Unaware of Sa Juan's situation, Sa Min continued to stride back towards the house. What had happened to his back was still troubling his head. However, he understood that no amount of speculation would help until he saw with his own eyes.
As he walked along the bustling main street, Sa Min could hear people mocking and insulting him. Sa Min paid them no mind as he suddenly took a turn down a small alley and approached a small, humble cultivation store.
Over the counter, there were already three ka wielders waiting. The moment they noticed his presence, their expressions changed.
"Isn't this the heavenly miracle, or should I say the trash, son of the traitors, haha," one of them jeered.
"What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the mountain? Or do you actually believe that the patriarch's pardon still holds?" another spat.
"Look, he's still pretending to be cool. Let me bring you back to reality." Annoyed by Sa Min's indifference, the last one stepped forward. However, before he could try something stupid, the storekeeper saved him. "Hey, don't fight in front of my store." He placed six large glass bottles filled with a gray liquid on the counter. "Here are your things."
"Don't you have bags?"
"Unfortunately, we've run out of bags," the storekeeper responded with a pleasant smile.
"Stop lying old man. I know you hid them right there." They held their bottles and moved away. "This is the last time we are going to come here."
The one who was bothered by Sa Min turned his head, shooting a threatening glare at Sa Min. "Our business isn't finished yet. I'll see you at the outer competition."
Sa Min only sighed, then stepped forward.
"Soul Liquor too?" The old storekeeper asked.
"Yeah, the large size."
"Give a minute." The storekeeper went inside for seconds before returning with two bottles. "Here they are."
"Only one," said Sa Min as he brought the only apple force he had out from his robe.
"Haven't you just awakened your Borned Ka?" The old man snatched the force apple from Sa Min's hand. "Your Borned Ka needs two of them to be fully satisfied. You know that, right?"
Sa Min smiled. "I already have one at home," he said, summoning the Volcanic Black Rock Ka forth through his Force Gate.
The Ka hoved above the counter, its tiny holes aglow with orange hues.
Sa Min could sense that it was only at 5% of its energy—as all Borned Ka was when they first awakened.
The storekeeper's eyes widened. "You're planning to feed it here?!"
"And why not." Sa Min uncorked the bottle and poured the gray Soul Liquor. Instantly, the Volcanic Black Rock Ka absorbed every drop eagerly; not a single trace spilled onto the counter.
Sa Min could still tell the ka's energy was at 5%, but he wasn't surprised. He knew that after drinking, Natural Kas would get drunk for a while.
The Kas were super crucial for ka wielders since they serve as the key to Yantras. Each Yantra had a specific Ka or Kas that the ka wielder had to have in order to activate it. This was common knowledge. Without the specific Ka, activating the Yantra was simply impossible
It didn't matter what rank the Ka was in or what Highway or Smallway it belonged to, it was just impossible to be activated without its Ka. Some Kas simply needed to be within the ka wielder's sea core or on their body to get the Yantra working, like this Volcanic Black Rock Ka.
Others had to be physically placed on the target for the Yantra to perform, like the Six-lines White Ring Ka. And then there were those Kas that actually played a part in the Yantra's ability, like the Pointed Jade Box Ka and the Square Paper Ka.
There were two types of Ka. And both of them needed feeding. The natural type's food was quite simple. It was the Soul Liquor that was produced in Drinks Barns. Sa Clan's Drinks Barn had been headed by Sa Huiqing before the pardron came.
Rank 10 Natural Kas required two bottles every three days to stay at peak of their energy. In each meal, it needed two big bottles.
One force apple was all that Sa Min had, so he could afford only one big battle. Besides, he didn't need to anyway.
"Young man, you've just awakened your Born Ka. Take this advice from an old man," the storekeeper said in a serious tone. "Never reveal your Borned Ka in public. It's your life. Imagine if someone damaged it or stole it—you'd be in serious trouble."
Sa Min nodded. The old man was right. Everyone knew this. Even in battles, ka wielders would never reveal their Borned Ka unless they absolutely had to. But this Ka wasn't his Borned Ka, so he had nothing to fear.
"Appreciate your advice." Sa Min said with a smile, summoning his Ka back before leaving. He had barely taken a few steps when he sensed a surge in the Volcanic Black Rock Ka's energy—its power was now 50%
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As Sa Min entered his room, he swiftly shut the door and closed the window. The chamber went dark; he lit the oil lamp on his desk. Immediately after that, he took off his robe and walked straight to the long, bronze mirror hanging behind the door.
A frown instantly formed on his face as he laid his eyes upon his reflection.
There were five words etched in black across his slender back.
"What the hell..." he muttered, confused.
Running his fingers along the marks, they felt like old wounds etched deeply into his flesh.
Sa Min's frown deepened. This had to be some kind of Yantra, there's no explanation other than that. But what Yantras was this? Who the hell did it? And Why? Maybe it was those bastards from the Heavenly Union? Has his identity been exposed?
Taking a long, deep breath, Sa Min tried to calm the flood of doubts swirling in his heart. He plopped down behind his scarlet wooden writing desk, determined to figure this shit out.
Alright, let's take this step by step. What kind of Yantra that engraves words on the back of someone? he thought to himself.
How the hell was he supposed to know? The amount of Yantras out there was unimaginable, even though Sa Min was over 600 years old and had reached rank 4, his vast knowledge of Yantras, Kas, recipes, and all that, felt like a mere drop in the vast ocean of what really existed.
All he knew is this Yantra is some kind of communication thing. No idea how it worked or what it really meant.
Sa Min could feel himself getting frustrated. Who the hell wants to send me a message like this?
Sa Min sat there for a while, thinking and thinking. But he eventually concluded nothing. There was not much information in hand to conclude anything. He took a frustrated sigh. He hated this feeling, this lack of control. It pissed him off when he felt like someone was pulling the chains. Like a slave.
Another deep sigh and he turned his attention to the content of the message. No need to look again, he remembered those five words: Key. Qings. Colored eyes. Blood.
To the ka wielders in the Bottom and Middle Realm, the concept of the Key might be unfamiliar. However, in the Upper Realm, Keys held a special place. Because whenever an Immortal died, a key to their Inner Domain would naturally form.
The Qings were that torn family that came to Tetra Blessing City a few years ago. Sa Min knew them. Their young master was an outer disciple in the academy.
"Colored eyed…" Sa Min muttered, his thoughts immediately drawn to those colored-eyed people who had gone missing.
And when he reached the final word, a grin spread across his face. This simple word, 'Blood' was all it took for him to connect the dots. 'Don't tell me...there's a Key in the city… and its passcode is… the blood of… the colored eyes people.'
This should be it. Now that he thought about it, the disappearance of the colored-eyed people had started three years ago, at the same time the Qings family arrived. This was no coincidence.
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But people are still disappearing, which means… they haven't found it yet.
Sa Min could feel himself getting excited. This was an opportunity. An opportunity that he might never meet again in a long time.
With his aptitude, his cultivation speed was doomed to be slow.
But if he got his hand on the Key, if he could enter the Inner Domain… that would definitely change a lot of his plans.
But then.
His grin vanished, and his face went indifferent again. His doubts about who had sent the message resurfaced again.
It could be another party that is interested in the Key. Maybe they are afraid to be caught by authorities, so they want me to get it and then take it from me? But why me of all people, a poor outer disciple who hasn't opened his Essence Core yet? How do they even know I know what Keys means?
This just didn't make any sense.
The Qings, whoever is messing with me, and who knows who else is involved in searching for the Key, Sa Min thought, rubbing his left eye. I'm barely rank 10 who knows nothing but there is a Key. Throwing myself into this game is no different from searching for my death.
His strength was too weak, and the risk was too high.
But again…
Sa Min reached out to his back, feeling the words; a helpless sigh escaped his mouth.
If the information was true, which he needed to verify first, he was already involved. Some son of bitch had gotten him involved without his permission.
Sa Min kept musing about how he could benefit from this information and drove himself away from trouble.
After some time, the voice of his personal slave, Hou Qing, called out from outside the room. "Master Sa Min, may I come in?" she said in a seductive tone.
Sa Min's eyebrow raised. He hadn't summoned her. But whatever, he was just about to call for her anyway. With a calm demeanor, he put back his robe and replied, "Sure, come on in."
The door opened, and Hou Qing stepped inside, closing it behind her. Though she had already reached her thirties, she still looked as stunning as ever. She had to be. How else could she have escaped the Drinks Barn if she weren't?
However, something was different about her this time. Her pale yellow robe was hanging loose, showing almost all of her breasts. Her flawlessly white legs were visible up to her thigh. It was clear that she wasn't wearing any underwear.
"You haven't eaten since morning, so I thought I'd bring you something," she said, trying to keep a seductive face despite her obvious fear.
Sa Min smiled. He knew why she had come. "Sure, why not? Just put it down over there and wait for me. I'll be done in just a few seconds."
Hou Qing ogled at him as she placed the loaded tray on a nearby low table with trembling hands, then gently settled onto the cushion, moaning softly.
Noticing that Sa Min was looking at her, she purposely dropped her robe even more, uncovering her entire breast.
Sa Min's indifferent face didn't move at all. But his snake did, as it began to wake up. And that's not good. Sa Min looked down at it and sighed helplessly.
He always thought of his snake and his stomach, and the other things as slavery chains that their only purpose was to remind him that he was a slave. What uses did they have, really?
Kas at least did something for you when you fed them. But what did those things do?
Realizing where his thoughts had gone, Sa Min rubbed his left eye before snatching up a quill and some yellow parchment and frantically beginning to scrawl without pause.
As someone with colored eyes myself, I'm not going to let myself end up being a sacrifice by the Qings family or anyone else searching for the Key. Sa Min sneered within his heart.
Prior to the Awakening Ceremony, the situation of the missing children with colored eyes hadn't really bothered him that much. He had shown them signs that he could be a genius with an A or S-grade aptitude. The Cultivation Academy would never have allowed him to be harmed or taken.
But now that he had been revealed to have only Average sea core, Sa Min was certain that neither the Academy nor the Clan would give a damn if he were to disappear.
After a few moments, Sa Min stopped the quill, his eyes scanning the words he had written. Satisfied, he nodded to himself and carefully rolled the parchment tight before tucking it into his robe.
This was just a precaution, should they come for him as well.
Sa Min then turned his attention to Hou Qing. "So, what's your next move?" He asked coldly.
"W-What?" Hou Qing's head turned in shock.
"You clearly came here to seduce me. I asked you what's next?"
Moments of intense silence fell over the room, and then Hou Qing forced a soft chuckle. "Forgive me, master," she said, touching her body in a lustful way. "All the female slaves had long done this theri master. Sixteen is the legal age for having sex. Yet, you've never touched me. I began to wonder if I'm the problem and that I should've been the one to—"
"Take off your robe."
Hou Qing's face twisted for a second. "Of course," she said, standing up and casually releasing her belt as she approached Sa Min. And right when she appeared she was about to take off her robe, she suddenly pulled a blade out of her pocket and recklessly charged at Sa Min.
Sa Min easily swatted her arm away, causing the blade to drop. Then, with a powerful slap, he threw her onto the yellow wooden floor.
"You think I didn't notice the blade?" Sa Min sneered, looking down at her with his icy blue eyes.
"Please, please, I don't want to die…" Hou Qing began to cry desperately.
Non-wilders like Hou Qing were humans who weren't born with Force Gate, nor Imprints Gate on their body. They had no Sea Core nor Essence Center. And instead of Kas, they had souls.
People like them could not cultivate, but everything in the world had some role to play and they were no different. It's just their roles was not…How to say it? They're not enjoying their roles, that's for sure.
Because their souls were the food of Natural Kas. And that made them valuable resources to the ka wielders. And so, they were kept in a place called the Drinks Barn, where they were raised and fed and stored, and ultimately absorbed.
Watching her plead, Sa Min snored and summoned forth the Volcanic Black Rock Ka.
At the sight of the Ka, Hou Qing, like a rabbit seeing a wolf, instinctively leaped towards the door. She knew pleading would be a waste of time, but she didn't know running would be as well.
Before she could even take three desperate steps, the Ka caught up to her. And immediately, she crumpled to the ground, kicking her legs and gurgling loudly as a gray liquid began to ooze from her mouth and eyes and every orifice in her body.
Her soul was being violently sucked by the Volcanic Black Rock Ka.
If she had been born in the Western Plane or other planes, she would definitely have a better life, Sa Min thought. He didn' blame her for trying to kill him. She had to do what she had to do to survive.
But that's exactly why he fed her to his Ka — other than that he had no more force apple to buy another Soul Liquid bottle — non-wielders were dangerous; many ka wielders had died by their hands while sleeping or while fucking them.
Unless you used some Yantra to keep the obedient, you wouldn't know when they might strike you.
Hou Qing's body was growing darker and darker, emitting a stench fouler than the smell of shit.
That's why Drinks Barnes and Soul Liquor bottles existed. Because if ka wielders were to feed their Natural Kas directly from the non-wielders, the world would... a filthy place.
Sa Min calmly watched her until life had completely faded from her eyes. He then beckoned the Volcanic Black Rock back into his palm.
Moments later, the Ka energy increased to 100%