37: Chapter 37 Breakthrough to the Second Stage, Abnormalities in the Sea of ​​Consciousness

Time flowed... In the blink of an eye.

Five months later.

In Wu Li's Sea of Consciousness, the Soul fire had grown to its limit. After the final wisp of power from the blood crystal was injected, the Soul fire suddenly exploded, transforming into countless tiny flames that flooded into every corner of the Sea of Consciousness.

Demon Power surged out from the Dantian like a tidal wave, rushing along the Meridians and scouring every inch of flesh and blood.

"Boom!!"

An invisible wave of Qi exploded from within Wu Li, causing the water in the pool to splash several feet high and shaking the light barrier of the Spirit Gathering Array until it trembled slightly.

Wu Li's physique grew visibly larger by a circle. Its feathers became denser and glossier, shimmering with a cold, metallic luster. Its talons also became sharper, with a greater curve, resembling four miniature sickles.

"Break!"

"Caw caw~"

Following Wu Li's roar, the Tier 1 aura on its body instantly broke through, entering the ranks of Tier 2 Demonic Beasts, equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage of the Human Race!

"Boom~~"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

The aftermath spread.

That aura belonging to a Tier 2 Demonic Beast surged out from the Limestone Cave like a tidal wave, passing through the narrow gaps between stone pillars, crossing the dense Stone Forest, and spreading out in all directions.

In the Stone Forest.

Over a hundred crows were perched atop the stone pillars; some were dozing, some were preening their feathers, and some were vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Over the past five months, they had grown accustomed to this Stone Forest and the Death Qi of the Mass Grave. Even under the nourishment of this Death Qi, Hei Yu and Bai Chi had both broken through into the ranks of Tier 1 Demonic Beasts, while the remaining Heida, Heier, and Heisan were all hovering at the Peak of Spirit Enlightenment.

"Hmm?"

"Caw caw~"

Hei Yu and Bai Chi looked toward the depths of the Limestone Cave in unison; that pressure, which a Tier 1 Demonic Beast could not resist, pressed down upon every crow like a mountain.

Hei Yu was the first to react; it jerked its head up, gazing toward the direction of the Limestone Cave, a flash of disbelief in its eyes.

"Old Ancestor... has broken through?"

Before the words had even faded, that aura had already swept across the entire Stone Forest.

"Caw!!" Hei Yu opened its beak, letting out a sharp crow cry.

"Caw caw caw~" Bai Chi, Heida, Heier, and Heisan followed suit, and then over a hundred crows cried out in unison.

"Caw~~ caw caw~~ caw~~" For a time, the entire Stone Forest was filled with the cries of crows. A hundred crows called out together, the sound shaking the surroundings, and even the Death Qi above the Mass Grave was shaken slightly apart.

The sound of the crow cries traveled very far; even the Yao Beasts in the distant mountains raised their heads, looking toward this desolate Stone Forest, flashes of wariness in their eyes.

Of course.

It was not just nearby entities that were affected.

There was also the Mass Grave.

At the same time the hundred crows cried out, deep in the Mass Grave adjacent to the Stone Forest, a grave mound suddenly trembled slightly.

The soil on the grave mound fell away with a rustling sound, revealing a greenish-gray tombstone beneath. Blurred characters were carved on the tombstone, and it was no longer clear what was written.

Beneath the grave mound, there was a self-contained Yin Domain.

Gray-black Death Qi condensed into substance here, like a layer of thick fog, shrouding the entire Yin Domain within.

In the Yin Domain, ghost fires flickered eerily, now bright, now dim, casting a strange, pale green light.

In the center of the Yin Domain, a stone coffin lay quietly.

At this moment, the lid of the stone coffin was half-open, and a fair arm rested on the edge of the coffin. The five fingers were slender, and the nails were painted with dark red nail polish.

"So noisy!"

A sharp voice came from the stone coffin, carrying exasperated anger.

The lid of the stone coffin was suddenly pushed open, and a red figure sat up from the coffin.

It was a female ghost, with delicate features, eyebrows and eyes like a painting, and a head of black hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall.

She was wearing a bright red wedding dress, with golden Phoenixes embroidered on the skirt, which shimmered with a cold, eerie light in the glow of the ghost fires.

The female ghost's skin was fair to the point of being almost transparent, and one could vaguely see the blue veins beneath her skin. She covered her ears, her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes were full of irritation.

"These damn crows!"

"This lady can't take it anymore! Wait until tonight, this lady is going to stew all of you!"

The red-clad female ghost floated out from the stone coffin, her feet off the ground, hovering in mid-air. She raised her head, her gaze piercing through the thick Death Qi, looking toward the direction of the Stone Forest.

The movements in all directions were different.

Meanwhile, inside the Limestone Cave, Wu Li, having broken through, was not overly excited. Wu Li crouched on the bluestone, the aura around its body slowly receding, and the pressure of a Tier 2 Demonic Beast retreated into its body like a tidal wave.

"Tier 2..."

Everything was even better than he had expected.

But there was no excitement in Wu Li's eyes, only a hint of gloom.

The power of the blood crystal was too strong.

He had been greedy for the Breakthrough, absorbing it too quickly and in too great a quantity, causing the power of blood resentment that had accumulated in the blood crystal for who knows how many years to surge into his body along with the Demon Power.

At this moment.

Wu Li's Sea of Consciousness suddenly surged.

Those powers of blood resentment condensed into shapes within the Sea of Consciousness, transforming into countless blurred figures. Old men, children, men, women—each one had a ferocious appearance, their features twisted, their eyes filled with resentment and poison.

They stood on the opposite side of the Sea of Consciousness, dense and packed, like a gray-black tide, surrounding the entire Sea of Consciousness completely.

"Return my life..." An old man's voice came from the crowd, hoarse and aged, like wind blowing through withered tree branches.

"I died so miserably..."

"It hurts! It hurts so much!" A child's voice followed, sharp and shrill, like a cry squeezed out from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds.

Those figures began to change; at times becoming old men, withered and gaunt with hollow eye sockets, at times becoming children, covered in blood and grime with mouths split to their ears, and finally becoming women, their long hair covering their faces, their nails like hooks.

They roared, cried, and screamed, their voices mingling together like a jarring dirge, echoing in Wu Li's Sea of Consciousness.

"Help us get revenge..."

"Kill those Cultivators..."

"They slaughtered our village..."

"You took our power, so you must get revenge for us..."

"Otherwise, we will pester you forever..."

"Forever..."

The voices were now far, now near, now loud, now soft, like countless flies buzzing in the ears.

Those figures of resentment began to close in on Wu Li, stretching out withered arms, wanting to grab him, wanting to drag him into that gray-black tide.

Wu Li stood in the center of the Sea of Consciousness, his expression calm. In his bean-sized black pupils, there was no fear, no panic, only a calmness bordering on indifference.

He looked at those ferocious resentments, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a cold sneer.

"A bunch of rotten fish and shrimp, and you dare to threaten me?"

"Whoever killed you, go find them."

Wu Li's voice was not loud, but it echoed in the Sea of Consciousness, drowning out those cries and roars, devoid of any emotion.

"Roar!!" Once these words were spoken, the reactions of those resentments became even more intense.

Their faces became even more ferocious, their features twisted to the point that they were almost unrecognizable as human.

Some opened their blood-red maws, revealing mouths full of sharp teeth; some had blood tears streaming from their eyes, dripping down their cheeks; some clutched their heads with both hands, frantically tearing at their own hair.

Compared to these tragic sights, what Wu Li was more puzzled by was...

With his Divine Soul strength as a Tier 2 Demonic Beast, how could he possibly form such a Sea of Consciousness space?

The wailing continued.

"We died so miserably!"

"You took our things, so you must get revenge for us!"

"Those Cultivators... those Cultivators wearing green dharma robes..."

"They hacked us with swords... burned us with fire..."

"My child... my child was only three years old..."

The voices grew sharper and more shrill, like invisible knives stabbing toward Wu Li's Sea of Consciousness.

Those figures of resentment roared frantically, their voices exploding in Wu Li's Sea of Consciousness like countless thunderclaps. They simultaneously stretched out their withered arms, pointing in unison at Wu Li, flames of poisonous resentment burning in their hollow eye sockets.

"You are a Daoist!"

"You must get revenge for us!"

"Otherwise, we will become your Heart Demon and pester you forever! Forever!"

The voices were sharp and grating, like a curse squeezed out from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, echoing in the Sea of Consciousness and lingering for a long time.

Wu Li stood in the center of the Sea of Consciousness, his expression calm. The cold sneer had just appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he was about to speak... Suddenly, his pupils shrank sharply.

"Daoist?" There was a hint of confusion and a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Wu Li lowered his head and looked at himself. He was still himself, a crow, a Tier 2 Demonic Beast crow. But beneath his feet, he was standing on a person's shoulder.

Wu Li's pupils dilated sharply. He spread his wings and flew, leaping from that person's shoulder and landing in mid-air. Looking back, that person was standing in the center of the Sea of Consciousness, wearing a gray-white Daoist robe, hair tied up, face thin and gaunt, eyes filled with an evil, strange light.

That person was...

The Wu Li of the previous life.

Wu Li's eyes were wide open, his mind a complete blank.

The face of the previous life, the Daoist robe of the previous life, the gaze of the previous life; that Evil Path Cultivator from the Age of Dharma Decline, that Wu Li who would stop at nothing to seek immortality, that Wu Li who failed the Undergoing Tribulation and Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, was standing in his Sea of Consciousness at this moment.

That human-shaped Wu Li had exceptionally hollow eyes, with no focus in the pupils, like two pools of stagnant water. His body was slightly transparent, like a wisp of remnant Soul that could dissipate at any moment. But at this moment, his head slowly turned, and his hollow gaze fell upon Wu Li in mid-air.

Their eyes met.

Wu Li's throat felt as if it were being choked by something, and he could not say a single word. He saw himself, the self of the previous life, the self that had already died.

The human-shaped Wu Li's mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint, indifferent smile. There was no hatred or unwillingness in that smile, only a sense of relief, as if he had put down a burden carried for a lifetime. Then, that Soul light performed a final Daoist salute toward Wu Li and nodded slowly.

Then.

His body began to disintegrate.

Thousands of Soul lights surged out from his body, merging into Wu Li's Yao Soul.

Finally... the Wu Li of the previous life completely dissipated.

From this moment on, there was no longer the Evil Path Cultivator Wu Li from the Age of Dharma Decline in the world, only the Mysterious Crow Wu Li.

The moment the Wu Li of the previous life dissipated, the entire Sea of Consciousness space began to shake violently.

Those gray-black tides surged endlessly, the boundaries of the Sea of Consciousness trembled, and cracks spread through the Void Realm, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Wu Li crouched in mid-air, his bean-sized black pupils sweeping across the surroundings, his expression calm, without a trace of panic. He closed his eyes, feeling the changes in his Yao Soul.

The Soul fragments of the previous life had completely merged into his Yao Soul, and the strength of the Yao Soul was more than double what it had been when he broke through to Tier 2.

"Hoo..." Wu Li opened his eyes.

The Yao Soul was strong enough; the more means he could employ. The techniques in the Blood Eye Pagoda Sutra that required powerful Soul Power to activate could now finally be attempted.

The Sea of Consciousness was still shaking; those figures of resentment struggled and roared in the gray-black tide, their faces even more ferocious, their voices even more shrill.

They felt the changes in Wu Li's Yao Soul and felt that power that made them fear.

"You... what did you do?" A resentment shrieked, for the first time, fear appearing in its voice.

Wu Li did not answer. He turned his head, looking at those resentments, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a cold sneer.

"Born as humans, under the great trend of events, you knew not how to fight for your lives, nor how to avoid calamity."

"Tell me, if you do not die, who will?"