Exploring his dantian again, Alex hesitated but didn't waste time.
He ignored the Qi circuits, the core, the pools—he dove straight into the shadow zone.
Pitch black.
As ever.
Every cultivator's shadow world or zone was dark—unless something lived inside it. A parasite, a spirit, a curse.
For most, the darkness was comforting. It meant safety. Emptiness.
But for Alex?
It had always been dark—even when something lived there.
He inched closer, eyes narrowed. The edges of his vision blurred and rippled.
I shouldn't go in too deep.
This is fatal territory.
"But yet I have to get inside," he muttered.
He knew a method. Dangerous, forbidden—but usable.
A soul projection technique that let him peek into the shadow world for exactly ten seconds. Any longer, and his mind would begin to shatter.
Without hesitation, he activated it.
With a hasty sift of vision The blackness swelled around him, unfolding like a cloak of ink.
There was nothing. It was nothing.
Nothing.
Emptiness.
Silence.
Ten seconds. That's all he had.
His soul projection surged forward, rushing into the abyss.
His senses screamed.
This void couldn't be searched in seconds. Not even in centuries.
At his level, even a hundred years wouldn't be enough to map its depth.
I'll fail… at this rate.
Eight seconds.
Seven.
I have to find him!
Six. Five.
He moved faster—his will tearing through space like lightning.
Four. Three. Two—
Darkness.
No…
Light.
A thread. A sliver. So faint it would've vanished to any other eye—but Alex saw it.
A clue. A presence.
He had no time.
Pain exploded in his skull. His mental state wavered. Cracks opened in his thoughts.
He should have retreated.
But he didn't.
He reached toward the light. Every inch closer, the pain worsened. His sanity slipped. Madness clawed at the edge of his mind.
My head… it's going to burst—
Still, he moved.
Still, he reached.
And in the final instant—on the brink of collapse—he saw it.
The Parasite of the Ninth Vein.
Or as he once called it…
LunarMoon Nemtoda.
It curled like a sleeping child, but its aura was terrible—devastating in power.
Its black body shimmered faintly, glowing with pale moonlight.
Four wings, thin and translucent, wrapped protectively around its form.
A face without features rested in deep slumber.
Alex, drained and trembling, extended a hand.
His fingers brushed its skin.
"…Awake, my friend."
"Master, wake up!"
The voice echoed in his skull like a bell struck underwater.
"Master, wake up!!"
Alex's eyes snapped open, vision blurry.
"God, she's loud…"
He blinked. His body refused to move.
"Shut up, Orochi—or I'll kill you right here."
"Eek—no, Master! Forgive me!"
Orochi zipped over, perching on his shoulder like a tiny spirit choking on laughter.
Alex groaned. "My head's wrecked…"
But then he smiled.
"…But it's nothing. Not compared to what I've found. My dearest friend… he's still here."
Sweat gathered on his brow—not from pain, but from joy. Immense, overwhelming joy.
"Orochi."
"Yes, Master?"
"I'm going into meditation again. Don't disturb me this time. Not unless I awaken myself. My friend wants to see me."
Once more, Alex closed his eyes.
This time, he didn't hesitate.
He skipped the circuits, skipped the pools, skipped the core—and stared directly into the shadow space.
There.
He saw it.
He saw him.
He was back at the edge of the shadow space.
The parasite.
Curled. Breathing. Making low, raspy sounds that echoed in his soul.
"Raaahaa…"
As if it had starved for a thousand moons.
Alex's fingers twitched. He felt it—he could feel it, as if their bodies shared the same blood.
He's truly here…
Just you wait. I'll feed you until you're full again.
This parasite—the same one that once consumed the elite sects of Murim.
A being that could reach Rank 8.
Yet now, it was sealed, its power suppressed below even Rank 1.
But Alex knew what to do.
He knew how to raise it.
It loved humans.
Alex opened his eyes gently.
"I'm awake now, Orochi. You may speak."
"Yes, Master!" she said, floating closer. "I'm right here!"
"Then tell me, step by step—what must I do to break free of this place?"
Orochi opened her mouth. "First, the chains—"
Clink.
Before she could finish, the chains shattered with a light pull.
Orochi's jaw dropped.
He hadn't even tried… yet the chains broke like twigs.
These were the same chains she once bore.
Chains forged by dragons to bind calamities.
She flew down from the air, heart pounding.
"Master… you're strong."
Alex rose slowly.
He looked at her fully.
Orochi now stood in her true form—a woman, beautifully draped in an ink-black kimono, patterned with silver serpents and blood-red moons.
The fabric flowed like liquid shadow, sleeves swaying softly even in stillness.
Her bare feet hovered just slightly above the ground, never touching it.
Her long black hair spilled down her back like ink, threaded with streaks of glowing silver.
Her skin was pale as polished jade.
Her serpent eyes, glowing faintly violet, locked onto his.
A spirit cloaked in moonlit light.
Alex was naked, but didn't care. Still, for the sake of dignity—
"Could you close your eyes while I find some clothes?"
Her cheeks turned red.
"Y-Yes, Master. I'll speak while facing backward…"
He chuckled. "As you wish."
She floated forward, still facing away from him.
Alex muttered,
"Now—tell me what comes next. I have a friend who's very, very hungry."
His smile turned devilish.
His aura coiled like smoke.
Far above, the Dragon Kingdom was now safe in the eyes of its people.
But it was clear that peace wouldn't last long.