Chapter 50: Becoming a Demon

Chapter 50: Becoming a Demon

But just as it was about to approach, a hand seemed to reach out from the darkness, grabbing Shen Lian's arm and pulling him into the shadows.

At the same time, Yan Huaixuan, who was searching in the forest, felt his bond with his cultivator partner, Shen Lian, suddenly severed.

His body froze, and his usually calm, unruffled eyes now narrowed sharply.

"Shen Lian!"

Shen Lian, meanwhile, felt like he could barely breathe—his whole body ached, hurting everywhere.

He struggled to open his eyes and found himself surrounded by surging demonic energy, with magma erupting beside him. He was lying on a small patch of cracked, parched earth.

Shen Lian looked around, recalling that a hand had dragged him in.

Sure enough, a black shadow materialized before him.

Countless chains were bound to this black shadow, all extending from the depths of the magma.

Shen Lian instinctively stepped back but was grabbed by the throat.

Forced to look up, he met the black mist's gaze.

The black mist let out a cold laugh. "I won't waste words with you. I admired how you killed that little Demon Dragon earlier."

Shen Lian looked at him and suddenly smiled. "So, are you going to take me as your disciple?"

Hearing this, the black mist paused, then said with a sly smile, "I'm a demon."

Shen Lian looked at him. "I don't care if you're a demon or a cultivator, as long as you can make me stronger."

Hearing this, the black mist laughed heartily. "Not bad, not bad. You're different from those cultivators who preach righteousness but are secretly vile and wicked."

"At least your greed is honest and upfront. I saved you, and you still want me to take you as a disciple."

Shen Lian said bluntly, "If I'm not mistaken, you saved me for that very reason, didn't you?"

From the intense magma all around and the chains coiled deep within the black mist's body, Shen Lian quickly deduced that this demon—or evil cultivator—was sealed here and couldn't leave.

If it wasn't going to kill him, then it must have a use for him.

Second, even if that weren't the case, Shen Lian couldn't afford to clash head-on with this demon, since the black mist was clearly no joke.

"Not bad, not bad," the black mist said, releasing Shen Lian and slowly hovering in midair.

"I can make you stronger, but I have one condition."

Shen Lian clutched his neck and coughed. "What?"

"I need you to find someone and kill them. As for who, I'll tell you when the time comes. You're not qualified to approach them yet."

Shen Lian said with a smile, "Since it's my master's command, this disciple will naturally do his best."

The black mist condensed into a human form and scoffed. He raised a hand and pressed it against Shen Lian's head. In an instant, Shen Lian felt countless things flash through his mind—cultivation techniques, along with records of this cultivation world.

They were the demon's memories.

The black mist said, "This is everything I've learned in my life. Absorb it and cultivate well."

Once released, Shen Lian was drenched in cold sweat. "Thank you, Master."

He stood up. "Master, how do I leave?"

The black mist said calmly, "I'll send you out."

"But before you leave, there's one thing you need to do."

The black mist said with a sly smile, "Since I'm a demon, if you cultivate my techniques, you naturally have to become a demon too."

Shen Lian's expression shifted, but he quickly smiled and said, "That shouldn't be necessary."

But the next moment, Shen Lian found his limbs frozen.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw countless streams of black mist surging toward him.

Immediately after, it felt like thousands of needles were stabbing into his mind.

Shen Lian's face turned pale as he felt demonic energy invade all his meridians, gradually filling every part of his body.

But Shen Lian couldn't stop it.

In the forest, Yan Huaixuan suddenly stopped and pressed a hand to his heart.

Ling Yun couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

Yan Huaixuan shook his head, but his brow furrowed slightly. He looked ahead and quickened his pace.

But this vast forest held no trace of Shen Lian.

No one knew how long the agony lasted, but suddenly, a chilling mark appeared in Shen Lian's Spiritual Sea.

Shen Lian opened his eyes—his pupils were now blood-red like a demon's, yet somehow different. After a moment, the crimson faded from his eyes.

His limbs regained mobility, and once freed from the black mist's restraint, Shen Lian slumped to the ground.

He gasped for breath, feeling demonic energy now flowing within him alongside his spiritual power.

He also noticed that his calf was healing at an alarming rate.

This was the unique ability of demons—their bodies were incredibly tough, capable of rapidly regenerating severed limbs.

The black mist stared at him and said with a smile, "Go on out. Remember, once you cultivate to Spirit Transformation, come find me. Otherwise..."

He said each word deliberately: "I've embedded a Soul-Devouring Curse into your Spiritual Sea. If you don't come within three days after reaching Spirit Transformation, I'll activate the curse, and you'll be destroyed—body and soul. Got it?"

Shen Lian kept his eyes lowered, his expression unreadable, and only said softly, "Got it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Lian was transported back to the demon beast forest.

Only then did Chen Xue dare to speak. "Master?"

It had actually woken up long ago, but Shen Lian had told it to stay quiet, so it could only wait anxiously inside Shen Lian's Spiritual Sea.

"Master, what do we do now?"

Shen Lian let out a cold laugh and opened his hand.

Chen Xue was taken aback for a moment. "Master, what's this?"

In Shen Lian's pale white palm, there was a ball of flame.

Shen Lian looked at the flame—the same one the Demon Dragon had spewed earlier.

It was a deep blue-black, resembling a lotus, with a hint of coldness and eeriness.

Chen Xue muttered, "What's going on?"

Shen Lian said calmly, "After I absorbed the inner pill of that little demon dragon, for some reason, this flame showed up inside me."

As he spoke, Shen Lian showed Chen Xue his Spiritual Sea.

Chen Xue then noticed that the blood-red Soul-Devouring Curse was wrapped in a ball of flame.

But Shen Lian didn't know what kind of fire this was; there was no mention of this demon dragon in the demon's memories.

"Just now, when that old geezer cast the curse on me, I pretended not to resist, but secretly tried to wrap it in this flame."

Chen Xue perked up. "Can we extinguish this blood curse now?"

"Not yet. This blood curse has the soul imprint of that old bastard. Once I remove it, he will notice."

"With my current cultivation, if he forcibly detonates it before I can remove it, I'd have no way to fight back."

"Once I break through to Spirit Transformation, I can easily remove this curse."

Shen Lian wasn't sure whether this trip was worth it.

He had obtained all the demon's cultivation techniques, as well as some records and knowledge about the cultivation world, but at the same time, he had been turned into half a demon.

Shen Lian put away the flame in his hand and had only walked a few steps when he encountered someone.

Yan Huaixuan.

Their eyes met, and Shen Lian instinctively wanted to step back, since he now had the aura of a demon, and Yan Huaixuan might just strike him down directly.

But unexpectedly, Yan Huaixuan suddenly rushed forward and grabbed his shoulders.

Shen Lian's gaze turned cold, figuring Yan Huaixuan had discovered something.

But to his surprise, Yan Huaixuan said, "Are you alright?"

Shen Lian detected a hint of concern in Yan Huaixuan's tone.

Shen Lian paused. Yan Huaixuan... was worried about him?