Arise~

Having made up his mind, Shaan after taking a deep breath jumped into the blood-red refining pool.

As soon as he jumped into the small blood pool, he could see various translucent souls released from already dissolved zombies trying to rush out of the barrier he had arranged in advance, but it was only a fruitless struggle. 

On their faces, one could see endless resentment, countless regrets, murderous gazes, unfulfilled wishes....wanting to sink everyone who stares at them into a melancholy. 

"Haha, it was good that I covered this refining pool with an isolation barrier, now nothing will be wasted."

Shaan, who was half-standing in the blood pool, took out a big piece of broken mirror that he had brought along. After squeezing a couple of blood drops from his fingers onto it, he started reciting the taboo mantra.

"My broken mirror born from my hard work and recognised by my blood, absorb the morbid emotions of all the hateful souls trapped here and be reborn into my exclusive magical weapon"

"My Resentment Mirror, rise from the debris and carry me on my future journey!"

With a domineering shout, the broken mirror in Shaan's hand lifted on its own and started absorbing all the negative emotions of the dead souls trying to escape into the cycle of reincarnation.

This was just the beginning, as soon as the process started, Shaan wasted no time and started chanting the abhorrent texts of the two scriptures he by now, had learned by heart!

[The Way to the Underworld.]

At an alarming pace, Shaan's frail-wrinkled skin started absorbing the dark musky blood in the refining pool.

The skin which previously looked like it had matured too early, once again started regaining the vigour a twenty-year youth should have.

[The Path to Eternal Damnation.]

As for the ghostly souls trying to escape, their negative emotions were absorbed by the newly formed Resentment Mirror and their residue was refined by Shaan using the taboo technique and forcibly merged into his soul, increasing the level of his divine consciousness altogether.

Although it looked like a lot of time had passed, hardly 10 minutes had passed since all this farce began. 

With graceful movements, Shaan slowly started walking out of the bloody refining pool which had by now shrunk to the size of almost non-existent.

His demeanour, his calmness, his each step carried an elegance unique to Earth.

Like a dying Phoenix reborn from ashes, in the long dark-red robes he was wearing, he gave off a mysterious yet tempting vibe. 

"Ahhhh!"

"Compared to before, I feel like I can easily beat at least a hundred of myself, the difference in strength is too great."

"And this is just the beginning. If I reach higher levels, can I defeat those core disciplines in the sect?….the so-called chosen darlings of the heavens?"

With a yearning look, Shaan exhaled excitedly.

Level 1 of Qi Gathering,

Level 1 of Body Refining,

Level 1 of divine consciousness.

This was the current stats of Shaan, enough to catch the attention of some crooked elders.

But Shaan, who had been betrayed back on earth, had seen through countless vicissitudes of life.

He knew others would only feel jealous and covert his treasures and in the cultivation world, such selfishness and plasticity are definitely multiplied at least a hundred times.

"I will never tell my secrets to anyone unless I am strong enough to face the consequences."

With a deep sense of resolve, Shaan promised himself to always be cautious lest he ends up becoming a research guinea pig himself.

"I feel hungry!"

Suddenly his stomach made a loud noise, breaking his monologue.

"Thankfully, I have brought two days of ration with me!" 

Opening his bag, Shaan unceremoniously started munching down his supplies.

Only by eating a proper diet can the body be provided with enough nutrients.

After eating to his heart's content, Shaan stood up and walked to the corner of the room, where the last zombie was lying trapped in the ever-tying rope.

"It's time for the last step!"

With a slight chuckle, Shaan took out a puppet talisman from his bag and pasted it on the head of the struggling zombie.

After that, he started reading the scripture for the Undead Empress.

"Hear my call, arise undead and offer your servitude for thou king shall have returned. Obey all my words and thy shall return to the prosperity thee missed while you were alive!"

Finishing his sentence, Shaan clapped his hands to finish the chant.

The zombie who was roaring violently earlier lost its previous arrogance and slowly knelt in reverence treating Shaan as his supreme king.

The zombie had successfully become a corpse puppet.

With a satisfied look, Shaan retracted his artifact, the ever-tying rope.

"Very good!"

"While I am away, you must secretly catch all the other zombies and drag them to this blood-refining pool."

While thinking about something, Shaan suddenly became enlightened.

"Yes, if you see any human other than me, better cease all your actions and hide right away. My secret hideout must never be discovered."

Shaan sternly warned the corpse puppet.

"And yes better just catch other zombies on the periphery of the city, you are not allowed to go deep into the city."

Shaan spoke again.

He knew the centre of the city was currently occupied by Sabrina and his team.

Without knowing their strength, it was foolish to confront them openly.

Hearing his explanation, the corpse puppet nodded obediently before rushing out to drag more zombie brothers and sisters to his master's blood-refining pool.

After making all the arrangements, Shaan's face was tangled with mixed emotions.

"Heyyyy!"

"It's not like I want to practise these taboo exercises!"

"But I am born without any talent or cultivation roots…..unless I practise these unorthodox ways, Who in their right mind will be willing to give me cultivation resources freely?"

Shaan shook his head in dismay.

The cruel cultivation world itself was forcing him to practise this unholy path.

"Leave it, as long as my conscience is clear, I will remain a good person."

Speaking his last words, Shaan communicated with the lotus petal suspended inside his mind before returning to the cultivation world.

...…

A/N 

Guys please bless me with your valuable power stones if you liking the story>.<