Record of a Demon's Cultivation Chapter 1246: Demanding the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill

Song Wen’s divine sense surged outward from the pavilion, its reach extending rapidly.

In mere moments, every minute detail within the confines of the canyon became astonishingly clear within his mind.

He finally apprehended the reason behind the Gu’s demise.

A fifth-tier Gu, its formidable mandibles agape, became a blur as it violently lunged towards a fourth-tier Gu.

Song Wen’s countenance grew frigid. The root of the problem, he realized, stemmed from within their own kind.

This insignificant creature, having only recently ascended to the fifth tier, had already commenced preying upon its brethren.

With a mere flick of his finger, a thread of spiritual power was unleashed, striking the fifth-tier Gu and sending it tumbling away like a common cur fighting over scraps.

The Gu plummeted for several miles, impacting a canyon wall at a sharp angle.

The sheer force of the collision bored into the solid rock, and the Gu burrowed more than ten miles deep before its momentum finally ceased.

Furious, the Gu bared its fangs, rapidly agitated its wings, and swiftly soared back through the narrow, direct passage it had excavated.

The instant it burst forth from the cave’s opening, it was met by an immense, looming shadow directly before it.

The Gu beetle’s mandibles snapped open wide, its forelimbs thrust high as it charged at the encroaching darkness.

Song Wen observed the approaching, ferocious Gu beetle, a slight frown creasing his brow.

Not only did this monstrous entity attack its own kind, but it possessed the audacity to assault its very master.

The creature was attempting to devour its controller!

A swirling azure mist emanated from Song Wen’s form, swiftly enveloping the charging Gu beetle.

Immediately, the mist unleashed an intense wave of cold, solidifying into a transparent cyan ice block, completely encasing the Gu beetle within its frozen grasp.

Gazing upon the motionless Gu beetle suspended in ice, Song Wen lapsed into profound contemplation.

There was no discernible flaw in the contract binding him and the Gu beetle.

Consequently, the Gu beetle’s abrupt loss of control must intrinsically be linked to its recent advancement to the fifth tier.

Song Wen retrieved the Witch Gu Dao Methods he had acquired from Xiao Ying and commenced a meticulous perusal, earnestly seeking to uncover a resolution.

The Witch Gu Dao Methods represented the sole secret art in Song Wen’s possession that detailed fifth-tier Gu beetles, compelling him to place all his hopes upon its contents.

However, following a comprehensive examination of the Witch Gu Dao Methods, Song Wen unearthed no viable solution, likely due to the disparity between the Gu beetle’s species and those described within the ancient text.

He then revisited Xiao Ying’s Gu Rearing Manual, but once again, discovered nothing of practical value.

Devoid of any pre-existing methods to guide him, Song Wen found himself compelled to embark on his own experimental journey.

He withdrew the Nine Nether Fiend Qi, causing the ice to instantly turn brittle and shatter with ease under the Gu’s violent vibrations.

But at that precise moment, two desiccated, pitch-black fingers emerged and delicately pinched the sesame-seed-sized Gu suspended between them.

Perhaps sensing Song Wen’s overwhelming might, the Gu seemed to calm somewhat, though it continued to bare its fangs, clearly unwilling to yield submission.

A single drop of crimson blood welled from the center of Song Wen’s brow, hovered momentarily in the air, and then descended to drip upon the Gu.

Through this act of blood sacrifice, he aimed to re-establish his dominion.

The Gu unhesitatingly consumed the blood essence, yet its disposition towards Song Wen remained unaltered, still radiating an intense, palpable malice.

Song Wen sighed and shook his head, conceding his current inability to resolve the issue.

He retrieved the small cauldron that Daoist Qingming had utilized to imprison the Gu and temporarily confined the fifth-tier specimen within it.

With this matter attended to, Song Wen returned to his solitary cultivation.

Ten years subsequently elapsed.

Moonlight streamed down, casting the mountainous terrain in profound, shadowed depths.

A silver streak instantaneously traversed the nocturnal sky, akin to a celestial body that had detached from the heavens.

Song Wen’s form materialized atop a precipitous, soaring peak, residual tendrils of lightning still crackling around his person.

He had just executed the Profound Thunder Nine Heavens Art, an escape technique he had acquired from Xuan Qu, a disciple of the Profound Sky Sect.

However, this particular art necessitated an exceptionally high innate affinity for thunder magic. Xuan Qu himself had never achieved complete mastery. In stark contrast, Song Wen, despite only dedicating intermittent study to the secret art during the twenty years he possessed it, had succeeded in mastering its intricacies.

The Profound Thunder Nine Heavens Art bestowed astonishing evasive speed, enabling him to traverse vast distances of tens of thousands of miles in an instant. Nevertheless, it suffered from a critical drawback: its prodigious consumption of spiritual power. A solitary activation depleted a staggering thirty percent of Song Wen’s energy reserves.

“Perhaps after advancing to the Body Integration Stage, I will be capable of wielding this secret art without exertion,” Song Wen mused internally as he journeyed back towards Cloudstream Valley.

Following a night spent within the tranquil valley, he commenced his departure for Great Tan City at the break of dawn.

Over the preceding decade, he had not only solidified his cultivation base but had also elevated his divine sense to the apex of the Void Refinement Stage.

Presently, he was poised to undertake the advancement to the Body Integration Stage. It was time, he resolved, to reclaim the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill from Bai Wei.

Arriving in Great Tan City, Song Wen secured a reasonably priced room at an inn and promptly initiated contact with Bai Wei.

"Senior Bai Wei, ten years have passed since our last conversation. I trust you are in good health."

A swift reply came from Bai Wei.

"Gou Jun, you’ve been absent for a whole decade. If you're reaching out today, it must signify something urgent."

Song Wen responded, [ As a cultivator at the Body Integration Stage and a seventh-rank alchemist from the Spirit Jade Palace, I would not dare to trouble you without a substantial reason, Senior. ]

[ State your purpose. What is it you desire? ] Bai Wei's tone was crisp.

Song Wen posed his question, [ What is the current status of the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill's refinement? ]

[ Patience! Do you perceive the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill as some common herb that can be concocted with ease? ] Bai Wei shot back, her annoyance palpable.

Song Wen replied, [ This junior fully comprehends the pill's extraordinary rarity. Nevertheless, a pressing need compels me to seek it. Would it be possible for Senior to expedite its creation? ]

Bai Wei countered, [ Your cultivation is merely at the late-stage of Void Refinement. What drives this haste for the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill? Could it be... you have already attained the Peak Void Refinement stage? ]

Song Wen answered, [ I was fortunate enough to achieve that breakthrough a few years ago. ]

Bai Wei commented,