C15 He Was Asleep but He Woke up

The underwater cavern was shrouded in darkness, with no indication of the passage of time. The brazier that had been lit by the man earlier had now gone completely cold, and droplets of water rhythmically tapped in the silence. Outside the small wooden hut, the three Thunder Snakes, which had been lying dormant, abruptly opened all six of their eyes.

The Thunder Snake rose up, a look of confusion apparent in its eyes. It moved restlessly, weaving in and out of the pond with evident discomfort. It seemed to be in great distress; its three large mouths emitted a series of roars as a swelling lump appeared on its abdomen, threatening to grow even larger.

The internal agony spurred the Thunder Snake into a frenzy, rolling violently within the cave. Its massive body slammed into the walls, shattering rocks and sending fragments flying.

With a resounding bang, an explosion echoed from the Thunder Snake's belly, releasing a foul-smelling gush of blood that carried with it a bright red body enveloped in a faint, dark green glow. The figure's tattered clothes barely covered him, leaving only a large meat knife at his waist and the remnants of a shattered porcelain bottle in his hand.

The Thunder Snake realized this was the same "little ant" it had ingested. How had it survived and inflicted such damage? Enraged, the Thunder Snake moved to consume the small creature once more, but as it drew near, it was struck by a profound terror emanating from deep within.

A dark green radiance emanated from the man's chest. The crushed Spirit Pill in his hand transformed into a dense Spiritual Force that dispersed into the air. The glowing jade bracelet absorbed the Spiritual Force, slowly rising and hovering above.

In an instant, the jade bracelet had fully absorbed the Spirit Pill, seemingly regaining some of its power. It burst forth with a dazzling white light, within which a faint figure could be discerned.

The three Thunder Snakes were overtaken by terror. They could not identify the figure, but the presence of an ancient and formidable aura instilled in them an overwhelming dread. This was not the kind of fear induced by the Beast Control Bell's dominance over Demonic Beasts; it was an instinctual fear, a deep reverence for a powerful life from times long past.

The young girl inside the hut stirred, awakening with a puzzled expression. "Who are you?" she inquired. "Why are you bullying the little snake?"

The shadow atop the jade bracelet stirred, and a faint, languid chuckle filled the air. "Who might you be?"

The captivating voice further puzzled the little girl, yet the emergence of a new friend delighted her. "I'm Muh Yi. What's your name?"

"Muh Yi..." The shadow seemed to ponder deeply, yet it had no recollection of the name, murmuring sorrowfully, "I've forgotten who I am... I've even forgotten my own name..."

Muh Yi gasped in sympathy for the figure, pressing on with her questions, "You appear to be hurt? Is it just your Spirit Body remaining, with your Primordial Spirit residing in this magical artifact? It seems like quite a formidable artifact..."

The figure patted its forehead in frustration, speaking in a gentle voice, "Stop asking me; I've forgotten everything. I'll only understand once I've restored my Spirit Body and mended my Primordial Spirit. All I know now is that I am the Artifact Spirit of this bracelet, and its owner is this little one... For some reason, the original Artifact Spirit of the bracelet had a strong resolve to protect this little creature..."

While speaking, the figure turned to gaze at the three Thunder Snakes, or more accurately, at the golden Spirit Pill within the Thunder Snake's body.

The Thunder Snake, its foundation for cultivation exposed, dared not to move, merely bowing its head and letting out pitiful whimpers.

"Are you going to kill the little snake?" Muh Yi asked, her concern evident in her voice.

The figure let out a light laugh, tinged with melancholy, "A tiny Spirit Pill won't make a difference. Although this little snake's cultivation level is somewhat low, the Spiritual Force within its core might sustain me a bit longer..."

Muh Yi sighed, her voice gentle as she implored, "Could you spare the little snake, please? It's been controlled by the Beast Control Bell and is quite pitiable. It devoured your master; would it be alright if I had it apologize to your master?"

The figure wavered, uncertain, "I've been asleep for years, unwittingly absorbing the Spiritual Force from this little one's body. No wonder it's now as weak as an ant. I plan to use the bracelet's power to save it, but if I don't absorb the Spirit Pill from the little snake, I'll slip back into slumber, and it will be a long time before I awaken again..."

After pondering for a moment, Muh Yi spoke earnestly, "But if you absorb the Spirit Pill, the Thunder Snake will die! You just need to sleep for a bit and you'll wake up, but the Thunder Snake will never wake up again! It's just a foolish child that has spent such a long time cultivating to reach this point! We're all in such pitiful states, so why should we harm each other?"

In the heart of the compassionate young girl, there was no distinction of rank among Demonic Beasts—there were only the foolish and the clever. Clearly, the low-level Demonic Beast, the Thunder Snake, was one of the foolish ones.

The Spirit Body fell silent, seemingly contemplating the girl's naive and sincere words. After a while, it spoke softly, "Alright, I agree to your request. I'll spare this little snake! Sigh... I just hope this little fellow is still alive when I awaken..."

With those words, the Spirit Body's white light slowly withdrew back into the jade bracelet. A shimmer of dark green crystal light spilled out, covering the body on the ground. Before long, the light was absorbed, and the body's chest began to rise and fall with the rhythm of breath.

"I'm so exhausted... I need to rest..." Following a faint complaint, the jade bracelet dimmed, gently landing on his chest. It spun once before merging into his body.

"Little snake, take good care of him. I need to sleep for a bit too..." The young girl instructed before falling silent, and the cave grew quiet.

The Thunder Snake's eyes bulged as it coiled itself, healing its wounds while vigilantly watching over the ragged body, no longer daring to get too close. In its remorseful gaze, it seemed to ponder how it had gotten itself into such a predicament...

Darkness was all-encompassing, and the pain was excruciating!

Sunn Cheng found himself in a dreamlike, surreal space of consciousness, overwhelmed by an immense external force that left him gasping for air and unable to open his eyes.

"Ah..."

A soft, dreamlike moan escaped him. He tried to speak, but no sound emerged.

Overwhelmed with panic and fear, he didn't know if he was still alive or where he was... But from the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind, there was a faint echo of the scream he longed to release.

"Live! Keep on living!"

The low moans cut through the darkness, hammering against Sunn Cheng's heart, reigniting the once cold organ with a fiery passion. An unparalleled will to survive surged within him, and clarity slowly returned to his mind.

Suddenly, Sunn Cheng was enveloped in a cool, moist mist carrying a fresh scent, which made him groan in relief. The scorching sensation around his body quickly dissipated, and the tightness in his chest began to ease.

He experienced an unfamiliar sense of freedom in his body's meridians. Instinctively, he activated his nerve gathering cultivation technique, attempting to draw in the Heaven Earth Spiritual Energy. Silky white strands of light coursed through his meridians, spreading throughout his body. Gradually, the flow of spiritual energy quickened, and he absorbed more and more of it!

His meridians, slender yet incredibly resilient, acted like conduits, with the Spiritual Force rushing through them like a stream.

After numerous cycles, his meridians expanded to more than twice their original size. The Spiritual Force left behind tiny, intricate specks of light within them!

This was a sign that his meridians were generating Spiritual Force, a bodily phenomenon marking the first level of Qi Gathering, known as Qi Accumulation!

Some of these specks of Spiritual Force merged into the meridians, reinforcing them bit by bit, while others infused into his sinews and bones, transforming his physique and fortifying his frame.

His skin took on a translucent glow. From the dantian, an increasing number of meridians became densely filled with Spiritual Force, extending throughout his body. All his meridians flowed smoothly with Spiritual Force, leaving behind specks of light after each purification!

This was indicative of the second level of Qi Gathering, Meridian Opening!

His body was akin to parched earth, which, upon receiving the nourishment of dew, began to rapidly rejuvenate!

The Heaven Earth Spiritual Energy within the cave converged around Sunn Cheng, forming a miniature vortex that poured into his body unhindered.

His desire to advance his cultivation was insatiable. Eight years of confinement had honed his tenacity. He never lost hope, and now that hope was becoming reality, he struggled to contain his overwhelming excitement.

Not yet fully conscious, Sunn Cheng relied on the deep-seated instincts of his mind to step beyond the threshold of Qi Gathering, ascending to the pinnacle of the second level.

The Spiritual Force within him surged toward his Dantian, seemingly on the verge of forming a Spirit Energy Cyclone—a clear sign of reaching the "Assembly" phase, the third level of Qi Gathering!

It might have been the sparse Spiritual Energy in the cave, or perhaps because his consciousness hadn't fully awakened, but Sunn Cheng's rapidly increasing cultivation began to stabilize. The nascent Spirit Energy Cyclone was nearly complete, teetering on the edge of the third level of Qi Gathering.

The three-headed Thunder Snake watched in astonishment. It had witnessed and felt the transformation within Sunn Cheng's body. Though it still deemed his cultivation level non-threatening, the disdain once evident in the Thunder Snake's gaze had vanished.

It recognized that a dormant monster lurked within this man, a truly fearsome entity!

The little girl's so-called "foolish" Thunder Snake had its moments of shrewdness. Despite being a lower-tier Demonic Beast, it had developed a golden core and wielded power comparable to a human cultivator at the Spirit Reflection Stage Middle Period. Its intelligence was not to be underestimated.

Without the man's potent Beast Control Bell, subduing a Demonic Beast would be a formidable challenge for any cultivator. Victory in battle did not guarantee the beast's submission.

Descendants of the Barbarian Beast lineage, survivors of the ancient Desolation Era, had birthed countless formidable beings who had awakened their Spirit Veins and transformed into Demonic Beasts. They belonged to a race that had inhabited the Middle Essence Continent far longer than human cultivators. Each Demonic Beast carried within them the ancestral memories and dignity of a once-dominant lineage—a legacy of unrivaled glory.

Despite human cultivators now supplanting their status, the Demonic Beast race retained a formidable power not to be overlooked. The Demon Emperor Island, one of the Ten Great Holy Lands, and the former sacred ground of the Demonic Beasts, the Beast Emperor Mountain, stand as testaments to the recognition they receive from the cultivators between heaven and earth.