This seemed like blood, yet not quite blood; it neutralized the killing power of this long staff as it moved.
"What kind of demon technique is this?"
The elderly man wielding the high-grade magic artifact was also somewhat dumbfounded at this time.
Because this scene before his eyes was the first he had ever witnessed in his life.
It should be known that when they subdued the Demon Lord, he had also been present, albeit just cheering from the back, but he had witnessed the incredible mystery of that Demon Lord's cultivation technique.
At that time, the Demon Lord had dispersed into the sky as countless black shadows, like countless demons released from their cages, chattering shrilly as they severed souls, and each shadow could take a life, even continually prolonging their lifespan through the shadows when their lifespan was exhausted, effectively making the shadows endless and the Demon Lord immortal.
In the old man's opinion, that was already the most inconceivable technique in the world!
So much so that for a long time after the Demon Lord was subdued, he grieved over the loss of that shadow demon technique.
Who would have thought that today he would encounter an even more incredible demon technique?
It could actually transform into blood, and with the physical body alone, withstand a full-force strike from a high-grade magic artifact!
This was already comparable to those special spiritual bodies granted by treasures with spirits.
"The sophistication of this demon technique, even compared to the Absolute Immortal Sword scripture of Mount Tutelage, is probably not lacking in the slightest, but in that case, I need to obtain this technique first..." thought the old man. Although he couldn't use it himself, unless this technique could significantly extend his lifespan, otherwise he wouldn't have enough time to switch cultivation paths, but he had descendants!
Thus, the old man prepared to put away his staff; he feared that another strike might kill this Demon Cultivator named Tan Shuchang, which would not only offend Mount Tutelage but also cause him to lose a miraculous demon technique.
After all, once he obtained the demon technique, he would still kill Tan Shuchang to silence him; killing him sooner or later didn't matter, so there was no need to rush.
As a cultivator, one must remain calm and avoid arrogance and rashness.
"It must be the Autumn Solitary Ghost, killing all the vitality in the human world."
However, just as the old man was considering other plans, a blood-red lotus suddenly bloomed under the clouds, as if rooting in heaven and earth.
And this was Tan Shuchang's strongest move from twelve years of cultivating the "Blood Refining Lotus Technique."
The old man's eyes widened, and eerily, he couldn't move at all. Suddenly, a figure appeared to drift out from inside his body, uncontrollably flying towards the lotus.
As this figure was taken away by the blood-red lotus, the old man's body also disintegrated into powder.
Bang!
The blood-red lotus dispersed, and Tan Shuchang, now back in human form and pale-faced, fell to the ground.
At this moment, he shakily got up, resembling an extremely old man, and also appeared very weak, as if he was on the verge of death, like he had one foot already in the coffin, only one step away from the burial.
Yet slowly, Tan Shuchang's breath still recovered.
But it was only a surface recovery; he had sustained fundamental injuries and needed a long period of recuperation to fully recover.
"This true form should not be revealed unless absolutely necessary..."
Tan Shuchang mocked himself.
By pushing his unique traits to the limit, although it could grant him almost immortal-like powers, the toll it took on his body was also tremendous.
If maintained for too long, it could even cause irreversible injuries.
"Speaking of which, I have made quite a bit of progress; the last time I transformed into a blood body, I couldn't move at all, but this time I could still fight back."
Tan Shuchang's thoughts raced, and this was undoubtedly related to his level of cultivation.
As for the last time, naturally, he hadn't encountered a formidable enemy but was trying to explore his own limits, though he nearly killed himself in the process.
If it hadn't been for the fact that he was targeted by the long staff, unable to escape, Tan Shuchang would certainly not have "revealed his true form."
Then, Tan Shuchang's gaze was drawn to the long staff that had almost fallen to the ground at the same time as him. He reached out and immediately grabbed the Magic Artifact into his hand.
As soon as he held the Magic Artifact, a hint of joy involuntarily appeared on Tan Shuchang's face.
Because this was a Martial Sect Magic Artifact.
This Martial Sect was a large family in the Jiawu Realm, renowned for Artifact Refining. This family held a Martial Arts Convention every three years, and at each convention, they would sell some Magic Artifacts that they had crafted.
The Magic Artifacts that came from the Martial Family were all quite powerful, but there was one rather improper aspect: there were several identical pieces of each Magic Artifact, and the Magic Artifacts did not require nurturing of spirit — they could be used as soon as they were acquired.
In other words, it meant that Tan Shuchang could legitimately go around knocking on things with this long staff.
Because who knew how many duplicates of a Martial Sect Magic Artifact there really were? There might be one or two, maybe three to five, but there could also be dozens or even hundreds.
This was not an exaggeration, but rather the result of the Martial Family continually selling a type of Magic Artifact that had become popular at past Martial Arts Conventions.
As the Martial Family disciples would say, those who opposed money would never meet a good end.
"Worthy of being a superior-grade Magic Artifact."
Once he had the Magic Artifact in hand, Tan Shuchang also understood the specific power of this long staff.
Bind enemy, Annihilate!
The abilities were very standard for a combat Magic Artifact; the former restricted the enemy's movement, preventing them from escaping, and the latter killed in a single strike.
However, this long staff was not guaranteed to hit someone.
Those who practiced special Cultivation Techniques, or had Magic Artifacts protecting themselves, could avoid it.
As for why the old man had missed Tan Shuchang with the first strike, it was entirely because the old fool had been overconfident, using only the annihilative power of this superior-grade Magic Artifact on the first strike.
After all, if it was just a matter of age, Tan Shuchang was still among the younger generation.
Seeing a young man who had not yet come of age, even the Heartless Old Man would not strike with full force the first time.
It was like a person trying to step on an ant, who wouldn't stomp down hard but rather step on it and then grind it a few times.
Immediately after, having acquired a treasure, Tan Shuchang prepared to recuperate.
From today onwards, he also had a Magic Artifact on his person!
However, Tan Shuchang had only walked a few steps when a familiar indifferent voice appeared in his ear: "Detection of player Tan Shuchang repeatedly stealing from game instances, the following punishment is now issued to player Tan Shuchang."
"One, in future game instances, a stay of no longer than one hour is permitted, otherwise it is considered a game failure."
"Two, player Tan Shuchang must compensate for the property loss of the weird game, considering the player's current level is only Level 6, order player Tan Shuchang to compensate four ghosts to the weird game within one month."
"Three, due to a data error causing player Tan Shuchang to not be able to connect properly with the weird game, compensation was originally planned for player Tan Shuchang, now all planned compensation is cancelled, and only one Impermanence Order will be given."
As the voice ceased, Tan Shuchang found a new object had spontaneously appeared in his hand.
It was a chillingly cold Token.
The purpose of this Token was to allow Tan Shuchang to become a ghost in the weird game upon entering, and if he chose to be a ghost, every entry into the weird game thereafter would require the completion of additional tasks.
However, what Tan Shuchang cared about even more was the compensation…
"Four ghosts?"
Exchange fierce ghosts for regular ghosts? A gleam flashed through Tan Shuchang's eyes.