Dark Psychology

Yuan Haoran looked towards the direction of the shout and saw a shimmer in the air. A strange transparent membrane formed like the surface of clear water without ripples. Then, the horizontal membrane tore at the centre and widened slowly. 

As the gate widened, Yuan Haoran felt his mind become a little unsettled. It felt like this was the most significant moment since his transmigration, even though he had been a part of this world for about ten years. To him, the domain was like a cocoon that kept him safe and hidden. 

The gate was the real beginning of his journey in the cultivation world. 

Despite the outward appearance of calm, he was anxious about his ability to survive in a different time and space. He would have to learn how an entirely new world operated and forget about his modern existence. 

This was his new reality. 

The prospect was exciting but also daunting. It was going to be rife with danger, and the risk of death was real. But again, that was not different from his modern life. Once again, he was going to traverse the world to find what he most longed for. 

He had failed miserably in his past life. But this time around, he was going to succeed, even if it meant setting the world on fire. His eyes blazed with a determination that glowed as he looked at the gate that held promise. 

His turbulent thoughts made his spiritual energy become unstable and stir up around him. 

"Lighten up! We are going home. I swear this is the last time I will come to this place." Long Jingyi spoke cheerfully and placed his arm around Yuan Haoran just as his intense power was about to break free from his body. 

Yuan Haoran felt his erratic spiritual energy becoming stable, and he broke away from the intense thoughts that almost made him make a mistake. If his turbulent energy went berserk, he would have caused a lot of injuries on the campground. 

After all, a single moment of inattention had obliterated the necropolis into dust. 

Fortunately, Long Jingyi had that repulsive energy that seemed to be a dampener to his power. Because of this, Yuan Haoran just avoided a dangerous situation that could have cost him his new future. At the same time, he could not help but be concerned about Long Jingyi. 

So far, it was fine because Long Jingyi considered him to be a friend. However, if this matter were to change in the future he would be in a vulnerable spot. Of course, the dampening effect seemed to be only pronounced on contact and close proximity. 

In a long-distance altercation, Yuan Haoran was confident he could eliminate Long Jingyi with just a little effort. He had already thought of how he would deal with Long Jingyi if it came to that. His rule was to always have a way and be ready to kill anyone close enough to kill you. 

So far, the motto had worked out for him, and he had killed a lot of people before they knew what was happening. He had even killed someone he thought he would always protect. Once again, his spiritual power rippled despite the dampener being right next to him. 

"You are being quite gloomy for someone about to go home and leave this sad place. If you keep having too many dark thoughts, you will face a bad inner demon, and your cultivation will deviate." Long Jingyi spoke up again with casual concern. 

Yuan Haoran took a deep calming breath. He needed to find a way to stabilise his power before he went berserk. His instability was obvious to Long Jingyi, so he would have more problems if he faced more powerful cultivators. 

Older cultivators might sense his unstable state and might even act before he consolidated his foundation. In addition, he did not know if someone would be able to identify his devil cultivation if he continued losing control. 

But Yuan Haoran always had a plan. 

"I do not have a home." He spoke with obvious wistfulness in his voice. "When I go outside the domain, I will be once again a lone loose cultivator, drifting from one place to another. At least inside here, there is some kind of stability." 

As a modern-day Demon King, Yuan Haoran was well-versed in using all manner of techniques to get what he wanted. In most cases, he used hard techniques because they had faster results. However, he was also a master of dark psychology. 

Long Jingyi knew he had stepped on a minefield. However, as a hardboiled man, he did not know how to deal with someone who looked so sad and opened up easily. It made him uncomfortable, and he wanted the matter to be resolved immediately. 

He was even more worried because Yuan Haoran's cold spiritual energy kept fluctuating dangerously as if he was going to self-explode. If he said the wrong thing, he could end up with a catastrophe in his hands. 

"There is no need to worry about that now. We are brothers." Long Jingyi thumped a fist against his chest. "You can follow Brother Long and live a good life. When it comes to the cultivation journey, your family is the people you meet along the road." 

"Family..." Yuan Haoran lowered his head. 

Long Jingyi felt like another mine exploded. 

"Blood ties do not matter. You just need to keep moving." He did not give Yuan Haoran a chance to speak again. "People are starting to exit. Once we are back on the open continent, I will treat you to a good meal." 

Yuan Haoran did not say anything as he looked at the people rushing to the exit. His eyes turned back to Long Jingyi who was already walking away. He glanced back for a second like he was afraid that Yuan Haoran would start crying. 

Yuan Haoran hid a smirk by lowering his head, causing the hood to cover more of his face. 

As expected, the white lotus act was the best technique for dealing with heroes. The pure and weak approach was used by women through countless generations to evoke feelings of protectiveness and even subsequently, commit the worst acts known to man. 

As someone who dealt with a lot of underworld 'projects', he was familiar with the tricks that worked for different people. Someone like Long Jingyi probably liked being valiant and solving problems when helping others. Naturally, he was more considerate of the weak. 

Yuan Haoran used that to his advantage. 

Was he embarrassed about using a soft and weak girl tactic on Long Jingyi? No. When it came to achieving his goals, he did not have taboos. And for now, he needed to remain close to Long Jingyi until his power was stable. 

Moreover, he wanted to find out if he could use the dampening effect of Long Jingyi's cultivation to his advantage. Perhaps, he could collect some blood for testing or even siphon his spiritual power to balance out his energy. 

Yuan Haoran got the familiar excitement of a new science experiment. Regrettably, he could not get started right away. But as long as he was close to the golden goose, he did not have to worry. There was enough time to plan his steps carefully. 

"Hurry up before the gate closes." The golden goose shouted. 

Yuan Haoran did not rush, but he crossed the portal with the other stragglers just before it closed. 

He took a deep breath. 

The air smelt like freedom.