A silent dread hung in the ancient shadow-woods that night. Beneath the stark glare of the midnight moon, Chen Mo strode eastward, returning with a twisted gift.
"This feeling, this searing agony... I swear, I will bring ruin upon this new world!" His voice was a raw, burning vow.
After a grueling march that bled into dawn, Chen Mo arrived back at the desolate maw of Tiger Nest Hill.
Mei felt a crushing aura, a chilling premonition of death itself. What is this aura? Why do my instincts scream, 'Do not fight, do not look, DIE'? A shiver racked Mei's body, cold sweat beading on her skin.
"Mei, I'm home! I've brought you a gift, come out of the cave!" Xiao Bai's voice echoed from outside, strangely resonant.
Mei heard the call, drew closer, her mind a frantic scramble. Xiao Bai is back, but this aura... is this the Xiao Bai I knew yesterday? Every tremor in her body betrayed her terror.
When Mei finally laid eyes on Xiao Bai, her legs gave way. She collapsed, unable to stand. "Are you... Xiao Bai? Why do you possess this cultivation, this... aura?"
"Haha, a foolish question. If you can, why can't I?" Chen Mo offered a thin, cruel smile. "Aura? Oh, I have an aura, do I? I hadn't noticed."
"But you're human! Why do you possess a Beast Core within you? What... what has happened?" Mei's voice was laced with pure dread.
Sweat poured, her limbs felt like lead, her mind a blank slate. Mei could only follow her primal instincts.
I sense a First-Stage Bronze Core, but the killing intent is razor sharp, Mei thought, a silent scream in her mind.
"Don't play dumb! I grafted that Serpent Beast's core into my body. Why? Is it forbidden? Hahaha!" Chen Mo laughed, a joyful, disturbing sound.
"I've never heard of such a thing in my life... do you mean to kill me?" Mei's words were barely a whisper, trembling with fear.
"Why would I kill you? You're not even worthy of death. I merely wish for you to assist me in cultivation, and I've brought a Vitality Fruit," Chen Mo replied with chilling nonchalance.
Mei, unwilling to risk her miserable existence, finally conceded. She even found herself apologizing to Chen Mo, thanking him for not ending her.
Upon seeing the fruit, Mei's disbelief was palpable. A Vitality Fruit? How did he acquire it? Why am I even thinking? Survival is paramount. If he wanted to kill me, why not do it from the start? Why spare me? What lurks in his mind? I don't know.
Mei approached, speaking to Chen Mo. "Sit. I will help you. But you must promise me: do not kill me."
"If you assist me, I will not kill you," Chen Mo countered. His mind, a wheel of savagery, turned with cruel purpose.
Chen Mo sat, eyes closed. He followed Mei's instructions. He had consumed the Vitality Fruit beforehand, to aid his cultivation and stabilize the core within him.
That morning, in the damp confines of the cave, the cold aura clung, refusing to dissipate. Mei sat before Chen Mo, her yellow eyes fixed on him with wary intensity. "Focus. Feel the Qi around you, then draw it into your Dantian," she instructed, her voice taut. "Don't force it; it could hurt."
"Nonsense," Chen Mo cut her off. "Pain is fuel." He inhaled deeply, ignoring Mei's warning. The power of the Vitality Fruit coursed through his veins, forcing the absorbed serpent beast Qi to churn with a savage ferocity. His instincts were ravenous, demanding more.
Brutal thump!
Suddenly, Chen Mo's body convulsed violently. Blood spurted from his nose and ears, staining the ground. He felt his blood vessels on the verge of rupturing, yet a manic grin twisted his features. Pain was ecstasy to him.
Splash! Squirt!
"You're pushing too hard! Stop!" Mei shrieked, her eyes wide with panic. "This will kill you!"
Chen Mo's eyes snapped open, glaring at Mei. "Kill me? This is precisely what I crave. Pain proves I am alive." He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his scaled hand, then closed his eyes once more. He envisioned every particle of Qi around him as prey to be devoured, destroyed, assimilated. All of this is mine. All this power will be mine.
Hours crawled by. Chen Mo's body convulsed repeatedly, blood continuously oozing, yet he never relented. Mei could only watch, her fear deepening with every passing moment. Chen Mo's cultivation method defied all her understanding, a brutal path that mocked every ancient teaching of balance.
Finally, Chen Mo's eyes opened. Though his body was battered and crusted with dried blood, his aura was now far denser, more oppressive. I understand now. This cultivation is merely a process. The rest is will. The will to devour everything.
"That's enough for today," Chen Mo said, rising to his feet. He approached Mei, his cold eyes fixed on her. "Now, I wish to see your core. I wish to feel its power."
Mei recoiled, bound by fear. "No! Don't! My core... it is my life!"
Chen Mo ignored her. His scaled hand stretched out, closing around Mei's throat. "You promised. You must serve me." His smile was cruel. "Or I will take it, just as I took the essence of Yan Jing's core."
At the mention of that name, Mei gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief, her body rigid on the precipice of mental collapse. Yan Jing? No... not that ancient beast spirit? He... he killed it? Absolute terror now paralyzed her.
Mei's face turned ashen, choking. She knew she had no choice. With a strangled sound, she nodded, then forced her core to manifest in her chest, a faint golden orb pulsating weakly beneath her skin.
Chen Mo observed the core, his eyes alight with covetous desire. Power. This will be mine. He didn't touch it, merely watched, imprinting every detail into his mind.
"Good," Chen Mo murmured, releasing his grip on Mei's throat. "For now. I will return tomorrow morning. Prepare yourself, Mei."
Mei coughed, gasping for air, watching Chen Mo's departure with eyes filled with horror and despair.
Chen Mo walked out, a satisfied sneer etched on his face. A pleasant training session. Now, it was time to hunt again. His steps were imbued with newfound power, his purpose clear: to grow stronger, to devour relentlessly.
...
He moved through the forest's deepening gloom, his sharp eyes piercing the shadows. Every beast that crossed his vision was a potential target. His aura, now more crushing, was both a magnet and a deterrent. Weaker beasts fled in terror, but the strong, the arrogant, were drawn in.
He sought no specific prey. All that lived, all that possessed Qi, was his feast. The snap of twigs, the rustle of leaves, the distant scent of fresh blood – all now registered with his sharpened senses. He was becoming the apex predator of this shadowed wood.
Slash! Blowing!
A black leopard, hidden in a high branch, lunged. But Chen Mo knew. He spun, his Qi-Slaying Blade manifesting in his hand. In one brutal arc, he bisected the leopard, cleaving it in two before the beast even touched the ground. Blood and organs spilled forth.
Chen Mo inhaled the scent deeply. No hesitation, no regret. He plunged his hand into the still-warm carcass, extracted its core, and absorbed it directly. A rush of raw, savage energy filled him.
Feel it. Digest it. Make it mine.
He pressed on, ceaselessly. Beast after beast, he tracked, attacked, killed, and absorbed their cores. His brutal strength surged with each assimilation. Minor wounds from earlier hunts healed faster, his body adapting, growing stronger, more merciless.
Each core he absorbed felt like a drop of darkness filling an endless vessel within him. He no longer cared for methods or ethics. Only power, raw, brutal power, mattered. He was a perfect predator machine, built from the flesh and blood of his enemies.
When he finished his hunt, his body felt heavy, yet the core in his belly throbbed with immense power. Chen Mo found himself standing in an open clearing.
The sky, once clear, now churned with dark, menacing clouds, dancing in terrifying formations above him. A crushing aura filled the air, suffocating him, but Chen Mo stood unyielding.
A massive, dreadful bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the inky sky, aiming directly for him. The blue-white light momentarily illuminated the entire forest, revealing Chen Mo standing defiant.
Grabbed! Explode!
The lightning struck directly into his body, shaking the very earth. Pain beyond anything he had ever known surged, burning every cell. Yet amidst that excruciating agony, Chen Mo felt the essence of his Qi explode, spin, and ascend to a new plane.
This was no ordinary pain. This was purifying agony, the pain of forced evolution. The lightning was a strike of fate, announcing his cultivation's ascension.
When the thunder faded, and smoke billowed from where he stood, Chen Mo remained upright. His hair was singed, his skin seared, but his eyes glowed with an intense, new light.
The core in his belly pulsed stronger, purer. He felt waves of new power surge through every vein, an overwhelming sensation.
"Ahh, is this the sensation of ascending? Exquisite. Truly exquisite! Hahahah!" A mad cackle escaped him.
He had reached the First-Stage Golden Core.
Chen Mo immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, entering deep meditation. The newly acquired energy needed stabilization. The lightning storm had receded, but the oppressive aura of his advancement still lingered faintly in the air.
From a distance, hidden behind the dense, dark foliage, a formless shadow watched. It did not move, merely observed Chen Mo in complete silence. A thin, mysterious, and meaningful smile touched the shadow's face.
"Intriguing. This world might just descend into chaos. Hehehe," a voice whispered, then vanished into the night's darkness, leaving Chen Mo alone, bathed in moonlight and the aura of his newfound power.