"So… what exactly was that chant for?" Ye Heimin asked, scratching his head with a confused grin.
Wang Fang blinked at him, the ancient book still clutched in his hands. "What? You didn't read along with me?"
"Don't take it the wrong way," Ye Heimin said quickly, waving his hands defensively. "It's just… I'm a bit lacking in the reading department. I can recognize the word for 'sword' and maybe the symbol for noble robes, but these ancient squiggles? No chance." He paused, then added proudly, "Still, I saw how the words were arranged. Definitely a spell chant. I'm smart like that."
Wang Fang stared at him in complete silence for nearly a full minute.
"You couldn't read a single word… but you knew it was a spell because of the structure ?"
"Instinct!" Ye Heimin declared.
Before Wang Fang could respond, a horrifying scream echoed through the cavern.
The Tri-Void Soul Devourer that Su Qingmei had been fighting let out a shriek that sounded like a flute being shoved through a meat grinder. Its twin mouths slowly unhinged, opening wider and wider.
Wang Fang's body trembled.
He recognized that feeling instantly, the precursor to a soul-wave attack.
His eyes darkened with anger.
"Not this time, you bastard."
He glanced down at the page one last time, a dangerous smile spreading across his face. Minutes after Wang fang refined the first Tri-Void Soul Devourer.
Ye Heimin didn't wait for instructions. After seeing Wang Fang use that ritual earlier, a realization struck him.
I get it now!
He burst out from behind the pillar too and lunged toward one of the remaining creatures.
Just like Wang Fang, he bit the tip of his finger, ignoring the sting. Blood welled up instantly.
He slammed two blood-stained fingers into the creature's forehead.
Then its chest.
"Blood as seal! Soul as blade! Heaven witness! Spirit collapse! Flesh refine! Origin condense! Return to pill!"
The creature trembled violently.
Its body collapsed inward like sand being sucked into a vortex.
Moments later, a dark pill dropped onto the stone floor.
Ye Heimin caught it and stared at it in disbelief.
"Hahaha! It worked!"
The other two Devourers roared in terrifying dual-toned rage.
One of them lunged forward, its fingers stretching into long obsidian claws. The air warped as the claws tore through space, creating a vacuum around Ye Heimin.
Ye Heimin twisted his body mid-air, barely avoiding the strike as the claws sliced past his ribs.
He prepared to counterattack,
But Wang Fang was faster.
Wang Fang shot forward like a shadow, closing the distance instantly. He dropped into a low squat and drove a devastating punch straight into the creature's jaw.
CRACK.
The Devourer's head fractured like dropped porcelain.
It crashed onto the stone floor. The creature wasn't dead, but its regeneration slowed drastically before it could even begin to heal.
The cavern fell silent.
Su Qingmei clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
This guy… His cultivation is sealed, yet he's hitting like a runaway carriage.
Mo Xuan and the others felt a cold shiver crawl up their spines.
The "trash" from a small village had suddenly become the most dangerous person in the room.
"Hahahaha!" Ye Heimin laughed loudly. "You're pretty scary for someone with sealed cultivation!"
The final creature began vibrating again. A deep humming sound filled the air.
Another soul-wave attack was coming.
"Ye Heimin!" Wang Fang shouted. "Take that one! I'll finish the ritual here!"
Wang Fang rushed forward and bit his finger again, wincing.
Note to self… find a less painful way to get blood next time.
He slammed his bloody fingers into the creature's forehead and chest. His voice rang out clearly:
"Blood as seal. Soul as blade. Heaven witness. Spirit collapse. Flesh refine. Origin condense. Return to pill!"
The creature shrieked violently, then its body twisted inward, collapsing into a spinning vortex.
A final dark pill clattered onto the stone floor.
The Bitter Aftertaste
Exhausted, Wang Fang sat down on a jagged rock ledge. He didn't rush. Instead, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, clearing the chaos from his mind.
Then he tossed one of the pills toward Su Qingmei.
"Use it," Wang Fang said calmly. "Regain your cultivation."
Su Qingmei caught the pill, his eyes flashing with hidden darkness.
Once I regain my power… I'll crush him. I may no longer have the Soul Shackles to control him, but my cultivation level is higher. I'll make him regret ever showing me his strength.
"Wait!" Bai Lu shouted nervously. "What about us? You're not giving He Sun or me a pill?"
Ye Heimin looked at him like he was staring at a talking insect.
"There are only four pills, prince," he said lazily. "If you want one so badly, go out into the tunnels. There are hundreds of thousands of those things outside."
He tossed the book toward Bai Lu.
"You have the chant. Go make your own medicine."
Bai Lu's face turned pale. He didn't move.
Ye Heimin sat cross-legged and swallowed his pill. Wang Fang did the same.
"You two, stand guard," Mo Xuan ordered the pill-less disciples.
He Sun bit his lip.
So this is how the powerful treat the weak.
But he still turned toward the dark tunnels and stood watch.
Refining the Pill
The moment the pill dissolved inside Wang Fang's body, the pain began.
At first, it felt like he was sitting inside the sun. His blood began to boil.
Then, suddenly, it stopped.
Is that it?
A second later, the real pain struck.
It felt like his insides were being torn apart. His vision turned white.
"PFF!"
A mouthful of black, toxic blood sprayed from Wang Fang's lips.
Nearby, Su Qingmei and Ye Heimin were also trembling violently as they struggled to endure the refining process.
"Focus!" Wang Fang roared through the pain. "Focus your minds or the pill will devour you!"
As Wang Fang closed his eyes, a dark vision formed inside his mind.
He saw himself dying in this abyss.
He saw the news reaching his mother.
He saw her being sold into slavery.
He saw her crying… broken… until she finally collapsed in the dirt as her life faded away.
A deep grief ignited inside his heart. Then it turned into blazing rage.
NO.
I will not allow that to happen!
Suddenly, a golden light burst from Wang Fang's body. The energy surged through his organs and slammed into his sealed meridians like lightning.
"AHHHH!"
BOOM!
A golden shockwave exploded outward.
Moments later, two more bursts of power erupted. Su Qingmei and Ye Heimin also broke through their restraints, their bodies floating inches above the ground as the invisible chains sealing their cultivation shattered.
Wang Fang slowly opened his eyes. The grey world around him suddenly felt alive. Qi flowed through his body like a raging river.
"My Qi… it's back!" Mo Xuan laughed wildly. "I've regained my Blood Refinement Realm!"
Wang Fang clenched his fist, feeling the returning power.
"Just one more of those pills… and I'll return to the Qi Gathering Realm."
He looked down at the ancient book and shook his head.
"But according to the book, I can't take another. If I get greedy… the consequences will be worse than death."
"Wang Fang!"
He turned toward the voice.
Three survivors, Wang Fang thought. But why are they staring at me like that?
Ye Heimin looked hopeful.
The others looked terrified.
Wang Fang slowly smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile, it was the smile of a predator.
"Well," Wang Fang said quietly, his voice filled with power, "I think it's time we show this mountain…"
"…who the real monsters are"