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 he suddenly lifted his hands to his face, then his nose, his ears, his eyes, touching everything as though confirming they were truly there.
"Impossible… did I reincarnate again?" he asked himself, his hands still 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 now 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 reincarnated him?
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.
Wu Zhe froze again. One thought popped up in his mind, the one that made the most sense to him about who could have reincarnated him.
Something he called existence.
Existence? Is it Existence? Is it toying with me? Does it mean to mock me? Does it really think I can't free everyone…? he wondered, spinning bizarre scenarios in his mind.
Existence? Is it Existence? Is it toying with me? Does it intend to mock me? Does it truly think I can't free everyone…? Wu Zhe ran through countless scenarios in his mind, each more bizarre than the last.
It had to be that or something entirely different because he knew for a fact that no technique he was aware of that could revive someone without erasing their memories or at the very least lose a fragment of their sanity. The methods he knew returned people as nothing more than puppets, mindless and controlled beings. Yet here he was, remembering everything and retaining his full sanity, at least as far as he could tell.
As his thoughts continued, a sudden realization hit him. Since he had truly been reincarnated, then this new life was now a second opportunity to achieve his goal, the one purpose that had driven him to keep living in this impure world.
With that realization, he set all other thoughts aside and immediately began thinking through the techniques in his mind before sitting down to meditate. As he focused, Qi began to gather and swirl around him, seemingly entering his body.
After a few minutes, frustration swelled inside him.
"Damn it. It's still the same…" he muttered. In the few minutes of his meditation, he had successfully gathered and stored his Qi. All needed to do was refine it, as other cultivators did, doing so would allow him to form a cultivation base. But, as before, his body simply couldn't. If cultivators in Yuluo discovered this, he would become the laughingstock of the entire cultivation world.
In truth, Wu Zhe's body in his past life in Yunluo could never refine Qi. While other cultivators absorbed Qi and refined it to break through realms, he quite literally could not. He could sense Qi, and he could store Qi, but he could never refine it. That limitation had shackled him from becoming a true cultivator.
The despair of being unable to cultivate drove him to deep desperation, until one day he stumbled upon a technique that could convert the lifeforce of living creatures into refined Qi. The method was flawed, but he continued refining and improving it until he eventually 'perfected' it, giving it the name.
"Devouring Arts."
Rustle… Rustle…
As his frustration grew at being stuck with the same curse, a soft rustle in the bushes diverted 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 registering in his ears. The rabbit's blood spattered everywhere, some of it landing on his face, feeling 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 too 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, and other miraculous ways. For those who cannot sense or refine Qi naturally, such as talentless mortals, 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.
When the rabbit's dead carcass rotted away, a sudden surge of images, smells, sensations, and a 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, and every emotion, that the rabbit had became his.
"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 had 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, scouring 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.