(Cultivation system for physical cultivators has been decided name-wise. E.x, Mortal Physique, Law Physique, Unchained Physique.)
This shocked them the most.
There hundreds of people here who stood as disciples of the Shou, yet, only a few had achieved Mortal Chain or even Mortal Physique, none of them completing both.
It was simply too slow and dangerous.
Once one embarked upon twin cultivation, it was a path one could not get off, lest they seek to die from body explosion or inner collapse.
"By having three separate powers, the Chain, Physique and Aura in harmony, your strength will be above those in your own realm by at least twice."
This was what he had learned, from his cutthroat struggle to survive every day, and that was that harmony between soul, body and spirit were essential to creating a terrifying fighting force.
"Prepare yourselves."
—
With more than enough materials and even more constantly supplied by the Bull Demons who raided the area every single day, multiple times a day, they were able to quickly build up a large perimeter and set up various housings.
The only thing which was not built, was Vienna's shrine.
He had personally moved it into here on his own through some mystical means.
The tree's around his shrine had turned rotted and blood red, withered and making the shrine looked cursed, the Miasmic Qi in the air sparing nothing and no one.
Within a month, the Great Sanguine Sword Formation had been set up once again.
Sitting within the Hidden Heart Array, he sucked the area of the endless killing intent, turning it into Qi which he then fed into the formation constantly for an entire month, causing it to be incredibly powerful, able to take the strike of even a Ninth Chain Expert.
Within the Demon Realm, things were different.
There were no highly established powers, but rather races which owned certain areas of the world, and stuck to their own like scum stuck to a pot, refusing to come off at all costs.
Because of this and the nature of where they were, the area was constantly riddled with the sounds of battle from above the canyon where the demons waged war on one another ruthlessly striking at one another.
The ground of the Demon Realm was cursed by the immense hatred filled Miasma caused by the constant war, which had caused the Demons to flee above the clouds creating flying cities and lands.
This is not to say they could not step onto the land below, but it was just unnecessary, entire continents floated high above, so why would one want to come down here? A place infested with the possessed dead?
The area where the Shou Clan had landed, due to it being on the ground away from the mainland of the Dragon Race, Dragon's Row, was left largely unnoticed.
Many human hands had tried to crumble the Demon Realm in the past, but no one had succeeded especially not on the ground.
Within Baylen's Rest, a sprawling land had begun to form.
With the Great Sanguine Sword Formation constantly fighting off the advances of the Miasmic Qi, and devouring any Bull Demons who would seek to get close thus increasing the number of Blood Stones and by extension its own power, the ground could take a chance to fertilize.
For reference, the Baikan which the Great Sanguine Sword Formation once covered was not even 1/100th the size of what is the estimated size of Baylen's Rest, the massive battlefield of Baylen the Battle Fanatic.
With the constant raids by Bull Demons every single day, food was secured. Purging the Miasma from their flesh, one could eat it though they would suffer some stomach pains, but it was better than starving.
In terms of housing, they carved pavilions into the side of the canyon, creating large interconnected living dwellings with the help of Feng Wuqing who could directly shatter boulders with ease.
Whenever connected to the Great Sanguine Sword Formation, he could see the entire situation within, allowing him to know all of this things with a glance despite never moving for an entire month in order to gather the strength to improve the formation.
"Patriarch. The boy the Matriarch brought back wishes to see you." A familiar guard, he remembered him from that day in the Bamboo forest, when the Yan came and attacked.
"Come in."
His voice spread everywhere, the guard did not flinch this time as it was not his first rodeo and left.
In the large hall carved of rock out from the canyon, six large pillars raised on either side of the hall carved with not flood dragons, but true dragons rising up towards the sky as though to devour the sky.
At the head of this hall, the patriarch of the shou sat, watching serenely over the clan through the formation which had been finished not long ago, only now opening his eyes as the great doors opened.
"Xiao Wun greeting Patriarch Shou." Hair of amber sorrow and eyes of languid melancholy the boy whose age couldn't be more than twelve looked eight hundred within as the exhaustion in his very soul was clear, "I admire you! Please, take me as a disciple!"
"Ho!" A cold voice entered the hall, "I never thought I would see the day."
"Vienna." Shou Xin calmly turned his serene gaze onto the black haired young man who had walked into the hall, "Xiao Wun, come here."
"What?" Vienna smirked, "Afraid I'll take him?"
Xiao Wun who didn't have the nerve to continue speaking in the face of these two, quickly scurried to Shou Xin's side!
"Stop teaching the clansmen," He said calmly, "I will handle all clan affairs from now on. Your day of worship will be soon."
Tilu.
"Fine, however, I will be taking those disciples who want to follow me." Vienna said smilingly, "There are some okay talents among you, after all."
"Dare to enslave them, and I will fight you to death." Shou Xin's serene gaze rippled slightly.
"Ho." Vienna's eyes narrowed, "What happened to calling me master? Disciple."
"...Get out, Master."
"Hahaha, very good!" He clapped cheerfully, laughing as he left the hall.
Only Xiao Wun and Shou Xin were left within.
"...I am too young to take disciples." Shou Xin glanced down at Xiao Wun who seemed to really want to say something, his face anxious, "Call me Senior Brother."
He felt his heart ache as he looked at the child, Xiao Wun, smiled brightly.
He could have saved his father if he had acted just a moment earlier, a pang of guilt rising like a stone in his stomach only to be crushed by his bloodline which stripped him of emotion without discrimination.
Yet, he was not devoid of morals.
"Yes, Senior Brother!" Xiao Wun jumped up in cheer!
Shou Xin looked at him serenely before turning his look away and standing up.
Tak. Tak. Tak.
Step by step, he began his march out from the hall with such slow methodical movements as though a picture watching from it's frame.
Xiao Wun floated around him like a little imp, asking all forms of questions.
"Is it true that you defeated Ninth Chain Experts?"
"Yes."
"Did you really destroy an entire thousand men in a single swing?!"
"No."
"What about the time they say you struck down an evil syndicate?"
"Yes."
"What's your favorite color?"
"...Faded Crimson."
"What about your favorite food? Do you like dumplings? Oh, what about…"
"..."
"Little Wun, stop bothering Xin so much." A familiar red dressed barbaric woman appeared from a pavilion carved in the canyon wall, the scent of blood still faint on her revealing her recent endeavors of battle.
"Aunty Qing!"
Bang.
Instantly, a heavy hand landed on Xiao Wun's head!
"It's 'Senior Sister', Senior Sister!" Her eyes trembled with rage, "I am not even old yet!"
"How is the training going?" He asked calmly as he passed the twos shenanigans.
"...It's going okay, most of them with the help of the harsh conditions here have managed to get reasonably far, almost ready to break into Mortal Physique's first stage. Just the gathering of Qi is difficult for them, forcing us to use Blood Stones for Qi."
Blood Stones carried Qi in various quantities depending upon the level of the creature which dropped it, however, alongside that it was also filled with Miasmic Qi making it dangerous to try and gather qi from the Blood Stones carelessly which was why the almost drained versions used up by the Great Sanguine Sword Formation were switched out at set intervals and given out for training.
"Liu Gang has managed it. Yui Luo had managed it. They are both now cultivating both. However, the danger of the Qi here is too strong and it's slow."
"It's fine. This way they will focus on their spirit and improve their aura."
Naturally, Feng Wuqing knew this. But she was worried about the repercussions of establishing a base here in the Demon Realm, when would her family find them, what about the Yan?
It was only a matter of time before the battling found them here where there was no place to escape.
Shou Xin was clearly aware of this, as well.
"To race a tiger as a turtle, we will lose. So, we will change the game." His serene gaze rippled as though something far away had taken a step closer.
Her pupils shrank slightly.
The Great Sanguine Sword Formation.
"Change from a race, to forcing the tiger to break the turtle's shell?"
He didn't respond, only looking forward.
Soon enough, he arrived outside of the protective formation, scanning his surroundings, Fukkatsu flew out from it's sheath, executing tens of Bull Demons who were unknowing of his presence.
Using his harmonious Qi he could manipulate Fukkatsu almost freely within a certain distance.
Raising the Hidden Heart Array, he slowly began to speak.
"Xiao Wun. Watch closely." Fukkatsu flew back into his palm.
"Yes, Senior Brother!" Xiao Wun's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Feng Wuqing looked at Shou Xin slantedly as though to say, "Are you really showing off to a kid right now?"
Yet, he didn't mind.
Grabbing the attention of a Sixth Chain Bull Demon his strength soared blasting the ground as though an explosion, the dust upon the battlefield rising up and shooting away from him!
Nine Sanguine Sword Style, Sword Steps.
"A swordsman has no wasted movement."
As the Sixth Chain Bull Demon charged, Shou Xin's figure seemed to turn illusory, no matter where he was, nor who close the Bull Demon was to striking, it never landed a single attack, instead being cut each time it failed.
Other Sixth Chain Bull Demons soon appeared as well, their strength beginning to connect.
Nine Sanguine Sword Style, Sword Sight.
"A swordsman allows no wasted movement."
His eyes shifted and changed turning into searchlights within the great crimson fog, veins crawled up his neck.
The Seventh Chain Bull Demon which had appeared rushed forward into a careless charge! It's massive body thrown forward like a boulder rolling down from a mountain!
Unmoving, Shou Xin swung Fukkatsu in a vertical slash, cutting the Bull Demon into two halves!
It's movements were unrefined, and he easily saw through them, allowing him the perfect opportunity to attack, landing the fatal blow.
Guooo!!!
A Bull Demon with a ring in it's nose soon appeared! It's strength burst from it's body at the Eight Chain! With a waist as thick as a small hill and fists like boulders, it swung down!
Nine Sanguine Sword Style, Fukkatsu Koka Kiru.
The Eight Chain Bull Demon's eyes which were dead and cold, were filled with reflection of countless swords flying from all directions.
Cuts appeared everywhere on it's body and it's fist missed him by an inch.
In that split moment, as the Bull Demon blocked with it's other arm whilst pulling back it's extended one.
The Bull Demon raised it's arms to smash down at speeds such that a normal person would never be able to see anything but afterimages!
Nine Sanguine Sword Style, Fukkatsu Kiru.
The Eight Chain Bull Demons arms hit the earth, spider webbing cracks shooting in all directions as the very rocks of the earth lifted!
Oompf.
"A swordsman conceals his true condition."
The massive Eight Chain Bull Demon had fallen, cut from groin to head, falling in twain.
Click.
"A-awesome!" Xiao Wun beamed, his hands balled into fists as tears streaked down his face.
"A swordsman need not conceal his emotions." He appeared beside Xiao Wun, whose heart was trying it's best.
He knew it.
Xiao Wun was trying his best, acting.
He knew it because he was the same as a child, without anyone to rely on and having seen horrors and experienced the same abuses, a childs heart hides deeply, but never stops crying out.
The screams of the soul cannot be hidden.
Putting a hand on Xiao Wun's head the boy seemed to crack a bit more until he fully broke and gripped Shou Xin's robes tightly with his little hands, not letting go.
Shou Xin stepped onto Fukkatsu with Xiao Wun held on behind him.
He glanced at Feng Wuqing, she simply nodded.
Shou Xin took the Blood Stones and headed back, flying high up in the canyon, his serene gaze disturbed slightly.
Feng Wuqing who was below launched a massacre directly onto the Bull Demons, wanting to slaughter as many high level ones as possible.
Xiao Wun did not let go until they had arrived back at the Great Hall carved into the canyon side.
Click.
He stepped off Fukkatsu.
"Senior Brother… I need to be stronger!" He cried out! His amber hair and somber gaze a great deal clearer, revenge on it's horizon.
He clearly understood it but did not try to take him off that path. It was an important journey for Xiao Wun to undergo, if he were to grow as a person in this world.
Facing hardship makes ones life more fulfilling, and creates a person who is true to themselves no matter how twisted.
He took out several very low level Blood Stones which had been untouched by anyone.
"Refine these. Train. Refine your body. Train."
This was the schedule he set.
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
—
Sending him off to one of the side rooms of the Great Hall, Shou Xin stepped back onto Fukkatsu leaving the Great Hall, and Xiao Wun, alone.
With the great influx of Blood Stones from hunting the Undying Soldiers around the outskirts of Baylen's Rest where the clan was located, they were set to train and upkeep the formation for a long time.
Knowing this, Shou Xin left behind a few small orders, handing over authority to Liu Gang and Yui Luo to run the clan in his absence.
Flying out, he did not need to wait long to find Undying Soldiers rising from the ground, replenishing the ones lost in the fierce hunts that Liu Gang had begun leading since a while ago in an effort to train everyone.
At the same time, he found the small city of a few thousand refugee's which had been set up surrounding the perimeter of the clan.
With the clans help, homes were going up quickly and the earth was being tiled, only a small chance to replenish itself and the tenacious earth began to grow weeds and other small plants meaning the land was not wholly dead yet.
It was still breathing.
By now, hundreds of homes had gone up, creating a sprawling city in the unsuspecting canyon depths.
Those Undying Soldiers that had risen from the ground were swiftly struck down by the automatic offensive of the Great Sanguine Sword Formation, to which those residents of the city calmly began to take apart.
Such was the life they'd gotten used to.
Passing by, he soon entered a place further into the fog of Baylen's Rest.
—
Wind caressed his rough features, the miasma fogging his lungs as the suns began to drop below the horizon.
Cutting through the sky, a noise was heard, smooth and steady.
Undying Soldiers in the form of Bull Demons rose from the ground again, and again, attacking relentlessly.
Seventh Refinement Undying Soldiers.
(Authors Note: Similar to First Chain, Second Chain etc. Physical Cultivation is now First Refinement, Second Refinement etc.)
Brrrrr!
The grounds shifted and arrays lit up the area!
Seventh Chain Undying Soldiers appeared, their horns shining violently as shadows rushed out of them, charging forward!
"One last…"
An afterimage moved through the attacks like wind through the woods, unimpeded.
The scent of blood was left like an echo where he moved.
A brief light could be vaguely seen within it's eyes, moving too fast to properly discern.
Those shadows chased this illusory image from between the Seventh Refinement Undying Soldiers who destroyed the earth creating a treacherous environment where ones footing could fail at any moment.
Yet, as the battle reached a peak, the illusory image became real, it's presence almost nothing as it jumped high into the sky.
The moonlight fell like a river between the gaps in the miasmic fog, lighting up his figure which was almost like a silver haired asura, his gaze unperturbed in the slightest making one feel as though countless swords were pointed at oneself.
"...Push."
Nine Sanguine Sword Art, Fukkatsu Kiru.
Having gathered his strength, avoiding attacks the entire time for this single instant, the ethereal figure looked indifferent, yet terrifying as the silver flash of a sword descended!
The cut seemed almost in slow motion, like a careful painter moving his brush across a fresh canvas with an idea already in mind.
The sword stroke curved in places, breaking apart the defense of those Undying Soldiers below who had gathered where he would land, to attempt to kill him.