Punishment

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye within Elder Xuan Qiuluo's somewhat chilly cave abode.

Zhang Tie sat cross-legged on a cushion in the center of the quiet chamber. The blood-colored radiance that had originally churned endlessly around him was now slowly receding like the tide.

The eerie, greedy will contained within that light, enough to make one's heart tremble, also lowered its banners and fell silent, ultimately vanishing without a trace as though it had never existed.

The cave abode returned to silence. Beneath the skin of Zhang Tie's bare abdomen, a savage pattern quietly branded itself—a gigantic maw filled with serrated fangs, as though it could devour everything.

Over the past half month, Zhang Tie had relied on the Indestructible Pearl to once again complete the bizarre sacrificial ritual of the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art with practiced ease. From then on, devouring all things to strengthen himself became as natural as breathing. The backlash that would have frightened ordinary cultivators out of their wits was firmly suppressed by the Indestructible Pearl and no longer posed any concern.

With a thought, Zhang Tie raised a hand toward the storage pouch at his waist. Light flashed, and a smooth white jade porcelain bottle appeared in his palm.

This was the monster beast essence blood he had entrusted Fu Qinshou to find. The bottle in his hand had come from a ferocious early second-rank monster beast.

His gaze fell upon the bottle without the slightest hesitation. With a flick of his wrist, the jade bottle shot into the air like an arrow loosed from its bow. The instant it left his hand, the giant-mouth pattern on his abdomen suddenly "came alive"!

His skin writhed and his muscles knotted. That fang-filled maw snapped open, and an irresistible, terrifying suction