Moonlight spilled through the quiet room, candlelight flickering in the darkness. Luo Hao sat cross legged on his bed, the pale glow bathing his face. Blue Primeval Energy surrounded his body in a soft hum.
Let me try forming a Spirit Core,he thought.
As the thought crossed his mind, a memory from the afternoon surfaced. Chief Xuan had instructed him carefully.
"When you are trying to form a Spirit Core, you must absorb Primeval Energy from your surroundings into your body and condense it into a core. You must absolutely not attempt to form a Spirit Core using your own reserve of Primeval Energy."
Luo Hao had asked why.
Chief Xuan had replied, "I can't exactly tell you why, but you will come to know as you grow stronger."
Back in the room, Luo Hao sat in his cross-legged position and thought:I wonder what's so dangerous about using one's own Primeval Energy to form a Spirit Core?
He sighed. That's a problem for another day. For now, let me try forming a Spirit Core.
He closed his eyes, attempting to sense the Primeval Energy in his surroundings. After five minutes, he finally began to feel it faint currents flowing through the air like invisible rivers.
Slowly, he began to absorb the energy into his body. The energy entered gradually, surrounding his body in a faint blue glow. His breathing steadied as he began to circulate the Primeval Energy through his meridians, guiding it toward his stomach.
Suddenly, as the Primeval Energy began to circulate, blood started pouring from Luo Hao's nose.
Then he coughed violently.
"Guh!"
Blood spilled from his mouth onto the bed. The violent reaction forced him to stop immediately. He clutched his chest, his face pale with a mixture of pain and confusion.
What happened?
Taking a cloth, he cleaned his mouth and thought: Maybe I didn't circulate the energy properly.
Sitting back in the cross legged position, he began absorbing Primeval Energy from the environment again and circulated it through his body.
Suddenly, his body erupted in intense pain.
Blood poured from his nose, eyes, and ears. It felt like he was being torn apart from the inside by thousands of razor sharp blades of grass.
Trying not to scream, he collapsed onto his bed, burying his face deep into a pillow as his muffled cries were drowned out.
After what felt like ten minutes of excruciating agony, the pain slowly subsided.
He lay on his bed, exhausted. His body ached. His breathing was ragged.
My body must still be severely frail. Because of this, I can't properly circulate Primeval Energy.
He slammed his hand on the bed in frustration.
I had thought that after the awakening, the initial Primeval Energy I awakened would have strengthened my body.
He sighed.
It seems it wasn't enough.
He rose and turned toward the window. Moonlight illuminated the room but the light didn't reach him. He remained cast in shadow, sitting in a dark corner.
My body is still pathetically frail, he thought as he collapsed back onto the bed, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on him.
But his face bore no expression just a blank, emotionless look.
Suddenly, Luo Hao sat up with urgency. His eyes widened with curiosity as he placed his right hand on his chest.
What is this feeling?
A strange sensation washed over him cold, sharp, predatory.
His senses snapped toward the door as he turned his head.
Then, slowly, a dark aura began to slip through the cracks covering the door like black smoke.
This feeling... it feels like malice. No it would be more accurate to say malicious intent.
This must be Malice's ability. The power to sense malicious intent.
What a interesting technique
His attention focused entirely on the door as the dark aura thickened, covering it completely.
Suddenly, a knock sounded.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Young Master Hao?" A sweet, soft voice called out.
It was Ming Yue.
"I came with your dinner."
Luo Hao immediately stood from the bed. He quickly grabbed the bloodstained bedsheet evidence of his failed Spirit Core attempts and wrapped it up, stuffing it under the bed. Then he lay back down casually.
"Come in," he said.
Ming Yue stepped inside slowly.
As she entered, Luo Hao saw the dark aura surrounding her a writhing mass of black smoke that engulfed her completely, covering her beautiful form like a shroud.
She walked gracefully toward the table next to the window and placed the tray of food down. Luo Hao watched her movements carefully, observing every step, every gesture.
As she set the tray on the table, she turned and bowed. Rising her head, she said, "I hope the food is to your liking."
Her voice was soft and sweet but underneath, there was a layer of venom.
Luo Hao narrowed his eyes, noticing the subtle shift in her tone.
Ming Yue moved toward the dirty cloth basket. Then she spoke.
"I heard that you will be taking the entrance exam for the town academy once you form your Spirit Core, Young Master. How is your progress going?"
Luo Hao didn't answer immediately. He watched her as she pretended to gather the dirty clothes.
That snake of an uncle must have sent her to check on my progress. And the fact that she bears malicious intent means she isn't just here to gather information.
He turned his head toward the tray of food on the table and stared at it intently.
Suddenly, Ming Yue's voice pulled him from his focus.
"Young Master? Young Master, are you listening?"
Luo Hao quickly refocused on her. "Sorry. I just remembered something." Then he said flatly, "You may leave."
He completely ignored her question.
Ming Yue, knowing she couldn't push further, bowed her head. "I shall take my leave."
She quickly gathered the dirty clothes and walked toward the door. As she reached it, she turned her head slightly and glanced back at the tray of food. Then she swiftly exited, the dark aura following her like a cloak.
Luo Hao stood from the bed and walked toward the tray of food.
It contained a small bowl of noodles made from Silver Silk Wheat, a roasted Three Tail Phoenix Duck, and a glass of red wine.
Luo Hao stared at the food, recalling Ming Yue's words: "I hope the food is to your liking."
And the way she had glanced at the tray before leaving the room.
Uncle must have ordered her to tamper with my food.
He picked up the tray and walked to the trash can.
I can't tell what she placed into the food, but I'm sure whatever is in it isn't meant to kill. It's meant to slow me down sabotaging my Spirit Core formation.
He threw the entire meal into the trash, his eyes growing dark.
MING YUE
He walked back to the table, placed the tray down, and returned to the bed, sitting cross legged once more.
Ming Yue is a problem for another time. Right now, the current issue is my inability to circulate Primeval Energy without feeling like I'm being torn apart.
Maybe I can fight through the pain.
But even as the thought formed, he felt unsure.
Still, he began absorbing Primeval Energy from the environment once more and started circulating it.
Just like before, his body erupted in unimaginable pain.
Blood poured from his nose and mouth. His body felt like it was being shredded by millions of razor sharp blades.
But Luo Hao didn't stop circulating the energy.
He endured the pain, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.
After what felt like two minutes, he couldn't endure it anymore. He coughed out blood, his face turning deathly pale.
He wiped the blood away and began absorbing Primeval Energy again.
Though his body was in terrible condition internally, he continued. His body screamed at him to stop.
This continued over and over and over again throughout the entire night.
But he didn't stop.
As dawn broke, sunlight shone through the window onto Luo Hao's weakened body.
He lay on the bed, completely exhausted. His body trembled. Blood soaked the sheets, pooling around him. The room carried a heavy metallic scent.
Blinded by the sunlight, Luo Hao weakly stood to close the window.
The moment he stood, his legs gave out.
He collapsed.
His body had lost too much blood, and the pain coursing through him was unbearable.
He weakly crawled across the floor, inching toward the chair next to the window. When he finally reached it, he used every ounce of strength he had left to pull himself up and sit.
He leaned his head back in exhaustion and pain.
I spent the entire night trying to circulate Primeval Energy. Each time, my body fails.
What do I do?
Should I ask Chief Xuan for guidance?
The thought crossed his mind. But before he could dwell on it, he heard his uncle's voice outside the window.
Luo Hao stared out and saw Luo Zhen giving instructions to Luo Jin on how to circulate Primeval Energy.
As Luo Hao continued watching, a dark aura began to surround Luo Zhen.
He must be having malicious thoughts toward me.
His gaze shifted to Luo Jin.
I wonder... do you bear any malicious intent toward me, dear cousin?
After a minute, the dark aura that had surrounded Ming Yue and Luo Zhen didn't appear around Luo Jin.
It seems you don't have any malicious intent interesting, Luo Hao thought.
As ten minutes passed, Luo Hao continued listening to Luo Zhen instruct Luo Jin on how to circulate Primeval Energy.
The way Uncle is instructing Luo Jin sounds good. Too bad I can't use that method.
Uncle might be a snake, but he's still a Soul Fusion Realm Level 8 cultivator with a peak Rank 1 Spirit Soul. I have to give him credit where credit is due.
He turned away from the window.
I need a new method of circulating Primeval Energy one that won't tear my body apart.
As he sat thinking, Ming Yue's soft knock sounded at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Luo Hao turned his head toward the door.
"Young Master, are you awake?" Ming Yue called.
Luo Hao struggled to stand from the chair. His body was still in serious pain, his face pale. As he moved toward the door, a metallic smell hit his nose.
He turned toward the source.
The blood from last night was all over the bed.
Ming Yue can't find out about this.
With all the strength he had, he quickly walked toward the bed and tried to remove the bloodstained sheets.
As he pulled them off, Ming Yue knocked again.
"Young Master?"
A thought struck him.
If Ming Yue sees the blood, she'll relay it to Uncle. And he might take it as evidence that whatever he asked her to put in my food worked. This could cause him to stop interfering with my Spirit Core formation for some time.
He quickly got back into the bed, purposely straining his body so he would look weaker and more broken. He covered himself with the blood soaked sheets.
Ming Yue knocked louder.
KNOCK!
Luo Hao spoke in the most pitiful voice he could muster. "Come in."
Ming Yue opened the door and stepped inside.
Immediately, the overwhelming scent of blood hit her.
Though she wasn't a cultivator, the smell was unmistakable.
She immediately put on a concerned expression and ran toward the bed, yelling, "Young Master, what happened?!"
Luo Hao replied weakly, "Don't panic. This is just the result of me trying to cultivate my Primeval Energy."
Ming Yue's face looked deeply concerned as she thought: Could the pill Master Luo Zhen asked me to put in the Young Master's food be the cause of this?
Luo Hao, looking at her concerned face, thought coldly:
She looks so concerned. So worried.
She's good.
The tremble in her voice. The way her eyes glaze over.
It's a performance worthy of a grand theater.
If I didn't know she was loyal to my uncle, I might actually be touched.