Wei Tian's lifeless body slumped to the ground, blood pooling beneath him. The cave reeked of death, but Zhang Yan remained motionless, his dagger still gripped tightly, his knuckles white.
Shi Lihua watched him, her gaze flickering with something unreadable. "You hesitated for a moment," she murmured.
Zhang Yan exhaled slowly, finally releasing his grip on the dagger. "No. I was simply making sure he understood his mistake before he died."
She chuckled, stepping over the corpses. "Cold as ever."
Outside, the Bone-Eating Forest stirred. The scent of fresh blood had drawn attention. Zhang Yan wiped his blade clean and stepped out of the cave, his senses sharpened. The air was thick with the stench of rotting qi, a malignant presence lurking just beyond the mist.
Then—movement.
A shadow slithered through the fog, oppressive and suffocating. A pair of glowing crimson eyes locked onto Zhang Yan, pulsing with a sinister hunger.
"A Bone-Eating Wraith," Shi Lihua whispered, her fingers tightening around her needle-dagger. "That's no ordinary beast."
The creature stepped into the moonlight—a towering, corpse-like abomination with jagged bones protruding from its rotting flesh. Its maw dripped with blackened saliva, each breath exuding corrupted qi. The forest itself seemed to recoil from its presence.
Zhang Yan felt something stir deep within him. A dark energy, coiling like a serpent in his core.
The Demon Seed.
Every disciple of the Nine Hells Demon Sect was implanted with one upon being taken into the sect. It was both a curse and a gift, a dormant force that could only be awakened under extreme duress. Without it, one could never truly cultivate the Demon Path's techniques of the Outer Circle. With it, power beyond human limits awaited—but at a cost.
The Bone-Eating Wraith lunged.
Zhang Yan moved, faster than he ever had before. His blade flashed, cutting deep into the creature's shoulder. A howl of rage. The wraith lashed out, but Zhang Yan was already in motion, twisting mid-air, his dagger carving another deep wound into its rotting flesh.
The wraith shrieked, and a wave of corrupted qi exploded outward. The force struck Zhang Yan like a hammer, sending him skidding across the forest floor. His breath hitched as a searing pain ignited in his chest.
His vision blurred. His blood turned molten. His senses expanded beyond human comprehension.
For the first time, he felt it.
The Demon Seed had awakened.