Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 333 Innate Blood

Although the book "Origin of Primal Blood" sounds like a good book, the title is quite catchy.

However, the contents of the document disappointed Han Yi; they were nothing more than the same old clichés.

This "original blood," or innate vital energy, is said to strengthen the body's foundation, replenish vital energy, prolong life, and possess all sorts of wondrous and incredible effects...

This was all content he was tired of seeing; it was repeated in several books.

These past few days, he's been trying to find a way to increase his vital energy in the lobby on the first floor.

However, nothing was gained.

It's not that he gained nothing at all; he brushed up on a lot of common-sense knowledge. For example, the book on his left: "The Hidden Secrets of Demons".

This book describes various demon races, such as the Lizard Armor Clan, the Ice Wolf Clan, the Cyclops Clan, and the Fire-Breathing Flying Fox Clan, with clear descriptions of their abilities, illustrations, and general characteristics.

The corpse spirits and vengeful spirits he encountered earlier were a type of vengeful ghosts.

The various strange and beautiful races broadened his horizons.

In addition, the book mentions a novel theory.

"Rather than saying that demons created chaos and caused the calamity, it's more accurate to say that the calamity attracted the demons..."

According to the author, natural things that humans take for granted, such as air, sunlight, and water…

In the eyes of demons and monsters, it was actually a terrifying place filled with countless highly toxic and corrosive fumes, and even contained many active forces that weakened their strength.

Demons and monsters actually have a hard time surviving in the human world. This is also a major reason why ordinary people rarely encounter supernatural events in their lifetime.

Therefore, this is also why most martial artists in Yunzhou do not have a deep understanding of demons and monsters.

However, in many cases, demons and monsters can change the environment through certain methods, turning it into a strange and demonic realm that suits them.

"Therefore, there must be some force maintaining peace in the human world... This force can protect the human world from invasion, stop monster attacks, weaken or even kill them directly..."

If we look back at the history of the several major demonic disasters in Yunzhou, they all originated from external sources, and the final result was always related to the Yuan Dynasty…

The writing at the end seemed to have been deliberately erased, and the following pages were also blurred, as if someone didn't want anyone to know.

"Yuan... Yuanmiao Sect?" A thought flashed through Han Yi's mind. If there truly was such a power controlled by someone, capable of protecting Yunzhou's territory, ensuring the people's peaceful lives, and preventing demons from entering Yunzhou...

It is likely that only Yuanmiaozong was the mastermind behind it all, the one who truly knew the truth.

"However, this matter is too far removed from my life, and thinking about it too much is pointless." He shook his head and put the book "The Secrets of Demons and Monsters" back on the bookshelf.

A powerful force capable of protecting an entire prefecture—without a doubt, such a thing is a secret among the higher-ups, even within the Yuanmiao Sect.

As for him, he couldn't even enter the Yuanmiao Sect, so it was simply not something he could get involved in.

"No luck on the first floor, looks like I'll have to go to the second floor..."

He looked up and gazed at the dark red semicircular corridor staircase to the side.

He spent a lot of time on the first floor during this period, not because he didn't want to go up to the second floor, but simply because the second floor was too expensive…

He inquired with his disciples and learned that, unlike the free reading area in the lobby on the first floor, the books on the second floor were charged in units of gold.

One hour, twenty taels of gold.

Furthermore, if you see a book you like inside and want to make a copy to take home and examine it closely, you'll need to pay an extra fee.

This is why he stayed in the lobby on the first floor.

Although he got more than two thousand taels of gold notes from Zhang Zheng, when he went to pay his tuition, he gritted his teeth and paid for a whole year in one go.

One hundred and twenty taels of gold per month, that's one thousand two hundred taels per year.

After deducting other miscellaneous expenses, all that was left were a few hundred taels of gold notes.

However, after paying a year's tuition, at least the sense of urgency and pressure in my heart has been temporarily relieved.

His mind was racing with chaotic thoughts. He turned around and headed upstairs.

"Old Fu." He walked to the top of the stairs and bowed to an old man holding a pipe.

On the right side of the first-floor corridor entrance, there is a wooden table and a recliner, where a withered old man with gray hair is lying.

This old man was the same old gatekeeper he had met the first time he visited the library.

Han Yi spent the last few days wandering around this floor and running errands for the old man to buy tobacco several times, and the two became acquainted.

At this moment, Old Fu was sitting with his legs crossed, a pipe dangling from his mouth, squinting his eyes and puffing out smoke on his recliner.

"What do you mean by 'paying for old age'? I'm still young, I haven't accepted that I'm old yet." Hearing Han Yi's words, he immediately shouted.

"Alright, Mr. Fu, you're getting on in years, this is just a way of showing respect." Han Yi didn't take it to heart.

This old man, even though his hair and beard are completely white, is still stubbornly arguing.

"Fine, you've got a sharp tongue, I won't hold it against you." Old Fu smacked his pipe a couple of times. "What, going upstairs?"

"Ah."

“I told you long ago, there’s nothing useful on the first floor.” Old Fu jumped up, grinning, and said, “Give me the money.”

"..."

Han Yi was helpless. This old man was really greedy for money. He guarded this place every day. Otherwise, he would have sneaked up long ago.

"We're already so familiar with each other, can't you give me a discount?" he couldn't help but complain.

"No, rules are rules, and everyone must abide by them. Even if the manor lord comes, he still has to pay." Old Fu smiled as he accepted the gold Han Yi handed over, casually tossing him a small wooden plaque. "Pay extra for late arrivals, no refunds for early arrivals." Han Yi shook his head and walked up the dark red staircase.

As he walked up the steps, he noticed various characters carved on both sides of the staircase.

'Wisdom', 'Courage', 'Tranquility', 'Faith', 'Discipline'...

Each character is written in a vigorous, flowing style, like dragons and phoenixes, and is embedded in the walls on both sides, giving one a sense of depth upon entering.

"This was left by the previous patriarch. Its meaning is to admonish his disciples to maintain wisdom and spirit, to have courage and ambition, and to keep a calm and unhurried nature. Even when facing powerful martial arts, one must adhere to one's beliefs and believe that what suits oneself is the best."

Old Fu's voice drifted softly from the stairwell.

Han Yi went up to the second floor and handed the wooden plaque to the disciple at the front desk before being allowed to enter.

The second floor was much smaller than the first floor, with bookshelves scattered sparsely, divided into different areas according to different categories. Four or five disciples were browsing through the books. Han Yi looked at each row.

'Attack', 'Defense', 'Support', 'Agility', 'Skill'...

Each area was filled with books, more or less.

He walked to the area marked 'Attack' and looked around.

Six-Line Shadowless Sword, Little Green Mountain Fist Technique, Free-flowing Blade, Bloodthirsty Cold Bat Nail, Listening to the Rain Willow Palm, Eight Directions Hidden Blade Style, Wanderer's Sword Heart Technique...

He randomly picked up a book, "Thirty-Six Claws of the Thunder Eagle".

This is not the full text, but only a general overview of this martial art.

From the initial training of skin, bones, and blood, to the visualization diagram for entering the energy realm, it covers everything from how to keep the ten fingers flexible and strong, how to increase the activity of qi and blood, and how to transform blood into energy.

He put the booklet back and then pulled out another one, "Water-Treading Sword Technique," which, like the previous one, was also completely complete. So, if that's the case…

Han Yi looked around. Each area had at least a hundred martial arts manuals. With more than a dozen areas, wouldn't there be over a thousand manuals in total?!

He was somewhat shocked and somewhat incredulous.

How precious is a martial art that can open up the meridians and generate internal energy! Each one is a crystallization of the wisdom of our predecessors.

In Pingzhou and Anyan City, it is practically the foundation upon which every sect relies for survival and development. Whenever a copy of it is revealed, it is snatched up in a frenzy, sometimes even causing a bloodbath.

But here... they're treated like worthless trash, readily available for anyone to pick and choose.

In fact, it's not just Jingtian Manor that's like this; other forces within Yunzhou also don't pay much attention to these ordinary entry-level martial arts techniques.

The reason is simple: the practice of martial arts as a secondary skill has declined, and everyone only practices true skills.

No matter how good, famous, or powerful these martial arts techniques may seem, they cannot compare to the true potential of skill. Therefore, the martial arts manuals on the second floor of the library in Jingtian Manor are mostly for disciples to learn from and reference, to broaden their experience.

The library has three floors. The real martial arts manuals are kept on the third floor, which is an area that only high-ranking people like the head of the academy and the lord of the manor are qualified to enter.

Even so, what is merely a reference for others regarding the second-floor martial arts techniques... is indeed of great importance to Han Yi.

The system's deduction function requires a vast amount of martial arts knowledge; for him, the knowledge, martial arts, and secret manuals here are an unparalleled treasure trove.

“I can come to the library often in the future. The most important thing now is…” Han Yi put down the book and prepared to find his target.

Time was of the essence. In this second-floor apartment, every hour cost twenty taels of gold; every minute and second was money being spent. With his current savings… he couldn't afford to be too extravagant. His goal… was to find a way to compensate for his congenital defects and increase his total vital energy.

Han Yi quickly searched through the books, his steps never faltering as he swiftly passed by each bookshelf, flipping through one book after another.

'Run,' 'Solid,' 'Quiet'...

"Five-Step Plum Blossom Stance": Take one large black rooster, extract its fresh comb blood, and combine it with white cardamom flower husks. Take this with warm water and practice the stance exercises daily at dawn (3-5 AM). This will solidify your foundation and strengthen your vital energy...

The "Tianshan Immortal Skill" involves collecting morning dew, seeking out magnolia and lingzhi herbs, and decocting and consuming golden gourd threads. Using this skill can compensate for physical deficiencies, significantly improve blood and energy, and upon mastery, result in a body as hard as iron, longevity, and eternal youth… However, there are many precautions: practitioners must maintain virginity, concentration, and abstinence from desires. Any loss of control or lust will result in serious injury or even death…

He read through the books one by one and indeed found some secrets to make up for deficiencies and solidify the foundation. However, the conditions were either extremely harsh or simply impossible to achieve.

There are even some secret manuals that can increase one's vital energy, but they require the practitioner to remain a virgin and cultivate from a young age for them to be effective.

Isn't that ridiculous? Although Han Yi doesn't have any interest in women right now, men should marry when they're of age and women should marry when they're of age. He can't be lonely for the rest of his life just because of a cultivation technique.

He shook his head and counted the cultivation techniques that could increase the body's vital energy; there were a total of fifteen.

There are quite a few, but each one has incredibly complex conditions, making them completely unsuitable for cultivation.

"Does that there are no suitable secret manuals on the second floor? Do we really have to take the path of dispersing internal energy?" Han Yi frowned, his face grim.

If possible, he really didn't want to lose his power.

Currently, all of his combat power is in his reverse scale state. Once he loses his power, he will be similar to an ordinary martial artist, or even much weaker.

'With the system at my disposal, as long as I find the right manual, regardless of the difficulty of cultivation, the danger of the challenges, or whether it's complete or not, as long as I can get the basics down, theoretically I can quickly break through and increase my total amount of vital energy...'

Han Yi took a deep breath and quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.

The system's skill enhancement function often only requires an introduction, a starting point, and does not necessarily require the complete skill manual.

Just like the Flying Dragon Skill, its original martial arts concept was actually a combination of the Black Snake Leg and the Jade Scale Sword Technique.

'If that's the case, then as long as we can find the right inspiration, we can always find a way through deduction and improved functionality…'

Han Yi's analysis reached this point, and he suddenly understood.

If he keeps searching through these verified manuals, he will never find one that is completely suitable for him.

These rigid, fixed steps, with the martial arts creator defining the future path of the manual, are ultimately best suited only to the manual's creator.

What problems these secret manuals can solve, what effects they have, and to what extent one can master them after successfully practicing them are all things that the creators of these manuals initially deduced based on their own specific problems.

Therefore, if he wants to solve his own problems, he needs to find a feasible solution from the root.

The best approach for him is to treat his specific symptoms and create a suitable method.

Creating one's own martial arts technique is undoubtedly a joke to many people, and even grandmasters may not be able to succeed.

Han Yi is only a second-level martial artist. So what if he is slightly stronger?

But Han Yi was confident that he could do this, given the system's deduction capabilities.

Just like the Flying Dragon Skill, it was completely derived from his own characteristics and was perfectly suited to him.

'If that's the case, then all I need are enough martial arts concepts and ideas, or rather, wildly imaginative inspirations. So, my search scope...'

A thought struck him, and he quickly went to a bookshelf labeled 'missing'.