The whistling wind shifted from a piercing shriek to a dull, rhythmic thrum, like the low breathing of some ancient behemoth. Li An did not panic as the System had predicted. Instead, he kept his eyes shut, letting the violent crush of gravity squeeze his already shattered internal organs. At this moment, he actually savored the sensation of weightlessness. It was more than a frantic escape—it was his first "departure" from this distorted, suffocating world, conducted entirely on his own terms.
Thump—!
Accompanied by a violent shudder and a spray of silt, Li An slammed onto the riverbank deep beneath the apothecary. This was the edge of the Valley's Forbidden Zone, a place untouched by the sun and perpetually shrouded in thick mist. Only the eerie green phosphorescence of the water illuminated his battered, broken frame.
[Host! Warning! Warning! The Divine Beast bloodline is devouring your consciousness due to extreme overexertion! Life signs falling to critical levels!] The System's frantic voice flashed like a searing red light in his mind, an apocalyptic alarm.
"Heh..."
Li An lay prone on the icy shingle, his ten fingers digging deep into the mud, blood mingled with grit seeping from beneath his nails. A blurred chuckle escaped him, only to be replaced by a violent coughing fit. Thick clumps of blood spilled from his lips, instantly staining the small, stagnant pool beneath him a dark, wretched crimson.
"Exactly as I planned," he rasped, his voice laced with a bone-chilling coldness.
With agonizing effort, he rolled over to lie supine on the damp bank. His snow-white tiger ears were matted and messy with blood; his once ethereal, cold countenance now radiated a haunting, decadent beauty under the ghostly glow.
He was about to do something everyone would deem insane.
"System, initiate 'Spirit Root Remolding'."
[Host! This is too dangerous! The original body possesses the purest Divine Beast bloodline. 'Remolding' means you must personally shatter your current cultivation and forcibly convert the 'Sacred' attribute into 'Baleful Qi'! You will die from the pain! This body cannot carry such destructive power!]
"If I don't break it, how can I kill those 'Grand Masters' who pride themselves on their lofty purity?" Li An's eyes burned in the dark, lit by the fires of absolute hatred smoldering within his sickly frame. "In this Valley, a 'Sacred Relic' is nothing but a caged plaything. Only by becoming a Demon can I make them tremble."
As Li An's will solidified, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from the depths of his sea of consciousness.
Step One: Bone-Breaking.
Crack— Snap—!
The crisp sound of bones fracturing echoed through the deathly silent abyss, a sound that made the skin crawl. Li An did not use any System-provided painkillers; he wanted to remember every throb of this agony. The top-tier spiritual pills Leng Heng had force-fed him to keep him as a "Living Cauldron" now became the ultimate fuel. The spiritual energy that once flowed gently through his meridians was twisted into a thousand tiny blades by his own hand, carving through his veins and crushing his bones inch by inch from the inside out.
Sweat mingled with blood, instantly soaking the black stones beneath him. Li An clenched his teeth so hard they threatened to shatter. Even as he bit through his lip, he didn't utter a single plea for mercy.
Step Two: Marrow-Devouring.
"Ah—!"
A suppressed, guttural low growl finally tore from his throat, his voice raspy with pain. His white tiger ears twitched violently. The fur, once as pure as fallen snow, began to seep an ominous, dark crimson from the roots.
He was using that last lingering drop of "Essence Red" to forcibly devour the medicinal properties Leng Heng had left in his body. He stripped away the cultivation built by those precious herbs as if flaying his own skin and pulling out his own tendons. The "Sanctity" of this body was brutally annihilated, replaced by a cold, violent aura of slaughter.
Step Three: Manifestation of Demonic Marks.
As the final shred of "Sacred" aura was utterly shredded, Li An's body convulsed from the extreme toll. His breathing became incredibly faint, like a silken thread ready to snap at any moment.
However, beneath that pale, translucent skin, black-and-red demonic marks began to spread like creeping vines from his heart. The patterns snaked over his thin collarbones, wrapped around his slender neck, and finally reached the corners of his eyes in a haunting display.
He opened his eyes. Those golden slit-pupils were now filmed with a haunting, ghostly violet hue.
[Ding! Divine Beast Bloodline Remolding Successful. Current Status: Fallen Divine Beast (Growth Stage). Acquired Passive Skill: 'Violent Scent'. Warning: Due to the Host's extreme physical weakness, demonic power will be maintained at the cost of life force.]
Li An leaned against the icy stone wall, slowly rising from the pool of blood.
His body still trembled slightly from the residual agony, and his thin, fragile back looked as though it might shatter at the slightest touch. Yet, he now radiated a violent, profound, and predatory aura. He was no longer a pet to be kept.
He lowered his head, looking at the silver chain around his ankle—the symbol of his humiliation.
The artifact Leng Heng had personally forged to lock a soul was, in the eyes of the current Li An, nothing more than a piece of rotting wood.
He slowly extended his right hand. His fingernails elongated in an instant, becoming as black and sharp as dark iron. Without any flashy technique, he gripped the chain with deceptive lightness and squeezed.
Clang— Shatter!
The chain capable of imprisoning a Great Circle Golden Core cultivator shattered into a spray of silver shards between his fingers.
Li An lifted his foot, grinding the debris into the dirt with a cold, mocking sneer.
He walked to the water's edge, staggering slightly, and looked at his reflection. It was a Li An he had never seen—eyes etched with demonic marks, brows arched with disdain and wild arrogance. The sickly pallor and the sinister markings intertwined to create a breathtakingly cruel beauty. He had fallen. He was a Demon.
He offered a cruel, satisfied smile to the reflection, his finger tracing the demonic marks at the corner of his eye.
"This is how I should have looked all along, isn't it?"
He was in no rush to flee. Instead, he reached down, scooped up a handful of cold, wet mud, and smeared it over his tiger ears, masking that final trace of pure white. He knew the madmen outside would be coming soon.
He would stay in this abyss. Before those self-righteous "orthodoxy" followers could step into this darkness, he would prepare a magnificent gift—one sufficient to bury the entire Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines.