Getting dragged around the dead lands, and the pale grass, the withered trees and creaking dirt path. He let a sigh, as his clothes were tattered pieces of material, nothing of value in these forgotten lands.
Nothing in the villages, or the rare town that too, was completely abandoned and destroyed, with every settlement they pass, the stronger his fear of his master grows, just what, what kind of entity, as he doubted she was a human, could do such a wipe-out.
Stopping in front of a broken well, he looked down, water at the bottom, but no bucket to get it out, looking at his master, she shrugged her shoulders, and pointed at him saying, "You are thirsty, you deal with how you get water from down there."
He gritted his teeth and said nothing, looking around for anything to use, there was only grass, and rotten wood, in rest nothing, he had nothing on his body that he could use.
Huo Wen had that toothy smile, observing what he would continue to do.
He sat down and started to cultivate, he still was at the first stage of Xiantian, no progress yet, and it irked his master, and that made him happy.
Though he did want to progress beyond the first stage, weeks passed after he did that huge leap from Huotian to Xiantian, yet nothing after it, the red mist is growing slowly, he just needs patience and time.
He has time, not the patience, he never know when Huo Wen will get bored and kill him.
As the qi around him entered his body, his master cackled madly, saying, "I finally got what's wrong! Of course, of course, I was dumb of not noticing it earlier, I have chosen you for a reason in the end," with a wave of hand, a simple iron bucket with a rope appeared, fitting perfectly at the well, continuing, "Get your water and let's leave, we need to do something."
Ding Xiu reluctantly took the bucket and got out water, filling his flask, and then drinking as much as he could from the bucket, leaving it to rust at the well's edge.
Ding Xiu walked for a long time till they arrived at a barren place, not even grass growing on it, there was just a crumbled pagoda, with fallen tiles, and moss covered walls.
Huo Wen looked around, then said, "Yeah, here it's perfect, here my problem will be solved and you will be able to cultivate faster, dear disciple, it was no fault of your own, sorry for my behaviour, " caressing his face, she continued, "just my carelessness, I am truly sorry, my precious boy, your body type just needs an improvement, and your dear master has a way to do so. Will be just a tiny bit painful."
She took multiple objects from nowhere, he didn't get yet how and where she stores so much stuff, she didn't have any rings or magical items on her, just that cane of hers, that cursed cane that hits like a boulder.
One was a sleek, white dagger, with a sharp blade that shone in the sun, the other was a jade cup with dried blood on its rim. She cut her wrist with no hesitation, letting the blood flow into the cup.
Filling it to the brim, she put it on the ground, then started drawing multiple foreign and intelligible characters, giving the form of a semicircle, after she finished, she put the cup in the middle.
Looking at Ding Xiu, she said, "Take the dagger, and follow exactly my instructions, if you do something wrong now, you will die, and will not be painless at all."
He took it, feeling a powerful coldness from it, and looking at Huo Wen, he said, "Now what? Should I kill myself? Well, that's a way to go," laughing, he continued, "At least will die on my own terms."
Her face darkened, and the glow in her eyes appeared again, and said, "Never joke like that, you are my disciple and will follow my orders. Your life isn't yours anymore, don't forget that."
Ding Xiu tensed, this was a real threat, and he couldn't kill himself, he wanted to live, he desired to live against any odds, and escape this master of his, gripping the dagger, he looked at her and said, "So, what should I do, dear master?"
She observed the surroudings again, and said, "Wait for a moment, the moon hasn't appeared yet, till then, just wait, and keep the dagger on you, it needs to get some qi from you to make the process easier."
The ruined pagoda was in the past beautiful, or so Ding Xiu guessed, there were tiny flickers of gold and sliver through the mass of overgrown vines, the sun slowly died, with its last effort shone with a red colour over the tall grass.
The sky was covered with lead clouds as they were slowly drifting over the dark blue sky, the moon appeared, peeking through the curtain, illuminating the land.
Huo Wen got up from the ground, taking her cane, she approached the cup with the blood, and an immense amount of qi from her entered it, leaving her even more withered and bleak, she started coughing, yet, she continued.
Ding Xiu couldn't even move a muscle, the aura left him paralyzed, he couldn't, the amount and the strength of it was just too much.
He stood like that four hours, or so he thought, he couldn't even think freely in that state, then an almost foreign voice said, "Go, go in the semicircle, prepare the dagger, and follow my orders."
He entered the semicircle, with the dagger in hand, now giving a ghostly light, Huo Wen then said, "Poke your main artery at hand, and let the blood flow on the ground, don't worry, you will not fall unconscious, I will keep you awake."
He hesitated doing it, like, he should injure himself, why? She shouted, "Do it! Time is limited, if you don't do it now, the process will fail."
He flinched, then penetrated his main artery at the arm with the dagger, first a chilling sensation, seeping in his spiritual veins, and cooling his dantian, then, pain, a maddening sense of pain, as the blood fell on the ground and painting it.
Lines were forming on the ground, colouring the characters, he wanted to scream, to howl, he couldn't. He lost the ability to talk or to move.
She laughed, and said, "Keep your calm, keep your calm, nothing to worry about, just an incense stick of time, then you will be able to move."
He regained back his senses, the pain mellowed down, and now could think finally, what he got into? This was a demonic ritual to change his body, why? He couldn't cultivate faster, for what reason does she needs him to cultivate faster?
A question that remains to be answered, though, he want to get more power, enough of it to be free from anyone, no one will be able to control him then.
She talked again, "Now, make as many cuts possible, on every part of the body, it's mandatory, don't hesitate, otherwise the qi will backfire and you will burn in cold fire to death."
He followed her lead, closing his eyes, and started cutting, deep and shallow cuts, tears appeared in his eye corners, leaking out from the immense pain.
The characters were filled with blood, only then did his master said, "Now it's time to take the cup and drink it."
His thoughts stopped, what? He starred at her, she glared back and said, "Do it! Do you want to die and never to reincarnate?"
If he drinks it now, then that will be a breach of his moral, drinking human blood, becoming like her, a demon, he looked at the cup, looked at the dagger, and was ready to swing it in him.
She let her aura free, choking him of air, and with it, she rose the cup and forced the content down his throat, saying, "Don't even try, I said you are mine, sweet disciple, and, you will never die on your own terms, remember that, from the moment you become my disciple, that right is no more yours."
Ding Xiu let the blood enter his body, feeling it's warmness that somehow it kept, the iron taste, the slight sweet accent, and the disgusting thought of drinking human blood created a mess of his brain.
A sudden heatwave appeared simultaneously on his entire body, then a total opposite, and then nothing, he fell on the ground, unable to move, as he felt changes undergoing through.
Bones getting tougher, blood thicker, qi denser and his red mist became tinted with purple.
The world went dark then, moon covered by clouds, a strong wind passing by, eyes rolled in, and he lost consciousness, his last thought being; is he a human anymore?