Ah… ahhh… ahhh…"
Finally…
I found you.
Renewal's breath came out ragged and uneven, each inhale heavier than the last. His body trembled—not from exhaustion, but from something far deeper. Something broken.
He stared at his father.
At first, there was only silence.
Then his pupils quivered.
Slowly, reason drained from his eyes, replaced by a growing distortion—as if something inside him had snapped. The last traces of sanity twisted, sinking into a cold, unrestrained madness.
He raised his hand—and the change came without warning.
His flesh twisted violently as his entire arm transformed into something monstrous. A grotesque, blood-soaked limb emerged, wrapped in deep black scales like living armor. Dark skin stretched unnaturally over bulging veins, each one pulsing with violent life.
Blood seeped from the corner of his lips.
"Tch… I bit too hard."
Renewal licked his lips, calmly wiping away the blood with his finger.
"Father… you know my Soul Core formation needs no artifact," he said softly.
"Your death won't take long."
The moment those words reached him, the father froze.
He struggled to stand, but his body seemed to age in an instant, his posture bending beneath an invisible weight. The artifact fused to his face trembled violently.
"That damn artifact!" he cursed.
"It's the only reason my health was this good!"
He didn't even look at Renewal anymore—perhaps he had already accepted his death.
Renewal's expression twisted into something ugly.
"So the Blood Soul Core formation really does have flaws…"
His vision blurred.
If he continued killing and absorbing blood, his eyes would eventually fail—too much blood overflowing within his realm.
That meant he needed time. Time for the blood to fully merge with his spirit realm.
But it didn't matter.
"Whatever," he laughed. "You'll be my last meal."
"…Ahahaha! I want to devour both the Taotie—and my father!"
As his father's life faded, Renewal smiled.
"Even humans are greedier than animals…"
Turning toward the trembling Taotie, his hunger deepened.
The beast knew fear.
Because Renewal was the true Taotie.
Its greed surpassed that of any creature—unchecked, limitless, and utterly unrestrained.
The father suddenly dropped to his knees.
Desperation twisted his face as he slammed his forehead into the ground.
Crack.
The sound echoed sharply. Blood spread beneath him.
Renewal slowly raised his foot.
Then brought it down.
There was no hesitation.
No restraint.
He crushed his father's head deeper into the earth, pressing down mercilessly as stone fractured and soil burst upward. Blood seeped through the cracks, staining the ground beneath Renewal's feet.
"No one has ever defeated me," Renewal said quietly.
"No one has ever killed me."
His voice trembled—not with fear, but pleasure.
"In any battle… everything I see must be quenched by me."
The father struggled, lifting his head just enough to look up.
That was when it happened.
In a single motion, Renewal tore both of his arms away.
Clean. Effortless.
The severed limbs were thrown aside like trash as blood erupted into the air.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA—!"
The scream tore through the space as the father crawled backward, panic overtaking him.
But there was no escape.
Renewal grabbed him by the neck.
Madness burned in his eyes as he dragged his father forward, step by step, toward the trembling Taotie. His hunger had surpassed reason—surpassed humanity.
The father's breathing became shallow, rigid.
"I wish you a horrible death… my son…" he rasped.
"I raised you… treated you as my everything… but fate revealed the truth. Nezha walks the cursed dao—the path of misfortune… that is why we avoided you… hahahaha—"
Boom.
Renewal slammed his hand down.
The ground shattered as his father's head was buried beneath the soil.
A surge of blood erupted—sharp, violent, and controlled—piercing straight through the father's chest. The strike was absolute.
His body stiffened.
His eyes widened.
As life drained away, he whispered weakly,
"This… is how your life should end…"
Then—nothing.
Silence.
Renewal stood there, staring at the corpse.
Slowly…
A smile spread across his face.
Silence followed his father's death.
A suffocating, absolute silence.
Renewal stood there, his foot still resting on the ruined body, blood slowly spreading beneath him. His breathing was calm—too calm—as if he had merely crushed an insect beneath his heel.
Then… he smiled.
"Even humans," he murmured softly,
"are far hungrier than animals."
He lifted his gaze.
The Taotie trembled.
Its enormous body shook uncontrollably, chains rattling violently as terror flooded its instincts. Its eyes, once filled with endless greed, now reflected something it had never felt before.
Fear.
Because standing before it was not a predator.
Nor a rival.
Renewal was hunger itself.
The Taotie understood its limits.
It knew when to stop.
Renewal did not.
His greed had no ceiling. No end. No restraint.
He stepped forward.
The Taotie let out a broken, desperate roar—no longer the cry of a divine beast, but that of prey awaiting slaughter.
"You feel it, don't you?" Renewal said quietly.
"The difference between us."
Another step.
"You consume to survive."
Another.
"I consume because I desire."
Blood surged behind him.
Chains formed—thick, writhing constructs of crimson—shooting forward and wrapping around the Taotie's limbs. The beast was dragged violently across the stone floor, its body scraping against the ground as a long trail of blood followed behind.
The space began to tremble.
Above them, the air warped.
A deafening voice thundered through the ruins.
"WHO DARES KILL THE MASTER OF THE FOUR HEAVENLY SPIRIT TEMPLE?!"
The atmosphere distorted as the massive temple floating up , as if flew unnaturally in the air. Its surface pulsed like living flesh, blackened blood seeping from its walls and dripping downward.
Renewal stopped.
He tilted his head up slowly.
"Oh?" he said, amused.
"So you're the one keeping it alive."
The temple shook violently.
"I AM A SPIRIT GIVEN FORM," it roared.
"I AM THE WILL OF THIS TEMPLE!"
Renewal studied it with interest, his eyes sharp and cold.
"A spirit… that took the shape of a temple," he muttered.
"How convenient."
The temple's voice boomed again.
"What do you want, human?"
Renewal smiled.
"I want you," he said calmly,
"to enter my Spirit Realm."
The temple froze.
"Feed the Taotie," Renewal continued.
"Heal its injuries. Keep it alive."
Rage exploded outward.
"You DARE COMMAND ME?!"
Renewal's smile vanished.
In its place—pure coldness.
"Refuse," he said flatly,
"and I kill it."
The Taotie let out a weak, terrified sound.
The temple stopped shaking.
Slowly… its massive doors softened, warping like flesh. A grotesque, rubber-like face formed upon them, twisted in hatred.
"You insignificant human," it hissed,
"do you know who you threaten?"
Renewal waved his hand dismissively.
"If you want to survive with it," he said,
"then listen."
The temple trembled.
"…I swear," it growled, "one day I will kill you."
Renewal laughed.
"Good," he said.
"Then we have a deal."
With a sharp motion, he hurled the Taotie forward.
The temple doors opened wide, swallowing the massive beast whole before sealing shut with a deafening boom.
Renewal placed a hand over his stomach.
"Spirit Realm," he muttered.
"Open."
The world seemed to tear.
An enormous surge of soul energy erupted outward, distorting space itself. From above, a small, star-like core descended—glowing faintly—before sinking into Renewal's body.
Inside his Spirit Realm…
An endless sea of blood stretched in all directions.
The star plunged into it, disappearing beneath the crimson waves.
The temple spirit recoiled.
"So much blood…" it whispered in disgust.
"So many dead…"
Renewal stepped forward, ignoring it.
He lifted his gaze toward the sky beyond the ruins.
"The whole world," he said quietly,
"is hunting me."
He exhaled slowly.
"…Ah."
His breath turned cold.
Too cold.
His body temperature rose unnaturally, heat clashing violently with the chill spreading through his veins.
Renewal frowned.
"That's strange," he muttered.
"It isn't even hot."
A thin smile crept across his face, revealing his teeth.
Then—
His legs gave out.
He collapsed onto the ground, clutching his chest as pain surged through him. His breathing became shallow, uneven, each breath colder than the last.
"Why…" he whispered,
"a fever… now…?"
His vision blurred.
"…Wait."
Is this my end today
Ahhh …ahhh….ahhh so boring death i haven't