"Ugghh!" With a groan, a black-haired woman wearing crimson battle robes slowly opened her eyes. Head splitting ache ravaged her thoughts as she clutched her head while her body shuddered. With Ja Sun's mental energy being at the level comparable to an ordinary Spirit Emperor, the woman clearly had no chance.
Her blurred vision slowly cleared and the woman hurriedly stood up despite the head rush. Looking around cautiously, she failed to find the rare spirit beast and the terrifying assaulter that suddenly attacked her.
"I'll kill them!" She gritted her teeth and her eyes reddened once again. But she needed rest and she knew it. So, with a thought, she pulled out her supply of nutrient-rich food.
"Hmm?" Feeling the distinct lack of reaction, she glanced towards her left middle finger and found her ring missing.
Her lips trembled as she threw her head back and let out a terrifying roar!
---
"What is this?" Violet and Ja Sun were in Violet's hidden cave. She actually dug a cave behind a small waterfall close to the inner section of the forest. Holding a rather wide piece of blue clothing, she looked at Ja Sun curiously.
"It's called a bra. Try and wear it. Good thing that the fire dragon girl had a size similar to yours."
Ja Sun continued to observe every item in the woman's essence ring. Gold coins, silver coins, clothes, and food. Aside from the necessities, there were four corpses of rare dragon-type species. This actually placed the ring's space to the level of a wide hall. In fact, the corpses used most of the space. The last piece of item was a silver bracelet that seemed quite cheap and ordinary.
'A momento?' Ja Sun was curious but after organizing the space, he looked around the cave. It was completely normal and the sound of the waterfall was too great near the entrance which was also the reason why the cave was dug quite deep.
"How do I wear it?" Violet frowned and stretched the article.
After teaching how, Ja Sun looked at her curiously while she wore an uncomfortable expression. Touching her own breasts, she grumbled, "This is too restrictive."
"I can see that," Ja Sun admired the clueless Lamia's deep cleavage. He had to admit that in this case, Violet surpassed Ah Yin's ethereal sense of beauty.
"What do you even do inside this cave?" Ja Sun inquired.
"Usually, I sleep during the day and forage in the night."
"Forage?" Ja Sun tilted his head.
"Yes. Although the flesh of spirit beasts is nutritious, herbs and fruits are even better for me since they can help nourish my poison glands. The greater the quality of my poison, the stronger I am. Of course, I still haven't gotten a single year of cultivation."
Violet sighed as her tail coiled behind her, forming into a rather luxurious chair for Violet to sit on. Ja Sun glanced at the chair. He wanted to sit on it himself.
"So? How long are you going to look for humans?" Ja Sun smiled.
"As long as I can find a way to grow. Without growth, life for me is quite meaningless," Violet leaned back and sighed deeply.
"There are rare spirit beasts that gain strength by devouring others. Did you try that?" Ja Sun sat down. Since Ah Yin would probably take longer than a week, he didn't mind trying to know more about this beautiful freak.
"I did. After my teacher left, I... entered a period of denial. I killed and devoured weak beasts and humans but nothing came of it. When I calmed down, I recalled that teacher once said that my constitution is neither of a spirit beast or a human. I figured, I have a thousand-year experience of being a spirit beast, why not have experience of being a human."
"So you contacted other humans in hope of finding answers but you were just regarded as a piece of meat to be weighed in gold," Ja Sun hummed in response.
"To put it in a few words, yes."
"I still can't believe the Spirit Hall never sent anyone after you. You must be pretty popular," He looked thoughtful.
"I usually end up killing most of my pursuers," Violet admitted, "But those that I can't hurt end up dying anyway."
"What do you mean?" Ja Sun's gaze brightened.
"Well... in the last 23 years, I have been captured 6 times including the last four spirit masters, and all of them... well die. The first time I was captured, a pack of thousand-year-old spiders devoured the spirit masters. The second time..."
Violet explained all of it and Ja Sun nodded. This was good stuff, of course. If there comes a day where he has to fight or plot against Violet, he'll have to kill her straight. Of course, the best option is to never reach that level of enmity with this enigma.
"Oh, well, try not to get chased too many times," Ja Sun stretched his arms and stood up with a grunt. He had passed a good period of time within the cave and now it was time to head back to his home.
"W-wait!" Violet suddenly called out.
"You have saved me twice now. Of course, I would also like to think that it was due to my intangible energy that affects the opponent's bad luck. But there is no denying that you saved me... here."
Parting her lips, Violet coughed violently until she vomited a purple gem. Picking up the gem, she slithered forward and introduced the item, "This is my Natal Pearl. Although poisonous, it also counters many cruel poisons in the world. You... can take it," Violet's tone grew softer as she looked away.
Ja Sun glanced at the violet pearl still covered in sticky liquid and then gazed at the embarrassed Violet.
"No thanks, I'm good," Ja Sun nodded as Violet fell stunned. She looked at Ja Sun curiously and finally uttered, "Do you want something else? Is this not to your liking?"
"No... I think this is important to you. Is your poison weakened after losing this pearl?"
Violet nodded silently.
"Then keep it. Not to mention, you vomited it. If you want to give me a gift, make sure... you don't cough it out. And if you do... just don't do it in front of me," Ja Sun smirked before turning around, "Till next time you get in trouble," Ja Sun smiled and walked towards the exit of the cave.
"Then take me with you!" Violet hastily spoke.
"Huh? I don't wanna get more chased than I already am," Ja Sun shook his head.
"I..." Violet didn't know what to say. It was a given that she would be the target for humans the moment she will be exposed but despite Ah Yin's and Ja Sun's rejection, she still offered, "I can help you and your partner find the most amazing spirit beasts. I can even help the two of you find special herbs that can increase human cultivation at a great speed!"
"And all these resources are just lying around? We'll still struggle to get them, right? As for spirit beasts, the one that is simply the best for me will be the Three-eyed Golden Lion. Do you think that beast's spirit ring is easy to gain?" Ja Sun inquired.
Violet looked a little strange before shaking her head.
"You can still get spirit herbs but... Three-eyed Golden Lion is simply impossible to attain. Remember? I told you about my teacher? He is the Lion's caretaker. In the forest, the Three-eyed Golden Lion is the most treasured life..."
"Great," Ja Sun scoffed.
"But..." Violet hesitated for a moment, "It's not like the golden lion will be hostile to you. It may even care for you. After all, you're the only one of your kind and so is the golden lion."
"Thanks," Ja Sun shrugged, "But I still can't take you. I mean, I live in the forest myself. We're cave neighbors. There's no point in following me."
"You live here?" Violet's expression turned strange while Ja Sun nodded silently.
"But... I saw Ah Yin entering the Town. You two are partners, right?"
"She thinks if she sleeps next to me, I'll touch her. I explained to her that after I'm satisfied, I won't, but she doesn't seem to agree," Ja Sun shrugged.
"I have seen human men looking at me like potential mates. You can touch me!" Violet spoke up.
"And get pursued by every spirit master I come across? No, thanks," Ja Sun snorted a chuckle.
"Besides, maybe you're looking at it all wrong. Maybe your human mutation changes your form of cultivation. Did you ever try to absorb spirit rings?" Ja Sun questioned and seeing Violet nod, his shoulders slumped, "Then I won't be able to help you much myself."
With that, Ja Sun left. Chatting with Violet was a good change of pace but associating with her seemed far-fetched even for Ja Sun.
"Then don't think of this as a trade," Violet whispered, "I'm begging. Since my teacher cannot help me, it means there is no hope in Star Dou Great Forest. Since humans will hunt me at sight, I have no hope in human civilization, too."
Ja Sun glanced back.
"Well, if you're just asking for my help... what do you want me to do. You can't enter the city. Even I cannot enter cities and towns carelessly because like you, I'll be hunted on sight."
"I... don't know. I'm just pulling straws. But if I know that you're out there, making sure that if you find a method, you'll return to help me, then I can return to the inner forest and wait without risking my life every day."
Ja Sun thought carefully before nodding.
"How can I find you?"
"With this," Violet plucked the only purple scale in the middle of her collarbones. Unlike her rhombus green scales, this violet scale had one end marked with a green tint.
"This is my heart's scale. It will always point towards the direction of my heart when you infuse it with spirit energy. Tomorrow, I will return to the inner forest... but reaching me will become hard if I return to my tribe so I will wait for you in an isolated location. Even if you never find any solution... you can try to find me for having a chat."
Ja Sun nodded and took the scale before storing it inside the essence tool.
"Take care now," Ja Sun exited the cave from the carved-out narrow path hidden by the waterfall and carefully made his way back into his own hidden spot while keeping his mental energy extended just enough to spot out any hidden stalker.
'There is another way but... I don't even know if it's possible. Though, the implications will be interesting. If devouring beasts and humans doesn't work, this means that Violet has lost the bestial method of cultivation. But she cannot absorb spirit rings either. This means the human method of cultivation is unknown to her, too. Then what if she used a more primal method. To absorb the source itself... the Soul Origin... Beasts have Soul Origins which are converted into spirit rings and humans have Soul Origins that are represented by martial souls. What if she extracted and absorbed the soul origin out of spirit rings and the human martial souls then wouldn't she be able to have the quickest cultivation speed?'
The more Ja Sun thought, the better he felt. Not because of Violet, but because of the fact that he would be able to create something strange the moment he figures out how to extract soul origin. It may even open up an entirely new path of cultivation!
---
*Swish*
*Swish*
*Swish*
"Stop!"
Four figures covered in dark clothes surrounded a dark-haired woman. They were close to the exit of the forest. Her pale face revealed a cold expression as she silently glanced at the four figures surrounding her from a distance.
"What is it?" She grunted with a terrible expression.
"We're investigating the murder of our clan members. We would just like to ask you a question if it isn't too bothersome."
"Which clan?"
"Strength, Speed, Attack, and Defense Clan."
The woman's eyes twitched before she nodded, "Go ahead."
"How long have you been in the forest?"
"Three days."
"I see. Thank you." The four figures disappeared as the woman snorted.
"First that snaky harlot, then that dangerous freak, and now this," the woman bit her lips as she recalled the figure in pitch-black clothes. The memory of being in that bloody world made her heart shudder subconsciously.
"Even though he wasn't violent at all... his bloodlust was extremely great. Can someone actually be so calm after killing so much?"
The woman frowned at the realization.
"Maybe that's the key?" Her gaze turned slightly strange.
"Killing intent... killing intent... Bloodlust... All of this has the essence of killing. I have never enjoyed killing as much as I enjoy... tearing them apart," her gaze shone. She felt that she had touched upon a newer, higher level of insight.
"My bloodlust is mixed. It is corrupt! Wrong, wrong! Anger was never my issue like that man said. It was misunderstanding my lust for carnage and destruction as the essence of killing itself. Death... is calm. After I kill, the beasts cannot move. They pass away. No matter how I destroy their corpse, they cannot feel a thing because the quality of death and killing is related to being calm..."
The woman finally smiled. Her fists clenched and an absolute thirst hitting her mind.
On the other hand, the four figures continued to patrol the forest and questioned a few spirit masters they came across.
"Elder brother, why did we let that woman go so easily?"
One of the four inquired while the leader in the front stated with a bitter sigh, "That woman is Liu Erlong. The investigation team of the clan isn't usually mobilized so you rookies have less information but every leader of the team knows the talented individuals of the continent of the rank spirit ancestor and above. That woman is the most brutal spirit master you will ever face. Even your corpse will be torn and ravaged."
"Then we need to kill that evil cultivator!" A girl shouted.
"Evil?" The leader sneered, "She is also the pride of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! Although Liu Erlong has publicly cut ties with her family and the clan also seems to share the sentiment, in her generation, there is only the young leader of the clan that can match her! Now, tell me, do you think she is still evil? Or do I need to punish you lot for having such a naive view of the continent?"
The group fell silent while the last individual spoke after a few minutes.
"Leader, I still have a doubt. Why would the eighth elder mobilize the main clan's investigation force for those four? By right, the subsidiary clan should send their own forces but Eighth Elder seemed hasty this time."
The leader stopped and looked at his subordinates with a calm expression, "Because the Eight Elder likes to find strange and exotic spirit beasts. He would capture them and learn about them. In the four subsidiary clans, a team formed from every member is a rare accomplishment due to internal competition. The Four Sky Team would usually bring the Eighth Elder strange beasts and now, he thinks that the team has faced some difficulty. Or worse."
The group fell silent before the leader beckoned them to follow him once again.
***
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