Joe Di could feel the darkness in his space growing heavier and heavier. At this moment, he was still desperately circulating the rules of Zhou Tian, purely out of survival instinct.
Faint streams of warmth seeped into his body, as if bringing a trace of vitality to the dark space around him.
Shana Shan looked at Joe Di with surprise. She had hunted a low-level ferocious beast whose name she didn’t even know. With no way to eat its meat, she could only drink a little of its blood.
Now she let Joe Di drink the beast’s blood as well. Unexpectedly, after a day and night of unconsciousness, Joe Di was able to consume the blood of this ferocious beast.
Unfortunately, the beast’s blood could only be drunk once. Tomorrow, she would have to go hunting again.
After drinking the beast’s blood, Shana Shan felt a surge of warmth throughout her body, as if energy was spreading from her meridians to every part of her being, bringing immense comfort.
Though the night was still bitterly cold, Shana Shan managed to fall asleep.
Early the next morning, the first thing she did was head out again to hunt ferocious beasts.
This place lay deep within the Grand Crescent, where powerful ferocious beasts could appear at any moment. Shana Shan dared not stray far from the cave, only circling the nearby area.
To avoid the stronger ferocious beasts, she had wandered for most of yesterday before finding a relatively weak one. Today, she planned to hunt the same kind again. Though small, these beasts’ blood was warming and didn’t leave her too hungry. The ones she hunted were barely larger than a rabbit, but each had a single horn.
Shana Shan had no idea what this ferocious beast was called. She knew that such creatures hadn’t existed on Earth until recently. Only after Celestia arrived did various fiend beasts enter Earth, bringing with them all sorts of strange and rare ferocious beasts.
This kind of ferocious beast had pale gray fur and a dark red horn, and seemed to enjoy eating nuts. Yesterday, Shana Shan had caught one beneath a pinecone tree.
So today, as soon as Shana Shan went out, she hid among several pinecone trees. Just as she had guessed, she only had to wait less than half an hour before she hunted another unicorn beast.
......
Shana Shan had escaped Dai City with Joe Di, but in recent days, Dai City had been turned upside down.
One of the strongest ancient martial families on Earth, the Shan Family, had lost more than a dozen members in Dai City over the past few days. Among them were three Earth Stage experts, including the family's deputy head instructor. That wasn’t all—the Shan Family’s top prodigy, Noah Shan, was also killed in Dai City.
This incident not only caused an uproar within the Shan Family, but also sent shockwaves through the entire ancient martial arts community.
The Shan Family’s Sky Stage expert, Quentin Shan, had already arrived in Dai City to begin investigating the matter.
The investigation itself wasn’t difficult. The main reason was that Shana Shan had fled the family with a young man named Joe Di. When the Shan Family’s experts tried to capture Shana Shan, they were killed by Joe Di.
Not only that, Joe Di had gone alone to the Shan Family’s base in Dai City and wiped out everyone there, leaving no survivors.
But Joe Di did not escape unscathed. After slaughtering all the Shan Family members in Dai City, he was severely injured and had to be rescued by Shana Shan.
Bang! Upon learning the whole story, Quentin Shan was so furious that he smashed an entire table to splinters with a single slap.
Someone actually dared to provoke the Shan Family—how utterly reckless.
The Shan Family had always been the ones to stir up trouble, never the ones to be targeted. When had it become someone else’s turn to challenge them?
As for Joe Di, Quentin Shan didn’t care in the slightest. Eugene Shan’s fatal wound was from a blade. Though the strike was ruthless and precise, it was clear Joe Di’s cultivation wasn’t that high. If Joe Di were truly powerful, Eugene Shan wouldn’t have managed to injure him so badly.
"Search! Search everywhere, leave no stone unturned. That Shana Shan took someone with her; they can’t have gotten far. They’re most likely hiding somewhere in the ferocious beast zone of the Grand Crescent." Quentin Shan commanded harshly.
......
It was now the fifth day. Shana Shan once again let Joe Di drink the unicorn beast’s blood. Over these days, Joe Di’s complexion had visibly improved—the grayness faded, and his heartbeat grew stronger.
Shana Shan was certain that with another day or two, Joe Di would likely wake up.
Joe Di felt the space around him gradually growing brighter, and the Rule Cycle within him became smoother. From time to time, waves of warmth would nourish his body, filling him with heat.
Crack! As the Rule Cycle gradually broke its balance and once again suppressed the poison Dao marks, a faint sound echoed from deep within Joe Di’s sea of consciousness. Though he hadn’t fully awakened, the part of his mind that had been corroded began to naturally recover.
With the Ninth Dao Principle at his disposal, Joe Di instinctively seized this opportunity, accelerating the circulation of his Rule Cycle.
As his consciousness returned, it seemed to drift back to Pearl City.
He was back in those carefree days, where food and clothing came without effort. Every day, he only needed to think about his own affairs and live the life he wanted.
Manna Zhen, whom he had forgotten for who knows how long, suddenly appeared before him once more.
Joe Di frowned. That was just a beautiful memory from his youth. After he began cultivating, he had long forgotten this woman—why would Manna Zhen appear before him now?
"What are you doing here?" Joe Di wanted to ask, but his voice seemed hoarse, and he couldn’t get the words out.
Shana Shan watched Joe Di frown and gently reached out to touch his forehead once again.
Joe Di felt Manna Zhen drawing closer, her inner call awakening a primal desire within him. Unable to resist, he pulled Manna Zhen into his arms.
"Mm!" Manna Zhen gasped in surprise, and Joe Di’s desire grew uncontrollable. Overcome by an indescribable longing, he instinctively tore at Manna Zhen’s clothes.
Shana Shan was momentarily stunned; she hadn’t expected Joe Di to act this way. Soon, she realized it must be the unicorn beast’s blood. Even she felt hot and restless after drinking it—let alone Joe Di, whose mind was still unclear.
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But Joe Di was much stronger than her. She hadn’t had a proper meal in days and was already feeling weak.
Combined with the unicorn beast’s blood heating her body, being held by Joe Di and having her clothes torn, she found herself unable to resist.
When Joe Di finally tore off her clothes, Shana Shan, who had wanted to resist, stopped moving altogether.
Her whole life was destined to be a pawn in someone else's game. Why did she run away? It was simply because she hated the ugly face of the Shan Family; despite having enough strength, they still wanted to sell her and her mother out.
But she knew well that the Shan Family’s power was immense, and sooner or later she would be captured again. Hiding here wouldn’t last long. If she was doomed to be caught and tortured, she might as well give herself to Joe Di.
After all, Joe Di had shared hardship with her—he was the man she knew best.
Shana Shan had no right to love, nor to truly know someone. Since that was the case, why think too much? Once she lost her virginity, what use would the Shan Family have for her?
As waves of damp heat swept over her, Shana Shan simply closed her eyes and let Joe Di do as he wished.
......
A cool clarity washed over his heart, and his whole body relaxed in that moment. Joe Di even felt his understanding of all the laws of heaven and earth become much clearer, and his Rule Cycle grew more harmonious and complete.
It was a revelation about life—a process that was an indispensable part of existence.
His Dao was not one that severed the seven emotions and six desires, but rather a pursuit of life just like ordinary people.
With this realization, Joe Di’s Rule Cycle became even clearer. The poison Dao marks that had been locked in stalemate were slowly stripped away.
The grayness on Joe Di’s face gradually faded, and his vitality grew stronger and stronger.
When Shana Shan woke up, she found herself lying in Joe Di’s arms. She quickly stood up, her clothes falling to the ground.
Shana Shan’s body felt weak. She looked down at the still-unconscious Joe Di, a trace of tenderness appearing in her eyes.
Carefully helping Joe Di sit up, she put her clothes back on. Whether or not there was love, whether or not there was a future, from now on her life would be tied to this man before her.
Once she was dressed, Shana Shan decided to go out and look for another unicorn beast.
Joe Di’s body was improving day by day. Although what happened yesterday was a special circumstance, it was clearly due to the unicorn beast’s blood.
Both Joe Di and Shana Shan had drunk the unicorn beast’s blood, which was why they felt such a need. Now that she considered Joe Di her companion, she couldn’t let him go hungry.
......
The snow had been falling heavier each day, and it never stopped. Shana Shan felt the snow beneath her feet was already more than a foot deep. Even if Joe Di didn’t wake up, they couldn’t stay here much longer.
She hadn’t even reached the pinecone forest when her whole body went weak. Leaning against a dead tree, she caught her breath.
Just as she was about to leave, the sight of several figures made her heart sink instantly.
Two figures were walking toward her. As she saw them, they saw her too.
They were definitely from the Shan Family. Without hesitation, Shana Shan turned and fled in another direction.
(The second update will be a bit later.)