AN (IMPORTANT!):
Hey, LazyRedMoon here!
I've decided to make a small adjustment to the worldbuilding of the Realm. While it's not a major change, I wanted to clarify that the world consists of both a Lower Plane and a Higher Plane.
The Illusion Forest, where Yuan originally lived, is actually part of the Higher Plane. When he "fell," he wasn't simply leaving the Illusion Forest,he was teleported down to the Lower Plane instead. From there, he later arrived at Icen Barony.
So, moving forward, just think of it this way: Yuan was transported to the Lower Realm, not merely out of the Illusion Forest!
Thanks for reading, and I appreciate your support!
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"Good girl. Now... start from the beginning." Yuan said with a smile on his face, waiting for Wu Shen to speak.
"Th-The Elder ordered me to come here and f-find the Powdered Bone Essence from one of the corpses of a Bone Forging demonic beast in the c-core region! A-And when I was searching, I found the snake corpse! From the information I had, I thought that the Powdered Bone Essence came from the very snake that terrorized the villagers! That's all I know! Yes, that's all!"
Hearing this, Yuan's smile faded. Annoyance crept into his gaze. Did she really think he wouldn't see through her pathetic lies? Did she think he didn't already know what she was?
Clicking his tongue, Yuan's voice grew sharp, his patience wearing thin.
"Why are you still lying?" His voice carried a dangerous edge, his tone dripping with irritation. "Do you truly believe I'd fall for this bullshit? A snake corpse? Powdered Bone Essence? Do you take me for a fool?"
His gaze darkened as he leaned forward, his eyes locking onto hers with cold amusement.
"You are clearly a half demonic beast." He scoffed. "You didn't even bother to hide your reptilian eyes. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Yuan's lips curled into a sneer. "And looking at you... your human bloodline is dominant. If I'm right, you must have no more than 10% demonic beast blood at most. That means… only your eyes show traces of your lineage, while the rest of you is painfully human."
His smirk widened, his voice laced with mockery.
"Now tell me… with that kind of appearance, do you really think I wouldn't consider the possibility that you,not the snake,are the true beast that terrorized the village?"
Yuan's words struck like a blade.
Wu Shen's body tensed. A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes. She opened her mouth but no words came.
Yuan's irritation deepened.
"Tch. Annoying."
Without another word, he flicked his fingers.
The azure snake of flames slithered behind her, its flickering body moving with a mind of its own. Before Wu Shen could react, a sharp, burning pain spread across her back.
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
She let out a piercing scream, her body convulsing slightly despite her paralysis. The sensation of her skin slowly burning, little by little, made her eyes roll back in agony.
Minutes passed.
Then, just as she thought the pain would consume her, it stopped.
Yuan let out a bored sigh.
"So, do you want to tell the truth now?" His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
"We can do this all day, Wu Shen. I have time."
His sharp azure black eyes gleamed in the dim light as he leaned slightly closer, his smirk returning.
"Though, I do hope you enjoy pain."
He tilted his head, observing her trembling form. "Because if you don't start talking…"
The azure snake coiled tighter, its flames flickering ominously.
"You'll soon learn the meaning of true agony."
Wu Shen's body shuddered.
Fear. True fear.
Yet, Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.
Tch. Why is she only fearing me now?
He had thought he had already broken her mind. But it seemed… he had not.
"I-I will speak! N-No more p-pain, please!" Wu Shen's weak, trembling voice barely escaped her lips.
Yuan clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Then speak already," he said, his tone laced with impatience.
"Yes! Yes! I will speak! I will speak!" Wu Shen cried out desperately, her words tumbling over each other. "The Elder ordered me to create a disturbance in the Thirty Plants Forest… to force the Howling Wind Sect to send disciples to investigate! Then, I was supposed to kill them, one by one, until a core disciple from our family arrived… That way, they could earn some reputation."
Her breathing quickened as she rushed to explain. "As for why I had to do this, or who was meant to complete the mission in the end… I don't know! Really! I swear I don't!"
Yuan narrowed his eyes.
Hmm… So, this is just a simple mission manipulation.
It wasn't that big of a deal,yet.
But things would become far more complicated once he killed her.
If he returned and claimed he found nothing, sooner or later, more disciples would be sent to investigate. And when they did, they'd realize that the 'demonic beast' was gone.
Then, the Third Grand Elder himself would step in.
After all, someone had interfered with his scheme.
And once that happened… he'd start investigating every single person who had entered the forest.
Yuan let out a slow breath.
So… what should I do?
His mind churned through the possibilities, weighing his options carefully. But he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind for now.
For the moment, there was something else he wanted to know.
His sharp gaze locked onto Wu Shen once more.
"Say… why is a half demonic beast mind so clear?" His voice was calm, but curiosity flickered in his eyes. "From what I know, no half-demonic beast is capable of rational thought until they reach the Marrow Essence stage. So how is that possible?"
This was a genuine question.
Half demonic beasts with dominant human bloodlines weren't unheard of. But that was only possible in the higher planes.
Not here in the lower plane.
So how?
Wu Shen's face paled even further, her entire body stiffening. Her nerves tightened. She hesitated for a moment before stammering out a response.
"I-I c-can't say… I-It's too m-much of a s-secret of our f-family…" She shuddered violently. "I t-took an Oath of Heavens… I c-can't speak of it to an o-outsider."
Tears welled in her eyes, streaming down her charred face.
Yuan sighed.
An Oath of Heavens…
Now, this was a real problem.
No one could break an Oath of Heavens.
Not even Basilisk at his strongest.
Not even the peak old monsters who had lived for thousands of years.
Before the Heavens, everyone was an ant.
But…
She could still be lying.
Yuan's expression darkened slightly. If she was lying, he'd find out soon enough.
Without another word, he snapped his fingers.
The Azure Snake slithered forward once more, its flickering flames casting eerie shadows against the cave walls.
Wu Shen tensed immediately. Her breath hitched, her body trembling violently.
Just the sight of the flame made her mind spiral into terror.
Yuan smirked.
She's already traumatized.
Perfect.
"Ahhhhhh!!!" Wu Shen screamed again, her voice raw with agony as the flames lightly burned her back.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
The cycle of pain and silence repeated over and over.
Until finally…
She broke.
Tears streamed down her face.
Her voice cracked.
And one by one, the secrets of the Wu family spilled from her lips.
As a main branch member, she had taken fewer Oaths of Heavens than others.
And so…
Yuan learned about the Wu family.
He learned many things.
And the more he heard…
The more amused he became.
It seemed the Wu family had at least four Marrow Essence elders, and their family head was on the verge of breaking through to the next stage.
That, in itself, was highly interesting.
After all, once he broke through, he would become the strongest cultivator in the Seven Peak Mist Mountains within the human lower-plane domain.
If that happened…
The balance between the Seven Sects and the Five Families would be shattered.
This was important information,information that could change the power structure of the entire region.
But that wasn't the only thing Yuan had uncovered.
When he asked about the so called "Powdered Bone Essence," Wu Shen had finally confessed the truth.
It was a deception.
Something the Wu family had created.
Clouding Powder.
Its effect?
At first glance, it smelled exactly like Powdered Bone Essence.
But if someone inhaled it for long enough, it would cloud their thoughts, leading them to make false decisions.
Hearing this, Yuan's expression darkened.
A subtle, yet dangerous trick.
Still, he couldn't help but ask
"Why didn't it work on me?"
Wu Shen hesitated but eventually answered, "You weren't close enough to inhale the full effect."
Yuan frowned.
But after a moment of reflection…
He realized something.
His thoughts had indeed felt a little strange after smelling the Clouding Powder.
It wasn't enough to control him… but there had been a subtle influence.
"Interesting…"
For the first time, Yuan became genuinely intrigued by the powder's production.
And, surprisingly…
It was simple to make.
It only required a few common herbs, but the main ingredient was what truly mattered.
To create Clouding Powder, one needed Blood essence from a Bone Forging demonic beast Finely ground bone powder from the same beast
These two components mimicked the scent and texture of real Powdered Bone Essence.
Yuan smirked.
Clever.
However…
"I can make it even better."
Although he already knew of stronger mind affecting substances, they were too expensive to create at his current level.
For now, this Clouding Powder was an excellent tool.
With this, Yuan had learned everything he needed from Wu Shen.
And that meant…
She no longer had any value.
His gaze drifted to her bag of holding.
Without hesitation, he rummaged through it, taking every pill that was useful to him.
Naturally, he also picked up the quasi spiritual cystal blue sword.
But after a long, frustrating moment of thought…
He sighed and abandoned the idea of taking it.
His heart clenched at the loss, but carrying such a weapon would only bring unnecessary trouble.
He would obtain something better in the future.
And then, just as he was about to kill her.
An idea struck him.
A way to still make use of Wu Shen.
His eyes began to gleam with azure of this new plan forming in his mind.
With that decision, he swiftly turned away, stepping out of the cave.
Then, without a single glance back, he left the Lifeless Region behind.
But just as Wu Shen began to feel hopeful,thinking that she might somehow make it out of this situation alive
She saw him return.
And he wasn't alone.
No…
He had brought something with him.
A Blood Fox Demonic Beast.
It wasn't anything too terrifying,just a newly advanced Meridian Awakening Stage beast.
Yet, she could feel its cultivation the moment it entered the cave.
Its spiritual pressure was raw, untamed, surging freely without even the slightest attempt to conceal it.
Yuan, however, remained completely unbothered.
His hand gripped the fox by its neck, holding it effortlessly despite its furious growling and struggling.
Then, without hesitation
He threw the beast onto the ground.
THUD!
The fox let out a sharp snarl, only for Yuan to strike it down in one smooth motion, knocking it unconscious with ease.
And then, before Wu Shen could even process what was happening
He walked toward her next.
She barely had a moment to react before
THUD!
Her vision blurred.
The last thing she saw was a pair of cold, glowing azure eyes staring down at her with absolute indifference.
And then
Darkness.
She was left confused. Puzzled. Clueless about what was about to happen to her.
Meanwhile, Yuan stood over both the unconscious Wu Shen and the Blood Fox Demonic Beast.
His expression remained calm, calculating, unreadable.
Slowly, he reached into his sleeve, retrieving a small knife,its blade sharp and gleaming under the dim light of the cave.
Without hesitation
He pressed the blade against Wu Shen's flesh and drew blood.
Scarlet droplets dripped onto the cold stone floor, forming a small puddle.
But Yuan didn't stop there.
With practiced precision, he began to use her blood to draw.
Circles.
Runes.
Symbols.
Intricate, patterns took form beneath his fingers, flowing together with a beauty that was almost mesmerizing.
Even though no one was awake to witness it…
If someone had seen this moment
They wouldn't have understood it.
No one would.
Because this wasn't just some meaningless bloodstain on the ground.
A beautiful yet eerie painting, woven together in an elegant yet unfathomable design.
It resembled an altar.
A dark, sacrilegious altar.
Stained with the blood of a Bone Forging cultivator.
An altar that seemed to call out to something.
Something cruel.
Something wicked.
Something that should never be touched.
And yet Yuan continued his work.
Unfazed.
Unbothered.
His expression as cold and indifferent as ever.