Soul Devouring and Boundary Breaking: I Embark on the Path to Immortality in the Era of Demon Chaos

Chapter 14 Devouring the Demon Wolf Core

As I was carefully contemplating the various changes following this breakthrough, a piece of information, seemingly originating from the depths of my bloodline and yet directly engraved in my soul, naturally surfaced in my mind, crystal clear:

"Swiftness Talent..." Lin Yan murmured to himself, a surge of genuine joy welling up within him. This was simply a powerful weapon for surviving desperate situations and defeating enemies! On the battlefield where life and death were at stake, it could change everything, whether it was a sudden attack or a narrow escape. With a slight thought, he tried to mobilize a wisp of true energy, following the vaguely indicated route in the information.

The moment his thought arrived, the jade-like energy ball in his dantian trembled slightly, separating a stream of pure, grayish-black true essence. This essence rapidly traveled along a somewhat obscure meridian route that he had never consciously circulated before, primarily converging on the three Yin and three Yang meridians of his legs. In an instant, Lin Yan felt as if a light yet violent wind force had been injected into his legs, and the Yongquan acupoints on the soles of his feet felt slightly warm, as if a strange repulsion was occurring between them and the ground. His figure swayed slightly.

In the next instant, he appeared silently beneath the horizontal branch of an old pine tree five zhang away, his toes lightly touching a patch of pine needles without making a sound. In another flash, he was back in the same spot, his afterimage seemingly still lingering beneath the pine branch. The entire process was so fast that only two faint, almost overlapping afterimages remained in the eyes of the observer, even the sound of his clothes rustling in the wind was so faint as to be almost inaudible.

"You...you just now..." Su Qingyao had barely managed to stand up, leaning against the tree trunk, and was regulating her breathing to suppress the tremors in her internal organs when she happened to look up and see Lin Yan's ghostly movements. Her pale face first showed the same surprise as Lin Yan's—for his sudden breakthrough and improvement. However, that surprise was quickly covered by a deeper layer of worry. Her bright, clear eyes looked intently at Lin Yan, her concern far outweighing her astonishment. "Your aura...you've broken through? Peak Body Tempering?" Her perception was correct; the speed and manner of this breakthrough were far too unusual.

Lin Yan composed himself, his slightly agitated aura from testing his talent, and nodded, his voice calm yet carrying a hint of post-breakthrough satisfaction: "By luck, I broke through just before battle."

"That speed... is far beyond what ordinary peak Body Tempering techniques can achieve." After a moment's thought, combined with the bizarre scene of Lin Yan devouring the demonic wolf, an answer became clear. Her tone was filled with obvious worry, "Is it... the change brought about by devouring the demonic wolf?"

"Yes." Lin Yan readily admitted, succinctly explaining, "When I devoured the blood and spirit cores of those demon wolves, I accidentally extracted and fused a trace of their swiftness talent mark from their origins, and made it my own. It's called 'Swiftness'."

Su Qingyao listened quietly, her brows furrowing slightly. From a young age, she had devoured her family's vast collection of books, and in some extremely ancient and unorthodox notes, she had glimpsed scattered records of forbidden techniques like "spirit snatching" and "demon transformation." Those records invariably emphasized the immense risks and backlash they carried—the violent and mixed power of demons, if forcibly absorbed, could at best damage one's meridians and affect one's temperament, and at worst cause mental disorder, even corruption by demonic nature, transforming one into a monster that was neither human nor demon. She had never imagined that one day she would witness something similar happen to a companion she trusted.

"Lin Yan," she called his name, her voice heavy with unconcealed gravity, "This kind of forced acquisition of demonic talents for one's own use... I've seen similar records in ancient texts. Although this method can achieve quick results, the demonic race's inherent power is ultimately vastly different from the human race's meridians and blood. Forcibly fusing them carries enormous risks. Do you feel any discomfort? Are your meridians still clear? Is your mind... as clear as usual?" Her gaze carefully scanned his face and eyes, trying to find any sign of trouble. More than her surprise or fear of this ability, she worried that this power would turn against its master.

Lin Yan could clearly feel the genuine concern in her words. A warmth spread through him. He flexed his wrists, carefully examined his body, and then answered earnestly, "There's nothing unusual for now. The Soul-Devouring Body seems to have a special ability to refine and harmonize with this. Currently, I only feel an increase in strength, agility, and no sense of confusion in my consciousness." He paused, looking into her still worried eyes, and added, "I'll be careful. If anything seems amiss, I'll stop immediately and try to resolve it."

Hearing his words and seeing his clear eyes and steady breathing, Su Qingyao's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but her concern didn't completely disappear. She nodded gently, her voice soft yet firm: "Yes, it's good that you understand. In all matters, your own safety must be the priority; don't be reckless in pursuit of progress. If needed, I... I will help you."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan felt a pang in his heart. He walked to Su Qingyao's side, his gaze falling on her blood-stained lips, which looked particularly striking, and her trembling right hand with its split forearm. "Can your injuries hold up?" He turned the conversation back to her, his voice filled with genuine concern.

Su Qingyao subconsciously pursed her lips, swallowing the slight taste of blood, and shook her head, saying, "It's nothing. My internal organs suffered some shock, and my meridians are slightly blocked, but it hasn't damaged my core." As she spoke, she took out the small white porcelain bottle from her bosom, poured out another pill that was as white as jade and emitted a clear medicinal fragrance, and swallowed it. As soon as the pill entered her stomach, it transformed into a gentle and cool current of energy, quickly circulating between the injured meridians and internal organs, and the pain was immediately relieved by more than half. "This is my Su family's secret 'Jade Marrow Heart-Protecting Pill,' which is quite effective for internal injuries. Half a day of recuperation should be enough to recover about 70-80%."

Seeing her complexion ease slightly and her breathing gradually stabilize, Lin Yan felt somewhat relieved. The two said no more, each taking ordinary wound medicine to treat their external injuries, and then began cleaning up the chaotic battlefield. The corpses of the three blue-haired demon wolves had already withered and decayed under the influence of the spirit-devouring power. Lin Yan stepped forward, deftly breaking open their hard skulls with his short dagger, and extracted three irregularly shaped, dark red crystal cores, roughly the size of pigeon eggs. The crystal cores weren't cold to the touch; instead, they carried a warm, moist sensation. Inside, faint reddish, flocculent substances slowly swirled. Holding them in his palm, he could feel the pure and violent demonic power and spiritual energy fluctuations contained within—this was the spiritual core formed from the essence of the demon wolves' cultivation.

"What do you plan to do with these spirit cores?" Su Qingyao asked, enduring some discomfort as she carefully removed the sharpest fangs and the hardest hooks from the demon wolves' mouths with her dagger, wrapped them in cloth, and so on. Although these materials weren't top-tier, they were still useful for making certain one-time-use demon-slaying artifacts or forging poison blades.

Lin Yan weighed the three still-warm spirit cores in his palm, pondering, "I'll keep them for now. Although my physique allows me to directly absorb and refine them, after several breakthroughs, my foundation, while not yet unstable, still needs time to stabilize and settle. Absorbing them now might be counterproductive and could damage my meridians." He carefully stored the spirit cores close to his body, continuing, "Besides, spirit cores have many uses. Whether used as energy for formations, for refining certain special pills, or for future trade, they are all good bargaining chips. Consider them an extra gain from this battle."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingyao stopped asking questions and quietly put the collected wolf teeth and claws into her bag.

Just as Lin Yan turned around, preparing to leave the forest clearing filled with a faint smell of blood and devastation with Su Qingyao, a sudden change occurred!

A strong sense of dizziness struck without warning, and the scenery before his eyes blurred and spun instantly. It was not caused by physical injury or exhaustion, but rather as if countless fragmented and chaotic images, sounds, and even blurred emotional perceptions, like a flood bursting its banks, forcibly rushed into his sea of ​​consciousness.

He saw (or rather, "sense") a vast, dimly lit underground space. The damp rock walls were covered with moss that emitted a pale, eerie green glow, casting shadowy, ghostly light over the enormous cavern. In the center of the cavern stood a naturally formed, wide stone platform, resembling an altar. Upon this platform lay a colossal beast, far exceeding the size of an ordinary blue-furred wolf! Its entire body was covered in long, flowing fur that shone like moonlight or was forged from mithril, gleaming with a cold, noble sheen under the eerie green glow. Even from just a fleeting glimpse in his memory, the terrifying, almost tangible pressure and surging demonic power emanating from that beast were enough to make Lin Yan's mind tremble—far exceeding the Body Tempering Realm, definitely having touched upon, and possibly even stepped into, the Profound Realm! Dozens of blue-furred demon wolves of varying sizes were now prostrate beneath the stone platform like subjects paying homage to a king, trembling and whimpering submissively.

"Silver Wolf King..." Lin Yan felt a chill run down his spine; this must be the leader of the wolf pack in Canglang Mountain.

The scene shattered and then reformed abruptly. The viewpoint (perhaps from the perspective of a certain demon wolf in its previous life) shifted to the depths of the cave. There, in a crevice in the rock wall, a spring, no more than a foot square, was gushing forth milky-white water exuding a rich, sweet fragrance. Visible, misty, milky-white spiritual energy surrounded the spring. Just seeing this scene, Lin Yan could feel an extremely pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemingly about to burst forth through the fragments of his memory! This was no ordinary mountain spring, but a rare "spiritual spring" capable of naturally gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

However, the banks of this alluring spiritual spring were not empty. A demonic beast, seemingly even larger than the Silver Wolf King, lay curled up, feigning sleep. Its fur was crimson, like burning embers or flowing lava, strikingly bright in the dark cavern. Resembling a tiger, it was several times more powerful than the largest tiger Lin Yan knew of, with a faint, twisted dark golden marking on its forehead. Even in its slumber, it was naturally surrounded by visible, distorted waves of scorching heat, each long breath causing the cavern to churn with heat. The aura it exuded was violent, scorching, and destructive, far more chilling than the Silver Wolf King's—definitely at the Profound Realm, and far beyond a mere beginner!

The torrent of memories, upon reaching this point, shattered like rocks, turning into countless fragments that were difficult to piece together, quickly fading and dissipating. Lin Yan suddenly opened his eyes, fine beads of cold sweat already seeping from his forehead, his breathing slightly rapid, as if he had just personally experienced a brief but terrifying journey.

"Lin Yan? What's wrong with you?" Su Qingyao noticed his disordered breathing and abnormal expression immediately. She quickly took two steps closer and asked with concern. Her hand had already subconsciously rested on the hilt of the short sword at her waist. She scanned her surroundings warily, thinking that another enemy was approaching.

Lin Yan took a few deep breaths of the crisp forest air, suppressing the palpitations in his heart and the lingering dizziness, and said in a deep voice, "It's nothing. It was just fragments of memory left behind by that demon wolf before it died, which my body absorbed in part."

"Fragments of memory?" Su Qingyao's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, "What did you see?"

"Deep within the Canglang Mountain, there is a huge natural cave, which is the lair of the Silver Wolf King." Lin Yan quickened his pace, describing the scene he saw as clearly as possible. "Deep within the cave, there is a 'spiritual spring,' so rich in spiritual energy that it is almost tangible."

"A spiritual spring?!" Su Qingyao exclaimed in a low voice, her clear, cold eyes flashing with astonishing light. Her voice rose slightly with excitement. "No wonder! No wonder this Canglang Mountain, though seemingly barren, can nurture such a large pack of demon wolves, and even produce things like blood crystals! So that's the reason! A natural spiritual spring... the concentration of spiritual energy around it is probably ten times, even dozens of times, greater than the meager cultivation chamber in Black Stone Town! If one could obtain this spring to aid cultivation, even just being near it would make one's progress far faster than outside!" As a cultivator herself, she knew what a stable spiritual source meant for cultivation; it was an opportunity that could drive any cultivator mad.

She forced herself to calm down and asked again, "You just said that there's a demonic beast guarding the spirit spring? What does it look like? What's its aura like?"

Lin Yan recalled the enormous, fiery red figure and its suffocating aura, his expression grave: "It resembled a giant tiger, its entire body was crimson red, and it was surrounded by scorching waves of energy. Its aura... was extremely terrifying, definitely above the Profound Realm, and felt even stronger than that Silver Wolf King."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingyao's delicate brows furrowed tightly. She lowered her head and pondered for a moment, her expression gradually becoming extremely solemn: "Entirely crimson, burning hot like fire, resembling a tiger but even more ferocious... According to ancient texts and its imposing presence, it is highly likely to be the 'Blazing Flame Tiger'! This is a fire-attribute ferocious beast at the mid-stage of the Profound Realm, possessing the innate ability to control flames. It is extremely violent and its combat strength is among the best of its kind. Ordinary human cultivators at the early stage of the Profound Realm, without special techniques or powerful magic treasures to counter it, would most likely face dire consequences if they encountered it."

Lin Yan remained silent. Mid-stage of the Profound Realm… this was more than a whole major realm higher than his recent breakthrough to the peak of Body Tempering. The difference was like an insurmountable chasm. Even with his newly acquired "Swiftness" talent and the support of the Soul Devouring Body, a direct confrontation would be tantamount to suicide.

However, Su Qingyao suddenly changed the subject, a sharp glint of strategist's light flashing in her eyes that was inconsistent with her cold appearance: "However... this may not be our opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Lin Yan looked up.

"Exactly." Su Qingyao nodded slightly, her voice soft yet carrying a certain confidence born of insight. "That spiritual spring is the source of spiritual energy in the mountains, greatly beneficial to cultivation. Both the wolf pack and the demon tiger covet its location, seeking to absorb the maximum amount of spiritual energy. The Silver Wolf King leads his pack to occupy the cave's lair, while the Fiery Demon Tiger firmly guards the vital spring—the two are so close, and both rely on this spiritual spring for nourishment; how could they not clash? Two tigers cannot share one mountain, let alone such fierce and territorially powerful demons at the Profound Realm. On the surface, they may maintain a delicate balance, but in reality, they are bound to fear each other and harbor deep resentment. However, their strengths are evenly matched, and neither can defeat the other for the time being. If we can cleverly manipulate things, creating some 'misunderstandings' to incite them to fight first…"

Lin Yan understood what she hadn't finished saying. When the clam and the crane fight, the fisherman benefits. If the Silver Wolf King and the Flaming Tiger could truly fight to the death, they would have a very high chance of seizing the Spirit Spring amidst the chaos, and perhaps even… reaping the benefits of those two Transcendent Realm demonic beasts! This thought made his heart burn with excitement.

"This plan is ingenious, but extremely risky," Lin Yan calmly analyzed. "We need a deeper understanding of the cave's internal terrain, the habits of the two demonic beasts, and even the subtle relationship between them. Otherwise, a slight misstep could lead to disaster."

"That's right." Su Qingyao agreed. "This matter cannot be rushed; we must plan carefully and thoroughly. The most urgent task is for us to retreat to a safe place so I can recuperate properly, and you also need to consolidate your newly broken-through realm. Once you've recovered, we can gather more intelligence and analyze the situation in detail."

Lin Yan nodded, agreeing that this was the safest option. Without further delay, the two quickly began to erase as much of the evidence of the fierce battle and the unusually withered corpse of the demon wolf as possible, then turned over and buried the blood-stained soil and grass. After finishing their task, they quietly retreated out of the mountain along the secret path they had taken.

At this moment, Lin Yan's cultivation had reached the peak of Body Tempering, and his physical strength, endurance, and speed had all improved significantly, greatly reducing the burden on the return journey. Su Qingyao took her family's elixir, which stabilized her internal injuries, and she was able to move around without much difficulty. The journey there, which had been cautious and took nearly two hours, was completed in just over an hour, and the two of them had already arrived at the outer perimeter of Canglang Mountain.

The setting sun was slowly sinking into the western sky, dyeing the clouds into a magnificent golden-red and purplish-red hue. The afterglow was splashed on the vast mountains and forests, gilding the dark green pines with a warm edge, and even the perennial chill in the mountains seemed to be diluted.

Lin Yan paused, turning back to gaze at the majestic and mysterious main peak of Canglang Mountain, its outline blurred in the twilight. The mountain stood silently, like a colossal beast slumbering since ancient times. Yet Lin Yan knew that within that mountain lay a spiritual spring, a demonic beast at the Transcendent Realm, and the opportunity for him to break through to a higher realm and acquire greater power. His eyes, illuminated by the setting sun, were bright and resolute.

He will definitely come back to this mountain. Not only for the possible profits, but also for the spiritual spring that can accelerate cultivation, for the "resources" needed for the growth of the Soul Devouring Body, and for the confidence to truly grasp a foundation for survival and even to look to the future in this dangerous world where demons roam.

"It's getting late, we must get back to the cellar before dark." Su Qingyao's voice came from the side. She stood at the entrance of a narrow path through the woods, stretched long by the setting sun. Her figure appeared slender in the backlight, yet as upright as bamboo.

"Let's go." Lin Yan withdrew his gaze, no longer lingering, and followed. The two figures, one after the other, quickly disappeared into the gradually thickening twilight of the mountain forest, leaving only the silent outline of Canglang Mountain behind them, and the unknown undercurrents and storms that were about to be stirred up in the mountain due to the mysterious disappearance of the three elite demon wolves.

Deep within that dark cavern, the Fiery Tiger, which had been dozing beside the milky-white spiritual energy of the spring, suddenly twitched its nostrils slightly. Its crimson-gold eyes opened a crack, glancing towards the Silver Wolf King on the high platform at the other end of the cavern. A barely audible, low growl, tinged with annoyance and warning, escaped its throat. The Silver Wolf King seemed to sense this, raising its silver head, its cold wolf eyes meeting those two points of crimson gold across the dim cavern's light.

The air inside the cave seemed to freeze at that moment.