The darkness in the cave was no longer a mere absence of light, but had become a companion, a silent witness to Wei Shen's slow, painful transformation. His body still groaned from the effects of his encounter with the Thornwood Gnawer, the wound in his arm throbbing with a dull, persistent ache despite his crude attempts to bandage it. But hunger was the greater enemy now, gnawing at his insides like a merciless, ferocious beast.
"Staying here, in this stone tomb, is slow suicide," Wei Shen whispered to himself, his dry voice barely piercing the cave's silence. There wasn't a shred of self-pity in his tone, only a cold assessment of reality.
The "Warm Pulse Stone" had proven to be more than just a strange rock. Its reaction to his blood, then to the blood of the Field Mouse, was conclusive proof that it held a secret, a secret that might be Wei Shen's only key out of this predicament. And that "whisper" he had felt, that dark ecstasy accompanying the power of predation, still echoed in the depths of his consciousness, an invitation both alluring and unsettling.
"More blood… More power," this was the simple, brutal equation he had deduced.
With great difficulty, Wei Shen forced his exhausted body to move. Every movement was like a fresh stab, but he ignored the pain, focusing all his will on the next objective. He had to hunt again. This time, not just to satisfy his hunger, but to quench the thirst of that mysterious stone.
He took the sharpened piece of stone, now his sole weapon and constant companion. He examined it in the faint light filtering from the distant cave entrance. Its edge was still acceptably sharp, but it wouldn't hold up to repeated use for long.
"Primitive tools for a dangerous task," he thought with bitter irony. "If I had my old laboratory, I would have crafted weapons capable of destroying armies of these creatures." But dreams of the past were an unaffordable luxury. Reality was here, in this desolate forest, with this weak body.
He exited the cave with caution exceeding his previous foray. He knew now that the Forest of Lost Souls wasn't just trees and rocks; it was a true hunting ground, and he was as much potential prey as he was an aspiring hunter.
He didn't venture far from the cave entrance. His strategy was simple: choose a limited area, observe it with patience, and wait for suitable prey in its most vulnerable state. He wasn't looking for "Spiritual Beasts"; those, as he recalled from the remnants of "Wei Shen" Prime's knowledge, possessed special abilities and could be fatal even to novice cultivators from the "Fallen Leaf Sect." He was looking for ordinary animals, those that relied solely on instinct for survival.
Long hours passed, Wei Shen almost a part of the trees' shadows. The cold seeped into his bones, and hunger twisted his insides into a hardened knot. But his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's observing its prey. He watched every movement, every sound. He learned to distinguish between the rustling of leaves caused by the wind and the footsteps of a small, frightened animal.
Finally, after a wait so long it nearly drove him to despair, he spotted his quarry. It was a Ground Squirrel, a small but plump creature, digging enthusiastically at the roots of a tree. It was completely engrossed in its search for nuts or seeds and didn't notice the shadow that began to approach it with extreme slowness.
This time, Wei Shen was more precise, more ruthless. There was no hesitation in his movements. When he was at the right distance, he pounced with calculated speed, using the element of surprise. He gave the squirrel no chance to escape or resist. With a single, powerful, and accurate blow from the sharpened stone, he ended its life.
Wei Shen stood over the small corpse, panting slightly. He felt no triumph, only a cold sense of accomplishment. "Target neutralized. Resource secured."
He carried the warm body of the squirrel, the scent of fresh blood beginning to fill his nostrils. He no longer felt that initial revulsion. Instead, he felt… something akin to anticipation. Anticipation for what this blood would offer the mysterious stone.
He returned to the cave quickly, avoiding any paths that might be watched. The relative safety of the dark rock crevice was his sanctuary.
He tossed the squirrel's body near the "Warm Pulse Stone." This time, he didn't immediately slit the prey's throat. Instead, he sat for a moment, contemplating the silent stone. He could feel it, as if it were calling to him, as if it were waiting.
"What will you reveal to me this time?" Wei Shen wondered in silence.
Then, with a decisive movement, he used his stone edge to open a wound in the squirrel's neck, directing the flow of dark, viscous blood towards the smooth surface of the stone.
As before, the stone absorbed the blood with greed, but this time, its reaction was far more powerful and violent. The red glow was no longer just a faint light but became a powerful pulse, like a demonic heart beating in the depths of the rock. The heat emanating from the stone became stinging, and the air in the narrow part of the cave grew heavy, charged with a strange and unsettling energy.
Suddenly, a wave far stronger than the last time pierced Wei Shen's mind. It wasn't just whispers or vague sensations. This time, there were clear images, albeit fragmented and distorted.
He saw fangs and jaws tearing flesh. He saw blood splatter. He felt a savage rush of adrenaline, a primal power, and an overwhelming desire to destroy and kill. These weren't the squirrel's memories this time; it was something deeper, something from the very core of the stone itself. As if the stone were sharing a part of its own bloodthirsty nature.
Then, amidst these brutal images, a flash of knowledge gleamed. Not a complete technique, nor a grand legacy. It was… a seed. A seed of primitive understanding of how to use "Qi" in a way entirely different from the naive teachings of the "Fallen Leaf Sect" or the teachings of this world. A method based on extracting vital essence from blood and converting it into raw, aggressive, destructive power.
"Blood Qi…" The two words formed in his mind with chilling clarity. "A path that relies on death… to enhance life."
Wei Shen felt his body tremble, not from fear this time, but from a dark excitement, from a terrible realization of this path's potential. This path that seemed as if it had been designed specifically for a soul like his, a soul that recognized no moral constraints and believed only in absolute power.
The glow gradually subsided, and the stone returned to its apparent stillness, but Wei Shen felt that he was no longer the same. Something within him had also changed.
He looked at the remains of the squirrel, then at his bloodstained hands. He no longer saw mere sustenance. He saw fuel. Fuel for a new path to power.
"The path of blood, then," he said in a low voice, a harsh, barely visible smile playing on his lips. "So be it."
There was no longer any doubt in his heart. This stone wasn't just a strange rock. It was his gateway. His gateway to a kind of power "Wei Shen" Prime could never have dreamed of, a kind of power that might make even Arthur feel curious… and perhaps, uneasy.
The next task became clear. More blood. More offerings. And more exploration of the whispers of this demonic stone.
The Forest of Lost Souls was no longer just a dangerous place to survive. It had become… his own hunting ground