Switching cultivation methods was not that easy. Since he had already condensed a Demon King’s heart, he had to continue down this path, or all of his previous efforts would go to waste. However, this was not the Demon domain, so where was he supposed to find a demonic art on par with the Demon Suppression Statuary? Even if he found it, it would probably form an extremely great conflict with the Demon Suppression Statuary, causing his cultivation to regress.
For a moment, Li Qingshan could not come up with any ideas either. All he could do was stare at the Demon Suppression statue and continue attempting to comprehend it, but it ended in failure time and time again, making no progress. Instead, the One Lamp monk behind him shone brighter and brighter after overcoming his demons, purging the thick demon qi.
Time ticked by. Who knew how many times Li Qingshan had failed, but not only did he refuse to give up, but it made him even more stubborn, constantly making more attempts.
This was not blind persistence. He had been wondering a question the entire time. If I was wrong right from the beginning, then why could I successfully practise the Demon Suppression Statuary to the eighth layer with no signs of cultivation deviation? This makes no sense at all!
He had never heard of a situation where a cultivation method could still be successfully practised to a very high level despite completely misunderstanding it. He could vaguely sense that the Demon Suppression Statuary was not as simple as this.
However, after thousands of attempts, he finally confirmed one thing. The ninth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary was a complete mismatch to the eight previous layers he practised. There was no possibility of any union. Even the general principles were poles apart.
However, these attempts did not go to waste either. During the process, he discovered something strange. Whenever he did not use the method recorded in the nine Demon Suppression statues to practise it, it would instead become much smoother, which led to some thoughts.
Daoist cultivation methods condense golden cores and soul nascences, while buddhist cultivation methods condense ?arīra and golden avatars. What kind of cultivation methods condense demon hearts?
The answer was basically screaming at him. The Demon Suppression Statuary was originally a demonic art, not a buddhist cultivation method.
This inspiration had come from Xiao An. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had not been created from thin air. Instead, it was based on the White Bone Bodhisattva’s entire lifetime of buddhist cultivation, going from buddhism to the demonic. No matter how wicked it seemed, it still condensed a White Bone ?arīra.
The Demon Suppression Statuary was the exact opposite. It went from the demonic to buddhism, so it was very likely for another version to exist, or even the original version. That was why he could successfully practise the first eight layers, and issues only appeared when he reached the final step of “to buddhism”.
As a result, he did not have to find another demonic art at all. All he had to do was deduce the original version of the Demon Suppression Statuary.
Li Qingshan shut his eyes and broke off his connection with the Demon Suppression statue, completely casting aside the Demon Suppression Statuary, whether it was the general principles or the ninth layer.
“Demonification!”
The surging demon qi turned into demonic armour that clad Li Qingshan. The shape was different from before, but he did not care. When he clashed against the Dragon King of Ink Sea, the demonic armour had been as delicate as paper, sliced to pieces by the sword qi with ease. It could only be used to harass enemies like Si Qing.
“Demon suppression!”
Jangle! Black chains whistled over and wrapped around him firmly, clashing against the demonic armour and producing countless sparks.
Boom! The Demon Suppression Tower descended from above, suppressing him below. It was larger than it had ever been.
This was the complete form of his Demon Suppression Statuary that he had practised so far.
His eyes settled down like a deep, waveless ocean as he circulated the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression as quickly as possible. He deduced the eight layers he had comprehended so far one by one.
The fifth layer of the spirit turtle could not be compared with the living supercomputer that the Great Banyan Tree King was, but it was still extremely powerful when it came to calculations. If it had been regular formations, he could deduce how they worked in the blink of an eye.
The Demon Suppression Statuary was no more complicated than a formation, but most importantly, there were far too many unknowns. There were many blanks that no one could fill in through deduction. It required a great element of imagination.
If the Demon Suppression Statuary really did have an original version, just what kind of a cultivation method would it be?
In the history of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, there had only been two people who had truly comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary through their own ability. One was the Unraging monk, while the other was him. Duoge had comprehended it with foreign assistance, so he did not count.
Why were other people unable to comprehend it?
Was it because their ability to comprehend was insufficient? That was impossible. Across several millennia, who knew how many geniuses the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga had produced? After all, just the One Lamp monk behind him was a super genius. He was definitely no worse than the Unraging monk when it came to talent and his ability to comprehend.
On top of that, Li Qingshan never believed he possessed a particularly powerful ability to comprehend.
Was it because their demonic nature was insufficient?
That might have been a possibility, but with all the disciples that belonged to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, it was impossible for all of them to be benevolent. There must have been some that became corrupt. At the same time, while the Unraging monk possessed a demonic nature, he stood on the side of justice the entire time. He had never fallen into the demonic path.
We must share some common ground, which satisfies the condition to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary! Master has a fiery personality and opposes all evil fiercely. He was once known as the Raging monk, rushing all over the Green province to fight injustice and purge demons. He’s renowned for his defiance before authority and power. He’s an old cynic. As for me, while I also like good people and hate bad people, it’s nowhere close to opposing all evil fiercely, much less being a cynic.
Li Qingshan’s eyes lit up. There was only a single answer left—belligerence and battle-hungriness!
Their objectives had been completely different, but before they comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary, they had rushed around committing slaughter. They both had a very heavy nature of murderousness to them!
That would explain why only the Unraging monk and he had comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary in the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga over all these years.
The abstaining from killing living creatures was the greatest precept of buddhism. The Green province had been in a state of peace for the past few thousand years. Given the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga’s status in the Green province, their disciples basically did not have to fight against anyone. They only practised on the demonfolk. The Unraging monk who had slaughtered countless people was a freak exception.
The original version of the Demon Suppression Statuary was very likely to be a demonic art that pursued destruction and slaughter to the very limit. It had only led to methods that trapped the enemy without killing them like the Chains of Demon Suppression and the Demon Suppression Tower through the powerful demonfolk’s great conversion.
Thinking of that, the spirit turtle’s deductions immediately became much smoother, filling in large blanks. The Demon Suppression Statuary gradually began to demonstrate a form he had never seen before.
Li Qingshan was filled with anticipation. This was the cultivation method he required!
After who knew how long, he said slowly, “I need no restraint!”
The Chains of Demon Suppression shattered and vanished.
“I need no suppression!”
The Demon Suppression Tower immediately collapsed.
“I need no protection!”
The demonic armour was stripped from his body.
The three objects turned into demon qi, surging and gathering behind Li Qingshan. The demon qi in the entire ninth floor rushed over, forming something that seemed to be trying to spring into existence.
Li Qingshan suddenly sat down in the same lotus position as the ninth Demon Suppression statue, lowering his gaze like a meditating monk.
Outside the Demon Suppression hall, the Dauntless monk asked, “He’s completed it?”
“This…” The Unraging monk was unable to answer that question, as Li Qingshan’s current state seemed a little different from when he completed the Demon Suppression Statuary.
Sure enough, Li Qingshan changed postures very soon. He assumed the posture of the eighth Demon Suppression statue, followed by the seventh, the sixth… until the very first—Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart!
His face was filled with regret and remorse, just like the Demon Suppression statue. Abruptly, his lips curled into a smile. He had finally followed the powerful demonfolk’s path and arrived at the starting point, allowing him to see the true form of the cultivation method!
His smile gradually widened, becoming hideous. Murderousness began to surge.
The Unraging monk could not smile at all anymore. In what way was this still the Demon Suppression Statuary?
“Demonification!” Li Qingshan bellowed out.
The surging demon qi behind him began to condense, forming a giant demon that stood three hundred meters tall. Its appearance bore some resemblance to Li Qingshan, but it was filled with a bearing of violence and malice. Demonic markings wove together, and bone spikes jutted out. He carried a pair of war banners on his back, and the banners were inscribed with two flagrant, brutal words of blood—Battle Demon!
This cultivation method was called the Battle Demon Statuary!
Two views overlapped in Li Qingshan’s eyes. Once was his original view, while the other came from the giant battle demon behind him. He raised his right arm, and the battle demon raised an arm as well, hurling out a punch.
Boom! The surging demon qi was all blown away, exposing the entire ninth floor.
“Qingshan!” The One Lamp monk felt a terrifying pressure and roused in fright from his cultivation, opening his eyes.
Li Qingshan smiled at him. The smile on his face was still quite gentle and friendly, but the smile on the battle demon’s face could only be described as hideous.
The One Lamp monk took a step back.
The Unraging monk was dumbfounded. He basically could not believe his eyes.
ps: 青山的新功法，再次召唤月票啊!
