What had felt like forever, was just the brief dumbfoundedness of David speechless endeavor in trying to maintain a straight face during the quiet phase of awkwardness between Dong Xioubei and Little Man.
'Hnnnnngh, Ha! Huuuuuu, Blarrrrgh!'
The young mortal teenage face-palmed while the praying mantis hid behind the boys collar, its large black pupil rolled round as sensed something grave, it tiny sword-like arms gripped tightly onto the young mans shirt so that it would not fall onto the ground.
Actually, David had just noticed that the young teenager called Dong Xioubei was copying the exact same style as Luo Ren, with his black shirt and pants, he was donned entirely of mortal clothes in which cultivators disdain.
'What the heck is this kids mother doing down there?' David thought as millions of theories were displayed in his mind like a security camera outlet.
'HyyyyaaaaaaAAAAHHHHH!!!!'
The woman's raging scream echoed throughout the cave with such vigor and passion, it felt like she was doing some activity that requires strong energetic force.
'Don't tell me the woman is doing that?' David briefly thought of something inappropriate, but he had no more time to imagine as there was an immediate threat occurring right now.
The walls of the dome-shaped cave were vibrating at a high frequency which caused tiny rocky shards to fall down the ceiling, creating a dusty and dangerous environment for all three of them who were still inside the cave.
'Dammit, don't let those rocks fall onto me kid, I don't want to waste mile points and energy...' David shamelessly complained , while Dong Xioubei and Little Man were stuck into the same situation as him.
"Oi Oi Oi Oi, mother calm down! Why do you always do this? Do you want to destroy the secret area? The area that you and uncle had found by luck? And also, this is cave is my only home!" Dong Xioubei screamed in panic while covering his head with both arms, and running around mindlessly as to dodge the falling rocky shards.
'Hey don't leave me here, brat!' David screamed as the tremors began to grow out of control, the cave walls shook like thunder, which made the bookcase containing the precious old books almost tilt over, but Dong Xioubei rushed to place everything inside his spatial ring, including all his other roomy items such as his cooking utensils and his bedding's necessity.
'Plop plop plop plop' Some rocks had landed inside the mysterious dark pool situated in the middle of the dome-shaped cave, only to fall downwards into the seemingly never-ending dark freezing abyssal waters, never to be seen again.
David had wondered what type of water this pool was made of as it was emitting a deathly cold chilling aura that had rooted deeply into not only his metallic body, but also his soul.
'What if I accidentally fell into that obvious death trap, I can't exactly swim my way out, and if I sink to the bottom, I'm afraid that I would never be found ever again...' David thought fearfully.
He was more afraid of falling into the mysterious pool, than being impaled or crushed by a magnitude of rocky shards.
This was only because the latter can give him a swift death, and even if he didn't die, he could be found by the snotty nosed brat or by somebody else, as he has the means to slowly repair himself back to full health like an ant colony digging his nest, working without rest.
The former however... The former will give him a fate worse than death, he would be forever locked under a watery prison grave, unable to drown or die, with having his soul stuck in constant battle against the deep chilling aura that can seemingly attack the divine soul.
He would be essential be completely frozen, frozen but still conscious.
This was a fate worse than death indeed... being frozen will prevent his body to decompose naturally, it will only be served as a curse as his body will be preserved for all of eternity to the end of time.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that in this situation, he would be an immortal.
A being that many cultivators wish to become. Some cultivators fight for scraps pieces to just survive, and can only dream of being immortal.
Some cultivators steal, murder, plunder, plot, seduce, betray, massacre, lie, love, study, protect, duel to advance towards their one true goal, immortality.
Righteous or Villainous faction, none of that really matters to immortals, these two factions can only lay down the steady foundation of basic tools to advance to immortality.
In fact, for ordinary cultivators, wouldn't advancing to a higher realm require sacrifices? Brutally hunting down a spiritual beast for power, although they are not human, what is the difference?
David, in his moment of peril, thought about what kind of being should he become.
At what point does cultivation allow someone to be morally wrong? Unless you only killed evil beings and people who deserved to die. The many spiritual creatures roaming the world are just acting based on their natural instinct.
Would it be alright to kill and kill and kill and kill just to advance in power? Would Lucy Lee, David's sister, approve of this?
If David's only chance of getting back home was to step upon a mountain of corpses, humans, animals, beast, by killing them to gain power, then would he still be himself even if he eventually returns back home?
Would Lucy Lee still see him as her kind loving older brother? Or would she see him as a terrifying heartless monster that would do anything, including standing on top of a towering mountain full fallen corpses that he had personally slain?
David was currently undergoing a self conscious crisis, deciding and reviewing who he actually was through the momentarily flashes of thought running through his mind.
'Self-reliance, strong, kind, caring, loving, hard-working... but what about righteousness?' David thought carefully.
Righteous faction, can anybody really be truly righteous? The pigs, cows, chicken, spiritual beasts that are eaten as casual meals have a mother, a father and perhaps children's, do they not?
The spiritual beast that are hunted for resources, hunted for their organs, meat, bones, nuclei crystal, wealth... are these spiritual creatures intelligent? Do they laugh, cry, fear, feel wrath, feel love, protect their young's? If they do, than whats different from being an evil villainous scum who pillages humans, than a cultivator who cuts down a spiritual creatures like they're only basic resources such as tree logs needed to create a home.
David was no longer human, he didn't know if his mindset changed, but he was now very sympathetic to all intelligent creatures.
He himself had opened his mind, his empathy is not only limited to humans anymore and he didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Empathy is a natural emotion that is completely useless to a cultivator in pursuit of immortality.
To cultivators, it is like a dam forcefully blocking the rushing river currents of energy, needed to get to one side to another. A burden which only sets to restricts one's empowerment.
David, in his past life, had the courage to save the young bicycle riding woman's life, but this came with a price, the cruel price paid was the expense of his own life, so wasn't this an example of a damn blocking force? Efficiently cutting off his the path to the living, the path to power, the path to the top?
Was the only way to the top is to kick everyone else down?
What happened after that one empathetic courageous sudden act of the moment?
'Lucy Lee is left alone... bad, Saved the beauty's life... good, I myself died... bad'
'Two bads and one good, but what if I speculate... The beauty is assumed to be thankful to me? Thus feeling the responsibility to my little sister who is left all alone in the world. The beauty is rich, she is also very well-known throughout the area as a kindhearted scholar. So, in-conclusion, she can grant my sister a more secured life, a better life, a life better than what would happen if she was to stay under my care' He thought logically.
'Little sister, I swear that I will somehow find a way to stand beside you again, not only that, I promised that I will try my best to be the same older brother that you knew in your memories, the one that made you laugh and smile, the one that took care of you and fed you, we were each others only family, my only hope is that you live a good life, that you don't dwell on my death too much, you need to remember to have fun and live life to the fullest, don't waste that, life is precious, not everyone get's a second chance like me...' David choked on his imaginary tears. If Lucy Lee did not lead a happy life, and if the beauty didn't show empathy and kindness to his sister, then he didn't know what he would do, perhaps he would do something truly horrific.
David then thought about his current predicament, not that he was afraid of the rocky pillars, he was afraid of something else.
Spiritual creatures are one of the three main sacrifice needed to advance in realms.
With one of the other sacrifice being needed, is a relic... And what was David? He was a very very very rare kind of relic, being a spiritual relic that has a soul, a consciousness, intelligent, he can also grow stronger and advance in grade?
Think about it, to have the ability advance in grade, wouldn't he be the treasure that any cultivator would kill for? If you needed a 2nd tier sacrificial relic, David can be that, a 3rd tier sacrificial relic? David can also be that, a 4th, 5th, 6th.... and so on sacrificial relic, David can be that.
Which is why he had realized that he needed to keep his identity a secret, or at least try and have his identity known only to a small group of trusted people.
'Can I be considered someone righteous? No!' David thought in contradiction. Before he died, what was he eating? What had he eaten all his life? Did he care for anyone else other than himself and his sister?
The meat he had eaten, they were slaves, cattle's locked in cages to feed the every growing endless cycle of hunger, which in turn cultivates an endless cycle of pain, suffering and anger.
But for some reason, the answer 'no' felt like a lie. Didn't David save the beauty riding the bicycle from being crushed into a meaty pulp? If someone like that wasn't righteous, than who was?
So what is truly being righteous in this world, or any other world in that matter other than pure hypocrisy?
Immortals that had come into being through the so called Righteous faction had done so through endless bloodshed.
'Saint? Goddesses? Sage? Pah! Fake Hypocrites!' David briefly thought about a few faces, but couldn't recall them properly, only the vague silhouette of their shady images was etched into his mind.
'I think I've been focusing on judging people who were not perfectly righteous too harshly, they are humans, and humans are not perfect, but what about me? I'm not human anymore, and my mindset had changed. This perfection, making all the correct choices, always being morally upright, no unnecessary sinning... I guess this thought is better than being heartless, I guess that I am now someone who is completely humane'
'I'm a bicycle, I don't need to eat food, I don't need to kill spiritual beast for wealth, I don't need to plunder, and although I may have the devour function, I can just devour natural elements such as spiritual crystals. The only thing I need to do is ride, travel though the world as one as free as the soaring clouds' David thought happily.
His features, his attack, defense, speed, are just all tools to get him to advance faster. His features, the numerous hidden features in his system, are all just tools to aid him in advancement.
But the only thing he truly needs to do is ride endless miles...
He wanted to be as free and pure as the beauty he saved in the last life, who rode her bicycle elegantly with class as the sunshine rays embrace her visage.
An image that will be stuck in his mind for the rest of his life.
David then thought about the other side, the dark heartless side.
Villainous faction are mostly doing crimes out in the open, David didn't want to think about them too much as dealing with these kind of people is easy, all you need to do was kill them or capture them.
But perhaps with his new mindset, he would rather choose to capture and jail his enemies, rather than to kill, to put life and death in his hand.
Perhaps this way is better? Who knows, but whatever route David ended up taking, he first has to get past the most difficult hurdle, which is to become self-reliance.
To truly become a living being, one that could self peddle his way without a rider to guide him, and become one who chooses his own path.
But for now, he can only rely on his system, and fate.
'Crash crash crash'
The cave shook even heavier, the woman's moan grew louder, David will was growing weaker and weaker, he then sighed as a huge rocky pillar detached from the ceiling right above himself.
This was until he felt something warm.
'Eh?' David was confused.
"You... you came for me?'
His emotions warmly surged as he was currently carried by Dong Xioubei towards the north entrance of the dome-shaped cave, his speed was faster than an average mortal human as he hurriedly escaped along with David and Little Man through the dark rocky hallways.
But after a few minutes, David saw light, it was actually light created by the sun!
The three of them made it into the light, and into the outside world.
David found himself amidst a very tall mountain, one as huge as Mount Tai, filled with large trees, and down below, was a large dense forest, filled with the howling of wild beasts.
A couple of miles away, across the vast forest, was a silhouette of a bustling cities outer protective wall.
A familiar mountain peak could be seen afar in the middle of the city, although it was hazy and vague, David knew what this place was.
This was Suuinsong City, where the Divine Relic Sect reign superior above everything else, with supremacy, arrogance and power.