25 Descent

*Things like sexism and racism are purely for worldbuilding and to make it more realistic. Thank you for your understanding.*

Qing Fang's eyes shone with understanding as he ran at a quick pace down the path and toward the city. Huge amounts of information flashed past his eyes as a lot of information instantly became known to him.

Normal people would instantly collapse onto the ground from the vast amount of information suddenly imparted to them, bleeding from all orifices. However, due to his soul, Qing Fang could easily bear what even ten thousand normal people couldn't.

But even he couldn't intake thousands of days worth of memories within but a second. The smell of her bedsheets, the taste of her favourite food, the thoughts she has for her closest friends and even her preferable sleeping position. Only an Immortal could digest all of it.

Thus, Qing Fang did not hesitate to discard all the pieces he deemed worthless. The only things he paid attention to were her knowledge of the city's political state, recent events and the girl's deepest thoughts and anguishes. Anything else was deemed unnecessary by Qing Fang. Even then, he barely placed a lot of emphasis on the girl's thoughts, showing how she was just a possibility toward himself.

'I see...' The disappointment was evident from his creased brows. The reason for this was the sudden epiphany that the entirety of the Qing Family had been killed but a few minutes ago. A scowl adorning his face still fresh with the water from Chu Hua's attack, Qing Fang was resentful that his perceived advantage had suddenly vanished.

Previously, after determining that Chu Hua was indeed a member of the presence that Qing Clan had in this cage of beasts, Qing Fang thought he could've latched onto the thigh of this organisation to instantly gain a foothold in this new political environment.

Now knowing that it had all been ruthlessly taken from his hands, Qing Fang could shamelessly claim he was more upset than Chu Hua.

Because of this new development that he had seen through the eyes of Chu Hua, many plans that Qing Fang had come crashing down. Most of these plans involved the long term stability of his stay in this cage.

Quickly moving on from the overwhelming disappointment as it was useless to dwell on it, Qing Fang pondered about the benefits he had gained from it instead.

'At least now that the presence the Qing Clan had in the city is gone, I can take a lot off of my mind. I can essentially become a new man here.' A genuine smile crept up Qing Fang's face. Keeping up appearances is so hard for someone like himself and many people may view him in a way he does not want them to.

For example, Su Jie. Although Qing Fang had tried to give a good impression on this peak Stage 5 expert, his useless sister had made it all void with her gossip. At the time, Qing Fang almost contemplated moving to a different city to get away from the wretch who was compromising his social status. But in the end, Qingshan city had many more missions and resources compared to other cities as it was the capital, so he decided to stay.

While he may not attach importance to it, social relationships were absolutely essential for prosperity unless one was an absolute genius. Qing Fang had many acquaintances over the years but he never let any of them get close enough to become friends, as they would then start taking liberties.

One of the things Qing Fang no longer had to worry about was whether the two presences of Qing Clan, inside and outside of this cage, had communication and were even connected at all. Since Qing Fang did not know that he was declared dead back in Qingshan, he still believed the Clan had forces chasing after him at all times.

Doubting another would easily fall into this place as he did, a weight was lifted from the back of his mind.

But, Qing Fang still believed the disadvantages outweighed the advantages. Not only had his future foothold vanished before he could even join their ranks, his future "servant", if she even qualified, also now had no foothold. Thus, even if he wanted to keep separate from the Qing presence within the city, he could not make use of them through her.

Deciding to no longer bother himself with something that did not exist, Qing Fang quickly analysed the other information he could gather from Chu Hua. It was almost amusing how little importance he attached to the event now that he realised he could gain nothing from it.

Now that he was in a new place where nobody knew him, he can start all over again. A feeling of social freedom overtook him. However, it was quickly washed away by the harsh winds once again smacking Qing Fang's body and causing him to feel a rush of cold. Like a hammer on one's chest, the cold would rob one's lungs of all the air and cause them to hyperventilate. Naturally, Qing Fang could easily quell this natural reaction by forcefully gaining complete control over his body with his soul.

Many natural reactions now didn't apply to him. Qing Fang could even increase stem cell production, although it wouldn't have a massive effect in the short term. He could also permanently stop sperm production, to let him enter a state of constant clarity, never plagued by the male's constant desire to mate.

However, right now, he had to focus on getting somewhere safe. He could advance from there.

'What? This girl...' Qing Fang was desperately fighting the urge to throw Chu Hua who was mindlessly running close behind him off of the cliff they were descending. Her little face was apathetic, courtesy of Qing Fang quelling her emotion.

The reason why Qing Fang wanted to throw her off the cliff is that Chu Hua completely distanced herself from any political climate that happened within the city. While she knew the basic information such as the main powers, she had no clue about their relationships neither their sizes. Chu Hua did not even have any information on the upper echelons of The Temple or even the Qing Family itself for that matter.

'It seems I have completely underestimated the immaturity of this child. Hedonism granted by status. And a dainty female no less. If I want to get anything out of her, I need to make her realise the cruelty of the world.' Qing Fang thought as he ran down the path toward what he now knew was The Temple's territory within the city.

Although Qing Fang would normally take pleasure in exercising torment on another, it manifested itself as a chore in this case. There were too many variables that could irreversibly damage his relationship with his 'servant' that he could not ignore. Her mind couldn't just be altered at will by the passage of her soul. Once she left his domain, it would be over.

As for any of the figures of the Qing Family that existed in the Qing Clan before falling into the cage of beasts? Qing Fang had never heard of any of them.

Letting his thoughts wander to the future, Qing Fang let himself become eager. His mind constantly circled around the topic of Blood path. He had never heard of anything like it existing before, neither in this world nor the surrounding ones. And while he did not really attach any, massive shock to discovering it as his affinity, that was because new paths emerged all the time.

As for the extent of his affinity of the new Blood path that he had discovered? Qing Fang was confident in it. After all, his power would shape his plans for the future as well as every circumstance he would ever step in. Power, in a sense, could be said to shape a person.

If a person suddenly lost all of their memories, would they still be the same person? The answer is no. Because experience massively shapes who we are rather than inborn personality traits. Thus, it could be said that the same person would have different experiences whether they had power or not. And with different experiences, they would be different. While they might like the same type of women and food, the ideologies of the two would be massively different.

All because of power.

One could say that power is gained in exchange for the person you once were.

And in response to this, one such as Qing Fang would readily throw away sentimental attachment for himself so long as he gained power, so long as he gained authority.

After all, every person can be separated into two categories: one who kills and one who does not kill. When stepping on the path of power, one must ask themselves the question, "which one are they?" One who does not kill simply can never reach the peak. Only one who kills can do so.

And what must a killer do? A killer must sacrifice. A killer who is afraid of death is still holding back from committing himself to the deed. Deep within his mind, there would still be some semblance of protest or indignance. After all, he who kills should be prepared to be killed himself. He must achieve his goals, by any means necessary.

The steep stone steps that comprised the path downward glistened under the sun with dampness from the water that had rushed a moment ago. The almost white stone became extremely slippery once wet and one would find it easy to slide all the way to the bottom of the path. Although if they did, they would be a lump of purple and red flesh.

Coupled with the expansive area of 'sky' within the sunken valley, it was a scene worthy of a landscape. Although the area above the city was not qualified to be a sky, it was still huge enough that clouds formed and performed the natural water cycle in it.

Due to the sharp winds, Qing Fang and his clothes had completely dried after they had been soaked. His black hair no longer stuck to his head and swayed in the air as it conveyed the feeling of being very soft. Even though it was deemed cultural as well as very attractive, Qing Fang never grew out his hair, fearing it would restrict him in battle.

Many a time had he used an opponent's long hair to kill them. The latest was Qing Jinfeng, given that his hair was long enough that Qing Fang could completely lift him off of the ground with it. And while Qing Fang's hair could be pulled, it was not long enough to let another do to him what he did unto Qing Jinfeng.

Qing Fang could only hear one set of footsteps.

Looking through the soul of Chu Hua a few more times, specifically at Stage 6 Hong Yuxuan in her memories, Qing Fang deemed no more information important. There were no ridiculous customs that he had to be aware of and the common human language was spoken.

However, one thing he did find interesting was that skin colour was indeed a social construct within the city. Completely opposite from the outside world, white-skins were the oppressed and brown-skins were the oppressors.

It was completely believable. White skin was only introduced to this city when cultivators from the outside world stumbled into it. With such a discrepancy in the population of the two races, the masses directed their frustrations and hate for one another toward the outsiders.

However, racism was completely natural. Even animals ostracised or even killed those that looked the same as them but had a differing colour or attribute. It was in the best interests of any organisation of beings to direct internal hate outward. The most common case of this is obviously racism; but it can also include war, terrorism and even xenophobia: those that look exactly alike but hate each other solely due to the reason that they belong to different organisations.

Knowing that he belonged to a 'minority', however, Qing Fang simply dismissed it. Just like his previous plans, nothing had changed. Since he didn't seek political or social status, he does not need to fit in, nor does his existence even need to be known. He would just slowly amass power in the darkness. As for what came next, too many things came before it so there was no use thinking about it now.

Directing his divine sense over to Chu Hua, who was staring blankly while running closely behind him, Qing Fang quickly adopted the art of controlling not only the body but also the mind, with his soul.

Having not experienced himself with the art of it at this moment, Qing Fang was simply fascinated at how he could completely rewrite the soul of another person forcefully. However, this endeavour would require extensive research into the soul, research that would be acquired during the process of unlocking the soul. Naturally, Qing Fang already had it.

To have a locked soul is to have a sheathed sword. Not only can you not use it, but you cannot even see the blade. An unlocked soul is to have an unsheathed sword. You can use the sword for offence but you can also see the entire blade, granting one knowledge about the very weapon they wield.

Although in Qing Fang's case, since the range of his divine sense is incredibly small due to his pitiful cultivation, his sword could be said to be a needle.

Playing around a bit as they ran, Qing Fang found himself capable of doing pretty much anything with her mind, even implanting memories that never happened or completely erasing all of it. However, there was one immense drawback: any changes he made to her soul would instantly disappear once he relinquished control of her.

Whether it be moulding the ideal servant for himself or turning her into a slave of lust, all of it would disappear and revert once she left his small domain of one meter; his divine sense's range.

Thinking on this, Qing Fang realised that this might be why Stage 9s can so easily take over the entirety of the Mortal Realm shortly after ascending. Being able to control Stage 8s from a range even Qing Fang couldn't imagine, the Stage 9 could keep them in a suspended state of control, even going as far as to rewrite all of their personalities and managing them that way. So long as they don't leave the domain known as divine sense, they would be Stage 8 puppets.

But it was also due to this reason that huge organisations in the Mortal Realm must be avoided. With a Stage 8 presiding over it, gaining loyalty from rebellious subjects and even the forces of vanquished foes would be instantaneous.

However, because of the insane power that the unlocked soul granted, Qing Fang did not doubt that Stage 8s and 7s would not dare use this power for the simple reason of not letting each other grow stronger. There must be some sort of common laws restricting the manipulation of the masses.

Naturally, Stage 9s could forcefully ignore this with their power.

Realising that he could not truly take advantage of the power he held due to his weak body that limited the range of his divine sense, Qing Fang used his soul to put Chu Hua in perpetual slumber. Then, he draped her lean and curvaceous body over his shoulders and rushed forward at an even faster pace.

From Chu Hua's memories, the path to the slums of the city was known to him. As of now, this was his destination. Lurking in the shadows could only be done best where the shadows were most feared.

Naturally, the shadows in a residential district would not be feared as there would be security or whatever. In the slums, where thieves, rapists and murderers were commonplace; any dark alley could contain a vicious person, wanting to eat your flesh. In the near future, Qing Fang would become one of these people.

The slums of this particular city were quite large in comparison to Qingshan. That being said, the slums in any city were extremely large. This was because only a small part of the populace, the cultivators, we're granted any semblance of privilege. But even then; peak Stage 3 Qing Fang, a captain on the battlefield, lived in a shack for most of his life.

From this, it could be seen that the slums in any city were massive. However, these slums were much bigger. Solely due to the fact that they had a small cultivator ratio. Compared to the outside world where cultivation resources could be imported and gathered, cultivators were still a rare sight.

But here? There were limited resources that barely replenished over time. From this, cultivators essentially had to ration the resources, pitiful compared to what Qing Fang was used to. Thus, with a smaller population at the top, a larger one occupied the bottom: slums.

Even though Qing Fang anticipated some sort of search and destroy party after Chu Hua on Hong Yuxuan's orders, he believed the time window was still short enough. After all, Chu Hua had just ascended the path and now, but a minute's time later, they were already descending again. Qing Fang had no doubt that he would be able to slip through in time. If not, he was still wearing the apparel of The Temple and had apprehended the suspect, had he not?

The path slowly became drier as they got farther from the epicentre of the recent tides of water. The steps that Qing Fang silently traversed lost their glimmer in the sun and became duller until they regained the boring light-grey colour they had before.

Just ahead, the path gradually started becoming wider and the steps broader, making for easy running. Suddenly curving to the left, Qing Fang knew the path was coming to an end.

With the tops of luscious green trees suddenly appearing on the side of the path that was the cliff and not the cliff face, Qing Fang knew he was but a minute's time away from the ground.

The trees grew taller and taller until they encapsulated the path carved into the cliff face and transformed it into a tunnel of green and grey. The tunnel was illuminated by green light reflected off of the trees' green leaves that were the size of a hand.

After running for a few more breaths' time, Qing Fang saw the path reach the ground and suddenly arc left, away from the cliff and into The Temple's deepest territory. Huge pagodas built into the cliff face were just ahead but Qing Fang turned left before he could pass them.

Now on a paved road that was scarily quiet, as per Chu Hua's memories, Qing Fang ran through a number of huge and grand buildings. Qing Fang suspected that it was quiet due to the fact that some sort of massacre was planned today, with the victims being the Qing Family, the rulers of The Temple.

'A coup d'etat, huh? How unoriginal.' Qing Fang thought lazily as he rushed along with the paved stone with the damsel on his shoulders. The stone beneath his feet was the only type of stone anybody could find, the light-grey stone that made up the cliffs.

Suddenly passing a huge hall, Qing Fang spared it a glance. This was where Chu Hua had fled from just a moment ago and also where a dozen powerhouses were slaughtered, including Chu Hua's father.

Wanting to get out of here even though he was wearing The Temple's robes, Qing Fang paid no attention to his surroundings.

Passing a few people as he rushed along, Qing Fang successfully entered the main city controlled by the City Administration. From here, the slums were but a few minute's run away.

*3,364/3,000 words*