Chapter 13: The Second Step into the Abyss (Part 1)

The moment Zhang Yan and the other seven awakened disciples left the Scripture Hall, their status within the sect changed.

No longer were they mere Outer Circle disciples scraping for survival—they had taken the first step toward true demonic cultivation. Though still in the lowest rungs of the sect's hierarchy, they had been granted a privilege that separated them from the weaklings beneath them: a private abode.

The Demon Sect did not pamper its disciples. Their new quarters were far from luxurious—shabby stone huts lined in rows upon the northern cliffside, each barely large enough to fit a cot, a meditation mat, and a single candle. But to have a place of one's own, free from the constant squabbling and backstabbing of the common disciple dormitories, was a reward beyond measure.

Zhang Yan pushed open the creaking wooden door of his new dwelling and stepped inside. The air was stale, dust clinging to the corners, but the silence was welcome. No unwanted eyes, no prying hands. He set the Devouring Nine Shadows manual on the floor and sat cross-legged, running a hand over its ancient cover.

Devouring Nine Shadows.

He had chosen it because it resonated with the power stirring in his Dantian—the bloody, pulsating Demon's Seed that now fed on the corrupted qi he absorbed. Every demonic technique required a foundation, and this one was unique in its approach. Unlike techniques that refined the body through sheer physical suffering, Devouring Nine Shadows allowed a cultivator to steal and assimilate the essence of their enemies.

To understand its depths, one had to first grasp the layers of the Body Refinement Stage, the foundation of demonic cultivation.

In the Nine Hells Demon Sect, the first stage of cultivation was divided into six layers, each one a threshold that separated the weak from the worthy.

The initial stage was the Flesh Tempering Stage, where one strengthens muscles, bones, and skin to withstand qi infusion. Most Outer Circle disciples never surpassed this, dying before reaching true power.

The next stage where cultivators learn to refine their blood, allowing it to circulate corrupted qi, strengthening their physical resilience and combat potential was the Blood Ignition Stage.

The following stage was the Marrow Corruption Stage, which allowed one's bones to be bathed in demonic qi, reinforcing the skeletal structure while producing a constant flow of energy from within.

After that was the Viscera Transformation Stage, where a disciple's internal organs are reformed, allowing them to sustain injuries that would cripple ordinary cultivators.

The last two stages were the Blood Assimilation Stage which was the first true mark of a demon cultivator. Here, one learns to absorb the essence of others, growing stronger through slaughter and the Demon's Vein Awakening Stage where the the body becomes a vessel of pure corruption, ready to step into higher realms of demonic cultivation.