I found myself in a pickle. It was a really shitty situation, I tell you. All my plants went up in smoke, all because of them. Bloody cretins, forcing me to even abandon my body. Brainless thugs, the lot of them. I’ll have to make sure to thank them later.
They say that revenge is best served cold. Well, mine will be like ice. I had a century of time to think and come up with the best ways to kill each and every one of them. I just needed a new body to bring my plans to fruition.
Who would think that simple possession would be so damn hard? I even accepted the first snotty kid that came my way, I was so desperate. What a failure that one was. Constantly whining and complaining, hating the world for being unfair. Hah! He had no idea!
But as luck would have it, a new candidate came my way, and not a moment too soon! I almost thought I would have to pick one of the useless brats when he came along. I noticed he was different almost immediately.
Almost being the important word. As always, I realized it too late, but by then my fate was already set. He should have been a mere kid, yet had the strength of a seasoned warrior. With talents to rival a Demigod.
Of course, I immediately tried possession. Are you kidding me? That was exactly what I needed! A strong body to serve as my foundation. But what I didn’t realize, was that apart from a divine physique, the damn brat had a special Soul as well.
It immediately tried to devour me despite being much weaker than me. It was so weak in comparison, yet it felt so aggressive, so bloodthirsty, so… ancient.
I know it sounds stupid, but it’s true. Only the primordial forces could give an old one such as me the feeling of dread as it did. The ultimate predator. Seeing the entire world beneath it as but a snack. I had to plead and beg for my life in front of a weakling, appealing to his greedy side. The agony! The humiliation! Had it been before my fall, I would have smitten him on the spot!
But I had to endure. I even promised the fool I would help him. The greedy, arrogant, naïve young blood… so easily deceived. He couldn’t even tell I lied. Haha! A few worthless promises and he was immediately eating from my hand like a dog.
Ah, but then I found out he had other abilities. His knowledge of the Elements was both extremely deep, and shallow at the same time. What a paradox. But he didn’t hide anything. All was laid bare before me. All his powers and secrets. He trusted me, and I just smiled.
A few crumbs were tossed his way, and he was yapping like an obedient bitch. He even accepted my Cultivation Technique without question and began training in it.
Ahaha! What a fool! I could hardly believe it! He followed my instructions to the letter! Even going so far as to change his energy to mimic mine! Come on, that was too easy! What were they teaching these kids these days? So clueless! What fool would ever willingly morph his energy to mirror another? That was just begging to be used as a Cultivation Cauldron!
Hah, but I digress.
He might have been growing quickly, but that was just more goodies for me. I would drain him dry when the time was right. Break his Soul bit by bit and use it to feed my own. I shall keep the core of his being and absorb it to gain his ability and devour Souls at a whim just like he did. That should be enough to stave off the everlasting decay according to the Old Ones, and with a new body, it’s going to be just a matter of time before my plans come to fruition!
Prosecuting me just because I had some fun with their wives? Hahaha! They had seen nothing yet! So much time has passed, their wives turned old and wrinkly. Who cares about those old hags anymore? I’ll fuck their daughters and granddaughters instead, all while wearing those dogs’ own faces! Haha! That should be something for the animals, something they will remember! An act of revenge like no other! Recorded in history books for eons to come!
Oh, yes, it was all coming together. I just needed to slowly siphon some of the Soul Essence while the fool Cultivated, and use it to stabilize the decay. It was amazing the purity and size he could create. A true swine not even recognizing the pearls it had. The envy just fueled my conviction to take him over. In his hands, gifts like those were a waste. Someone intelligent like me would make much better use of them!
But for the time being, I needed to rest and recover while setting up my trap. The Heart Demons he experienced were the result of my meddling, but they didn’t work as intended. No, they were even better than that! Hahaha!
Joining the Predator’s bane?! It was perfect! A gift from the gods!
Those Juniors thought themselves strong. Pathetic! Despite being in the same Realm as me, their skills with Qi were nothing in comparison. They couldn’t even feel the calls I was sending out, calling the beasts of the jungle to join us.
And they came! But… alas, it was only the lowly Bloodflies. They were just pests in my eyes, and yet one of them died nonetheless. With an unused Talisman to boot. What a clown, getting overwhelmed by panic at the first sign of trouble. Not made to be a warrior at all.
Ah, but then again, not everyone is. But most of those guys unfortunately were. The Predator’s Bane core members were a capable bunch. Taking out the entire swarm at once was quite impressive. And it also nearly ruined my plan! Who told them they could overwhelm my future body with all those Souls?!
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Ah, but they fixed him right up, so that was fine. I will consider letting them live after getting my revenge. We will see if they can survive until then though. Rewards from me don’t come that easy.
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Some time came to pass, my calls going out all the while. Horde after horde of beasts attacked the group, yet none of them were strong enough for my plan. And then the fool ran away, chased by the flying insects. I wanted to curse and I wanted to scream, but then I noticed something.
Finally, the beasts were coming, now I just needed him to get back for the Predator’s Bane to kill… By all the gods… A Black Troll! The Core Disciples were slaughtered, their members laying all over the floor, their organs strewn across the land.
It seemed a bit much. I needed someone slightly weaker to do my bidding. A Black Troll at Golden Core VII was a bit much, even for me. I prayed to all the gods and devils I knew for them to be victorious. And my prayers were answered, the beast was slain in such a spectacular way!
Its Soul was absorbed and ready to be devoured, but I had other plans.
And then the second one came, a step higher than the last. I wanted to cry. How could my meddling create such a perfect result? I was honestly proud of myself.
Ah, but we still had to run. If the monkey-faced beast noticed us as we were, it would be over. I pushed my Aura, even burning a bit of my Soul, to create a feeling of dread so dense, anyone below the Golden Core Realm would piss themselves.
That didn’t exactly happen, but the fool did throw all caution to the wind and flew away, nearly breaking himself in the process. I released my Aura, retracting the fear, yet it didn’t work. He wasn’t willing to listen to reason at all!
“HEY! What are you doing?! Wake up! We are going to crash!”
[Oh, look whose here… Had a nice nap? You came just in time to see my demise.] What the fuck was wrong with him? Hid the fear fry his brain? He completely wasted all his Qi, bringing us incredibly high in the sky, where the air itself was like ice.
And then he started falling. With no energy to protect himself. Fucking lunatic! The ground was nearing fast! We were going to die!
“Stop just moping around and do som-!” I was too late. I mentally sighed. What a pathetic way to go.
We crashed. He stood back up and crawled out of the pit. I’m sorry, what? Why was he not dead, splattered into a thousand pieces?
But then I remembered. The fool was afraid to die. He refined his body until it became like a chunk of iron, and then refined it some more. In just a short few months he escaped natural death.
And then he just wanted to fall asleep?! How long do you think I would be holding the Black Troll’s Soul back?! Hell fucking no! I was not his babysitter!
“Don’t you dare! If you give up now then it’s over!”
[But I’m so… What am I? I feel nothing…]
He was about to fall asleep. No, no, no! I released the beast and it attacked him. That ought to wake him up. And it did. Excellent!
“Calm down! Listen to me! I can help you contain the Black Troll’s Soul…”
A bit of bullshitting goes a long way. Soon he was drawing the Soul-Locking Formation around himself. I wanted to laugh so bad. That was too easy! He was doing all the work while I pretended to fight the beast. The incompetent fool didn’t even realize I was in control, simply manipulating the puppet.
It was hard work, but I was in no danger whatsoever.
“Okay, now draw this symbol in the middle of your chest…”
He did it, without question. Branding himself to be my vessel. It was done. I did it! “Fucking finally!” I laughed so hard.
[Is it done?]
Yes, yes it is, my boy! HAHAHA! I stopped all pretense and activated the Formation, pulling the Soul-Locking chains toward me, and taking control.
[Hey, what’s happening? I thought it was supposed to contain the monster?]
“It is!” I couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. The Soul of the Black Troll was locked in place so it wouldn’t annoy me any longer. I sent nine of the twelve golden chains at the beast, sealing its fate. In but an instant, it was done. The beast was chained and contained.
[Hey! We did it! Nice job!] He celebrated.
I just smiled, three chains still in my hands. “No, I did it. Not everything went to plan, of course, but what can you do? Life is tricky like that.” I relished in my success. My revenge would soon be at hand!
He frowned. [What do you mean?] Oh, you sweet summer child, still so confused… With not a single defense in the Sea of Consciousness despite being in the Nascent Soul Realm for so long already. Oh well, sucks to be you…
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, alright?” I grinned. “Don’t resist, it will be less painful that way.” I sent the last three remaining Soul-Locking chains at him, convinced I had won, yet still wary of his skills. Who knew if had more tricks up his sleeve?
But no, I was overreacting. He was bound and sealed without even blinking. I won. Three Souls, one body. And it was mine. Mine. Mine. All mine! It was all mine!
I expanded my consciousness, taking the reigns, the control, took a deep breath, and opened my eyes. I looked forward, at my hands, and then at the place around me.
“YES! Finally! Ahahaha!”
I burst out laughing and jumped on my feet, celebrating. I had done it! I took a deep breath again, filling my body with Qi. My Soul did its job and refined it until it became Golden Qi. It poured out of my hands and coated them. It felt so nice, so easy to manipulate Qi with a physical body to take the strain.
It was marvelous! Truly, the body of a god! It could contain so much energy without effort! My reserves were getting filled up by a torrent of Qi. I remembered how weak my previous body was, how I had to ration my energy and use it in the most efficient way possible.
If before my body could contain a pond, then this one was a lake! Or a sea! It felt incredible! Inexhaustible power!
And just as I was experiencing a high from happiness, a monster showed itself for me to test myself against. A Golden Core Wendigo, huh? We were the same. The foolish creature tried to fight me. It died without leaving a scratch.
Decades of experience and yet it dared to go against someone with ten times that. I devoured it all, body and Soul. Well, not quite. I captured it inside its own core, to be refined and consumed later. Its body though… I consumed it immediately. Purified Golden Essence. Oh, how I missed you, my precious.
Now only one thing remained…
I looked around the forest, my Arcane Eyes catching the creatures all around me. Their attempts at hiding were completely useless before me. Their Essence… “I need more! Come to me, my beauties!”
I laughed, happy to be alive, and ran to harvest my reward.