Demons

The chapter read.

Demons. They can only be described as evil and twisted beings. Their mischievous and malevolent nature makes them a scourge on humanity. I had made a contract with one in my early years. Now, I have no cultivation and have been reduced to writing this book to earn enough to live for a few more months.

Demons are tricky beings that seem to draw their energy from themselves and their existence. Unlike spirits and mythical creatures that gain power from Heaven and Earth, demons draw power from within themselves, but the source of their power ultimately belongs to Heaven and Earth.

It's speculated that Demons gain their power by spreading their name and making their presence akin to a mountain god or something similar. This allows them to encroach upon Heaven's territory and take power that then becomes their domain.

An example of this is the documented water demon from 400 years ago. The demon stole authorities related to water, air, and poison during a war and spread chaos afterward. It almost succeeded in becoming an 8th-tier demon and creating the authority of plague. Thankfully, a group of enlightened masters killed it.

As for Low-tier demons, they are usually the spawn or creation of high-tier demons and borrow the authority of their masters. They gain power by contracting with humans and stealing their life essence and energies to evolve. Their ultimate goal is to steal from the Heavens just like their masters. 

Strangely enough for the high-tier demons, they only need chaos and notoriety to gain power and don't need to make contracts, yet they do. I can only hypothesize this is a requirement to reach a higher tier like the 9th Tier and the way they perfect their twisted authorities. 

Unfortunately, this is all I learned in my short life. I am regretful this is all I could gather. 

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Cain skimmed through the rest of the chapter before closing the book.

"This is interesting! There are spirits of heaven, beasts of the earth, and demons that steal from heaven and earth! It seems demons have the hardest time growing but are the most powerful!"

Cain's eyes lingered on the paragraphs of the Demon chapter. 

"Is this why the Demonic Sect is known for making wars every few years? They sure get they're name out..."

Putting the book back on the shelf, Cain's eyes blurred in hunger as he swept through the rest of the library. 'The second and third floors should have techniques and schematics of differing quality. I should first create a foundation of knowledge before trying to cultivate anything!'

He suddenly remembered something of great importance.

'Guang said that you cannot change your technique unless it has similar qualities to the previous one. This is because Internal Harnessing in the foundation stage makes the cultivator carve their body into a weapon and a house for specific mystical creatures. Once the carving is done its incredibly hard to change it!'

Because of the nature of Internal Harnessing, disciples of the sect only go to the 500-mile mountain range if they are in the Harnessing stage or the Beginning of the Founding stage.

After that, they can only give the techniques they find to the sect for contribution or hope the technique they do find is similar enough to their own to risk it.

As one increases their cultivation, it becomes harder and harder for their technique to be compatible with others, making changing techniques a problem. This is because different techniques require specific creatures and start in different limbs.

Not to mention the requirements for specific techniques and the souls needed.

'Internal Harnessing ultimately creates the five parts of the body into "homes" for mystical creatures. These houses are different so they can support different beings.'

Cain picked up a poor-quality technique that happened to be on the first floor.

'Like this wind-blessed technique, it can only reach the First Step of the Founding stage and can only harness a Wind Spirit in the Arm. That's basically like finally making a house of straws and letting a hurricane inside. Why is this even here? It's garbage.'

Such a technique like the wind-blessed had no foundations. It barely qualified for a technique and was more of a suicidal method than anything.

'As one progresses, options become slimmer. If a technique requires five elements, then you can only look for creatures and spirits with the specific elements. As you advance, elements are taken up and you can only hunt for the elements you don't have.'

To understand how unforgiving Harnessing was, an example of this would be a cultivator finishing the fire element in their arm.

The fire spirit they harnessed, and the cultivator then finds a technique that is even more powerful than the one they currently use, but it was only compatible if they hadn't harnessed the fire element spirit. It's impossible to know what a technique requires and the steps to use that technique. 

With already cultivating, the chances of a technique being compatible becomes drastically lower, and each step taken lowers that chance even more. This is why the technique a cultivator chooses is the most important decision in cultivation. 

'There must be ways to remove spirits and techniques, but such secret techniques should be incredibly dangerous. This is why when choosing what mystical creature souls to harness, you must be extra careful because the souls can no longer advance in tiers after harnessing.'

Cain paused for a moment.

'But then why do mythical creatures make contracts? I know demons do it because they possess the cultivator in the end, but the mythical creatures can't do that...'

There were many questions within Cain, and this library had the answers to them.

...

Six weeks passed in a moment.

Cain spent this time locked in the library; he had gone to the second floor and then the third.

"All these techniques are trash! They can't get me to the fusion stage at all! Only a few can even reach the Peak of Enlightenment stage! Do I have to go to the 500-mile mountain range now?"

Cain had high requirements for his cultivation, and the technique he would use was the most important factor.

"Hmm, I'll just memorize this 9 Breaths Technique; it will help me reach the end of the Harnessing Stage, and then I'll go to the mountain range to try my luck..."

During these six weeks, Cain gained a lot of knowledge, but not everything he wanted.

"I know a good amount now; I even learned of why mythical creatures make contracts. It's to hopefully evolve their powers! They can acually advance in Tiers and power when their cultivator reaches the enlightenment stage, getting enlightened themselves!

"But this also gives me another question: in the majority of recorded contracts between Cultivators and Mythical Beasts, the Mythical beast inhibits the cultivator from vying for the Fusion stage...why?

"Hah, it doesn't matter. I at least know why they make contracts. Getting enlightened is worth it even if they lose their body, as long as the talent and technique of the contracted Cultivator is good, they'll easily make it to the enlightenment stage."

Ruminating over his knowledge, Cain frowned and corrected himself.

"However, this only applies to 7th and 8th Tier since they get baptized by Heaven and Earth, regaining their body when their cultivator passes. Mythical creatures in the other tiers, even if enlightened, can't reach a level where they can regain their body; they have to stay in a Sect's Beast Soul Pavilion and wait to be contracted again...is their end goal the 9th Tier? Is that why Heaven and Earth baptize them?"

Cain walked back to the first floor and headed for the door.

"This territory is too interesting! But first, I should socialize with my fellow disciples and learn the recent news!"

Cain opened the double doors and let light shine once more! His eyes reddened as light washed over him. His skin burned red.

"Kid? I thought you died in there? You're finally coming out?"

Cain smiled and got straight to the point, "Yep! Sir Elder, could you point me to the mission hall?"

...

Entering a grand hall, Cain found many disciples scrambling about.

'It seems the initial threat of the Demonic Sect ended. Many outer disciples have returned.'

Cain walked around and eavesdropped on the many conversing groups.

"Have you heard about the news from the Dynasty? They say the Emperor is going to wage war on the Demonic Sect!"

"Of course he is; the Sun Dynasty is supported by the 5 Great Sects! Of course, it is mostly our Immortal Sect and Unmoved Spirit Sect supporting the royal family because we live in the Sun Dynasty."

Cain shifted his ears, he heard another conversation.

"Grand Elder Moon took in a new disciple! I heard she's incredibly pretty!"

'Boring...'

Cain's ears then perked when he heard a teenager yell in the middle of the hall.

"I'm going to the 500-mile mountain range; does anyone want to team up?"

Looking at the young man who spoke, Cain couldn't help but be reminded of Anders from so long ago.

Cain's eyes narrowed as his experience with his minor accomplishments in trying to avoid Fate and his worldly travels gave him a hint of intuition. A gut feeling if you will. 

'He seems to have good luck; I'm destined to find something good following his coattails.'

Cain took a step forward; he found his prey.

'I hope for a good meal!'

...

Deep in a realm of blood and death, a red-eyed young man laughed while sitting before the projection of a round orb.

"Hehe, he's finally doing something. It will be much easier now that he's finally opened up to moral ambiguity! This will make all the next developments so much easier for me!"

The figure continued to laugh as many blood-red beings around him shuddered. All except a few who only became increasingly fervent.