One moment, Ye Wuji had been inside his cave hidden behind a waterfall, then the next, he woke up in a completely different place and world.
Towers of steel and glass jutted from the earth like broken spears. Strange collapsed vehicles and rusted machines littered the cracked gray ground.
A thick stench of rot clung to the air, foul and suffocating.
He rose shakily, drawn toward the source of the odor.
Instinctively, he tried to sense the Qi.
It was still present, just like in his original world, but much denser and thicker.
That realization instantly calmed him considerably… and even excited him a little.
This place, judging by the sheer concentration of Qi was a literal cultivation paradise compared to the garbage cultivation world he came from.
But then…
A sound echoed from behind a nearby building.
Movement.
Shadows shifted and figures slowly emerged in the distance.
Silhouettes. Tattered robes. Cracked armor.
Cultivators? Or…
Former cultivators.
Their eyes were blank. Lifeless. Their skin pale and rotting.
Dead bodies… yet still somehow moving.
"Zombies," he muttered. "But cultivators…"
One of them lunged forward, mouth agape, nails black and curved like blades.
Ye Wuji reacted on instinct, slashing with his dagger. It sank deep into the creature's chest.
The thing let out a shriek and the moment it died, a something shot into his body and was completely absorbed.
He gasped, overwhelmed as a flood of memories flashed through his mind—sword techniques and martial arts using fire element…
"I… absorbed part of its power? And memories?"
His dantian trembled. Qi stirred violently…
Then it suddenly returned back to normal.
But something was different.
His Qi had become denser and purer.
And his body felt… stronger and tougher.
This wasn't just killing.
This was cultivation.
Highly effective cultivation through killing.
Ye Wuji looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers.
"Killing them makes me stronger…?"
He charged into the group—slaying one, then another, and another.
Each time, something poured into him and memories fragments flowed into his mind.
But that wasn't all.
Normally, when cultivators killed each other, Heaven and Earth remained silent or, in his case as a demonic cultivator, even punished him if he killed someone blessed.
But now?
He felt no rejection.
On the contrary… it felt like Heaven and Earth started welcoming him. As if is approved of his action suddenly.
As if… it was blessing him.
Ye Wuji threw his head back and laughed wildly.
"Heaven and Earth blessing a demonic cultivator? Hahahaha… What madness is this?!"
"In my cultivation world, I was cursed, hated by the righteous sects and rejected by Heaven and Earth my entire life… but here? Here I'm blessed?"
He laughed harder, the sound echoing across the ruins.
"This world is insane! Hahaha!"
|>>======|✦|======<<|
After few dozen kills, he dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
His Qi was nearly drained. His body aching.
He had used too much.
The world around him swayed slightly as exhaustion hit. He needed rest.
Gathering the last of his strength, he staggered toward the nearest building, pushed open the broken door, and stumbled inside.
He barred the entrance and found a room with an old, dust-covered bed.
Without hesitation, he collapsed onto it and fell into a deep sleep.
|>>======|✦|======<<|
When he awoke, he immediately pulled out one of the blood essence crystals he had stolen from his traitorous "junior brother" and absorbed it.
Warmth spread through his meridians, and his strength returned.
"Earlier… I absorbed some memories from the zombies I killed," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "I need to figure out what exactly I got."
Fragments of techniques surfaced in his mind—martial arts of fire element, swordplay, shadow arts… and even disguise techniques.
"Yeah… it's really all here. Amazing."
"Heartburst Fist… Bloodburn Detonation… swordplay forms, shadow art, disguise methods…"
He stood, flexing his limbs. Every technique from the absorbed memories felt natural to him.
"They've been fully integrated into my body. Like I've practiced them for years."
"It's not just stealing techniques… It's like inheriting a legacy."
A wide grin spread across his face.
"This place really is a cultivation paradise. And it's all mine."
But then he paused, frowning.
"Still… this place isn't exactly safe. If there are zombie cultivators, then there are probably stronger ones—Foundation Stage and even higher."
"Looks like I got lucky. If I'd encountered one of the stronger ones first… I'd be dead already."
He opened his storage bag and summoned a small artifact—the flying shuttle he'd obtained from his "dear Junior brother".
"I'll use this to scout from now on. If anything feels too dangerous, I'll run immediately."
He suddenly blinked, remembering something.
"Wait… since zombies still move…, then they are still technically living creatures, aren't they? Can I also extract their blood essence?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"And even their blood is still somehow freshly moving inside them from what I've seen."
His lips curled into a smirk. "I'll test it."
He moved toward the door and unbarred it carefully.
Outside, the corpses he had left behind were being devoured by three more zombie cultivators.
They turned their heads the moment he stepped out on…
…And charged.
Ye Wuji calmly clenched his fist. Flames gathered.
"Heartburst Fist."
He struck—one punch per enemy.
Each one exploded in a concentrated burst of flame.
Memories flowed into him again—techniques, instincts, martial arts. But once more, only fragments related to cultivation.
"Yeah… now I get it. Looks like I was wrong… I'm not absorbing their power, just fragments of their spirit and memories."
"And somehow, my body adapts. It transforms, bit by bit, to fit what I absorb."
"But even then, techniques that don't align with my spiritual root are far weaker."
He exhaled with relief.
"Thankfully, the first techniques I absorbed were fire-based. Perfect for my mid-grade Fire Root. Looks like Heaven and Earth really is on my side… haha."
"Alright, I should go back inside. No need to push my luck."
He quickly extracted the blood essence from the corpses, formed blood essence crystals, and returned to the safety of the building.