The silent whispers of wind sent shivers down Wu Niu's spine. He grimaced at the grisly sight laid out before him. At the tips of his feet lay the pug-faced warthog dead and motionless.

Wu Niu wasn't a stranger to hunting animals, but no matter how many times he did it, he could never shake the feeling of remorse for his prey. As such, it became a habit for him to make sure that every part of the creatures he hunted wasn't being wasted. In this case, he would have to make an exception to that rule, for it would've been impractical to try and be conservative with the hog. However, there were a few things that Wu Niu would be taking with him.

Sliding the blade from out of its sheathe, Wu Niu cut deep into the hog's chest. Reaching deep into it, he pulled out a rhombus-shaped crystalline object with a luminescent light glowing within its core.

It was a demon crystal, a crystalline growth that grew only within demon beasts.

The demon crystal is the determining factor between whether a creature is a normal animal or a demon beast.

Demon crystals hold within them Demon energy and the ability to cultivate it.

Demon energy is a force of nature in the same vein as Yin energy and Yang energy. However, Demon energy is only found in the bodies of demon beasts. Therefore, it can only ever be cultivated by first killing a demon beast and the siphoning their energy. Though before one can do this, they must first implant the crystal into their own body. Once implanted, only then it is possible to cultivate Demon energy-based qis.

Anyone could do this, but they shouldn't. As far as Wu Niu knew, those who cultivated Demon energy-based qis were hunted down and burned alive.

Demon energy is unstable and cultivates very fast, but the consequences that come with it are dire. It can transmogrify the practitioner into a monster of a form dependent on the qi used.

From what Wu Niu had studied on the subject, the two most commonly used Demon energy-based qis were: "Absence Qi" and "Transformation Qi".

The first type of qi had the astonishing ability to cut clean through Yin-Yang energy-based qis. However, it would also eventually lead the user into becoming an ambling husk, as all of the Yin-Yang energy in their body dissipated. Without Yin-Yang energy, the practitioner is left in a state between life and death.

The second qi allowed the user to shapeshift their body in ways resembling characteristics of the spirit within demon crystal implanted in them. Though this qi also came at a hefty cost. The more the user used it, the more corrupted their body became. Eventually, they would hit a breaking point where their bodies would morph into a disgusting abomination that resembled their demon crystal's spirit.

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Cultivating Demon energy was largely outlawed many hundreds of years ago. It's unsure as to whether or not there still are many users of Demon energy-based qis. From what Wu Niu had read, it was once commonplace to see Demon energy practitioners everywhere.

Despite all of this being the case, demon crystals are still a valuable resource because they can infuse the spirit of the demon beast into materials. Doing this has many practical applications, like making ink that could create curse or seal inscriptions. It could also be smelted into an alloy that cuts through qi like paper. It could even be infused into the walls of strongholds to prevent qi attacks from demolishing them.

The higher the beast's star rating, the stronger their demon crystal will be, and the higher the price it will fetch for on the market.

Though the Pug-faced warthog was a less than 1-star rating, any demon crystal will still catch a worthwhile price. Which happened to be all the motivation Wu Niu needed to hold onto it.

Wu Niu ripped the beast's tusk from out of its mouth. They were sure to fetch a good price.

Holding the crystal in his palm and the tusks in his other, Wu Niu continued down the trail.

***

Having arrived at the riverbank, Wu Niu saw how the moon beautifully sparkled on the river's surface. The distorted visage of the moon floating atop a wavy mirror of flowing water. As he moved, the moonlit reflection closely followed.

Walking upriver along the bank, Wu Niu checked his fish trap one last time. Though whatever was there, he would have to carry by hand.

On arrival, Wu Niu was relieved to see that he had accidentally left his fishing bag alongside the fish trap. On a normal day, this would have annoyed him. However, as the situation stood, he found himself surprisingly grateful for his forgetfulness.

-Too bad, I had to leave behind the tortoiseshell boulder.

Picking up the bag, Wu Niu slipped the demon crystal and tusks into it and proceeded to fill the bag with fish.

Once done, Wu Niu slung the bag over his shoulder, where he let it rest. Walking back to the riverbank, he considered where he should go.

-Well, I assume I came from upriver. So, that would lead me back to the Wu family estate.

Wu Niu hadn't any clue of where he was, nor had he put much thought into it until now. Something he did know was that the Wu Family was a branch family to the Zhao family. From what he could remember about the Zhao family, they ran a large city called Silver Trout City. It was a city split in half by a river that ran south. It was also south of the Wu family estate.

The river where Wu Niu stood also ran south. So, there was a high likely hood that the river was the very same river that ran through Silver Trout City.

-Well, even if it isn't the same river, If I walk alongside it, I'll surely reach a settlement of some kind.

Wu Niu made up his mind. He was going south along the riverbank in the hopes of finding Silver Trout City. There he knew he'd be able to get a job and research a bit about his cultivation predicament.

Wu Niu walked along the river bank without looking back.

He had good memories at his tiny cave home, but more so, he looked forward to reintegrating with society.