Dejiu positioned himself oddly. Currently, his body is in the air. Technically.

  Just seconds ago, he decided to leap at the daimon’s beak because of how high he was after climbing a few stairs. A good decision? Maybe.

  He’s figuring out the answer to that right now, wrestling the lumbering wingless bird. His hand had already penetrated its neck. With a bleeding neck and leaking torso, it’ll only be moments before the daimon dies. So he dismounted the cawing mess and landed behind it with a stiff crash and roll. He didn’t have to commit to suffocating it or some other brutal way to crush its long neck.

  More importantly, he didn’t want to linger if it suddenly turned smart enough to crush him against the Pillarshard’s walls. So he ran back into the empty chamber.

  Looking behind he figured something he forgot to consider early. The daimon couldn’t turn around inside the stairwell. Ha! This fat thing.

  It’s a certain death.

  Dejiu’s blood calmed along with his prana flow. Relieved of the tension, he sat in the empty chamber waiting for the Hollow Talon to die. Slowly.

  Even without her presence, Bing Xin’s voice echoed inside. “Let it wallow in guilt and blood.” It overshadowed the death throes… or caws of the dying daimon. It’d be something she’d say. Was her demeanor rubbing off on him?

  A shiver ran down his back. Talk about bad influences!

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Talon Scavenger]

  “Not bad, not bad at all!” He said dryly, getting up and noticing the change in the daimon’s name. A scavenger rather than a regular Hollow Talon.

  [You have attained a Soulbound Remnant: Scavenger’s Soaring Bracers]

  [Soulbound Remnant: Scavenger’s Soaring Bracers]

  “Huh?” He huffed out in confusion. “What is this? A Soulbound Remnant? Bracers?”

  Dejiu stood still, letting the Seventh Hell’s air softly tinge his skin.

  “Damn geezers! I bet everyone else knows of this!” He erupted. “Just how much information have they withheld from me!? Seekers Accord, explain!”

  Left without an answer, Dejiu’s indignation only smoldered hotter. Scoffing his grievances, he returned to the task at hand. His spade was still embedded in its torso and he also needed to retrieve the Hell Shard.

  Climbing over the daimon’s behind, he hopped over its head and landed beside his spade’s shaft. Shaft wedged deep into his armpit and clasps, he yanked it out, spilling a puddle of entrails and ichor.

  Taking advantage of the premade cut, he shoved his arm inside and clawed for the Hell Shard. He quickly found it and absorbed it without caring to bring it out.

  [You have acquired a Hell Shard (Impure)]

  “Hoo…” He sighed before he summoned the Seekers Accord, more specifically, the status of his prana core.

  [Prana Core: Mid Initiate]

  [Prana: 24/36]

  Dejiu let go of his discontent, pleasantly surprised to see his fast rise towards High Initiate. Coupled with a cultivation technique and quite the access to Hell Shards, it won’t be long before he catches up to the others — perhaps even beyond them.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Hmph. I’ll ask Bing Xin about what a remnant is later. Just keep culling them, Xue Dejiu. That’s all you need to worry about. It wasn’t a secret now. He needed to risk himself in battle to progress. To kill and cull.

  Although the daimons themselves were probably the most dangerous entity in the Seventh Hell, he couldn’t remain complacent. They would be the whetstone he needed to hone his skills just that little bit further. Being a cultivator or a seeker is demanded as such. You either took every opportunity you could to eke out another iota of strength, or you died. The Seekers Accord rewarded accordingly.

  Bah, as if I’ll stand there and die like that.

  His drive for more led him deeper into Hell’s depths. Stepping to the next stairwell, he continued down. Careful to remain diligent in his training, his prana never stopped being circulated according to the boon he was given. Even as hours passed. At least it felt like hours, the Pillarshard’s interior didn’t change all too much. But through the thin cracks in the outer walls, he could see it.

  The Seventh Hell was slowly being revealed to him through these small crevices.

  He didn’t like what he saw. Despite the thin haze of ash covering most of the land, it was everything he imagined any Hell would be. Pits of roaring flames, spewing flames, ash-laden air and horrific beasts. For better or for worse, he couldn’t clearly see the daimons roaming the floor due to how distant above he was, but he’d still see an occasional silhouette move.

  Between traveling these lands or snuffing the Pillarshard’s core… I wonder which is better. Can I kill the guardian? Or could I survive the wicked expanse?

  At least he’s getting stronger though. Cultivating aside, it’s fortunate that the first technique, Wilted Stem, didn’t require much. Rudimentary prana control that pretty much follows the cultivation method itself, poor senses of an Initiate Stage, and a whole lot of will to bear the strain on his body — Dejiu couldn’t ask for more.

  “I’d bet my robes that she isn’t doing this out of goodwill.” He said to himself. “But the results are undeniable. Ah, what was this called in the teachings again…? Avaricious? Meh, they brought it down on themselves the moment they treated me differently. Their considerations were as empty as a monk’s wallet.”

  After walking endlessly, Dejiu narrowed his eyes. “Lo behold. The last one she told me to cleanse.”

  He approached the swelling entrance, but what he saw made him hesitate.

  “How in the Seven Hells…” Dejiu whispered as his head wrapped around the corner. What he saw didn’t make sense. He practically circled the circumference of the Pillarshard when its top broke through the ground, so the size of this chamber shouldn’t be possible. But the size of the chamber wasn’t the most shocking thing, it was the occupants.

  Hollow Talons, but another… variant? A different type of spawn? They were smaller than the rest and matched his height. Two arms, and two legs — both of which were more human-like than he’d like. The stone feathers looked like small plates molded together into armor. In their hands was an array of varied weapons, all made of larger stone feathers. They held plumed mismatched blades and wedged knives. Most importantly, the talons that clutched their weapons were caked in dried blood and gore — coincidentally they each had claw wounds over their eyes.

  What made them blind themselves? Damn that woman, if only she’d tell me more of these daimons before she left. He figured with the clues before him.

  Dejiu peeked over the wall and studied their movements. Ten in total and grotesque in appearance. The way they moved, it seemed unnatural. They were scattered across the much larger chamber, their figures shambled across in meaningless rounds. Occasionally they would even bump into each other, returning a peck and caw before resuming their rounds.

  Their patrol was lilting, seemingly without any true vigilance. Like old, half-remembered, orders — a bodily habit followed blindly. Or maybe they were waiting for something. Was it the will of their progenitor? He didn’t know, even after he inspected them for half an hour.

  Blind, definitely, blind.

  But their blindness raised questions he couldn’t solve without fighting them. How would they use their weapons to fight? He didn’t know. Sound? Smell? Well, he was going to find out with the weak plan he devised. And if this works, I can get one free kill!

  He was going to catch one far away from the rest of its daimon compatriots. If it lingers far from the rest and close to the stairwell, he’ll test how sensitive their blinded senses are.

  This is new. Sneaking? Me? The last time I tried to sneak was to steal some Hell Shards from the inner sanctum to speed up my cultivation. Shame I failed though. Hmph, I’ll never forget the beating that day. Damn geezers. He grinned.

  [Prana: 33/36]

  Good enough. Time to go, Xue Dejiu.