A warm power gathered at the center of her palm, flowing through the lightning-shaped patterns and slowly circulating through the meridians of her body!
From palm to arm, from arm to heart, from heart to every part of her body…
Soon, Feng Wuxie's entire body felt clear and incredibly comfortable.
When Feng Wuxie opened her eyes, she was stunned once again.
Before her was no longer the shabby room she had been in moments ago, but an ancient tower more magnificent and imposing than any palace!
The ancient tower had red walls and gray tiles, soaring straight into the clouds, its true height impossible to estimate…
"See this? This ancient tower is the energy space within your hand seal. Inside this space are countless treasures and martial technique manuals. As long as you can break free from your useless constitution, this place will completely transform you!"
"That awesome?" Feng Wuxie couldn't help but crane her neck, exclaiming in amazement.
"Don't get your hopes up!"
The voice came again, its mocking tone even stronger than before:
"The hand seal in your hand can appear, and it can also disappear. This space has its own spirit and its own conditions for choosing a master. You have the fortune to see it, but you don't yet have the qualification to enter it! Right now, you're nothing but a waste, wandering outside the gate without even the strength to push the door open!"
"Damn it!" Feng Wuxie couldn't help but curse. "Then why did you call me here? To mess with me?"
The man let out a disdainful snort:
"I'm here to remind you that there's a seal inside your body. It's because of this seal that your soul power has dissipated. As long as you can break the seal, your soul power will naturally return. Then you can train to become a Soul Artist and no longer be a waste. Once you become a Soul Artist, you'll have the initial qualification to push open the door to this space. But having the qualification isn't enough—there are countless doors inside the space, each with its own level. You must continuously improve yourself to open more doors, enter more rooms, and obtain more resources."
"Is my gun in here too?" Feng Wuxie asked.
The man replied:
"The gun is on the third level of the space—in my hands. Earlier, because you had just arrived and the space's energy was unstable, the gun accidentally ended up in your hands. Now you can no longer summon this weapon. You'll have to wait until your cultivation level is high enough before the gun will respond to your call."
Feng Wuxie didn't waste words and asked directly:
"What do I need to do to break that damn seal of mine? Will this space stay here waiting for me to become a Soul Artist and push open the door? It won't disappear, right?"
"You're thinking too optimistically. This space will only wait for you for one month. If you can't push open the space's door within that month, it will vanish."
Feng Wuxie suddenly felt like she had been tricked onto a pirate ship—she only had one month to restore her soul power, break some seal, train to become a Soul Artist, and push open the door to this space. That was practically a fantasy!
She was still completely in the dark, having no idea what this world even was!
But the owner of the voice seemed to be able to read her mind, understanding her thoughts completely, and actually offered her some comfort:
"Don't worry too much. During this month, I'll be helping you all the way."
Hearing this, Feng Wuxie's eyes lit up, but then she thought of something and gave a cold smile, asking:
"Don't make it sound so nice. Tell me—what's your condition for helping me?"
"Heh, at least you're a little clever."
He said:
"The condition is simple. I'll guide you on your path, and you'll hunt evil spirits for me. I need to devour the souls of thirty thousand evil spirits to restore my primordial spirit. Only after my primordial spirit is restored can I leave this space. As for what evil spirits are, I'll tell you when you encounter them."
Feng Wuxie looked up at the towering structure that pierced the clouds, a bright, bold, and confident smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
She spoke two words: "Deal."
With the deal struck, Feng Wuxie asked, "Since we'll be seeing each other often from now on, what's your name?"
"I've lived for so long that I've forgotten my name…"
"Then what exactly are you? Human or ghost?"
—Having experienced so many bizarre things, Feng Wuxie had long grown accustomed to all kinds of creatures on this continent. A ghost wouldn't even be surprising.
"I am neither human nor ghost. I merely understand human language. My true form is a crow that has been sleeping in this space for ten thousand years. Throughout these ten thousand years, I have been guarding this space's treasure tower."
After a pause, he added emphatically: "I'm male."
"Pfft! Of course I know you're male! I could tell from your voice!"
Feng Wuxie burst out laughing:
"You slept for ten thousand years—did you forget your name because you slept too long?"
She had only been joking, but to her surprise, the other party actually seemed a bit embarrassed and softly let out an "Mm."
"Then how about I give you a name? Otherwise, I'll have to keep calling you Crow, and I bet that would ruffle your feathers."
Feng Wuxie stroked her chin in thought for a moment, then finally said:
"Ya Sha—how does that name sound? Someone from our world once wrote a line that goes, 'Slay all crows across the three thousand worlds,' meaning to slaughter every crow in all realms to break through the darkness. I really like that line, even though it might not be the most auspicious for you, haha."
"Whatever. I don't care about names."
"Then you'll be Ya Sha! Hey, Brother Ya Sha, can you show yourself so I can see what you look like?"
To be honest, Feng Wuxie was a bit curious—what exactly did a crow that could speak human language and had lived for ten thousand years look like?
"No need to look. I'm handsome—the most handsome crow under heaven." Ya Sha said flatly.
"…" Feng Wuxie was struck speechless, utterly dumbfounded. She thought to herself, this guy is really a proud, narcissistic bird-man!
Feng Wuxie manipulated her consciousness and slowly withdrew from the space, not forgetting to throw a jab before leaving:
"Fine, don't show me then! It's not like I've never seen a crow before!"
With that, she turned around and gradually faded from view.
In the sky of the Illusion Realm, the man manifested from the crow gazed down at Feng Wuxie's slowly vanishing silhouette—
His dark robes billowed fiercely in the wind, his pitch-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and his crimson eyes gleamed with a malevolence as if stained with fresh blood.
Beneath his ribs grew a pair of black-feathered wings that blotted out the sky, casting a vast and ominous shadow like a curtain of dread.
It was a face capable of toppling nations, paired with a cold, bloodthirsty expression of indifference.
He was like a demon of the underworld, looking down upon all living beings with utter contempt—
An ancient Ferocious Beast that had slumbered for ten thousand years, now awakened.
Too bad Feng Wuxie didn't get to see it…