Therefore, he integrated seamlessly into his daily interactions with his roommate, without the slightest discomfort.

He sipped his tiger bone soup while engaging in witty banter with Hu Yifei.

For some reason, the dormitory suddenly became quiet.

Hu Yifei looked at the guy wolfing down his food and couldn't understand it at all: We all agreed to lie down together, but you suddenly made a name for yourself. How can we bear this?

The thought of how this guy caused such a commotion when he opened his divine aperture made Hu Yifei feel a pang of jealousy.

That day was a rare sunny day in winter.

While everyone else was in class, Li Chunfeng was holed up in his dormitory recovering from his injuries, actually too ashamed to face anyone.

Suddenly, a fierce wind arose outside the classroom, dark clouds gathered, and day turned into night. Then, a scene appeared in the void: mountains and seas were overturned, and the bright moon was falling. Countless ghostly figures appeared in the dark clouds, and then nine bright moons appeared in the sky.

This extraordinary celestial phenomenon was so grand that everyone in the academy could see it clearly, which made him look quite impressive.

As the saying goes: When unusual phenomena occur in the sky, monsters are sure to follow.

The strange phenomenon of nine bright moons was a manifestation of the nine soul apertures in the body.

"The soul possesses nine soul apertures!"

Such extraordinary talent has never been seen in the Shan Hai Academy, which has been established for less than a hundred years. Even if the Kunpeng Academy is included, it would rank among the top 100 in history.

One day a stranger, the next a dragon or phoenix.

Li Chunfeng's name spread throughout the entire academy overnight, and he transformed from a mischievous and ordinary boy into the pride of the teachers.

Hu Yifei was seething with resentment, the smell of which could be smelled through his skin. He thought angrily, "What's so great about you? When I open my divine sense, I'll definitely create a scene even grander than yours."

"Spit it out if you have something to say, otherwise get lost and stop hanging around me, it's annoying."

Hu Yifei gritted his teeth, thinking he shouldn't have brought food for that bastard.

He stopped being coy and said, "They say that after opening the divine aperture, you will feel the call from the Abyss. Did you feel it? Abyss Tribulation!"

Li Chunfeng nodded, "I sensed it on the second day after I opened my mind, and the first tribulation will be a month later."

"what!"

Hu Yifei looked astonished, "How could it be so fast? Then you..."

Li Chunfeng remained calm as he continued gnawing on a meat bone. "According to custom, after a cultivator opens their divine aperture, they must work hard for their first natal demon pet. Now that the Abyss Tribulation is approaching, time is of the essence. I have already asked the academy for leave and applied to go to the Ghost Realm for training. I will set off tonight."

"What!!"

Hu Yifei was surprised again, but this time he opened his mouth and said nothing.

They were both orphans, their parents and relatives having perished in the same cross-industry battle. They were roommates for five years, their bond stronger than blood. Although their relationship wasn't exactly close—they often fought and bickered, even their teachers would find it strange—their brotherly affection only grew stronger with each fight.

There are many paths to cultivation in the Earthly Realm, but the mainstream paths are martial arts for body refinement and immortality for spirit refinement.

For six thousand years, the Xia people have ruled the Yuan Realm, and the issue of race has been greatly improved. The physical fitness of infants has also improved, and everyone can practice martial arts and body cultivation.

The path to immortality and spiritual refinement has a formidable hurdle that remains insurmountable: one must successfully open their divine aperture before the age of sixteen. Otherwise, once that age is over, the divine aperture will completely transform into another organ and cease to exist.

The earlier the divine aperture opens, the better, because the solidification of the divine aperture is not an instantaneous process; it gradually solidifies as you grow older. By the time you are nearly sixteen, the divine aperture is already mostly solidified, and the difficulty of opening it at that point is self-evident.

Therefore, it was especially special that Li Chunfeng opened his divine sense on the day his sixteenth birthday was approaching.

Of course, martial arts body tempering is also quite powerful, and the path of qi and blood makes everyone like a dragon, no less than the path of immortality. However, it suffers from a short lifespan. Only at the level of a martial god can one have a long lifespan, but even that is far from comparable to that of a cultivator.

Cultivators are blessed with unique advantages; they can often enjoy a lifespan of several hundred years as long as they achieve even a little success in refining their souls.

Therefore, almost every young person in the Earthly Realm strives to become a Divine Soul Cultivator.

however……

The world today is not what it used to be.

Since the Earthly Realm was captured by the Abyss, every divine soul cultivator born thereafter has had to undergo an additional 'Abyss Tribulation' in addition to their cultivation.

Every so often, cultivators are sent by the Abyss to adventure in a projection of another world. Successfully completing the adventure grants a period of peace, allowing them to continue for the next time. The Abyss also rewards cultivators based on their performance during the adventure.

The mode is somewhat similar to a dungeon trial in a game, but it is mandatory. Moreover, the difficulty of the adventure increases with each attempt, and if a cultivator's strength cannot keep up, they will never return from a certain adventure.

This kind of adventure is also known as the "Abyss Tribulation" for monks.

The Way of Heaven is forty-nine, and the one that escapes.

Some speculate that this trial-like adventure might be a glimmer of hope automatically generated by the Heavenly Dao of the Abyss. Others suspect that the Abyss Tribulation Adventure is merely a piece of entertainment created on a whim by some unnamed deity.

Regardless, if a cultivator can overcome all the dangers and reach the very peak, they may be able to glimpse the essence of the Abyss and thus allow the world to escape from it.

Hu Yifei is one year younger than Li Chunfeng, so he still has a chance to open his divine aperture.

Li Chunfeng's ability to gain insight, however, was based on something else entirely.

New book released! Please read and add to your favorites!
P.S.: This isn't a savior-type story. The protagonist is currently poor, and whether he'll display his personal values ​​after becoming wealthy is a long way off. Future readers can rest assured: the protagonist is intelligent, doesn't act foolishly, doesn't overstep his bounds, and isn't a saint.

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(End of this chapter)