be born again

A sudden mutation erupted in the blood pool!

Standing waist-deep in the pool, Shi Yan was astonished as the blood, seemingly coming to life, coiled around him like vines. Within mere seconds, his entire body was encased in the crimson liquid, wrapping him tightly.

The blood seemed to transform into scarlet serpents, winding around him, enveloping him in a massive blood cocoon.

Agonizing pain surged through his body, as if a sharp blade was ruthlessly scraping his brain, rendering him desperate.

It felt as though countless tiny creatures were burrowing through his pores, wriggling through his limbs and organs, gnawing at his flesh, inflicting the agony of being sliced apart.

His vision darkened; he wanted to scream, but no sound escaped his lips, and his body remained motionless.

A strange liquid slowly coursed through his meridians, like a gentle stream. Wherever it passed, it tore through his untouched meridians, splitting into countless streams, frantically flooding into his 720 acupoints.

Shi Yan felt as though his acupoints were being forcefully expanded a thousandfold, alternating between intense heat and piercing cold, an unbearable torment.

The pain in his mind intensified, and in his delirium, Shi Yan seemed to witness his acupoints undergoing bizarre transformations as the strange liquid flowed in, forming small vortices spinning wildly within each acupoint.

Threads of crimson liquid infused into these vortices, rapidly assimilating and becoming part of them. The vortices, growing larger with the infusion, accelerated the absorption of the liquid.

Perhaps the pain exceeded his threshold, for in his dazed state, Shi Yan felt as though his body had become a vast vessel, and the strange liquid that had seeped in through his pores was altering him in an incomprehensible way.

Specifically, it was transforming the 720 acupoints within his body!

As this thought surfaced in his mind, an unbearable pain suddenly exploded in his head, shattering his consciousness as he slipped into unconsciousness.

After an unknown period, Shi Yan slowly regained consciousness.

He immediately noticed that the pain in his mind and body had vanished, and the strange liquid no longer flowed within him. Except for a faint ache in his acupoints, his body seemed to have returned to normal.

Suddenly, he sensed a warm current, slithering like a snake through his meridians. After a small cycle, his entire body felt comfortable, and his limbs seemed to gain some strength.

Essence energy!

Shi Yan's heart skipped a beat, realizing that the blood pool had indeed bestowed him with some benefit—essence energy, the very source of power for martial artists!

From the memories of another Shi Yan, he knew that essence energy was the foundation of a martial artist's strength in this world, crucial for unleashing powerful martial techniques.

Depending on the strength of one's essence energy and the level of their cultivation, martial artists were divided into ten levels: Acquired, Innate, Human, Hundred Tribulations, Earth, Nirvana, Heaven, Divine, True God, and God King, with each level further divided into three stages.

Martial artists were the elites of this world, and the presence of essence energy was the most significant difference between them and ordinary people. As long as a person possessed even a trace of essence energy, they could be considered a martial artist.

Many people spend their entire lives without ever acquiring essence energy, but if one does, through diligent training, they can strengthen it, ensuring that any martial artist with essence energy has a place in this world.

Feeling the faint flow of essence energy within him, Shi Yan felt a slight comfort. Even if he could never return, he wouldn't starve in this world.

Relaxing slightly, Shi Yan immediately noticed that the blood cocoon still encased him, wrapping him tightly.

He struggled to break free.

"Rip!"

The blood cocoon tore open, and Shi Yan leaped out, looking around. He found himself still in the strange stone cave, surrounded by a heap of bones.

However, the blood pool had completely dried up, leaving not a single drop!

In the desiccated pool, only a few scattered bones remained, the once thick, scarlet blood had vanished without a trace.

In the center of the pool, a massive blood cocoon stood tall, thin as a cicada's wing, with a faint luminescence. But as soon as he glanced at it, a small flame ignited at the base of the cocoon, quickly growing larger, consuming the bones within the pool as well. In a short time, both the cocoon and bones were reduced to ashes.

In the dried-up pool, a gleaming red light caught his eye—a simple ring with intricate blood patterns lay quietly.

Gazing at the strange ring, Shi Yan instinctively felt a deep connection between it and the blood pool. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped forward, picked up the ring, and slid it onto his left ring finger.

A warm sensation spread from the ring, and in an instant, Shi Yan felt a blood bond with it, as if the ring had become part of his body. His faint essence energy suddenly surged, rushing towards the dark red ring, but was stopped by the skin and flesh of his ring finger, unable to penetrate the ring.

Startled, Shi Yan immediately realized something was wrong with the ring. He tried to remove it in a hurry, but the ring had firmly anchored itself to his finger, as if it had taken root. No matter how much force he applied, he couldn't remove the strange ring.

The essence energy, unable to break through the barrier of his skin, soon calmed down, returning to his abdomen. The ring's red glow dimmed, and the warmth faded away.

After shaking his finger a bit and finding nothing unusual, Shi Yan turned his attention to the surroundings, contemplating seriously.

Soon, Shi Yan reached an astonishing conclusion—the blood from the pool had completely entered his body!

The pool, though not large at ten square meters, contained at least a few tons of blood. Even an elephant couldn't have consumed that much blood in one go!

Shi Yan's face grew somber as he instinctively checked his body for any changes, fearing he might have become bloated and grotesque.

To his shock, instead of becoming bloated, his body had grown even more emaciated, almost skeletal. His once-fitting clothes now hung loosely, and his entire body had lost its flesh, resembling nothing more than a skeleton draped in skin.

Emaciated wouldn't even describe it—he was more like a dried-up mummy.

Shi Yan's expression darkened further; he hadn't expected the blood pool to not only fail in sending him back to his familiar world but also to bring about such a strange transformation.

"Gurgle! Gurgle!"

A growl from his stomach signaled intense hunger, and Shi Yan suddenly felt an insatiable craving as if he could devour an elephant.

The stone cave was littered with bones, offering nothing edible. He glanced at the dry blood pool, suddenly realizing that he might never return home.

Shi Yan wanted to find a weapon before leaving. He remembered the clashing of blades and the sound of weapons during the guards' mutual slaughter, but after circling the stone cave, he discovered that all the weapons had corroded in a short time, leaving nothing usable.

With no other choice, Shi Yan left the cave empty-handed through the entrance he had entered.

The air was humid, with waves of heat rolling in. The sound of flowing water echoed from afar, while ancient trees, towering dozens of meters high, stood tall. Dense underbrush, like giant umbrellas, blocked out the sunlight, with only a few rays stubbornly piercing through to the wet ground.

This was the Dark Forest. As soon as Shi Yan emerged, he recalled from the original owner's memories where he was.

The forest spanned vast distances, with trees so dense that sunlight rarely reached the ground, making it dark and damp even in broad daylight, hence the name Dark Forest.

The Dark Forest lay at the heart of the three nations: Commerce Alliance, Fiery Flame Empire, and Divine Grace Empire. The Commerce Alliance was to the north, the Divine Grace Empire to the south, and the forest separated the two, with the Fiery Flame Empire to the west. Any merchant caravan traveling between the nations had to pass through the Dark Forest.

The forest was often home to monstrous beasts, with even level six and seven beasts being a common sight. However, caravans, mercenaries, and martial artists who frequented the Dark Forest knew that the most dangerous beasts typically roamed in specific areas, while lower-level beasts wandered aimlessly.

Generally speaking, as long as caravans stuck to specific routes within the forest and avoided the areas dominated by high-level beasts, they were unlikely to encounter trouble. Only those mercenaries and martial artists seeking out high-level beasts would easily cross paths with them, often leading to heavy casualties.

High risks came with high rewards. If a mercenary managed to kill a level six or seven beast in the Dark Forest, they would instantly earn a fortune. By level six, a beast would already have a demon crystal, a valuable treasure for martial artists, alchemists, and weapon forgers alike.

Beyond the demon crystal, the beast's fur, fangs, claws, tendons, and even venom were worth a fortune. A high-level beast was a treasure trove.

As a result, daring martial artists and mercenaries often ventured into the Dark Forest in pursuit of high-level beasts. But few succeeded, as many underestimated the beasts' intelligence and strength, only to become their prey.

Upon exiting the cave, Shi Yan observed his surroundings for a while. He heard a commotion coming from the direction of the water flow, the voices dominated by talk of women, interspersed with lewd laughter.

As Shi Yan hesitated,

 weighing whether to approach, the voices grew louder.

Out of caution, Shi Yan crouched in the underbrush, peering through the gaps in the foliage.

After a short while, a group of people appeared by the river ahead, two of whom instantly caught his attention.

The first was a beautiful woman with long, black hair, held by four burly men. Her clothes had been torn to shreds, and her body bore signs of brutality. The men had a crude look, making obscene remarks, their faces twisted with lust. Their hands moved roughly over her body, revealing their malicious intent.

The other figure was a naked man, lying dead by the riverbank. His head had been nearly severed, blood pooling beneath him, his eyes wide open in disbelief.

Shi Yan's pupils constricted, anger flaring within him. He knew the dead man, and the memories of the other Shi Yan identified him as the original Shi Yan's uncle, a martial artist named Uncle Luo.

Uncle Luo had always treated the original Shi Yan well, and they had shared a close bond. To find Uncle Luo dead by the riverbank filled Shi Yan with a deep hatred for the killers.

The black-haired woman, also familiar, was Uncle Luo's wife, Auntie An.

Auntie An was the prettiest woman in the Stone Castle, always kind to Shi Yan. Seeing her now, abused and humiliated by these men, Shi Yan's rage boiled over.