Wisps of smoke curled out from the vents of the Alchemy Cauldron, making the room look like a celestial paradise.
Iron Head formed a hand seal, driving all the waste fumes out of the room. It then opened the lid of the Alchemy Cauldron, where nine Evil Exorcism Pills lay quietly at the bottom. Refined with the Heart's Blood of a Late Stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator, the Evil Exorcism Pills were a deeper color, and their bodies were even entwined with a ring of pill patterns.
He walked over to the massive boulder pinning down the Flood Dragon, grabbed its single horn, and fed an Evil Exorcism Pill into its mouth.
The Crown Prince of Qi retched violently, spewing a thick, viscous cloud of Demonic Qi.
This was the Demonic Qi that had lost control and invaded its mind and heart, now expelled after it had taken the Evil Exorcism Pill. Yang Jing waved his sleeve, using his Celestial True Yang to completely obliterate the Demonic Qi.
Demonic Qi was insidious, especially this particular strain cultivated by a Pure-blooded Flood Dragon using a top-tier Demon Skill. If not dealt with promptly, it could give birth to some foul abomination.
After the medicinal effects of the first Evil Exorcism Pill faded, Yang Jing fed it the remaining eight in succession.
The Crown Prince of Qi continuously vomited Demonic Qi, spewing intermittently for a full two hours before it finally subsided. A hint of clarity returned to its eyes.
[Affinity: 29]
Yang Jing's heart settled. This confirmed that the Crown Prince of Qi's mind was still sound; at the very least, it knew that he was the one who had saved it.
"Do you remember your name?"
Pure-blooded Flood Dragons can speak human languages from birth, unlike other Demons that must first go through the process of Refining their Horizontal Bone to gain the ability of speech.
The Crown Prince of Qi was silent for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice:
"Ao Taiwu."
"From now on, your name is Yang Yinjiao, and I am your master."
The Crown Prince of Qi, still pinned beneath the rock, snapped its head up, a pair of Vertical Pupils staring intently at Yang Jing.
"I am a descendant of the Celestial Dragon Ao Tianbing, a True Dragon Descendant. How is a trivial Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator like you worthy of being my master?"
Hearing this, Iron Head, who was standing nearby, got so angry its fur stood on end. It started barking and was about to pounce.
"You're just a little Mingyi Dog, all bark and no bite. How could he possibly teach you Alchemy, let alone have you practice Human Race Immortal Techniques? He's clearly trying to harm you! Ordinary Demons are riddled with deep-seated Muddy Qi, making it incredibly difficult to pass the Foundation Establishment Three Gates. If you continue to practice Human Race Immortal Techniques, you'll be trapped in the Qi Cultivation Stage for the rest of your life."
The Flood Dragon Bloodline carried ancient memories. The Crown Prince of Qi had inherited a vast amount of knowledge through its blood and had also spent its youth in the constant company of a true disciple from the Taixu Sword Sect. It knew far more than Iron Head.
Yang Jing chuckled.
"Since it doesn't believe us, Iron Head, show it what you can do. Refine a batch of Yellow Bud Pills. The truth speaks for itself."
Iron Head immediately trotted off to fetch the Alchemy Cauldron, charcoal, and Spiritual Materials from the house, then expertly began the Alchemy process.
Iron Head had refined countless batches of a Tier One Middle Grade elixir like the Yellow Bud Pill; the process was second nature to it. A moment later, nine Yellow Bud Pills lay neatly inside the Alchemy Cauldron. Four were Upper Grade, and five were Middle Grade.
The Crown Prince of Qi's eyes widened. It was certain this was no Illusion Technique; ordinary illusions could not deceive its draconic eyes.
Demons are naturally inferior to humans when it comes to controlling Magical Power. Alchemy requires precise manipulation of Magical Power and perfect control over heat—a skill few even among human Cultivators can master. For a Demon to be capable of Alchemy was rarer than a phoenix feather.
[Affinity: 35]
"The inheritance your mother left you has already been stolen, hasn't it? If you don't take me as your master, what Cultivation Technique will you practice? Are you going to keep cultivating the Nine Yin Blood Evil Scripture that traitor left for you?" Yang Jing said.
His words clearly provoked the Crown Prince of Qi. Its pair of Vertical Pupils stared fixedly at Yang Jing.
"What can you teach me."
"Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Array Formation, Talisman Making, Sword Techniques—I can teach you anything you want to learn. Also, the descendants of the traitor who caused your downfall have established the Wu Family, an Immortal Cultivation Clan. Their residence isn't far from here, and they're plotting to refine you into a Blood Flood Dragon," Yang Jing said. "Take me as your master, and I will avenge you."
Hearing that its enemies were so close, the Crown Prince of Qi thrashed in fury. Its brute force was so great that even the Five Elements Lock Jade Formation struggled to contain it, causing the surrounding Spiritual Qi to tremble.
"The Wu Family's patriarch has a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation. Are you throwing a tantrum here because you want to alert him and get us both caught in one fell swoop?"
The Crown Prince of Qi ceased its struggling, its head falling limply to the ground.
"Today, I, Ao Taiwu, will take you as my master."
[Affinity: 60]
Not long after its birth, it had been taken from its mother, the Sovereign of Qi. The Jade Pendant that recorded the Qi Kingdom's inherited Cultivation Techniques was also stolen by a traitor from the Dark Spring Demon Sect.
Without a Cultivation Technique, even with its extraordinary Talent, its Cultivation could only grow by instinctively absorbing Spiritual Qi and Evil Qi. The chances of revenge were almost nonexistent.
Demons typically cultivate the techniques passed down within their own clans. Even if they could practice other Cultivation Techniques, they rarely chose to do so.
The Mingyi Dog before it was a prime example. After their inherited Demon Scripture was lost, the Mingyi Dog clan rapidly declined. Now, the once-proud descendants of a Celestial Demon could hardly even produce a single cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, forced to eke out a miserable existence in the cracks between the great Demon Countries.
"Good. First, I'll eliminate the Demon Skill from the Nine Yin Blood Evil Scripture that's coursing through you."
'A corner of my mouth curled up. Yinjiao's Cultivation is already at the ninth level of the Qi Cultivation Stage, and its Talent is extremely high. Using my skill-sharing ability on it will yield immense rewards.'
He placed his palm on Yinjiao's head.
Yinjiao felt a wave of apprehension. When one practices a single Cultivation Technique for a long time, their physical body, Divine Soul, and meridians all make subtle adjustments to accommodate it. Therefore, the process of Abandoned Cultivation and Re-Cultivation was an incredibly painful affair. If anything went wrong, one's Vitality would be severely damaged.
Moreover, this wasn't like abandoning an ordinary cultivation. The Nine Yin Blood Evil Scripture had been cultivated under the control of the Five Aggregates Demon. The Demonic Qi saturating its body was difficult for even Yinjiao itself to control, rooted in its being like a chronic disease. Rashly abandoning this cultivation could very well cost it half its life.
But in the next moment, the Demonic Qi throughout its body began to dissipate at an astonishing speed, like mist under a blazing sun. Within a few breaths, the profound Demon Skill it had cultivated for sixty years vanished into thin air.
[Affinity: 65]
Because it was more knowledgeable, this miraculous scene was far more shocking to Yinjiao than it had been to Iron Head. It made Yinjiao certain that Yang Jing truly possessed vast and profound abilities.
[Cloud Riding 42%]
The Nine Yin Blood Evil Scripture was, after all, a True Inheritance Skill of the Dark Spring Demon Sect, and the Magical Power it produced even at the Qi Cultivation Stage was incredibly dense. Although Cloud Riding was of a much higher grade than Bright Qi, it still stacked directly to 42%.
Yang Jing felt the subtle changes in his body. He hadn't chosen the powerful combat abilities, Thunderbolt and Lightning or Overturning Rivers and Seas.
Although these Talents were supremely powerful, they couldn't display much of their might during the Qi Cultivation Stage and wouldn't bring about a qualitative change for him.
The passage describes the nature of dragons: "A dragon can be large or small, can ascend or hide. Large, it summons clouds and exhales mist; small, it conceals its form. Ascending, it soars through the cosmos; hiding, it lurks within the waves." This was the essence of the Cloud Riding Talent.
This Talent would allow Yang Jing to use Cloud Escape. All Escape Techniques in the world placed extreme importance on Talent, let alone one like Cloud Escape, which ranked among the very best. It would allow him to fly without relying on a Flying Spiritual Artifact, even during the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Furthermore, Cloud Riding also had a concealment effect. Once his form was hidden, ordinary Cultivators would find it nearly impossible to see through his disguise, making it far more practical than a Stealth Talisman, which could only hide one's aura.