"Void" is the only word that describes what is happening.
In a void, without the existence of anything, neither above nor below.
Where there is no darkness, and no light.
No beginning, and no end.
There was only a prominent thing; it was neither alive nor inanimate.
Inside this prominence, a teenager was constantly falling.
He did not strike air with his face, nor was there land to embrace him, nor a sky to watch him.
Above him lay a pitch-black darkness, and beneath him, a colorless light. As if he were swimming inside the void of a sealed loop.
He himself was a spectral image, he had no real body, nor a physical presence.
Suddenly, red threads appeared from nowhere, and stopped the teenager's fall.
If a person looked up, they would see them hanging from above, with no trace of them below.
And if they looked down, they would see them hanging from below, with no trace of them above.
They were not ribbons, but they were slightly wider than usual threads.
A very faint crimson smoke emanated from them, the vapor of blood.
If a person focused intensely, they would see that these threads were boiling, condensed blood.
After the crimson threads stopped the teenager's fall, the latter's image began to form into a physical, corporeal form.
Bones began to form, covered by tendons, then muscles snaked through, and organs fused in heavy silence, until skin enveloped them.
He was initially bloodless, but with a thunderous beat, the teenager's heart pulsed its first beat.
The beats continued, and with each beat, their sound diminished until it became natural.
Blood spread, and hair grew long; the body became an exact match for the previous spectral image.
The pitch-black darkness was the sole and unique controller of the chamber, side by side with the insects and rats scattered within it.
The previously spilled blood had dried.
But the interesting thing was the body that remained without fully decaying for a long time.
Despite that, insects had entered it from the opening in its chest and from its eyes, from everywhere they could enter his body.
They even made holes in it; his skin was full of numerous holes.
His nails were long, his body pale and bloodless; he had passed away a long time ago.
Suddenly, crimson threads appeared from nowhere.
They entered the corpse and lifted it upwards.
The insects that were inside it all burned; it was a comprehensive cleansing process.
The matter was not limited to the insects themselves; even the skin and everything that had rotted beyond recovery burned.
But they did not burn and turn to ash; instead, they gradually returned to their natural state.
Small and large insects were constantly falling from the suspended corpse.
After a period of time, the corpse became clean. The skin and pierced organs became normal, and its bones regained their original shape and toughness.
But all that happened was that the foul corpse became clean; it had not returned to life.
The body of the spectral image was moving; his feet did not stop walking.
But he was not advancing, because there was no ground or land for him to walk on; the only thing stabilizing him was the crimson threads.
The crimson threads began to tighten around the body of the spectral image, making the latter unable to move.
The body was annoyed and resisted... but eventually surrendered.
The threads then twisted and swelled twice; the pressure inside them was increasing.
In a single moment, the threads exploded and the boiling blood spilled onto the body.
And at the same moment, a body covered in boiling blood appeared in the same place as the spectral image's body, while the latter had vanished.
It was the same previous corpse in the chamber.
The threads that were suspending it had disappeared, causing it once again to fall endlessly.
With a deep sound, the suspended corpse was engulfed in the boiling blood and vanished.
At the same moment, another body covered in boiling blood fell to the ground.
It was the body of the spectral image.
The boiling blood prevented any insect or dirt from sticking to the body, and at the same time, it slowly entered his body.
Time passed quickly, and only a few drops of blood remained on the body.
The insects and rats considered this body a threat; nothing approached it.
Two drops remained.
At the same time, the body's fingers began to move.
One of the two drops silently entered and vanished into the teenager's skin, and at the moment of its disappearance, his mind became a blank slate.
No memories, no names, no faces. Nothing but a strange feeling of freedom and fear, as if the entire world had not yet been created.
The feeling of a fetus just emerging into the world, but in the body of a teenager.
He opened his eyes.
One drop remained.
With the first blink, all the arteries and nerves of his body stiffened. It was a completely new feeling for him.
Just as he was about to scream from the intense pain, he closed his mouth and remained silent.
In the next moment, his gaze changed.
"So, I died... huh."
The last drop completely merged with his body.
"I can't believe that Zhang Yu - the Demonic Sage - would die in such a silly way..."
"A deformed child kills me suddenly? If they knew about this, I would become a laughingstock for an entire century, huh."
"Anyway, I can't believe my body has an miraculous regeneration ability; this is a reward from the heavens! Thinking about it, during the ancient era, I specifically lacked such an miraculous healing ability!"
"Well, for now, I will focus on increasing my strength. Let's see what has changed over a few eras."
Zhang Yu straightened up and looked around. The blood had dried, and only some foul bones remained.
Zhang Yu had a complicated gaze; they were the bones of both the two girls and Number Sixty-Three.
"So, does this mean that Number Thirteen is still alive?"
Zhang Yu ignored his thoughts and went to the chamber exit; a huge rock blocked it.
Zhang Yu extended his hand and touched it. "I won't be able to destroy it. Should I try to push it? No, I can't push it either."
"This leaves me with only one option... huh."
Zhang Yu retreated and collected the bones scattered on the ground.
"Massive Marrow Poison?"
"Did they really use Massive Marrow Poison on a group of children?"
"This is pure stupidity! What were they expecting? It's a miracle they didn't explode right that second, hahaha."
"But this is perfect! I can now use them as an external focus. Although they are just worn-out bones, by connecting them, it might be possible to generate enough energy to push the rock."
Zhang Yu sat down with the pile of bones in front of him, breathed deeply, and closed his eyes.
He grasped a bone in front of him, and on his fist, his veins began to bulge.
Anything affected by the Massive Marrow Poison would cause the veins of any body that touched it to swell.
"Sacrifice of a Thousand Drops, Blood Foundation Formation!" Zhang Yu thought and opened his eyes fiercely while his entire body trembled.
His eyes turned crimson, while his body swelled to its maximum limit.
"Penetrate!" His fist fingers exploded, and purple-red blood penetrated the bone in his hand.
The bones shook madly before muscles, flesh, and blood formed around them, and finally took the shape of a human hand.
But it was different. First, it was deformed; second, its color was entirely purple-red; third, it looked like an empty fleshy shell.
"Excellent! Excellent work!" Zhang Yu praised.
While Zhang Yu was astonished, his fingers had already healed.
"Basically, the Sacrifice of a Thousand Drops uses living bodies to create steel-bodied copies that are mindless and soulless. Its only drawback is that it consumes ten lives to create one normal copy."
Zhang Yu smiled cunningly. "But with this body, I can create a hand from the sacrifice of just fingers! Hahahaha, excellent!"
A while passed since Zhang Yu began the sacrifice, and he had almost finished all the bones present.
There were three hands, two heads, two feet, one leg, and a pile of other small bones.
"With this, I have some confidence in pushing the rock out!"
Zhang Yu grabbed the different parts and arranged them together so that they became something that could stand.
One leg and two hands represented the copy's legs, a rock in the middle, an arm on its left, and by assembling the small bones, he managed to create a column that simulated the original arm and placed it on the rock's right.
Above the rock was the first head, and in the middle of the rock was the other head.
Now, inside Zhang Yu's mind, he was thinking of only two words.
"Push the rock!" Zhang Yu yelled, and blood spurted from his mouth. The blood fell onto the copy, making it tremble and crack.
The rock in the middle barely held on, while veins connecting all the parts were engraved on it.
Then, according to Zhang Yu's command, the copy advanced and tried to push the rock.
Shhh shhh!
The huge rock was moving, but the rock in the middle of the copy had reached its limit.
Zhang Yu noticed this, gritted his teeth, and spat out another mouthful of blood.
This time, the copy became agitated.
The veins were clearly bulging and swelling on all of its parts.
Boom!
All parts of the copy exploded, pushing the huge rock to its maximum extent.
But even though the rock had moved a lot, it still didn't fall.
"Damn it! This was the only set of bones that could be used here!" Zhang Yu sighed.
He looked deeply at his arm and sighed. "Should I use the sacrifice on my arm?"
He had no other choice; everything in the room was consumed. These small insects and animals wouldn't do anything even if sacrificed.
"Let's hope this body's healing ability can overcome the curse of the sacrifice."
He had made up his mind, so he went and touched the rock.
He was in a position to push it when he shouted, "Sacrifice of a Thousand Drops, Living Blood Foundation Formation!"
Blood flowed madly, and his heart swelled twice; the sound of its pulse was a roar!
But because the veins had already experienced the Massive Marrow Poison, they did not explode.
His skin became more sensitive than ever; even a touch would be more painful than a stab of a sword.
He was screaming in pain as his arms slowly turned purple-red.
His tendons, veins, and muscles all slowly detached from his arms, and the hardest part was smashing the joint bones and dislocating the nerves.
He didn't stop feeling cold sweat down his back, and scepters crushing his feet.
"Ugh!" He spat blood, and his vision became completely red, even running down his face.
The muscles, bones, veins, and all the ligaments had separated, and only the nerves remained.
This was the most difficult moment; crushing the nerve was like crushing his head!
He felt directly that a poison was burning his entire body and continuing to his head from the inside, while from the outside, he felt coldness and an uncountable, dry pain.
Like thousands of knives and swords cracking his body, his mind was on the verge of madness!
"With only this amount of pain, who do you think I am?! Hahahaha!" Zhang Yu roared loudly.
In a single moment, everything Zhang Yu had previously felt vanished.
He felt relief and relaxation, but it was for only one second.
He still had to push the rock.
At this stage, his hand was purple-black.
There was nothing connecting it to him except the energy generated by the sacrifice.
Essentially, the sacrifice energy is linked to the last existence that entered it.
Now, Zhang Yu sent orders to the two arms.
The two arms shook violently and took Zhang Yu's body as a fulcrum.
With a scream and a powerful push, the two arms exploded.
But in return, the rock fell.
Zhang Yu looked deeply and did not bother to look at his arms.
Because he had felt it beforehand, his tissues were starting to recover.
He was busy looking at the golden threads, the radiation that made his pupils contract.
He hadn't seen the sun for a long time; it was a strange feeling.
Was it peace...? No, it was something else. Something that even Zhang Yu could not fully comprehend.
The warmth and sting he felt on his body were an unprecedented calm and comfort.
"I'm back... I'm back..." Zhang Yu mumbled, and his voice lowered until it disappeared with the last word.
He let out a long sigh, then retreated and dropped his body.
He lay down on the stone floor.
The coldness of the stone was transferring to his body, taking his warmth from him.
"Take and I take... huh."
"Everything in the world is based on the principle of giving and taking. Who will give you something without a return?"
"Even if it seems outwardly that they didn't benefit from anything, or gave without taking, they have taken your gratitude, and taken a piece of your life."
"A whirlpool with no exit, the human world..."
"Do I really want to return to it...? The place here is good, quiet, and peaceful; no one bothers me, and no one can interfere with what I do. Even if I meet people, I will act as if I don't exist."
"Living here might not be...!"
Suddenly, Zhang Yu's body contracted, and a mysterious scream escaped.
"Hahahaha... Hahahahaha!"
"This body is interesting; it has an intense thirst for emotions, but it is completely sealed off from them!"
"Who did this? They are definitely evil, hahaha, but this pleases me. Well, to refine this poor body, let's go and accustom it to what the Demonic Sage is!"
With a single leap, he straightened up.
He advanced and looked outside the chamber.
It was a crack in the ground with several chambers in it; the corner of Zhang Yu's mouth lifted.
"This place, paradise!"
"I'll be back, my little paradise, haha!"
With a laugh, Zhang Yu leapt high.
Fortunately, his chamber was at the beginning of the crack, so climbing up was not difficult.
On the first step outside the crack, he looked behind him and then around. "Illusory foundation? I'd like to see what this place is like in reality, but I have neither the strength nor the interest."
He advanced with large strides, leaving.
But there was a small problem: he had no clothes to cover his body.
So, he made primitive clothes from nature; although they made him look like a barbarian, they were much better than walking around naked.
The ice storms passed, and the days of hiding were gone.
The flowers of the world opened, signaling the arrival of spring.
The fragrant breeze blew over the mountain ranges, and passed over the forests and plains.
It took the scent of the flowers, wore the freedom of the ocean, and was saturated with the sweetness of the river water.
But it stopped somewhere, at a mountaintop.
Its fragrance was stolen, its freedom, and its sweetness was drunk.
And in return, it was given black crimson smoke, scattering misfortune and death everywhere it blew.
Zhang Yu was training on a nearby mountain peak.
The training technique he was practicing caused his blood to receive the fresh air, take its purity, and give it its impurities.
It was similar to human breathing, but here, the matter was happening externally.
He opened his mouth, and a small, pure crimson smoke came out.
"The foundation built with the Lower Blood Purification Technique must be strong. With this, I can practice the various techniques that I was able to practice in the previous era."
Zhang Yu moved and straightened up.
He looked deeply, then mumbled, "The time must be now."