Two full days passed, which Wei Shen spent in his secluded cave, not in cultivation or hunting, but in a state of deep, silent meditation. He sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, his eyes closed, but his consciousness was fully awake, swimming in the vast ocean of power that now inhabited his body.
Reaching the peak of the ninth level of Qi Condensation after devouring the essence of the "Spirit Dragon Fruit" had brought about a radical change in his being. His "Blood Qi" was no longer just a cold, aggressive current; it had become a raging sea of dark crimson energy in his Dantian, a sea so dense it was almost liquid.
Wei Shen felt that his body had been completely rebuilt. It was no longer the fragile vessel it had been. Now, every muscle, every bone, every tendon was saturated with this potent Qi, granting him a firmness and explosive strength far exceeding anything a cultivator at his same level could possess. His senses had become terrifyingly sharp; he could hear a small beetle crawling on a rock hundreds of meters outside the cave, see details in the near-absolute darkness he could not have perceived before, and sense the faint life auras of small creatures nearly a mile away.
Most importantly, there was the "Blood-Devouring Stone." It was no longer just a rock in a wall but was now an inseparable part of his existence, resting silently near his Dantian, a thirsty partner awaiting its next feast. Wei Shen felt its hunger as his own, and its promise of power as a promise to himself.
But all this power was raw, needing direction and refinement. And here, the new technique the stone had carved into his soul came into play: the "Art of the Bloody Tide."
Wei Shen spent long hours analyzing this technique. It wasn't just movements or incantations; it was a complete philosophy on the use of power. A philosophy based on absolute control over the chaotic and aggressive nature of "Blood Qi," transforming it from a mere raw current into an intelligent, lethal, and multifaceted weapon. It taught him how to direct the "tide" in an overwhelming attack, and how to use the "ebb" in an absorptive and deceptive defense.
"This technique… wasn't designed for my former body, but for this one, and for this Blood Qi specifically," Wei Shen thought, feeling a kind of cold satisfaction. "It's the key that will unlock the true potential of this demonic path."
After feeling he had absorbed the basic principles of the technique, he decided it was time to test it. The cave was too cramped to contain such power. He needed a suitable testing ground.
He exited the cave and moved through the "Forest of Lost Souls" with a speed he could not have dreamed of before. He moved like a specter, a shadow gliding between the trees with almost no sound. The first and second-level spiritual beasts that had once posed a threat now instinctively avoided him, sensing the dangerous, lethal aura emanating from him and hiding in their burrows.
After a short search, he found the perfect place: a secluded small valley, surrounded by high rocky cliffs, with a giant "Sky-Iron Tree" standing in its center, its trunk thicker than three men could encircle, its bark as dark and hard as steel. It was said that even cultivators in the early stages of the "Foundation Establishment" realm found it difficult to inflict significant damage on these trees.
Wei Shen stood fifty meters from the tree and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and began to circulate the "Blood Qi" in his body according to the complex pathways of the "Art of the Bloody Tide."
Immediately, the atmosphere around him changed. A dark crimson aura, visible to the naked eye, began to emanate from his body like a dense bloody mist. The air became cold and heavy, and the grass and small plants beneath his feet began to wither and turn black, as if life were being drained from them.
"First application: Bloody Tide Blade," Wei Shen thought, raising his right hand.
He concentrated an immense amount of "Blood Qi" into his palm. He felt the energy condensing, transforming, taking on an almost physical form. Then, with a swift, horizontal cutting motion, he unleashed that energy.
It wasn't just a wave of Qi; it was a blade, a crescent of dark crimson light, about a meter wide, carrying within it thin lines of black and purple, as if made of frozen blood and concentrated venoms. The bloody blade shot through the air, making a sharp, terrifying hissing sound, as if tearing the fabric of reality itself.
The "Bloody Tide Blade" struck the trunk of the giant "Sky-Iron Tree."
There was no deafening explosion as with fire techniques, nor was there a sharp cutting sound as with sword techniques. Instead, there was a terrifying hiss, the sound of rapid, violent corrosion, as if millions of tiny, hungry insects were devouring the tree's bark and flesh.
A deep, black wound appeared at the point of impact. The bark, which was as hard as steel, began to corrode and turn into black dust that fell to the ground. The wood beneath it began to rot and decompose with unnatural speed, as if decades had passed over it in a single second. The process of decay didn't stop at the wound's borders but continued to spread slowly, like a cancer consuming the tree's life.
"A corrosive power… and a terrifying penetrative power," Wei Shen thought, looking at the result of his attack. "It doesn't just destroy with brute force, but devours life essence itself. Lethal efficiency."
Next, he decided to test the defensive aspect of the technique. "Bloody Tide Armor."
With a will, his "Blood Qi" began to swirl rapidly around his body, forming a dark crimson vortex. It wasn't a solid shield, but more like a viscous, flowing liquid, constantly swirling, in which the shapes of tormented faces would sometimes appear for moments, before dissolving back into the bloody current.
He picked up a massive rock, about the size of his head, and threw it with force towards the shield.
When the rock hit the bloody shield, it didn't rebound as expected. Instead, the shield seemed to partially swallow it, greatly slowing its velocity, and at the same time, the rock began to corrode and disintegrate, as if the shield's power were absorbing its vitality and hardness. A few moments later, what remained of the rock fell to the ground, having been reduced to a pile of corroded gravel.
"It doesn't just block the attack, but weakens it, devours its force, and uses it to strengthen itself," Wei Shen thought, the cold glint in his eyes deepening. "A perfect technique for both defense and offense."
This was the power of the "Art of the Bloody Tide," a true demonic power.
He felt the significant Qi drain that these two techniques required. "Immense power, but its Qi consumption is very high. Every strike must be decisive."
Now, having understood the limits of his new power, he began to assess his position in this world more accurately.
"The power of this 'Bloody Blade'… far exceeds anything a cultivator in the Qi Condensation realm can produce, even at the peak of the ninth level," he thought, comparing what he had seen of the sect elders' techniques in the "Serpentine Mist Valley." "It carries a primitive 'law' of corrosion and consumption… This is the qualitative difference between the Qi Condensation stage and the Foundation Establishment realm."
"With this technique, and with this dense and unique Qi, I can now stand on equal footing with a cultivator in the early stages of the Foundation Establishment realm. Their defenses are stronger, and their Qi is purer, but my Blood Qi is more savage and corrosive, capable of bypassing their conventional defenses. In a real battle, if I plan it with intelligence and tactics… victory is not just a possibility, but an expected outcome."
Everything had changed now. The requirements the stone had displayed for breaking through to the "Foundation Establishment" realm – the core of a beast from that realm, and the heart of a cultivator from that realm – no longer seemed like distant, impossible goals. They had now become… his next hunting list.
Wei Shen looked in the direction of the outside world, beyond this accursed forest. "The Fallen Leaf Sect… their leader is at the eighth level. They are no longer even a real challenge. They are merely sheep awaiting slaughter, an old account that must be closed before I begin the real hunt."
A smile stretched across his lips.
He turned and began to walk with steady steps, leaving behind the slowly dying tree. He was no longer heading to his cave, but towards the edge of the "Forest of Lost Souls."