Chapter 1: 1.1 - Una
Inside an underground dungeon holding the evilest scums of human society, those sentenced to life or those on death row, there was a particular prisoner. Nobody, even the jailers, was aware of her sin, the crime that sent her into this predicament. The orders came from the higher-ups, that was all they needed to know.
Time passed unbearably slowly when you were despairing. Una had been in a state of utmost despair for 50 years. She's been like this since she was brought down from her status as the foremost genius of her generation to the pitiful wreck she is now.
She would have accepted it if it was a mere stumble on her path to immortality. But that horrible man ensured that she would never be able to rise again. This was the most painful point, more painful than the shame and humiliation she had been submitted to as 'He' devoured her cultivation slowly. Even her cultivation root wasn't spared.
Those stuck-up elders who had always been biased against her due to her status as an orphan of the mortal world couldn't have been any happier to see the legitimate heir of the Highest Heaven Lunar sect take all that was hers.
'They even sanctioned his actions. Despite knowing what atrocity he committed. What he did to me!!'
These thoughts swirled in her head all the time. It's just that as time passed, the initial fury, madness, and injustice she felt simply coalesced into a cold tranquil sea of resentment.
A sigh full of vicissitude came out of cracked lips surrounded by wrinkles. As someone who had lost all cultivation, she naturally aged like an ordinary human. 50 years were so painfully long for a mortal. Despite that, she conserved the same grace she had in the past.
Una looked at the candles burning in front of her cell. Without it, she would be in the dark as there was no other source of light in this filthy hole. Although her eyes seemed dull and murky, a devil-like mind was hidden in the depth of her pupils.
Was she resigned to this wretched fate? Of course not. Which cultivator, having reached the height that she had, would be?
This is why even now, being one foot in the grave, she was calculating, trying to find a way to stage a comeback. Not only for the sake of vengeance but the dream she nurtured long ago when she saw a cultivator flying above the clouds for the first time.
After a while, as the night almost gave way to the day, clarity returned to her eyes. A brightness that had been obscured appeared once again. A small smile appeared on her face.
"So, this is my last gamble. If it doesn't work…" She didn't complete her sentence as it was unnecessary. She took a calming breath and steadied her mind. After that, she sat cross-legged. What she needed for the upcoming task was an extreme focus. As such, she disregarded all unnecessary thoughts and entered into a peculiar state.
Slowly as if her hands were being weighed down by an incredible mass, they rose until her palms were almost against each other. Closer observation showed that they weren't in contact, there was still a fine space between them. She maintained that position for several hours.
Although she wasn't able to use her inner vision like in the past she remembered how manipulating her soul felt. The idea she had devised to break out of her current situation was insane, to say the least.
She had pioneered a method that would allow her to refine her soul and blood into a single whole. She called it the Soul Blood Method. The most difficult step of her method was the soul and blood fusion. As long as she succeeded, she would be able to absorb the blood of other beings to cultivate. And that was the most obvious benefit of this method.
The theory behind it seemed complicated but was simple. The first realm of cultivation was composed of three tiers: Essence tier, Spirit tier, and Soul tier. Each tier was spread into nine steps.
At the Essence tier, one absorbs the essence of the world, also called natural qi, and refined it into a Source. At the Spirit tier, the source produced spirit qi, a refined form of world essence. And finally at the Soul tier, one needs to fuse the soul and the source into one Divine Soul. From there, one can strengthen the Divine Soul and continue one path toward immortality.
Because of what was done to her, it was impossible for her to even step into the first tier, the Essence tier. The method she created would allow her to bypass the Essence and Spirit tiers and directly achieve the Soul tier. Of course, she wouldn't be as powerful as someone who progressively cultivated until this tier. However, as long as she had enough blood, she could make up for it pretty quickly.
She was at the ninth step of the Soul tier before disaster struck. And with the Soul Blood Method, she had the chance to regain her stripped cultivation. Or at least reach the same realm as before. As a bonus point, she would escape the inevitable decay brought about by mortality.
Even if the slightest mistake could condemn her to damnation without a chance at reincarnation, she decided to bet her very own future on this. She had effectively backed herself into a corner.
Her face got paler and paler. She was like a candle flame that would be extinguished at the slightest wind. Sweat streamed along the lines of her face and her respiration became slower and slower.
The pain of the procedure made her bit her lips until blood came out but she didn't scream. This was nothing compared to the pain of having her cultivation stolen. Just as it felt like she was going to die, her cheeks flushed and became rosy.
Vitality surged back into her body like rain on dry land. Quickly, her emaciated body filled up regaining the figure of her youth. Her skin stretched and became smooth and unblemished. In a matter of a few seconds, the old lady left her place for a stunning young woman, not older than 18 years. The only trace of her age was in the white coloration of her hair and the experience marked on her bearing.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and the murkiness of her eyes was purged by a flash of lightning. Soon, the light receded and left mesmerizing red eyes seeming to contain a blood sea.
She stood up gracefully and her figure shook slightly. Frantic joy came unbidden chasing the bitterness that had settled in her heart.
"Success!" Her smooth and charming voice startled her as she hadn't heard it in a long time. Her rosy lips curved into a beatific smile. With that smile, a flower seemed to bloom in the filthy prison. The flames on the candles lining the corridor of the underground dungeon flickered mysteriously.
She had instantly achieved the 1st step of the Soul tier. It was like leaping from the abyss into the highest heaven.
"Argh!?" The inmate in the cell facing her own let out a startled noise. In the dim light of the prison, he had seen the entire process. His mouth hung open in an almost comical manner.
Una smiled at him and he became dazed. In his eyes, she looked inhumanly beautiful. Una blurred outside of her cell as if the bars made of iron were illusory. The
old man fell on his butt as a scream worked its way out of his throat. Sadly, before he could alert the guards, she was before him. Inside his cell.
His eyes rose and met hers. She put a hand on his forehead and his veins bulged. The pain was abysmal but he couldn't voice it out. The last thought he had before his death was :
"A d-devil!!?"
Una retrieved her hand calmly as her face flushed charmingly. She felt like she took the greatest tonic ever as strength filled her limbs. Unfortunately, the feeling disappeared after a few seconds. She looked at the old man's corpse with disgust.
"As expected, he is but a mortal, the benefits after devouring his blood are not worth mentioning." The comment was cold and void of humanity. She didn't feel bad for the murder she just committed. After all, this man was a serial rapist who only escaped death row because he was the father of a city official.
"Thankfully, this prison is full of criminals. There are at least 50 of them." She didn't have to worry about killing an innocent. In this place, beside her, none of them were innocent. She knew this because the guards often talked about the crimes committed by these scums. She wasn't a paragon of righteousness, not after what she went through, but she wasn't so far gone on the morality spectrum yet.
At least, she believed so.
Una's eyes glowed a terrifying crimson as she went to her next prey. Before long, no breathing could be heard in the entire prison.
That night, the entire inhabitants of the underground dungeon guards excluded perished mysteriously. When the coroner arrived at the scene, he concluded that the corpses were all devoid of blood. Not one drop remained in them. This brought about the rumor of a blood-devouring monster. A rumor that plunged the entire city into chaos. Of course, this wasn't Una's concern. She was already far away from the city by that point.
…
Una was seated in a lotus position on a rock facing a raging river. She had replaced her prison rags with some proper clothing on the way. The azure robe she was currently wearing was courtesy of a rich madam from the city.
She was now in a forest situated 3 days away from the city. She had stopped here to cultivate as she sensed the presence of various demonic beasts while flying above. With her current cultivation, she could only face beasts at the 9th step of the Spirit tier. Because of this, she limited herself to the forest and didn't step beyond, the mountain range situated behind it.
She could vaguely feel enormous auras coming from those mountains. Auras at the Soul tier. The current her couldn't face them. The Soul tier for beast meant taking human form. It meant breaking free from their limited wisdom. Simply speaking, a Soul tier beast was more often than not stronger than his human counterpart.
At regular intervals, she would raise her hand, and inevitably a fish would jump out of the water onto the land. This bizarre scene was due to her practicing a spell. It was the most basic spell of the Highest Heaven Lunar sect, the Moon Fishing spell.
It had been a while since she fought something or someone as such she wanted to polish some of her old tricks. Abruptly, a growl came from her side. She slowly turned her head and came face to face with a wolf twice the size of the average man and possessing two heads.
"I didn't seek you when I arrived and you came to deliver yourself? How very kind." Una said derisively.
The demonic wolf snarled and crouched, its whole figure radiating hostility. Although demonic beasts couldn't understand human language with its cultivation level, the wolf could perceive that it was being made fun of. Naturally, 'It' wasn't too pleased about it.
Una looked at the wolf and raised her hand. If that beast didn't know how to differentiate between prey and predator, she didn't mind teaching it. Suddenly, a pulling force was born from her palm.
Unable to resist the wolf's paws left the ground. In a panicked state, it tried to twist and free itself from the bizarre pull. Unfortunately, it couldn't even struggle against this force.
As the wolf floated before her, Una placed her hand on its silky fur. At a speed visible to the naked eye, the glowing fur became dull, then fell off. The flesh underneath became emaciated as if some entity was sucking all moisture from the wolf's body with an invisible straw.
The light left the eyes of the beast and Una released the pull she was exercising on it. The corpse fell lightly on the ground as if a big part of its weight had disappeared.
"See? I told you. You were only delivering yourself." Una murmured.
Looking at the corpse, she wondered who was more miserable, herself or the wolf who didn't know how to pick its prey?
"Definitely me." She answered her own question, a sardonic smile on her lips.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone