Xu Chunniang took the stone talisman handed over by the snake-tailed succubus and nodded with satisfaction, "It's very good here."
This place looks a bit shabby, but the annual rent of five thousand magic crystals is much cheaper than the high-end cave she rented before.
"As long as you like it. I'm leaving. If you need anything, just use the talisman to send a message to me."
Being able to rent out a place like this, the snake-tailed succubus feels that she has made a profit. Generally speaking, no one is willing to rent a semi-abandoned cave like this that cannot be practiced.
After watching the snake-tailed succubus leave, Xu Chunniang refined the talisman and opened the door of the cave, feeling a sense of emptiness and desolation.
The cave has been in disrepair for a long time, and the formations inside have been completely broken. Only a few basic formations are left. With the opening of the talisman, they are barely maintaining operation and cleaning the dust in the cave.
Xu Chunniang's magical thoughts swept through the remaining formations. Seeing that the original isolation formations in the cave were still functioning, she did not plan to make any changes.
She found a clean place to sit down, took out part of the magic crystal and crushed it, and tried to reverse the technique to absorb the magic energy. After less than half a stick of incense, she stopped.
She finally understood why the others would rather share the apartment than come here.
Even though she used magic crystals directly when practicing, the surrounding demonic energy and black breath were more or less absorbed into her body.
In addition, what was taken into the body along with the black breath and demonic energy was actually fairy energy!
For demon cultivators, although the immortal energy entering the body is not fatal, it will cause a lot of trouble.
Because the ways in which immortal energy and demonic energy operate are completely different, demon cultivators have no way to control the immortal energy running around in the body, so they have to spend extra time and energy to drive them away.
The immortal energy that Xu Chunniang absorbed into her body by reversing the Taishang Xiaoyao Heart Meridian also ran rampant in her body like an untamed beast.
But this is not too troublesome for her. She has long been able to skillfully convert fairy energy and demonic energy freely. It only takes a little time to easily convert these fairy energy into demonic energy.
After practicing like this for half an hour, the black breath in Xu Chunniang's body accumulated more and more, which was approximately equivalent to the weight accumulated in the previous three hours of practicing in the cave.
She stopped practicing, and urged the chaotic energy in her body to devour the black breath. After swallowing all the black breath, she continued to reverse the technique and incorporate the demonic energy.
By practicing in this way, the demonic energy refining the body is slower, but compared with the gains brought by swallowing the black breath, this loss is negligible.
As time went by, most of the Chaos Qi that had been consumed slowly grew again after devouring the Black Breath again and again.
The large amount of demonic energy incorporated into the body is also constantly tearing at the flesh and bones, making the new flesh and bones become stronger and more solid.
Xu Chunniang was immersed in her practice, concentrating on polishing her body and swallowing the black breath, completely forgetting the passage of time.
Her cultivation and aura increased little by little at a slow speed, and finally one day four years later, she quietly broke through to the realm of humans and demons.
At the moment when her cultivation level reached a breakthrough, the Taishang Xiaoyao Heart Sutra in her mind suddenly turned upside down, revealing a completely new pattern.
Xu Chunniang immediately noticed the changes in the Taishang Xiaoyao Heart Sutra and focused all her attention on the new patterns that appeared on the sutra.
After examining it carefully, she discovered that the picture showed a golden lion that was shaking its head and tail. The lion had its mouth wide open and was holding a ball on its body, as if it was playing with the ball.
Just when Xu Chunniang was looking at the picture, the lion in the picture suddenly moved.
It first shook its head and let the ball roll on its back from beginning to end, and then gently used force to bump the ball on its back.
The ball flipped in the air, and the lion also swung its tail and rolled. After turning up and down, left and right, it steadily caught the ball falling from the sky. Its posture was elegant and flexible, with both strength and softness.
Xu Chunniang was thoughtful, thinking about the timing of the appearance of this picture of a golden lion playing with a pearl, and she had a vague suspicion in her mind.
What is recorded on the golden lion playing with beads is most likely a physical technique.
She opened her eyes, recalled the lion's movements, and imitated its movements by shaking its head and tail, thinking that she was the lion in the painting.
After trying it several times, Xu Chunniang stopped, feeling that she was not practicing correctly.
She thought for a long time before she figured out the problem.
All the movements of the lion in the painting are related to the ball. Whether it is shaking its head and tail, or rolling and turning, the ball is indispensable.
She imagines herself as a lion, but without the ball, it is incomplete.
Xu Chunniang returned her attention to the painting of a golden lion playing with a pearl. What did the ball in this painting represent?
Just as she was staring at the picture of a golden lion playing with a pearl, the lion on the picture made new moves.
It lowered its head slightly, letting the ball on its back roll down to its head, and then flicked its head, sending the ball flying up.
The ball flew in the air, and the lion also rolled and spun. The movements were surprisingly consistent with the ball.
The lion swung its tail beautifully and landed firmly on the ground. The ball fell down along its tail and rolled back on its back.
Xu Chunniang finally understood that if she wanted to learn this physical technique, she must understand the meaning of the ball.
She tried to find a concrete object to replace the ball, but she still couldn't figure it out. It couldn't be as harmonious as the lion and the ball in the painting.
Perhaps, this ball is not a material object.
Xu Chunniang simply visualized a ball in her mind. However, she imagined herself as a lion and tried to use the imaginary ball to understand physical skills, but failed.
After several attempts failed, she looked at the picture of a golden lion playing with a pearl in her mind again. Under her gaze, the lion in the picture moved for the third time.
This time, after the lion pushed the ball away, with a little force, he flew up to catch up with the ball, bit it and held it in his mouth.
Under the lion's movements, the ball began to shake in its mouth, and then it spit it out slightly, stretched out its paws to catch the ball, and had a great time.
After an unknown amount of time, the lion seemed to have had all the fun, and finally swallowed the ball in one gulp.
After the lion swallowed the ball, the luster of the golden lion playing with the pearl became lighter and lighter, and finally slowly disappeared.
After the picture of the Golden Lion Playing with Pearls disappeared, the upside-down Taishang Xiaoyao Heart Sutra also turned upside down.
Xu Chunniang opened her eyes, and a hint of enlightenment appeared in her eyes. She finally knew what the ball the lion was playing with represented.
She should have thought of it earlier.
Xu Chunniang sat down cross-legged, opened her mouth and vomited out all the demon seeds in her belly.
(End of chapter)
