Bloody Demon Child is...?

A few minutes later...

"Hm? Where the hell is my remaining spiritual pond?"

Su Xiaobai scratched his head, his Su Xiaobai's voice echoed through the cave as he looked around, his face twisted in disbelief.

He had just finished three months of brutal, body-breaking cultivation.

His meridians were fortified, his cores were formed, and his qi had reached heights he never thought possible.

But something... something was seriously wrong.

The spiritual pond—the one he'd definitely left half full—was completely gone.

"There's no way I used all of it..." he muttered, scratching his head. "I remember clearly... I only used half. What the hell?"

He stood up, pacing around the cave, peeking into every shadowy corner like a man frantically searching for his wallet.

"Left... clear. Right... nothing." His eyes flickered over the empty space around him. "Front, back… zip. Great."

A pit started to form in his stomach as he turned in a slow circle, trying to make sense of it. "Where the fuck did it go? Did the earth swallow it or something?!"

That thought made him chuckle nervously, though the laugh sounded hollow. It was too weird. It was like... something wasn't quite right anymore. The cave that had been his sanctuary for three months now felt off, like the air was thicker, heavier... like someone—or something—was watching him.

Standing still for a moment, Su Xiaobai glanced down at the cave floor, chuckling nervously.

"Heh, imagine if the earth really did swallow it. That would be some new shit of being unlucky, huh?"

But despite his attempts to stay calm, there was an ominous, creeping sensation crawling up his spine.

It was like that feeling when you're absolutely sure someone is standing behind you, breathing down your neck... but you're too damn scared to turn around and check.

His heart hammered, and his smile turned stiff as he forced himself to look down at the floor one more time.

He sighed with relief when he saw nothing. "Alright, definitely not the ground... And there's no sky here, so it's not like the heavens took a piss and drained it, right?"

He laughed at his own dumb joke, trying to shake off the growing feeling of unease gnawing at the back of his mind. But then, mid-sentence, he froze.

His body turned to stone.

All the hair on his neck stood straight up, goosebumps crawling across his skin like a thousand tiny spiders. His mouth went dry as he slowly—very, very slowly—lifted his head.

And that's when he saw it.

"Oh... fuuuuck..."

The words died in his throat as his entire body locked up, stiff as a board.

Every hair on his neck stood on end, and goosebumps popped across his skin like tiny explosions.

Slowly, almost as if he was begging the universe to prove him wrong, Su Xiaobai was forced to raise his head and stare blankly.

Above him—hovering like some twisted predator waiting to pounce—was a swirling, dark mass.

It pulsed and shifted like a living thing, an oily fog of dark qi that sloshed and rippled in the air. Worse, it wasn't just any random mist... it was his spiritual pond's qi, hanging there, mocking him.

"Are you kidding me?" Su Xiaobai whispered, his voice barely audible as his brain scrambled to process what he was seeing.

The mist churned, thick tendrils curling in the air like it was deciding whether to smother him, strangle him, or just wait for him to do something incredibly stupid first.

He swallowed hard, unable to tear his eyes away. "Y'know... maybe I should have used the whole damn pond..."

The eerie sensation only grew as the formless mass started to... move, ever so slightly.

It hovered there, still, yet somehow feeling like it was watching him—waiting.

"!!"

Suddenly, two dark, soul-piercing eyes popped up from the swirling mass of darkness above.

Su Xiaobai's heart forze, and his mouth went dry as a desert. With a shaky glance toward the altar, he saw the blue light* of the Immortal Fetus had vanished.

Gone!

Hatched!

"...Oh, you've got to be kidding me fr..."

The realization hit like a fist to the gut. His entire body stiffened, the weight of a very real, very dangerous mistake sinking in.

And now, as if things couldn't get worse, those two dark eyes in the cloud of darkness stared at him like he was a piece of meat.

Death. It wasn't just staring at him—it was licking its lips.

Su Xiaobai's eyes abruptly glew with a ruthless light as he tilted his head, lips curling into a smirk that radiated pure disdain.

He took a step forward, his presence suffocating, the air warping under the weight of his arrogance.

"Hmph. 'Mr. Fetus,' was it?"

His voice was a thunderous sneer, as though even speaking to the creature was beneath him.

"You've barely crawled into existence, and yet, here you are, daring to act like you stand on my level. How utterly laughable."

He scoffed, his tone dripping with condescension, each word laced with venom. "Do you even understand who stands before you?"

"I am Su Xiaobai. The stars dim in my presence, the very heavens quake at the mention of my name. I've shattered sects with a flick of my wrist, brought so-called Immortal Kings to their knees, begging for a death I was too merciful to grant."

"You think a newborn — wretch like you, still dripping from the womb of the Void, could ever hope to touch me?"

Su Xiaobai's eyes narrowed, his gaze as cold as ice. "Feast on me? You?" He chuckled darkly, the sound like the rumbling of distant thunder. "You wouldn't last a heartbeat. My blood would incinerate you from the inside out, my qi would turn your pathetic form to dust. But…" He waved a hand dismissively, as if the creature was too insignificant to bother with, "I'm feeling generous today. There's no need for such violence, is there? You've only just hatched, after all, and I'm not without compassion."

He took a step back, his sneer deepening as if the situation was nothing more than an amusing game to him. "You crave sustenance, don't you? I can understand that. But someone like me? Not on the menu, insect. No, let me do you a favor—a real favor that could save your miserable existence."