Che Rong told Li Chen a story.
The story of a naive apprentice who had once had a bright future and beautiful hopes for this world, only for an old monster to swindle him out of his body and soul and lure him into human modification experiments.
Luo Changshan's biological modification had succeeded through sheer luck, opening a gateway to a supreme Dao Path. Che Rong, however, had lost the human identity he had once taken such pride in. Not only his body and appearance, but even his magic power, primordial energy, and the very essence of his life were rapidly changing into those of a true demon of the sea.
During repeated bouts of uncontrollable frenzy, he had killed his friends, family, and lover, destroying everything he had once known and loved.
Not only that, he had suffered the torment of illness and pain, and even his thoughts and consciousness were at Luo Changshan's mercy. He truly could neither live nor die as he wished.
Over time, Che Rong's personality had also become warped, turning him into the cruel, bloodthirsty creature he was now, eager to attack others.
Yet he had never been able to defy Luo Changshan directly, because he had once voluntarily signed a Karmic Pact with harsh conditions. Restrictions laid in advance by someone else were hidden within his divine soul and consciousness.
It was just as a living person could not forcibly hold their breath until they died without outside help. This was an instinct controlled by the brain.
He knew all of this perfectly well, yet he remained incapable of suicide, self-destruction, or even any other action that ran counter to Luo Changshan's preservation of his "painstaking creation."
The conditions that had originally seemed favorable to him had ultimately become shackles, tightly constraining everything