21: Chapter 21 Demon Seed

In the silent and dilapidated ruins, a sense of ancient desolation spread, while Ning Yuan was currently walking through the ruins.

Perhaps this place was once magnificent, but now only broken walls and debris remained.

Ning Yuan had been walking in the ruins for about half an hour, but he hadn't encountered a single living person.

Those he encountered along the way were either Cultivators whose blood had been sucked dry or skeletons from unknown years ago.

This sight sent a chill through Ning Yuan's heart; perhaps this so-called Legacy land held no Opportunity at all.

The only thing that gave Ning Yuan some comfort was that he hadn't been attacked by the Black Vines again.

This might be related to how Ning Yuan had kept his body shrouded in Extreme Yang Fire!

Although he hadn't encountered any attacks, a faint, intermittent feeling of being watched lingered in his mind.

This kept Ning Yuan from relaxing even a little, fearing an attack might spring from anywhere; otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died.

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past his eyes. Ning Yuan paused and immediately assumed a combat stance.

But after looking around, Ning Yuan found no trace of it, though he was certain the shadow was nearby.

That lingering feeling of being watched was especially strong now, so Ning Yuan was sure the shadow was still there, just waiting for an Opportunity.

Minutes and seconds passed. Ning Yuan didn't dare to be negligent, and beads of sweat began to seep from his forehead.

Under such a tense atmosphere, his body and mind were under immense pressure. Ning Yuan knew he couldn't go on like this.

Otherwise, he would surely be worn down to death. So, Ning Yuan decided to take the initiative, deliberately showing a flaw to lure the opponent into the trap.

At the moment Ning Yuan deliberately relaxed, the shadow, as expected, launched an attack.

A sharp claw lunged directly for Ning Yuan's heart, clearly aiming for a fatal blow.

"Caught you!"

But since Ning Yuan was prepared, he naturally wouldn't be hit. With a swift movement, he grabbed the incoming claw.

"Roar... Roar..."

The shadow immediately began to struggle frantically, letting out bursts of beast-like roars as if threatening Ning Yuan.

Its other claw kept attacking, but Ning Yuan blocked them all one by one.

Looking at the beast-like 'person' before him, Ning Yuan was incredibly surprised. He hadn't expected his attacker to be a 'person'.

Perhaps it should be called a 'person'; Ning Yuan couldn't really tell.

Its eyes were completely black with no whites, it kept roaring, and its body was covered in black markings—it looked entirely devoid of reason.

Judging by its tattered clothes, it was likely a Sect Disciple who had turned into this for some reason.

It was similar to the zombies in the movies from Ning Yuan's previous life. There might be fundamental differences, but in appearance, it was an otherworldly version of a zombie.

Ning Yuan sized it up, filled with curiosity: "What on earth is this? How can a person turn into this? Does this world have a zombie virus too?"

Unfortunately, no one could answer Ning Yuan's question, at least not now.

"Tsk tsk tsk! I'm suffering from a lack of knowledge. If I get a chance to leave, I must catch up on my reading!"

Ning Yuan shook his head and sighed, realizing for the first time how important studying was.

How to handle this 'person' before him became a dilemma: to kill or not to kill.

Killing it felt like a waste; after all, it was currently the only living thing, and he might get some clues from it.

If he didn't kill it, he didn't seem to be able to control it. Keeping it would mean having to guard against it causing trouble—a minor but nagging threat.

Just as Ning Yuan was pondering what to do, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

How could I have forgotten this!

Perhaps I can control this 'person'!

Bang!

No sooner said than done. Ning Yuan threw it to the ground with force, then quickly formed hand seals, and a Demon Seed rapidly took shape in his hand.

Once the Demon Seed was formed, he immediately planted it in its head, then Ning Yuan quickly retreated to guard against any accidents.

The moment the Demon Seed was planted, it began to frantically destroy everything around it, letting out painful howls as if only destruction could alleviate its agony.

This was also Ning Yuan's first time performing the Dao Heart Seed Demon, so he didn't know if the current situation was normal.

He also felt an intermittent connection forming between himself and it, like an unstable network signal.

After the connection was established, Ning Yuan roughly understood the situation. There was a force inside its body fighting against the Demon Seed, which was why it was in such pain.

This also made Ning Yuan realize that it was being controlled by someone else, and the person controlling it was likely the mastermind behind the scenes.

This was equivalent to snatching food from a tiger's mouth. Ning Yuan immediately felt uneasy, not expecting to make such a discovery by chance.

But since it was already done, there was no turning back; he could only continue.

Thinking of this, Ning Yuan gritted his teeth and condensed another Demon Seed, rushing forward to plant it on the creature.

After this Demon Seed was planted, it immediately quieted down, and at the same time, a close connection was established with Ning Yuan.

Seeing this, Ning Yuan let out a long breath. Although the process had its twists and turns, he had finally succeeded.

"Come here!"

Then Ning Yuan gave it a command. Upon receiving the command, it immediately walked over and stopped in front of him.

Looking at this 'person', Ning Yuan frowned, somewhat dissatisfied. He hadn't expected that two Demon Seeds would only trade for such a thing.

It felt like a bit of a loss!

Perhaps because it had no consciousness, it could only act on commands, like a Puppet.

Moreover, its strength wasn't very high, only about the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Such strength was of no help to him at all, and condensing two Demon Seeds had consumed more than half of his spiritual energy.

It felt like the effort and the reward were completely disproportionate.

But soon, Ning Yuan was proven wrong.

Because Ning Yuan suddenly received a fragment of memory, a memory about this Legacy land... In a certain hall within the Legacy land.

On a high platform at the top of the hall, a man in a black robe sat on the main seat. He had eyes as deep as dark pools and a face that looked as if it were carved with a chisel.

Suddenly, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes, his brow furrowed slightly, and he murmured to himself, "One has lost connection! How is this possible?"

He didn't care much about losing a Puppet, but this wasn't just losing one—it was a total loss of connection. That was a completely different matter.

He then issued a command to the other Puppets to find out exactly what was going on.

After giving the command, he put the matter out of his mind. He had more important things to deal with now and no time for such trivialities.

He turned his gaze toward the lower part of the hall, where dozens of Nascent Soul Cultivators were bound.

They were tied up by a large number of Black Vines, which were continuously devouring everything inside them that contained spiritual energy.

This included blood, flesh, Nascent Souls, and more.

The dozens of Nascent Soul Cultivators included people Ning Yuan knew, namely Tang Qian and Bei Liyue.

The moment all the Nascent Soul Cultivators entered the Legacy land, they were teleported here and then restrained.

At first, they tried to resist, but in the end, they found it was all in vain.

If no one came to rescue them, their final fate would be to be completely devoured, their lives and cultivation ending in death.