Chi Ji had left, emerging from the crowd and returning to it.
As the lanterns were lit, the night in the Nether Capital was exceptionally bright. The Heaven-Sealing Trapping Formation remained in place, and Xu Xian had not yet departed.
He wanted to avoid alerting the enemy.
Sitting at the table, he took out the copy of the Nether Fire Secret Art that Chi Ji had transcribed and began to study it carefully.
On the first page were four lines of text:
[Three inches from the palm, a prairie fire starts]
[One thought from the brow turns into glaciers]
[Burning rivers and boiling seas are but small flames]
[Frost condensing within the flame reveals the true mystery]
Xu Xian whispered the words to himself. The little book spirit hovered beside him, one hand supporting its elbow and the other stroking its chin, pondering. "I didn't expect it to actually be the Nine Void Nether Fire."
The Nine Void Nether Fire was the coldest known flame in the Cangming Realm. It was one of the ten great exotic fires, sharing equal fame with the Nirvana Godfire of the Zhuque and the Golden Crow.
One was of supreme heat, the other of supreme yin—two extremes.
Xu Xian had heard the little book spirit ramble about it before, though it had only been speculation at the time.
After all, its memories were long-buried. Until the Sword Tower was fully constructed, its memories would remain scattered fragments that were difficult to piece together.
Cutting straight to the point, Xu Xian asked, "Can I learn it?"
The little book spirit put on airs, acting old and experienced. "Master, you have to ask yourself that. How would I know?"
Xu Xian rolled his eyes. "Speak properly, or I'll throw you out."
The little book spirit made a face behind his back before analyzing seriously, "I don't know much... hmm... I only know that nether water originates from the Thirty-Third Heaven, while this Nine Void Nether Fire is born beneath the Nine Nether. In my memory, it seems to be the life-bound essence fire of an old turtle. What was that old turtle's name again..."
An old turtle?
Could it be the Xuanwu?
Xu Xian said impatiently, "Get to the point."
"This nether fire definitely can't be cultivated with qi," the book spirit said. "If Master wants to condense this fire, you have to re-cultivate."
Xu Xian shouted abruptly, "What... re-cultivate?"
The little book spirit said as if it were obvious, "Yeah, by cultivating demonic arts. You have to cultivate the demon qi of this Nether Abyss."
Xu Xian clicked his tongue and complained, "Why make it so complicated?"
The little book spirit threw up its small hands in a helpless gesture.
Xu Xian took a deep breath, closed the book in his hand, and placed it into the Divine Sword Pool.
With a flick of his wrist, a book with a blue cover appeared in his hand.
He licked his index finger and began flipping through the pages.
"Then I'll cultivate it. It's no big deal."
It was just learning to harness demon qi, not starting his entire cultivation from scratch.
Xu Xian figured that with his talent, it would take a few days at the shortest or a few months at the longest. It was nothing.
Building the Sword Tower.
Trouble was only natural.
This blue manual was the one he had snatched from that heavenly demon race girl.
The demon race's grading system for cultivation methods was different from that of humans. It didn't use the yellow, mysterious, earth, heaven, immortal, and divine grades, but it was similar enough.
From low to high, they were classified as: lesser demon art, greater demon art, earth demon art, heaven demon art, immortal demon art, and primordial demon art.
He had found more than just one manual.
He had everything from lesser demon arts all the way up to immortal demon arts.
The best one was the one in his hand.
An immortal demon art was equivalent to an immortal grade manual in human cultivation.
In the Nether Abyss, only the highest-ranked heavenly demon race members were allowed to practice them—specifically, the Eight-Colored Surnames.
Even someone like Chi Yan, as a member of a branch of the Chi family, only practiced a heaven demon art.
It was a pity.
Just because his eyes weren't emerald green. If that lad had practiced the Chi family's most powerful immortal demon art heart method, he might have become a demon god long ago.
No wonder the demon race was so willing to be enslaved by the heavenly demon race.
All the powerful martial arts manuals were in their hands.
The book in Xu Xian's hand was the Lan family's top cultivation heart method, a genuine immortal demon art.
Xu Xian wouldn't cultivate anything but the best.
Just like when he had chosen the highest-grade Green Lotus Sword Song in the Dao Pavilion.
Although the process had been a bit frustrating, there was no denying that high-grade arts were incredibly fierce in a fight!
As for the highest level in the Nether Abyss, the primordial demon art, the Nether Fire Secret Art was one such example.
Of course, a primordial demon art wasn't necessarily the most powerful; any art passed down from the ancestral demons was considered a primordial demon art.
The sound of pages turning continued until morning. When the nether water subsided and all things began to glow, Xu Xian finished his reading.
Over the course of the night, he had imprinted the entire book into his mind.
He pondered it deeply.
He studied it carefully.
During this time, he also had profound discussions with the little book spirit to ensure his understanding.
He knew the cultivation method like the back of his hand. The problem was that Xu Xian wasn't a demon, and his body's structure was fundamentally unsuitable for demon race methods.
He had to take a specialized approach, modifying certain details of the method to fit a way he could cultivate.
Once he made the changes, Xu Xian had a sudden realization.
Great. Now he had actually become a demonic cultivator.
He had eventually become the very thing he once disliked.
But Xu Xian had no choice. If he had to cultivate demonic arts, so be it.
Power itself didn't have a moral compass; only people did.
He couldn't wait to try it out in the room, but he failed time and time again.
Things didn't go as smoothly as he had imagined. A day passed.
He hadn't made the slightest bit of progress.
Night fell.
He and the little book spirit refined the immortal demon art manual again. When morning arrived in the Nether Capital once more, Xu Xian calculated the time. With an aching heart, he pulled out eight golden talismans inscribed with blood and threw them out the window.
The eight golden talismans trailed golden light as they flew in eight different directions.
Suddenly, the formation activated.
This time, the Heaven-Sealing Trapping Formation covered a full radius of two li, which was its maximum range.
In an instant, an invisible wall appeared in the streets.
For the ordinary demons inside the formation, nothing seemed different. But for those outside, it was another story.
The moment the formation rose, everything within two li vanished from their perspective.
"What's going on?"
"It's gone?"
"I've seen a ghost..."
"Am I seeing things?"
The pedestrians still active on the streets rubbed their eyes or swallowed hard.
Their eyes were filled with shock, their first reaction being that it was an illusion.
But the demon race cultivators were different.
Their divine senses keenly detected that this was a formation.
Those outside were confused and gathered to watch the commotion.
In contrast, the demon race practitioners inside the formation were hit with internal alarms. They all braced themselves as if facing a great enemy, their guards high.
Some waited to see how things would develop, while others tried to break the formation to escape, causing immediate chaos.
Outside the formation.
The several pairs of eyes lurking in the shadows revealed themselves almost immediately.
"This is bad!"
They approached the grand formation, intending to destroy it, but their efforts were futile. Gnashing their teeth, they summoned the messenger spies also hiding in the dark.
"Quick, report this to the King immediately."
"By your command!"
As the commotion grew louder, it soon alerted the law enforcement squad of the Nether Court.
The supreme commander of the law enforcement squad arrived at the scene as fast as possible. Using his cultivation at the peak greater demon king stage, he forcibly shattered the formation.
The people inside swarmed out in a massive, chaotic crowd.
Xu Xian took the opportunity to deactivate the formation in his room, not having time to mourn the loss of the eight spent golden talismans.
He activated his Pupil of Insight, donned his Immortal King's Cloak, and blended into the rioting crowd.
The ones monitoring him rushed into the Yuelai Inn immediately, and when they found that Xu Xian was gone, they were stunned.
"Damn it!"
"Where is he?"
On the other side.
The supreme commander of the Nether Court's law enforcement squad was furious as he ordered:
"Investigate! You must find out who did this! To dare set up a private formation in the Nether Capital is simply lawless!"
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