A week through the desolate land, of ruined villages and overgrown weeds, with stray animals and rare broken carriages with nothing but rotten wood.
Ding Xiu was reading a scroll over demonic cultivation and it benefits, faster cultivation, more power at each stage, and just being a better option than the righteous way, or so it seems.
He know there's a catch, there is always, and it comes with Heavens hating you and willing to stretch itself to end your life. He is on borrowed time, and this isn't his life anymore, looking with anger at his master.
She was going at her own pace, at the front, she was bored by the hand holding, and now seems to enjoy being in his front.
There wasn't any progression yet in his cultivation, still at rank one Xiantian, he needed to reach nine, and then form the golden core. Called, without imagination, Golden Core rank.
She broke the silence he enjoyed, "Sweet disciple, a demonic cultivator doesn't cultivate isolated from the world like those eunuchs. They do harm, inflict terror and pain, forming resentment and then negative qi, that's how you cultivate faster. Or you want to keep your snail's pace? It will suit a zombie like you."
He grunted, saying, "I will not lower myself to eat people, and devour children, as you do seem to enjoy."
She stopped in her paths, and turned back, a swift hit by the cane, a pain that pierced his bones, and then a cutting response, "Not lower, but going to higher state, when you recognize people as just fuel to your powers and desires. Keep that in mind, don't try to act like a foolish righty. You are a demonic cultivator, not some beggar at the Heavens' door."
He remained silent, the pain became unbearable and he needed to meditate and to cultivate the anger he felt, the murky qi filling his veins and passing in his dantian, he let a foul breath, and started to walk after her.
Hou Wen was always raising the pace when he stopped to cultivate, his dear master. How he wished to kill her in cold blood, if it was possible, as he let the lingering thoughts to die.
She said, "Dear disciple, you know it's a disrespect to your master to wish death upon her," chuckling at the end.
He raised the pace and said when he was next to her, "I do want to kill you, I don't have any intention to hide that, dear master."
She cackled, "You have much to learn and grow before you could even touch me, not even counting killing, till then, be a good boy and listen to my wisdom."
Ding Xiu, took the scroll back and began reading again, now he could do it a bit faster after reading it constantly, and every time he jerks in horror and how vile this stuff is, eating humans is the fastest way to cultivate.
Hou Wen smiling at him, said, "Try it, you will see how delightful it is, eating the life force and the spiritual qi is such a delicacy, not even the tenderest meat of dragons can compare to it."
Ding Xiu shook his head and said, "No. I don't want. I am not a vile creature like you who eats humans."
Hou Wen hit him again with the cane and said, "Not vile creature, but enlightened cultivator, keep that in mind, my dear boy, as for your wish to not eat. Fine, but that's the only concession I am willing to make, for such a sweet disciple like you."
He cringed at the word sweet, he hated hearing it so much, that he couldn't stop glaring at her, then continued studying the scroll, another way to raise the speed of cultivation is to consume poison.
Slowly immersing yourself into poison, or to refine poisonous objects, animals and special humans with unique bodies and essence into qi that you would absorb.
He had some questions, or at least one that he is dying to know the answer, as they passed next to a broken fortress, "What happened to this region, there are no people left."
She stopped in her tracks and turned, wiggling her cane, she answered with an ever growing toothy smile, "Most of them are dead, eaten by me, disappointingly some of them survived, hidden like roaches, still their kingdom is gone, eaten by me." letting a hearty laugh, she continued, "all thanks to them I brokethrough and arrived at Chained immortal."
Ding Xiu's face sunk, pale like a corpse, he sat on ground from the tumult of emotions raging through his body and mind. He couldn't comprehend just how many people this demon must have eaten, saying, "You are a monster."
She rubbed her face, and said, "Only now you realize? Don't worry, you will become one too, I will make sure of that, my dear disciple."
He gritted his teeth, for fear of his life, and took the scroll again, hopefully will make him forget what he heard.
Hou Wen, chuckled, "Little rabbit, got scared? Are you fearing for your life? Don't worry, everything will be alright, just the first time it's awful and tastes bad, but after getting the taste of that power, it's intoxicating and will be addicted to that feeling, addicted I say."
Ding Xiu couldn't stay as close as he was to his master, now being some distance behind her, she was singing a lively tune, and walking with a cheerful smile.
He mulled over the thoughts present in his mind, and asked, "Why are we walking? Couldn't you fly us to want destination you have in mind, if you do have one in mind, though you wouldn't pass by you that you forget about it."
She stopped walking and stood for a second without any reaction, then said, "We don't have any destination, this place is perfect for you to cultivate, if you were a more disciplined you would have broken already through the first rank, but alas, you are a lazy bum and need to be hand holden."
He didn't pay attention to her comments, he got what he wanted, they will stay here, in this forgotten place and where the sun is dead, and people are rotten dirt.
He sat on the ground and started gathering the vile qi from the surroundings, entering his body and marking him with its unique scent. He felt how the qi was coursing through his spiritual veins and then arriving at the final point, his dantian, the red mist swirling and growing like a hungry caterpillar.
He stood there, even if his master was walking and letting behind, a good chunk of time passed, with a sliver of hope that she was gone, he raised his eyes and saw her with a blank face.
No reaction, nothing, just towering over him with her cane, and as he let the qi roam free, she started beating him, towards the arms, the legs, the pain flaring over any part of the body.
He shielded his face and turtled in, whimpering as the pain became unbearable, the blows were raining, his arms and legs were purple, blood slowly trickled down, Ding Xiu fell unconscious on the ground.
Huo Wen took a hold of his body and dragged him with her.
He wake up next to a fire, with his master staying on a log, frying a rabbit, in one hand, and eating an alive rabbit with the other, with mouth full, she said, "Next time do as I do, I stop, you stop, I walk, you walk, understood? Never again cultivate alone without my guidance, never. Or if you want to end as wraiths food, continue so, you were risking your life doing such a stupid, idiotic thing, even more so without my permission."
Ding Xiu couldn't talk, his face felt broken up, yet when he touched it, everything was fixed, no scars, no injuries, and surprisingly no blood, looking at her, the shadows dancing on her face, she smiled, and said, "Of course you don't have any injuries left, what are you taking me for, boy? I am an immortal, and you are my disciple, if someone sees you with injuries, what would they say? That I am abusive, that I let my disciple being injured, I care very much about you, my sweet disciple."
He couldn't continue looking at her, he saw his parents face there, morphed into a demonic being that kept staring down at him, do that, do that, do that. He wouldn't stop hearing that word as everything kept going darker and darker.
With the ominous aura and the fire slowly burning out, he was falling asleep, not touching the hot, steaming rabbit.
The only injury he noticed was was a long cut on his arm, he felt its scorching presence, and the impossibility to ignore its presence like a sign, a mark, or something that reminded him of his master, he didn't know what it was, but he didn't like one bit the glowing eyes in the dark and their glare.