Sentiments Surpass Life and Death

The first thing the soul in control of the body did was carefully feel every lever and joint in each square inch of his new container. Once he judged it was sufficient for him to move in, he got to his knees and bowed his head to where he first sentenced Zhou Ying to a certain death.

"I'm sorry." He once again apologized in an extremely grave tone. The remorse was multiplied from the factor of the soul regretting what happened, but ultimately containing the mindset of doing it again if he was forced to.

The soul fragment wasn't conscious and it was practically hovering between life and death. All it could think of doing was survive, so it sundered all ideologies and morals in the face of death for a single reason.

"I can't remember my name." The body looked up at the sky with zero identifiable emotions in its eyes. "But I do remember my anger."

Yes, an absolute emotion that could never be washed away so long as even a lingering trace of him exists in the world. The sole thing that led him into claiming the life of an innocent child was a requiem for hazy faces that he's forgotten. The fact that even his comrades have become hazy images in his memory brings him sorrow.

Despite having a flood of emotions consume his soul and new body, there was no trace of the sentiments appearing on his face, like there was a disconnect between his mind and body.

All that remains is a desire for vengeance against the person who took them away. He looked beyond the sky because where he needed to go was nowhere on this plane. His destination was the Divine Realm.

In an instant, he set his destination and forged his resolve.

He then let out a sigh. "I can't get too hasty now." He lost all of his power and he's in a new body he doesn't fully understand yet. First thing's first, he needs to check out the state of this body he's in and then he can map out a cultivation plan for himself.

Though memories and knowledge have faded, muscle memory still exists. Plus, he still recalls a single Profound Art that he abused in his heydays. If he lets his mind wander, he swears he can hear laments and curses that he beat somebody up with this.

Esoteric Depths was the name of the Profound Art. He doesn't remember how he chanced upon it, but that's not as important as the familiar voices entering his ears.

A small smile appeared on his face and disappeared as fast as a flurry of snow under a burning sun.

"Huh?" He winced and placed a careful hand to his temple, feeling a strange pain in his head. "It seems there are still remnants of Zhou Ying's soul that I can't fully assimilate."

The parts he cannibalized were to restore the fragment into something with sapience, so he didn't actually acquire much memories. All he knows is that he's on a continent called the Profound Sky Continent and the name of the boy he killed. He's pretty much flying blind right now.

However there were fragments that wouldn't break down no matter what due to a strong emotion. It was a sentiment on the level of his own. It would eventually dissipate because the strength of the soul was only that of a boy in the mere Elementary Profound Realm, yet it was a spirit that should be marveled.

"This boy would've had great potential in the soul arts." A trace of sorrow appeared on his face.

It's a shame, but he can't allow any part of Zhou Ying to linger.

If it's like a wandering spirit that's attaching itself to a location and refuses to move on, then it can only be solved by resolving its regrets. "This boy's regrets..."

The soul fragment that wasn't consumed still had memories inside.

He looked deep into the fragmented memories of Zhou Ying's basic life without a hint of judgement in his eyes. The boy was a youth who desired fame, money, women, and power like many cultivators in the world. It's a common dream and nothing really noteworthy, yet the biggest desire that refuses to be expunged is a dream to be acknowledged by all of the Blue Wind Empire.

"For taking away your life so early, the least I can do is accomplish this in your name. Therefore, I shall go by Zhou Ying for you until you can rest in peace." He held a hand over his heart and made this solemn pledge.

It was convenient for him as well. Even if he remembered his name, people know this body as Zhou Ying.

"Now then, should I return?" Zhou Ying asked himself. Was the place called Half Moon Profound Palace? That doesn't sound quite right to him, but...

Actually, does he really need to return? Zhou Ying rolled his eyes and cupped his chin in thought, contemplating the pros and cons of returning back to civilization with people at least looking after him.

He then looked deeper into the forest, sun high above the sky and producing a comfortable warmth, and sighed. "Didn't I prefer the outside more?"

He's using Zhou Ying's body, but he can never be the person. Thus, the natural inclination of the boy to stay in towns and cities around people was never included in the thought process. Zhou Ying chose to stay in the forest filled with profound beasts, poisonous plants, and all sorts of other dangers because he felt more comfortable out here.

As the boy walked forward, the thickets and trees grew thicker and his surroundings grew darker. He looked above, plant life attempting to blot out the sun, and he judged the positioning of the sun relative to where he was walking.

"Going further south then." In case he needs to return to the city Zhou Ying came from, he'll have to remember the route.

A few hours later, Zhou Ying found himself sitting, legs folded, on a thick branch protruding from a particularly twisted tree. Several meters below him were wild wolves in the Elementary Profound Realm clawing at the bark and attempting to reach his body. Their saliva spilled to the ground and their tongues were hanging out in anticipation, yet they kept falling before they could reach the high branch.

The boy in question was looking down at them with a cool expression. "If I was just a second slower, I would've become food for them."

That's right. He can't forget that his body is weak and is profound energy is even weaker. Complacency will lead to Zhou Ying becoming a pile of shit coming out of a beast's ass, which is a completely unacceptable fate.

"Only five Profound Entrances open?" This talent is below average. It might actually be considered bad even in a lower realm such as this one. His prospects at acquiring strength at a speedy and efficient rate seem to grow lower the more the boy inspects his body. "There's a large amount of impurities trapped in here as well..."

Brown eyes flashed with an odd light as Zhou Ying delved into his dusty memories. There should be some way to deal with these issues at least.

"Esoteric Depths..." He recited the name of the Profound Art he plans on practicing.

The number of canids below began dwindling as they can't waste their time in a single place without eating. The few that were left had noticeable ribs that protruded from thin bellies and drooled unceasingly while still wasting their energy in climbing attempts.

Elementary Profound beasts that averaged at a higher Level than Zhou Ying, yet were weakened by starvation and exhaustion versus a cultivator at a lower Level, yet was healthy and possessed greater battle experience even if there is rust and fog getting in the way of that.

Zhou Ying dropped feet first on a wolf that was clinging on to the gnarled bark with its claws and ripped a trail down the wood. There was an audible crack that triggered all the surviving wolves to ferociously launch themselves at potential food.

Zhou Ying kicked the corpse below him at the charging wolves and disrupted their leap. He gathered all the profound energy to his hands and punched at their weakened stomachs. The starvation exposed the bones, which helped the boy to avoid attacking those hard parts. With a second wolf down, the remaining two wolves decided to flee.

They were starving, but they weren't hunger-crazed enough to risk their lives yet. Maybe in a day or two they would reach that state, but for now, this can be considered Zhou Ying's victory.

He made two trips up and down the tree to carry the animal corpses to the branch. Just as he expected, there were wolves that came back, probably alerted by the ones that ran off.

However, Zhou Ying was already back on the secure branch, observing his meal for today. With Esoteric Depths circulating in his mind, the state of his body can be seen as a blessing in disguise. The impurities can be used as a buffer so his meridians and profound veins don't receive irreparable damage. That's still not enough however.

Its looking at the raw meats in front of him that gave Zhou Ying the perfect plan to speed up the process of cultivating not only his profound energy, but his Profound Art.

Zhou Ying's teeth nearly shattered at forcibly taking a chomp out of the wolf's corpse. The flowing blood wet his mouth and the disgusting taste of raw meat ravaged his tongue. The body was very unused to consuming something like this, but the current soul had enough willpower to resist the gag reflex and forcibly swallow the meat, fur and all, after grinding it down with his molars.

The reason some foods need to be cooked is to remove toxins and impurities that causes illness in the human body. There's also the paltry reason of making it taste better, but only the former reasons really matter in the long run.

These toxins would normally only harm the body if consumed, yet there are experts who can resist that and those who have bodies naturally inclined to consuming raw foods without experiencing common food-related illnesses.

For Zhou Ying, the Profound Art, Esoteric Depths, is one that can deal with these types of poisons and impurities. Even at the initial stage, it will turn these impurities into pure profound energy. It's an indomitable art that the soul previously practiced arduously. Its a testament to how much he used it in the past that he even remembers the first two stages of it.

The first stage is called Refining. To sum up the basic principles, anything can be refined and turned into energy. Hair, blood, profound energy, poisons, lifespan, fortune, and even the energy located between heaven and earth. Naturally, Zhou Ying shouldn't refine his body parts unless he's extremely desperate for a boost in power, so he has to use outside sources to gather potential energy.

Raw foods will always have more energy than cooked foods unless the food is soaked in special herbs and mixtures, which Zhou Ying doesn't have. This is the most efficient way to gain strength at the moment.

Zhou Ying began cultivating profound energy while slowly turning the built up impurities in the body into more energy. Not only that, but the additional energy poured into his body by consuming raw wolves added a noticeable speed in gathering energy. At this rate, he should be able to cross into the fourth level of the Elementary Profound Realm soon.

"For now, I shouldn't rush. I need to set a strong foundation for the Refining stage." He'll be able to tackle the second stage midway through the Nascent Profound Realm if his predictions are correct.