"The resolve I had to eradicate the human race back then is not even a fraction of the resolve I have now."
Yuan Zhen's fists tightened, his spiritual energy spiralling out of control for just a moment.
"My hatred will never be put to rest. Not until every human, in all the human realms, has been beaten down and broken, cut to pieces and burned in the flames of my rage."
Qi Zixie tried to draw a breath but failed. She gasped, freezing in place before Yuan Zhen's gaze. She once again was lost in those eyes, and the seas of blood they contained.
Her own blue eyes underwent the most imperceptible of changes, so neither of them realized.
"You are prepared, yes?"
Qi Zixie found her strength, nodding fiercely. "Your servant is fully prepared to do whatever you ask, Lord Yuan."
At this moment, she lost her composure and her suppressed beast form emerged. Yuan Zhen had been able to realize she was a beast earlier, in spite of how she concealed it.
This was thanks to his perfected beast bloodline.
Her skin toughened and the short horns in her hair grew to their full length of almost a foot, slightly curved.
As for her hair, it instantly grew almost seven inches longer, ripping the ribbon and reaching her lower back. The inky black hair cascaded down to blanket her head, concealing her ears which had also morphed slightly.
There were shiny blue ends on some of her black hairs, echoing the nature of her spiritual energy.
Her fingernails even grew a bit and were pointed at the ends.
As for the rest of her body, it shifted into that of a well built, yet still slender and graceful, woman.
Sizable muscles bulged, and it was obvious that her torso was well toned, yet she still retained the look of a coolheaded beauty. She would even seem a bit fragile if you looked at her covered portions.
With every breath she took, a cold air spread out around her, as if she was a frost dragon spewing an icy gas.
Yuan Zhen smiled at the sight of her, keeping his delight well hidden.
She didn't know it, but he had used the pressure of his unique bloodline to force her to bring out her beast form.
"Why would you hide such a beautiful personage?"
Qi Zixie's blue pupils trembled at his compliment, eyes wide in disbelief. She had only ever hidden her form because she found it displeasing to look at.
But now he had said it was beautiful.
A bashful smile immediately crept up on her face. Before she could try to hide it, he put his hand forward for her to take.
Gently pulling her up to a standing position, Yuan Zhen looked her deep in the eyes.
"It seems I'm not the only one with immense hidden potential. You will be accompanying me to Bane-devil Grotto."
Hearing his words, she tensed up involuntarily.
"Bane-devil Grotto? With those terrifying spirits and their bewitching soul magic? I hear they've only grown stronger over the years."
Traces of fear lingered on her face as she thought about it. She had once read about that place, but the information about it was scarce.
Her imagination did the rest, making it a terrifying place when, in reality, it was far less horrible.
"Good. I'm hoping they don't disappoint. I will be using them to strengthen my soul, after all."
He turned around, pulling the shawl around his neck up to his chin.
"Be sure to shut the gates before we leave, Lieutenant Qi."
With a curt bow, she tapped into her incredible speed rushed off. With a single sword stroke, she shattered the chains holding the gate, causing it to come with a crash.
After exiting the south gate, Yuan Zhen stopped to wait for her.
When she arrived, she broke the chains and let the gate shut. From inside, she easily leapt to the top of the wall, then joined him on the other side.
"Let's go."
Thus, they passed through the land of freshly slain corpses, unbothered by it all. Yuan Zhen quite enjoyed the company of despairing souls, and actually slowed down to bask in the scent.
Qi Zixie covered her mouth and laughed at his expression. He had been enjoying it too much, and actually had his mouth open.
Yuan Zhen shared a laugh with her, then increased his pace.
As they strolled, carefree, Qi Zixie suddenly had a thought.
"Back then, in your past life, did you know someone named Jin Yuan?" There was a hopeful expression on her face when she asked this.
"I heard mention of the name a few times, but I didn't waste time on those things as they involved matters of another beast realm."
Qi Zixie heard this but frowned, confused. "Why would you not pursue matters of another beast realm?"
"It makes sense that they'd want to hide it. After all, people panic for far less."
"What do you mean?"
Yuan Zhen sighed, shaking his head.
"For now, let's focus on your future cultivation."
She could tell he was hesitant to speak about those matters, and didn't press him further for information.
"The first thing you'll need to do is to strengthen the channels in your body. Before you can do that, however, you need to raise the quality of your energy."
"How do I do that, Lord Yuan?"
"It's simple. You need to suppress your level, then forcibly compress the energy within yourself. Keep that up until you feel like you're going to burst open, and then continue a bit longer."
While most would be discouraged by such pointers, she was delighted. Throughout the Golden Purgatory Realm, there was only a single cultivation technique in circulation.
Not only was she receiving an opportunity to make at greater gains, she was also being taught by her favorite person in the entire world.
Without a second thought, she began to circulate her energy.
As she was working on that, Yuan Zhen sent his soul's perception outward, enveloping her body.
He could inspect every change in her, mostly because she had no defenses up against him, and was able to closely monitor her progress.
"Good. Allow it to circulate until it feels like your energy is boiling. Let it burn away the channel walls until they widen.
Her steps were slowing down, a pained expression on her face. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and neck, heading down into the valley of her chest. Seeing that milk-white skin, Yuan Zhen was momentarily lost.
He quickly turned away, finding a random log on the forest floor. He brought her along to it, helping her sit.
"Sit. Focus entirely on circulating your energy."
"Lord Yuan, my energy channels are beginning to tear. What should I do?"
She was beginning to grow fearful. It was common knowledge that destroyed channels were almost impossible to heal, especially at her realm of cultivation.
"Cease your worrying, Lieutenant Qi. Am I not here with you? Now focus and continue."
Her mental state immediately changed for the better. She had let her fear get the better of her, forgetting just who the man at her side was. Also, hearing him call her Lieutenant brought a sizable boost in her confidence.
Of course, that was exactly why he had done it.
"Yes, sir!"
She took a breath, summoning all of her concentration. Her spiritual energy began to circulate at almost five times the speed as before.
Qi Zixie's channels were glowing bright red while her energy was like golden magma. It grew increasingly thick until it finally began to slow down.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make it circulate any faster. It just slowed down more and more until it came to a stop.
"Now let the world's energy complement your own!"
She did as she was told without hesitation. With a single deep breath, her pores sucked in large amount of energy that poured into her channels.
At the moment the world's energy came into contact with the almost solid energy within her, it began to 'cool' down, becoming slightly thinner. It was the equivalent of adding water to a mixture to thin it out, but in this case a bit more complicated.
Soon, it flowed with the rest of energy, but not before it spread its golden color.
Soon enough, all the energy was of a consistent thickness. As for the channels, as the walls had been burned away before the new energy came in, they cooled rapidly. Now, they were far wider.
Not only was it widened, but the newly expanded walls were then thickened with a layer of energy, giving her channels a greater durability than before.
This would help her when she was advancing, preventing her spiritual energy from damaging the channels.
Suddenly, Qi Zixie felt a warm hand rest on her back. From that hand, hot streams of energy flowed into her body, gathering at various points.
"Don't resist, no matter how much it hurts."
As soon as she nodded, Yuan Zhen began his work. Spiritual energy slowly poured out of his hand, entering her body.
His energy created passageways, like artificial blood vessels that dug pierced her own blood vessels, making sizable openings in them.
Once he did that, he allowed a small amount of his blood to enter her bloodstream.
As soon as that happened, her entire body spasmed and she clenched her teeth in pain.
Yuan Zhen's arm was suddenly grabbed by her, after which she began to squeeze down on it with all the strength she could muster.
He didn't let up, continuing to let small amounts of blood in at a time.
At the same time, he had also poured a small amount of his energy into her heart.
This caused it to grow hyperactive, pumping blood with increased fervor.
The blood travelled throughout her body hundreds of times, slowly allowing her to adapt to it.
As that was happening, he noticed a fluctuation in her soul. Something had awakened, but slowly went back to sleep.
Yuan Zhen gave a knowing smile, then continued with his work.
It took two hours for her to completely adjust. She could finally be at ease.
"It was difficult, but you succeeded. Well done, Lieutenant Qi."
Unbeknownst to him, however, Qi Zixie had made a promise to herself beforehand. When she experienced that pain, she began to worry that she would die.
Therefore, to strengthen her resolve, she made a promise to herself. If she was able to successfully pass through the hellish ordeal, she would ask him to call her 'Zixie' instead of something as formal as 'Lieutenant Qi.'
When she asked him, he seemed stunned for a while before chuckling.
"Alright then, Zixie. You've had enough rest, let's get moving. As for the changes to your body, feel them out for yourself."
Yuan Zhen once again helped her stand, then they continued on their journey. The sky slowly became dimmer above, but the forest showed no changes.
However, it was becoming increasingly quiet.
Their movements were slow-paced, mainly because Yuan Zhen was catering for her physical state.
Qi Zixie realized this and couldn't help smiling warmly, a trace of red on her pale cheeks. She was still recovering at a rapid pace, which greatly surprised her.
"Did you know that within Bane-devil Grotto there's actually a hot spring?"
His sudden question caught her off guard, so she took some time before she could answer.
"Oh- uh, no I didn't know that."
"It's true. The spring is quite large, perhaps one of the largest I've ever seen. Aside from the few we have in the East Springs Region, it's definitely the best one in all the realm."
Qi Zixie gave an 'ooh' sound.
"The hot springs in the East Springs are probably a bit different than you remember. They've really declined over the years. I can barely get a moment of peace in them."
Qi Zixie suddenly had a realization. "Tch! Those damnable spirits can't even enjoy the hot spring. What a waste."
Seeing her pained display of emotion, as if she had suffered an irreconcilable injustice, Yuan Zhen chuckled lightly.
Qi Zixie delighted in his soft laughter, her cold heart warmed before once again growing cold.
They continued through the high woods, enjoying the scenery while also maintaining a close eye on their surroundings.