Longevity Hacker: When Every Curse Becomes a Blessing

Chapter 18 – From now on, I am called Zhang San!

Ye Bufan sat cross-legged in the secret chamber.

He took out two jade bottles, and upon opening them, a violent, scorching aura rushed out like a ferocious beast, assaulting his mind.

Inside the bottles was a black-red liquid.

"Lower-rank Departing Fire Calamity Qi, it'll have to do for now."

Ye Bufan shook his head. This type of calamity qi was formed from the death aura and resentment of fire-attributed demonic beasts, quite ordinary.

The strength of calamity qi is determined by the life level of the creature it originates from.

For instance, the calamity qi formed from the death of a Golden Core stage great demon could be considered medium grade.

The most supreme would be the calamity qi from the death of an ancient true spirit, which even Golden Core cultivators dare not touch lightly.

Lastly, there are calamity qis that naturally evolve in some extremely ominous places, known as feng shui calamity.

However ordinary it may be, if a typical Qi Refining cultivator comes into contact with Departing Fire Calamity Qi, they would be overwhelmed, burned alive by the fierce flames.

"In the future, when there's a chance, I'll find a place of great ominousness to cultivate."

Ye Bufan pondered. The lower-rank calamity qi was barely sufficient for him to cultivate the Celestial Calamity True Demonic Technique, but to have mana twice as strong as others, he needed to find top-grade calamity qi.

By midnight.

Ye Bufan fully comprehended the technique and began cultivating according to the energy flow path.

The black-red liquid transformed into rolling mist, enveloping Ye Bufan.

His aura gradually changed.

His full head of black hair slowly turned red, and his white robe also began to shift to red, making him appear filled with coldness and killing intent.

Meanwhile, the Foundation Establishment Dao Platform in his dantian was infused with calamity qi, rapidly enhancing its quality.

For others, merely the stage of calamity qi entering the body would be insurmountable, not to mention the pain, with mild cases leading to madness and severe cases resulting in instant death.

But Ye Bufan...

He only felt his mind becoming clearer, and even felt comfortable.

It was as if he was having a friendly exchange with a woman.

In the blink of an eye.

Two days passed swiftly.

"The first layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, achieved!"

"This technique truly is a life-and-death ordeal, almost ecstatically deadly."

In the secret chamber, Ye Bufan opened his eyes, his face flushed with vitality.

While others grew more pained with cultivation.

He reversed the side effects, making cultivation increasingly pleasurable, almost unbearable.

"Shh!"

Ye Bufan flicked his finger, sending out a Wind Blade that struck the thick stone wall of the chamber, creating a deep pit as if burned by fire, its power far surpassing before, and filled with calamity qi.

This was the characteristic of cultivating this technique with a Yang Spiritual Root.

When used against an enemy, it carried Yang Calamity Qi, not only burning the opponent but also disturbing their mind.

"The quality of my mana has improved by a level, comparable to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment. With the characteristics of this technique, I have confidence in defeating even someone at the sixth layer."

Ye Bufan was very satisfied. Although his cultivation level hadn't changed, his strength had increased significantly.

In the Heavenly Demon Sect, it's not unheard of to challenge those above one's level, but candidates for the Saint position might only surpass one or two levels.

But like Ye Bufan, directly surpassing five or six levels.

There's no one like him in the entire Zhao Kingdom.

Afterward, Ye Bufan left the secret chamber, gave Lv Luo a few instructions, and then returned to the chamber to continue cultivating.

Upon entering meditation, a Qi Cyclone formed above Ye Bufan's head, continuously drawing in Heaven-and-Earth Spiritual Energy.

If the Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect and the elders saw this scene, they would be utterly shocked.

Absorbing spiritual energy to form a Qi Cyclone is a sign of fast cultivation speed.

Without an Upper Grade Spiritual Root, it's simply impossible.

Yet Ye Bufan only had a Lower Grade Spiritual Root!

Achieving this was thanks to the Blood Spirit Technique, Foundation Establishment Pill, Tiger Demon Pill, and the side effects of the technique.

After reversing them, he forcibly raised his cultivation speed to the level of an Upper Grade Spiritual Root.

During his seclusion.

Besides cultivating the technique, Ye Bufan also fed the demon snake daily, and this advanced spell gradually reached completion.

The newly acquired Demonic Light Sword Technique and Ephemeral Shadow Technique were also being mastered step by step.

Due to the side effects of the Spirit Forging Technique, his comprehension was comparable to that of a young genius, greatly reducing the difficulty of cultivating spells, and he quickly got the hang of them.

Ye Bufan's combat prowess was rapidly improving.

Time passed.

Several more days went by.

On this day, a powerful fluctuation emanated from Ye Bufan's secret chamber, even the aura-concealing formation couldn't contain it.

Lv Luo, who was outside absorbing Heaven-and-Earth Spiritual Energy, had her cultivation interrupted by the commotion.

"This... already reached the second layer of Foundation Establishment?!"

Lv Luo widened her beautiful eyes, finding it somewhat unbelievable.

Foundation Establishment has nine layers, forming nine Dao Platforms, and the further one progresses, the harder it is to form the next platform.

How long has it been since Foundation Establishment?

Even for geniuses like Chu Zixue and Shangguan Qingyao, it took a year to go from the first to the second layer.

The Sect Master's direct disciple with the Demon Spirit Physique took seven months!

And she took a full three years!

"Less than ten days to break through to the second layer, is the master really a Lower Grade Spiritual Root?"

Lv Luo was deeply affected, questioning her life.

She murmured, "The master was already so powerful at the first layer of Foundation Establishment, how strong will he be at the second layer?"

The entire Heavenly Demon Sect, including the Ancient Matriarch, was unaware of Ye Bufan's actual combat strength, having only seen his escape techniques.

Only she had witnessed it firsthand.

Zhou Wangchen, whose strength was comparable to the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment, was directly crushed.

Inside the secret chamber.

Ye Bufan opened his eyes.

Clad in a bright red robe, with a head full of blood-red hair, even his pupils carried a hint of blood, resembling a demonic god on earth.

Celestial Calamity True Demonic Technique, second layer!

In his dantian, there was now a second Dao Platform, even larger than before.

In reality, even with a cultivation speed comparable to an Upper Grade Spiritual Root, it would still take six to seven months to break through.

The reason he could reach the second layer of Foundation Establishment so quickly was due to the final side effect of the Blood Spirit Technique coming into play.

A month later, his cultivation level soared.

Coupled with the side effects of the Demon Dragon Technique, the more blood essence contributed, the faster the cultivation level increased.

In just a few days, this technique reached the Great Perfection stage!

Its power greatly increased!

"Boom!"

At the moment of breakthrough, a small dark cloud appeared above Ye Bufan's head.

With a crackling sound, a thumb-thick bolt of lightning struck down.

It appeared to be a miniature lightning tribulation, not very powerful, but enough to kill a cultivator at the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment.

However, when it struck Ye Bufan.

He only felt a tingling sensation, as if undergoing electrotherapy.

The power of the lightning tribulation was invisibly weakened.

Meanwhile, his Yang Calamity Mana was continuously refined by the lightning, becoming increasingly pure.

"So this is a lightning tribulation? Not bad, quite enjoyable."

Ye Bufan smiled, enjoying it for a while before the lightning tribulation reluctantly dissipated.

"Back to seclusion."

Ye Bufan closed his eyes again.

With his current strength, he feared no one, not even at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment.

But after just two days.

Ye Bufan emerged from seclusion.

"Congratulations, Master!"

Lv Luo stood in front of the secret chamber, her demeanor more respectful than ever, her eyes secretly observing her master, filled with fascination.

A Yang Spiritual Root at the second layer of Foundation Establishment, the benefits to a female cultivator from dual cultivation would be unimaginable.

"But it's just the second layer of Foundation Establishment."

Ye Bufan frowned, waving his hand in irritation.

After breaking through to the second layer, the side effects of the Blood Spirit Technique, Demon Dragon Technique, Foundation Establishment Pill, and others were completely exhausted.

Though he still had the cultivation speed of an Upper Grade Spiritual Root, it would take a year and a half to break through to the third layer of Foundation Establishment.

For an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, this speed would be considered monstrous.

But for him—too slow!

In the Heavenly Demon Sect, not to mention the enigmatic Ancient Matriarch, even the Saint candidates like Chu Zixue were significant threats.

"How many spirit stones are left from the allocation?"

Ye Bufan inquired. As a core disciple, his benefits far exceeded those of ordinary disciples, with two thousand spirit stones allocated each month.

This was a substantial sum; even someone like Zhou Wangchen, a somewhat renowned Foundation Establishment cultivator, had only accumulated a little over a thousand spirit stones over the years.

Of course.

It wasn't free; every disciple of the Heavenly Demon Sect had to complete three tasks annually, core disciples included, and the difficulty was high.

The higher-ups seemed to think that this disciple of the Ancient Matriarch had low cultivation, assigning tasks that were tantamount to sending him to his death, so there were no tasks in the short term.

"There are still fifteen hundred spirit stones."

"Truly impoverished."

Ye Bufan sighed. During his time as an independent cultivator, this would have been a fortune.

But after reaching Foundation Establishment, he realized the enormous consumption of spirit stones required to enhance cultivation strength.

"I'm going to the market."

After retrieving the spirit stones, Ye Bufan returned to the pavilion briefly, then emerged as a young man in a gray long robe, with dark skin, appearing utterly unremarkable.

The face of the first disciple of the Ancient Matriarch was too conspicuous, making it easy to be targeted when going out.

"From now on, my name is Zhang San."

Ye Bufan quietly left Courtyard No. 1.

He planned to purchase pill recipes and learn to refine pills that could rapidly enhance cultivation.

Unlike others.

He intended to refine those pills that, when consumed, could cause instant death, with extremely severe side effects.