Chapter 1: Misfortunes Never Come Alone

  Huagu City, a meteor shower burst forth in the starry sky.

  On the rooftop of a residential building, Shen Cong held his laptop that had accompanied him for many years, staring blankly at the night sky. With no relatives, few friends, he was lonely and struggling to survive in this city.

  The meteor's luster flickered in Shen Cong's eyes, "If possible, even if only for a moment, it would be worth it..."

  ……….

  Ní Tiān Guó, in a secluded and desolate thicket, a figure sat cross-legged in the shadows. His breathing was deep and subtle, as strands of invisible heavenly energy gathered from all directions and entered his body.

  Shen Cong's body trembled slightly, his eyes opened, and a crimson glow flashed by. "Still not much progress, the best technique in the village at first, after the abnormal changes in the body, except for protecting one's own heart from being darkened, the growth of power has almost stagnated!"

  Shen Cong looked down at his palm, the stiff skin resembling old tree bark, not like a living person. It's not just his palm, every part of Shen Cong's body is the same, and his current state can no longer be compared to ordinary people. If you must say what Shen Cong is now, perhaps the closest thing would be an undead creature.

  It's been over a decade since I arrived in this world, but how I got here is still unknown to Shen Cong. From the initial shock to the gradual adaptation that followed, if not for that fateful turn of events, Shen Cong might still be living in the village with his parents and loved ones, enjoying a carefree life among friendly neighbors. Unfortunately, everything changed because of those greedy people.

  Who would have thought that outside a remote mountain village, a top-grade spiritual instrument was born. And because of the birth of this spiritual instrument, it attracted the contention of various powerful forces. Powerful cultivators and warriors flocked to the scene, engaging in fierce battles for possession of the instrument. The collision of such powers overturned Shen Cong's understanding, and also became a disaster for this small village.

  The villagers who abandoned their village and fled overnight for dozens of miles thought they were safe, but in the end, they were swept away by a dark force. There was no escape, all life within a hundred miles died out, those who did not die out transformed into monsters, and then were killed by so-called righteous people.

  Perhaps it was fate that Shen Cong became a fish that slipped through the net, but the physical changes could not be stopped. During his escape, Shen Cong only understood from rumors and hearsay that the dark power was actually triggered by those cultivators and warriors. That top-grade spiritual instrument was the Dark Night Life Spring that had been suppressed underground at the cost of lives back then, but now it was being contested and pulled out, causing the Dark Night Life Spring to erupt, resulting in the destruction of all living things within a hundred miles.

  Don't those martial artists know about this situation? No, they all knew what was being suppressed below, but for the sake of this top-grade spiritual instrument, they couldn't care less. In their eyes, ordinary people were just insignificant existences, and life and death didn't matter at all. As long as it wasn't a massive slaughter of several tens of millions of people, everything could be settled peacefully. As for the aftermath of the Dark Night Life Spring's explosion, it was simply a matter of killing those mutated monsters.

  In his past life, he was lonely and helpless. In this life, he finally had a happy family, but it was ruined by these arrogant people. Shen Cong hated himself for not having the power to protect his loved ones, and even more so, he hated those who destroyed everything he had. Shen Cong refused to die like this, unable to forget the moment when his parents desperately protected him with their lives. Shen Cong wanted revenge, and it was precisely this conviction that allowed him to miraculously escape from the blockade of those righteous people.

  However, many times reality and one's ideals always have a gap. Shen Cong managed to survive, but his body was increasingly invaded by dark energy, now he is neither human nor ghost, and can no longer stay in the town, so he had to escape to the wilderness. The secret book of kung fu that relied on him to become stronger also became ineffective due to the abnormal changes in his body, and could only ensure that Shen Cong's mind was not invaded by that cold and gloomy power, turning into a real monster.

  All roads seemed to be cut off, revenge was hopeless, even the basic right to be human was stripped away, and life suddenly became meaningless. But Shen Cong refused to give up, he refused to let those who had destroyed his family live so freely, so carelessly. He wanted revenge, this conviction had almost taken root in Shen Cong's heart, becoming his strongest obsession. Revenge, become stronger, these two things had become the only reason for Shen Cong to keep living.

  The scarlet eyes were somewhat terrifying in the dark night, Shen Cong stood up and made plans for today's food. Although due to the anomaly, Shen Cong was unable to stay in the town, but also because of the anomaly, Shen Cong's physical qualities had been comprehensively improved, and with the deepening of the anomaly, this improvement was also ongoing.

  Like a zombie, even some behaviors have become more and more similar. For the blood's frenzy, looking at the prey in hand, if not for the inner human nature's resistance, Shen Cong has already wanted to bite down directly and suck the blood.

  The road is where, Shen Cong was very confused, in the empty environment, this feeling is even more prominent. After simply filling his stomach, Shen Cong ventured into the depths of the forest, recently he had discovered signs of human activity nearby. With Shen Cong's current appearance, it's better to avoid crowds, otherwise he would definitely be beaten and scolded, which was not a scene he wanted to face.

  His feet heavily stomped on the ground, and his body shot forward like a cannonball. The deepening of the anomaly led to numbness in his skin, and his joints became increasingly insensitive, able to use only a small amount of pitiful true energy to slightly recover, which was also the reason why Shen Cong worked hard to practice his kung fu without rest.

  Shen Cong's expression suddenly changed slightly as he was moving forward, and before he could react, a powerful force like a shooting star struck his chest, sending his body flying out. After crashing into several large trees in succession, it finally came to a stop.

  "Master, how's the apprentice's move? Did he kill that demon directly?" A sweet and sticky voice sounded, and two rays of light burst out in the forest. A beautiful young woman with a little girl looked down at the scene below, while the little girl was asking for credit from the young woman.

  "Your power is great but not concentrated. Originally, this move could have directly killed the demon below, but because your power is too dispersed, it's not enough to be effective. It seems that the homework I assigned to you for a while didn't get done well!"

  "Ah, no way! You've been working really hard this whole time!" The little girl looked wronged and then turned her head to look downwards. That strange creature had somehow already stood up, its scarlet eyes staring in their direction.

  "Why don't you just die directly? Why do you still want to get up and make me be scolded by Master, I hate it to death!" Jin Ling's delicate eyebrows rose, and then her hands formed a seal, a huge fireball directly rushed towards Shen Cong. The scorching aura hadn't even approached yet, but it already made Shen Cong feel as if he was being burned alive.

  "Boom!"

  A huge explosion sounded, and Shen's original position was completely destroyed. The ground revealed a charred color, while Shen stood quietly on the side, as if he had never moved, but his position was already several meters away from where he was just now.

  "Huh?" Seeing Shen Cong's performance, the young woman's gaze wavered slightly. She had thought it was just an ordinary monster, but she didn't expect it to dodge Jin Ling's attack. Moreover, the monster in front of her did not behave like other monsters, which only knew how to be brutal and cruel, but instead appeared quite calm.

  "Ah, how did I miss!" Not getting the expected result, Jinling became even more enraged, her hands waving wildly as an even more mysterious technique began to take shape.

  "Senior..." Shen Cong opened his mouth, but was immediately interrupted by Jin Ling's swift technique. The woman in front of him was very powerful and could float in mid-air, a hallmark of the strong. When encountering someone like this, Shen Cong knew that his chances of survival were almost zero, so he didn't try to escape. Instead, he hoped to gain a glimmer of hope for survival.

  Unfortunately, the young woman didn't seem to give Shen Cong any special treatment. Jin Ling's techniques came one after another, and the young woman didn't show any intention of stopping him. She just looked at Shen Cong with a cold gaze, as if she was looking at a dead object, and in her eyes, Shen Cong had long been dead. Monsters shouldn't exist in this world.

  Shen Cong's heart grew colder, and his body was already injured in many places. According to the normal strength comparison, Shen Cong, who hadn't even truly entered the threshold of cultivation, wouldn't be enough for Jin Ling to kill, even if a hundred of them were tied together. It was only because Jin Ling lacked experience and Shen Cong's strengthened body that he could barely hold on until now, but this persistence was already nearing its limit.

  "I see how long you can keep jumping around!" The technique was getting more and more handy, a proud smile also appeared on Jin Ling's face, Shen Cong was like a clown being played with at will.

  "If I go on like this, I'll die! I don't want to die, there are still many things I haven't done, I won't die like this!" Shen's eyes suddenly burst with a red glow, and then it seemed as if his footwork was off, and he was hit by a huge fireball right in the chest, the smell of charred flesh spreading through the air.

  "Ah, hit it!"

  "Chase after it, that monster is going to escape!" The calm voice of the young woman rang out. Unbeknownst to anyone, Shen Cong, who had been blasted by the fireball, had already gotten up and escaped. Shen Cong's goal might be able to deceive Jin Ling, but it would absolutely not deceive a master like the young woman.

  Jīn líng had already fallen from the sky, and was now chasing Shěn cóng alone in the back. The young woman was hanging far behind, and this time she brought Jīn líng out for training purposes. Now that there was such a fun and playful demon, of course, she wouldn't let it go.

  Shen Cong was fleeing in front, but the distance not only didn't open up, but instead got closer and closer. His body had already been injured, and Jin Ling's cultivation far exceeded Shen Cong's. It was almost a miracle that Shen Cong could hold on until now. If it weren't for Shen Cong's persistence in his heart and Jin Ling's lack of experience with enemies, Shen Cong would probably have died long ago. However, even if he hadn't died yet, he was already close to being exhausted.

  "Hold on a bit longer, there's a mountain stream ahead, as long as I jump down, I'm not without a chance of escape!" Shen Cong constantly encouraged himself, holding his breath and not relaxing, Shen Cong was afraid that if he relaxed, he would die immediately. In order to survive, in order to take revenge in the future.

  Shen Cong's back was covered in scars, if an ordinary person had suffered such injuries, they would have died long ago. Fortunately, thanks to the modification of the dark energy, Shen Cong's quality had improved a lot, so that such injuries were not fatal.

  Shen Cong, who had been running with his head down, suddenly felt a flash of light in front of him. He didn't know when he had arrived at the mountain stream. The sound of water was loud below, and the depth was unknown, anyone who jumped would surely die nine times out of ten. But if Shen Cong didn't jump now, it would be even more hopeless.

  "Bang!"

  His feet crushed a stone, and Shen Cong's figure suddenly leaped into the mountain stream, head down and feet up. From behind came the sound of a golden bell in urgent defeat, and Shen Cong couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile on his face.

  "True Thunder of the Five Elements, hurry!"

  Shen Cong's smile had not fully bloomed when the young woman's voice suddenly came, and with it, a force that made Shen Cong's heart almost stop beating. The heavens have righteous energy, and heavenly thunder is the most powerful force in the world, capable of destroying any dark thing. In the face of this power, Shen Cong's body, invaded by dark forces, was even more helpless, and would turn to dust with just a slight touch.

  Now, the technique displayed by the young woman, although it was only a technique and not truly heavenly thunder, was absolutely something that Shen Cong could not withstand. Almost in an instant, this extremely powerful and masculine energy enveloped Shen Cong's entire body, and the dark energy within his body collapsed all at once.

  However, the dark energy came from the Dark Night Life Spring, which was a place that required top-grade spiritual artifacts to suppress. The level of energy was naturally not low. Therefore, although the Five Elements True Thunder completely defeated the dark energy, it could not be completely eliminated, and some of it concentrated on Shen Cong's heart position.

  And at the same time, the Five Elements True Thunder power in Shen Cong's body rushed towards Shen Cong's brain. The demon core of ordinary low-level demons is usually inside the head, and the thunder method has a bit of instinct, of course, it must concentrate on attacking this position.

  A purple electric light flashed across Shen Cong's body, while Shen Cong had already fainted when Lei Fa struck his lower body. If there were no accidents, this faint would become an eternal sleep, and Shen Cong was dead for sure. However, many times, many accidents occur in situations that you are not aware of.

  The young woman arrived at the mountain stream, watching Shen Cong's body plummet straight into the rushing water and then disappear. The young woman's eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if she had felt a subtle change in the monster's body just now, but this change was obscure and difficult to discern, almost an illusion.

  The five-element true thunder sent out by herself, the young woman couldn't believe that the low-level demon could survive, so it was probably just an illusion.

  In the midst of the rapidly flowing water, Shen Cong's body was swept forward by the current, and the flashing electric lights that had been darting about everywhere had vanished. However, a faint, strange glow was emanating from Shen Cong's brain, and it was this strange glow that absorbed all the electric lights within his body into a mysterious location in his mind.

  "Drip!"

  A faint, small voice echoed in Shen Cong's soul, followed by a strange picture playing in his mind. If Shen Cong were awake at this moment, he would definitely be stunned by these pictures, because they were the boot screen of a home computer. After a minute had passed, one picture froze in Shen Cong's mind, with many small icons on it - it was none other than the desktop!

  PS: New book is launched, seeking group hug and support!