WARNING: The actions and thoughts in this novel are purely fictional and must never be imitated. Violence, cruelty, and other harmful acts are not endorsed nor are they justified in any way.
"Ugh… Huh?"
A young man muttered under his breath. For the first time in a long while, he felt as if his thoughts were calm, his mind clear of the fog that usually clouded his mind had lifted, replaced with a strange, calmness.
The clothes of the young man were unmistakably from that of modern Earth, his long black hair fell to his shoulders, partly obscuring his face.
He brushed the strands of hair aside, revealing his hooded eyes and pure black irises, thin straight eyebrows, and a resting face that showed a blank expression that showed no emotion. A faint scar circled his neck, a silent reminder of something gruesome. His sharp jawline, thin lips, and subtle cheekbones refined his appearance.
Wu Zhe froze, his eyes darting around his surroundings. A lush greenery of forest surrounded him. As the wind swayed his long hair slightly.
A strange feeling settled in his chest, then he realized something, and suddenly he lifted a hand to his face, then his nose, his ears, his left eye, touching everything as though confirming they were truly there.
"Impossible… did I reincarnate again?" he asked himself, his hands slowly feeling his face as his eyes darted around the forest.
It was eerily silent as Wu Zhe's mind raced of thoughts.
Truth be told, this wasn't Wu Zhe's first life. In his first life he was Wu Zhe from Earth, to him that was an insignificant past, and a meaningless memory he kept buried away like countless others.
In his second life he was Wu Zhe from Yunluo. Reaching the peak of cultivation, he then became a man hated by the entirety of the realms for several reasons unrelated to anything about cultivation, and for it he was killed.
Wu Zhe immediately froze, his body stiffening upon the realization that he had been reincarnated.
But then a single thought lingered in his mind: Who actually reincarnated me?
He knew it wasn't himself who had done it, he neither could nor knew any technique capable of such a thing. The only possibility, then, was another person or entity entirely. Or perhaps… the same one who had reincarnated him since his first death on Earth.
After thinking it through, another problem arose: his surroundings. When he had been reincarnated in Yunluo, he hadn't been in the forests, he had been reincarnated directly inside a city.
If this reincarnation was something that would happen every time he died, then perhaps this was another world. First was Earth, then Yunluo… and now? This might be another realm entirely.
Wu Zhe froze again. One thought rose in his mind that made the most sense of who could've reincarnated him: Existence? Is it Existence? Is it toying with me? Does it intend to mock me? Does it think I truly can't free everyone…?
It had to be that, or something entirely different, because he knew for a fact that he had no knowledge of any technique capable of reviving someone without losing their memories or at least a part of their sanity. The only methods he knew brought people back as mere puppets, mindless and controlled beings. Yet here he was, remembering everything, and retaining his full sanity.
Then Wu Zhe realized something. If he had been reincarnated, he now had the chance to achieve his goal in this new life, his sole goal, the very purpose that gave him a reason to continue living in this impure world.
He suddenly began thinking of techniques in his mind and sat down to meditate.
Qi around him began to swirl.
After a few minutes, frustration welled up inside him.
"So it's still the same…" he muttered. He had tried meditating to refine Qi like other cultivators, but his body simply couldn't. If cultivators in Yuluo found out he was like this, he would become the laughingstock of the entire cultivation world.
In Wu Zhe's past life in Yunluo his body could never refine Qi. While other cultivators absorbed it and refined it to break through realms, he couldn't. He could only sense it, and store it, but never refine it. That limitation had made him unable to become a cultivator. That despair of being unable to cultivate drove him to desperation. Until eventually, he stumbled upon a technique that could convert the lifeforce of living creatures into refined Qi. The technique had its flaws, so he continued refining and improving upon it, until he eventually "perfected" it, giving it the name of "Devouring Arts."
Rustle… Rustle…
As his frustration grew at being stuck with the same curse, a soft rustle in the bushes caught his attention. A small rabbit hopped into his view, oblivious to the man watching it.
Without a second thought, he suddenly lunged forward and grabbed it.
The rabbit squirmed, but his grip was tight. Wu Zhe snatched a nearby rock and slammed it down on the rabbit's head.
Squish… Squish…
The wet, sickening sounds barely registered in his ears. Blood spattering everywhere, some of it landing on his face, warm and sticky. His expression stayed blank as he struck it again and again, stopping only once the creature showed no signs of life.
The rabbit's blood coated his hands, and some of it dripped onto the grass. The faint metallic tang filled the air, but it wasn't overpowering.
Staring at the rabbit's lifeless body. Wu Zhe muttered, "Perfect."
It was perfect because now he could use his Devouring Arts.
His, "Devouring Arts." A technique many labeled a demonic art, because it allowed its users to absorb the lifeforce of dead creatures and store it within their body.
Lifeforce is quite unique, unlike Qi, because it is adaptable and can be used in multiple ways. It can be used for cultivation, extend lifespans, restore stamina, and even replenish a dantian that has run out of Qi. For those who cannot sense or refine Qi naturally, such as talentless cultivators, the Devouring Arts would be an invaluable technique for them.
However, the side effects of consuming a creature's lifeforce often outweighed the benefits for most cultivators. Because of this, many chose to stay away from it entirely. Even demonic cultivators only consumed the lifeforce they needed, as taking more than they needed would like wanting to be embraced by death.
Wu Zhe's thoughts drifted to the Devouring Arts, then as if by magic, the rabbit's body began to decay before him. Its flesh rotted, and disappeared, until only its bones remained.
When the rabbit's dead carcass fully rotted away, a sudden surge of images, smells, sensations, and unrelenting flood of foreign memories entered into his mind.
Wu Zhe's vision became blurred. All he could see were fields of grass.
The rabbit's memories poured into his consciousness: its hopping, the taste of fresh grass, leaves brushing against its fur, the spike of fear when it sensed him. And then, the raw, and unfiltered emotions of panic, despair, the hollow ache of impending death as he crushed it beneath his hands.
Wu Zhe's mind was flooded with foreign memories and emotions. Sensations that did not belong to him surged through his consciousness, vivid and real. Every memory, every emotion, the rabbit very existence had became his own experience.
"Useless," he muttered, regaining his composure. This was clearly something he was used to.
Wu Zhe stood motionless, his eyes closed as he forced the life force he had devoured from the rabbit to condense, attempting to forcibly use it as the Qi needed to form a cultivation base. As he did, a dark reddish Qi radiated from his body. His veins bulging across his body as the Qi around him swirled violently, surging chaoticly.
Minutes passed, as the wild Qi around him finally dissipated.
"Damn it," he muttered. The rabbit's lifeforce was quite pitiful, barely enough to form a cultivation base.
"I need more lifeforce…" His eyes scanning his surroundings, hunting for any creature he could kill.
Hours passed as Wu Zhe wandered the forest, searching for any creatures to kill, but found nothing. Just as hope began to fade, he spotted a dirt road ahead.
He emerged from the trees, leaves and twigs clinging to his modern looking clothes.
"If there aren't any creatures in the forest, maybe they'll be some on the road…" he muttered. Wu Zhe began walking along the dirt path, his senses alert for any sign of creatures, as his eyes scanned every tree he passed by.
A couple of hours later…
"Hah… I've been walking this stupid road for so long, and still haven't seen a single thing in sight," he muttered in annoyance, until the sudden echo of hooves behind him made him freeze. As multiple shouts rang out from behind him.