"Clang!"
Li Yaotie's massive hammer struck down, and a surge of true energy spread out, causing the tremors within the Thunderfire Cave to intensify.
He was inscribing the Thirty-Six Instantaneous Hammers technique into his Golden Core. Although it was only a Yellow Rank technique, it was undoubtedly the most suitable one for Li Yaotie!
Time flew by.
As the commotion from Li Yaotie's forging grew louder and louder, the eardrums of all the demon cultivators in the Thunderfire Cave were dominated by the sound of his hammering. They developed the habit of cultivating within "silent formations." Their greatest joy each day was to leave the Thunderfire Cave and join the cultivators of the Demon Subduing Alliance in bombarding random locations, complaining about the lack of peace within the Cave.
[Year 96]
The sound of hammering continued, and the children were still running. But now, they had removed all the iron bars from their Nine-Layered Profound Heavy Armor. They could even run at high speed around the Thunderfire Cave. Li Kuangren, the most diligent cultivator, could even jump, and Li Kuanghua was surprisingly practicing punches. Only Li Kuangtu was slightly behind.
No one knew what hardships they had endured these past two years. Besides pushing their physical and mental limits, they even had to be wary of the demon cultivators' pranks.
Those mischievous demon cultivators would even take them a dozen kilometers away and make them run back.
Sometimes, the demon cultivators would cast techniques to increase gravity several times over, forcing the children to crawl like turtles. Other times, they would unleash a ferocious beast behind them, scaring them into running for their lives to avoid further injuries to their backsides... The torment they endured was endless and varied.
Heaven knows how they encountered so many pranks. What kind of psychological damage did those demon cultivators inflict on them during these short two years, causing such changes in their personalities?
"Huff, puff, finally free!"
In front of a cave emitting demonic energy with a hint of Buddhist light, the three children stopped. Li Kuangtu, panting heavily, let out a long breath.
Despite becoming more familiar with the demon cultivators, Li Kuanghua still maintained her delicate appearance. However, she now wore a mocking smile and spoke with surprising boldness, making it hard to believe she was once that timid girl who endured bullying without daring to tell anyone.
"Useless brother," she said, "you shouldn't be thinking about whether you're free from the armor, but about what we'll face next. Be mentally prepared, or it won't just be your backside getting bitten, you know. I've heard there are many pervert demon cultivators among them."
"What?!"
Li Kuangtu's expression changed drastically, and he quickly straightened his back, "I understand, sister, I want to keep my little brother!"
Li Kuangren now had the appearance of a young man. His expression was increasingly resolute, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards slightly. "Kuanghua," he said, "stop scaring the youngest. Just a few months ago, he was captured by a pervert demon cultivator and wet his pants."
"Elder Brother..."
Li Kuangtu blushed. "How could I not be scared?" he retorted. "He even started taking off his clothes! If Second Grandfather hadn't arrived, I would have been done for."
"Hahaha!"
Li Kuangren and Li Kuanghua laughed heartily, their chivalrous spirit even more pronounced.
Slowly, they removed their armor. Their expressions were filled with pride. If their great-grandfather weren't still in the midst of his breakthrough, they would have already gone to his cave to tell him that they hadn't disappointed him.
The moment they took off the armor, they could sense a remarkable difference in themselves compared to before they had put it on.
"BOOM!"
A surge of true energy erupted from their bodies, and they stared in disbelief at their transformation.
After being suppressed and undergoing intense training, consuming countless pills, they had all reached...
The peak of Qi Refining!
After joyfully adjusting to their newfound strength and putting on clothes borrowed from the demon cultivators, they frowned and looked at the cave-dwelling before them.
Unlike other places in the Demon Cave, this cave housed two young people, a boy and a girl, sitting on black and gold lotus platforms.
They wore checkered monastic robes, one gold and one black. Demonic energy and Buddhist power were unexpectedly intertwined, both generating and countering each other!
If these two peculiar monks were to stand up, one would surely resemble a wrathful guardian with fiery eyes, while the other, a serene figure radiating boundless compassion.
"Why are Fourth Brother and Fifth Sister cultivating in such a strange way?"
Li Kuangtu's voice was filled with confusion. These were Li Kuangshi and Li Kuangcai, whom they had been interacting with for several years. Back then, the two siblings would burn incense and worship Buddha every day.
It wasn't until Li Kuangtu came to the Thunderfire Cave and started cultivating with his elder brother and sister that he finally saw them.
Their eyes remained closed. As far as they knew, the two had maintained this posture for two years, just like when they used to burn incense and worship Buddha. But they certainly weren't worshipping any celestial Buddhas now.
And now, despite their arduous cultivation, they found that they were still no match for Li Kuangshi and Li Kuangcai!
Meanwhile, in front of the screen.
Li Wei smiled faintly. He clicked on the icons of Li Kuangcai and Li Kuangshi and found their past events log.
[Year 92: Li Kuangcai and Li Kuangshi, who were devoted to Buddhism, were sent by the family to the Thunderfire Cave.]
[Their Buddhist nature was deeply ingrained, their focus solely on the Buddhist path, detached from worldly affairs. A wisp of the soul of Fang Linglong, the Demon Lord of the Cave, arrived, intrigued by the two children. She made a bet with them, leaving behind a demonic seed in their cave. If they could resist the demonic influence, she would allow them to return to the Buddhist temple. If they couldn't, it would prove they were unworthy of being Buddhists.]
[Year 93: They found it difficult to resist the demonic influence. To prevent his twin sister, Li Kuangcai, from falling into the demonic path, Li Kuangshi absorbed the demonic seed into his own body.]
[Seeing her brother's actions, Li Kuangcai, unable to bear the thought of him succumbing to demonic influence, used her Buddhist power to maintain his sanity.]
[Through years of struggle between their demonic and Buddhist natures, the demonic and Buddhist powers within their bodies unexpectedly grew and merged. They gradually realized that Buddhism and demonic cultivation were not mutually exclusive and came to understand the importance of family. Acquired trait —]
[One Thought, Buddha and Demon!]
[Neither Buddhism nor demonic cultivation can constrain their beliefs any longer. Their state of being, whether Buddhist or demonic, cannot influence their true nature. They can cultivate all techniques and martial arts of both Buddhist and demonic paths. In their Buddhist state, their cultivation speed increases by 30%, and they can suppress all evil techniques. In their demonic state, their combat power increases by 40%, and they are not restrained by righteous techniques.]
"Sending them to the Demon Cave back then was indeed the right decision. We should be grateful to the Demon Lord."
Li Wei smiled.
These two were actually the most naturally gifted among the fifth generation of the Li family. Although they were no longer bound by Buddhist precepts, they had developed a dislike for noise and commotion and preferred quiet cultivation.
The only noticeable effect was that they were quite indifferent to outsiders, except for each other. They were somewhat polite to their Li family relatives, though.
Li Wei had even overheard their whispers once. Their greatest dream was to master their skills and kill the Demon Lord who had cast the demonic seed upon them.
Now, apart from cultivation, they focused solely on cultivation, paying no attention to the outside world.
No wonder Li Yaotie had said that these two children were almost useless.
---
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