Now that he have found a good amount of demonic energy, he didn't waste another second. He quickly sat crossed legged and started refining the demonic energy.

His eyes slowly turned pitch black and his forehead instantly became filled with sweat. Dense energy covered his entire body making his hair flutter in the air. It was his first time refining absurd amount of demonic energy, so the pressure he felt from it was unbearable.

His core was like a vortex absorbing demonic energy at a rapid rate. Even though he has a demonic core, his body was still human, so great stress fell into his body and veins. He doesn't know if the rate his core absorbs demonic energy was normal or not. However at this rate, he felt that he would explode before he could even refine the all of the energy inside the cave.

Ming Li emptied his mind and closed all his senses. He focused on refining demonic energy since his core was acting like a hungry beast devouring demonic energy on its own.

Time slowly passed as he entered a meditative state. His body calmed down a bit, he lost track of time and continued the refinement.

On the tenth day, blood covered his body. At times during the refinement process, his skin exploded randomly because of the abnormal rate of absorption of demonic energy, however his wounds would heal at rapid rate whenever he successfully refined a good amount of energy.

With the decrease in the amount of demonic energy in the cave, his hair that have been fluttering in the dense demonic energy gradually fell down. His breathing became normal and his body felt lighter.

He slowly opened his eyes and it emitted a blinding glow. The blood covering his entire body rapidly evaporated and formed into a red mist. He slowly stood up and when he clenched his fist, the excess demonic energy erupted from his body. It was an invisible blast of energy shooting in all direction forming a spherical blast from his core.

Boom!

The entire cave trembled and all the stones below him became dust. The huge explosion of energy made the walls of the cave flatten and became as smooth as glass. The end of the cave where Ming Li was located became spherical in shape. The destructive force of demonic energy amazed Ming Li. He wasn't sure if natural energy can do the same, however he felt that natural energy was easier to use. On the other hand demonic energy was a rampaging energy which cannot be easily controlled.

After completely draining the cave of demonic energy, he checked his body for any abnormalities. His face became filed with joy when he realized that he stepped into the 10th level of beginners realm. He also felt something blocking his progress towards the next realm, he was sure that he entered a bottleneck and would not be able to proceed further without breaking the bottleneck. However he felt that only a little push should allow him to directly enter the body tempering realm.

"I need to quickly find what I truly seek, so that I can step into a new realm!"

He walked out of the cave and looked at the direction of the deer he saw earlier outside the cave. He remembered how the deer died without even being able to cross the forest and losing its way on its journey.

He contemplated the actions of the deer which led to its demise. Scenes from his past flashed over his mind as he think about the circumstances of the deer. He involuntarily compared his situation with the deer, then he slowly shook his head. He realized that when he was a kid, he was too busy trying to find food and he had no time to dream. His only goal back then was to survive each day. If he hadn't met his master, he would probably be still stuck to his miserable life. Because of his background, he thought that what if his goal is to simply survive. Become strong enough to survive anything.

"Is it really to survive? Is that what I truly seek?" Ming Li pondered for a while, however he thought about his life with his master. During those three short years he felt more alive, he had found out many things he liked to do. He felt good when he found friends and when people respected him in the village. Then he thought "Maybe what I seek is to have prestige to rule over men? Or to be respected?"

After a little while, another thought came to him. "Or is it riches?" every man seek to be wealthy. Also, since Ming Li was born poor and his parents died at an early age, Ming Li has always been dreaming of becoming rich.

He sighed the shook his head. "Yes I definitely want to be rich, but I don't feel right that its actually what I seek."

"Humans really have too many desires that it's hard to even know what your heart really wants."

He slowly walked away from the cave and glanced at his surroundings, he stared at the plants then another thought came into his head "Do I want to pursue alchemy or medicine and follow my masters dream? I do have the qualification."

After a bit of thinking, he went to a nearby tree and touched it as he remembered his master, then he said "My master would be shocked if I actually followed his steps. I believe he would agree more if I wish to seek riches."

Below a tree not far away he saw a wolf. It was peacefully sitting under the shade of the tree. Its furs were shiny and no trace of weakness can be seen on it. Anyone would agree that it is the perfect example of a strong lone wolf. It does not need to stay on the pack to survive. With only the air of strength it emits, other animals would not dare to get near it.

Ming Li's eyes shined as he said "Do I want to become strong? Strong enough that I could stand on my own without fearing anything?"

He was equally drawn into the idea of getting strong and getting rich, however he is unsure if this would conform to what his heart really desires.

He stayed calm and deeply thought of the path of getting strong. It is a path that many seeks, a path of blood and tears. Many people with the same desire battle it out achieve what they seek. He became immersed with the idea of getting strong. If he is strong, he can gain riches, glory, and anything he desire. It is one of the most ideal thing to seek, and seems like it is the most logical step to take.

During his deep contemplation a strand of demonic energy passed through his body. The demonic energy was so little it is almost non existent, however it still broke his train of thought and caught his attention. He looked at the source of demonic energy and saw the dead body of the monster he killed earlier.

"Demonic energy?" he calmly said.

Then many question suddenly popped in his head "What is demonic energy? What are demons?... Where did natural energy originate from?" questions unanswerable by him in his current state.

He slowly shifted his body towards the cave while asking countless questions in his head. "Where did the dead body on this cave came from? Is he a demon? How did I turn into a being similar to demons?.."

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After several questions, he lifted his feet and made his first step. His eyes was focused on the cave slowly radiating a sense of understanding.