Witch, I Swear I’m Not a Deep Sea Ancient God!

Chapter 266: New Shadow Technique — Flame Demon’s Shadow!

Chen Qi placed the legendary golden apple pie on the dining table, accompanied by a glass of exquisite red wine.

When eating such legendary delicacies, a sense of ceremony is indeed necessary.

Elegance is also important... Chen Qi gently sipped the red wine, then picked up the small silver fork beside him with care, delicately scooping a small piece of apple pie into his mouth.

Crispy and sweet, with a delightful crunch and a hint of warmth.

"Delicious!"

The golden apple pie wasn't large, and soon Chen Qi finished it all.

The complete version of the Soul Seasoning skill could fully unleash the inherent flavor and power of ingredients.

The digestion speed was also faster than expected.

Therefore, Chen Qi quickly felt the changes in his body.

As the sweetness of the golden apple faded, a terrifying supernatural power surged forth like a raging river, continuously penetrating his formidable physique.Every inch of his body greedily devoured this power, drawing in the heat flowing from all directions!

As he absorbed it, his muscles and bones became increasingly hardened, even emitting cracking sounds.

In that instant, countless dark golden special patterns emerged on the surface of Chen Qi's skin.

Meanwhile, his mind felt as if countless golden apples were falling from the sky.

This was a side effect of enhanced inspiration.

Chen Qi could feel his perception extending further outward, and his control over spiritual energy itself became more meticulous, precise enough to manipulate dust-sized particles of spiritual energy—

Chen Qi closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and used the Blade Breathing Technique to adapt to this immense power. Unconsciously, the dark golden patterns on his body gradually faded away.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

A prompt popped up.

[You have perfectly digested the power of the golden apple pie, Constitution +20, Inspiration increased by 20 points, Strength +5 points, Agility +5 points, Disease Resistance increased!]

[You have gained the Golden Apple's 24-hour Blessing BUFF, greatly boosting Energy, Recovery, Luck, and Learning Efficiency.]

"Whew!"

Chen Qi stood up and exhaled sharply.

At this moment, the lines of his body were strong and powerful. Combined with Steel Qi, he was like an unshakable boulder, indestructible.

This enhancement alone increased his Constitution by a staggering 20 points, the largest single attribute boost he had ever experienced!

Chen Qi looked at his status panel again.

His Constitution had now reached 118 points, finally breaking through the 100-point milestone.

His Inspiration had reached 85 points, Strength 81 points, and Agility 52 points!

Reaching 100 points in Constitution was a massive achievement. His attributes were now sufficient to perfectly equip Ember's Touch: Shadow Weaving.

Additionally, 100 points in Constitution meant he could install various types of steam mechanical equipment on his body and master higher-level Body Forging Techniques.

Then, a new prompt appeared.

[By digesting the golden apple, you have gained the permanent passive skill 'Golden Apple Body'.]

[Golden Apple Body:

Affinity: Lamp

Effect: Your body becomes stronger, with greatly increased resistance to negative status effects that erode the body, such as poison, paralysis, burning, freezing, and dissolution.]

Chen Qi looked at the prompt with some surprise. This should be a special effect brought about by gourmet cooking.

For supernatural ingredients like this, his Soul Seasoning could perfectly draw out their power, thus triggering hidden effects of the ingredients.

"This is a pretty amazing passive god-tier skill..."

Chen Qi felt the changes in his body.

After reaching the third tier, Transcendent battles often became more treacherous. To deal with Transcendents with high Constitution, there were no shortage of underhanded techniques.

Such as inextinguishable flames, lightning, charm poison, snake venom, etc. Once hit by these techniques, they would inflict continuous true damage negative BUFFs on the body.

It could be said that Golden Apple Body indirectly increased his defense, making it a quite excellent passive skill.

Chen Qi casually threw a punch, producing a piercing sonic boom.

"Not bad..."

After breakfast, Chen Qi felt full of energy throughout his body, and his mind became exceptionally clear.

Previously, Chen Qi had thought about it—his Dark Flame Fist and Blade Forging Breathing Technique were not yet fully mastered.

Taking advantage of this special 'Golden Apple Blessing' BUFF, it was the perfect time to strike while the iron was hot and master these two key skills.

Chen Qi took a deep breath, took out some bread he had made in the kitchen, gave it to the White Tower Hunters on the Viper Father, and instructed them not to disturb him.

White Tower Hunter Melanie agreed. In the end, she had lost the bet.

Melanie handed fifty Wriggling Shadows to Chen Qi and then left him undisturbed.

They knew that after eating the golden apple, it was precious learning time.

Especially in the study of qi techniques, one day of learning could rival ten days.

After the other White Tower Hunters finished breakfast, they also began preparations. They were about to arrive at Blue Fire Island and had to make complete pre-battle preparations.

Thanks to the golden apple, I might be able to master these two core skills ahead of schedule... Chen Qi returned to his room on the ship, closed the doors and windows, put on Ember's Touch, and officially began practicing Dark Flame Fist and Blade Forging Body Technique.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Inside the room, Chen Qi consumed 10,000 inspiration points to upgrade Blade Forging Body Technique to the final Lv3.

[Your Blade Forging Body Technique has reached Lv3, Strength +10 points! Constitution +2 points!]

Chen Qi took a deep breath, feeling the changes in his body.

As a secret technique of the Blood Blade Pirates, Blade Forging Body Technique actually had a final stage. However, to complete this final stage, one must master Steel Qi, plus Qi Transformation, and also combine it with blood crystals, along with high-temperature fire.

Chen Qi didn't hesitate and consumed the blood crystals.

In an instant, he felt his blood turn icy cold, as if he were in the extreme cold of the ocean depths ten thousand meters below. His breathing became disordered, and he gasped continuously.

Chen Qi gritted his teeth tightly. In the bedroom, he used Flame Forging, treating his own body as refined iron, constantly tempering it with fierce flames.

The mixed sensation of icy cold and intense heat exploded within his body, continuously impacting his muscles and bones, over and over again—

Chen Qi felt as if he were standing on a mountain of molten rock, being constantly struck by an icy waterfall torrent.

If the Flower Witch were by his side now, she would notice that not only had Chen Qi's Constitution become stronger, but his body also emitted a sharp blade-like aura—

He didn't know how much time had passed when Chen Qi felt his Blade Breathing Technique, Qi Transformation, Steel Qi, and Blade Forging Body Technique merge together, finally achieving sublimation—

[Your Blade Forging Body Technique has reached MAX, you have forged your body into a blade, obtaining Blood Blade Body!!]

Chen Qi opened his eyes. His body was now surrounded by crimson mist. From a distance, this crimson mist looked as fierce as evil spirits.

Even a longsword made of steel would be severed into two pieces upon touching this qi.

Chen Qi exhaled. His qi force had completed its sublimation.

[Blood Blade Body:

Description: Legend has it that there was a bladesman whose body was like a blade. He could transform qi force into blades to sever all things. Now, you have forged your body into a blade.

Effects:

Blood Blade Qi (Passive): Based on your Constitution, your defense is greatly increased. All your qi force attacks are enhanced by 30%, and attach crimson blade power! You gain minor Blade Affinity comprehension!

Blood Blade Will (Passive): When you suffer significant damage, you become immune to pain, and your body gains a temporary 150% Strength boost!]

Blood Blade Body... Chen Qi took a deep breath.

The enhancement from Blood Blade Body was extremely abnormal. As a passive skill, although it didn't provide direct attribute bonuses, it essentially represented a minor sublimation of qi force!

Qi force sublimation was also a necessary step for third-tier supernatural qi force users.

Now, he had also mastered one of the secret techniques of the Blood Blade Pirates.

"Awesome!"

Chen Qi unleashed a violent burst of qi, pouring out the qi force from his body. The explosive qi radiating from his body was like crimson greatswords, directly leaving over a dozen crimson scars on the walls of the room.

This room will have to be cleaned by the water spirits again... Chen Qi took a deep breath and retracted this violent blade qi.

Chen Qi felt that his strength had stepped onto a new level.

Chen Qi glanced at the time. With the golden apple's boost, it had only taken half a day to practice Blade Forging Body Technique to max level.

This speed was much faster than he had imagined.

Next, Chen Qi took out the Wriggling Shadows and the shadow oil from earlier.

The resources in the Sea of Calamities were more abundant than he had expected. These resources greatly accelerated his practice speed.

Additionally, the golden apple also increased his burn resistance to some extent. The higher the burn resistance, the easier it was to master Dark Flame Fist.

At this rate, he might be able to master the third-tier Dark Flame Fist before the next night arrived.

Chen Qi applied the shadow oil to his fists, then consumed 5,000 inspiration points to upgrade to Lv2, feeling a surge of immense knowledge.

[Your Dark Flame Fist has reached Lv2, you have gained Dark Flame Attachment.

Dark Flame Attachment: You can ignite your qi force, turning it into "Dark Flame Injury" that has armor-penetrating effects.]

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Chen Qi didn't hesitate and immediately began practicing Dark Flame Fist Lv2, throwing punch after punch.

Unconsciously, after a full three thousand punches, he successfully maxed out Dark Flame Fist's proficiency.

[You have completely mastered Dark Flame Fist Lv2. The power of 'Dark Flame Injury' is greater.]

As expected, with burn resistance, mastering Dark Flame Fist was exceptionally easy... Chen Qi didn't hesitate and consumed another 10,000 inspiration points to upgrade Dark Flame Fist to Lv3!

Now, his inspiration points had dropped from the original 30,100 to 5,100.

Chen Qi didn't pay too much attention and looked at the panel.

[Your Dark Flame Fist has reached Lv3. Dark Flame Injury power enhanced, armor penetration effect increased, and Dark Flame Injury will manifest as burning, making it difficult to extinguish.]

Time passed. Chen Qi was sweating profusely. He opened the window—the sky already showed the red glow of dusk.

Now, he had completely mastered the use of Dark Flame Fist and could use his tentacles to deliver incredibly powerful punching blows.

At the same time, he could also use the attached qi force dark flame to inflict high armor reduction on enemies.

Chen Qi could clearly feel that he had become stronger!

However, a great fatigue washed over him. He had been practicing under high pressure for an entire day.

"But it's not enough yet. Tonight, I can still make another breakthrough..."

Chen Qi shook his head, thinking to himself that his goal was to advance to legendary status and, the next time he met Fen, to have the strength to rub Fen into the ground.

"One last day!"

Relying on his willpower and the energy provided by the golden apple, Chen Qi prepared to practice Dark Flame Fist to perfection.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Another several thousand simple, straightforward straight punches.

Unconsciously, the entire sea was once again plunged into darkness, and the Smiling Moon once again cast its cold red moonlight.

"Whew..."

Chen Qi stopped practicing and slowly relaxed his body. He could feel that he had completely mastered Dark Flame Fist!

"Wait..."

Chen Qi unexpectedly discovered something seemed amiss.

There seemed to be a subtle connection between his spiritual energy and his body. The 'Dark Flame Attachment' of Dark Flame Fist could form a marvelous synergy with his Charm of Shadows, Shadow Armor, Dark Flame Fist, Shadow Step techniques, Qi Transformation, and Blade Breathing Technique—

"I seem to have grasped something strange..."

Chen Qi carefully sensed and realized that as night fell, the shadow oil on his fists became restless, and the qi force in his body also grew agitated.

And it only required something special to ignite it for him to unleash a new form.

[Your Dark Flame Fist proficiency is maxed out. Gained 2 Strength points, gained Burn Resistance. Your current Burn Resistance is High.]

[You have comprehended Shadow Release: Shadow of the Flame Demon Lv1!]

Shadow of the Flame Demon... Chen Qi was stunned for a moment, looking at the prompt before him.

Mastering Dark Flame Fist completely allowing him to grasp a new Release was something Chen Qi had anticipated.

After all, Dark Flame Fist was also a high-level attack skill from a B-tier dimensional rift!

But under normal circumstances, fully upgrading Dark Flame Fist should grant Flame Demon Incarnation!

Flame Demon Incarnation could transform qi force into a flame demon—a very powerful skill.

Shadow of the Flame Demon... this isn't right, is it...

Chen Qi was stunned for a moment. Due to the skills he himself had mastered, what he had comprehended seemed to be a completely new special Release.

Chen Qi clicked to view it.

[Shadow Release: Shadow of the Flame Demon Lv1

Affinity: Blade, Shadow

Description: Rage, fury, madness—let us become calamities, hunting down all enemies in the darkness of night!!

Activation Conditions: Sufficiently low sanity, generation of sufficient negative emotions, or combat desire.

Effects:

Passive: Once activated, it will rapidly and continuously reduce sanity, covering the entire body, transforming oneself into a terrifying, mad Shadow of the Flame Demon!

In the Shadow of the Flame Demon state, Constitution, Strength, and Agility are enhanced by 200%! Qi force intensity is enhanced by 100%!!

Upon activation, you will clear all negative BUFFs on your body and will no longer be affected by any mental control!

At the same time, you can easily convert your negative emotions into more powerful dark flames to assist your qi force techniques.

Note: Once Release is activated, you will enter a state of madness. Sanity will rapidly drop below zero within ten seconds, and your body will be dominated by numerous negative emotions, transforming into a dark night monster filled with destructive desire.

Note: The sunlight of the pale sky, or exhaustion, can stop your mad state.]

This... Chen Qi looked at his newly mastered Shadow Release.

After using Flame Demon Incarnation, one's body would burn, providing approximately a 100% boost to Strength, Constitution, and Agility.

But Shadow of the Flame Demon actually provided 200%!

A full double the difference—Chen Qi was astonished.

However, its negative conditions were also greatly increased.

Originally, the negative effect of Flame Demon Incarnation was continuous sanity drain, but this negative effect could be manually deactivated.

But from the description, this Shadow of the Flame Demon seemingly didn't have a normal way to deactivate.

Once activated, one could only rely on the body's power being completely exhausted, the sunlight of the pale sky, or being subdued by others.

Complete madness!

"A rather pure Shadow Release..."

Chen Qi couldn't help but sigh.

Generally speaking, although such Releases were powerful, they also had an extremely high chance of sudden death.

However, this also raised a question for him.

His Lamp Keeper talent allowed his mental state to stabilize at a safe value in the darkness and not decrease any further.

So, which had higher priority—his Lamp Keeper talent or this madness from Shadow of the Flame Demon?