Cultivator’s Path to Infamy [Progression | Cultivation | Villain Lead]

An spent more than three days barely moving, devoting all his time to cultivation and training.

'I'm getting closer and closer to the peak state of Qi Condensation... Just a few more weeks of cultivation, and my dantian will be completely filled with Qi.' Sitting in a lotus position, he surveyed his dantian and its condition.

'This feeling... This unease just won't go away. It's growing, but slowly...' Frowning slightly, he once again focused on the sensation that had been haunting him for over a month. Each day it intensified, though at a very gradual pace.

'Is it related to the Sacred Land? That's the only reason that comes to mind... But my intuition tells me that's not it... Then what is it?' Raising his head, he cast his gaze forward at the horizon, in the direction the ship was moving.

Gazing into the distance, even though it was only the beginning of the day, a pillar of pale red light rose before him on the horizon, climbing upward and disappearing behind the clouds.

'Even though we're still a day away, this pillar is getting bigger and bigger.' After studying the pillar of light for a while, An turned his attention to the disciples.

Most of the disciples, thanks to the pills, had already managed to ‘heal’ their soul wounds. Only a handful with severe injuries remained on the deck, clutching their heads and curled up, trying to absorb another pill in the hope that the pain would finally pass.

An looked at Mo Fan's group, specifically at one member of their party.

'Hmm, on that day, I completely forgot about her and didn't pay her any attention. But judging by her condition, she's perfectly fine... Perhaps thanks to Mi Mili's help and her endless supply of artifacts and talismans.' Looking specifically at Xia Ji, the girl who, of all the people gathered on the deck, had the lowest cultivation at only the seventh layer of Qi Condensation.

Observing her condition, at the Qi emanating from her, he noticed no injuries from the encounter with the beast and its attack.

'But the Death Qi she's emitting has increased compared to the day of boarding... Her life is slipping through her very fingers.' Watching the black flows slowly accumulating on some areas of her skin into small masses, this energy rose up, detached from her body, and drifted higher and higher, dissolving into the neutral Qi.

Observing these flows drifting into the sky, An thought for a moment and, extending his hand, tried to attract them to himself.

The moment he gave the mental command, the flows, to his surprise, began to rapidly change direction and surge toward him.

Seeing them flying toward him quickly, fearing the consequences, he dispersed all of them except one flow, which continued its approach.

All the while, he felt his head splitting from the overload on his mind.

Extending his hand forward, he caught this flow and gathered it on his palm, 'I can't manipulate this Qi like my own or the neutral Qi from the environment... Even though it's Death Qi, it still has an owner. Part of this Qi is energy with traces of Xia Ji herself. And it's only because I've integrated with the Dao of Death that I can somehow manipulate this specific energy.' Holding this mass on his palm, he tried to manipulate it. Upon giving a command, he felt strong resistance. Even though the energy consisted entirely of Death Qi without any impurities, it still retained traces, more precisely, energetic imprints, of its owner, Xia Ji.

'Hmm, what if?' Thinking, An began to draw this mass into himself.

"Oh?" Without any problems, the mass entered him and, passing through his entire body, ended up inside his inner world.

Sensing where this energy had gone, he opened his spiritual eyes within his world.

He immediately headed toward the cloud of the Dao of Death. Flying closer, he saw how a small mass had stopped next to the cloud and connected to it with a small stream.

'So I can't immediately convert this energy into my own? It just takes time to purify it from all the slag and residual traces of other Qi...' Hovering next to the mass of black energy, An watched the very slow process of this foreign mass transforming into his Death Qi.

Watching the particles of energy, he saw a small particle pass through this created tunnel, shedding all unnecessary elements, ultimately shrinking by about seventy percent of its original size.

At the end of the transformation, this energy became neutral Death Qi and easily integrated, merging with his massive cloud.

Watching this process, he simultaneously began to analyze the state of his physical and spiritual body, looking in detail into all the hidden corners with the goal of ensuring there were no side effects or accumulating negative consequences from such absorption.

"The impurities and waste from the filtration exit completely into the environment, without remaining in me. Not a single particle of these energies remains somewhere inside me... So it's safe? I think so." After checking everything several times and confirming everything was fine, he asked himself the question, listening to his gut.

Opening his eyes in reality, he carefully looked around. He found several disciples, like Xia Ji, who were emitting Death Qi. After thinking, he still decided to go through with it.

Leaning slightly forward, as if sitting in a beggar's pose, legs in lotus and back bent forward with his head lowered, he began to mentally command the surrounding Death Qi. Slowly and carefully, he absorbed it into himself, directing it into his inner world.

'The main thing is that none of the elders see what I'm doing.' Deliberately lowering the energy close to the deck, he guided it toward himself along the surfaces, avoiding exposing these flows openly. At the same time, he watched with his peripheral vision the door, specifically the Qi flows behind it.

This entire process was accompanied by terrible pain due to the heavy load on his mind, into which he was drawing these flows of Death Qi.

Having absorbed more than a hundred small flows of black energy, he closed his eyes in reality and opened them inside his inner world.

Finding himself before the cloud, he immediately began to analyze the black mass, the size of a table tennis ball.

Watching the slow process of filtering this energy, he didn't get distracted for a moment, constantly analyzing the foreign energy, the cloud, his inner world, and his physical body.

After watching this for almost an entire hour, the ball finally finished filtering and merged with his Death Qi.

"This amount didn't affect the state of the cloud at all... It was on the verge of precipitation before, and it still is... Perhaps I need much more Death energy to somehow advance this cloud toward evolution..." Reading the Qi from the black cloud one last time, he looked around once more and opened his eyes in the real world.

Only upon opening his eyes did he sense the energy at the cabin door and look there.

Opening, Lua Mou emerged from the door and beckoned all four core disciples to her. After waiting for them to approach, she waved her hand, indicating for them to follow, and they all disappeared behind the doors.

Watching this, An didn't attach any importance to it and simply continued his routine.

A few hours later, he opened his eyes again and saw the four return, dispersing to their groups, and beginning to discuss something animatedly with their followers.

….

Coming out of the doors leading to the cabin, Mo Fan, with a furrowed face, walked straight back to his friends.

"What happened? What did they say?" The first to meet him was Ru Meng. With warmth in her eyes, she looked at him.

Seeing her gaze, Mo Fan smiled and exhaled. "Everyone, gather closer. I'll activate a barrier around us before I can tell you everything."

Approaching his group, he beckoned everyone to him. Shepor Dunt, Mi Mili, Lin Xue, Xia Ji, and a girl with a toned body, red eyes, and wavy hair approached him.

Mo Fan took out an artifact and, sending his Qi into it, activated a barrier around himself and his friends.

"Brother Mo, what did the Elders say?" Ru Meng was the first to ask, coming almost right up to him, which in turn made Mi Mili wrinkle her nose.

"She described what we should expect inside the Sacred Land, but most of it was about Devil Bo's Tomb." Mo Fan looked at everyone.

"Devil Bo? Wait, isn't his inheritance what you obtained inside the Beast Lands?" Hearing the familiar name, Xia Ji immediately remembered what he had told her a few days before departure on the ship.

"Yes. Exactly. That inheritance is only part of the techniques used by Devil Bo. But the main thing is that this inheritance gives the right to compete for the real inheritance waiting inside the Sacred Land." He saw how most of his group were surprised upon hearing him.

Only Mi Mili and the girl with red wavy hair showed no reaction, their entire demeanor making it clear that they already knew about this in advance.

"Does that mean that in other Sects, there will be people who received this partial inheritance, just like you?" Shepor Dunt frowned slightly.

"Exactly. And, if I understand correctly, our main goal is to help Brother Mo reach the place where the main trial for the inheritance will take place." Before Mo Fan could open his mouth, the girl with red wavy hair stepped forward and, speaking in a commanding and authoritative tone, looked directly into the eyes of everyone present.

"Hua Zhen is right. Elder Li said it's an order from the Main Council and our master, Sect Leader Gu Bai, for me and Sister Hua." Mo Fan looked seriously at everyone.

"His order, the most important and primary objective of this expedition, is to obtain the inheritance. The path to the location will be indicated to me by the part of the inheritance I discovered in the Beast Lands. It will lead me there. While we're walking to the location, we must stay together, all the disciples of our Sect, without exception..." Mo Fan continued.

"What about the other core disciples? Do they agree with this plan?" Lin Xue spoke for the first time, cautiously throwing a glance at the other core disciples standing at a distance, also having applied barriers and engaged in discussions with their groups.

"Only Keu Rogu, that bald one who calls himself Mighty Horn, objected. But one glance from Elder Lua was enough for him to understand his place." Hearing the answer from Mo Fan, Lin Xue nodded and took a step back.

"As for the route we should follow inside, we were each given a map just in case, if something happens. Later today, I'll make a copy for each of you." Taking out a map, he unfolded it and showed it to his group.

"Here and here are the approximate areas where teleportation altars are installed. According to intelligence, the Sacred Land itself is divided into three rings. The outer ring consists of chaotic energy, which is very harmful to cultivators. Many consider this the border of the Sacred Land, but for some reason, this border has become unstable. The inner ring is considered Devil Bo's Garden. In this garden, there is a huge amount of spirit materials, from first to third-rank plants, to spirit ore. But every corner of the inner ring is divided by spirit beasts into their own territories. So this place is both the most important for the Sects, and the most dangerous. And the central ring, or the Tomb itself." Listening to Mo Fan, all his friends frowned, understanding what they might face inside, realizing that this would not be an ordinary walk.

"According to intelligence obtained through spies, in the central ring, there is a huge number of hidden old abbeys, where the followers and servants of Devil Bo once lived, many of whom were at the peak of this world. Their foundations were not only of demonic origin, but from all over the world." He continued, pointing on the map where and what.

"Hmm, so we'll go from the inner ring, appearing at a teleportation altar, through the entire inner ring, gathering all the materials we can. After that, entering the central ring, we'll have to find any remaining abbeys that haven't been found before, and obtain techniques and manuals if we're lucky? Roughly that's the plan?" Dunt interjected, interrupting Mo Fan. For which he earned sideways and frowning glances from all the girls present, especially from Ru Meng.

Not taking it to heart, Mo Fan smiled and nodded. "Exactly. If we all stay together and stick to this plan, it will not only ensure our safety, but our haul will also be much larger."

"By the way! My master entrusted me and my senior sister Hua with trying to find Devil Bo's library." He nodded and looked at Hua Zhen.

"A library? What do you mean?" Dunt immediately raised an eyebrow, realizing he was hearing this for the first time.

"Devil Bo's library is considered famous. It not only contains a huge number of techniques and manuals, but also vast deposits of knowledge concerning non-combat paths, records of cultivators about their own discoveries, and even some historical data that was lost long ago." Lin Xue immediately answered him in a quiet and slightly trembling voice, with barely noticeable greed in her eyes. Just the thought of being inside that library made her shake with impatience.

"Eh? Why haven't I heard about this then?" With a puzzled expression, Dunt scratched his head.

"For you, a book is like water to a cat! Ha!" Hua Zhen, standing nearby, snorted and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Ugh. And how could the Sect Leader take on a secret disciple, especially someone like you…" Dunt averted his gaze from her, pretending not to have heard her.

Seeing his reaction and hearing his reproach, Hua Zhen's face twisted in anger. Barely holding herself back, she decided it would be better for both of them if she didn't pay attention to him, and turned back to Mo Fan.

"To this day, this library has not been found, regardless of how many times the Sacred Land has opened and let cultivators inside. No one has been able to find it. And over time, people began to believe that the library is located inside the Tomb itself." Not noticing the exchange between the two, which had already become almost a ritual between them, Lin Xue, having calmed down a little, continued.

"So? If it's in the Tomb, then why hasn't anyone found it yet? Doesn't the Tomb open on a regular basis?" With an even more puzzled face than before, Dunt couldn't help but ask this question that had been spinning in his head.

"Haa... You're supposedly from the prestigious Shepor clan, but you have less knowledge than a shepherd from a ruined village!" Mi Mili couldn't hold back and, with a ringing voice, pointing her finger at him, began to scold him.

"The Tomb itself has never been opened before! To open it, all the inheritances must first be gathered." Stepping forward slightly, Mili began to speak.

"Only recently did Mo Fan manage to obtain the last part of the inheritance! And only this time will the Tomb itself be able to open for the first time in all these long years!" Pointing her hand at Mo Fan, she continued speaking.

"Oh." Nodding his head a few times, Dunt finally understood everything.

"We only know that the Tomb is located inside the central ring, and exactly where, we'll find out when we enter the Sacred Land. For now, we need to prepare and tell the neutral disciples everything they need to know. We also need to coordinate with the other core disciple groups." Summing up, Mo Fan turned specifically toward the group of core disciple Lou Emilia, the charming girl with golden wavy hair and eyes.

Seeing where he was looking, Mi Mili and Ru Meng simultaneously wrinkled their noses.