"Let's stop here," Su Xiaobai muttered, giving no room for debate.
They set up a small camp, and as soon as they did, Su Xiaobai made sure to choose a spot where he could keep his eyes on Wei Jun at all times.
The last thing he needed was this guy pulling some ridiculous stunt or trying to rob him while he slept.
As the fire crackled softly and the night deepened, Su Xiaobai finally remembered the persistent buzzing coming from his spatial ring.
His curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to investigate.
Sitting cross-legged, he focused, summoning the source of the disturbance. A dusty, ancient book materialized in his hands—the "Way of Evil Dao".
The moment he pulled it out, the golden gleam of the book's pages caught the firelight, making them shimmer in the dark like some forbidden treasure.
The intricate, ominous symbols on the cover almost seemed to writhe as he touched it.
Su Xiaobai flipped the book open, the buzzing intensifying as if the ancient script was calling to him.
But before he could even focus, a soft, annoyingly curious voice floated over his shoulder.
"Brother... what are you reading? It looks... fascinating."
Su Xiaobai's eye twitched.
Wei Jun, of course, had slinked his way over, practically leaning over Su Xiaobai's shoulder like an eager child.
His breath was far too close for comfort, and his eyes sparkled like he'd just found a shiny new toy.
"Let me see! I've never seen anything like it," Wei Jun said, sounding way too enthusiastic for someone who had been half-chased to death by a boar just hours ago.
He inched even closer, clearly fascinated by the glowing, golden pages.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" Su Xiaobai growled, barely keeping his irritation in check.
He had 'finally' found time to study this mysterious text, and now this pretty boy was acting like it was storytime.
Wei Jun, not deterred in the slightest, gave him a playful smirk and fanned himself with a casual flick of his wrist. "It's hard to ignore something so ancient... and shiny. I've just got an eye for treasures, you know?"
Su Xiaobai snapped the book shut with a loud thwack, narrowly resisting the urge to fling it at Wei Jun's perfectly chiseled face.
"Touch it, and you'll find out just how 'shiny' the afterlife is," he warned, his voice dangerously low.
Wei Jun laughed, but there was a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. "Brother, no need to be so serious. You act like I'm going to steal your precious book! I was just curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat," Su Xiaobai muttered through gritted teeth.
"Ah, but it makes life more exciting, doesn't it?" Wei Jun replied with a grin that practically screamed trouble. He flopped back down on his side of the campfire, still waving his fan as if he hadn't just been caught trying to peek at a forbidden text. "Besides, I have my own secrets. I'm not interested in yours."
Su Xiaobai rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, right. The only secret you've got is why you're still breathing after today.'
Turning his back on Wei Jun, he reopened the book and tried to focus. But with every crackle of the fire and shift in the air, he half-expected Wei Jun to be sneaking up again.
Su Xiaobai muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Wei Jun to hear, "One more glance, and I'm testing my sword on you—might turn you into an eunuch."
Wei Jun's face darkened immediately, the humor draining from his expression.
He instinctively covered his crotch with both hands, flashing an awkward smile. "N-no need for violence, brother. I value my, uh... assets."
Internally, Wei Jun was fuming. 'If it weren't for that old fogey sealing my cultivation, I wouldn't have to deal with this nonsense.'
But, outwardly, he kept his calm, maintaining his charming, friendly demeanor.
A lesson well-learned after years of navigating family politics.
Su Xiaobai, now blissfully undisturbed, turned his attention back to the book.
He flipped the pages casually, expecting to find the familiar text.
Then his brows furrowed.
'More pages?'
Su Xiaobai blinked, leaning in as he examined the book more closely.
Indeed, 'more' pages had appeared out of nowhere, as if the book itself had somehow expanded.
The mysterious blood red text shimmered and twisted on the fresh golden pages, inviting him deeper into its forbidden knowledge.
His eyes glinted with intrigue. "This thing just keeps getting better," he muttered to himself, fingers brushing the newly formed pages as he began to read.
The possibilities this book held...
As Su Xiaobai turned the ancient pages, the words of the 'Way of a Sinner' gave way to the deeper mysteries of the Dao of Absolute Evil.
His breath caught as the script unfurled itself before him like the divine decree of some dark, forgotten god.
The golden light shimmered from the newly revealed pages, inscribing themselves directly into his mind, as though the heavens themselves recoiled at the very knowledge.
______
"To walk the path of Evil is to forsake the bonds of heaven and shatter the chains of virtue. It is to claim the darkest fruits of power and to forge a heart unyielding, unrelenting—supreme in sin..."
"For those who seek the Supreme Evil Heart, there lies but one way: Master the Five Supreme Paths of Evil, and bind them in chains wrought from the heavens themselves..."
"Only then will the Heart of Absolute Evil awaken, a power beyond gods and immortals alike..."
____
The first of the five paths begin before Su Xiaobai's eyes, its aura of malevolence filled the air.
____
Heart of Sin!
"Of the Five Supreme Paths, none rival the Heart of Sin, for only in the embrace of sin is the heart truly freed from the shackles of righteousness...."
"To walk the sinner's path is to abandon virtue, and only those daring enough may forge its heart..."
"The seeds of sin will blossom into dark, twisted fruits, and from their forbidden taste, the Sinner shall claim power that even the heavens dare not dream of..."
Benefits:
- Form the Heart of Sin.
- Attain the Ultimate Fruit of Sin, granting the ability to skip one small realm in cultivation.
_____
Cultivating the Dao of Sin:
"Begin in the sea of consciousness, where the seeds of sin take root. There, seven seeds shall grow into the Trees of Sin. But beware, for the first fruit to bloom from this garden must be consumed in the Trial of Sin. Should you fail, the trees will wither, and the seeds must be sown anew. Yet, should you pass, the fruits shall grow plentiful, and the trees shall stretch towards the heavens..."
"Only when the seven trees are fully matured, and their fruits heavy with sin, may they be bound together to form the 'Fruit of Ultimate Sin'. This fruit, when consumed, shall allow the cultivator to surpass realms, breaking through one small realm effortlessly, and forging the Heart of Sin within their soul..."
The dark script expanded, detailing each sin as though revealing the mysteries of the universe.
Su Xiaobai's pulse quickened as the Sins appeared one by one, their terrible power displayed like forbidden jewels.