Rank 1 Devil

Darkscale consciousness moved to the place where his Natural Heart was a single instant before.

"This..."

His Natural Heart was gone! Now there were thousands of little fragments floating around the space that it occupied before. The discovery was such a surprise that the young snake didn't even think of keeping control of the technique that he was practicing. How could he? He just discovered that his whole cultivation base had exploded into thousands little sharp fragments!

Even with his cold-blooded attitude he couldn't help but be unprepared in front of such a strange feeling.

The strangest thing was that Darkscale wasn't hurt at all in the detonation. It was like when he lost the ability to feel his Blue Link: he didn't feel anything at all! His Natural Heart had literally exploded and he didn't feel anything but a warm wave around the area where the fragments were floating.

"Vzzz"

A distorted sound echoed all around the serpent, while the giant vortex in front of him started to collapse. Streams of Ghost Energy started to run away from his grip, pouring into the air around it.

"Dammit!"

Darkscale realized that he had stopped to control the Heavenly Battleground Technique. Even if it was something he did only for a few moments, it was enough for the giant vortex to loose efficacity and to let part of giant horse's energy escape.

"No!"

Panicking, the snake gathered all his strength to retake control of the technique and stop the vortex before it completely collapsed. He still needed that energy, he still needed the bloodline power hidden inside of it!

After a short but intense struggle, Darkscale regained control of the flow of his cultivation technique. Breathing heavily, he continued to practice it. The new energy started again moving inside him towards the position where before was his Natural Heart, but this time it simply stayed there.

'What will happen now? I don't have a Natural Heart at all!"

Darkscale had no idea on how would the energy be contained inside of his body without the help of a specific organ. He knew that the shattering of his Natural Heart wasn't a bad thing, at least not for someone like him that had chosen to walk the path of Devils.

'Where's the Core?'

Spike told him that in the moments after the shattering of the Natural Heart, a new organ would emerge from the fragments: the Devil Core! It was supposed to be a more powerful version of the Natural Heart, on the same level as the Immortal Furnace that common cultivator tried to form.

However, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't feel anything like that between the fragments of his now gone Natural Heart. Did Spike lie to him? Did he just cause himself to become a cripple?

The thought touched him mind for a few seconds, before being completely rejected. No, Spike seemed to be very interested in helping him. Normally Darkscale wouldn't be so trustful of someone else, but Spike needed him alive and successful. He needed him able to pay him back for his services and loans he gave him. Giving him false information that could kill him or heavily injure him won't be the smart thing to do if he wanted that money back. Darkscale could trust that. He could trust that Spike would act to further his own interest.

'There is no way he lied...'

In the meantime, new Ghost Energy flowed inside Darkscale and started to form some kind of connection between the fragment left behind by the explosion.

'They are reacting to the energy'

Yes, the fragment of the destroyed Natural Heart were reacting to the Ghost Energy that was pouring inside Darkscale. Soon, the fragments started to move and began to gather into a single spot.

Darkscale's conscience remained shocked when he saw what it was happening, but at the same time, this was exactly what Spike told him would happen once he managed to shatter his own Natural Heart. A new container of energy! Spike just omitted to disclose to him that he needed also to continue to pour energy inside the area to help the creation of that container!

"Finally!"

Now, he was taking his true first step on the Path of Devil.

"Devil Core!"

The shape of the union of those fragments was very irregular. It looked like a hedgehog, with countless spikes all around it. However, the power hidden inside it was incredible!

Darkscale could feel that the Ghost and Blood Energy that was contained before in his Natural Heart didn't disappear at all: he could feel sealed inside the fragments. The serpent still felt that he was able to call them out instantly if he wanted.

Moreover, now the flow of silver energy in his new energy container didn't make him sick at all, it didn't feel like he was trying to fit too much stuff in an already cramped environment.

On the contrary, he couldn't help but feel that his new Devil Core was almost void.

He had the distinct feeling that even if he added the energy inside of him and the one that he still needed to absorb, he wouldn't get enough power to even to fill half of it.

"I can increase the flow"

Realizing that, Darkscale's eyes shined with dangerous light as he looked at the vortex before him. The instant after the vortex started to reduce its dimension, while incrementing considerably the flowing of energy towards the black snake.

A low humming sound started to echo all around the cavern, while Darkscale finished consuming all the energy of the winged giant horse.

Thousands of meters away, a green-haired beauty sitting inside a large white flame suddenly opened her eyes. The green and clear iris were nowhere to be seen: her eyes were red, with countless purple veins very visible. Her mouth opened, and Carelia's voice came out of her thin red lips.

"Rank 1 Devil?"

There was a sense of disbelief in her voice. How was it even possible? Did he really advance without going into hibernation? Absurd!

If she hadn't passed so much time with Darkscale, she wouldn't dare to the believe that cultivator that she felt just now advancing to rank 1 devil was him. How did he do it?

Carelia wanted to go and check herself, but she couldn't move! She was cracking open an array left behind by a great expert. If she moved now, she was as good as dead.

"Even if he found a miraculous way to advance without hibernation, where did he find the energy necessary to shatt..."

A realization hit her while she was thinking about it, her face showing an immediate reaction of fear and anger.

"DARKSCALE, IF YOU DARE DO IT, I WILL KILL YOU"