Chapter 2: Meeting a dying god

Cao Yun was laying broken at the bottom of the pit. He was still alive but barely. A 3rd-grade Mortal had bones that could endure a fall fatal to normal humans. Even with this kind of body, Cao Yun could feel that his back was broken in multiple places, he should have fallen very deep within the earth. He could also feel the warmth of his own blood flowing below him.

Unable to think clearly, he was about to lose consciousness. Only the terrified face of his little sister kept him awake. He knew that if he let go, he would never wake up. But, despite all his struggle, he was still losing blood and could not move at all.

His blood was flowing down the rocks and even further below, deep within the earth. It touched something that had been there for hundreds if not thousands of years. Cao Yun knew nothing of what was going down below his broken body. Finally, he could not fight anymore and his mind went blank. The last thing he saw was the face of Cao Huiying distorted by sadness and fear.

Sorry, little Huiying, your big brother failed you. Sorry, mother. Sorry, father. Please, forgive me in the next life...

As his view became pitch black, something else invaded his mind. It was a tiny dot of red light. Cao Yun could not think anymore and had lost all awareness of himself or his surroundings, yet he was barely aware of this light. It pierced through his mind and Cao Yun clearly felt it rummaging through his memories. He felt violated as every memory he ever lived and every thought he ever had were laid bare for this thing to examine. It felt as long as his own life, but Cao Yun knew only a few minutes had actually passed.

"Do you want to survive?"

A very deep voice, as if echoing inside a huge cave, asked Cao Yun. He had not even the strength to be surprised. Immediately, he thought about the light that was still invading his mind and he focused everything on it. It was the last thing preventing him from falling into an endless sleep.

"Who are you?"

"You could not comprehend who I am. If I were to use terms you are familiar with, I am beyond your so-called Gods."

"An existence above the Gods?!"

"You only know the first three ranks of your cultivation, I reached the middle of the eighth one. I am what's called a God Monarch and my title is Cleansed Asura."

Cao Yun was terrified. He did not even know what the ranks above Spirit Warrior were called. They were mostly legendary. Of course, he knew that upon achieving a certain rank, one would be called a God. But the person he was speaking to was even above that level.

"High Lord, this insignificant one begs for your mercy. I did not know your rank. Please, I do want to survive!"

"I saw everything in your mind. I must admit, I like you, neither humble nor arrogant, working relentlessly every day to strengthen yourself and serve your family. Yet, this work was nothing against a stronger foe."

"I concede my weakness... But I know I can beat them. If I survive and have enough time, I know I can beat them, for sure!"

"Hard work alone won't help you. You need to think before acting. You know nothing of the people who slaughtered your family, being their motive or even their identity."

"Please, High Lord, could you illuminate me?"

"I have neither the time nor the inclination to speak about such mundane problems. The reason I decided to interact with you is something else entirely. For 50,000 years, my lifeless body rested deep down within these mountains. And even though my mind was able to endure, I must admit I am at the end of my ability. Very soon, my mind itself will crumble and I will be definitively dead... I had many things I wished to do. But none can be done now. Yet, one wish remains within me: I wanted to have an heir to continue my cultivation path. Your talent is still a little low for my standards, but your character is perfect. So let me ask you, would you mind receiving this old dying remnant of a soul as your teacher?"

Cao Yun was shocked beyond belief. An existence as high as, no, even higher than a God would accept him as a disciple. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure.

"High Lord, this insignificant one is unworthy. The relationship between a disciple and his teacher is sacred and binding even after death. If this master accepts this lowly one as a student, I would not dare refuse, but are you sure?"

"I probably would not do it under normal circumstances, but I am at the end. And I highly doubt that another chance would present itself. If your character was not to my liking, I would rather die and be forgotten. Regarding your talent, it does not matter that much to me, hard work and diligence can even make the great geniuses of all worlds blush. I will ask only one thing of you: when you are strong enough, dig up my body and give me a proper burial."

"This lowly one salutes his master, and swears to abide to his words." Cao Yun could not move, so he could not kowtow but he was sincere.

"I receive your pledge and acknowledge you as my disciple."

"Master, how long can you still survive?"

"Probably one or two centuries, no more. But you should first worry about your lifespan. Your body is broken everywhere and you almost lost all your blood. Without my intent present in your body right now, you would be already dead. And you will be as soon as I leave."

"Please, Master, show me a way. You would not have recognized me as a disciple just to let me die."

"Indeed, I can save you by using the last drop of blood in my body. This blood is so potent that it will probably change your entire body. In other words, your whole cultivation will collapse."

Cao Yun realized that his only way to survive was to throw away all the work he had done for at least 10 years. With only an instant of hesitation he replied.

"I will not resign myself to die. I accept the generous offer of Master."

"This drop of blood is my last treasure. I kept it preciously. Without it, my mind will not even have the strength to speak with you and I will slumber until my real death. So, before giving it to you, I will give you the technique to refine this blood within you and a cultivation method to use its real potential. Open your mind and meditate on my words."

Suddenly, a thousand books worth of information penetrated the mind of Cao Yun. Had he not been warned, his mind would have collapsed. He tried his best to relax and let the words soak through him. When finally everything was in his mind, a drop of crimson blood flew up from the ravine below and landed on his forehead. The red dot of light disappeared as the blood slipped through Cao Yun's skin. It entered his bloodstream.

At this moment, his mind was filled with red, either blood or flame. He saw a scene of destruction. Buildings, pagodas, castles, palaces were all burning, the flames reaching the firmament. Millions of slaughtered corpses paved the streets. A red figure was standing, yelling to the heavens. This figure had 6 arms and 3 faces. Its skin was red as blood with strange lines similar to tattoos. It was the most scary thing Cao Yun could ever imagine. It was full of rage and killing intent. This was the origin of this drop of blood.

Cao Yun skipped through the information he was given earlier and found out how to refine this blood. He needed to guide it with his Qi toward specific location in his body to let it infuse itself within his blood and flesh.

The process took at least 6 hours. The drop of blood kept a trace of life from his last master and also from the monster it originated from. It was this life that prevented Cao Yun from dying as it had protected the mind of his master. But the process of refining this drop of blood inside him was atrocious. The pain was really unbearable. Without a purpose to focus his mind, Cao Yun would have given up. The thing that kept him going was the face of his little sister. She was probably killed like the others, but there was a small chance she was still alive and Cao Yun would cling to it until the end.

If even one member of his family was alive, he would find and rescue them. And if none survived, he would annihilate all the criminals.

Finally, the process of refining the blood was done. The technique used was called 'Domination of Wrath', as the drop of blood was known as the Drop of Wrath. Cao Yun felt a fire igniting within his blood vessels. It spread through his entire body. The 'Domination of Wrath' was a two-part technique: first you had to refine the blood in your bloodstream, permeating the drop within your own blood. The second part consisted of transforming your flesh so that it could survive this new blood.

The Drop of Wrath resided deep within the heart of Cao Yun and now that it was refined, it gave a very small part of its property to his real blood. Even such a tiny portion of its power was enough to burn his muscles, organs, bones and skin. He had to slowly manipulate his blood throughout his entire body to first heal his wounds and then acclimate it to this new kind of blood.

Once again the process was very slow and painful. The only reason he was not dead was this Drop of Wrath. Its magical properties were keeping him alive during the technique. By focusing his mind on the Drop of Wrath and chanting the mantra of the 'Domination of Wrath', Cao Yun understood how to manipulate his new blood to lead it wherever he wanted.

After two or three days of intensive work, Cao Yun was able to heal his wounds and end the refining method. His blood and flesh now had a tiny aspect of the creature from which the drop originated. It was very dim but his skin had a tinge of red it had not before. Even with the help of this blood, Cao Yun had not slept, drank or eaten in at least three days, so he should have been extremely weak. Yet he felt refreshed by feeling this blood full of vigor in him. It did not mean he had no need for water or food, but the feeling was so intense, he almost forgot about his hunger and thirst.

He stood up. The sun was high in the sky and the ravine was receiving a part of its light. By looking down, Cao Yun saw his own blood, blackened on the rock. He fully realized that death almost took him. He bowed respectfully.

"Master, this unfilial disciple has not the strength to help you or even honor your dying wish. But I swear that I will repay this second life you bestowed upon me. When I am strong enough, I will come back and dig you up. But I will not just bury you, I will do everything I can to find a way to restore your life. You saved my life and accepted my as disciple, giving me a knowledge I did not even know existed... You are like a second parent to me."

He bowed again respectfully and looked up. He had to climb the ravine up to the surface. He knew that the exhilaration from the blood would not last for very long and soon his basic needs would take over. He rushed to the surface, climbing as fast as he could. He was still weaker than he was some days ago. That's when he realized that his cultivation was really gone.

The first stages of the first rank, Mortal, consisted in strengthening and forging the body. By refining the Drop of Wrath, he had deeply changed his body and all the results of his past training was gone. But his muscles were still more powerful than those of a normal human.

Cao Yun finally reached the surface. He was in a forest spreading around and on the mountains. He closed his eyes and breathed fresh air for a few minutes. Luck was on his side for he felt a river not far from here. He rushed toward it and drank as much as he needed. He only lacked food, and a deer was fortunately drinking at the same river. Cao Yun had gone hunting with his father once or twice but he had never killed an animal with his bare hands.

Unfortunately for the deer, even with a diminished body, Cao Yun was faster and stronger. He dashed toward his prey and broke its neck quickly, to avoid any unnecessary suffering. After igniting a small fire, the young boy feasted on the flesh of his prey and truly felt alive.

In the same moment, guilt took him by surprise and he remembered his family who was slaughtered just a few days ago. He was enjoying a simple life but every one he ever knew was probably dead. He fell asleep, tormented by these thoughts.

In the morning, he went to gather some food. He dared not wander too far because this mountain was certainly home to more than just animals. There were beings known as demonic beasts. They were more ferocious than animals and had the ability to cultivate. Alas, one of their main way to become stronger in their cultivation was to devour human cultivators. On the other hand, human cultivators could strengthen themselves by eating the flesh of demonic beasts. Their body parts had also all kinds of uses, either in medicine, weapon forging, array formation and many other disciplines.

At last, Cao Yun was relaxed. He skipped through the information of his Master Cleansed Asura. Amidst much knowledge he had no way to understand, Cao Yun found what he was looking for. Cleansed Asura gave him a cultivation method to fully use the properties of the Drop of Wrath, simply called 'Cultivation of Wrath'. He only looked at the first rank of this method, the Mortal rank.

To be known as a Mortal, one had to enter the first rank of cultivation. This first step was also known as the Foundation. As all the other ranks, it was divided into 9 small grades. The first grade consisted in forging and strengthening the exterior body, that is, the muscles and tendons. The second grade then focused on the bones and the marrow. Only after the third grade, did it focus on the Qi.

For the first grade, Cao Yun found out there was a punching routine to perform. It was known as the 'Dance of Slaughter'. It was both a routine to strengthen the body and a martial art. It included eight movements : 'Shaking the Earth', 'Pushing the Sky', 'Forging the Fort', 'Annihilating the Horses', 'Dyeing the Ground', 'Breaking the Formation', 'Cutting the Retreat' and 'Slaughtering the Enemy'.

He started performing the punching routine. With each movement, he had to focus his intent on many things: the right posture, a specific mantra, a specific mental image, and he had to guide his blood through a special path in his muscles using the intent of the Drop of Wrath.

Very soon, he felt a warm feeling surging through his body. The routine was really taxing on him and he could only repeat it three times. Yet he felt he had already advanced in the first grade of Mortal.

During his break, he kept reading the method. There was a way to speed up this grade. If he were to kill certain demonic beasts, he could use their blood to reinforce the path his blood had to follow. And this method was perfectly aligned with the other one: he had to use this routine in actual battles.

In other words, he could kill two birds with one stone by killing demonic beasts to refine his routine and then using their blood to help strengthen his body.

Of course, fighting demonic beast was difficult, and by definition his punching routine was bare-handed. If he was to fight a demonic beast without any weapon, he had no confidence in defeating the beast. Hell, even with weapons, he could easily get killed. The more the fight would drag on, the more likely for another beast to ambush him. Luckily for him, Cao Yun had not yet faced against a demonic beast in this forest, but he knew some lived there.

Indeed, he had already gone hunting with his father, and he saw him cut a demonic beast in half. That was both fascinating and terrifying.

But without the help of a demonic beast's blood, his cultivation would take way longer to progress. He started training around 6 and reached the 2nd-grade of Mortal when he was almost 11 and then the 3rd-grade at the age of 14, almost 15. The man he was after was a Spirit Warrior and even his father waited until he was 45 to breakthrough into this realm. Every day counted for Cao Yun.

What if my little sister is still alive? What if she is persecuted as I'm trying to strengthen my resolve? I must stay alive, yes. But I must also become strong to keep this life!

Cao Yun finally made up his mind. His eyes were resolute to find a demonic beast, slay it and take its blood for himself.