In the dead of night, even the moon’s radiance was snuffed out by the black clouds.
Bodies laid in a pile in a quiet part of the forest, the aftermath of a gruesome battle. The air reeked of blood drawing all kinds of wild animals to feast on their flesh.
“Ugh…”
Among the countless chomping sounds of animals, from amongst the bodies, a young man let out a groan.
Ears twitched and the animals approached the source in silence.
Thump!
With a loud sound, two corpses were thrown to the side to reveal a bloodstained figure wrestling out from the pile. The animals jumped two steps back in fright, but when they noticed he was alive, they came back with a vengeance to rob life from him.
Yet, the youth hardly noticed the imminent danger, still sat there in a daze.
“Is this… the current me?” He checked his hands as his eyes glazed over.
Awoo!
A wolf’s howl echoed as the beast sprung towards the youth.
He turned his head, his eyes shining with blood thirst from his blood stained face. The killing intent was akin to two swords stabbing into the wolf’s eyes.
Whoosh!
The wolf grounded to a halt, shivering as it curled backwards. The rest of the animals were also making a run for it when they watched those demonic pair of eyes.
Despite his weak appearance, the animals’ instinct screamed at them of the danger the youth posed.
As silence set in once again, the youth took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
His name was Zhuo Fan, fifteen years of age, a servant of the Luo clan at Cloud Manor. His life was happy and carefree, until three days ago when a band of Blackwind Mountain bandits butchered the manor. He along with some guards escorted the young master and young miss as they fled, only to find his end in this forest at the hand of their pursuers.
In his final breaths, he was filled with an obsession. It was this that drew the drifting Demonic Emperor Zhuo Yifan’s resentment and allowed the Demonic Emperor to possess him.
Zhuo Fan’s eyes flashed with demonic glee.
“Ha-ha-ha, Sword Emperor, Zhao Chen, you would have never imagined the Nine Serenities Secret Records has a way of possessing someone without the need of a soul. Wait for me, I will soon return to Sacred Domain and behead you myself. “
Only Zhuo Fan’s mad laughter echoed in the bleak forest. Even the other animals chewing on corpses were startled into fleeing.
Cough!
A sudden cough cut his raving laugher short as his eyes turned like a hawk towards the source.
“He-help me!”
Zhuo Fan rushed to it to see a Luo clan’s guard buried in bodies, with blood pouring from his mouth.
“Humph, the affairs of mortals have nothing to do with me.”
His eyes shrank and shook his head as he was about to leave. The previous Zhuo Fan would’ve done his best in helping the man. But he was now replaced by the Demonic Emperor Zhuo Yifan. To Yifan, the Luo clan were nothing but ants to him.
Who was so bored as to save an ant’s life?
He took only two steps before stopping. Recalling something, he dropped down cross-legged to inspect his body.
Not a moment passed and Zhuo Fan flashed his eyes open with glee.
“This kid is 15 yet has never cultivated. His body is untainted.”
On the Martial Emperor Continent, most could cultivate. Even farmers would have a 1st or 2nd layer in the Foundation Establishment stage. It was rarer to find a fifteen years old who never cultivated once.
And the strongest cultivation method is the Nine Serenities Secret Records – Demon Transformation Art, who could use other’s cultivation and later allow one to swallow the Heavens and devour the Earth, reaching the highest realm of power in this world, needed a pure body to train in it.
This cultivation method was something the Nine Serenities Emperor comprehended only after he entered the Emperor stage. Just when he was contemplating destroying his cultivation and starting anew, he suffered at the hands of the other Emperor stage experts.
In ancient times, the Nine Serenities Emperor was among the top three strongest Emperors, for it to make even him consider restarting his cultivation, this cultivation method must be of treemendous might. Maybe it surpassed even a Heaven ranked cultivation method.
As such, once Zhuo Yifan obtained it, he began to consider his next course of action. But before he could decide, the seven Emperors and Zhao Chen came and forced him on this path.
With a pure body, the effect would be even more pronounced.
At this point, Zhuo Fan returned to the guard. He removed the corpses covering him and pulled him out of the rest.
Empty eyes watched as he got pulled from the brink of death. The guard smiled, “Ah, it’s you, Zhuo Fan. Thank you, I’ll repay you when we get back.”
“He-he-he, why wait when you can just as well do it now.” With a corner of his mouth perked up, Zhuo Fan exposed an odd smile.
The guard froze as a chill seized his heart.
As they were both from the Luo clan, this wasn’t the first time he saw Zhuo Fan. But this was his first time watching such a sinister expression. It was akin to how a wolf would set its sights on a rabbit.
“Zhuo Fan. what are you going to do?” The guard watched him vigilant.
Zhuo Fan ignored him as he watched with the same smile, mumbling all the while, “Not bad, a 2nd layer of Qi Condensation cultivation. Solid foundation material.”
While other cultivation methods absorbed the spiritual energy around them to refine the host’s body, the Demon Transformation Art robbed others of their cultivation to further his own.
But how could a normal man steal from a cultivator? When the target was wounded of course, to the point he couldn’t even move.
This was the reason for Zhuo Yifan’s uncertainty to abolish his cultivation at the time. If such an encounter never happened, he would’ve been a mortal for the rest of his life. It would end in a complete loss, something he believed caused even the Nine Serenities Emperor to hesitate at that time.
Yet, here he was, with a newly possessed body that the heavens dropped on his lap. ‘Truly something only found by luck.’
Seeing the insidious Zhuo Fan watching him like a rogue watched a beauty, the guard’s heart never knew rest as he shouted, “Y-you’re not Zhuo Fan!”
“He-he-he, correct!”
The evil laughter further emphasized Zhuo Fan’s malevolent look, “I am the Sacred Domain’s Eighth Emperor, Demonic Emperor Zhuo Yifan!”