Chapter 72: Demon Sense

To verify the limits of his newfound defensive capabilities, Wu Yuan reached into his robes and produced the [Stone Wood Horn Arrow].

Among Rank 1 Low-Grade artifacts, this was a boutique item—a premium weapon possessing formidable lethality.

He took a deep breath, channeling his Demon Power into the horn. Instantly, the artifact hummed, shrouded in a sharp, oppressive dark green aura.

Wu Yuan’s eyes narrowed. Without a shred of hesitation, he drove the glowing spike viciously into his own forearm.

Thwack.

The artifact pierced his flesh.

Yet, the scene was bizarre. There was no spray of crimson, no gushing wound.

“My skin…” Wu Yuan observed, fascinated. “It has become tough. Like the hide of an ox-demon. Blunt force trauma would be negligible against this.”

He peered closer at the puncture site.

“And when my flesh encounters a penetrating attack, the muscle fibers automatically contract to lock the wound, mitigating the damage.”

Wu Yuan marveled inwardly. The evolution of his physique was terrifying. Even more shocking was the depth of the wound—or lack thereof. The [Stone Wood Horn Arrow], driven by his own considerable strength, had failed to even graze the bone.

One had to remember, this was a fully powered strike.

“It seems that unless they target a vital point, Rank 1 Low-Grade artifacts pose zero threat to me.”

A confident grin spread across his whiskered face. He was becoming a walking fortress.

He casually yanked the horn artifact out of his arm. A hollow puncture remained, but Wu Yuan paid it no mind.

Activate: [Stomach Spirit Storage].

A command fired through his nervous system. Immediately, the biological battery within his stomach released a torrent of vigorous Qi, blood essence, and Demon Power. The energy rushed to his forearm.

Tendrils of granulation tissue sprouted from the wound edges, weaving together at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“Half an hour,” he estimated. “In thirty minutes, there won’t even be a scar.”

Wu Yuan rubbed his chin, falling into deep thought.

“I’ve verified my passive defense and regeneration speed,” he muttered. “But I still need to find my breaking point.”

The attacks from the local wild rat demons were useless for this; they couldn’t even scratch him now.

“Right!” His eyes lit up with a spark of inspiration. “I control the mountain’s defenses. Later, I’ll activate the [Blood-Binding Mystic Silkworm Formation] to suppress and attack myself.”

“I’ll have the array extract my flesh and blood until I collapse. That should give me a precise data point on my limits.”

It was a masochistic plan, but a necessary one. A King needed to know exactly how much punishment he could take.

“I’ll try that in a bit. First, let’s check the other gains.”

Wu Yuan closed his eyes, centering his focus.

Immediately, he felt his perception unfurl like invisible tentacles, extending outward in all directions.

“Demon Divine Sense!”

His heart skipped a beat. “I guessed correctly. I’ve successfully birthed a Demon Divine Sense while only in the early Qi Condensation stage.”

The sensation was intoxicating. It was as if an omnidirectional radar had been draped over the world. Every trembling leaf, every crawling insect within range was mapped in his mind.

“30 meters,” he calculated. “A spherical radius of 30 meters.”

“I can also extend it directionally for greater range.”

It was slightly less than the 40-meter range of a standard mid-Qi Condensation spirit beast, but Wu Yuan remained unfazed.

He knew that upon breaking through to the mid-stage, his soul would undergo another qualitative leap, expanding this range significantly.

Human Cultivators, born with naturally powerful souls, could cover 60 meters immediately upon reaching the mid-stage. But Wu Yuan wasn’t envious.

“Humans have their souls; Demons have our bodies,” he scoffed. “Pros and cons. And with my Shocking Wisdom, I will surpass them all eventually.”

The true value of Demon Divine Sense wasn’t just scouting—it was remote control.

He looked at the [Stone Wood Horn Arrow] in his palm.

“Fly.”

Guided by his invisible will, the artifact—already bonded to him—shot into the air.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

It darted around the interior of the treehouse like a hummingbird on stimulants. It moved with frightening agility, accelerating until it became a blur that even Wu Yuan’s enhanced vision struggled to track.

Yet, despite the terrifying speed, the artifact maneuvered with surgical precision, not chipping a single piece of bark off the wooden walls.

“Flexible. Powerful.” Wu Yuan nodded, satisfied. “Telekinetic control increases my combat potential exponentially.”

However, the excitement quickly faded, replaced by a nagging strategic problem.

The cultivation of the Stomach Viscera was complete. The road he had stumbled upon by luck had reached a dead end.

“Where do I go from here?” he wondered, feeling a rare moment of hesitation. “Do I continue with the other five viscera? Or do I stick to the Earth attribute?”

“According to the Five Elements, Earth generates Metal. Should I cultivate the Large Intestine next?”

“Or, since the Stomach is the Yang organ paired with the Spleen, should I use the heavy Earth energy I digest to temper the Spleen?”

Wu Yuan sank into contemplation. This was a crossroads. One wrong step could lead to qi deviation or death.

“Causality Pearl.”

He summoned the cheat in his mind. “Should I cultivate the Large Intestine or the Spleen next?”

Almost instantly, a text box bloomed in his consciousness.

[Green Intelligence: Cultivating the Large Intestine is feasible. However, practicing this during the early Qi Condensation stage carries significant danger.]

“It responded!”

Wu Yuan let out a breath of relief. After three months of silence, the Causality Pearl had finally repaired itself.

He analyzed the intel. “So, the Large Intestine is the correct path, but it’s dangerous right now.”

“Mid-Qi Condensation is just around the corner,” he calculated. “Once my cultivation base rises, my physical resilience will increase. That should mitigate the risk.”

Still, he couldn’t help but sigh. “If only I had a manual. Fumbling in the dark is exhausting.”

He had studied the human techniques Bibo brought back. They were eye-opening, to say the least.

Humans divided the Qi Condensation realm into nine distinct layers, a complex ladder of progression. Every layer had its bottlenecks.

Demons? We just have Early, Mid, and Late. Three hurdles.

“As long as the bloodline is strong enough, we just eat and grow. It’s so… simple.”

Granted, human techniques allowed for refined control and special elemental properties. But they required specific meridians—meridians that a rat simply didn’t possess.

Wu Yuan shook his head. “I’m sticking with the Fox Immortal Qi Condensation Method.”

“Cultivation depends entirely on the Demon Beast’s absurd physique. It’s the philosophy of ‘With enough thrust, even a brick will fly.’ Simple. Crude. Effective.”

“If I were still human, eating raw spirit stones would have ruptured my stomach long ago,” he chuckled. “Being a rat has its perks.”

With the Stomach Viscera fully cultivated, his resource intake was no longer a bottleneck.

It took less than three hours a day to hit his saturation point for spiritual energy. He would simply shovel spirit plants and ores into his maw, and let his stomach handle the heavy lifting while he moved on to other tasks.

This left him with ample free time.

And Wu Yuan used that time to learn.

Since transmigrating, his mind had become terrifyingly sharp. His ability to absorb and process information was superhuman.

When he studied Spirit Patterns, inspiration struck him constantly. Complex formations unraveled before his eyes. His mind was always calm, always rational.

And best of all? He had unlimited test subjects.

The caves were filled with lesser rat demons.

He turned them into research materials, dissecting the Spirit Patterns within their living bodies. Since they were all the same species, their internal structures were nearly identical to his own, with only minor variations.

This allowed Wu Yuan to map out the function of every rune, every energy channel.

If a pattern was too complex to understand from the outside, he had a solution for that too.

Tap.

He would use [Spirit Awakening] on a subject.

By connecting their consciousness, they became of “one heart and one source.”

In that moment, studying the rat was equivalent to studying himself.