Meanwhile, in the Gorge of Thousand Venoms, Xinzi's work carried on. The White-Winged Demon Army was only the first of Xinzi's creations, serving as free muscle and proof that in his camp, even the lowest of wastes could become a prodigy. But not everyone would fall for the Dao Chants or the promises of endless power and bliss. Others required more persuasive methods.
Sitting crossed-legged, Xinzi cupped his hands in a mudra. The Wisp of Heaven's Breath hovered right before his blood mask, shimmering with the principles of thunder, heat, drought, storms, and all manners of heaven-made disasters. By the ceiling above, the Evil Qi Tide ushered in by the 101 demonic corpses held strong. The violent energies produced by Zhenniao's destruction of Wenshen's statue also rippled.
Xinzi could channel his Demon Shards to carry out his work. But like spirit stones, those were finite resources that he had no means to replenish. At the moment, they were worth more than any of his other energy sources, and he couldn't afford to squander them—not until his White-Winged Demon Army grew to exponential numbers.
With the Evil Qi Tide and the likes, however, Xinzi didn't mind playing the spendthrift. Under his command, one thin ray of Evil Qi dropped from the tide, merging with the Wisp of Heaven's Breath while the foul and brutal energies released by Zhenniao's sacrilegious deed raced across the air, fusing with the wisp as well. Loud grumbling sounds shook the gorge. The sky up above darkened, protesting the corruption that Xinzi forced upon a Wisp of Heaven's Breath.
Strident demonic laughter boomed from the wisp itself, as if Hell's Will manifested to praise Xinzi's deed. Focused on his job, Xinzi ignored Heaven's cries and Hell's praise. The dazzling wisp took a duller color, expanded and turned into a sparkling orb of dark-purple force—its potency magnified by the energies that Xinzi had poured into it. The corrupt deed reinforced the Evil Qi Tide, and the Ball of Infernal Breath flew towards Xinzi.
At the same time, seven-colored runic characters flew out of Xinzi's mouth. The Swallowing Skill operated, drawing the energies within the gorge to feed a Soul Gathering Array.
With enough Soul Force, Xinzi could become an earth-grade Formation Master on the spot. The Thousand Roads Mountain souls in his Klesha Heart alone offered more than enough to pass that mark, and once the true body started consuming the 3,000 Soul Nurturing Divine Pills refined from the Qiu clan's souls, all Soul Force requirements would become history.
Still, in the arts of creation, knowledge was of paramount importance. If Xinzi didn't have a clear idea and understanding of what he was trying to create, even with his Five Elements Transmutative Technique, he'd just be experimenting. So, while that matchless method was destined to make his formation level somewhat obsolete, Xinzi would still need to go through the learning process, expand his arcane knowledge so he could manipulate the various material, elemental and spiritual forces flawlessly.
Thankfully, the White-Winged Demon Brigade had no shortage of formation masters, and the comprehension boost Xinzi received from them would speed up his learning process exponentially.
Large, shifting diagrams flashed on the ground. Zhenniao's remains flew back to the surface, gathering at the middle of the Soul Gathering Formation before turning into one bright pillar of burning gray flames. Strangely, the flames didn't burn the remains, the larger the flames, the more lustrous the remains became. These remains became bait, luring their owner back to the mortal world.
Zhenniao had only died recently. His soul was still far from entering the Reincarnation Cycle. And with the grievance he'd suffered, Xinzi wouldn't be surprised if it returned on its own. That said, he didn't need to wait for Zhenniao. By relying on the remains and Soul Gathering Array, Xinzi had all the tools to summon the aggrieved soul and exploit it as he pleased.
From the abysses of the lake, the Beast King's soul emerged. Furry twisted its face, yet no word or sound left its spectral beak. Xinzi smiled at Zhenniao, beckoning for him to return to his remains. Unable to resist the lure of bait and array, Zhenniao's soul rushed into the array—triggering an explosion of dark-gray flames.
"Good boy," Xinzi said. His hands flashed in arcane gestures, and as the Five Elements Transmutative Technique kicked in, Zhenniao's soul and remains merged into one coiling mass of flesh. From the snake pits scattered throughout the gorge, 666 Longfang Vipers flew out, slamming into the mass of flesh and blood like a colony of suicidal beasts. Their fangs, flesh and blood joined the mix, soon supplemented by the ball of Infernal Breath—last touch to this heretical ritual.
Here, the gray flames turned purple, green, then red, settling into a mix of white and scarlet as Xinzi's mudras succeeded one another. Here, he slammed his palm onto the ground—triggering one last blast of foul energies. The flames dispersed, revealing a pale monstrous creature that expanded to a full three meters.
Shaped like a chalky reptilian biped, with a pair of scarlet eyes, and a cluster of long, thin fangs, the hulking creature rose from the ground, its massive tail swaying at its back while its sanguine eyes stared at our monk.
"Hi creature, welcome to the Great Desolation World."
"Grrrr!"
"Mhm...you can't speak. What a letdown. Then again, you don't have to." Standing up, Xinzi ambled at the creature. Battle-prowess wise a rank-six Mysterious Beast, it had no Ordinance, and therefore couldn't display any of the abilities that beasts of that level normally possessed. Xinzi expected this, and after studying the beast's neck and fangs, gave it a mental command:
'Give me your blood.'
Without delay, the beast clawed at its right hand, leaving one long gash within. The ruby-colored blood trickled down, crystallizing into small ruby gems that pilled up on the ground.
"Interesting," Xinzi said and grabbed the beast's wrist, assessing its pulse.
"Mhm...three types of poisons. At least I got the one I wanted right. The other two will be your battle perks. Let's call you...Blood Beast," Xinzi said, and the Blood Beast grumbled in response.
