Rumors and Recuperation

Right where Zhou Ying left a bunch of beast corpses, a group of higher level cultivators just arrived to see the leftovers. A skinny man with a narrow face expressed anger by stomping on the floor.

"Damn it! Who stole our target?!" He kicked the black-furred arm in frustration.

Before he could kick it again, a burlier man placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. That prompted the skinny man to take a deep breath with his other companions already beginning to investigate who the thief was and approximate where the thief escaped to.

These group of cultivators were members of the Xiao Clan's Branch Sect of New Moon City. They took a mission to take down a pack of Dark Earth Apes for points to exchange for pills, weapons, etc. Their plan entailed of using their superior cultivation to implant fear into one gorilla and have it lead them to the rest of the pack, but that plan has been ruined.

"The thief went off with the Profound Core," said a third, quiet man. His body seemed to blend in with the environment, possibly cultivating a Profound Art that exemplifies stealth or having natural skills.

"I'm gonna break his legs!" That savage tone came from short-haired lady with the body of a brute. Her muscles could put even fully grown men to shame, which unfortunately, has chased away of prospective partners. As a result, she is naturally aggressive and short-tempered.

"For now, we'll have to complete our mission before we go after the thief," spoke the burly cultivator.

"Hold on, Li Shao. Before we do that, do you recall a group of Outer Disciples meeting with ill fortune around this area? I could've sworn they entered the clan while whining about something." The skinny man tried to recall what exactly their complaints entailed, but he failed.

The huge man shook his head as a response.

The stealthiest individual among the group had something else to say based on his experience. "They were robbed by an individual." His brow raised as he contemplated the reason behind this.

"Could it be that there's somebody outside our sect provoking our disciples?"

The skinny man opened his mouth to refute that line of thought.

"It's doubtful. Nobody should be cocky enough to offend our Branch Sect. Our connections to the main sect should be enough to dominate this city. The pathetic Profound Palace aside, I believe it's a fellow Branch Sect member making a mockery of us. Han Bing, use your information gathering skills to find out who it is after we tidy up this mission."

The beginnings of a plan was made. One that would set up a future incident which reduced the grand prestige of the Branch Sect and nearly made the elders burn down the entire forest from anger.

-------------------------------

While cultivators of the Branch Sect were fuming over having an impediment to their mission, the one behind that was busy resting on a particularly tall tree. It might've been tall enough to infringe on the territory of avians, but he needs to make sure no wolf or gorilla can interrupt his recuperation.

His injuries from pushing himself were worse than he thought. He has anatomical knowledge, but his overall medical knowledge is far too patchy. Zhou Ying also has no alchemical knowledge to make something to treat his injuries. There might've been something in his memory that would give a general remedy, but it's doubtful he'll be able to find the materials here. Even ignoring that, his memories are too shoddy to piece together stuff like that in the first place.

Esoteric Depths cannot make profound energy heal injuries. "What a bother."

This might slow him down... No, he'll keep pushing himself. Eventually his body will naturally heal the bone fractures and muscle tears while he increases his profound strength. But he can't push himself too much that it'd lead to permanent injuries.

He can be hasty, but he can't rush things. 

During the cultivator's rest, he stared at the Profound Core in his hand as if he was absorbed by it. A man who saw the most beautiful jade beauty in the world wouldn't have been struck so dumb as Zhou Ying was. 

After a long while, he finally came to and reacted to the object in his hand. More specifically, the elemental aura he felt from it.

"...Earth profound energy."

All of a sudden, a heavy aura of depression emanated from the brown-haired cultivator, his head low and his eyes looking at a far-off location. His lips curled up, belying his current mood. A name escaped his lips.

"Shi Hua..." Though he was smiling, Zhou Ying was bereft of the common emotion of joy.

Sadness was the tide that preluded the storm of anger that came afterward. His smile took on a savage tinge and then he made a snap decision. Zhou Ying placed the core in his mouth. If he swallowed it whole, the sheer amount of energy would probably make his body explode.

Instead, he placed it in his mouth and executed Esoteric Depths to refine the core into pure energy bit by bit. Refining an injured body would make the injuries heal wrongly, so he poured it into pure profound strength.

The density of his energy slowly increased throughout the day all to night. The thickness of the energy within the profound veins forced the energy to contract until there was a sound akin to a soft explosion.

Elementary Profound Realm level six.

An hour after that, level seven. Then level eight.

The unceasing overflowing energy of a violent beast poured into Zhou Ying's body in a controlled manner. Normally, absorbing energy straight from a profound beast as a human cultivator is extremely risky and steps must be taken to control the different energy.

Something like that doesn't matter to the indomitable Profound Art Zhou Ying is cultivating.

The explosive, wild aura of a beast crashing against a human's veins to rip them apart was all energy. Motion was energy and even that was converted into Profound Energy. It all became...not nothing, but a single thing for a single desire.

Drool leaked from the corner of Zhou Ying's mouth as he settled into an odd trance.

His foggy mind was beginning to clear up a tiny bit and his comprehension of this art began to return. Beyond that, his soul was stirring in response to a small revelation.

There's a difference between understanding that anything can be turned into energy and actually putting that idea into practice. The most important thing is will. The will to twist the common rules and laws of the world to suit the individual. 

Zhou Ying can't remember the necessary mindset to perfectly cultivate this art. However, he can theorize that one must have the dominant aura of a conquerer that wishes to subjugate all to his will. Can he acquire that?

No. It's not necessary. And it's not something he can do.

He's a lonesome wolf and a determined person who doesn't desire to dominate or to rule over anything like some sort of conquering god. His singular desire is far more potent than that. Zhou Ying will drown out even the requisites for furthering this art and change the Art to suit him.

The only emotions he'll put forth are ones directed toward his target of vengeance and the comrades of the past he's lost. This is a tale of reminiscence and an elegy for the dead he's cultivating.

And so, Zhou Ying slightly modified Esoteric Depths. Instead of becoming an esoteric ruler, his sorrow resonates with the depths itself. His profound energy took on a heavy quality.

The fragments of Zhou Ying dimmed as the cultivator gained greater strength and acclimated to his current life. This is just another step to the uncertain morrow.

The Profound Core in his mouth eventually turned into dust once all the energy was exhausted. Zhou Ying's profound veins took on a light-yellow tinge in color, representing the energy of earth he absorbed into his profound veins.

In memory of Shi Hua, he will cultivate Earth Laws.

He stood up, sore body producing a large amount of cracks, and breathed in the air, naturally taking in the energy of heaven and earth. With a step forward in comprehending his art, he's now able to breathe in the air and turn it into bits of energy, allowing him to increase his profound energy even while moving and sleeping.

Right now, he's at the ninth level of the Elementary Profound realm, yet his combat strength is anything but that. With the oppressive aura of his profound energy having an increased weight as a result of having innate earth profound energy now, he could probably night somebody in the early Nascent Profound Realm.

Since he's injured though, he'll probably lose at the moment, but it's a sign that he's getting stronger.

Daybreak has already begun. It took him a whole day and night to completely absorb the energy from the Profound Core and he still has the head left to consume. Zhou Ying dropped from the tree and landed on the ground, letting his earth energy resonate with the earth itself while biting into the skull.

Skulls are usually one of the harder parts of a living creature, and had Zhou Ying not have broken through to his current stage, his teeth would not have been strong enough to chew through the bone.

He received a lot of pain for it and it almost felt like a tooth cracked, but he was able to reach the brain and bite into something with the most appalling flavor he's ever savored. He swallowed it as quickly as possible.

Zhou Ying revolved Esoteric Depths at full power, not leaving anything in his hands. He consumed the brain, chewed the bones, swallowed the teeth, ate the tongue and eyes, and drank the blood.

The leftover energy from a Nascent Profound beast was enough to push him to the top of the ninth level, nearly breaking through to the tenth.

"I think I can go a little deeper in the forest now." Higher level wolves and more Nascent Profound beasts await him. Of course, those who want to give up their pills and food to him are also welcome in this forest.