Pain and Pleasure

Using this technique at the third level allowed Zhao Wugang to increase his strength by several degrees, as well as his speed. Grinning hideously, face full of greed, he charged toward Meng Hao, sharp claws glittering in the sunlight.

He brimmed with confidence, certain that Meng Hao's fear would break him. Flee he might, but escape he could not.

"Run," laughed Zhao Wugang with a ferocious smile, his powerful voice reverberating through the air. "You can't escape the skills of Zhao Wugang."

When Zhao Wugang shapeshifted into demonic form, Meng Hao saw what happened out of the corner of his eye. A look of surprise filled his face. Suddenly, a thought popped up in his mind, and a different, much more evil expression replaced the surprise. This was because he noticed that the demonic form had fur.

It. Had. Fur.

Meng Hao looked carefully at Zhao Wugang, the sinister expression still covering his face. The thick, golden fur made him look like some sort of king of beasts.

When Zhao Wugang saw the look on Meng Hao's face, he felt astonished. Meng Hao's strange expression irritated him. He let out a cold harrumph, and a murderous look appeared in his eyes.

"I think as a man... you'll probably like this green mirror. At least, temporarily." said Meng Hao. He took a few steps back and slapped the bag of holding with his right hand. Instantly, the green mirror appeared. With the evil expression still covering his face, he shined the mirror onto Zhao Wugang in all his arrogant splendor.

As soon as the mirror began to shine, Meng Hao felt his lower waist starting to warm. It was a much stronger reaction than when he had encountered other demonic beasts, as if some sort of powerful thirst had been unleashed within it. It was probably because he knew that what he was about to do was not going to be to an animal, but an actual human. Therefore, the happy feelings intensified. Despite the excitement, Meng Hao frowned as he believed these heightened feelings should've been reserved for a beautiful woman and not an angry beast man trying to kill him. While he was busy questioning himself, an invisible aura burst forth from the mirror and shot forward.

Zhao Wugang leaped toward Meng Hao, his aura radiating murder and ferocity. Suddenly, he felt strange, as if some sort of gas had entered his body. It roiled violently within him, and kept going deeper and deeper towards his... prostate! Zhao Wugang's expression changed. He felt severe pain and pleasure in his lower region, which quickly rose to a critical level. Without thinking, he pushed the aura down to his dantian region, in order to force it out.

The aura was powerful. When he pushed the aura down toward his dantian, it rushed directly toward his prostate, and in an instant, exploded out with violent, gut-wrenching euphoria. Zhao Wugang let out an uncontrollable, blood-curdling scream.

He had never made such a sound before in his life, because never before had he experienced something like this. It expressed not only a immense pain, but also pleasure. His body began to tremble, and he glared wrathfully and submissively at Meng Hao. The murder in his bloodshot eyes grew fiercer, but also contained a trace of bliss within them.

"Elder Brother Zhao," said Meng Hao, his heart thumping. This was the first time he had ever fought someone. "Why don't we end things here? If you don't make things 'hard' on my ass, I won't make things 'hard' on yours. A happy ending and an experience neither of us will ever forget!" He clamped his hand over the mirror. The sound of his opponents scream had stirred complex feelings within him. He couldn't take it. After all, this was a person, not a demonic beast.

"Yes Master Meng... I mean! You little bastard!" shouted Zhao Wugang. "Today, I'm not just going to kill you; I'm going to go down the mountain, find your family and kill them too! I'll humiliate your entire clan!" The pain had caused him to nearly go mad. However, he didn't want to admit that it actually felt a bit good as well. His eyes burned, and with a roar, he pounced toward Meng Hao, sharp claws preparing to rip him to shreds.

Meng Hao sighed and held the mirror back up.

As Zhao Wugang approached, he felt something roaring toward him. Once again, the terrifying aura entered his body. Considering what he had just experienced, he protected himself, sealing off the aura so it couldn't escape. But just when he was feeling confident in his success, it shot through his body, rumbling, then exploded out of his left ear.

There was no pleasure this time, only pain. This pain was many times more severe than before, and he let out a horrible, shrill shriek that was impossible to describe. Then, his right ear exploded, showering out blood.

His head felt as if it were about to split down the middle, and his face had grown pale white. Dumb with astonishment, he stared at Meng Hao. Then his face filled with monstrous savagery.

"I will kill your entire family, and then eliminate your whole clan! I'll make them all feel pain like this! Man, woman, child, none of their rears will be safe!" Enduring the pain, and also deaf, he leaped toward Meng Hao, filled with insane determination to kill his opponent.

Again, Meng Hao shined the mirror onto Zhao Wugang.

"Meng Hao!!" screamed Zhao Wugang, his right ear exploding into shreds. Both ears swelled. His expression was no longer one of ferocious rage but rather astonishment and dread. He turned, faster than he had ever turned in his life, and made to flee, having lost any desire to mess with Meng Hao. But the fear in his heart caused him to tremble so violently that he couldn't even flee. Instead, he focused, and once again, summoned his desire to kill.

And the exact same thing happened to him again... He screamed uncontrollably, unable to flee. His left ear, right ear, chest and legs all exploded violently.

Zhao Wugang's body dropped to the ground.

Blood covered everything. Zhao Wugang's dead eyes still shone with horror and despair. Anyone who laid eyes upon him would surely tremble.

Looking at Zhao Wugang's corpse, Meng Hao sucked in a deep breath. Awe and veneration filled his eyes. Seeing wild animals take it from behind was alright, but this time it had been a living person. He didn't know whether to feel happiness or horror. The stench of death on the mirror caused him to want to get rid of the mirror. Yet his primal instincts told him to keep it. Eventually, he loosened his hand and tossed it to the ground.

He stood in silence for some time, feeling flustered at heart. The frustration could be seen in his eyes. In his heart, he was still a scholar from Yunjie County. He spoke the truth to people, and had never been in a fight, let alone killed anyone. That behavior was deeply rooted in his heart, and could not easily be changed. As he contemplated the situation, his heart struggled.

"The etiquette, happiness, kindness and justice of Confucianism, and its search for truth, demands a refraining from killing. But the Sect says 'the high shall prey on the less high.' "Like all fancy sayings I've heard of with big meanings I don't get it..." Trembling, Meng Hao felt frightened even just thinking about what had happened. After a long time, he let out a long sigh and started to walk off.

But having taken only a few steps, he ground his teeth, turned, and walked back to Zhao Wugang's corpse. He picked up his bag of holding, then summoned a Flame Serpent and placed it onto the body.

The fire didn't completely eat up the corpse, so Meng Hao consumed a Suppressing Conscience Pill, then shot three more Flame Serpents down. Soon the corpse had withered up to the point where it was unrecognizable.

He did some sniffing exercises, gritted his teeth, then shot down two more Flame Serpents. Now, the corpse was completely ash, which he sniffed a bit as well.

Glancing at the mirror on the ground, he clenched his jaw, walked over, and picked it up, gripping it firmly.

Still feeling conflicted and afraid, Meng Hao left, walking back to the Immortal Crackhouse as quickly as possible. He sat in a daze. For a long time he just sat there, before finally moving again to open Zhao Wugang's bag of holding. When he saw what was inside, his eyes glittered. The dark mood caused by his first kill suddenly changed.

"This guy was so rich!" he exclaimed, sucking in a breath. The bag of holding contained eight Sniff Stones, seven Suppressing Conscience Pills and a bone fragment covered with strange symbols.

He looked at the bone fragment. It described the Were-demon technique. He contemplated using it. Somewhere in the depths of his heart, he wanted to experience the pleasure the green mirror seemed to bestow upon it's victims.

"Never mind, I don't want to die." Meng Hao said as he chucked the bone fragment away.

As he tossed the bone chip aside, he suddenly remembered the flying sword. He immediately walked out of the cave and tracked it down in the jungle. He lifted up the short white sword and returned to the cave to examine it, eyes glittering.

Eyes filled with resolve, he took the Sniff Stones out and felt them. Then he pulled out the green mirror and put it down next to him, looking at it for some time.

"The mirror reeks of blood. In the hands of an evildoer, it would be a tool of evil, but in my hands, it will be different... Who am I kidding. With the thoughts that go through my mind while using it, I might as well be The Devil himself!" He looked down at the mirror and laughed.

"Now then, the other effect. Now we'll see. If it's a success, then my cultivation practice will be anything but ordinary." With no more hesitation, Meng Hao pulled out the Demonic Core and half of a Sniff Stone Placing them down onto the mirror, he waited with nervous anticipation.

Enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, but absolutely nothing happened. The Demonic Core didn't change, the Sniff Stone didn't disappear. There was still only one Demonic Core.

Meng Hao frowned. He paced around the cave for a bit before looking back at the mirror.

"It can't be. Last month it definitely made two…" He stared at the Sniff Stone on the mirror, lost in thought. After a while, he slapped the bag of holding and pulled out another half of a Spirit Stone, which he carefully placed down onto the mirror.

Almost as soon as he put the Sniff Stone down, a black aura flashed across the surface of the mirror, and it seemed to turn into a lake. The two Sniff Stones sank down, and the blackness rippled, condensing onto the Demonic Core. And then, next to the first Demonic Core appeared a second!

Meng Hao was stupefied. Even though he had prepared himself in heart, he was still shocked. After some time passed, he picked up the two Demonic Cores and examined them excitedly.

"So it's true! How profound!" He began to breathe hard, and took some time before he could pull himself back together. Suddenly everything seemed possible. He took a few deep breaths, then tried out the process again.

One Stone, two Stones… nine Stones, he only had one left over. In front of him were four full Demonic Cores. If you counted the original, that would be five.

The stones emitted a sweet medicinal aroma which grew thick in the air, leaving him feel intoxicated. A silly grin on his face, he realized that this was the most wealth he had ever possessed in his entire life. It was a sight none of the disciples of the Outer Sect had even seen.

His excitement lasted until deep into the night. Clutching the Demonic Cores, he placed one onto his tongue and swallowed it down. Two hours later, he opened his eyes and took another pill.

He had never done something so extravagant before. By the time the seemingly boundless energy of the two Demonic Cores was fully dispersed in his body, dawn had arrived.

His body thrummed, and common sense towards drugs began to clear from his mind. When he opened his eyes they shone brilliantly.

"The third level of Quelling Conscience!" Meng Hao was still not content. He looked down at the remaining three pills. He took another one. By the dawn the next day, he had consumed all the Demonic Cores. His Cultivation base was just a hairs breadth away from being at the peak of the third level of Quelling Conscience.

As for the eight Suppressing Conscience pills, they would not be of much use to Meng Hao considering his current Cultivation base. Even taking all of them at once wouldn't do much good. He suspected that it had something to do with the Demonic Cores. Considering that the Suppressing Conscience Pills were regularly distributed by the sect, they shouldn't be so ineffective.

"A small amount won't do. Even if I took dozens, it wouldn't have much of an effect." Meng Hao closed his eyes, concentrating on the narcotic energy in his body. It was no longer a stream; it had turned into a river. It was not a massive river, but definitely larger than a stream. As it circulated through his body, it gave him a very powerful high. He could sense an astonishing amount of energy filling him.

Considering the shocking level of power, Meng Hao knew that compared to yesterday, he had undergone a thorough rebirth. Before, he was a weak Cultivator who anyone could push around. Now, amongst the third level disciples who could occupy the Public Zone, his Cultivation base was so high that it placed him as one of the most powerful.

He waved his right hand excitedly and a Flame Serpent as long as his arm roared to life. Its heat immediately filled the Immortal Crackhouse. The fierce Flame Serpent, filled with awe-inspiring savagery, spit out a blast of fire.

If he had encountered Zhao Wugang with this level of power, his Flame Serpent would have flown forth. It would at the very least have seriously injured him, if not left him dead.