Brian Carter thought for a long time, to the point where his head felt swollen, but still couldn’t figure it out. He simply collapsed onto the bed—he was quite exhausted today—and soon drifted off into a hazy sleep.

……

A giant staff soared into the sky, its pitch-black shaft faintly streaked with mottled lines of black and gold, giving it an ancient, unadorned look and an aura of profound antiquity.

If one looked closely, they would discover that this giant staff had no physical form at all, but was composed of countless black runes that shimmered faintly with golden light. Hundreds of billions of mysterious golden runes formed this towering, dark iron pillar.

This pillar-like, pitch-black iron staff stood tall and unmoving, exuding unparalleled might. Though silent and still, it did not seem lifeless; instead, it radiated a soul-stirring power, carrying an endless will to battle, as if it could overturn the heavens and earth, pierce the sun and moon, and stand proud above all things.

No one knows how long it lasted—perhaps millions of years, perhaps just an instant—as if time itself had lost all meaning. Suddenly, the dark iron staff collapsed, countless runes shattering, the mysterious golden runes that made up the staff dissipating layer by layer, until only a single thread of mysterious golden iron remained, fine as a hair, yet connecting heaven and earth!

Brian Carter awoke with a start. The night was as dark as ink—it was already past two in the morning!

With just a slight focus of his mind, Brian Carter “saw” his own body for the first time in his life: skin, muscles, tendons, blood, organs, bones… all the mysteries of the human body unfolded before his eyes, a hundred times clearer than the most advanced medical imaging equipment, and he could even see things that modern technology could never reveal.

For example, that mysterious golden iron thread at the center of his brow!

This golden iron thread occupied all of Brian Carter’s consciousness, drawing his complete attention and causing him to unconsciously ignore other anomalies.

It clearly couldn’t be very long, and was as fine as a hair, yet it gave off a mystical sense of connecting heaven and earth, and an overwhelming, domineering aura, just like the sole remnant after the collapse of the black iron staff in his dream.

With a single thought from Brian Carter, countless mysterious golden runes rushed forth, forming a set of incantations. Even though he was certain he had never learned these runic symbols before, he somehow understood their meaning, comprehending them effortlessly. The sensation was indescribably mysterious and strange.

This set of cultivation techniques was called—“Ninefold Mysterious Tendon Transformation”!

Chapter 13: The Celestial Demon Immortal-Slaying Technique

Then…

Brian Carter discovered that, aside from the mysterious golden iron thread at his brow, there was another unusual spot within his body.

In his Lower Abdomen, a strange mass of black light was entrenched, emitting wisps of black energy that spread to every corner of his body. Only near the area at his brow was there no black energy—or rather, it wasn’t that there was none, but that any black energy approaching the golden iron thread at his brow was devoured by it.

Occasionally, one or several tendril-like strands of black light would extend out, but they quickly retracted. Compared to the golden iron thread, which constantly and domineeringly asserted its presence, this strange black light was almost unnoticeable.

If it weren’t for the fact that it was Brian Carter’s awakened innate bloodline, he would never have sensed the countless pure black runes floating within the faint black light. Sensing the youth’s attention, countless black runes danced forth, also forming a set of incantations, named—“Celestial Demon Immortal-Slaying Technique”!

Although Brian Carter lacked experience, he now understood: he had actually awakened two types of monster bloodlines at the same time. One was clearly the peerless celestial demon inheritance that could shatter the thirty-three-layered Celestial Palace Tree with a single strike, while the other was the ten-colored flower vine that grew from the Celestial Palace Tree.

He didn’t know whether this situation was common among monsters, but either way, neither was the Undying Tree bloodline.

Brian Carter was slightly surprised and couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “Is this the legendary bloodline inheritance? Why didn’t the Haoji Heaven Stele at the Kyoto Monster Affairs Institute detect that I had a bloodline inheritance?”

The ten-colored flower vine’s bloodline had awakened earlier, fully digesting all the “meteors” it had devoured, making it hundreds of times stronger than the golden iron thread. The celestial demon bloodline had awakened later and, without the nourishment of the “meteors,” could only plunder the black demonic energy of the ten-colored flower vine, so it was still very weak. But in comparison, the celestial demon could shatter the thirty-three-layered Celestial Palace Tree with a single strike, while the ten-colored flower vine was merely a burl that had separated from the Celestial Palace Tree—clearly, the celestial demon bloodline was far more powerful.

After thinking for a moment, Brian Carter still chose the Ninefold Mysterious Tendon Transformation, focusing his mind into the golden iron thread and beginning his first-ever cultivation.

This Ninefold Mysterious Tendon Transformation tempered the tendons, bones, and essence, cleansed the marrow and organs, and circulated energy through the five layers of the skin. It was a top-tier method for strengthening the body—not just for transforming the tendons. Judging by its effects, it should really be called the Ninefold Mysterious Tendon, Marrow Cleansing, Bone Tempering, Organ Refining, and Fivefold Skin Transformation Technique. The first step was to open up the body’s innate eight extraordinary meridians and twelve main meridians.

Although Brian Carter didn’t understand meridians, his newly awakened x-ray vision allowed him to clearly see the flow of demonic energy within his body, making it easy to deduce the paths of the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve main meridians.