Long Chen sat cross-legged in his cave abode, the five jade boxes arranged in front of him on the stone floor.

The Blood Orchid Flower glowed faintly in its container, crimson petals pulsing with spiritual energy. The other four materials, Ironbone Root, Silverleaf Grass, Jade Marrow Stone, and Flame Heart Fruit sat beside it, each sealed and preserved.

He opened his eyes and looked at them.

"Alright," Long Chen said. "Walk me through this."

*The first stage of the Blood Tyrant Devouring Art is called Tyrant Demon,* Azazel began, his tone shifting into instruction mode. *You're going to create a spiritual pattern across your body—a network of channels and nodes that will allow demon beast blood essence to flow through your system and refine your flesh, bones, and organs.*

"Sounds painful."

*It will be. Extremely. But that's the price of power.* Azazel paused. *First step: prepare the materials into a paste. You'll need to crush and mix them in specific proportions. The Blood Orchid forms the base, it's what opens your pores and prepares your body for the transformation. The other four materials provide structural support and elemental balance.*

Long Chen nodded and began working.

He removed the materials from their jade boxes carefully, placing them on a flat stone surface he'd cleared. Using the pommel of Demon Dweller as a makeshift pestle, he crushed each material methodically.

The Ironbone Root was tough, requiring significant force to break down. The Silverleaf Grass turned into a silvery powder almost immediately, the Jade Marrow Stone crumbled slowly into fine green dust. The Flame Heart Fruit burst when pressed, releasing hot red juice that sizzled against the stone.

And the Blood Orchid… when he crushed its petals, they released crimson liquid that looked disturbingly like actual blood.

*Good,* Azazel said. *Now mix them together. Equal parts of each material, the paste should turn dark purple when properly combined.*

Long Chen mixed the crushed materials with his hands, kneading them together. The textures were strange—some grainy, some oily, some hot to the touch. Spiritual energy radiated from the mixture, growing stronger as the materials combined.

After several minutes of mixing, the paste turned dark purple, exactly as Azazel described.

*Perfect. Now comes the hard part.*

"That wasn't the hard part?"

*That was the easy part.* Azazel's amusement was evident. *Now you need to apply the paste to your body in a specific pattern. But you can't just smear it on—you need to carve the pattern into your skin using a spiritually conductive medium.*

Long Chen frowned. "Carve?"

*Not literally carve, but you need to draw the pattern with enough force that it penetrates the surface layer of your skin and allows the paste to bond with your flesh. The best method is to coat your sword with the paste and use the blade to trace the pattern directly onto your body.*

Long Chen looked at Demon Dweller, then at the dark purple paste, then back at the sword.

"You want me to draw on myself with my sword."

*Yes.*

"While the paste is causing spiritual changes to my body."

*Correct.*

"And this will hurt."

*Immensely.*

Long Chen took a deep breath. "Fine. Show me the pattern."

Information flooded his mind—a complex network of lines, curves, and geometric shapes that covered his entire body. Arms, legs, torso, back. Hundreds of individual strokes, each one precise, each one necessary.

The pattern looked like a combination of formation arrays and anatomical diagrams, designed to map perfectly onto human musculature and bone structure.

*Start with your left arm,* Azazel instructed. *Work from shoulder to fingertips. Keep your strokes steady and follow the pattern exactly. If you deviate even slightly, the framework will be flawed.*

Long Chen scooped a portion of the paste and smeared it along Demon Dweller's blade.

He held the blade against his left shoulder and began tracing the first line.

The moment the paste-coated edge touched his skin, pain exploded through his arm.

It felt like liquid fire being injected directly into his veins. The paste burned—not externally, but internally, sinking through his skin and into the muscle beneath. Spiritual energy from the materials activated immediately, beginning the transformation process.

Long Chen gritted his teeth and kept drawing.

His hand trembled as he traced the pattern down his bicep, following the curve of his muscle. Every centimeter was agony. The paste seeped deeper with each stroke, reaching toward bone.

Sweat poured down his face.

He continued to his forearm, then his wrist, then each finger individually. The pattern was intricate—lines that spiraled, intersected, branched off into smaller networks.

By the time he finished his left arm, thirty minutes had passed and he was gasping.

*Good,* Azazel said. *Now the right arm.*

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

*Immensely.*

Long Chen picked up more paste with his now-trembling hands and began the process again on his right arm.

The pain didn't lessen. If anything, it intensified as his body began reacting to the accumulating spiritual materials. His skin felt too tight, his muscles too tense, every nerve ending screamed.

But he kept going.

Right arm, then his chest—dozens of intersecting lines that formed a complex mandala centered over his heart. Then his back, which he had to draw by feel and spiritual sense since he couldn't see what he was doing.

Hours passed.

His movements became mechanical. Apply paste, trace the pattern, endure pain. Apply paste, trace pattern, endure pain.

The spiritual energy building in his body grew stronger with each completed section. He could feel something fundamental changing—his pores opening wider, his blood flowing differently, his flesh becoming denser.

When he finally completed the pattern on his legs and feet, nearly four hours had passed.

Long Chen collapsed onto his back, breathing heavily, staring at the cave ceiling.

Every inch of his body burned. The dark purple paste had sunk completely into his skin, leaving faint red lines that glowed with residual spiritual energy—the physical manifestation of the framework he'd just carved into himself.

*It's done,* Azazel said quietly. *The framework is established. How do you feel?*

"Like I've been set on fire from the inside," Long Chen gasped.

*That's normal.*

Long Chen closed his eyes and tried to center himself.

Then he noticed something strange.

Spiritual energy was rushing into his body.

Not the normal circulation of qi through his meridians and dantian. This was different—energy flowing directly through his skin, absorbed through the newly opened pores, flooding into his muscles and bones without any active cultivation.

"What's happening?" Long Chen asked.

*Your pores are opening,* Azazel explained. *The Blood Orchid's primary function is to fundamentally change how your body interacts with spiritual energy. Before, you could only absorb qi through breathing and cultivation techniques. Now, your entire body is an absorption surface. You're passively pulling in ambient spiritual energy just by existing.*

Long Chen sat up slowly, watching the faint silver lines on his arms pulse with light.

*This is the foundation of the Tyrant Demon Physique. Your body is going through fundamental transformation—becoming something beyond normal human flesh. Right now, the changes are subtle. But once you start blood refinement, once you feed the framework with demon beast blood, you'll become something truly monstrous.*

Long Chen felt the energy flowing through him, steady and constant. It was intoxicating—like standing in a river of spiritual power.

"This is just the first stage?" Long Chen asked.

*Just the first stage. There are seven stages total. Each one more transformative than the last.*

Long Chen stood up, testing his body. Despite the pain, he felt… stronger, more solid. His movements were steadier, his balance perfect.

Then he made a decision.

"I'm breaking through to Foundation Establishment."

*Now?* Azazel sounded surprised. *You just finished establishing the framework, your body needs rest.*

"My body is absorbing spiritual energy automatically now. I've been at peak Qi Acquisition for weeks. This is the perfect opportunity—my cultivation base is stable, my foundation is solid, and I have more spiritual energy flowing through me than ever before."

*That's… actually sound reasoning.*

Long Chen sat down on his cultivation platform and called on Tian Long.

His martial spirit materialized immediately—the massive blue dragon appearing in the space above him, ethereal and magnificent. Spiritual pressure radiated outward as Tian Long coiled through the air.

*You're really doing this,* Azazel muttered. *Fine, I'll help stabilize your breakthrough. Don't die.*

Long Chen activated the Heavenly Demon Cultivation Technique.

Qi began circulating through his meridians in the familiar patterns, but something was different now. The energy flowing through his opened pores merged with his normal cultivation, doubling the amount of spiritual power available.

He directed it all toward his dantian.

The barrier between peak Qi Acquisition and Foundation Establishment was right there—a wall of condensed energy that separated the two realms. Long Chen had felt it for weeks, tested it, understood its structure.

Now, he was going to break through it

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