Record of a Demon's Cultivation

Chapter 1310: Throwing Caution to the Wind

Translator: CinderTL

A deep sense of resentment surged within Song Wen.

He had prepared for body integration for years, not to fail at the breakthrough.

His tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, filled with determination.

Seizing the moment before the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill’s effects completely dissipated, Song Wen summoned a fist-sized crystal stone in each hand—the supreme-grade spirit stones he had obtained after killing Xuan Qu.

His face contorted in a grimace as he pushed his cultivation technique to its limit.

The immense Spiritual Qi contained within the supreme-grade spirit stones surged into Song Wen’s body like a celestial river overflowing its banks.

Because this Spiritual Qi was exceptionally pure, it was easily refined into spiritual power, flowing like a torrential river toward his dantian, crashing against the iron-hard bottleneck.

Boom!

With a deafening roar, a searing pain erupted in his dantian, as if pierced by a blade.

The spiritual power within his dantian immediately spiraled out of control, surging wildly like a raging flood.

Song Wen’s throat sweetened, and a torrent of blood gushed from his mouth like a breached dam.

Crimson droplets sprayed through the air, blossoming into a vivid crimson flower in the dark underground cavern—a hauntingly beautiful spectacle.

Then, darkness enveloped Song Wen’s vision. His body collapsed onto the cold stone platform with a thud.

"Gou Jun, are you alright?" Bai Wei’s concerned voice rang out.

After a moment to recover, Song Wen gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain that felt like ten thousand ants gnawing at his flesh. He barely managed to suppress his wildly surging spiritual power and slowly rose to his feet.

Looking up, he saw Bai Wei and Wang Qiuyue standing before him.

Song Wen shook his head softly, saying nothing.

Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Bai Wei’s eyes, and her voice dripped with icy malice.

"It’s all that old bastard Xiang Rong’s fault! And those Jia Clan scoundrels! If they hadn’t interfered, you wouldn’t have failed to break through!"

Wang Qiuyue, who had been examining Song Wen’s injuries, spoke up.

"That’s not quite right. While Xiang Rong and the others did disrupt the convergence of heaven and earth spiritual qi, they weren’t the primary reason for Gou Jun’s failure. All of his soul apertures have been opened, proving his spiritual power is sufficiently refined and potent. His physical body and meridians are also resilient enough, and with the aid of the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill, his breakthrough should have been a natural progression. Yet it still fell short..."

Wang Qiuyue suddenly met Song Wen’s gaze and continued, "Gou Jun, your failure likely stems from your innate talent. Your spirit root aptitude is too poor, making your bottleneck as unyielding as a mountain. Breaking through it is far more challenging for you than for others."

"That’s impossible," Bai Wei countered. "If Gou Jun’s aptitude was poor, how could he have reached the Void Refinement Stage?"

Wang Qiuyue replied, "I don’t know. However, while spirit root aptitude is the foundation of cultivation, it doesn’t determine everything. Temperament, comprehension, opportunities, cultivation techniques, and even one’s mindset and timing during breakthroughs can all influence success or failure. Perhaps in his previous breakthroughs, factors like temperament compensated for his inadequate spirit root aptitude. But advancing to Body Integration requires absorbing heaven and earth spiritual qi into one’s body, rendering other factors insignificant. Only spirit root aptitude becomes the sole crucial factor."

Perhaps finding Wang Qiuyue’s reasoning sound, Bai Wei fell silent, simply watching Song Wen.

"Senior Wang, is there a way to improve one’s spirit root aptitude?" Song Wen asked.

This question was essentially an indirect admission of his own lack of talent.

"Spirit root aptitude is ethereal and elusive. I’ve never heard of any treasures that can alter it. However, the reason you can’t smoothly advance to Body Integration boils down to insufficient affinity with spiritual qi, preventing you from absorbing enough of it. If you can find treasures that enhance your affinity with spiritual qi, you can overcome your current predicament."

As Wang Qiuyue finished speaking, she added, "Treasures that enhance Spiritual Qi affinity are incredibly rare, impossible to find through mere searching."

"Actually, there’s another solution," Bai Wei said, her brow furrowing as her divine sense repeatedly scanned Song Wen’s body. "Gou Jun, though your breakthrough failed, your injuries aren’t severe, and your soul aperture remains intact. If you can find something containing an immense amount of Spiritual Qi, it might reignite your previous breakthrough momentum. But time is of the essence. If you don’t act quickly, your soul aperture will decay within a year, reverting back into an acupoint."

Wang Qiuyue lowered her head, gazing at the two spirit stones beneath Song Wen’s feet, their Spiritual Qi completely depleted.

"Gou Jun already used two supreme-grade spirit stones and still failed. Ordinary treasures containing Spiritual Qi likely won’t be enough to help him break through."

Bai Wei’s expression darkened, clearly unable to think of a suitable treasure at the moment.

But Song Wen’s eyes suddenly lit up with sharp brilliance.

If treasures wouldn’t work, perhaps people could.

Gong Tianzong and Wei Gu of the Six Fiends Hall!

With their respective cultivation levels of Mid-Body Integration and Late Body Integration, they should be more than sufficient to help him break through his bottleneck.

But how could he possibly kill these two demonic cultivators?

"Senior Bai," Song Wen asked, "many years ago, why did you and Jian Xiao, along with six other Body Integration Stage cultivators, travel to Luyang City to besiege the Six Fiends Hall?"

Bai Wei and Wang Qiuyue stared at Gou Jun, their faces etched with shock.

Just moments ago, they had been discussing the breakthrough to body integration, yet suddenly the conversation had shifted to the Six Fiends Hall.

"Gou Jun, even though your breakthrough failed, there’s no need to give up on yourself. With your current cultivation, seeking revenge from the Six Fiends Hall would be like throwing an egg against a rock," Bai Wei advised.

Song Wen had once told Bai Wei that he held a blood feud with the Six Fiends Hall.

Thus, Bai Wei’s first reaction was that Gou Jun, having failed to break through, had suffered a collapse of his Dao heart and now sought to fight to the death.

"Thank you for your concern, senior. However, my inquiry about the Six Fiends Hall isn’t about revenge. There’s something within the hall that can aid my breakthrough," Song Wen replied.

Bai Wei looked at Song Wen skeptically, clearly disbelieving his words. However, she didn’t press the matter further. After a moment’s thought, she spoke.

"Back then, the six of us who besieged the Six Fiends Hall had different motives. I simply loathed the Divine Blood Gate and all its subordinate forces. Jian Xiao, on the other hand, had an old grudge against the Six Fiends Hall. As for the others, some sought the hall’s cultivation techniques and secret arts, while others aimed to profit from its destruction."

"Senior, do you know what grievance Jian Xiao held against the Six Fiends Hall?" Song Wen pressed.

"It’s not a deep-seated hatred. However, Jian Xiao is incredibly powerful yet narrow-minded. He holds grudges over even the smallest slights. After losing face in Luyang City last time, he must be eager to eliminate Wei Gu and Gong Tianzong."

At this point, Bai Wei suddenly realized something and asked, "Are you planning to use Jian Xiao to deal with Wei Gu and Gong Tianzong?"

"Yes," Song Wen replied.

"But after the battle in Luyang City, the Six Fiends Hall vanished without a trace. No one knows their whereabouts. Do you know where they’re hiding now?"

(End of the Chapter)

------------------------------------------------------

- Read ahead up to Ch1588 (RDC) on CinderTL; free Chapters up to Ch1390.

- No sign-up required. Find CinderTL via Google search.

🎁 2nd Anniversary Grand Giveaway. 26 Slots. Details on the Site.

------------------------------------------------------