Villain Seduces to Rise in Status

Once the energy ball reached decent solidity, production could begin.

Normally, he would’ve required another person to add resources one by one, feeding them into the swirling sphere. But the inner sanctum solved that problem for him, he simply placed all materials there, accessing them like an inventory that responded to thoughts itself.

Unlike his spatial ring, which needed qi for activation, the mindspace required only intention.

One by one, materials began feeding into the energy vortex like a spell taking shape.

His massive reserves depleted at an alarming rate. Even someone with his cultivation reserves was struggling to maintain the drain. This was his first attempt so obviously precision was nonexistent.

He was ready for the bullshit that was going to come at him.

”Alright,” he muttered, closing his eyes.

He began compressing the energy sphere’s size with excruciating care.

’Yes... be a good boy... just please...’

BOOM!

His body jerked violently. There was no injury due to his new body, but the backlash still hurt like a bitch!. He collapsed backward onto the floor, gasping.

”It can’t actually require this much energy just to make a single pill, right? Fuck—how will I ever refine swords then?”

He rested for several minutes, breathing through the pain.

His comprehension speed was 3.2 times faster than normal cultivators, but his base comprehension talent wasn’t genius-level to begin with. Pill refinement wasn’t something you could imitate without proper understanding. it required practice and knowledge. And he only had incomplete basics in both of them.

Failing a thousand times before reaching a decent Tier-1 level wouldn’t be unreasonable.

Getting up slowly, he stretched his aching muscles.

’Wait... I have a Yin physique... Souls can be refined best with it. Should I try that first instead? At least that is something with a 100% chances of success.’

’Yeah, that could work. Maybe I can get an idea of how refinement feels with my body.’

He nodded to himself. ’If the inheritance takes at least a day, maybe I should use it inside the mindspace instead after I return from where I’m going.’

It was evening now when he ventured outside. The sky had transformed into deep indigo bleeding into violet, stars emerging like scattered diamonds across the darkening canvas.

A cool wind swept through the landscape, carrying the scent of earth, while shadows lengthened across the ground like grasping fingers.

He made his way through the marketplace and into the desolate areas beyond—places known for concentrated yin reserves.

’Right... its...’

A graveyard.

”Whoa... this is giving me the creeps now eww. Sigh, and I can’t even leave,” he muttered, surveying the endless rows of tombstones.

Graveyards were where soul cultivators began their training.

It was like the Level one for the dying and soul arts. Finding a decent clearing with no nearby graves, he settled down and went perfectly still.

Deep within his mind, his inner universe awakened.

His spiritual body manifested as a towering golden giant, radiating absolute divine light. He’d increased his Divine Consciousness allocation from 5% to 30%. The mental pressure was constant, relentless and his mind was tearing apart, quite literally.

”Fuhhh, al-alright... let’s begin. Well, I know it’s going to succeed anyway...” he whispered.

’But the backlash... ugh.’

The golden giant opened its eyes, igniting the dark cosmos with their brilliance.

With a sweeping gesture, terrifying gravitational force erupted across the stars.

Countless wandering souls were violently dragged from the graveyard above, pulled into his inner universe like moths to flame. They weren’t complete souls—those required recent death and Cale’s personal kills. So these were like remnant fragments, barely a quarter of their original strength.

But for a first attempt, they would do, else who knows what would happen if a remnant of a strong cultivator attached themselves to him.

The spectral phantoms wailed as they were caught in a massive vortex of golden fire.

His Divine Consciousness preyed upon them like a predator, consuming them while his soul body simultaneously began cultivation. His essence reserves depleted at an alarming rate but were still manageable for several more hours, but noticeably fast.

His body was acting as a literal cauldron for the first time.

The burning golden flames compressed the screaming souls, grinding away their impurities with merciless precision. Then he released his black flames into the maelstrom.

Back in the graveyard, blinding golden energy leaked from Cale’s physical pores. Lightning crackled violently across his white robes as the immense pressure shattered surrounding rocks into powder.

Inside the mindspace, the spiritual giant thrust its hands forward, compressing the massive firestorm. The chaotic souls were instantly crushed into a single, blinding sun of pure essence.

The raw soul energy purified completely. It exploded outward in a magnificent shockwave, flooding his internal universe with boundless, flawless power.

The golden giant closed its eyes and slowly faded away. The newly refined, crystalline energy flowed directly into Cale’s physical and spiritual cores.

Four hours passed in meditation.

In the silent graveyard, Cale finally opened his eyes.

A brilliant red sigil flashed briefly upon his forehead before fading like a seal marking the terrifying refinement complete.

He immediately began circulating essence at maximum speed.

If he didn’t, the collected soul energy would dissipate uselessly.

The Origin Essence inside him spun like a tornado, although it was quite crude and unrefined since it wasn’t a proper mix, but it was working out somehow nonetheless.

Hours passed.

Inside his mind realm, his soul body gradually shrank back to normal proportions. After stabilizing himself completely, he opened his eyes once more.

His enhanced perception could clearly see the energy gathered around him now.

”I’ve become a demonic cultivator yet again. Sigh... hehe.”

[DING]

[Congratulations host for forming a cultivation bridge for your Soul Cultivation!]

[Congratulations host for advancing to Low Apprentice Stage of Soul Cultivation!]

[Congratulations host for advancing to Mid Apprentice Stage of Soul Cultivation!]

[Congratulations host for advancing to Peak Apprentice Stage of Soul Cultivation!]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Rewarded: Ashes of Undying]

[Ashes of Undying are refined to perfection and cannot be refined further by any being in existence. They are the ashes of one of the ◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼. They can multiply into infinite particles or divide to a single atom, but cannot ever die.

Creator: Lucius Ashborne.]

[Rewarded: Soul Purifying Technique - A method to refine souls faster and more efficiently.]

[Rewarded: Override - Host has 20% chance to override anyone’s skill, technique, or control over any artifact. If the other party attempts reclamation, the stronger side shall prevail.]