My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

He walked toward the spear lying on the ground and looked down at it. Then he reached out to pick it up.

The moment his fingers touched it, a foul whisper entered his ears.

It felt as though he had swallowed vomit.

His arms suddenly grew sore as a vile grey substance spread from the spear and crawled up his skin.

Damon scoffed.

A sea of black flames immediately engulfed the spear. The grey substance recoiled, retreating back into the weapon as Damon pulled his hand away.

He then let out a breath, only to suddenly begin coughing.

A grey-brown mist spilled from his mouth, several tiny flies crawling through it before quickly disappearing.

A smile appeared on Damon’s face as he flipped the spear through his hand a few times.

Then he thrust it forward.

He was quite satisfied with it.

”You’re mad, aren’t you?”

The voice of the Blind Old Daoist echoed from behind him.

”Mad? How so?” Damon asked, turning toward the old cultivator floating above the Lake of Tears.

”Only a madman would make a weapon out of corruption. Madder still is the one who wields it. There are better ways to kill your enemies, yet you choose the worst one.”

Damon wore a small smirk as he turned fully toward the Blind Old Daoist.

”My enemy is an immortal pure being made of sacred fire, a divine beast, a Phoenix. I don’t just want to kill him. I want to taint him, humiliate him, break him, and crush him. I want that arrogant creature to suffer, and then I will end him, giving his corrupted and impure soul to the Unknown God or whatever it is that takes corrupted souls.”

”That would be the Abyss. In other words, the Unknown God.”

The Blind Old Daoist sighed, looking upward.

”You are a very temperamental junior. You remind me of that fellow, Red Paradise Celestial.”

”And who’s that supposed to be?” Damon asked, unfamiliar with the name.

”A fellow who loves cursing people. There’s no need to worry. He’s not a True Being, just one of the most venerated demonic cultivators in existence.”

Damon suddenly lost interest.

Then he paused.

”He wouldn’t happen to be here, would he?”

”No. He didn’t come to this world of yours.”

The Blind Old Daoist’s words suddenly made Damon curious again.

”If you guys are so powerful, how did Mugu manage to seal you away? And if he was so great, why was he killed by the First Empress, Abellona?”

”Don’t you know? Mugu was a prophet. He obtained one of the Unknown’s authorities, the authority called Boundary Maker.”

When he spoke the name of the authority, he lowered his voice to almost a whisper, his eyes narrowing slightly.

”I’ve heard mention of it before, as well as a few others, but I never really understood it.”

Damon wasn’t afraid to admit that to the Blind Old Daoist because he knew the old man would tell him anyway. As for which parts were truthful and which were tricks, he would simply have to trust his gut.

”Mugu was just one mortal. How could he have methods beyond us from the Upper Realms? How could he defeat us with his own power? It was evident that he had help, and the authority he obtained was one that allowed him to seal us.”

The Blind Old Daoist slowly raised a hand.

”This is an authority of the Unknown with the sole purpose of imposing limits and boundaries upon things. People, concepts, thoughts, and even things that don’t exist or exist outside the rules. In its simplest form, it is simply the authority to seal. In the hands of the Unknown, there is nothing it cannot do. But in Mugu’s hands, it was used to seal everyone.”

Damon nodded.

Then he glanced at the Blind Old Daoist.

”Wait. Doesn’t that mean you may have been affected by it as well?”

The Blind Old Daoist’s expression shifted slightly.

”Think about it. How can you be trapped here? Lazarak has many methods, but his methods can’t be so powerful that they could keep you here for so many years without giving you any hope of escape.”

When Damon uttered those words, the Blind Old Daoist’s eyes widened.

What was Damon saying?

Even after escaping everything else, could the authority still have imposed a limit on him?

”Haha... hahahaha... ahahahah! Ahhh!”

The old man suddenly laughed, his voice echoing throughout the dark chamber.

”I can’t believe it. I truly am a foolish old man. How could I not have seen it? Authorities are conceptual. The Unknown could use Boundary Maker to seal even fate itself. How could I have underestimated it?”

”That Mugu...”

He sighed and shook his head.

For just a moment, Damon could have sworn he saw the light dim in the old man’s eyes, as if he had just watched his chance of breaking free slip away.

”If Mugu can do that with his authority, then what can another authority do?”

”Are you asking about that woman of yours? Lilith, was it? The Priestess of the Unknown God?”

The Blind Old Daoist’s expression became more serious.

”Yes. I haven’t met many Priestesses of the Unknown God, and when I do, I know to flee in the opposite direction. Those witches are fearsome, especially those who have access to an authority and a large Stigmata.”

Damon hadn’t known they were that terrifying.

It seemed he had underestimated Lilith’s power.

”The authority she has is the Void Maker.”

The Blind Old Daoist’s eyes narrowed.

”She wields destruction and creation in equal measure, but most often, destruction. It is not as gentle an authority as Mugu’s. The Void is simply the Void. Everything falls under it. Space, time, vectors, stars...”

He paused.

”Even corruption and nothingness fall under this authority.”

Damon was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath.

”There’s a catch, isn’t there?”

”Yes.”

The Blind Old Daoist’s voice became heavier.

”The Void will consume her. She is far too weak to wield it properly. She may not die, but she will be extremely weakened. If she is lucky.”

He paused.

”If she isn’t, she will be erased.”

The tone of the Blind Old Daoist made Damon close his eyes.

”I assume that’s what happened to Mugu. Using Boundary Maker made him weaker, so Abellona the First killed him. Or rather, they both died together.”

”That was an ill-fated love. Nevertheless, all of it was part of the Unknown’s plan.”

”Unknown is coming, and he seems to be aiming to take a vessel. Do you have any knowledge...”

”You’re asking who he will use as a vessel for his incarnation?”

The Blind Old Daoist didn’t even hesitate.

”It’s quite obvious. The one best suited is his Priestess.”

He was certain that Lilith was the ideal vessel.

She already possessed the Unknown God’s Stigmata.

Damon took a deep breath before speaking again.

”What if there was someone who had the Unknown’s Forbidden Tome?”

”That’s impossible. The Unknown doesn’t give that out. It’s ridiculous...”

The Blind Old Daoist suddenly stopped.

His expression fell.

”You know someone wielding that terrible weapon?”

”Wea—”

He caught himself.

”Weapon?”