Yi Zhen wandered through the Dead Spine Mountains, half-dead, dragging his broken body through snow and sludge. The valley air reeked of sulfur and rotting Qi. His robes were torn, his bones cracked, and his core—once a flame of ambition—flickered weakly.
Every breath was pain. Every step was a curse.
But his eyes—his eyes still burned.
> If I must become a monster to break them… then so be it.
He collapsed beneath a twisted black tree, its bark scarred with runes from a forgotten age. His vision blurred.
Then came laughter.
And shadows.
---
He awoke in chains. Not spiritual bindings, but thick, corroded metal—hot to the touch. His wrists bled. His ankles throbbed.
All around him were groaning bodies. Some human. Some... not anymore.
They hung in rows, suspended in a subterranean hall of bone and flame. Carved into the walls were murals of Lei Shen—a demon with eyes like storm vortexes and teeth of lightning. He was always smiling, always devouring.
> "You're awake," a voice croaked.
Yi Zhen turned. A one-eyed prisoner grinned at him from the shadows.
> "Welcome to the Thousand Spine Crucible. Property of the Scarlet Tomb Sect."
> "Why…?"
> "We're food. For the Demon Emperor. But not raw—no, no. They like their meals strong. So they train us. Break us. Forge us. Then—chomp."
Yi Zhen's breathing grew shallow.
> This… this is worse than death.
---
The days became blurs of agony.
Each morning began with the Flesh Drill, where Yi Zhen was forced to run laps up the crucible walls—each one embedded with Soul Nails that dug into his feet.
By midday, he was dropped into a pit with beasts infused with demonic essence. If he didn't kill, he was mauled. If he did kill, he had to eat their hearts—raw, bloody, and corrupting.
By night, he was chained in the Core Furnace, where elders of the sect chanted devouring incantations to weaken his spiritual foundation, forcing his core to crack… then rebuild… then crack again.
> "Destroy it," one of them whispered, licking bone-white teeth. "Break your core. Rebuild with hate."
Yi Zhen resisted at first. But resistance was weakness.
And weakness got others fed to Lei Shen early.
> This isn't cultivation, he thought once. This is slaughter wearing robes.
But day by day… that thought faded.
He began to eat faster.
Kill faster.
Hurt more… feel less.
Until finally—
He stood in the furnace with no chains.
And he crushed his own core.
Shattered it.
Let the pain in.
Let the rot in.
> No path. No order. No heavens. Just inverse growth.
Just hate made real.
---
The sect masters watched, grinning.
> "He's ready."
And in the blackest chamber of the crucible, the great Demon Emperor Lei Shen stirred.
A giant eye opened beneath the mountain, crackling with lightning and hunger.
> "Feed him to me."
---
Author's Note – Terry
Chapter 5 took us to a new level of despair. Yi Zhen fell into a hellhole designed to break people… but instead, it hardened him. That said—he's not out yet. In fact, he's closer to death than ever.
This was the cost of seeking power in a world ruled by cruelty.
Now, the question is—will Yi Zhen be devoured? Or will he find a way to devour the demon that wants him?