Sick Beauty [Rebirth] Chapter 64

Chapter 64 Demon Lord 

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In the small bamboo building. 

Shen Shu sat cross-legged on the couch. 

The formation shielded all the outside world’s movements. There was no wind nor sound. Ye Yunlan’s book with the stack of tips and tricks to break through the Nascent Soul Stage was quietly placed on the table. 

The first step of his closed-door training was to enter stillness. 

Shen Shu closed his eyes tightly. His hands that were on his knees trembled slightly. Then, blue veins bulged on his temples. 

He wanted to break through Nascent Soul as soon as possible and go out to see his Master. 

But the more he thought about it, the harder it was to make his heart stabilize. 

The ghost spirits in his mind screamed more and more frighteningly in the quiet environment. It gave him a headache.

Distorted darkness spread throughout the room. Every inch where the sun didn’t shine, there was something eager to move. 

He had never told his Master about those evil, filthy, and unknown things. 

Just as he had never told the other party that his hands were never clean. 

Since he was born, his relatives were disgusted by him because of his body’s strangeness. He was shut in the cellar as a monster. 

He didn’t even know that his parents were included in the people that gathered around the cellar’s entrance, throwing gravel and rat corpses at him. He was a child. 

Later, they all died. 

He stood in a pool of blood. His uncontrollable power floated out unsteadily, causing blood to cover his face and vision. 

After the power burst, he was taken away by the Soul Refining Sect disciples and was refined into a demon puppet. He was placed in a snake cave, then taken back to Sky Sect by Liu Qing and treated by the Medicine House disciples like a dog. 

Later, they also died. 

He had dragged two disciples into the snake pile, the ones from the Soul Refining Sect who brought him into the snake cave. They were swallowed, and not one bone remained.

The Medicine House disciples encountered unexpected events one after another. Liu Qing went mad. All of them were his masterpieces. 

He didn’t tell Ye Yunlan any of that. 

So when something strange appeared in his soul, he didn’t tell the other party either. 

Ye Yunlan hoped that he could break away from the status of a demon puppet and do a good job in dao cultivation, so he would do it.

Dao Sect’s exercises paid attention to calm thoughts and letting nature take its course. Letting go, doing nothing, and doing everything. In fact, it was not in harmony with his mind or nature. 

In the dark, he felt that if he had cultivated the nine-turn celestial demon body technique, his cultivation speed would have been tens to hundreds of times faster than that of today. 

But Ye Yunlan didn’t like it. 

Then he won’t cultivate it. 

Shen Shu clenched his fists tightly, making himself no longer tremble. 

As tight as a bowstring, muscles throbbed in his temples. He concentrated on suppressing the hostility in his heart, trying to find the lucidness from the pain of his craving soul. 

After a long time, he finally fell silent. 

… 

True cultivation was timeless.

Time trickled by. 

In the small bamboo building, Shen Shu’s body was like a stone sculpture. He sat cross-legged, and a thin layer of dust had accumulated on his shoulders. 

His body’s spiritual energy ran spontaneously and accumulated in his heart. Something seemed to almost come out, but it was still a little bit short. 

His cultivation base was already overflowing, but it lacked an opportunity. 

But, what was the opportunity to break through to Nascent Soul? 

In his deliberate suppression, all thoughts were suppressed to the extreme. His spiritual consciousness was clear, and the dao realm was clear. The heart incantations and swordsmanship that he had learned over the years constantly came from his mind. It was infinite in size when it emerged. 

The Nascent Soul was born from the heart and manifested according to one’s original heart.

Sword cultivators placed their hearts in their swords. Technique cultivators focused their attention on technique. Thus, to form their Nascent Soul, they referred to it as a Sword Nascent Soul or a Technique Nascent Soul. They were the two most common ones of the three in dao cultivation. 

Besides those, the “third kind” was a reflection of the cultivator himself. Cultivators who were not confined to swords or techniques, strength or longevity, or other things in different forms. 

So what did his heart look like? 

He searched within his boundless thoughts. Amidst the sparks, Ye Yunlan had given him a pile of papers that detailed breaking through to the Nascent Soul, and some lines crossed his mind. 

Your mind is your self, the person lies in the heart.

It will not come or go, it’s just there. 

Let nature take its course, then you will see. 

——So it was like that. 

Shen Shu let go of his suppression of thoughts. 

All the heart incantations and sword techniques in his mind faded away like tides and were replaced by a figure——he saw someone flying in the secret realm’s raging fire like a white gull, picking him up in his arms. Then, he saw someone lowering their eyes and stroking the qin with their hands through the bamboo building’s window sill. He saw the flowerbed’s open space. He saw someone leaning over and holding his hand, teaching him swordsmanship. He saw the candlelight with someone sitting on the side of the bed with a scroll in his hand, accompanying him to sleep… 

All the silhouettes were of one person. 

Shen Shu sat on the couch. His face that was as tight as a statue gradually loosened. It somehow seemed to become more spirited.

——It should have been understood long ago, his heart was Ye Yunlan.

He cultivated immortality, not for heaven, earth, strength, or longevity. It was just for his Master. 

When the Nascent Soul emerged from his heart, layers of shackles seemed to detach from his body. His spiritual consciousness flew. It was as if he could touch the unspeakable words of heavens and earth. 

He looked inside his heart and saw the respected little jade man. 

His whole body was full of celestial energy, and his face was like the snow in the sky. Sitting cross-legged in his heart palace, he had his eyes closed as if he was meditating. 

Shen Shu’s heart moved a little. His Nascent Soul opened his eyes and raised his head slightly, looking at him. 

However, Shen Shu knew that the Nascent Soul itself had no self, soul, or self-consciousness. It was purely condensed by his heart. It was a concrete representation of his “immortal path.” Although it can be controlled by his consciousness, it was not a life form. 

He looked at the small white figure sitting in his heart mansion. His black hair was soft and up to his knees, so it could cover the important points. He rushed to move his mind and turned a layer of spiritual energy into clothing. 

He started to feel distressed. How should he answer if Ye Yunlan asked him about the form of his Nascent Soul after he leaves closed-door training? 

Shen Shu thought about it. When he was just about to leave his concentrated state, suddenly, the hostility that had been suppressed for a long time began to have a crazy backlash. The undercurrents that had subsided in his soul began to become turbulent——Shen Shu stifled a groan. He felt that a dark fire burned in his heart and that the world became inverted and confusing. 

Before he could think more, he fell into darkness, into the constantly twisting and spinning world. 

… 

Drip. 

He heard the sound of water. 

Wanting to get up, he moved his fingertips. However, he felt like a carriage had run over his body. His bones were shattered, and his muscles and veins were broken. 

Hunger…thirst…pain…

He tried to open his eyelids, but when he did, he saw darkness. There was no end in sight. 

This was a place where even the sky and light could not shine through. 

Where… is this? 

The wind’s stern sound was mixed with ghost calls, and there were some creepy chewing sounds.

Suddenly he saw a pair of faint blood glowing eyes staring at him greedily. A long tongue stuck out, and it revealed a body in the dark. Twisted, it was not a human form. 

Drip. 

It was the sound of saliva falling from the monster’s mouth. 

The monster sniffed the blood in the air and approached. Its huge body got closer and closer to him, and black demonic energy was wrapped around his body. 

He thought of getting up but couldn’t move. 

The monster stretched out its long tongue and licked his wound. Its saliva fell on the wound, and the flesh made a “sizzling” corroding sound. 

Its pupils were dilated, then there was a fierce scarlet hue. 

——He could not die! 

He needs to leave here to find someone…very important. 

To find…who? 

Before thinking about it more, the darkness that wrapped around his body suddenly launched an attack. It penetrated the monster’s heart. 

The monster was caught off guard. It let out a sharp howl, and its huge body fell beside him. 

But he had no time to relax. Soon, a new monster approached. 

Drip, drip.

Drip, drip, drip, drip… 

Six pairs of blood-red eyes appeared in the dark. 

At the same time, there were dozens of green ghosts flying around, whizzing and flying around his lying body, staring at him. 

He used his mind to manipulate the dark power to counterattack. However, these monsters and ghosts seemed to be endless.

The monsters and ghosts attracted by the smell of living blood on him became more and more. He gradually became unable to do what he wanted. 

He gritted his teeth. 

He couldn’t——couldn’t die! 

He still needed to go out to find someone… 

Thirst and hunger made his mind dizzy. If this continues, he won’t be able to support it for long. 

What was there to do, what could be… 

He struggled to tilt his head. Scarlet eyes looked at the blood flowing next to the monster’s corpse. 

… 

His body seems to be a natural container for monsters. 

Every time a ghost or a monster was swallowed, the power in his body would grow stronger. At the same time, there would be some thoughts that did not belong to him flowing into his mind. 

The wound on his body gradually healed. 

He began to stand up and walk around in the dark. 

He got stronger and stronger. 

The ghost that was caught in his hands scattered, leaving only a blood-red soul stone. This was thrown into his mouth like a snack, letting out a crisp sound. 

The countless monsters’ flesh and blood were swallowed by the winding black shadow around him, turning into flesh and blood essence that melted into his body. 

He stepped on the monster’s blood and walked forward.

Countless things that didn’t belong to him melted into his mind. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, and hundreds of thousands… 

In the end, he couldn’t remember how many he had swallowed. 

The thin blood on the soles of his feet was as deep as his ankles. Finally, it became a river of blood.

Countless monster corpses and ghost remnants wailed in the river of blood. He stood on the lonely black boat floating at the bottom of the dark abyss.

He stretched out his hand in the river to catch the ghosts that shattered and turned into soul stones. He threw the soul stones into his mouth. 

The soul stones melted into his mouth and the remnant soul’s sharp spirit and memory penetrated his own, but it failed to make him frown. 

There were too many remnant soul memories in his mind. Adding some more didn’t matter. 

He saw a familiar person in his remnant soul memory. 

It was himself. 

A badly mangled person lay in the dark like a corpse. Countless monsters and ghosts surrounded him, staring.

In the image, he had red eyes and muttered. 

“Need…to leave…” 

He slowly chewed on the soul stone in his mouth, repeating, “Leave?” 

“Yes, I need to leave here…” 

He seemed to suddenly think of something when he talked to himself. 

“But if I get out of here…what do I need to do?” 

… 

He took the bronze ghost mask and sat on the high seat. 

Torches burned on both sides, green flames full. 

Looking down, countless people kneeled in front of him, their bodies trembling. There was silence in the huge bronze palace. A needle drop could be heard. 

His elbows laid on the armrests, with his palm supporting his face: “…… Are you afraid of me?” 

Everyone in reverence fell to the ground, “Us subordinates do not dare!” 

Someone quivered: “Da Ren is unrivalled in the world, using half a fortnight to unify the Demon region, turning 20 demonic sects into one’s subordinates. I deeply revere Da Ren. I can only hope to help Da Ren achieve a meritorious deed.”

“Yes! Da Ren being born and unifying the Demonic Sect is a stunning feat. Da Ren is worthy of the previous Demonic Sect’s authority and should be looked up to by all of us!” 

“With Da Ren’s power to command the Demonic Sect’s armies, it will shock the Dao Sect and strike awe in all. Da Ren will accomplish an exploit of a thousand years. This is our Demonic Sect’s thousand-year blessing!” 

He listened with great interest to these people’s words of praise. He felt that he could feel the evil thoughts and fears that escaped from them. It felt a little interesting.

It was much more interesting than those ghosts and monsters under the Demon Abyss who only knew about killing and devouring. 

The praises kept coming and going. 

But never did they dare look up at him. 

When the voices subsided, he said. 

“Now that I formally took over the Demonic Sect, do you have something you want to ask?” 

“There is something.” A man said tremblingly, “Now that the Lord is the Lord of the Demonic Sect, I waited, but I still don’t know… your taboo name*?” 

* This is their original name; when they have a high status like an emperor, people can only call them Your Majesty and not his actual name.

“Taboo name?” 

He thought for a while. The name in his memory seemed to be ten minutes away from him, but he was far too lazy to search through countless fragments of souls in his memory.

Thus, he said.

“I came from the Demon Abyss. I can order a group of demons and am the Demonic Sect’s Master…” 

The green flames reflected his tall black figure and the hideous ghost mask on his face. He propped his face up and said casually. 

“From today on, you will call me the Demon Lord.” 

The author has something to say: In the process of restoring memory. 

Shen Shu’s advancement to Nascent Soul acquired skills: Self-Made Master Figure.

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