Chapter 85: The Body Destroyed by Calamity

Since it had been diluted, it was naturally something he could harness for himself. This thought arose in his mind, and he grew slightly more vigilant, scanning his surroundings. Sensing no trace of life around him, he felt a gentle suction envelop his body as he began to absorb the faint strands of calamity energy that lingered in the air.

Although the lake here appeared tranquil, with not the slightest ripple—so calm that even the stirring of the water by his own presence seemed to leave it unchanged—if one viewed it through the Calamity-Piercing Eyes, they would see that it was already in tumult, agitated by his intrusion. Countless filaments of calamity energy swirled about, forming vortexes that all converged toward him.

As waves of feedback coursed through his flesh, he experienced a sense of fulfillment unlike anything he had ever known in the Bottle Realm. This was a feeling wholly unfamiliar to Redcloud’s host.

As the meager calamity energy gathered within him, the calamity seed in his body began to shift and transform—sometimes taking the shape of birds and beasts, sometimes morphing into various plants, creatures of the demon race, or even palaces and lakes, its forms ever-changing.

Sensing his strength gradually growing, he could not help but begin to cultivate using the calamity energy. These weak currents flowed in an instant through every limb and bone, and though they bore no hint of danger, once they entered his meridians, they began to dismantle his original constitution, breaking it down bit by bit and reforging it anew.

He kept a tight rein on his mind, not daring to be careless. He had known there would be risks, but what he had not anticipated was that the Fiendish Qi method he had previously cultivated would prove incompatible with the calamity seed he had just condensed.

It was a merciless suppression of a higher order over a lower one.

Fortunately, he had already condensed all his former fiendish energy into the Cloud-Winged Feathers before undertaking this new cultivation. Had he not, if all his fiendish energy had been shattered by the calamity energy in such overwhelming fashion, obliterating his old cultivation and forcing him to start anew, the peril would have been unimaginable.

...

He did not know how much time had passed, but Redcloud’s aura finally settled into perfect equilibrium. From the outside, he was utterly undetectable, as if he had merged completely with the lake itself.

Yet the sensation in his body was far from pleasant. Across his moonlit skin, his veins stood out starkly, flushed with a vivid crimson that was nothing like their former hue.

At this point, he could no longer withstand the power within. He was forced to halt his absorption of the calamity energy, withdrawing from the state with a deep frown.

When he opened his eyes, he saw before him a long, narrow black ribbon. For a moment, he could not tell what it was, but instinct compelled him to rise at once, unfurling the Cloud-Winged Feathers on his back.

With a sudden burst of power, Redcloud soared from the water, scattering droplets in his wake.

Once free of the lake, he felt his calamity energy swiftly returning to normal and his heart eased slightly. Looking upward, his Calamity-Piercing Eyes involuntarily activated, making him tense once more.

Though the surface of the lake had already calmed with his departure, at its center, a black region could be seen—where a dark ribbon wound from the deep blue waters into the pale blue, twisting into a vortex.

This extension pointed precisely to where he had just been.

Could it be... that the very center was also a source of calamity energy?

Redcloud hesitated, uncertain of what to do. After a moment’s indecision, he lowered himself and reached out to touch the black section of the water.

Just then, under the gaze of his Calamity-Piercing Eyes, the ribbon seemed to transform into a tentacle, which twined itself, by some uncanny coincidence, around his wrist.

Before he could react, countless black tentacles shot from the center, all reaching for him.

Redcloud felt the surge of potent calamity energy and his heart pounded. Yet this was not what he wanted—he sought active absorption, not this uncontrollable force that now overwhelmed him.

Despite channeling all his fiendish and calamity energy, even wielding his perfected, transformative-level Duskfeather Blade, he could leave only the faintest of marks—nothing that could break the hold upon him.

He exhausted every method he knew, and when it became clear he could not resist, he simply let go and allowed himself to be drawn in.

When Redcloud was dragged to the center, his senses were assailed by the overwhelming concentration of calamity energy.

If his own internal calamity energy level was ten, and that of the outer lake was one, then upon contact with the tentacle, the concentration surged to thirty—far more than he could handle.

Yet here, it seemed to exceed a hundred.

And that was not all. Now, it was not merely a matter of damaged meridians. Under this intensity, his meridians ruptured, his skin decayed, and even his muscles were nearly washed away by the calamity energy.

Agony. Exquisite, indescribable pain.

If any other living creature were present, from their perspective, they would wonder how he could possibly still be alive.

Redcloud’s Cloud-Winged Feathers had already shed all their plumes, a dense fiendish energy brewing within. His body, save for his head, where a flicker of soul-fire was faintly protected by his true form’s shadow and his status panel, had been reduced to a bare skeleton.

The calamity energies, like countless tiny knives, sculpted his body as if it were a beloved work of art, stripping every last bit of flesh from his bones as if by a thousand cuts.

All the moonlight and calamity energy he had previously absorbed had now completely fused into his skeleton, which gleamed with an eerie, silvery radiance.

Within his abdomen, the calamity seed remained. Without the constraint of flesh, it was now absorbing energy with frenzied abandon.

Redcloud gazed ahead, his hollow sockets aglow, his Calamity-Piercing Eyes fixed unwaveringly on the very center.

There, in his sight, stood an altar.

Upon it lay a kidney, writhing with uncountable tentacles of calamity energy.