Body command feeding world

Night completely swallowed the last rays of sunlight from Rock City. The inky sky hung low, devoid of stars and moon, with only the city's broken walls and ruins outlining their grotesque forms in the darkness. The lingering stench of blood and decay from the daytime was swept up by the night wind, permeating the streets and alleys, transforming into a nauseating odor that seeped into every inch of air.

The city, having survived the calamity, did not find peace; instead, it fell into a colder, more desolate silence. The people huddled in makeshift shacks and half-collapsed houses, afraid to light lamps, afraid to speak loudly, and even their breathing was extremely soft, as if the slightest carelessness would attract the evil spirits lurking in the darkness, or something even more terrifying like themselves.

This world is inherently flawed, its laws unjust, rife with malevolent energy, and the devastation of life is commonplace. So-called cities are nothing more than prisons for the weak to band together for survival, and so-called peace is merely a temporary respite for the strong. The arrival of the Black Bone Demon Lord and the Red Umbrella Woman merely shatters this fragile facade, revealing the bloody reality beneath—the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, without exception.

No one can protect anyone forever. Xiao Cangxuan's burning of his life force to defend the city was merely fulfilling his duty as a martial arts practitioner, his own path, not an act of charity towards the city's inhabitants. After repelling the enemy, Qing Xuanzi went into seclusion to heal his injuries, his own Dao foundation also affected, leaving him no time to care for himself. As for the surviving soldiers and cultivators, they were either counting casualties, scavenging leftover supplies from the battlefield, or wary of their hungry, clouded-eyed comrades. No one had the energy to care for the unarmed elderly, women, and children.

There is no goodwill in the world; only power is the foundation for survival.

Wu Wei held Ya Ya's little hand and walked through the dark streets and alleys, his steps extremely light.

His wounds still throbbed with pain, his meridians felt like they were being scorched by fire, and the remaining evil poison within his body gnawed at his flesh and soul like maggots. The exhaustion from slaying Tong Shou and confronting the evil domain during the day was now fully unleashed. With each step he took, fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead, trickled down his chin, and dripped onto his blood-stained robes.

But he showed no sign of fatigue. His back remained straight, and he tightly gripped that soft, slightly cool little hand in his palm. He concealed his aura to the extreme, like a lone wolf in the dark, vigilantly scanning the surrounding darkness.

He slung the double-edged marrow spear across his back, the shaft wrapped in a coarse cloth to conceal the cold glint of its blade and the fiery aura of the sun. In the dead of night in this ruined city, being too sharp was never a good thing; it would only attract greedy eyes and needless slaughter.

This is the western corner of Rock City, the most dilapidated and chaotic area of ​​the city. During the day, the Black Tide invades, bearing the brunt of the attack. The garrison is routed, houses are destroyed, and the survivors are mostly ordinary people who couldn't escape, along with some rogue cultivators, refugees, and desperate criminals. There is no order, no law; the only rule is might makes right. Food, water, and safe corners must be fought for, battled, and obtained at all costs.

The night wind howled, whistling through the broken walls like the wailing of ghosts. From the ruins on both sides, faint sounds could be heard from time to time: suppressed sobs, low curses, muffled thuds of flesh hitting flesh, and fleeting screams.

There were people fighting fiercely over half a piece of dry food and a sheltered corner. The weak were pushed to the ground, their last supplies stolen, and they groaned helplessly in the darkness, but no one paid any attention or stopped to watch.

Wu Wei's gaze swept calmly over those corners, without the slightest change in expression.

He was used to life and death; the towering flames of Qinglu Village, the ordinary people fleeing in alleys, the cries of children, the despair of the elderly—these were etched into his very bones. The cruelty of this world was not something that had just been revealed today, but rather something that had been clearly imprinted in his heart from the moment he transmigrated and opened his eyes.

Sympathy is useless, pity is laughable. The tears of the weak cannot buy a bite of food or a shred of safety; they only become signals of being plundered and bullied. To survive and protect those around you, you must become strong—strong enough to crush any enemy who dares to covet you, strong enough to tear a path to your own survival in this broken world.

Ya Ya gripped Wu Wei's fingers tightly, her small body trembling slightly. She buried her face in his arm, afraid to look at anything in the darkness. She was still young, but she understood fear, and she understood how cold and greedy the eyes hidden in the shadows could be. Her only support was this silent and upright figure beside her; only by clinging to him could she feel a faint sense of security.

"Uncle..." Ya Ya murmured softly, her voice barely audible, "It's so dark... I'm so scared..."

Wu Wei looked down at the small figure curled up in his arms. The coldness in his eyes softened slightly, but he still showed no other emotion. He didn't say any empty words of comfort, but simply tightened his grip on her hand and continued walking towards a relatively intact cellar that he remembered.

During the day, when he was escorting the people to evacuate, he had noticed this place. The cellar was hidden, with a narrow entrance, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, it was far from the main battlefield, and the remaining evil energy was relatively weak, making it the most suitable place to settle down at this moment.

As for food and water, one can only rely on oneself to find, fight for, and obtain them.

No one will deliver it to your door, and no one will give it away for free.

Passing through two streets piled with rubble and corpses, the stench of blood in the air grew increasingly heavy. Occasionally, one could see bodies lying by the roadside; some were corrupted by malevolent energy, their bodies blackened and twisted, while others were covered in wounds, their possessions looted, their eyes wide open, dying with unfulfilled grievances. No one collected them, no one buried them, leaving them to slowly grow cold in the night, becoming part of this ruined city.

This is the fate of the weak: silent and insignificant, like weeds; once dead, they are nothing more than a rotting corpse, ignored by all.

Wu Wei paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the corpse of a child. The child was only four or five years old, his clothes were tattered, and he was still tightly clutching half a piece of coarse grain bread in his hand. There was a hideous wound on his neck, clearly indicating that he had been strangled to death for that insignificant piece of food.

When Ya Ya saw this, her small body trembled violently. She closed her eyes in fright, buried her head even deeper, and tears silently streamed down her face, soaking Wu Wei's sleeves.

Wu Wei remained expressionless, withdrew his gaze, and continued walking forward, as if he had not seen the small corpse.

It's not that I'm cold-blooded, but rather that I've seen too much of it and become numb. In this dog-eat-dog world, such scenes happen every day, every moment. Sadness is useless, anger is useless; only by accepting these cruel rules can one survive.

He couldn't stop, nor could he be soft-hearted. If he hesitated even slightly, he or Yaya might be the next one to fall by the roadside.

Before long, a half-collapsed adobe house came into view. In the corner of the house, there was a cellar entrance covered by debris. The wooden planks were ajar, and a cold, damp air seeped out from the gaps. Wu Wei released Ya Ya's hand, signaling her to stay where she was. Then he stepped forward and gently moved the broken wood and pebbles that were pressing on the planks. His movements were slow and made no sound.

He bent down, listened intently to the sounds coming from inside the cellar, and slightly dispersed his senses to investigate whether anyone was inside.

A moment later, Wu Wei withdrew his divine sense, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

There were people in the cellar: three adult men, each carrying a faint aura of rogue cultivators. Their cultivation was low, merely at the warrior level, and they had just condensed their blood essence. They were sitting together, sharing a few coarse grain cakes, talking in hushed tones. Their words were full of greed and violence as they discussed the battlefield during the day, how to plunder more supplies, how to seize safer places to live, and even mentioned the lone women and children. Their tone was filthy and full of malice.

They are the refugees and wandering cultivators who occupy this place, and also the most common villains in this ruined city.

They lacked the courage to confront the evil creatures, yet they dared to wield their knives against their own people, bullying the weak, robbing supplies, and living a life of ignominy, taking the law of the jungle to its extreme.

Wu Wei straightened up, glanced back at Ya Ya, and gestured for her to stay where she was and not come closer. Ya Ya nodded obediently, biting her lip tightly, and shrank behind the broken wall, not daring to make a sound.

He slowly drew the double-edged marrow weapon from his back, removed the coarse cloth wrapped around the gun, and the residual Yang Flame aura on the blade flowed slightly, but he suppressed it tightly, revealing only a faint, almost imperceptible cold glint.

Without any unnecessary movements or hesitation, Wu Wei raised his foot and kicked the wooden plank at the entrance to the cellar.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the wooden board shattered, sending wood chips flying.

The three men in the cellar were startled and stood up abruptly, turning to look at the entrance. Their eyes first showed fear, then turned to violence and anger.

"Who?!"

"Are you looking for death? How dare you trespass on my territory!"

The three men grabbed wooden sticks and broken knives from their surroundings and charged menacingly toward the cellar entrance, intending to tear the intruders to shreds. They had long been terrorizing this western corner of the city, used to bullying unarmed civilians, and considered themselves invincible, completely disregarding anyone outside.

But when they saw Wu Wei standing at the entrance of the cellar, their pupils suddenly contracted.

The young man was tall and straight, with a cold expression. His clothes were stained with blood, and he exuded a chilling aura of someone who had experienced life and death. His dark eyes were devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at three dead bodies. He held a strangely shaped double-edged spear in his hand. The blades gleamed coldly, yet they sent a chill down their spines.

That was the aura of someone who had killed people, vanquished evil spirits, and emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. It was far beyond what these rogue cultivators, who only knew how to bully the weak and had just entered the warrior realm, could compare to.

The pockmarked man at the head of the group panicked for a moment, but still tried to remain calm, shouting menacingly, "Kid, you'd better get lost! This place was ours first, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

Wu Wei did not speak, but slowly raised the double-edged marrow weapon in his hand, the tip of the spear slightly raised, pointing directly at the three of them.

There were no threats, no words, only pure killing intent.

The rules of this world are not based on words, but on strength. Territory, food, and the right to survive are all governed by this principle: whoever is strong has the right to live, and whoever is weak can only be driven out, killed, or devoured.

"You fucking want to die!"

Seeing that Wu Wei refused to back down, the other two men became enraged, brandishing their weapons and roaring as they charged at him. Outnumbered and confident in the confined space of the cellar, they believed they could trap and kill Wu Wei.

Wu Wei's eyes were indifferent, his feet did not move, and he slightly flipped his wrist.

The double-edged marrow spear seemed to come alive, its front thrust lightly, swift as lightning, without the slightest flourish, aimed straight for the throat of the man at the front.

The man didn't even see the trajectory of the spear tip. He only felt a chill in his throat, and a sharp pain instantly swept through his body. The broken knife in his hand clattered to the ground. He clutched his throat with both hands, making a hoarse sound, and his body slowly collapsed. His pupils quickly dilated, and he lost all life.

With a single move, he killed one person.

The remaining two froze on the spot, their violent expressions instantly replaced by fear. They trembled, their legs went weak, and they almost collapsed to the ground. Only then did they realize that the boy before them was someone they could not afford to offend; his strength far exceeded their expectations.

"Spare us... Great hero, spare us..." The pockmarked man knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, tears and snot streaming down his face. "We were wrong, we'll give you our territory, we'll give you all our food, please spare our lives..."

The other person also knelt down, trembling, unable to utter a word.

Begging for mercy, humility, and cowardice vanished; the arrogance and domineering attitude of moments before had completely disappeared. This is the nature of the weak; when faced with the stronger, they instantly shed all pretense, leaving only the instinct for survival.

Wu Wei remained silent, his eyes showing no emotion.

Should we spare their lives?

In this ruined city, if we let them go, they will turn around and bully the weaker people, steal their food, and may even gather more thugs to return and seek revenge. Being soft-hearted is irresponsible to oneself and to those around us.

This world is flawed; there is no karmic retribution, no divine justice, only the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak, and eliminating all threats is the only way to survive.

Wu Wei moved his wrist again, and the double-edged marrow weapon swept out horizontally. The back edge was sharp and carried a faint yang fire energy, instantly sweeping across the necks of the two men.

Two muffled groans rang out, blood splattered, and the two bodies collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

In less than three breaths, all three villains who had occupied the cellar were dead.

Wu Wei stood with his gun sheathed, his face calm, as if he had only done something insignificant. He didn't look at the corpse on the ground, nor did he wipe the blood from the blade; he simply turned and reached out his hand to Ya Ya outside the cellar.

"come over."

His voice remained deep, yet carried an undeniable sense of calm.

Ya Ya ran out from behind the broken wall, ran to Wu Wei's side, held his hand tightly, and dared not look at the corpse in the cellar. She just lowered her head and followed him into the cellar.

The cellar wasn't spacious, but it was very dry, far from the night wind, and isolated from the bloodshed and darkness outside, making it a rare safe haven in this ruined city. Scattered on the ground were a few coarse grain cakes, half a bag of murky water, and several tattered cotton clothes, clearly supplies looted by the three men.

Wu Wei led Ya Ya to the innermost corner of the cellar, made her sit down, and then picked up the coarse grain cake and water bag from the ground and handed them to her.

"eat."

Ya Ya looked up at him, then at the corpse on the ground, and whispered, "Uncle, you should eat too..."

"I'm not hungry," Wu Wei said calmly, squatting down to inspect the cellar entrance. He resealed it with broken wood and rubble, leaving only a small gap for ventilation and to prevent outsiders from entering.

He had to be fully prepared, for in this perilous ruined city, any negligence could lead to annihilation.

Ya Ya held the coarse grain cake, eating it slowly and carefully. She knew this food was hard-earned, and she knew what had happened outside. She didn't ask, nor did she cry; she just ate quietly, occasionally glancing up at the boy squatting busily at the entrance, her eyes filled with dependence.

Wu Wei sealed off the entrance, turned around, leaned against the cold wall, and slowly closed his eyes.

Within his soul, Shu's voice slowly rang out, carrying his usual calm: "The residual evil poison in your body is too deep, your meridians are damaged, and your three elements of power are severely overdrawn. If you do not heal in time, your cultivation will continue to decline, and you may even suffer permanent internal injuries."

"I know," Wu Wei replied in his heart, his voice calm and unwavering.

"This place is not safe to stay for long. The stench of blood will soon attract other refugees or low-level evil creatures drawn by the malevolent energy. The law of the jungle applies not only to humans but also to evil creatures. The dead in this ruined city will become their best nourishment."

"I understand." Wu Wei opened his eyes, looked at Ya Ya who was curled up in the corner, and a faint, almost imperceptible tenderness flashed in his eyes. "Heal your wounds first, and then we'll look for a way out after dawn."

He didn't expect anyone to come to his rescue, nor did he expect the city to return to order. Xiao Cangxuan was barely able to protect himself, Qingxuanzi was in seclusion, the garrison had collapsed, and the people were displaced. This Panshi City was already dead in name only, nothing more than an even larger prison, a ruined city filled with slaughter and plunder.

If you want to survive, you can only rely on yourself.

Wu Wei sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands forming a mudra. Following the method taught by Shu, he began to circulate the remaining three elements of power within his body. Blood essence flowed slowly, burning away the remaining evil poison within his body, turning into wisps of black energy that were expelled from his pores; bone essence circulated spontaneously, repairing the shattered bone armor and damaged bones; and marrow essence nourished the depleted meridians little by little, making up for the overdraft during the day.

The Yang energy flowed slowly within his body, gentle yet resilient, gradually repairing his damaged physical body and soul.

The process was far from easy. Each time he circulated his cultivation technique, it was accompanied by excruciating pain as if his meridians were being torn apart. The corrosive poison felt like a thousand ants gnawing at his heart. Sweat poured from his forehead, soaking his clothes, and his face grew increasingly pale. But he gritted his teeth, remained silent, and his eyes were resolute, showing no sign of backing down.

Pain, exhaustion, injury—none of it matters.

As long as I can become stronger, as long as I can protect this only glimmer of light around me, everything is worth it.

After finishing her coarse grain pancake, Ya Ya hugged her knees and quietly watched Wu Wei, not daring to disturb him. She simply moved her small body closer to him, as if she could share some of his pain.

The cellar was silent, save for Wu Wei's steady breathing and the subtle sounds of the Three Elements Power circulating. Outside, the night wind continued to howl, and the fighting and screams in the darkness continued intermittently; the law of the jungle played out in every corner of the ruined city.

Some are dying, some are looting, some are struggling, and some are in despair.

This world is in ruins, devoid of divine protection and benevolent intervention; it is filled only with endless cruelty and coldness.

Wu Wei slowly opened his eyes. In his dark eyes, there was no confusion, no resentment, only extreme calmness and determination.

He saw through the true nature of this world, accepted its cruel rules, and no longer sought any protection or believed in any illusory kindness.

Power, only power, is the foundation of everything.

He wanted to become stronger, strong enough to slay all evil creatures, strong enough to crush all villains, strong enough to create a small, safe haven for himself and for Ya Ya by his side in this dog-eat-dog world.

Even if this whole world is only the size of this tiny cellar.

Even if the road ahead is pitch black, filled with thorns and corpses.

He will continue to move forward, step by step.

With the gun in their hands, they cut through the darkness and fought their way out.

Because he knew that in this broken world, he had no one to rely on and no one to trust but himself.

The sliver of light beside him was his only obsession, and the sole reason why he had to live and become stronger.

The long, cold night, the silent ruins of the city, and the endless slaughter.

Wu Wei closed his eyes and continued to heal. The power of the three elements flowed slowly within his body, gradually recovering and growing stronger.

In the darkness, a faint yet incredibly tenacious aura quietly sprouted, like wild grass growing stubbornly in a crack in the rock, enduring the cruel wind and rain, waiting for the moment it would break through the soil.

Although this world has its flaws and is a world where the strong prey on the weak, he will not become a weakling to be slaughtered at will.

Absolutely not.