Chapter 661: The Malevolent Demonic Pill

It was likely that the rule had been put in place to prevent Spiritual Infant cultivators of the witch race from seizing the supreme treasures hidden within Seven-Kill Hall. After all, Core Formation cultivators had limited power and would never be able to compete with a Spiritual Infant cultivator from the human race.

With this restriction, all Spiritual Infant grandmasters of the witch race were effectively barred from entering.

Even so, witch cultivators didn’t need to fear being ambushed in Seven-Kill Hall. To unite their efforts against the demon race in the Stormy Demonic Sea, the human and witch races had once made a pact.

At the very least, both sides maintained surface-level peace in Canglang Sea. There had been no major wars in recent times, and relations had eased significantly compared to the past.

Furthermore, regarding Seven-Kill Hall, the human race had made formal promises to the witch race. They would not break those agreements or risk their reputation over a mere Core Formation cultivator.

Because of this, whenever news spread that Seven-Kill Hall was about to open, the witch race would dispatch a number of Core Formation cultivators across the sea in search of treasure. Du Han was one of them.

As for why Du Han would cross such a vast distance to explore a human hidden realm while still in the early stage of Core Formation, it was tied to the path he had chosen.

This also resolved a long-standing doubt in Qin Sang’s mind.

The general situation in the Canglang Sea was not too different from what he had previously learned. Spiritual herbs and pills, especially supreme treasures on par with natural treasures, were extremely scarce, far less abundant than in the Small Cold Domain.

Yet somehow, human cultivators here found it easier to form their core than those in the Small Cold Domain.

The reason lay in a particular pill known as the Malevolent Demonic Pill.

This pill was similar to the Blood Bone Pill in that it was also refined using demonic beasts as the primary ingredient, along with some relatively common spiritual herbs. The result was a pill with astonishing effectiveness in assisting Core Formation.

Both the witch and human races had chosen, independently, to use demonic beasts for pill refining. Not because the Demonic Core Pill and Blood Bone Pill were directly related, but out of necessity.

Lacking other resources, they had no choice but to treat demonic beasts as their source of materials.

Although hunting demons in the Stormy Demonic Sea was extremely dangerous, it was still far easier than locating natural treasures.

However, just like the Blood Bone Pill, the Malevolent Demonic Pill carried enormous risks.

Because it was refined from demonic beasts, the completed pill retained a trace of Malevolent Demonic Qi. Even the pill masters of Canglang Sea could not remove it entirely.

When Fake Core Realm cultivators refined the medicinal energy of a Malevolent Demonic Pill, it would stimulate spiritual power in the dantian and increase the chances of forming a core. But at the same time, the Malevolent Demonic Qi would seep into the body, and root itself in the primordial spirit.

The more Malevolent Demonic Pills one consumed, the more qi accumulated within.

Once the qi erupted, the cultivator would lose control, go mad, and become incurable. Therefore, there was a limit to how many pills one could take. They could not be used recklessly.

Even so, the probability of successful Core Formation was still significantly higher than in the Small Cold Domain.

The hidden danger of Malevolent Demonic Qi began to surface only after a cultivator had successfully formed their core. Not only would they carry a faint trace of demonic qi, but it would also negatively affect their strength after forming the core.

The most frightening consequence was that if the qi remained in the primordial spirit, it would greatly hinder their future breakthroughs.

When breaking through minor realms, the impact was still manageable.

But when attempting to reach the Spiritual Infant Realm, even a single wisp of Malevolent Demonic Qi would render success absolutely impossible.

For this reason, every cultivator who used Malevolent Demonic Pills to break through would embark on a long and arduous journey of tempering their primordial spirit and cleansing the Malevolent Demonic Qi. Since the qi had already taken root, it was extraordinarily difficult to eliminate. Many cultivators even reached the late stage of the Core Formation Realm without ever fully purging it, able only to sigh helplessly at their missed chance to become a Spiritual Infant.

Thus, while the number of Fake Core Realm cultivators who succeeded in forming cores was considerably higher in Canglang Sea than in the Small Cold Domain, the number who eventually reached the Spiritual Infant Realm was roughly the same.

The Malevolent Demonic Pill was something that only cultivators of Canglang Sea, backed by the Stormy Demonic Sea, had the resources to refine. The Small Cold Domain simply didn’t have enough demonic beasts to support such slaughter.

After all, refining Malevolent Demonic Pills had its own requirements. The best ingredients were beasts at the peak of the Demonic Spirit Realm or early-stage Demonic Core Realm.

If their cultivation was too low, the medicinal energy would be insufficient.

If their cultivation was too high, the Malevolent Demonic Qi in the pill would be overwhelming, and the cultivator who consumed it would not be able to endure it.

Moreover, Malevolent Demonic Pills were categorized by the five elements, and cultivators had to be selective about which type they consumed based on their own attributes.

The temptation of the Malevolent Demonic Pill was immense. It gave hope to cultivators who otherwise had no chance of forming a core.

Certainly, there were those who chose to attempt Core Formation on their own, but these were few—either especially gifted or supremely confident. The vast majority still could not resist the allure of the Malevolent Demonic Pill.

Qin Sang could fully understand this mindset. When he had sold himself in order to reach the Foundation Building Realm, his thoughts had been much the same.

Break through first, then deal with the consequences.

In fact, this was good news for Qin Sang. The opponents he faced in the future would likely have weakened strength due to Malevolent Demonic Qi, making them easier to defeat.

He even considered acquiring a few Malevolent Demonic Pills for himself, to feign weakness and mislead the enemy.

After all, he had the Jade Buddha and did not fear Malevolent Demonic Qi invading his primordial spirit.

After learning of the Malevolent Demonic Pill’s effects from Du Han, Qin Sang couldn’t help but fall briefly into a daze.

With the protection of the Jade Buddha, the hidden dangers of the Malevolent Demonic Pill were virtually nonexistent for him. He could consume as many as he liked without consequence. Had he landed in Canglang Sea back then, why would he have needed to go through such hardship, refining himself into a corpse just to find an opportunity for Core Formation?

However, if he had ended up here, he would have never encountered the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment.

On one hand was the difficulty of breaking through, on the other was the speed of cultivation.

Which weighed more heavily was something only Qin Sang could weigh for himself.

Earlier, Qin Sang had sensed that Du Han’s strength didn’t quite live up to his reputation. That impression had stemmed from the effects of the Malevolent Demonic Pill.

As effective as the pill was, only a small number of witch cultivators ever chose to use it.

The first reason was, of course, its risks.

The second was more peculiar. For reasons unknown, once the Malevolent Demonic Qi entered the body, witch cultivators would lose their innate talent. They could no longer suppress the backlash of their life-bound insect gu and would be forced to abandon it.

Not only would their strength suffer, but years of cultivation effort would also be wasted.

Moreover, it was said that the success rate of breaking through with the Malevolent Demonic Pill wasn’t much higher than relying on one’s life-bound insect gu. Only when all other paths were closed would witch cultivators consider this option.

Du Han had been in just such a desperate situation. With no hope of forming a core, he had steeled himself to abandon his life-bound insect gu and used the Malevolent Demonic Pill to successfully break through.

From that point on, there was no turning back.

After forming his core, Du Han had left to temper himself through experience. He built connections with many human cultivators and even switched to cultivating human techniques. This was also the reason he had entered Seven-Kill Hall.

He had not expected that, on his very first visit to Seven-Kill Hall, he would witness a momentous event: the ancient corpse from the sky.

The scene left a deep impression on the cultivators present. One sharp-minded individual had sealed the image within a crystal. Du Han’s Mustard Seed Pouch contained one such crystal.

The "ancient corpse from the sky" occurred at the most magnificent ancient tower within Seven-Kill Hall.

This tower was surrounded by layer upon layer of clouds, reaching into the heavens. It was known as the Sky Tower.

Within the Sky Tower lay countless barriers, extremely dangerous. It was said that even Spiritual Infant grandmasters of the human race had failed to reach its summit.

In such a place, a corpse suddenly fell from the sky. It was an unprecedented event, one that stirred up tremendous shock and speculation.

Many believed that the one-armed corpse was the body of an ancient cultivator from the summit of Sky Tower. Even if it wasn’t, any cultivator capable of reaching the summit would be extraordinary, and might well carry a supreme treasure.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Countless cultivators near the tower had been drawn to the scene, including several Spiritual Infant grandmasters.

And yet, despite their numbers, they could only watch helplessly as the one-armed corpse vanished into thin air.