Haaahh… haaahhh…
A young man got out from a chaotic sea. Its waves were so violent that every second they rose forty meters and then fell onto the surrounding rocky land. They hit the rocky ground hard.
He was in critical condition. His whole body was covered with cuts and injuries. His clothes were drenched with seawater and blood.
"I successfully crossed this deadly sea. I didn't think I would live," he said weakly to himself.
He collapsed on the ground and breathed heavily. At that time another wave of water fell on him like a tsunami. It was at least sixty feet high. But it did not move him at all.
How could a wave of water move a cultivator like him? That was why he did not try to move. His critical condition was not because of this sea, even if it was a deadly sea. Its waves could fall like mountains on mortals.
This person's name was Liang Zhu Ye. He was in his 27.His eyes were sharp, clearly showing that some things in his life had not happened the way they should have. He felt pain all over his body, but that pain was weak compared to the wound in his pure heart.
He looked handsome, but travelling such a long way had made his face pale. It looked like there was no vitality left. If someone saw him they would think he had come out from a grave.
Another wave of water fell on him. Seeing this, he felt like he was not seeing water but a wave of blood trying to flood him. On the right side of his neck a lotus mark appeared and his eyes filled with bloodthirst.
His mind went blank. He began injuring himself and started to drink his own blood from the wounds on his hands. A few moments later he stopped drinking. Then only a sound of a person laughing could be heard in the air.
Hah… Ahhh.
Suddenly, during that laughing, his consciousness came back.
"Ugh. My head aches. Why am I laughing this way?" he thought.
Flashback.
"How can a person sacrifice ten million people's lives to only refine an artifact," Liang Zhu Ye thought in his head.
At that time, from his knowledge sea a voice spoke to him. "Liang, you don't see this world. You are like a frog who knows nothing of the great ocean."
"I told you before that these so-called righteous people only show righteousness in front, while their evilness will suppress our demonic path," the voice said. "We demonic path cultivators are evil — it's true — but we don't pretended to be righteous. While the righteous people do the same things but show many causes to hide it."
"Now, do you want to become my disciple? If you agree, I will teach you all my demonic techniques and your cultivation will grow at unthinkable speed."
Liang Zhu Ye said, "No. I don't want to be your disciple. I lost everything. The person I loved the most even betrayed me. I can't endure this. I will live a simple life and die when I become old. I don't want to keep any relation with this world."
"Okay then, do as you wish. But don't forget you can't live for so long," the voice warned. "To destroy their plan you still carried that artifact and swam the chaotic sea area. You can't handle this artifact with your water-path Qi. You need Joyful Emotion Qi to handle this artifact, which you don't have.
"A few moments ago you became berserk and drank your own blood. This time it was only for ten breaths, but soon it will increase and one day it will completely control your body," that soul inside his knowledge sea told him.
Liang Zhu Ye said, "Are you asking me to go back to the place from which I ran with my life to search for this method?"
The soul said, "Obviously not. You have another method. This artifact emits crimson joy energy which makes a person mad. If you kill so many people and absorb their blood you can refine it easily."
"Wait a minute. Are you asking me to kill people?" he asked.
"Don't think you can save yourself from it. This artifact already merged with your body. It will, from time to time, make you berserk and then you will feel a desire to kill. If you want to live, you will have to live with this process," the voice said.
"No. I must find a way so that I don't have to kill anyone," Liang replied.
"Oh… I see. You are daydreaming like before. Okay, I will see if you are successful in it," the voice said.
End of flashback.
Liang Zhu Ye then stood and looked around. It was a barren land where someone could hardly find soil. Everywhere was stone and rock only.
Liang Zhu Ye started walking until he found a forest.
A few hours later he got out from the barren land and reached the forest.
Suddenly he felt a cracking sound in his dantian. His dantian began to ache painfully.
"Ugh…" he groaned. "What's going on? Why does it hurt?"
"Oh no. My dantian cracked and I lost all of my cultivation. Is this because of that poison which someone give me earlier?" he thought to himself.
But he could not find an answer.
"That means I only have physical strength. Thank God I tempered my body nineteen times. My physical strength will be the same as a Qi Refining stage peak cultivator," he told himself to stay calm.
Inside his knowledge sea that soul spoke again, "I have a demonic method by which you can reconstruct your dantian. I will teach you if you accept me as your master and walk in my path."
"No need. There are so many ways to heal it. I will find another way," he replied.
He entered the forest and searched for a rabbit. Soon he found one and caught it. That was how his night meal was gathered.
This forest was unique. While he was going to sleep he saw a strange thing. The shadows of the trees started moving. They moved like someone manipulating them. But a moment later they stopped and returned to their original state.
Some moments later this happened again and again. It came back to the same place. Liang Zhu Ye saw it clearly even though it was night. A moon hung in the sky and its light reflected on the ground.
Liang Zhu Ye suddenly remembered something. He got out his space pearl and from there he took out a book. This was the book which had helped him travel to so many places.
He went to its seventy-sixth page. Here all the information about this forest was written: Shadowfan area — an area where the trees' shadows continuously moved. This was a good training ground for assassins. In these shadows sometimes shadowless demonic beasts hid themselves to hunt their meal.
This forest was highly dangerous at night, but not for its outer area. Here most of the fierce beasts did not come easily.
Liang Zhu Ye read it and felt relief about the forest. He had read this before but was not sure, so he read it again to confirm.
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