Demonic Cultivator: Immune To Common Side Effects - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Blood Qi Extraction? Side Effect Reversal!

When Li Yan saw the Fairy’s desiccated corpse blocking his path, his heart leaped into his throat.

Instinctively, he threw a palm strike. But as his hand landed on the Fairy’s chest, the corpse didn’t budge an inch.

The disparity in strength was immense. Li Yan couldn’t move her even slightly; it felt like trying to push a mountain.

Realizing he couldn’t move her, Li Yan immediately dodged to the side and fled. Hesitating for even a moment could cost him his life.

He tried to lose the corpse in the dense mist, but when he glanced back, the Fairy’s desiccated body was already floating behind him with terrifying speed.

No matter how fast he ran, two legs couldn’t outrun a flier. Yet Li Yan’s initial panic was slowly giving way to calm resolve.

The corpse relentlessly pursued him at astonishing speed, but made no move to kill him.

Could it be…?

Knowing escape was futile, Li Yan abruptly stopped.

Sure enough, the desiccated corpse halted before him, motionless.

Then, slowly, it opened its desiccated mouth and began attempting to drain Li Yan’s Blood Qi.

– System detected a side effect triggered when the host scavenged corpses: a malevolent spirit, the ‘Yin Corpse,’ has latched onto you!

– Yin Corpse: A Cultivator who has lost their soul. The residual energy in their body transforms into Death Yin Qi, turning them into a living corpse. They do not actively attack, but instinctively pursue the Blood Qi of the living.

– System initiating side effect reversal!

– Side Effect: Yin Corpse drains the host’s Blood Qi.

– Reversed Effect: Yin Corpse channels Yang Qi into the host.

Before Li Yan’s eyes, the female dry corpse, radiating deathly Yin Qi, began exhaling Yang Qi.

A warm current flowed into Li Yan’s body, making him feel as if he were basking in a gentle spring breeze, even in the mist-shrouded Broken Sword Valley.

“Hiss… this feels… almost as comforting as sunbathing,” Li Yan murmured contentedly, closing his eyes.

Anyone witnessing this scene would likely question their sanity.

A female dry corpse, exuding Death Yin Qi, was breathing Yang Qi onto Li Yan.

The warm Yang Qi seeped into Li Yan’s body, causing his Blood Qi to slowly replenish.

The Yang Qi from the Yin Corpse seeped through Li Yan’s pores, entering his blood vessels and transforming into golden threads that flowed into his Dantian.

Li Yan, squinting at the Fairy’s desiccated corpse, felt a mixture of amusement and disbelief. “This is rather ironic,” he thought. “A Yin Corpse constantly supplying me with Yang Qi.”

“In other words, what would be a curse for others—being haunted by a vengeful spirit—is actually a blessing in disguise for me.”

He watched the female dry corpse desperately try to drain his Blood Qi. Yet the harder she sucked, the more Yang Qi she inadvertently supplied to him. This intermittent influx of Yang Qi into his Dantian gave Li Yan the sensation of basking in warm sunlight, a stark contrast to the surrounding ancient battlefield littered with rotting corpses, bone mounds, and broken swords—a place steeped in both righteous and demonic history.

Amidst this grim landscape, Li Yan felt the warmth of the sun. A Yin Corpse trying to steal his Blood Qi was paradoxically warming him.

Such a counterintuitive scene was undeniably unfolding within Broken Sword Valley.

After a while, Li Yan felt a slight swelling in his Dantian as golden threads of Qi began mingling with the crimson sea of his Qi Sea.

Breakthrough!

A golden light flashed through Li Yan’s Dantian Qi Sea, and his cultivation base surged to the seventh layer of the Blood Condensation Realm!

Unlike before, when his Qi Sea had contained only Blood Qi, golden threads of energy now swirled within it. This must be the legendary Yang Qi.

Though he hadn’t yet figured out how to wield this power, Li Yan could clearly sense that the golden Blood Qi was far more vibrant and potent than ever before.

As Li Yan grew stronger, the female dry corpse withered further. She had tried to drain his Blood Qi, only to find her own vitality completely drained instead.

Realizing the Yin Corpse posed no further threat, Li Yan smirked. “Well, compared to those festering piles of flesh, having a dry corpse beauty by my side is certainly more pleasing to the eye.”

Since the Yin Corpse showed no signs of aggression beyond its instinctive draining of his Blood Qi, Li Yan decided to ignore her. After all, she was impossible to drive away; her physical resilience was too great for his sixth-layer Blood Condensation Realm cultivation base to overcome. Moreover, the female dry corpse had activated the Side Effect Reversal System, which had actually benefited him.

“If I can find a secret manual on Corpse Refinement Art, I might be able to make use of this female corpse,” Li Yan mused. “Her physical body is incredibly tough. I doubt even Old Daoist Xuanwang could break through her defenses.”

Li Yan speculated that even a full-force strike from Xuanwang would likely fail to harm her. If he could harness her power, she could even become his follower.

With this thought, Li Yan began searching through the secret manuals in his Space Ring. To his surprise, he found a copy of the Allheaven Corpse Refinement Art.

His hand trembled as the manual flew out of the Storage Ring and landed in his palm.

He turned to the first page:

Nine Netherworlds beckon, the Corpse Gate yawns. Yin Offspring gather, spirit and flesh sever.

Impure Force merges, the corpse body endures. Bones shudder, tendons stretch, obeying my command.

The second page included diagrams of talismans.

To activate the art, one needed only to bite their index finger and draw the corresponding talismans on the dry corpse’s chest and three finger-widths below her navel.

“Intriguing,” Li Yan murmured. “These High Grade Secret Manuals are refreshingly concise, lacking unnecessary fluff.”

“Easy to understand, quick to learn. No wonder many Sects jealously guard their secret techniques, fearing outsiders might steal their knowledge.”

After flipping through a few pages, Li Yan grasped the fundamentals of the Corpse Driving Art.

While Corpse Refinement required extensive preparation, the initial step—controlling a corpse to follow the caster’s commands—was the most elementary technique.

Looking at the still somewhat alluring female corpse before him, Li Yan clasped his hands in a respectful bow. “Fairy, please forgive this intrusion.”

After all, the corpse was just an empty shell, devoid of a soul.

Li Yan couldn’t bear to watch it rot away, its beauty fading into nothing.

He bit his index finger, drew a talisman over the woman’s heart, then unbuttoned her robe and inscribed a second talisman three finger-widths below her navel.

Throughout the process, the corpse gasped desperately, as if trying to suck all the air from around Li Yan, leaving him none.

But she was merely an unconscious husk, and all her efforts were futile.

The harder she tried to breathe, the weaker she became.

Meanwhile, Li Yan calmly followed the book’s instructions, applying the talismans to the corpse without incident.

Because the corpse was just an empty vessel, controlling it proved surprisingly easy.

Once finished, Li Yan pinched his fingers into a hand seal and chanted: “Follow my command, be still!”

As the incantation resonated, the corpse froze in place, motionless.

“Stand straight. Turn left. Turn right.”

Li Yan manipulated the corpse with his hand seal, watching her obey his every command. As he observed her compliance, an idea sparked in his mind.

If he could use this corpse to block Old Ghost Xuanwang, perhaps he could even turn the tables on the old fiend?

As he excitedly considered this possibility…

Sudden explosions erupted in the distance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening blasts reverberated through Broken Sword Valley.

Li Yan didn’t know what sinister scheme Old Ghost Xuanwang was plotting, but it couldn’t be anything good!