Darius' eyelids jerked wide open with delight and shock. "Sir!"Only calm vibes radiated from Teivel as he placed both hands behind his back. The only emotion that stood out was his smiling eyes. "These little dogs exist—or rather, they used to be real dogs. It's just that I used a unique method to keep them by my side after they died. They can temporarily appear here if I infuse large quantities of life force into them. They'll do what regular dogs do upon materializing."Darius nodded, now realizing how miraculous the former's actions were. Then, another idea formed in his head, causing his lips to purse. Yet, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to ask it directly. "I bet this wouldn't work for humans—""Humans and dogs are different," Teivel answered as he knew what Darius wanted to ask even though the latter hadn't said it straightforwardly. While he said that, his gaze deepened like he had recalled a distant memory. Darius silently stood aside and shot a curious gaze at Teivel.
Instead, Darius willed them to gather in his chest, surrounding his heart in thick layers.Sure enough, the sight before him became disillusioned with time. He sucked a sharp breath in when he realized the room was actually red. However, it differed from the orange paint earlier; this entire space was blood red. There were even globs of red that climbed up the walls, then formed distorted words. Not only that, but Darius could sense the fresh human blood getting infused into this room, giving more power to the room's dried, darkened blood. "This place isn't a hospital; it's more like a massive slaughterhouse!" Darius mused while sighing deeply and shutting his eyes, concealing the fiery rage in his pupils. He spun around to voice his shock and discomfort to Teivel. However, Teivel's hands were behind his back, and he smiled as if unbothered by the grotesque scene.A frown marred Darius' face at once. At the same time, distrust and fear crept into his voice as he asked, "You're my m
oud snapping sounds rang out as the energy supply lines got cut one at a time.Teivel's brow raised. His body levitated while he watched his mentee attack the lines with force. There was fleeting approval in his eyes. He would've given a standing ovation if it weren't for the inappropriate setting.Darius' life force cut off all the lines. Something crackled in the air before darkness engulfed the room. It was like a moonless, starless night sky. At that moment, Darius reabsorbed his life force into his nostrils. It stopped his breathing for a second. This prevented him from detecting the breaths of anyone from the outside world. Darius reopened his eyes again. He realized the situation had reinforced his past choices and beliefs. The enemy he currently faced wasn't a real human. His guts writhed with disgust upon seeing the cultivator before him. Despite how straight and tall the cultivator stood, it was most likely not on purpose. The cultivator's legs and waist weren't human b
While the cultivator had sensed Darius was about to attack, he couldn't dodge in time. Even so, attacking the former didn't soothe Darius' anger. Darius lowered his head, his attention shooting toward his hands. His countenance darkened like the onset of a storm. It was because his blade made of life force had vanished. It was like it never existed. As for the cultivator with spider legs, he had screamed out of fear.Darius refused to believe what was happening, so he willed his life force to form another blade in the air. Again, it disappeared before touching the cultivator's spider legs. That was unlike anything Darius had ever seen. Darius' features wrinkled in confusion. As he pondered why that happened, he heard Teivel's voice in his mind. "Don't worry," Teivel said, "That's a visual disruption by the magic seal. It won't have an effect on you if you're powerful enough. It can't interfere with your resolve or your abilities."Darius calmed down upon hearing that. Sighing, he
Still, it was more accurate to say that Darius hadn't thought about it yet. Brows going up in exhaustion, Darius flashed a helpless, weary look. Little did he expect to see a relaxed and upbeat smile on Teivel. "You don't need to worry about that," remarked a cheery teivel. "You've already broken the seal once with your abilities earlier. I'm sure it'll be easy for you to do it again. The reason you can't now isn't because you're unwilling. It's because you don't believe in yourself."That shocked Darius, who needed to take two deep breaths before smiling back at the former. "I can break this seal with my abilities."It wasn't a question he had uttered. Instead, it was confident reassurance to himself. Even his eyes lit up as he spoke. He then nodded at Teivel, saying, "I understand now."Only when Teivel explained those things to him did he notice the changes to his environment. Placing both hands behind his back, he shut his eyes and tried to sense his surroundings with his heart.
Darius slowly extended his arm and placed his palm against the wall ahead. The countless screaming souls that bared their teeth from earlier materialized before him. Their eyes lit up with greed like they wanted something from him. Darius knew they were after his body. They wanted to take it over and return to life. He refused to fulfill their wish. His lips spread into a thin smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. Darkness shrouded his gaze. It gave off a frosty exterior. It was as if his presence had set off a blizzard in the space around them. Overflowing black life force spilled from his palm. This caused the words on the wall to stop distorting. The words seemed to have grown eyes, all focusing on Darius. It took several seconds before Darius realized he hadn't hallucinated it. The eyes existed. Soon enough, the words crept out of the walls, revealing that they were actually an enormous clew of wriggling worms."Oh!" Teivel exclaimed. "Those are leeches that originate from West
Teivel then whipped his head around. His lips curved enough to flash his pearly teeth at Darius. "You're right! No one has ever thought about this before, yet you did! I'm going to tell so many people about this!" Still standing amidst the flames, he grinned at Darius. He continued, "As for your questions about the leeches from Western Xypora, it's time I dispel your doubts. There are many martial arts cultivators, and they belong to unique organizations. Moreover, my group's histories are unknown to others. So, our historical records differ from yours. It's just that you're unable to read my group's historical records—"A lengthy sigh came from Teivel just then. "Because your powers back then weren't good enough. That's why I never told you about these things. But now, I think it's time you knew."For a moment, Darius held his breath while processing the former's words. He had never considered the possibility of such things, not even now, when his powers had advanced. Now that the
The cultivator smiled in a scornful way. He moved his arm. The remainder of the dust that hadn't merged to form his body flew to his palm.Darius smirked at this and cracked his neck. "Your attack looks scary. But, I only need to look closer to see that it only seems that way. There's no bite to your bark." He shook his head and clicked his tongue.The cultivator had never imagined being mocked this way. He sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled heavily, causing the dust to swirl around the room.Darius frowned, feeling disgusted when he remembered how the dust had come to be. His expression darkened. Without any hesitation, he stretched out an arm and channeled his black life force toward the cultivator.The cultivator looked shocked. "How are you able to use this type of life force? Were you among those who betrayed us?" Then, he scowled. "I don't care who you are. You shouldn't have betrayed us. If you've turned your back on us, you're no longer one of our own. I don't think it