"Lone Immortal Zhu Quan, quickly! Hand over the Desire Cicada! Surely, with your origin, you understand that the demonic clans have no obligation to honor a vow made in front of others!?"

"A Lone Immortal? Haha, you people of the Rising Sun sect are simply frogs in a well. This bastard is already back to his old ways, a true Demonic Cultivator! Zhu, stop attempting to resist. You are a valuable Pseudo-Immortal, so even if you are marked with my slave contract, surely it would be better than a fate in their hypocritical hands."

"Quan! All for the sake of cultivating an Immortal Artifact, you've murdered millions of innocents!"

"Zhu Quan, 700 years ago, you took away all of my body's purities, took my concubines' purities, murdered my entire family, and extinguished my twelve generations! You must die!"

"..."

... The absurd accusations nearly made him chuckle in laughter.

Zhu Quan was cloaked in white robes that had been torn to shreds. His hair was disheveled and his entire body was covered in wounds. Fresh blood dribbled from the countless slashes on his arms and legs like flowing water. It dripped onto the ground, accumulating into a large pool of dark red liquid under him. He looked around.

Enemies of every faction surrounded him. Experienced clan elders, sect leaders, and talented young geniuses congregated in every direction. Some glared greedily, some sneered in schadenfreude, some nursed their wounds with fear, and others stared silently.

Despite their flowery words, excuses, and declarations, he knew they intended to kill him.

However, he remained unfazed. He only lived for one purpose up to this point, which was growth. The details, nuances, secrets, and processes of cultivation. His gaze was tranquil, his eyes deep, as if seeing through time itself. As though there wasn't anything else in the world but him at that moment—like everything existed for just his desire alone.

It didn't matter what happened here now; he knew the Desire Cicada could grant him another life and chance. Nothing would stand in his way, not even death.

Zhu Quan, who had been as still as a sculpture up to this point, gave a wry and amused grin as his body turned.

The crowd flinched and retreated a step backward in anticipation of his final move.

He endured a hard life for 100 years as a righteous martial cultivator, another 100 as a demonic cultivator, and his final 200 years as a lone cultivator. After experiencing the flaws and vicissitudes of both of these formerly mentioned factions in the first half of his life, he vowed to remain true to his principles to the end.

Desire Cicada! These are the three conditions for my next life!

One! Like the path of the lone cultivator, I wish to remain detached and peaceful, with a chance to progress in a way that is both riveting and self-oriented!

Two! If I must associate with others, it will be in a way that is similar to... a sect. Yes, a sect! But, a rather... unorthodox, independent sect that still, at its core, follows my own ideals, my own nature, and my own whims!

Three! My progressions will each bring about a compelling reward; a glimpse into a higher state of enlightenment and being, for that, is the very nature of cultivation itself!

The mere thought of these wishes being brought into culmination caused Zhu Quan to laugh heartily as his body began to glow brightly like the sun rising after dawn. He casually released his remaining Qi energy from his body, as though nothing could stop him. In response to his Qi, the Desire Cicada began to glow.

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[Cultivator, your desire has been judged.]

"Wicked demon! What is this laughter!? Get him!"

"He is going to retaliate in his final moments, be careful! It is bound to be dangerous!"

"The Desire Cicada! Surrender the Desire Cicada!"

The group of martial practitioners surged forward; at this moment, with a loud bang, Zhu Quan was engulfed in a blinding surge of energy.

----------------------------------------

Zhu Quan awoke in the darkness. He remained uncertain of long he'd been unconscious. However, he felt no pain and he possessed full use of all of his limbs. His breathing and heartbeat were regular and unhindered. At least for now, he seemed to have survived without any wounds or injuries whatsoever.

The legends... were true!

The Desire Cicada must have worked, to an extent. The tales of Immortal Artifacts spoke of their incomprehensible yet powerful abilities. In the case of the Desire Cicada, it supposedly allowed one to achieve a new life in another world that fulfilled a cultivator's three criteria, in exchange for their current life.

However, this is certainly an unceremonious outcome. I expected to see the fabled Yellow River, or perhaps a chance to taste some Meng Po Soup on the Bridge of Forgetfulness.

Zhu Quan opened his eyes and looked around, but saw only pitch blackness everywhere, with not even a hint of light. He instinctively attempted to activate his Qi to illuminate his surroundings, but nothing happened—as of now, he couldn't sense any energy at all within himself or around him.

...? Is this world not one of those I wished for, where I can cultivate myself, far away from everyone else? Or, perhaps there are other exchanges for the Desire Cicada, such as my cultivation realm?

As if on cue with his qualms, a bright blue flash appeared before him, illuminating his surroundings. It gradually became clearer until finally, he could see a sapphire crystal orb hovering in mid-air. With some effort, he slowly sat up and looked into its depths as he tried to understand what had occurred.

The core felt intimately familiar, for some reason.

An externalized... Qi core? Odd. No, that's not it. However, its sensation does feel attuned to me. Perhaps I should attempt to use it in a simil-

The moment Zhu Quan channeled his concentration, and instinctively extended his left hand toward the sphere, his entire view changed.

As if he were the consciousness of a sentient flying sword, he could now view the contents of the surroundings in a five-mile spherical range from his current location. He realized that he was currently in the depths of a cave, with hints of surrounding forestry that bordered the cave's entrance.

This is somewhat similar to... a cultivator's divine sense... but without the use of Qi. Fascinating.

Now that he had a mental framework from his previous life to work with, Zhu Quan casually continued to scan the perimeter. He noted that the forest and cave environments remained void and unnervingly empty, even for someone such as himself who tended to enjoy secluded cultivation for copious periods on end.

Hmm. Personally, I do enjoy the presence of wildlife ambiance for natural inspiration. Although the memory nearly escapes me, it is how I broke through my first bottlene-

Coincidentally, Zhu Quan's imagined visages of chirping birds caused a change.

[Skill Unlocked: Mana Molding]

[Skill Description: Consumes mana to mold any entity. The complexity of the entity exponentially increases the amount of mana consumed.]

A Rank 2 Jade bird, reminiscent of the exceedingly common Spirit Beasts in his memory, suddenly materialized in the forest clearing he'd been observing.

...!? Was that... my own doing?

Zhu Quan repeated the mental exercise two more times with half the expenditure, as two subsequent Rank 1 Jade birds appeared. Each time he did so, he felt more exhausted, similar to a complete expenditure of Qi when a martial practitioner performed too many fighting moves. His continuous attempts past this point failed to bring any more of the birds to fruition.

Zhu Quan remained perplexed, before directing his omniscient view to his current location far deep beneath the cave's tunnel system. He could see his body, with closed eyes, remaining in contact with that strange core. However, the blue crystal core's previously bright light had dimmed considerably.

... I have exhausted my Qi(?). So, to some extent, it is similar to an externalized Qi core. Except... one used for... summoning?

Then, an inexplicable injection of sudden information entered his psyche.

[Core-human integration has been initiated. Congratulations, you are now a Dungeon Core.]

[Your mana is currently expended. Mana must be obtained by natural inspiration or progress.]

"..."

"......"

"........."

H-huh? Mana? Dungeon Core?

Zhu Quan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

What in the nine heavens is a Dungeon Core!?