Hei Shisan straightened. "You'll need to maintain proper energy output. We need total eruption. More than what you think would be enough. Remember: Alert as many of them as possible."
Jin Huang flexed his fingers, golden silk-like energy weaving between them as he utilized the energy gathering method outlined in the journal. "I can manage that."
"Good. Because once the stronger beasts appear, you cannot retreat," Hei Shisan smacked Jin Huang on the shoulder.
"I won't."
Xu Ye stared at them both. "You're insane."
Hei Shisan nodded. "Perish the thought! We are men! This is simply how men should be! Hahaha!"
The rain began to fall again- heavy droplets striking obsidian with sharp, hollow sounds. Steam rose faintly where crimson lightning touched the surface.
The air thickened, and demonic energy stirred.
Jin Huang stepped forward. Immediately, the golden pulse within him synchronized with the oppressive pressure in the air, each breath he took giving him just a tiny bit of fuel.
His body reacted like a star collapsing inward before expanding outward with each breath. Exhaling slowly, he said, "Let's wake them up, then."
Hei Shisan stood behind him. "Give 'em hell."
Jin Huang chuckled, "And then some."
Xu Ye climbed to his feet reluctantly. "Don't die."
Jin Huang rushed off, descending the slope toward Obsidian City with heavy footsteps that cracked the obsidian floor. The further he went, the darker the ground became. The cracks he left behind glowed brighter with the residue of his energy.
Ahead of him, shadowy shapes began to move at the edge of his perception. Low growls rolled across the terrain.
Jin Huang's golden aura flared. A bold declaration.
The first demonic beast emerged from behind a jagged pillar of obsidian. Then another. Then five more. Their forms were grotesque- horned, scaled, many-limbed, stitched together by shadow and flesh.
They hesitated when they saw him. The longing for his flesh returned, but so too did the fear he inspired. Most of them, however, refused to turn tail and run again.
Jin Huang grinned slowly.
Hei Shisan, holding Xu Ye like luggage, stepped with incredible speed, but maintained a safe distance from Jin Huang, merging with shadows.
Xu Ye muttered, "This is a terrible idea."
Jin Huang cracked his neck as even more golden energy ignited beneath his skin.
Thunder split the sky, an indication of the start of battle.
The first beast lunged, and the war for the heart of Obsidian City began.
The first beast lunged, and the war for the heart of Obsidian City began.
It came low and fast- six limbs scraping against obsidian, a jaw unhinging far wider than nature intended, its breath the stench of rot and iron.
Jin Huang stepped into the attack, golden energy surging through the lattice of his muscles, the way the journal had outlined. In a single, decisive burst, his fist met the beast's skull and imploded bone.
The creature's head caved in with a thunderous crack, its body flipping over Jin Huang and skidding across the black stone in a spray of dark ichor.
He exhaled, and the golden aura around him brightened.
"Even louder," Hei Shisan whispered from the shadows.
Jin Huang obliged as if he could hear.
He stomped forward, driving his heel into the ground. The obsidian fractured outward in jagged veins, glowing faintly where his energy soaked into it. He inhaled deeply, then roared.
"DEMONS! YOUR FATHER HAS RETURNED!"
The sound ripped through the rain and thunder, rolled down the descending terrain, and slammed against the outermost structures of Obsidian City.
The beasts answered, coming in a tide.
Scaled hounds with molten veins charged. Towering, bull-like monstrosities crowned with serrated horns exhaled thick puffs of miasmatic smoke. Long-bodied serpentine horrors dragged themselves with clawed arms. Some were stitched with shadow; others looked carved from solid night.
They rushed him, and Jin Huang laughed so loud that Xu Ye almost passed out despite both his ears being plugged.
"MWAHAHAHA! YOU'VE ALL BEEN NAUGHTY! TIME FOR A SPANKING!"
Golden threads wove around his forearms as he launched himself into the horde, shouting like a maniac. He didn't even move like a cultivator relying on distant techniques, but like a deranged lunatic who thought he was indestructible.
A wild kick shattered ribs and send him rolling forward onto the floor.
A backhand tore through a throat, and carelessly slammed into jagged obsidian pillars, scattering debris.
An elbow strike sent shockwaves rippling through clustered bodies and caused miniature earthquakes.
He was chasing both efficiency and spectacle. In other words, he was executing the plan perfectly.
Each strike exploded outward, each impact cracking the obsidian ground, each roar louder than the last. He made sure the city would hear him.
Behind him, Hei Shisan darted between pillars of black glass, occasionally flicking a finger. A small shard of obsidian would shift at the last second, causing a charging beast to stumble directly into Jin Huang's waiting fist.
"See, Ye-Ye? This is how men fight! Dirty. Precise. Perfect."
Xu Ye, dragged along and set down behind a tall spike of stone, peeked around it and muttered, "I've never identified less with my fellow men."
More beasts poured in, the slope growing steeper as Jin Huang advanced. The air thickened- heavy, almost syrupy. Demonic energy and abyssal rain pressed against his skin, seeping into his pores. Every breath was a smooth inhalation of that foul energy, but Jin Huang was only becoming more and more delighted.
Instead of resisting it, he devoured it completely.
His dantian pulsed in rhythm as his Energy Gathering cultivation stabilized further and even started to slowly advance. The chaotic currents within him were smoothing into something deliberate.
His breaths deepened unconsciously, each inhalation pulling in even more demonic energy and forcing it through the unique pathways of his body.
He could almost feel the difference inside of him as he fought. There was no refinement and separation, only compression and savage absorption.
Where others would circulate gingerly through their meridians, his body forced more energy into his meridians than they could handle. However, it did not even stop there. It forced energy into his flesh and bones, his nerves and blood- every cell within him.
A horned titan charged him- three times his height, shoulders bristling with spikes.
Jin Huang planted his feet and met it head-on, their collision splitting the rain around them.
For a moment, they strained against one another, then Jin Huang grinned.
"YOU CHEEKY BASTARD! COME LAY ACROSS MY LAP FOR A SPANKING!"
Golden light flared from his spine outward, rippling through his limbs. He twisted, hooked his arm beneath one massive horn, and flipped the creature over his shoulder with a roar that shook the slope.
It crashed down the descending terrain, smashing through lesser beasts like falling masonry.
The tide wavered, some of the outer beasts hesitating.
Then- exactly as Hei Shisan predicted- several broke rank and fled inward.
They ran toward the city- toward deeper territory and stronger beasts.
Jin Huang saw it and laughed harder.
"GO ON! CALL THOSE UNRULY CHILDREN!"
He leapt forward, deliberately striking the obsidian walls of a nearby structure. The impact sent cracks spidering across its surface and a shockwave echoing through the lower tiers.
"THEY WILL ALL FEEL THEIR FATHER'S WRATH! HAHAHA!"
The thunder joined in with him, a crimson flash, revealing the deeper levels of Obsidian City below, layer upon layer narrowing toward a darker center.
Something stirred down there.
A short distance away, Xu Ye stiffened as Hei Shisan leaned in excitedly.
"They heard," Xu Ye started. "The stronger beasts have been sent. I see them."
The mid-tier beasts soon emerged, but did not rush blindly.
They stepped forward with measured movements. They were taller, denser, their shadows heavier.
One was horse-like, bearing a mane of black flame. Another had only a single, massive eye glowing deep red on his humanoid body. The third moved like smoke wrapped around bone, having no distinct form that they could see.
Slowly but surely, more and more of them arrived, gathering behind the horse-like beast.