Liam experienced a nice feeling as he grasped the artifact, and a surge of power coursed through his veins, intertwining with his energy.
The necklace soon was draining him of his blood essence. This felt like millions of ants were crawling all over his body. He couldn't breathe, it was suffocating.
He tried calling for help but no words left his mouth, and after a few minutes of battling for his life he fainted.
[A few hours later]
"Well, who do we have here? It seems someone fell prey to the glamour of the ring," Ren said as he clicked his tongue in amusement.
He was happy, he wasn't the only one who fell prey to the trap, after ren and Mei had discovered the ancient seal they had gone out to capture low-level cultivators and Mortals who were numbered in hundreds to which they had used their blood essence as a catalyst to break the seal which was already weakened due to the time factor.
After breaking the seal, they were shocked to find a large cave within, embedded with crystals, gemstones, and shining gems of various sizes and shapes. Mei had tried to pick some from the wall but they all turned to tiny fragments not different from dust.
After hours of searching for one that was still intact, all to no avail, they gave up.
As they entered the inner cave, they saw a column with skeleton in a meditative post sitting on it, just like how Liam was enthralled they had been too.
Ren had tried touching, only to feel his blood essence and life essence being drained. If not for his quick reflex and high cultivation, he might have died. What he felt left him petrified as his hand, which had been used to touch the necklace, was dried up like that of a mummy corpse.
He felt horripilated and was sweating profusely.
After more than a few hours of deliberating with Mei, they had gone out to capture some cultivators to help Ren heal his hand and recover some blood essence to help ease the stinging pain he felt all over his body.
They made the hostages hold the ring, of which all turned into lifeless beings, but with each hostage turning into a dry corpse the rate their essence was siphoned further decreased. When Ren and Mei noticed this change, they were overjoyed, after feeding the artifact 12 batches of hostages with each containing a minimum of 128 cultivators or more.
"Ren, we need to hurry up, retrieve the artifact and leave here, with our current operation, I'm sure we have alerted the sects around" She wasn't stupid not to realize that if that many civilians within a sect province were to go missing the sect would look into what was wrong, although they had taken hostages from various town to reduce suspiciously.
"Okay I grab, but you should know I'm currently handicapped. I can only capture a limited number of hostages, but if you were to join me I'm sure we can get twice the number"
Mei was about to reply "Also, I understand your motive for not going, by trying to keep the artifacts from being stolen, but as you can see what happens to those who touch them".
After a few moments of pondering, she decide to follow Ren's advice, and it wasn't like anyone could just stride into a cave hidden deep within the mountain range, so she taught.
That was how they got to the current situation they were in. Meanwhile ren looked at Liam, Mei was impassive to the situation, although she preferred not to use a child who was not up to 13 or 15 years of old age.
...
Deep within Liam dreamscape, he was experiencing some rather complicated memories.
Liam had a dream of being a child born in a time of war between two tribes of different beliefs. He had grown up always on the run from them with his parents until they were ambushed.
While Liam was living a certain person's life certain changes were occurring within him, his previous skin which looked lifeless was rejuvenated, new complex neural pathways networks were created, his nervous system was redefined likewise other changes were also occurring.
Meanwhile as the changes were occurring within Liam, Ren and Mei had noticed this, they were perplexed and annoyed by the fact that all their efforts were about to be stolen by some child, they made certain efforts to separate Liam from the artifacts all to no avail.
Out of anger and desperation ren had attacked Liam using a blood bead that denotes and corrodes anything upon impact only to be blocked by a reddish black dome that seems pulsate a sister aura, it had the faint aura and smell of something Mei couldn't quite understand.
"Since we can't touch him nor get rid of him, why don't we get someone to separate the artifact from him? "
Ren told one of the kidnapped cultivators to take away the artifacts from Liam but, to their expectation, he turned into a corpse.
As Ren and Mei were pondering on what was going on when they sensed a powerful presence heading in their direction.
As the powerful presence draws nearer, Ren and Mei exchange worried glances. They realize that their actions have attracted the attention of someone formidable, and it could mean trouble for their plans. With Liam still connected to the artifact and assimilating with the artifact, they know they needed to act quickly.
In the distance, a figure emerges from the shadows. The figure was mysterious and imposing clad in ancient robes, emanating an aura of immense power. This person is none other than Xuan, a powerful cultivator known for his wisdom and strength.
Ren and Mei have heard tales of him but never encountered him in person. He is to be an eccentric fellow.
Xuan approaches them with a calm demeanor, seemingly unaffected by the aura of the killing intent released by the both cultivators. He assesses the situation and acknowledges that the artifact has merged with Liam's essence, making it difficult to separate them without causing him harm.
Xuan stands tall, his aura steady and composed as he faces Ren and Mei. They grit their teeth, knowing they have no choice but to defend themselves. Mei readies her offensive techniques, summoning her blood whip, while Ren channels his energy, creating a sinister atmosphere around him. They were not planning to go down with out a fight.