Noting that it was still asleep, Heng Xīnyán slowly stepped back yet the snake opened its ruby-red eyes with a hiss.
Heng Xīnyán gulped yet fear did not surface in her calm black orbs as she kept the strong eye contact with the snake.
The snake's eyes flashed as it lowered its head, approaching her. Heng Xīnyán held her stance as she knew she couldn't beat the snake or run from it. Hence, she watched as the snake's triangle-sized head reached in front of her face almost a couple of inches away. The snake flicked its red fork-like tongue at her and Heng Xīnyán did not flinch as she calmly blinked yet her heart was pumping fast against her chest.
The snake hissed out, "I…nterestinggggg human."
"May I live then?" Heng Xīnyán inquired quickly, looking into the snake's blood-coloured eyes. The snake hissed, "Demands you have?"
"No," Heng Xīnyán answered. "I merely want to live."
The snake hissed loudly, "You want to liveeeee? With absolutely no spiritual energy?"
Heng Xīnyán blinked, "This is why I am here."
The snake circled her slowly as its body enclosed her, "A new soul without barrier, entering the Enchanted Rose Forest."
Heng Xīnyán frowned, "A fellow cultivator dropped me in here. I have no idea where I am except that I am in Ghost Cult."
The snake hissed, "Your soul essence is different from humans."
Heng Xīnyán nodded, "I know. My body in the mortal world was a fox."
The snake hissed, "Ah… a fellow demon."
Heng Xīnyán simply nodded despite the coarse name given to her.
The snake unwrapped itself from Heng Xīnyán's body as it hissed, "Come… I will teach you the ways of Ghost Cult."
Heng Xīnyán bowed with a cuffed fist, "Thank you."
"In return," the snake continued and Heng Xīnyán looked up, "Yes?"
The snake hissed, "I want to leave this forest."
Heng Xīnyán bowed deeply, "I will fulfil your wish."
The snake hissed, "Good."
"Firstly," the snake hissed as it curled itself back on the branch.
Heng Xīnyán straightened, "Yes, Great One?"
The snake hissed, "You tempered your soul already." The strange voice from the snake sounded like it was musing and Heng Xīnyán frowned, "I merely sat under the waterfall."
The snake's red eyes flashed, "That greedy fish let you enter?"
Heng Xīnyán nodded, "I did not see any fish but I sat under the waterfall for almost two weeks trying to channel spiritual energy into my dantian."
The snake lowered its head yet its red eyes flashed watching her, "It seems that you used the wrong method."
Heng Xīnyán looked at the snake, "Great One?" She questioned, probing it for more information.
"For demons, we don't coax," The snake stressed on the word coax and Heng Xīnyán understood.
"Then, I should simply forcibly collect them?" She asked.
The snake hissed, "That can be one. But the spiritual energy in this realm is strange so many of them reject foreign souls and you are one of those foreign souls."
Heng Xīnyán understood, "The other method?" She asked.
The snake licked out its tongue, "Take on your demon form and cultivate."
Heng Xīnyán frowned, "You will not eat me?"
The snake hissed, "This Great One makes an oath."
Heng Xīnyán nodded and relaxed her shoulders before she muttered, "Heng Xīnyán show your true form!" Deep red fog escaped her soul and the snake blinked in surprise before calmly watching her.
The deep red fog engulfed her soul at a rapid pace, pain erupted in every part of her soul and Heng Xīnyán screamed. Deep hate flashed in her eyes and black fog merged with the red. Soon, a cute little black fox with red linings on its tail appeared as the fog slowly diffused.
The cute fox yelped and its black orbs looked up at the snake.
The snake hissed, "Try collecting spiritual energy now."
The fox lay down and entered its dantian. Heng Xīnyán sat in her upper field and mediated. For a long time, she didn't feel anything but she sat still and tired of being the nice guy. She turned the villain and started forcing the spiritual energy particles to enter her dantian.
Soon, warm energy entered her soul and Heng Xīnyán smiled before continuing her method of robbing her surroundings of their spiritual energy. Regulating her three fields, Heng Xīnyán opened her eyes as she reached the Spiritual Energy Gathering stage. The very first stage of cultivation as well as the weakest.
Looking up at the snake who had its eyes closed, Heng Xīnyán yelped lightly to gain its attention. The snake opened its eyes, "You took eight months to reach the Spiritual Energy Gathering stage?" Heng Xīnyán could hear the disdain in the snake's monotonous voice and wept lightly in her heart.
The grievances in her heart were strong as she yelped lightly. Only to cover her face in shame as she heard the snake's contempt for her in its simple statement, "And at the first stage too!"
Heng Xīnyán wept silently.
"Listen, little fox," the snake hissed and Heng Xīnyán looked up.
"You need to show the spiritual energy particles who is boss. You are merely bullying them, you need to command them, let them know who you are and let them come to you out of fear."
Heng Xīnyán nodded seriously. Unable to talk, she yelped.
"Now, go back and cultivate." The snake hissed and Heng Xīnyán nodded.
Silently, entering her dantian. Heng Xīnyán looked at the spiritual energy particles around her and instead of going to them, she simply watched them. The varying colours of the spiritual energy that surrounded her.
None of them approached her and Heng Xīnyán opened her little fox-like eyes. She lay on her stomach. The green grass was fresh and Heng Xīnyán sighed.
Her eyes gazed up at the dark blue skies. It was night.
Closing her eyes, Heng Xīnyán reentered her upper field. Relaxing, her little fox body, Heng Xīnyán sighed releasing all of her hate that made a black fog around her body. Instead of fighting the fog, Heng Xīnyán embraced it.
As the black fog known as her resentment covered her small body, it slowly turned a deep red, Heng Xīnyán smiled eerily as her lips in her upper field bled lightly. Her soul was unable to merge with the red fog, it was her resentment and hate from the mortal realm.
It was hard to control it, making her cough up blood. However, even if she was in pain as her past repeated over and over again in her mind. Heng Xīnyán still resisted the pain. Controlling the red fog that covered her small body was a heavy task for Heng Xīnyán, her mentality was corroding from the memories.
Black blood left her mouth in heavy coughs that racked her fox body. This was the consequence of using her resentment. Finally, learning to control the red fog, Heng Xīnyán sighed in relief. The task of controlling the red fog took Heng Xīnyán almost eight months.