Beginning Evolutionary Protocol...

Ning Shan's eyes widened as he read those words. He felt an intense heat propagate within his body as the red dust burrowed into his skin. He saw the red crystal burst into countless tiny particles as it collided with his flesh, covering his entire body and seeking any entryway into his being, whether orally or through his pores.

Altering Subject’s Genome...

He felt his body start to break down as this unknown substance assaulted his every cell. He was powerless to resist; this was a force he could not impose his will upon. Nothing he tried would change his fate. Besides, the pain of his body breaking down at the atomic level was much too harsh for him to bear. It was even worse than what he had to endure a few minutes ago.

As he was about to lose his mind, something unexpected happened. A storm brewed in his core as black lightning arced within. This familiar force propagated to every part of his body, somehow keeping the red dust in check.

Ning Shan felt the two entities struggle against each other. At first, they were equals, unable to best the other. Yet, as time passed, the lightning began to get the upper hand; it was able to drive out the dust from his cells, little by little.

Evolutionary Protocol interrupted...

Initiating Redundancies...

Like a flood, the red dust flowed within his bloodstream, wreaking havoc wherever it passed. All of it was headed toward its qi centre, where the storm originated. His cells burst and shattered, spilling their contents everywhere, leading to internal bleeding, yet they were quickly reconstructed by the ever-present lightning force. Of course, the pain only ever mounted, becoming something no living being could overcome.

Ning Shan frothed at the mouth as he gritted his teeth, yet it was too much even for him. He lost consciousness for the first time in an eternity, leaving his fate to the mysterious lightning emanating from his core.

Even as he fainted, the lightning coursing through his qi channels didn't falter. Instead, it seemed to redouble its effort as if knowing its shackles had been broken. The red dust soon became unable to cope. As if a flame seeking one last struggle against the over-encroaching darkness, the dust flowed to his core, boring open the qi channels that had been sealed shut when he failed his ascension.

A moment later, the entirety of the red dust crystal that had seeped into his flesh coalesced into his qi centre, where it spun like a galaxy, asserting its dominance over the lightning. However, that unknown force wouldn't let it get its way. The storm raged, fighting against the dust tornado, only to slowly melt the dust little by little.

Error! Aborting Evolutionary Protocol...

Unknown Entity Encroachement...

With every lightning strike, the dust coalesced back into a crystal, slowly growing as the lightning meld into it, fusing despite their antagonistic nature. Had Ning Shan been awake to witness such a change, he would have been stunned by the sight. After all, tribulation lightning was much too overbearing to be conquered by anything. Even when he was at his peak, Ning Shan's failure to overcome it only spoke of its nature. Only something its equal could make it relent.

An hour passed, the two forces at a standstill as they slowly fused into each other. The crystal grew ever so slightly as more dust accumulated into Ning Shan's core, only adding to it. Arcs of lightning glowed on the crystal surface, enveloping the substance within in something akin to a prison that allowed the dust in and not out.

As if knowing its resistance was futile, the remainder of the dust that hadn't coalesced into new crystal within his qi centre was ejected through his every pore, only to dissipate in the air as if it hadn't existed to begin with. Silence reigned as calm returned.

Ning Shan awoke later that day, unable to ascertain how much time had passed. He rose to his feet and dusted himself; a small layer of the remaining red dust lingered on his body but was swept up by the slight breeze of his rustling clothes, only to disappear.

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He examined himself, finding nothing wrong except a massive pounding headache that slowly subsided and a strange object lingering in his qi centre. He sat in a lotus position, closed his eyes, and turned his inner sight onto this construct.

It was a small red crystal hovering in the void, with arcs of lightning visible on its surface. Its surface was almost too smooth, as if it had been carved into marble using some unknown technology. Those countless facets possessed a mirror sheen, reflecting the void beyond as it spun with his qi centre.

Ning Shan frowned; he could feel some power held within, and strangely enough, he seemed to be able to harness some of it. He did as he had done countless times before, prompting the power within to circulate in his now dried-up qi channels, only to be stunned by the result.

He saw the red crystal vibrate as lightning gouged its surface, dislodging some of the dust held within. The dust then travelled within his qi channels as it empowered his flesh. Somehow, this phenomenon wasn't much different from how he had once used qi. In fact, it seemed much more potent in contrast, as if the power held within that dust could overshadow even the world's will.

If there was one thing of note, it would be that using this power came at a cost. He could feel the red dust resist his will as he sought to use its power, yet would be whipped back into shape through the black lightning held within his core.

Ning Shan rested his head on his chin as he pondered the implications. After all, this was a foreign substance, and he was reluctant to use it so quickly. Still, now that he had lost his cultivation and this world seemed to possess no spiritual qi, Ning Shan needed something else to use as strength. The red dust offered just that possibility.

He glanced at the window of light shining at the corner of his eye, yet couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Things had changed substantially since he had regained consciousness. The dust points which had dropped to less than 3 were now over 120. From what he could infer, this seemed to be the power source for those things named skill, mainly that tribulation lightning. As for how to gain more of it, it was self-explanatory. Through plunder, of course. As for whether all creatures possessed the dust within their flesh, that remained to be seen. Still, Ning Shan now had a goal and the means to achieve it.

If that red dust has the same properties as qi, then I might be able to recover my cultivation. Maybe even reach higher than I could under the Heavenly Dao's restrictions. Still, I need to be wary of that ARK System. Somehow, I feel it isn't dissimilar to the Heavenly Dao I am familiar with.

With this out of the way, Ning Shan was finally ready to make his first stride into this new world. He glanced around the room, only to find it much different than how he remembered it.

In fact, the endless expanse of darkness was nowhere to be seen. While still somewhat vast, this room was only enough to accommodate the giant spider. The walls surrounding him weren't unlike that creature. They were metallic in nature yet pulsed with some sort of energy.

Using the black lightning, Ning Shan carved a bit of the red crystal in his core and made the resulting dust circulate in his qi channels to his eyes, activating the same technique he once did before. As expected, he saw the same flow within those metallic walls.

He approached one of them, pressing his hand onto it, following its path with his fingertips. Still, while he could see the flow, he couldn't feel the power laced within. Maybe he was too unfamiliar with this new power to recognize it, or humans weren't meant to. This would be something worth investigating.

Using that red dust as he would qi, Ning Shan made it collect into his hand, and sure enough, arcs of lightning sparked onto its surface. Surprisingly, as the lightning came into contact with the metal, he saw the flow within shifts as if trying to counter it. It seemed like the two substances opposed one another, almost like two sides of the same coin. They countered each other while also enhancing them both. A most peculiar interaction.

Ning Shan sighed and retracted his hand. There was much he didn't know and no one to answer him. He wondered if he were to delve deeper into this structure, would he find sentient life or more of those grotesque creatures?

Without thinking much of it, he approached the only opening leading out of this room, only to find a long corridor leading toward the darkness. Without hesitation, he delved deeper, retracting the lightning coating his hand as he noticed the dust points dwindling every time he used it. The fact that this resource was finite weighed heavy on his heart. Unlike qi, this power source seemed much more inconvenient.

He walked for maybe an hour in complete darkness. The road wound and bent, constantly changing elevation, yet Ning Shan found no fork in the road. He could only rely on his peculiar sight to see the way, yet keeping it up constantly used his limited dust point. Now, he possessed less than a hundred. He could feel the red crystal in his core growing slimmer with every moment. Somehow, this brought him a tension he had rarely felt in recent years. He didn't find that unpleasant.

Still, this place is eerily quiet...

Just as he thought so, a door rose, revealing two creatures hiding behind. They were quadrupeds, resembling wolves, if wolves were made of metal. Sharp metal claws adorned the end of their powerful limbs, while long serrated fangs could be found not only in their maws but also on their backs as if their bones protruded from their flesh.

An overpowering stench permeated the corridor, and a dark liquid flowed from their mouths, covering the ground. Their eyes glowed a dark red, and a cloud of red particles was reflected into Ning Shan's eyes, enhanced by his particular sight.

This dust cloud was most peculiar. It seemed to originate from the inside of those creatures as if they were made entirely of sand. Their flesh seemed to create this all-encompassing cloud of power, while even the black substance on the ground seemed to sublimate into it. It was as if those creatures were merely this red dust given shape.

Ning Shan even wondered if those things were alive and not simply constructs. After all, seeing this amalgam of metal and flesh, he couldn't think otherwise. No sane world would give birth to such monstrosities.

However, for the time being, Ning Shan couldn't care less. Those things were in his way, but also his means to grow stronger. As long as he had a goal to strive for and a means to achieve it, he was content despite whatever odds he would have to overcome.

As such, he braced himself, utilizing the full strength of the red crystal in his core to fuel the lightning cladding his hand. While he deplored that he had yet to find a decent weapon, this would have to do. With a slight smile, Ning Shan plunged into battle, wondering what this world would have in store for him next.