"You can see my true form, but it won't help you. Today, I will devour you—I haven't tasted fresh human flesh in so long, I'm far too hungry, far too hungry..." The massive head of the demon, with a mouth like a black abyss, let out eerie cries, savage and terrifying, stirring up gales of black wind that threatened to shred the forest and swallow it whole.
This earth-bound spirit was a demon tethered to the land, able to move only within a limited range, unable to act freely. It often transformed into images of an old woman, a beauty, a widow, and many others, lying in wait to lure people into its maw and swallow them in one gulp.
If not for Feng Lin's sharp wits seeing through the truth, falling for the trap and ending up in the demon's belly would have led to unthinkable consequences.
Boom!
The demonic black wind churned violently, rocks and dirt flying across the ground. The earth-bound spirit's enormous head charged forward like a bulldozer, its gaping maw clacking as it sought to crush Feng Lin to pieces.
Feng Lin leaped high into the air. The earth-bound spirit blew a gust of black wind, sending stones raining down like hail.
Feng Lin punched and kicked, sending the massive boulders flying back, striking the earth-bound spirit until it howled in pain. It opened its mouth wide and sucked in deeply.
Suddenly, a tremendous suction force rose in the air.
Feng Lin's body plummeted wildly toward the gaping maw. Once inside the demon's belly, he would likely be reduced to bones and nothingness.
These demons possessed all sorts of mysterious abilities, making them extremely difficult to deal with.
Feng Lin concentrated his mental power into a tangible mist, lifting himself high into the air, hovering mid-flight.
Gazing at the earth-bound spirit's body, which resembled black fog, an idea struck him. This type of demon was born from the resentment of the dead merging with the earth's sinister energy—essentially a soul-based demon.
A mental strike should work.
Feng Lin condensed his mind into a golden light, shaped like a small sword, and thrust it fiercely into the earth-bound spirit's forehead.
He immediately felt his consciousness enter a cold, vicious sea of awareness filled with chaotic, turbulent thoughts. The golden sword swept through, cutting down those evil thoughts one by one.
The earth-bound spirit wailed incessantly, its form rapidly dissolving into wisps of black smoke that vanished on the spot, leaving behind only a round, black bead.
With a thought, Feng Lin's telekinesis drew the black bead into his hand—cold to the touch.
So far, he had obtained three demon cores. These were extraordinary organs cultivated by demons through absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, the sun and moon—extremely rare.
Feng Lin continued on his way, and from time to time, various demons and monsters would foolishly appear—all sorts of them: a two-tailed cat demon, a human-headed bird-bodied Guhuo bird, a long-necked flying-head demon...
He showed no mercy, slashing through them all, cutting down demons and monsters as he went.
Demons were generally divided into four types: yao, mo, gui, and guai. Ghosts and demons, being ethereal spirit entities, could be destroyed if one's mind was strong enough—condensed into a sword-like force to sweep them away, as with the earth-bound spirit earlier.
Only yao and guai, with their physical forms, were difficult to handle and required considerable effort.
Feng Lin fought his way through, hacking and slashing. The demons seemed endless, charging at the scent of fresh flesh as if they had no regard for their lives, yet they all perished one by one under his hands.
All kinds of demons from Japanese mythology appeared one after another. This place was practically a world of demons, with no room for humans to survive.
Feng Lin pondered thoughtfully.
Japanese mythology, at its core, was a mythology of ghosts and monsters. There was no essential distinction between sacred beings, immortals, buddhas, and demons—only the difference of whether they were worshipped.
No matter how vicious or terrifying a demon was, or how many people it had eaten, if someone worshipped it, it became a god. This was why Japan, a tiny island nation, boasted eight million gods.
In truth, according to the rigorous classification of Chinese mythology, all Japanese gods were nothing more than minor spirits and wild ghosts—unorthodox, with countless evil gods, utterly incapable of bearing the collective will of sentient beings or maintaining the order of the three realms of heaven, earth, and man.
All of this resulted in Japanese deities generally having low divine status and minimal authority.
Although Japanese demons were strange, their abilities were not strong. Compared to the earth-shattering monsters and beasts of Chinese mythology, they were far inferior. Only beings like the Yamata no Orochi, Shuten-dōji, the Great Tengu, and the Nine-Tailed Fox counted as powerful demons.
Moreover, this was merely a demonic illusion realm, not a real world, so the demons' abilities were greatly diminished compared to reality.
Feng Lin walked on, showing no mercy, slaying every demon he encountered.
After death, the demons' bodies vaporized and disappeared, leaving behind demon cores of various colors, each containing strange energies.
Unbeknownst to him, night had fallen, and a torrential rain began to pour. Feng Lin found a dilapidated temple, and after confirming there was nothing unusual, he settled in for the night.
Lighting a fire, he toyed with the demon cores in his palm, examining them repeatedly.
These cores were very similar to the snake gallbladder pearls he had extracted from the Yamata no Orochi, only much smaller in size and lower in energy intensity. But they were all condensed from the life essence of demons, fundamentally the same.
Given their small size, Feng Lin couldn't be bothered to refine them into gene potions.
At his current level of life force, even if he swallowed a piece of gold, he could digest it into nothing.
These tiny demon cores could simply be eaten as food.
Feng Lin swallowed one whole, and it immediately turned into a rolling wave of heat that surged through his body. Using the method of refining essence into energy, he quickly converted it into genetic potential, stored within him.
Genetic potential increased by +28%, +28%, +28%... totaling a massive 336%.
Like a child savoring a delicious candy, Feng Lin smacked his lips, still wanting more.
This single demon core was no less effective than a bottle of perfect-quality life potion.
These were the life essences of demons, with remarkable effects.
Yet Feng Lin felt something was off. Were those Japanese going through all this trouble just to obtain these demon cores?
That didn't add up!
If only he could catch a lone Japanese to question!
Unfortunately, the demonic illusion realm was vast, and entering it seemed to scatter people randomly. Feng Lin had no idea where the others were.
But with over twenty days left until the second registration and assessment for the Cosmic University, he was in no hurry. He had time to play this game slowly with those Japanese.
Feng Lin sat cross-legged, regulating his breath, using cultivation to replace sleep, training relentlessly.
The rain fell heavily, continuing unabated until late into the night.
Patter, patter!
The sound of footsteps splashing through the rain approached rapidly. Seeming to spot the glow of the fire, they quickly changed direction and headed straight toward him.
"Is it Lord Fengma, or Yamashita-kun, or the Shrine Maiden? It's me, Yamamoto Ichiro..." A voice, shouting with joy, came from afar, filled with the ecstasy of survival.
Feng Lin's eyes snapped open. A man dressed entirely in black, like an ancient ninja, burst recklessly into the temple. Upon seeing Feng Lin, his smile froze, his expression shifted drastically, and he roared in anger.
"Bastard, who the hell are you? How did you get into the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi secret realm?..."
Before he could finish, Feng Lin moved. His entire body turned into a blur, his hands forming claws as he reached out from a distance, aiming to seize the man's head and subdue him in one move.