Harvest and Warmth

Tired—endless exhaustion washed over him. Er Dongsheng sat on the ground, gently scooping up the little Succubus who had fallen beside him with his right hand and placing her in his arms. At this moment, he only felt utterly drained, exhausted beyond measure.

Every cell and every sinew and bone let out creaking cries of resistance. Though he felt his entire body brimming with energy and vitality, he strangely also felt exhausted. Er Dongsheng knew this was probably mental fatigue. After all, that great battle against the Heavenly Dao Will deep within his soul had consumed a great deal of his mental energy!

Yet although he was tired, he was overjoyed. He had never expected the fourth step to pass so easily. He had spent half the day worrying for nothing!

In truth, Plan Three had more than three steps; there should have been a fourth. When he intercepted the Heavenly Dao and seized that wisp of the Will of Heavenly Dao for his own use, he had already considered that the Abyssal Heavenly Dao outside would certainly investigate why that wisp of Abyssal Will had vanished. Though that wisp was tiny compared to the entire Abyssal Heavenly Dao, it was still part of the Heavenly Dao. For it to vanish just like that—there was no way the Abyssal Heavenly Dao outside would not react.

Furthermore, the Abyss Star in the center of his forehead had been condensed by combining himself with that wisp of the Heavenly Dao Will. Whether he could ultimately deceive the great Abyssal Will was still uncertain.

This was a gamble. If he muddled through, all would be well; if he were discovered, the chances of ending up with both body and soul destroyed were extremely high.

He simply had not expected the Heavenly Dao to perform only a cursory inspection before dispersing, rendering all his preparations useless!

"Perhaps it simply believed that an ant like me could not possibly harm that wisp of Abyssal Will?"

Probably, that was the only possibility...

After sitting on the ground for quite a while, Er Dongsheng finally recovered somewhat. He gently placed the unconscious little Succubus onto her tiny bed, then sat on its edge and began reviewing the gains from this time!

"System, bring up my attribute list!"

Demonic True Name: Bakasa-Morag-Andrea-Fire-Er Dongsheng (locked, not to be revealed)

Secondary True Name: Baal (for propagation, an Abyssal name containing immense might)

Level: First-Level Demon, imp rank (independent evolution)

Strength: 50 (1 for every hundred jin of force)

Agility: 30 (a composite of speed, flexibility, and suppleness)

Spirit: 88 (damaged, continuously recovering slowly)

Constitution: 15 (constitution before evolution was 1)

Resistance: 7 (degree of immunity to all abnormal states, a certain degree of fire immunity)

Amplification: 20 (possesses a fire constitution, amplifies all fire skills by twenty percent)

Skills: Ink Spirit Flame, Fire Control, Chinese Martial Arts, Taoist Arts (initially usable due to the unsealing of spirit)

Game Plane: One, usable.

Special Skill: Fire Transformation, Stage One (guides the power of the Abyss Star, combines it with the laws of Taoist Arts, and forms a unique fire transformation; after transforming, all attributes are greatly enhanced, with a three-hundred-percent amplification state determined by spirit power)

Database: Inherited knowledge, awaiting collection, usable.

Special Item: A wisp of Abyssal Will, containing the secrets of the Heavenly Dao; function unknown, abilities unknown, under analysis.

Looking at his attributes, his strength, agility, and constitution had each risen by roughly three to five points, while his resistance had increased by two. These physical attributes had not improved much, but several new attributes had appeared: spirit power, special skills, and that wisp of Abyssal Will which had made him feel like he was ascending to heaven and plunging into hell.

Compared to the danger this time, Er Dongsheng's gains were still quite substantial. Leaving aside that wisp of Abyssal Will, which was far too mysterious for him to control at present, the fact that he had now escaped the control of the Abyssal Heavenly Dao and begun evolving independently was already an astonishing event worth celebrating.

Independent evolution, as the name implied, meant escaping the control of the Heavenly Dao and evolving according to one's own methods. Er Dongsheng pondered that the emergence of this spirit power was the result of independent evolution. The Taoist Arts from his previous life had also become initially usable due to the unsealing of his spirit, and he had even formed his own unique special transformation. This should all be credited to independent evolution.

After independent evolution, many abilities from his previous life had begun to unseal. Though he would still be suppressed by the Abyssal Heavenly Dao when using them outside, since the rules were different after all, it was still better than having nothing.

Perhaps in the future, demonic and Taoist evolution could advance side by side, breaking through the suppression of the Abyssal Heavenly Dao in one stroke. At the very least, creating his own dantian was no longer a dream!

"Not bad, truly not bad. As expected of a crisis where nine deaths left but one life. No wonder the ancients said that the greater the risk, the greater the harvest. Though I nearly lost my life this time, I endured it in the end!"

He rose to his feet and turned to look at the little one still sleeping. The little girl's brows were tightly furrowed, and a fine layer of sweat covered her forehead.

"Looks like she's having a nightmare?" Er Dongsheng stroked the little one's head, his gaze filled with tenderness.

"Still, she really is a reckless little Succubus. Look at her—she got herself covered in injuries!"

Perhaps the unconscious little Succubus felt the warmth of Er Dongsheng's palm. A faint smile crept across her cheeks, her tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and she began mumbling something under her breath!

Er Dongsheng leaned closer to listen.

"Big brother... we have to stay together forever!"

His heart clenched fiercely, and his eyes grew somewhat moist. Er Dongsheng turned his head and slowly walked outside...

"No one will separate us. Not even the gods!"