As the fight ensued between the willow and the disciples, Renshen quietly drew out his void which created a spatial hole on his abdomen like a black hole. He took advantage of the distraction and started sucking in the branches squeezing his body as if they intended to milk his organs out.
He was aware that if he had been in his original body from earth, this force would have been enough to crush every bone to dust.
With no weapon and no special techniques, Renshen had to rely on his solo ability which was devouring things with a soul by sucking in their vitality which was stored in their cores. But since he had no idea what a core was, he just thought that he had been sucking their energy until they died.
Never before had he attempted to suck in solid objects, but he had no other choice rather than wait around for the fight to end and be claimed by those cultivators.
Now that he had just been betrayed in this new world before he could even learn to walk, the remaining wisp of trust in him had snapped.
The willow groaned out as parts of her were being eaten. And in its moment of distraction, the disciples launched a formation attack, cutting through the branches until the sword qi pierced its trunk, narrowly missing Renshen.
The shrieks of pain, accompanied by the beasts finally reaching the area made the air tremble with vile auras.
"Aren't we going to rescue the mortal?" One of the four disciples asked with a concerned look.
"How do we get there? We will be devoured and trampled on by these monsters... Hey you! Go back to the sect and alert any elder. Tell them that we accidentally met a demonic willow undergoing its tribulation but it hasn't transformed yet."
"Okay!"
The younger one, who was in his teens, nodded and drove his sword in the other direction, leaving the formation.
To make up for him, the other three increased their qi to hold down the sword still piercing the large tree, suppressing it since they couldn't kill it due to their low cultivation level.
'Those little fuckers. Are they blind?' Renshen scolded swallowing the last branches on him before the first beast could get to him.
"Master, don't leave me. Please," the willow begged.
'Don't master me you fucking leech!'
Even though he had managed to escape the attack, he had no means of leaving the area. He couldn't walk, run, or fly. Even something as easy as screaming was impossible.
Crawling to hide behind a nearby tree, he caught sight of a purple serpent slithering on the ground. Its cultivation level was 845, more powerful than the beasts he had felt near the willow.
'Should I devour it?'
'But that will only increase my level by a hundred and won't help me get away from this danger.'
'Should I try to communicate with it? It's big enough to get me out of here.'
Making up his mind, he picked up a small stone and threw it at it.
A frightening hiss came from the giant snake as its head jerked in Renshen's direction.
'Aren't you here to eat me? Come on!'
It didn't need an invitation to begin with, it rushed its thick body along the rough ground, gaping its mouth to reveal its terrifying fangs.
"Smells...good," it hissed pouncing at Renshen.
He quickly rolled out of its way and it hit the tree head-on. Wasting not a second, he rolled back towards it and placed a hand on its skin, immediately initiating his void. He quickly sucked out some energy as it started thrashing about and bringing its tail to crush him.
'Do that and I will end you!' Renshen yelled and instantly subdued the snake. 'Get me out of here and I will spare your life.'
His palm was stuck on its body like a suction, a skill he didn't know he had. But it had only evolved slightly because 'he' had evolved.
'How do I know if you won't kill me when I do that?' it asked telepathically, side-eyeing him.
'Just do what I fucking tell you or you won't live to fund out. Take your chances you damn serpent.'
'I am a-'
Renshen cut its speech by sucking out more energy.
'Look, I don't give a shit what you are. Take me away right now.'
It hissed but turned its head away in utter shame. 'If you fall off,f I won't be responsible.'
'You better take care of me or you'll be shriveled into a crisp before I die.'Agreeing, Renshen climbed the snake, using both his hands as suction and holding on to it by its life.
'Go as far away from here as possible. Male sure we're not caught by those beasts.'
'They won't follow us. We were drawn here by the aura released during the tribulation of something. But the aura is gone, though the willow won't be lucky. It will be ripped apart by them,' the snake explained as it moved on the ground at a human speed, making sure that its enemy wouldn't fall off. It felt as if it had a leash around its neck that was slowly choking it.
'Were you here for the core?'
'What the hell is a core?'
'The dantian according to human cultivators. How do you not know of-'
'Shut up and keep explaining or I will kill you!'
'The dantian is where a being's qi is stored. It forms when one reaches a certain stage. Humans need to be at least at the qi condensation stage to form a dantian. However, different beings form theirs at different levels, and some form with age like spiritual plants and animals.'
'Hmm... So my dantian is the reason you beasts came! What is special about it?'
The serpent's elliptical pupils dilated upon hearing Renshen's revelation. But it wrapped its hunger to preserve its life.
'About that... I am not sure. All I could smell was how delicious it was and how powerful it felt. Any beast and cultivator would be tempted. Please don't kill me.'
Renshen sighed,d lifting his head to look around where the snake was heading.
The wind immediately began hitting his face and blowing his long hair behind him.
'Are you perhaps a spiritual plant?'
'What does it matter?'
'I'm only curious. A human cultivator would have this basic knowledge. You also don't have any fluctuations which can only mean that you haven't cultivated. How did you become this strong? I have been in this mountain for hundreds of years. What about you?'
He lowered his face to lie against its cold skin. 'That willow told me I came here seven hundred years ago. I'm the ginseng that has been devouring beasts where we just left.'
'You...you... I always thought it was the willow since that has been its territory for hundreds of years.'
He started feeling drowsy and his eyes began shutting. But he couldn't let his newly acquired body shut down before he made sure he was safe.
'How far are we going?'
'Not far. I'm taking you to my cave. You can stay there, but please do not harm my family.'
'Family!' Renshen huffed as distant memories flashed in his mind. That word had lost meaning long ago. And now, trust was dead to him. He'd only look after himself in this life he had been granted by the mysterious man. Ultimate goal? Nonsense!
#############
Something cold moved along Ren's arm, bringing him back to consciousness.
His senses quietly came back and the warmth of whatever he was lying on reminded him that he was no longer a ginseng and could now feel.
He turned his head to the side and opened his eyes. "Ah!" He yelped when he saw the tiny snake staring at him a breath away from his face. Startled, he jerked to a sitting position and the fabric that had been placed on his back rolled off of him, leaving his ass in the open.
'You're finally awake!'
His mind was jumbled while his eyes snapped around the odd walls around him. Rough and bumpy, they looked nothing like a house, yet there was warmth lingering in the air, and the roof wasn't open.
The crackling of the fire a distance away from him awoke Ren's full mind and the place finally registered. A cave. And it was very warm.
'Is this...your home?'
'Yes.'
Ren's eyes dropped on the little snakes the length of his arm but thinner. 'Are these your kids?'
'Kids? What is that?'
'Um...children. offspring.'
'Oh, no. They are my sister's.'
Ren searched for the presence of another bigger snake but didn't see it. 'Where is she?'
'She died.'
'Then who...who lit the fire?'
'A fire technique. An easy one.'
'Oh!'
'Could you please get off of me? It's been two days. I have to go out and hunt for them.'
'Two-'
He lifted his palms and two black dented handprints were left on the serpent's skin.
Ren carefully slid off the snake's trunk to stand on the rough floor. But his balance was so bad that he ended up on his knees.
'Shit! I still need to learn how to use this body.'
'Are you hungry?'
Ren gazed back, only to find a human-like figure standing in place of the gigantic snake.
His hair was purple like the snake, and so were his eyes, which seemed to glow with the flickering light.
Naked just like Ren was, the young man stepped forward and then picked up the gray robe lying on the ground. He slid his arms in the sleeves, which flowed down his body, and then fastened it with a worn-out black belt that had been hanging on a stone.
Ren frowned. 'You can transform?'
The purple-haired man smiled. "Of course. I transformed the day my older sister was killed by those righteous sects," he answered with disgust. "They killed her just for her core. She made the mistake of falling in love with a human and ended up losing her life because of that. He drove a dagger through her heart even though he knew she was pregnant."
His purple eyes burned with hatred and the desire for vengeance.
"I hate humans. I hate those sects promising immortality but they're only exploring those foolish children."