It had been several days since the demonic ape society and I came to an agreeable position. Though, I am not quite certain what that position In our negotiation is, because I can not understand them.

But it seems to me that Wukong understood my intentions, and my need for nutrients — namely, blood. Though, there were some misunderstandings about what kind of blood.

Once my vessel had began to show cracks again, the demonic monkeys had brought back the carcass of a large snake. Not large as in very long and thin, but large. It was the girth of one of the smaller monkey’s thigh, and about two to three meters long. It had white skin and a diamond-like pattern on its back.

As I had expected, when Wukong carefully stabbed me into its body, nothing happened. I needed living sacrifices, not dead offerings.

Then another misunderstanding happened. When Wukong determined that my vessel did not repair itself, or that I hadn’t consumed the body, in its primitive brain it must’ve made a strange conclusion.

Something like: Snake blood no good. Monkey blood good.

At least, I assume it would have been something along those lines. I am by no means an expert on primitive languages and conceptual constructs. As intelligent as these monkeys might be, I doubted they were sapient — possessing of wisdom that is. They could speak and communicate, but so could ants.

So then Wukong grabbed the nearest monkey, snapped its neck, and then offered the carcass to me like it was a profound gesture. This of course also did not work.

Living sacrifice, I wanted to tell Wukong somehow, but even if I could write words, there was no way for him to understand me.

I had extended my senses then, infused with slivers of my sentience which were now infused with [Tyranny] in order to voice my displeasure over wasting manpower on silly conclusions, but that only ended up intimidating Wukong.

I had not seen him since that day.

I don’t really understand if Wukong realizes that he could overpower me easily, or why he would be so frightened of me. I considered the possibility that he is not able to sense the depth of my cultivation — it is extremely shallow — or that he believes I am capable of hiding it and is interpreting my [Tyranny] as an indication of power I do not have. Either way, I feel grateful and satisfied that we have a functional relationship.

It is a bit unfortunate, however, because I do not see my future here with the demonic ape society, even though, potentially, they would be the first primitive society I had uplifted, albeit so far not into one that would offer live sacrifices to me. It would be ironic, in many ways, if they considered me to be their deity of some sort.

When they kowtowed to me, it certainly felt that way, but since that day, very few monkeys had entered my limited perception radius.

As I did not sleep during this period, I managed to discover some helpful function of my support module.

[ Quick Status ]

[ Traits: ]

[ Unnatural beauty - You possess an unusually attractive vessel that captivates the eye of the observer. Considerably increases your Charm (Divine) and improves your social interactions. ]

[ Avarice - Slivers of your sentience extend throughout your aura and compel creatures with a shallower cultivation, weaker soul perception, or lesser sentience, to obtain possession of through any means necessary. The strength of this Aura is proportional with your effective Charm level. ]

[ Tyranny - Your soul and vessel have bathed in the blood of so many creatures that slivers of your sentience are so warped that they intimidate and subjugate other creatures of shallower cultivation, weaker soul perception, or lesser sentience. ]

[ Life Devourer - You consume the bodies of your foes at the moment of the fatal strike, and absorb the Qi infused in their blood. ]

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I understood these things on a level that was fundamental and difficult to express through words, but the helpful support module did provide an explanation I could agree with.

With the way my [Avarice] trait is described, I am certain that I would have no future with the demonic ape society. Eventually, they would likely kill each other in order to obtain me. That might take a few dozen years — when they catch up to my current possessor.

But that only reminds me that I do not have a few dozen years. Naturally, I would not mind spending a few hundred years here, but it seems rather improbable that I would have the opportunity to remain idle and worry-free, even if my body was not literally falling apart on me.

The fact that they brought back a dead demonic snake meant that there were other creatures in the forest, and where there are other creatures, there’s always a bigger creature.

I am at the rock bottom of this cultivation ladder, and for now, improving my cultivation base was the best opportunity for me to survive. This lifestyle — if I could be considered living — is not unknown to me. I know what it is like to compete and evolve.

And just as I had thought that, I made another discovery, and another helpful subroutine revealed itself to my lacking system privileges — I still cannot believe I am not the administrator of my own system anymore.

[ Point Exchange ]

[ Immortal ] Phoenix Breath Refining Flame (535,000 BP)

[ Supreme ] Cultivation Law (245,000 SP)

…

The list was expansive ranging from all kinds of things I did not understand. From Traits and Talents to entry level manuals for Alchemy and Refining. It also used two kinds of currencies: Blood Points, which I am familiar with, and Soul Points, which I have no idea what they are or how I got them.

[ Soul points: 4,451 ]

I have quite a few.

I have spent a lot of time studying the Point Exchange subroutine, and so far I have not learned much from it. For example: I had no idea why some items cost Soul Points, but others Blood Points. For example: I could buy the talent [ Refining ] for 500 Blood Points, but the Entry Level Manual of the Refining Dao cost 100 Soul Points.

I thought perhaps knowledge and ability were what separated these two into two distinct categories, but then I found another example:

[ Array - Mortal ] Dimensional Storage (1000 SP) - Your core manifests a Formation that can activate the dimensional properties of a storage device. At the Mortal grade, it has a capacity of 10 cubic meters. In combination with the [ Refining ], [Processing], [Harvesting] and similar Talents, it will possess additional functions with greater effects.

That is clearly not knowledge, therefore my initial theory is no longer useful.

For now, I have narrowed my list down to a few candidates that find rather compelling.

[ Talent ] Flight (600 BP)

[ Talent ] Telepathy (1200 BP)

And of course, the Dimensional Storage is also rather compelling. I hold off on the purchases, just yet, because I do not have the points, even though I can convert Soul Points to Blood Points at a hefty conversion ratio, but also because I am in no hurry. I also do not know if Flight would actually allow me mobility, or if I would just hover up and down in the air. Telepathy also seems unnecessary at the moment — I have no need to convey complicated thoughts to the monkeys, nor am I certain they would understand my thoughts.

What is within my interests are the various Entry-level manuals for Alchemy, Refining, and such. The reason I cannot make an immediate judgment on what to purchase is exactly because I do not know enough. I need to obtain more knowledge before I can make a good decision.

As I am in no hurry, and I feel my body’s vitality reaching a low point, I withdraw my senses once again and prepare to rest.

Hopefully, Wukong would overcome both his fear and stupidity, and bring me a living sacrifice.

Hmm. I really did make a culture of living sacrifices, didn’t I?