Inner Devil

As another morning fell, Xu An quietly sat in his bed. The dream from the previous night was still fresh in his mind.

It had been the first time that such a thing had occurred.

In all of his previous dreams, that figure had always spoken the same words before vanishing. However, this time the dream had ended in a completely different way.

What's more…

"That pressure at the end..."

"Hmm…" His gaze suddenly fell on the book and after pondering for a few instances his eyes suddenly widened.

"It was the same sensation from back when I first tried to cultivate."

"Then, does that mean that the heavens protected me from that person? But why… Wasn't it all a dream? Why did it feel so real?" He couldn't help but frown.

Perhaps things were not as simple as he thought.

Before stealing the book from the old man, Xu An had tried to research as many things as possible about immortal cultivation.

After looking through all the hidden records in the village chief's mansion, he had gained a vague understanding of these things.

Those who seek immortality are more commonly known as cultivators. And they all, without a doubt are walking a path that is said to be against the will of the heavens.

As for what that truly meant, Xu An still couldn't fully tell…

However, he was almost sure that the presence that he felt in his dream was the exact same as the one from when he first tried to follow the instructions written in the book.

After pondering for a while, Xu An sighed.

"It's all useless anyway…"

No matter how hard he tried to think it through, what good would it do?

The current him was still just a mere mortal. So, be it that unknown cultivator or the heavens themselves, none of it really mattered to the current him.

Just like an ant couldn't stop a galloping horse, he too couldn't hope to move an immovable mountain.

At least not the current him.

"In the end it's all about power, is it not?" He bitterly smiled before picking up the book.

However, he immediately frowned.

The initial line of the first page - To first gaze up the mysteries of life, one must suffer the wrathful gaze of the world, was no longer there.

Those words had now been replaced with - 'Nine Revolutions of Mortal Severance'.

His frown immediately deepened. "The first severance - 'To set a foot upon the unending road, one must first shed their impurities."

"Lure a sliver of spiritual energy and use it to cleanse the mortal body, washing away the marrow of all the impurities accumulated since birth."

Spiritual energy…

Xu An thought back to when he first tried to cultivate.

Could it be that cold sensation that seemed to want to burrow into his flesh? Was that the so-called spiritual energy of heaven and earth?

Although that experience had been agonizing, it would seem that it hadn't been all for nothing. Through it, he had gained a small tasting of it.

"That must've been it." Xu An's eyes gradually brightened and he quickly looked around.

The room was almost bare but there was still an old wooden table by the side.

He turned the table over and placed it against the door before sitting back down and closing his eyes.

After clearing out his thoughts, Xu An began to follow the instructions written in the book once more.

The moment he started, that terrifying gaze from above seemed to immediately lock onto him once again, and this time the pressure that fell on top of his body was even greater than before.

Xu An could even faintly hear thousands of whispers urging him to immediately stop what he was doing.

Then, visions of terrifying catastrophes flashed through his mind, making him grit his teeth.

Rivers of blood…

Mountains of corpses…

Barren wastelands…

Deserts of poisonous air…

With each breath the pressure seemed to rise,and soon the whispers turned into screams. They continuously roared out his name. Their voices writhing with agony and despair.

However, underneath all of that, he could also sense a strange and cool feeling spreading around his body.

He knew that it was the surrounding spiritual energy converging toward him. And, he also knew that he had to grasp this feeling and engrave it deep within his dao heart.

However, how could it be so easy?

He trained in the technique for an entire day, pausing many times along the way, battering both his body and mind to the extreme.

By the end of it, he could feel himself reaching closer to that sensation.

On the second day, he took another small step closer to grasping it. But, as the hunger grew tight, he was left with no choice but to stop.

He took a quick bath and went to meet with the old innkeeper.

After exchanging a few words back and forth, the old man arrogantly smiled and agreed to a small bet. 

The two played a game of tales.

Each one told a tale to the few people around, and whoever's tale resounded the loudest would win. And… Xu An easily won.

Not only had he secretly perused through the old records of his village, he had also studied under the village chief for close to a decade.

Even though the old man was evil beyond the shadow of a doubt, his training regiment still proved to be quite effective.

Xu An studied the hundred arts, and history stood as one of the most important pillars of it.

Of course, the old innkeeper quickly asked for a rematch… Yet, not only did he lose the second, but he went even further and lost a third time. Losing a great deal of face.

After winning himself six bowls of rice, two chicken legs and another week of stay in that wretched place, Xu An quietly returned to his room and continued his seclusion.

On the third day, he nearly grasped the feeling of spiritual energy. And, on the fourth day, that feeling was engraved deep into his being.

Thus, on the fifth day, he finally managed to withstand and accomplish his first revolution of the cultivation technique.

By then, his mind was already on the brink of collapse.

His body was drenched in sweat, his eyes were bloodshot and lines of blood could be seen flowing down from his nose.

However, Xu An still smiled.

He smiled and immediately fell asleep.

This time, he slept for an entire day and no figure appeared in his dreams.

In fact, it could be said that for the first time in almost 10 years, this was his only peaceful sleep.

He slept for an entire day, and when his eyes finally opened back up, a deep sense of satisfaction shimmered within. However, there was also a bit of wariness in his heart.

Before falling asleep he had felt his skin shivering all over.

He had instinctively felt that if he kept on going without taking any moment to rest, then some sort of terrible backlash might have struck him unannounced.

"In order to accomplish the first mortal severance, one must first withstand the process of doing nine revolutions of the cultivation technique."

"Once the nine revolutions are complete, the marrow will be cleansed, and one will break through their first mortal shackle and officially become an immortal cultivator."

"Once that happens, I will reach the first layer of the Mortal Severance Realm of immortal cultivation."

"However, as it stands, I can barely withstand a single revolution… Let alone do all nine in a row." At this thought, his smile couldn't help but turn a bit bitter.

Although he had felt the spiritual energy converging toward him and being absorbed into his body, the amount had been pitifully small and after washing a bit of his impurities it had been quickly consumed.

"However, with this, I have still taken another step forward." With that thought in mind, he suddenly turned toward the window. It was already night outside, and he could hear a few shouts and cheers coming from down below.

When he first arrived, the Inn seemed more like a decaying graveyard than an actual business establishment, yet today there seemed to be a bit of life permeating through the walls.

The moment he tried to get up, he couldn't help but pause and raise an eyebrow.

"I feel… lighter. " He smiled but then frowned and sniffed the air a few times. "And smellier…"

Sighing, he pulled the table away from the door and stepped into the hallway.